What should the Leafs do?

The Leafs need a new GM and a coach. Starting from scratch from up top. People who are dumb say the Leafs should just throw everything away and get Tavares and rebuild. I will point out that doesn't work that well and teams don't have to be out of the playoffs to make it. You only have to rebuild when your team makes a cup run and ultimately fails. Toronto hasn't done that inawhile, it's more about making smart decisions and drafting well. Philadelphia didn't need to rebuild, they brought in Briere, Timonen, Biron, Lupul, Hartnell while making some smart moves to refill their team. Those acquisitions cost a ton of money and they even missed the services of Simone Gagne. The real story is that their moves WORKED.

The fact is you need star players and people who give you equal value to what you're paying them or more.

The first strategy of "playing" for Tavares would require the trade of first and foremost goaltender Vesa Toskala. I think it's a fact he's here to stay and he can be good enough to take a shitty team to stay out of the basement.

Buy out:
Andrew Raycroft (salary = 2.2 M, cap hit = 2M, buy out amount = $1.47M, split over 2 years = 0.733M/ year) equates to 1.2 M savings this year with a 733K cap hit next season.
-Not a bad move to save 1.2 M, can get a decent player to sign for cheap, the 733K is no different from having Ed Belfour's contract on our payroll like the past 2 seasons

Think about buying out Mark Bell:
I wouldn't do it but if you do buy him out that would be 1.6 M saved with 800K carrying over to next season.

Don't buy out Darcy Tucker or Jason Blake. Tucker would have a 6M buyout spread over 6 years which would equate to 1M per year. Toronto would only save 2M for those 3 years and paying for it for the next 3. He adds more to this team then 2M and shouldn't be considered a sunk cost.

Jason Blake: 10M buy out over 8 years with a 1.25M cap hit each year. Would actually save $3.25M the first two years and then only $1.75M the next two years (or 2.75M in cap space). I'd rather wait this one out. The cap hits may be different. Don't have a complete understanding of the rules.

How about McCabe: Buy out = 9.63M which would be spread out over 6 years. This one I would consider as you can probably get a better player for that 5 million in extra space. Otherwise try to trade him

Bye:
John Pohl -non existant
Andy Wozniewski - no room for you

Keep Sundin...if he gives an appropriate discount. Nothing more then $5 million. Makes no sense for him to take up cap space when he claims he would like to win. The Leafs need cap space badly.

I would not trade Kubina. Toronto needs him and if we trade Kubina it would mean we would be stuck with McCabe (shudders).

Toronto needs to bring in some top of the line players as our high priced guys have sucked but for the most part one big name needs to be outed and some prude and cheap moves COULD shore up this team.

I would consider trading either Ponikarovsky or Antropov. Usually one seems to be one while the other struggles. These guys are horses and teams are looking for these kinds of guys. Antropov looks like he wants to stay but at what cost? He's a free agent and may be worth while to trade before the free agent deadline.

I'll look at the possible takers for McCabe but they probably won't take him.

Leafs FINALLY fire Paul Maurice

The Leafs finally fired media savvy Paul Maurice as the head coach of the Toronto Maple Leafs. About fucking time eh?

I've been calling for his head for some time and he is arguably the reason JFJ got fired. Maurice has been erratic and inconsistent with the Leaf team and as a coach is your job to get the team to play their best night in and night out and that didn't happen. Only when there were rumbling in the media did the Leafs win and the Leafs played well down the stretch as they always do further proof that Maurice had a problem motivating the team.

This move is also great for the new GM as he won't have any blood on his hands and Cliff is one of the best guys to work with the media. Toronto NEEDS a top notch coach and top notch GM now.

What Should Ottawa Do?

From my initial impressions, Ottawa's team and core group is fucked and it needs to be blown up (for the most part).

One strength is that they've got an elite set of forwards...even if they didn't perform in the playoffs. They will eventually but Spezza and Heatley can't be blamed for their troubles in general.

Over the course of the season the problem was first and foremost defense. It sucked and the goalies got the blame. I think the problem with the media is that perceive Emery as a top 5-10 goalie but from the start his stats just show a league average goaltender.

First here's what I'll do with the free agents:

Bye bye bye:
Wade Redden 6.5 M - you're overrated and they need your cap space. Face it, you need a guy like Chara since you're not tough enough. Sure you drop the gloves to show your "man" enough but your play isn't there.
Martin Lapointe
Cory Stillman - doesn't fit onto this team. Too much talent upfront. Giving up Eaves was such a bad trade. They may sign him just to look good to be honest.

