Bring Back Potvin

Moved!

2010-05-22T15:47:00.001-05:00

I’ve been experimenting with Tumblr over the past couple months and, shockingly, I actually post there! So for now on this blog is officially located at http://onceoverlightly.tumblr.com . Check it out!

You’ll notice that at the very left hand side (after my stunningly beautiful picture ;)) is a link that says Bring Back Potvin. That will take you directly to all hockey related posts. Or, if you’re too lazy for that, you can just click this link: http://onceoverlightly.tumblr.com/tagged/BBP .

lol no

2009-06-29T01:39:00.001-05:00

Amanda says:
dave
question
do you think justin pogge will ever be a starting goaltender in the NHL?
Dave!!! says:
...

Some fuckin’ people, man.

Peter.

2009-05-27T01:50:00.001-05:00

Someone, at some point, owned the house I now live in and decided to build an in-law suite as an addition. The grandparents-living-with-the-kids thing is somewhat popular in this city. When my mom bought this house in 2004, the addition was her ‘wing’ of the house. Eventually it became its own separate apartment and sometime after that it ended up falling into my hands. Now I’m in here by myself, two bedrooms, a bathroom, a kitchen and a living room. I’ve got my video games all over there in several stacks, my DVDs more or less beside them. I’ve got my leather furniture and my fireplace and my posters. I’m a college-aged male so it’s pretty dirty. I don’t mean like “the DVDs are just laying everywhere” (because I keep them neatly organized), I mean like “will someone please dust that kid’s fucking house”. Just me and my cat here, and right on the other side of the door is the rest of my family in case I completely run out of food or company (hey, college-aged male, give me a break).

A few months ago my little sister got a cat of her own, except as he’s grown he’s started to look more and more like a squirrel. His tail is simply gigantic and he’s hilarious to watch. He loves coming next door to play with me and my cat. Anytime I open the door to go to the other side, you can hear him (and the dog, too, let’s not forget about her) come running from wherever in the house they are to see me and maybe, just maybe, get that golden ticket to come next door when I go back.

He’s a real little fucker too, a big fan of hopping up onto my speakers and diving behind them to play with the wires. If my house ever burned down, he’d definitely be the first reason I’d think of, and that’s WITH gas stoves. One thing he hates is being told no. No, you can’t eat my cat’s food. No, you can’t chew through my electrical cords. No, you can’t kick box my cat. No, you can’t claw the couch. No, you can’t go through that door just because it’s closed. I mean he probably hates being told no because he just has to wait for me to fall asleep and he can do it all he wants without any real repercussions, but still, you have to teach him rules. He’s an animal dammit. Today he was chasing my cat all over the apartment (my cat likes playing but he’s turning eight this summer, not always in the mood for full force fighting, he takes after me like that) and my cat ran under my bed. I decided I was going to step in and pick Momo (that’s the squirrel cat) and move him next door. He didn’t like that. I have two big gashes on my right arm near the wrist (another two months of people thinking I’m one of those chic cutters, fantastic), another big one on the back of my hand, and several small ones in between to show for my troubles.

I didn’t really like this anymore than he likes being told no, so I shoved him right back, then picked him up angrily and threw him next door. I slammed the door and as he looked back, just before it closed, he looked kind of sad, that kind of sad where he doesn’t think he did anything wrong but he knows he upset someone and that doesn’t make him happy. But God dammit I was trying to play some NBA 2K5 and now I had to wrap my hand in a t-shirt because I was bleeding pretty decently for some cat scratches. I wasn’t in the mood to make up with a fucking cat. I knew he’d be back. He always comes back.

So I found a dirty t-shirt (I’m not so good with the laundry either) and wrapped my hand up tight in it and hit the ol’ internet to entertain me until I was confident that I wouldn’t drip blood onto my PS2 controller while playing. Eventually I came across something, a news item, and it really upset me and I kind of stopped what I was doing and just sat there and thought for a while. I wasn’t bleeding anymore, so I went next door and tried to find Momo. No one had any idea where he was. I ended up in the basement and found him, by himself, off on a corner couch curled up and asleep. I felt bad when I threw him out earlier but I felt really bad seeing him all alone so I pet him and he woke up and I apologized for being an asshole. Why do I talk to my cats? They’re cats. Whatever. I walked back upstairs and told my mom what I had read on the internet, that Peter Zezel was dying in a hospital of a rare blood disorder and had been taken off life support. We talked about it for a few minutes and then I came back next door.

A few minutes later there was a soft pawing at my door. Momo wanted to come in. So I let him. And he came over to me and Minion (that’s my cat, by the way) on the couch and sat with us and was a nice boy. And it was nice, and I’m glad it happened. Death has a way of making you appreciate smaller, nicer things in life.

And Peter Zezel died today.

Fuck.

Back in grade twelve I was your perfect grade twelve student. This meant that when we had research time (what the fuck did we need to research? It was grade twelve. Anyone who is reading something on the internet did grade twelve with their eyes closed. The people who had problems in high school are over on YouTube laughing like hyenas over people falling while skateboarding) I was on ESPN.com checking fantasy football stats or something along those lines. One day my law teacher, who was subbing for our business teacher (it was a business class, we were always on the damn computers in business class because what the fuck do you need to learn in grade twelve business?), his name was D’Arcy McCardle though I’m almost positive I’m spelling that wrong, called me out in class. I quickly hid ESPN and spun around and he asked me to come with him, and I was like “oh shit”, and then he said it had something to do with the site I had just been on, and I was like “OH SHIT”.

Luckily McCardle was an awesome teacher and an even better guy and as soon as he got me out of the classroom he told me that he was just fucking with me. We were going down to the office, but that’s because Peter Zezel was coming to our school and they wanted me to ask him a question because they knew I knew a lot about hockey. Sure enough, the next day Peter Zezel was at our annual awards assembly. He gave a speech about effort and trying and success and whatnot. Then they called out a bunch of students in the stands to stand up and ask questions. And of course these were predominantly the best students and whatnot, and they asked questions about trying hard for your goals and stuff. I wasn’t like that, God dammit I was a hockey fan and I was going to ask a hockey question. So when it was my turn I stood up, and I don’t remember the exact wording, but I had looked at his career stats the night before, so I asked him what it was like to get so close to the Stanley Cup in both 1987 and 1993 only to be foiled by Wayne Gretzky’s teams.

I should have looked closer. He came close in 1985, too.

Anyway he kind of smiled and chuckled and I had a huge smile on my face and he tried to tie it back into the general message of success. The head office at the school looked like they were going to have their heads explode. Later McCardle told me that the staff was very impressed with how much I knew about hockey and translated the question to our law class for those of us who didn’t follow hockey or hadn’t been to the assembly. McCardle laughed about it. Jared, who used to write for this blog (and that’s a funny joke, because all three of us USED to write for this blog and none of us really do now), was one of the ones who skipped the assembly. Jared was always a huge fan of the 92-93 Leafs, like everyone on God’s green earth is, and he was massively bummed. We got to meet Peter Zezel, and he didn’t.

