Ron Wilson sits Luke Schenn out tonight to motivate him

Finding a way to motivate a player can be a tricky thing. Sometimes you have to yell at them, other times you have to put on the kid gloves. In Luke Schenn’s case, Leafs coach Ron Wilson figures that benching him tonight against Boston will get the job done.

In Schenn’s place will be Cody Franson who has been less-than inspiring in his limited action this year. It’s an interesting tactic for firing up a guy who has been struggling all around so far this year, but at the least Wilson has a method to his madness because a benching is what Mike Komisarek needed to get his game going.

James Mirtle of the Globe And Mail hears from Wilson about his methodology.

“We’re giving Luke a break from a game much like we did with Mike Komisarek,” Wilson said. “Since Mike’s taken the game off, which happened to coincidentally to be the Bruins [in that Oct. 20 loss], he’s plus nine in the seven games and has played very well. We’re hoping that Luke can just kind of reset himself and at the same time this gives Cody an opportunity to jump into the lineup and play some.”

The Leafs have to hope it does the trick especially after the long-term deal they signed Schenn to in the offseason. If he can’t get his groove back and Franson continues to struggle, all of a sudden the Leafs’ defensive depth looks a bit shaky. Komisarek’s bounce back this year has given the Leafs a bit more stability as has the arrival of Jake Gardiner, but they need Schenn to be good to be able to continue riding high the rest of the way.