Keep:
Chris Kelly - I love this guy. Hopefully they can get him for around 1.5 M otherwise he may end up being pricey for a 3rd line guy. I see him winning a cup somewhere down the road.
Mike Commodore - was iffy but toughness is needed by the back end.
Sean Donovan/Randy Robitaille - you need a 4th line and these guys make up one of the best 4th lines in the league.

Who do they need to sign?
A #1 and #2 defensemen. I would not be surprised if San Jose got Redden and Ottawa got Brian Campbell. If Ottawa does not go after Campbell they are not trying.

John-Michael Liles would be a great addition to Ottawa if the price was right but I don't see him leaving Colorado. Brad Stuart might not be a bad choice but he's a little on the overrated side to me.

Two potential goalies if they release Emery:
Jose Theodore and Christobal Huet. Theodore would be dumb as it would be signing a guy like Emery. Huet WILL have more then one suitor but will be probably end up like Gerber. I'd choose Huet but to be honest I wouldn't do it. I'd rather save the money and the much needed cap space. You could always send Emery to the minors or on assignment to Europe (lol). The problem here is that he had a ton of value before people started pointing fingers. GMs are just saying "no one" will take him but in reality he will be picked up easily once he's released.

I wouldn't release Emery. The fact is this team isn't suited to the win the cup. It may never be but it's not like most teams are. Unless you are trading away Heatley or Spezza...Ottawa is probably going to be a good team but not win the cup.

Do The Leafs Stand A Chance?

Probably not.

I think what pisses me off the most is that this team was capable of doing well but they just sucked during most of the season in typical Leaf or Maurice fashion.

Speaking of Maurice can we please fire this media-friendly coach already? Sure fans like him and JFJ took the brunt of the allegations but it's clear Maurice can't get the team to fire on all cylinders unless facing certain death.

The Leafs are down 3-1 right now in a must win game against Buffalo. If they somehow manage to come back 4 teams stand in the way of them winning with just 10 games to go. They have to win at least 8 but I think they'll ended up missing once again. Stupid Leafs.. had them finishing 4th, thanks for making me look like a homer even with 5 or so readers.

Is Eric Lindros A Hall of Famer?

Eric Lindros officially retired today and the big question, is he a hall of famer or not?

He should be a HoFer. The statistics are there. 865 points in 760 games are hall of fame worthy statistics. Sure you can argue that he didn't have any longevity and he didn't put up with expectations at time. He had a very solid career considering the hype despite not putting up Gretzky like numbers.

The longevity factor is a legit argument in the MLB HoF which has a lot harder restrictions to be honest. If Lindros doesn't get in, Neely doesn't either. Lindros doesn't lower the standard at all.

Do Leafs Fans Suck?

Leafs fans are considered the New York Yankees' fans of hockey except that we haven't won anything in 40 years.

I think the running joke is that we're biased, stupid and we come in big crowds. But from a Leafs fan asking other Leafs fan, do you believe this?

I certainly do. Why? Well I will always be a Leafs whether they win the Stanley Cup (we suddenly have more) to whether they finished the season 0-82 I would still be loyal. By loyal I don't mean I would think that the Leafs would get the Stanley cup next year but because I will always cheer for them no matter what.

Unfortunately we can't say that for my counterparts who are also Leaf fans. Most people (Leaf unfaithful) tend to get critical before trying to rally a team. The only time where the crowd is ever really truly into a game is when the team is in the playoffs. It's so incredibly corporate.

Generally team management is so much about pleasing the Leafs fans by trying to win every year they get dubbed into making the worst moves. I wanted McCabe to walk (if you were a friend you would remember, not sure if I blogged about) but I knew there would be fan backlash if they let him go so I knew it would never happen. It's pretty much about appeasing dumb fans who are worried about what is going on now. They won't accept a rebuilding mode which is probably why we won't get our own Crosby or John Tavares and will have to deal with mediocrity.

I bring all this up because the Leafs are sucking as a home team but are an amazing team on the road. It feels like the atmosphere probably is the most likely reason. With the corporations involved in purchasing Leafs tickets and less going to the die-hard crazy fans who will spend 50 bucks to sit in the nosebleeds there just isn't any passion in Toronto anymore.

There are a lot of smart, loyal Leaf fans out there. This is a poorly constructed post and I'm really tired but the majority of the time being a Leaf fan sucks as I get lumped into a group that people assume are mindless hacks who know nothing about how to manage a team or know value when we see talent.

Jiri Tlusty: What's In Store For Him?

Jiri Tlusty made his debut on Thursday with as good of a debut as you can get showing off his speed, fore checking skills and all the reasons Toronto made him their 1st round pick in 2006.