We joked about it for months afterward but now Jared will never get to meet Peter Zezel, because Peter Zezel is gone.

Some girl asked why Zezel looked so big, because he looked like he had ballooned, and McCardle tried to tell us about his disorder and how it made him carry extra weight or something. I guess none of us really knew what he was talking about, or didn’t listen, or something. I don’t remember anything about a rare blood disease being brought up. Or that it was potentially fatal. I was blindsided today. I don’t know anyone who wasn’t. Peter Zezel. 44! Fuck. 44.

Age is a funny thing, because the older you get, you’re really playing a twisted game of chicken with your body. The twist is that no matter what you do, how determined you are to win, you will always lose. In the end, you lose. Your body will fail and turn on you at the drop of the hat, seemingly at random, the percentages lining up against you the older you get. I’m 21. I’m 21 and my right shoulder grinds and cracks when I move it and I have no idea why. I’m 21 and sometimes I will wake up in a bed next to someone and my back will hurt so much that I’ll have to spend the day walking on an angle, like a fuzzy, Canadian Quasimodo. I can crack every major joint in my body like it was my pinky knuckle, and I’m 21. Today my sister’s cat clawed open my arm and hand. The bloody scratches are still there. And I’m thankful. I’m thankful even though my shoulder sounds like a meat grinder and my back gives me fits and my joints pop like firecrackers when I tell them to and I have streaks of blood on my hands. I’m thankful even though I’m 21 and my body is certainly older than I am.

At least I don’t have haemolytic anaemia. I can’t even say that. Do you know what that is? If you had asked me yesterday I wouldn’t have known. I know now, though I still can’t say it.. TSN tells me that it killed Peter Zezel. I have no reason not to believe them (…for once). Haemolytic anaemia is a disorder where your body kills your red blood cells. It kills them faster than it can reproduce them. I guess this means that you run out eventually. You run out and die. Peter Zezel died. I have cuts all over my arm and hand, cuts is really a better word than scratches in terms of giving you a visual of what I see right now, and I can see the blood, and I am fucking THANKFUL that my body doesn’t hate me enough to kill off my red blood cells faster than it can reproduce them. That’s a horrible thought. A horrible thought. I know I’m going to pass on when my body decides that it’s had enough, good show old boy but I’m tired and want to go home now, you’ve had your fun. I don’t like thinking about it because it could come in any number of ways. But killing off my own blood cells? That terrifies me more than I’m comfortable thinking about. It happened to Peter. And he’s gone now and I guess all we have left are sad, confused ramblings. And memories.

I was young when Zezel was here in Toronto. Like five, six. To me, and many others, those teams live on through the magic of video tape (somewhere, Jack Horner is disgusted). One such tape was “The Passion Returns”, a tape my dad had that covered the 92-93 Leafs. Peter was featured prominently on the tape and I loved him. I loved everyone on the team because at seven years old you don’t dislike someone on your favourite hockey team in a puff video piece. But you also don’t know what a puff video piece is. You’re just watching a fascinating movie about the best hockey team ever. And you’re falling in love with the sport and each and every player on that tape. Gilmour. Potvin. Clark. Gill. Ellett. Andreychuk (hey, he even has the same first name as me! How cool is that?). Zezel. Foligno. Macoun. Everyone. As I grew older and started devouring everything about hockey that my young eyes could find, I’d always run into players from that tape. That tape and the 94 Leafs and the 95 Leafs when they came back from the lockout and I actually watched and the 96 Leafs which was the year Gretzky got traded to the Blues and then we played them in the first round and they beat us. Those motherfuckers, they beat us. And then Colorado won the Cup and because I was young and they had a cool logo I decided I was an Avalanche fan. I wasn’t actually because, though I didn’t know it at the time, I was bound by blood to the Leafs. Still, my mom later told me she had been planning on ordering me some Leafs’ clothes and when I announced I was an Avalanche fan she decided not to. I’ve actually regretted that every single time I’ve thought about this since I was told I could have had Leafs’ clothes. No one has ever known that.

But I’d run into Gilmour, who was still in Toronto, though not for long at this point, and Potvin who was here for a little longer, and Clark who was gone but holy crap we traded for him again that is AWESOME! And Zezel. The first year I have conscious memories of watching hockey was the 95 season and it was a game against Dallas. Mike Torchia was in net. Peter Zezel was on Dallas. I had no idea why. And we had some buffoon named Mike Craig on our team. I liked everyone on the Leafs’ back then. I even liked Matt Martin. I didn’t like Mike Craig. Later when I was old enough to find individual stat sheets and player histories I’d find out Zezel was basically traded for Mike Craig (restricted free agent compensation, oh pre-Bettman NHL rules). Damn did that ever piss me off. Damian Cox will have you believe that trading the draft pick that ended up being Roberto Luongo was the worst Leafs’ asset mismanagement under Cliff Fletcher but Zezel-for-Craig was pretty fucking awful and I’m not just saying that because of certain events. Like with everyone else from those teams, though, I was always happy to read a team report and come across Peter Zezel’s name and hopefully see him doing well. I remember the year he got traded to Anaheim only for him to not report because he was staying home with his dying niece. That was heartbreaking.

And like that he was gone from my life, the guy with the Z-name from the video, the guy who was given up for Mike Craig, the man who chose family over money. I certainly thought about Peter Zezel after that. Talked about him, with Jared I’m sure. But he didn’t cross my eyesight anymore, until the day that I was pulled aside and was told to come up with a question to ask him. The best I came up with was asking what it was like to lose to Gretzky. Fuck. I could have done better.

I guess at least I didn’t ask what it was like to be traded for Mike Craig.

Still, all day I’ve felt bad that Peter Zezel was lying on his deathbed, removed from life support, a hockey player I adored when I was a little boy, and when I met him a decade later and was actually solicited for being someone who would have something of value to say… I didn’t have anything. Maybe I impressed people with what I knew about hockey that day. But in the end I feel bad and unlike today when I felt bad that I had hurt a cat’s feelings I won’t ever get to talk to Peter again and express my admiration. To fix things. Hopefully he’s somewhere where he’s fixing things now. And kicking the puck to the wing off the draw, naturally.

Goodbye, Peter. I’ll miss you. We all will.

Trade Center '09, live from the Palace of Wisdom

2009-03-04T17:06:00.001-05:00

So, the deal here is that I haven't watched or followed hockey as best I could for the past several months. The NHL has pretty much done one thing after another to massively piss me off since the lockout, and Mats Sundin signing with Vancouver, coupled with Sean Avery's suspension for having a mind of his own, became the straw(s) that broke my back. I gave up, didn't look back, found other new things to pass the time. However, today is the NHL's trade deadline, and fuck me if that doesn't get even my cold-to-hockey blood a little warm. Hence the live blog, featuring a few friends of mine, my cat, and TSN's shitty analysts, right here from the Palace of Wisdom (which I have decided to call my house). LIVE BLOG, BITCHES~

10:00: My alarm goes off, and I crawl out of bed. This strikes me as a bad idea already, because I'm way too tired to deal with any of this right now. There are plenty of preparations to be made before I actually turn the television on. Of course, I sit on the couch and stare off into space anyway.

10:20: Still haven't moved. Really wish I was playing Gran Turismo 3 instead of doing this. Fuck.

10:35: Snapping awake, I throw stacks of dirty plates into the dishwasher and drag another coffee table out into the living room to build a large trade desk. Jared (Jared Dreger) will be here soon, have to get ready. Besides, hearing Smackles (Geoff Sanderson) tell me all about what the TSN idiots are saying is making me bloodthirsty. I have to see for myself and I refuse to allow it until I'm ready to go.

10:43: TSN is on. Good to see that they've shuttled off James 'Retard' Duthie with the people who can't hold a job in hockey. Jay Feaster starts on about how the Antoine Vermette for Pascal Leclaire and a 2nd deal is great for both teams, noting that Leclaire has injury problems and needs to return to form. Return to form? He's had one good season with Ken Hitchcock as a coach. One! I usually like/defend Feaster, but what the fuck was that?

10:47: Tim Connolly has signed a two year deal for $4.5 million per, which is hilarious to me because the over/under on games played during that contract is probably 45.

10:51: You know, if I was a drinker, TSN's trade coverage would make a spectacular drinking game. Drink every time someone says something incomprehensibly retarded...

10:54: TSN is using www.nhlnumbers.com as a resource for salary numbers. I use that site. Why is a fucking sports network using the same free resources as I am? Don't you get some sort of crazy exclusive sources given that you work in fucking sportscasting?

10:55: Holy fuck, TSN's depth chart had Phaneuf on the second pairing. That's AWESOME. Pierre McGuire must be having a meltdown. Duthie is back on what I guess is the main panel. The stupidity here rates higher than the stupid panel. Incredible.

10:59: McGuire is trying to tell me that Miikka Kiprusoff is a top goalie in the league, and that it's 'not even close' as to which you'd rather have than Cristobal Huet. Ahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha. Good to see Pierre didn't get any smarter in my exile. Darren Pang also hasn't grown any balls in that time and piggybacks on Pierre's opinion so that he doesn't get yelled at.

11:01: Oh good, Dave Hodge! That's who I'm playing today! Here's the *real* idiot squad. Fuck TSN sucks.

11:02: ...did Steve Simmons just say something smart? Something about Phaneuf not being the elite defenseman that he's supposed to be? Holy SHIT. That's incredible. And he is definitely going to get a flying axe kick to the face soon from the French man.

11:08: Darren Dutchensyn, who's name I will never bother to learn how to spell, says that a lot of people like the Leclaire trade FOR THE SENS. WHO?! WHO ARE THESE PEOPLE?! Pierre McGuire? Motherfuck Pierre McGuire. Oh my God, he actually CITED McGuire saying that Leclaire is the best Senators goalie in history. Woooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooow.

11:12: Yeah, Pierre is totally right. You cannot win a Cup without an experienced goalie who has won a Cup. I mean, nevermind that they have to get that experience SOMEHOW. Nevermind that one of the examples you cited was NIKOLAI KHABIBULIN, who has WON a Stanley Cup. Nevermind that you just ate out Kiprusoff's asshole, who's never won shit. But no, you're right Pierre. Boston really needs to shitcan on Tim Thomas and pick up, say, Chris Osgood. I mean fuck, Osgood's won, right?

11:15: Ahahahaha Pierre dumps on Washington. Wonder which side of the Crosby/Ovechkin 'debate' he's on. "Too cool for school"? Man, fuck you.

11:20: Zack (Zack McKenzie) wakes up and joins me in the living room.

11:27: Keith Jones goes on and on about how Florida has sucked the last few years because Olli Jokinen 'made it suck'. Well, at least... no there's really nothing redeemable to that. Yes Keith, the thing holding Florida back the last several years was their 35 goal scorer. I mean, everyone *but* me always thought that team looked like shit, but no, you're right, it was Jokinen.

11:30: Apparently TSN is poorer than me and can't get anyone's mic working.

11:40: Jordan Leopold to Calgary. Everyone's "great analysis" is that Leopold has played in Calgary before. I wish I was playing GT3.

11:45: Jared (Mr. Dreger) calls me, causing me to miss something really stupid that Pierre says while standing on Dutchensyn's shoes. Not too worried about. Smackles (Mr. Sanderson) on McGuire:

Geoff Sanderson? says:
....jesus McGuire....you guys have to live with him every day
Geoff Sanderson? says:
i only got to put up with him here and draft day

11:51: Official trade is Leopold for Lawrence Nycholat, Ryan Wilson, and a 2nd round pick.

12:01: Just as I was about to say that The Reporters weren't as bone jarringly stupid as they usually are, Damien Cox opens his mouth and defecates on their fancy desk. Simmons is bringing it today, though. I'm pretty amazed.

12:01: Mikael Tellqvist to Buffalo, LOL.

12:02: Martin Gerber to Toronto... what the fuck? Why? :(

12:07: Gerber and Pogge as the goalie tandem for the rest of the season in Toronto makes me glad I hit eject on the NHL.

12:19: I can confirm that I am, indeed, ballin'.

12:40: Well, TSN is reporting that Olli Jokinen for Matthew Lombardi, Brandon Prust, and a 1st is a done deal, though they're also saying it's not actually completed yet because of financial issues. I have no idea why we're getting ahead of ourselves with this, but fuck it. I can blame them if this gets pulled.

12:41: Keith Jones just said there isn't much difference between Shane Doan and JAROME IGINLA. Fuck Keith Jones.

12:51: I'm bored so I'm going to post something else Mr. Sanderson said earlier:

Geoff Sanderson? says:
can you call into this show
Geoff Sanderson? says:
ask Pierre how Cherepanov is doing

12:58: Amanda, our official caterer, gets here.

1:07: Bob McKenzie reports that the phone lines are burning up with offers for Colby Armstrong. Ahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha.

1:10: Matthew Barnaby reports that Olli Jokinen is a 'cancer'. Somewhere, Jason Blake becomes very upset.

1:12: From the group chat:

&alexandra; says:
did u hear about how i thought the mighty ducks were from mighty?
Dave Hodge. | F CK FEAR says:
I did
Dave Hodge. | F CK FEAR says:
Like an hour ago
Geoff Sanderson? says:
.....
Geoff Sanderson? says:
dave.....wtf

1:15: Amanda is incredibly loud and I can barely hear TSN. Not sure if that's a bad thing. It's pretty unnerving when your caterer is demanding butter.

1:23: Pierre says that we don't know how good Bouwmeester is now, but we will after the Olympics in 2010. What?

1:37: God damn I love the smell of bacon.

1:43: God damn I love the taste of bacon.

1:52: Peter Forsberg is expected to retire tonight.... :(

2:15: Our caterer cut herself and bled onto the food. What the fuck?

2:22: Unless we get a flurry of fun stuff in the next hour, this deadline sucks.