I was a little surprised to see him make the Buds line up so early on because I felt like he was probably going to be ready next year. I would have liked to see him develop his offensive game further.

So what should be expect form Jiri Tlusty?

Just understand that he is not considered as offensive savvy as he was in his debut. Last year(first season in North America) he had 34 points in 37 games and 17 points in 13 games. Most scouts would say he needed time to adapt to the culture and battled with some injuries. He also had 3 points in 5 games with the Toronto Marlies.

As history would suggest we probably are not going to see a lot of offense from Tlusty. He may really struggle at times while playing solid defensively. Right now a good possible comparison are his linemates Stajan and Steen.

At least our first round picks are contributing now. Ferguson has made some good picks being GM compared to Quinn.

Tlusty is an interesting player to watch. He probably isn't going to be on the Leafs roster once a lot of the guys come back but he sure has made it interesting allbeit in one game.

Hartley Fired Shouldn't Waddell Follow?

This opinion isn't really different from what other media outlets are saying. I generally disagree with a lot of publications (or else why would I have this blog? ;) ).

Anyway Bob Hartley was fired today to no real surprise. I can't say it's entirely Hartley's fault as the Atlanta organization seems to be in a dead spiral. I have to say that I would put more emphasis on the GM's shoulders.

I have bashed his trades and moves from the second I have heard them reported. While it was great to "mortgage the future", the future is apparently now and they are FCUKED to say the least.

This team IS exciting to watch. All offense no defense teams are entertaining. They have a lot of skill but the team that they have put together isn't complete to win. They have skilled players but they always seem to off themselves of the money players like Belanger or Metropolit. They instead tried to go all-in with Keith Tkachuk. Waddell doesn't know how to win championships. He should take a note out of Minnesota's book. Hint: guys like Brian Rolston.

Atlanta future looks very gloomy. This is the worst case scenario in the next few years if this keeps up. Due to the losing atmosphere guys like Marian Hossa and Ilya Kovalchuk start showing their displeasure and then demand trades. Future Roberto Luongo to be Kari Lehtonen (he will be amazing anywhere else) will also demand a trade and be on his way out.

Ultimately Atlanta will be ripped off by trading away disgruntled players, and thus stay out of the playoffs the next 7 years! The team then moves to Winnipeg due to the low attendance and the amazing Canadian dollar which is now valued at $1.25US. :)

All jokes aside, I am not sure there can be any turning back from this ultimate fate. Waddell needs to be fired but I am not sure ANY general manager can fix the mess that is the Atlanta Thrashes.

Boy it must suck to be in Atlanta, Hawks also suck and the Braves lost John Schuerholz.

Don't Believe The Hype: New York Rangers

This funny picture was taken from Oh For Fun!.

Anyway apparently everyone's choice to win the Stanley Cup is the New York Rangers or at least according to the "experts".

Do not believe the hype (unless you're a Rangers fan, I'll cut you some slack). The reason is that a Stanley cup takes years to form. Don't you remember the saying that "you can't buy a Stanley Cup team"? Well this is the case here.

I have outlined previously that I disliked the Gomez signing but he will be helpful yes. I think this team is missing a few pieces that make it a serious Stanley Cup contender.

Scoring isn't everything and I feel like trading away a guy like Matt Cullen (to save cap space) actually pulls them away from that Stanley Cup type team that I personally. Defensively they've got pieces to add as well but I guess it's still a solid corps.

Mark my word 2007-2008 is NOT the season for the NY Rangers. Maybe 2008
*If I'm wrong I'll eat a lump of dirt

Thoughts on Jesse Boulerice Suspension of 25 games

Any time a player attacks another player with the stick it's taboo and crosses the line. You can see what Boulerice did here:


It is cheap and doesn't belong in the game of hockey yes. Why is this an important part of the discussion?

Well I just hate how the NHL handles these things. They clearly have an agenda of wanting to look like hard asses now. It's not what they're doing now that really irritates me but how they treated this stuff last season. Hits to the head were usually like at most 5 games and anything in the 25 game suspension was considered to be the sickest of all things.

I think Simon's suspension deserved much more then 25 games as he was out of control as it was a bat swing. At least a cross check is more in control...

I guess you can call it "good" that the NHL is now being hard on the players but it's about time eh?

Recap of the Leafs First Week

The main headline out of this week was the shocking news story that Jason Blake is battling leukemia. This is more then the game but we have the greatest of respect for him for the willingness to play hard day in and day out. I don't want to keep talking about this so it's best to keep our attention on hockey.

The Good: Toronto actually matched up well with Ottawa. Ottawa looks like a team that will take the East Conference (but lose in the playoffs). No longer are the Leafs getting shelled 6-0 in back to back games so while 3-2 losses don't normally bode well when it's against a tough team like Ottawa it is.

The bad: The powerplay and offense sucks. It may be early in the season but right now the offense doesn't seem to have the same fore checking and game controlling prowess of last season. Last season they had dominant control of the puck but just couldn't finish. If they can return to that style this year it will propel them far (including the playoffs) and take the pressure off their weak defensive corps. Where are you Carlo? We need you now!

The Ugly: Loss to Carolina 7-1. Any way you spin it, losing 7-1 is never a pretty sight. Even worse people (including me) praised Toskala on having a solid game. The defense was atrocious especially with their positioning and awareness. These guy seem lost and need coaching. The offense was not cycling like it was supposed to. Too many attempted passes across the middle of the ice most of which are ill-advised without their players looking and cause the odd an rushes that have been deadly and kills all the momentum a good shift does.

There need to be some changes all of which I believe the coach can fix. SO we'll see how they do next week.I have to do these types of posts for now on especially with school so sorry folks.

Jason Blake To Continue Playing Despite Having Leukemia

Today, Jason Blake announced that he has a rare form of leukemia but says he will continue to play. The disease is Chronic Myelogenous Leukemia.

CML from my research is due to the unregulated growth of myeloid cells in the bone marrow. Overall though some of the symptoms include malaise, low-grade fever, increased susceptibility to infections, anemia, and thrombocytopenia with easy bruising.

I have a much greater increase in respect for Jason Blake. It must be tough to be living with and it may still affect his game even though he says it's not. It's good he has come out at the start of the season with the news. It doesn't matter if I'm a Leafs fans hear as this is something to do with outside the scope of hockey. Like other players who've overcome cancer they have 10 times the respect as it's something normal people of everyday life do not want to live with.

NHL Eastern Conference Predictions

I've got no time today so it's all about the quick posts!

This is my prediction for the Eastern Conference

1. Ottawa Senators
2. Pittsburgh Penguins
3. Carolina Hurricanes
4. New York Rangers
5. Toronto Maple Leafs
6. New Jersey Devils
7. Philadelphia Flyers
8. Atlanta Thrashers
9. Buffalo Sabres
10. Montreal Canadiens
11. New York Islanders
12. Tampa Bay Lightning
13. Washington Capitals
14. Florida Panthers
15. Boston Bruins

I flip-flopped this stuff a ton. I couldn't really decide on some of them and it's a crapshoot at best where injuries will probably dictate the finish.

NHL Western Conference Predictions

The hockey season has FINALLY started so it's time to make some predictions mainly for the fun of it. I'm not usually good with pre-season predictions as I generally have a feel for the teams once they get going but nonetheless here's some guesswork:

1. Detroit Red Wings
2. San Jose Sharks
3. Colorado Avalanche
4. Anaheim Ducks
5. Dallas Stars
6. Minnesota Wild
7. Vancouver Canucks
8. Los Angeles Kings
9. Calgary Flames
10. Chicago Blackhawks
11. Edmonton Oilers
12. Nashville Predators
13. St. Louis Blues
14. Columbus Blue Jackets
15. Phoenix Coyotes

Some thoughts:
I really like the Los Angeles Kings. If they can get good goaltending from Jonathan Bernier, don't be surprised if they make the playoffs. I'm glad they waived Dan Clouthier who I was bashing in the off-season.

Otherwise notable teams out of the playoffs include Nashville who sold off their team and I expect that they will struggle due to the environment.

I'm thinking about swapping Calgary with Vancouver. Vancouver didn't improve their huge need of offense and Calgary hasn't either and I believe that may effect their chances as other teams have improved vastly.

Steve Downie Suspended 20 Games for Brutal Hit

Steve Downie a 1st round pick and team member of Canada's dominant World Junior Hockey Tounaments has his career starting off with a huge suspension. Personally after seeing the hit, rightfully so. I am surprised the NHL is giving out the larger suspension after other brutal hits.

Downie's hit was more a flying spear rather then a body check and he was like 3 feet in the air due to his momentum. He seems like a small Sean Avery type where he will annoy and agitate the other team but still you have to draw the line somewhere and Avery hasn't done anything this bad.

Downie will learn and the NHL has finally toughened up.

Here's the video of it. The announcers are douche bags "He left his feet a little bit".



His feet were over his head. To me a check involves standing on your feet before and after the hit as that means it was in control. I think if you fall down while checking somebody especially with a big hit you are more likely to hurt someone and the NHL should institute rules on controlled hitting and people not being reckless.