2:38: I'm gonna go to the store or some shit, I'm thirsty. Not only is TSN not providing interesting trades, but they aren't providing me with raspberry lemonade.

2:39: I just realized I missed trades for Guerin, Recchi, and probably some other people. It's been that kind of day.

3:24: Didn't end up going to the store. Still thirsty. Some stuff has happened, namely Nik Antropov to the Rangers, Dominic Moore to the Sabres, and Derek Morris to the Rangers. For the Leafs, this is pretty rad, I guess - neither guy was coming back and you get some picks in the 40 range for them. You'd always like to get better, and the odds that the second rounders will end up being anything are fairly slim, but hey, assets are assets. I think I'm actually going to miss Antropov, as he's been a part of my life for eleven years now. I couldn't care less about Moore.

3:37: More trades are trickling through, Kyle McLaren to Philly and Sammy Pahlsson to Chicago featuring players I like, and thus being more important than whatever the fuck Shittsburgh did today.

3:40: We're up to 17 trades now. About an hour ago I predicted to Mr. Dreger that we'd see 18. Apparently Carolina and Edmonton have a trade coming down the pipe, not necessarily with each other, so I guess we'll get at least that. Yay me!

4:03: Holy FUCK Pierre breaks out some late stupidity. Some bizarre three-way/double trade with Erik Cole to Carolina, Patrick O'Sullivan to Edmonton, Justin Williams to Los Angeles breaks, and Pierre jumps on the 'Edmonton are idiots' bandwagon. Now, Edmonton is pretty dumb. I'll always give everyone that. But his reasoning is because they gave up Cole AND Joni Pitkanen for O'Sullivan. Pitkanen got traded to Carolina in the summer for Cole, and now Cole was traded back, so that doesn't even fucking make sense. If you're involving Pitkanen, then you can't involve Cole because Pitkanen was traded FOR Cole, so you are trading Pitkanen for O'Sullivan. If you're involving Cole, then you can't involve Pitkanen because you wouldn't have picked up Pitkanen without Cole. Make sense you French fuck.

4:10: Brian Burke's press conference is on, and just as he's saying that some players have played so well lately that they may be kept around long term, Zack says 'please don't say Jason Blake'. Burke says Jason Blake.

4:17: OLAF KOLZIG TO TORONTO! WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

4:43: God damn does the old CBC song ever sound wrong coming from TSN.

4:45: Dave Hodge makes a really shitty joke about Richard Petiot. I think I'm done now.

Steve Simmons, you can kiss my ass

2008-02-15T14:40:00.001-05:00

What a great night. Everyone who we've been covering in the Stamkos Standings won last night, except for the best of them all: Toronto. We're four points out of last. We can win two straight games and probably still be in the bottom five. We're in second place and have a three point cushion between us and fourth. This is absolutely wonderful. The Kings look more reachable this morning than they ever have.

1. LAK 59 GP, 24 W, 51 PTS, -27 DIFF
2. TOR 59 GP, 23 W, 55 PTS, -29 DIFF
3. TBL 58 GP, 25 W, 56 PTS, -21 DIFF
4. FLA 59 GP, 26 W, 58 PTS, -9 DIFF
5. CHI 57 GP, 26 W, 58 PTS, EV DIFF
-------------------------------------
6. NYI 58 GP, 26 W, 59 PTS, -28 DIFF
7. EDM 59 GP, 27 W, 59 PTS, -16 DIFF
8. ATL 59 GP, 28 W, 60 PTS, -28 DIFF
9. WSH 58 GP, 27 W, 60 PTS, -13 DIFF
10. STL 56 GP, 26 W, 60 PTS, -14 DIFF
11. CLB 59 GP, 26 W, 61 PTS, -12 DIFF
12. PHO 58 GP, 29 W, 62 PTS, -1 DIFF
13. NYR 59 GP, 28 W, 63 PTS, -3 DIFF

The only addition is Washington (courtesy of another Carolina win), and while there are some key developments, like a reshuffling of the top five and just regular position jockeying, none of it is nearly as important to us as moving into second.

I was so excited this morning when I woke up. Sure, my neck hurt like hell for some reason, and I barely got any sleep, and my cat had left me a Valentine's shit on my couch, but we were in second place. My hand STILL stings from high-fiving everyone in sight. And then I hit Kukla's Korner to see what was going on in the NHL today, and I saw a Steve "Fuckdick" Simmons article up there. I used to like Simmons, be it from the back pages of those Hometown Hockey magazines they'd send everyone who had been registered for minor hockey in Ontario, or from his Toronto Sun columns that were always had a fun format and didn't take any real thought to them.

Little did I know how little thought.

Ordinarily I'd wait for Cox Bloc to handle it, as I don't do press criticism anywhere near as well as those guys (or the masters at Fire Joe Morgan, for that matter), but I'm sorry, but he ruined my fucking day and now I'm pissed off. Very pissed off. Fuckdick's 'thoughts' will be in what passes for bold here, so if you find it hard to read, well, I'll be the one saying 'fuck' every other word.

Mats holds key to Leafs' future

By Steve Simmons

If Mats Sundin is to be taken at his word, that he truly bleeds blue and white, then in the best interests of the Maple Leafs he must act accordingly.

I whole-heartedly agree. He should invent a time machine, go back to 2003, name himself GM of the Maple Leafs (while still playing, mind you), pass on the Owen Nolan trade, re-sign Brian Leetch for cheap coming out of the lockout, trade Bryan McCabe and Alex Steen to Edmonton for Chris Pronger, keep Tuuka Rask over Justin Pogge, re-sign Ed Belfour on a cheap one year deal instead of bringing in Raycroft, pass on Jason Blake, not assume that a bunch of young, homegrown defensemen will actually form a good defensive core, not sign like 30 of the same Chad Kilger-type player, um, let's see, what else... basically just pretend John Ferguson never touched the team. That's what he must do. But I bet that's not what you're about to suggest, is it, Fuckdick?

He must waive the no-trade clause in his contract and allow Cliff Fletcher to trade him at the Feb. 26 deadline.

Didn't think so.

Look, I know that sportswriters are... dumb. I know you guys can't come up with any new angles on your own and play the same story over and over and over again until the new one comes along. But: seriously? Trading Sundin is the literal definition of a quick fix. We've all been over how we don't need a quick fix.

That way, he can impact the next decade of the Leafs, just as he impacted the past decade.

This is a lie. Look at the best possible trade any of us can think for involving Sundin that might actually happen - Bobby Ryan and Edmonton's first pick. Bobby Ryan will never be a Mats Sundin. The draft pick will likely yield a defenseman and will likely never come close to the impact Sundin has had on this franchise. If someone was dangling the next Mats Sundin in exchange for 1971's Mats Sundin, maybe you'd have an argument here. But they aren't, and you don't.

That way, he can enable the Leafs to build for next season and beyond

Smart management would do this. Clearing off some of the more than $40 million already committed to next year's cap would do this. Trading Sundin for, at best, a draft pick who won't make an impact next year and a future top six forward (but more realistically a less significant return than that)? Not so much.