Colorado Avs Off-Season Moves Will Get them to the Playoffs

The Colorado Avalanche missed the playoffs last season for the first time in a long time(I can't pull the number off the top of my head). I think I actually believed they didn't deserve to be in the playoffs after some suspect moves and they just didn't have a strong enough team.

This year is different. The Avalanche used the vast amount of cap space to sign Ryan Smyth (Captain Canada) to a contract that will pay him 6 million per year and Scott Hannan to a deal that will pay 4.5 million per year. These are great moves I would think because it adds toughness to the blueline and they needed more offensive talent after trading away Tanguay.

One of the most important things is the situation in net. Peter Budaj in unquestionably the starting goalie and I believe he has enough skill to carry them. No way Jose!

The future looks bright for Colorado. They have a little bit over 5 million in cap space this year and have Theodore coming off the books next year (6 million) so they can be big players in next year's free agent frenzy. With young guns like Statsny and Wolski this team is shaping up nicely despite the little set back last year.

Analyzing the Nokelainen for Walter Trade

Garth Snow continues to make good trades and he has earned my respect. Peter Chiarelli has been someone I have continued to bash and this trade makes me feel a little better on my own thoughts. The trade involves seldom known players in Petteri Nokelainen and Ben Walter. The New York Islanders also received a conditional 2nd round pick.

Petteri Nokelainen was a 1st round pick of 2004. At 21-years old he is very young and is considered a "two-way" player. I used that term lightly because he has never displayed much offense. 16 points in 60 games in the AHL is very poor and to me he looks like at most he'll be a a 4th line role player. Offensively he CAN improve but it he will have to make a major leap to get my respect as a prospect.

Ben Walter was the MVP for the Providence Bruins, Boston's minor league affiliate. Walter was drafted in the same draft as Nokelainen but much later in the 5th round and as a 20-year old. Wallter has always displayed offensive talent and some believe he projects to be a 2nd line player but he will definitely contribute with points.

I personally haven't seen Walter play but with regards to potential and statistics it's clear Walter is more a little more valuable then Nokelainen. Boston gave up a 2nd round pick as well just to get a younger prospect who was a first round pick.

Garth Snow fleeced Kevin Lowe to get Bergeron and made a purely gutsy move in acquiring Ryan Smyth to propel them into the playoffs. He is slowly moving into the the top 5 GMs.

Why Doesn't the NHL Do More Outdoor Games?

The NHL is going to have another outdoor game as a New Year's Day special between the Buffalo Sabres and Pittsburgh Penguins.

I am excited for this game because it could be an excuse to get tickets to one of these events. I am contemplating on whether I should get a ticket as the Edmonton/Montreal heritage classic was very exciting.

My only problem is that a game being played outdoors shouldn't be news.

Hockey is an outdoor game and the outdoor games people are excited to go. A team should host an outdoor game once a year due to the money it brings in and it's exciting for the crowd to see a winter sport played out doors.

Why haven't the Maple Leafs played in Roger's Centre yet? It would sell out with 50,000 fans and with a retractable roof it wouldn't be a concern with bad weather conditions.

Outdoor games would save the NHL if they used it more often.

Mark Bell Suspended Indefinitely 1 Year After Incident

Mark Bell was placed into Stage 2 of the Drug Abuse Program and thus he is suspended indefinitely until the NHL reviews his situation.

The suspension was based on the fact that Bell made a guilty plea in a DUI/hit and run incident in which he was sentenced to 6 months in a county jail.

This situation is pretty stupid. Yes, Bell deserves a suspension for his off the ice action but one-year later?

It feels as if he probably already learned his lesson and should've been suspended on the spot rather then a year later.

The NHL was clearly not on the ball like the NFL is with their players. It probably was a hot topic outside the US but on radio it was highly discussed how his crime is still a terrible one and that he isn't setting a good example with what he did.

Update: He has been suspended 15 games.

Svitov signs deal in Russia while under contract w/ Columbus

Alexander Svitov signed a 2-year deal worth 2.25 million on July 2nd. Columbus thinking that they have decent played signed and locked up were screwed.

Svitov decided to sign a contract with Avangard Omsk where he will play the 2007-2008 season. This is certainly odd news as Svitov just signed a contract and I'd assume when someone is under contract you own his property rights.

Is there a loophole we are unaware of? I think this may stem from the lack of a player transfer agreement but nobody is really saying anything to get a definitive answer.

We may see more of these signings where Russia plots revenge on the NHL to get some of their players back.