Why does everyone lock onto Sundin and think he is the only thing that should be changed from this losing equation? The Leafs have made the playoffs with Mats Sundin. They have not made the playoffs with Andrew Raycroft, or Jason Blake, or Pavel Kubina, or Hal Gill, or Ian White. They won't make the playoffs as long as they have nearly $9 million of the salary cap tied up in Bryan "Fucking" McCabe and Darcy "Shayne Corson" Tucker. These are the problems you target. Why the fuck do you target the ONE player who is actually a positive for the franchise? Stupid writing, that's why.

if he chooses to return as a free agent in July, then he returns to a team that has a Steven Stamkos or a Drew Doughty, a team with fresher, younger legs, a team he can resume his captaincy and leadership of, while surrounded with a better cast and crew.

We might very well end up with a Stamkos or a Doughty. Finishing last in the Eastern Conference would be a pretty good place to start if we want one of those two. So yeah, you've convinced me, Fuckdick, we need to trade Sundin so we can finish lower in the standings. I'm sorry, what's that? We're already in last in the East? Oh. So we're on track to get Stamkos/Doughty/whomever with or without Sundin? But I don't understand, Fuckdick, you were so adamant that we need to trade Mats in order to get one of those two. How can this be?

Not to mention: the team's legs will be 'fresher' at the start of next seasons regardless and the team won't be any younger or better if the other players on the team, you know, the non-Sundin ones who actually NEED to be traded but we don't hear about in the papers because everyone writing for a newspaper is fucking retarded, get moved.

He must allow the Leafs to do what they haven't been able to do since the lockout ended -- and that is compete in the top half, not the bottom half, of the National Hockey League.

This would be a good argument is Sundin was preventing the team from being in the top half of the league. As opposed to trading the top goalie prospect in the league for Andrew Raycroft. Or giving $9 million to Tucker and McCabe. Or giving $4 million to Jason Blake. Or $2.5 million to Mark Bell. Or letting Andy Wozniewski play ever. But that is not the case; it is those players who are preventing Toronto from being a better team, and Sundin is the only reason any of us even bother watching the games. Sundin is to this team what Curtis Joseph was in 1999, or Dominik Hasek was to the Buffalo Sabres of the late-90s: a player who can win a game by himself.

Look at the Detroit game last week. The second goal went in the net because Sundin decided that he was going to score a fucking goal. But no, you're right, Fuckdick, the only way to improve is to trade that. Who the FUCK wants a game changer on your team? Not this guy.

Sundin can bring that kind of price, make that kind of difference. No one else on the roster else can, especially no one with an expiring contract.

Bobby Ryan and an 18-year-old defenseman is not going to get Toronto into the top half of the league next year. If anyone is, it will be Mats Sundin. As for the second sentence, well no shit. But that doesn't mean you don't try to move them anyway. Build a fucking team instead of trying to get a quick fix. But that's no fun to write about, is it, Fuckdick?

Sundin is a perfect fit for a San Jose team that plays the down low game he has come to specialize in -- and it has no shortage of admirable prospects.

More things San Jose has no shortage of: expensive, top-flight centers. Sundin is not waiving his contractual right to stay put to go play the wing or the third line somewhere. If we want to dangle someone to San Jose, why not McCabe? They need another defenseman.

Recently, I asked two of Sundin's closest friends whether they believed Sundin would waive his no-trade clause. One said yes. One said no. Neither seemed certain they had the right answer.

So what you're saying is: he might waive his no-trade clause, or he might not. Thank you for clearing that up.

Oh, and nice name drop. Fuckdick knows some of Sundin's closest friends. He's BIG TIME~!

With Sundin, answers are always a bit of a mystery.

No! No they are not! He has been saying FOR YEARS that he does not want to play for another NHL franchise, that he wants to stay in Toronto and retire here. FOR YEARS. WHAT THE FUCK. Answers have never been a mystery with Mats Sundin. You fucking newspaper idiots write things like this because you aren't getting the answer you want out of him. That is an entirely fucking different thing. This is literally the equivalent of everyone asking Sundin what colour the sky is, and even though he keeps saying 'blue', a bunch of idiots with a journalism degree and a public forum want him to say 'red', so they write that no one can get a straight answer from him. Fuck you. Fuck you. Fuck you.

Sundin has never been made like other NHL players. He isn't Ray Bourque or Lanny McDonald nearing the finish line, thinking ring. Sundin won his gold medal, captaining Sweden, at the 2006 Winter Olympics. That was his Stanley Cup. That was the dream of his youth. His smile lit up the sky that night in Turin. That was as good as it gets.

YES. THANK YOU. European players tend to value the Olympics and World Championship higher than the Stanley Cup because it is a bigger deal there. Do you think that Sundin doesn't want to win a Stanley Cup? Of course it does, it's the one thing he hasn't done yet. But I doubt he's losing much sleep over it. He's had a hell of a career, accomplished just about everything you could ever ask for, and won the two most significant championships to him. You clearly are able to grasp this here, but you seem to want to condemn him for it. A couple of paragraphs earlier, Fuckdick rips him for being 'not terribly frustrated' that the team doesn't make the playoffs anymore. What the fuck?

First, it's clear by just watching and listening to Sundin that yes, he is frustrated by it, but he, as a mature individual who understands the nature of pro sport, realizes he can't do it by himself and that the cast that surrounds him has as much to do with making the playoffs as he does. You, as an immature joke of a sportswriter, do not. That is not a slight on Mats Sundin. That is a slight on YOU. Second, you also brought up that he's not the only one on the team like that. WHY THE FUCK AREN'T YOU CRUCIFYING THEM, THEN?

Fletcher's job is reaching crunch time. He has two weeks to accomplish two difficult goals. One is to strengthen the Leafs roster with younger players, draft picks or prospects. Two is to somehow reduce the $40-million-plus US the Leafs have tied up in salaries for next season. Reaching either place will be challenging, to say the least.

Yes. This is correct. The Maple Leafs will have a high draft choice this year, so that really helps for the first part, as would selling off a bunch of the other junk laying around. The second part is helped by selling off the other junk, because they are the ones tied to expensive, long-term deals. Sundin, an unrestricted free agent, cannot help free up cap space for next season at the moment because he does not go towards the cap. So the entire article was pretty much pointless. But hey, in the end, Fuckdick realized that the problems facing this team going into the future are not related to Mats Sundin. This is the guy that suggested Kevin Lowe would be a good choice for GM of the Leafs (because he somehow has a better track record than Ferguson for giving big contracts to not-very-good defenseman or third line forwards or players who scored a bunch of goals the year prior...), so that's saying a lot. I'm proud of Steve.

This is how Mats Sundin can help build the Leafs for the future. If he's about the Leafs -- and not necessarily about himself.

Oh.

Kiss my ass, Simmons.

FUCK YEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH

2008-02-14T22:09:00.001-05:00

My hand is literally red from high-fiving everyone in my general vicinity. I slapped someone's hand into someone else's face. I am so happy right now. Second place, fuckers!

#59 - vs. Islanders

2008-02-14T19:25:00.001-05:00

In before the puck drops? God I hope so.

A loss tonight and a Tampa win puts us in second. Here's hoping. Go Islanders.

McCabe

2008-02-14T03:10:00.001-05:00

Jared tells me that we played well tonight, despite the 1-0 loss, which is fine and dandy with me. I'll take a quality game of hockey from the team with a loss every night the rest of the way. And not just because 55 points would be a guaranteed 30th overall. Well... mostly.

1. LAK 59 GP, 24 W, 51 PTS, -27 DIFF
2. TBL 57 GP, 24 W, 54 PTS, -23 DIFF
3. TOR 58 GP, 23 W, 55 PTS, -28 DIFF
4. CHI 56 GP, 25 W, 56 PTS, -5 DIFF
5. EDM 58 GP, 26 W, 57 PTS, -17 DIFF
-------------------------------------
6. NYI 57 GP, 25 W, 57 PTS, -29 DIFF
7. FLA 59 GP, 26 W, 58 PTS, -9 DIFF
8. STL 55 GP, 25 W, 58 PTS, -17 DIFF
9. ATL 59 GP, 28 W, 60 PTS, -28 DIFF
10. CAR 59 GP, 28 W, 60 PTS, -17 DIFF
11. PHO 57 GP, 28 W, 60 PTS, -4 DIFF
12. CLB 59 GP, 26 W, 61 PTS, -12 DIFF
13. NYR 59 GP, 28 W, 63 PTS, -3 DIFF

Key Developments:

Chicago's win, combined with our loss, moved us back into third (as I mentioned it would earlier in the day). Other than that we had some jockeying for position, which is only really significant because it created more space between Toronto and some of the other teams here. We can win another game and still be in the top five. That's not a very big cushion, but with this much hockey to play, it's still a nice one.

Additions/Subtractions:

Boston (by winning) and Washington (by losing in overtime) ended their one night stays with us by moving back into playoff spots. Carolina returns by virtue of having an off-night and Washington flip-flopping with them yet again. Atlanta's win means that there is a three-way tie for first in that division right now, and the Panthers are only two points back.

The Rangers also make their first appearance here. Both Boston and Buffalo won, moving them up a spot; the Rangers were the victims of this. They also happen to be playing sub-.550 hockey, so: welcome! At least they got Lundqvist's name on a nice deal.

***

After looking at Darcy Tucker's relative value in the NHL trading world a couple of nights ago, I've been asking a couple of my friends who are fans of other teams what they'd give up in a deal for Bryan McCabe. This one is a little trickier, since we still only have the one trade (Commodore-for-Corvo) to use as a market-setter for defensemen, and that's not going to be the kind of trade that McCabe would be involved in. It would be really nice if we didn't have to try to pinpoint McCabe's perceived value to other NHL teams and he was just... you know... traded... but oh well. I imagine that I'll look at this again when another defenseman gets traded.

Anyway. I brought up three teams (Blackhawks, Islanders, and Avalanche) to these two and here are some deals that were deemed in-range for McCabe, according to them:

From Chicago: Tuomo Ruutu, Rene Bourque, and a 2nd round pick in 2008 (don't shoot either me or my friends; the one who okayed this is a Hawks fan). I don't know what to say about this other than 'hell fucking yes'. The second rounder should be in the top 40, Bourque is a decent young guy, but Ruutu is the real value pick here. His stock has fallen in Chicago, but there's a lot of talent there, and I'd like to think he could get back on track in Toronto.

From Colorado: Brad Richardson, Karlis Skrastins, and a mid-round draft pick (from the Avs fan). Skrastins basically helps clear a declining body and cap room for McCabe; with an expiring contract after next season, I said I'd have no problem taking him. Cody gave me a nice scouting report on Richardson, who I haven't seen play but always confuse with Cody McCormick. I guess he's a speedy young center with an untapped offensive game but a solid defensive one. He's stuck outside of the top six in Colorado for the foreseeable future, so he's expendable to them, and he would be the kind of player we need here. The pick is just another asset.

From New York: Chris Campoli, Jeff Tambellini, and this year's first rounder for McCabe and Kyle Wellwood (both said they'd have to think about this one long and hard from the Isles side). The pick should be somewhere in the 8-12 range, I'd think. That puts it just out of reach of the very best players in the draft, but it'll still be a good pick. Campoli is a smallish offensive defenseman (TSN's scouting report has his career potential listed as "powerplay quarterback"), Tambellini is a small, quick forward who's scoring a lot of goals at the AHL level this year. I wanted to discuss this as a trade possibility last night but didn't get around to it; I brought it up to my friends today and they said that it was close. Campoli and Tambellini would effectively replace McCabe and Wellwood, while getting younger, cheaper, and, hopefully, better in the long run. New York gets McCabe back to lead their defense, Wellwood gets a fresh start (and as a more established player at this point, the Isles would probably value him over Tambellini), and we get their pick because we're dealing with Garth Snow.

Now, none of these trades are rumoured and probably haven't been discussed outside of the confines of my crazy thought process. I think it's actually probably more likely we'll move McCabe closer to the draft than at the deadline, but these all still apply there. I think all this exercise really shows is that we can get something substantial in a McCabe deal, which is all I really wanted to show. Why dump him for crap when we can get something good, right?

#58 - in Buffalo

2008-02-13T14:36:00.001-05:00

I can't watch the game tonight because I have work, but here's the game day post nonetheless. Hopefully no one gets their throat cut this time.

Buffalo needs a win to leapfrog the Rangers into seventh place and are 7-1-2 in their last ten, so hopefully we get our asses kicked. Hopefully Chicago wins tonight, too, so that we can move up into third place.

Ponikarovsky is probably back tonight. Line combinations from Tuesday's practice, courtesy of TSN's Ice Chips:

Tlusty - Sundin - Antropov
Tucker - Stajan - Blake
Ponikarovsky - Wellwood - Steen
Earl - Moore - Devereaux

I'll be back later with tonight's Stamkos update.

Standings Update

2008-02-13T00:45:00.001-05:00

I am a fuck. It turns out that Vancouver wasn't even eligible for the standings yesterday or the day before, because their winning percentage was above .550. I also didn't change LA's point totals two nights ago for whatever reason despite having the rest of the numbers bang on.

Lots of games tonight, including some important ones, none more important than the Los Angeles-St. Louis game that should have ended in a Kings OT win if this was a just world. It wasn't, so the worst option of the possibilities, St. Louis winning clean (in regulation) happened. Oh well. Updated Stamkos Standings:

1. LAK 59 GP, 24 W, 51 PTS, -27 DIFF
2. TBL 57 GP, 24 W, 54 PTS, -23 DIFF
3. CHI 55 GP, 24 W, 54 PTS, -10 DIFF
4. TOR 57 GP, 23 W, 55 PTS, -27 DIFF
5. EDM 58 GP, 26 W, 57 PTS, -17 DIFF
----------------------------------------------
6. FLA 58 GP, 26 W, 57 PTS, -8 DIFF
7. NYI 57 GP, 25 W, 57 PTS, -29 DIFF
8. ATL 58 GP, 27 W, 58 PTS, -29 DIFF
9. STL 55 GP, 25 W, 58 PTS, -17 DIFF
10. WSH 57 GP, 27 W, 59 PTS, -12 DIFF
11. PHO 57 GP, 28 W, 60 PTS, -4 DIFF
12. CLB 58 GP, 26 W, 61 PTS, -7 DIFF
13. BOS 56 GP, 28 W, 61 PTS, -6 DIFF

The bold wasn't really showing up before, so the separator is now a line.

Key developments:

Tampa won tonight, which is not only fun because it was a third straight loss for Montreal, but also because they're left only one point in front of Toronto for second place. Of the three teams in front of the Leafs, Tampa Bay and Chicago are both only one point ahead - Tampa in the same amount of games, but with more wins and a better goal differential, and Chicago in two less games as well as more wins and a better DIFF. That's good news. LA is definitely peskier, being four points ahead and having already played two extra games.

New York, Edmonton, and St. Louis also won tonight, creating more separation between Toronto's fourth place and the less sexy fifth (or worse) places.

Additions/Subtractions:

Carolina and Washington have flip-flopped once again, making my life hell by having to add a new set of numbers almost daily. Vancouver has left us because, as noted above, I am an idiot. Buffalo also passed Boston for eighth place tonight, eliminated themselves from contention, and Boston has made their first Stamkos Standings appearance of the year. Welcome, Bruins!

I had something for the rest of this post, but I am way too damn tired right now. I'm going to go to bed, wake up, and write again tomorrow. Sorry, duty calls.

Outdoor Game in Toronto ... ?

2008-02-12T17:44:00.000-05:00

Apparently Toronto is exploring the possibility of having an outdoor game at the Dome some time in the future. Link

I would absolutely love this. Sure tickets would probably cost an arm and a leg, but there would be 30,000 + more tickets available than there would be for any given game at the ACC. Not to mention I simply love seeing the Dome turned into another type of venue. I've seen so many live baseball games there, but seeing another sport or event is just extremely exciting. Here's to hoping they get it done.

Considering the popularity of hockey in Southern Ontario, it probably shouldn't be that difficult to sell to the NHL. The only issues that are involved are the functionality of the Skydome.

Here is the full article from the Toronto Sun

What does the Cory Stillman trade mean for Toronto?

2008-02-12T01:46:00.001-05:00

Only one game in the league tonight so there wasn't going to much to update here anyway, but Phoenix lost to Dallas by a goal, so literally nothing changes except for me adjusting two numbers slightly. Convenient, but boring.

1. LAK 58 GP, 24 W, 49 PTS, -25 DIFF
2. TBL 56 GP, 23 W, 52 PTS, -24 DIFF
3. CHI 55 GP, 24 W, 54 PTS, -10 DIFF
4. TOR 57 GP, 23 W, 55 PTS, -27 DIFF
5. EDM 57 GP, 25 W, 55 PTS, -19 DIFF
6. NYI 56 GP, 24 W, 55 PTS, -30 DIFF
7. STL 54 GP, 24 W, 56 PTS, -19 DIFF
8. FLA 58 GP, 26 W, 57 PTS, -8 DIFF
9. ATL 58 GP, 27 W, 58 PTS, -29 DIFF
10. CAR 58 GP, 27 W, 58 PTS, -17 DIFF
11. PHO 57 GP, 28 W, 60 PTS, -4 DIFF
12. BUF 55 GP, 26 W, 60 PTS, +9 DIFF
13. CLB 58 GP, 26 W, 61 PTS, -7 DIFF
14. VAN 57 GP, 28 W, 63 PTS, +7 DIFF

But we value-add here at Bring Back Potvin, so you're going to get a bleary-eyed, number-filled blog. Never say I don't give you what you pay for.

Jared called me at work today and informed me that the first trade of this year's deadline season had taken place: Ottawa sending Joe Corvo and Patrick Eaves to the Hurricanes for Cory Stillman and Mike Commodore. I have taken the liberty of breaking that up into two separate trades: Commodore for Corvo (a defensive defenseman from a team that needs an offensive defenseman for an offensive defenseman from a team that needs a defensive defenseman) and Stillman for Eaves. The second one is the part that is of more interest here; ideally, the Leafs aren't going to be affected by the trade itself in terms of on-ice impact because they're going to start losing more games, and soon. Ideally.

Anyway... Cory Stillman. Nice player, albeit aging and broken down. The last time he played 45 or more games and didn't score 20+ goals was 96-97. He's working on a cheap contract ($1.75 million) and can walk in the summer as a free agent. At age 34, he's breaking down, and can barely skate at this point, but he's still piling up traditional counting stats and might finally crack the 30 goal mark this season. He has two Stanley Cups rings and will add a valuable secondary scoring presence to the Senators.

Stillman has become very important to the entire NHL today, but especially to the Leafs (maybe not especially, but for our intents and purposes it is, and that's what counts). That's because the market is always set with the first few trades of any given deadline season. If another big deal goes down tomorrow, the market is adjusted; but for now everything is based off of Cory Stillman (for forwards, anyway... although I'm not really sure how Commodore-for-Corvo sets the market for defensemen, other than you have to give quality to get quality at that position... but this is a unique situation where both teams had something the other needed that was of roughly equal value, so that swap meshed well. I can't imagine you're going to see many contending teams add extra defensive depth by giving up an equal defender). As of today, the market for a player like Cory Stillman (mid-30s, good offensive numbers, small cap hit, free agent at the end of the summer) is set at Patrick Eaves: a young forward who is two years removed from a 20 goal rookie season and was picked at the end of the vaunted 2003 draft's first round. This is a nice precedent to me, because I want to trade Darcy Tucker.

If you can think of someone who is more firmly on the 'trade Tucker' bandwagon than me, I'll be shocked. I like him but he's never been one of my favourites, and to get him, we had to trade Mike Johnson, who WAS one of my favourites. He was always a fun guy to have around, but when his contract came up last year, it was time: he, like Bryan McCabe, should have been sent out of town long before a multi-year, multi-million dollar contract was thrown his way. With a no-trade clause, no less. But here Tucker remains, and here the team circles the drain. The time to trade Darcy Tucker was last season, but that doesn't mean we can't do it this year, anyway. And I think we should start looking for a return comparable to Patrick Eaves.

At first glance, Tucker doesn't really seem to match up with Stillman, so there isn't much relevance to this comparison. They're roughly the same age (Tucker is a year and change younger), both seem like a pretty good bet to score 20 goals for you, but they don't really play the same style of hockey. Stillman is a deceptive scorer (so deceptive, in fact, that when asking around for people's thoughts on the trade and Stillman in general, I got a lot of "I have no idea how Stillman gets so many points, he's so slow and bad and never seems to be anywhere near the play"); Tucker is an agitator. Tucker is also not having a very good year, and Stillman's stats dwarf his (21G/25A/46P for Stillman, 9/8/17 for Tucker in six less games). Tucker has another three years and $9 million left on his contract, taking him to the age of 36. When today's trade first broke, I figured "well hey, maybe we'll get something better for Tucker than I was hoping", but I expected that an Eaves-type player would be a high ceiling on any type of Tucker return. I mean, he's not Cory Stillman.

Where it gets interesting is when you bring up Behind the Net stats. Looking at even-strength numbers (in a select few categories, because I know not everyone knows/uses/understands these stats, and I am only beginning to myself, so...) they're actually a lot more comparable than I thought:

TOI/60: Stillman 14.01, Tucker 11.61

GFON/60: Stillman 2.49, Tucker 2.21

GAON/60: Tucker 2.42, Stillman 2.65

Goals/60: Tucker 0.74, Stillman 0.70

First Assists/60: Tucker 0.63, Stillman 0.62

Second Assists/60: Stillman 0.70, Tucker 0.11

Some thoughts here: Stillman isn't NEARLY as productive as it looks based on his G/A/P numbers. You'd expect his GFON/GAON numbers to be higher than that, and he is actually getting less goals and first assists per 60 minutes of even-strength play than Tucker is (in 2.40 less minutes of EV ice-time, no less). Where Stillman kills Tucker is in secondary assists, which would seem to match up with my low-rent scouting reports of Stillman being a player who gets points despite being invisible.

Stillman also racks up a lot more points on the powerplay than Tucker. Stillman gets more ice time on the PP, and Tucker has been a PP bust this year, despite being pretty dependable in the past. Obviously, they're not the exact same player, but at least in terms of EV play, it's not really as far as you'd think. Plus, Tucker brings the bump-and-grind style that playoff teams (especially after the Ducks last year) covet, and he's under contract for another three seasons. If you're going to give up a recent first rounder for a player, wouldn't it be nice if you could actually keep him around for more than 20 games plus playoffs?

So maybe Stillman is a decent comp for Tucker, and maybe we can get a nice return on him yet. You'd have to think Tucker would fit on teams like Detroit, Dallas, and Vancouver, teams that need more offensive depth and are hoping for lengthy playoff runs AND have spare cap room for next year. I'm not sure, I haven't really looked into it. But our players aren't as worthless as we might think.

Here With My Two Cents ...

2008-02-11T01:50:00.000-05:00

Sorry to be pushing the Standings down the page already, but I really couldn't help give a "rebuttle" to what Dave had said in the the previous post.

Cheering for losses is fucking difficult.

Common sense (brain) says this is what we need, this will help us in the future. It "should" give us stability for years to come. Even if we don't finish 1st and get the best shot at Stamkos, we should still be losing so that we can get a top pick; something we've been desperately lacking for years now.

Emotion (heart) says the complete opposite. The Heart wants the Leafs to win. The Heart is secretly hiding deep down, waiting to jump out and cheer the Leafs on to another 9th place finish. I'll be damned if it isn't doing it again this year.

How Dave was feeling during that Detroit game ... exactly how I felt too. Before the game I tell everyone how we need to lose, and that because we are playing a top flight team we WILL lose. Moments later the game starts and I find myself rooting for the Leafs to win ... and I feel dirty.

I know what's best for the franchise (and so do you) but does that stop us from cheering these god-forsaken pieces of shit on to victory? Of course it doesn't. Why? Because we're fans ... and true fans never give up, regardless of how dire the situation is. Out front we may suggest that we want the Leafs to lose, but deep down we want them to win, we want them to make the playoffs.

It's like watching TV, finding nothing, and finally settling on a movie that you've seen hundreds of times. For some reason you watch it anyway. You still get excited, you still yell for your favourite character to escape the situation ... even though all along you know what will happen. All that yelling and excitement didn't change anything did it?

Nope the character made an honourable effort, but still fell short of 8th in the East by a single point. You sit there feeling cheated, wondering whether that mad dash to the finish was worth it. You look back on the wins that slipped away, if only something would have changed along the way to gain that final point.

Now you look forward to next year, disheartened, lonely, and upset. Upset that management cheated you yet again. They didn't trade away Sundin. They didn't dump terrible contracts to someone willing to accept them. No, they, like you, saw the light in those meager wins in February, and decided that - just maybe - this team could do it. Just maybe they could make the playoffs, you know, where anything could happen.

But they never do. And year after year you're sitting right where you are now. "Cheering" for loses because that will signal a change, a rebuild. But secretly we all want wins, and the excitement of that race for 8th.

We are Leafs fans. Disappointment is what we are made of. Why would we settle for anything less?

Stamkos Standings, Feb. 11

2008-02-11T01:43:00.001-05:00

1. LAK 58 GP, 24 W, 49 PTS, -25 DIFF
2. TBL 56 GP, 23 W, 52 PTS, -24 DIFF
3. CHI 55 GP, 24 W, 54 PTS, -10 DIFF
4. TOR 57 GP, 23 W, 55 PTS, -27 DIFF
5. EDM 57 GP, 25 W, 55 PTS, -19 DIFF
6. NYI 56 GP, 24 W, 55 PTS, -30 DIFF
7. STL 54 GP, 24 W, 56 PTS, -19 DIFF
8. FLA 58 GP, 26 W, 57 PTS, -8 DIFF
9. ATL 58 GP, 27 W, 58 PTS, -29 DIFF
10. CAR 58 GP, 27 W, 58 PTS, -17 DIFF
11. PHO 56 GP, 28 W, 60 PTS, -3 DIFF
12. BUF 55 GP, 26 W, 60 PTS, +9 DIFF
13. CLB 58 GP, 26 W, 61 PTS, -7 DIFF
14. VAN 57 GP, 28 W, 63 PTS, +7 DIFF

New, fun twist: the teams who have a shot at the number one pick are now in BOLD~!

Additions/Subtractions:

The only addition tonight is Carolina, because Washington won to take over the division lead again. Those silly SouthLeasterners. That would also subtract Washington from the list, logically.

Steve wondered why I hadn't included Vancouver originally: they were playing above .550. Now they are below again. Out of the playoffs + sub-.550 = on the list.

I realized a significant flaw in the "for the love of all that is holy, lose every damn game" plan while watching Toronto play Detroit on Saturday. I don't actually WANT to see Detroit beat Toronto. I want the end result of a Toronto loss, a Tucker trade, a Maurice firing, a Stamkos pick, but when I actually try to watch it happen... something inside of me clicks off the logical part of the brain. I cheered for the overtime winner, before saying "FUCK" real loud.

I bring this up because I know I'm not the only one who thinks these things. I'm not the only one who looks at the standings and thinks "well... at least if they start their run now, they might actually make the playoffs...", dejectedly as it may be. And don't get me wrong - I don't want them to go on that run. The only run I want is a run of high profile losses that will bring change. But then, I was bitching to people about how McCabe needed to be traded and the team needed to tank in 2006 before getting sucked up in the rush for the playoffs at the end. I pulled the same thing in 2007, demanding a Tucker trade, a new GM, a way for McCabe to get off the team, and a top draft pick. I didn't get any of those. What I got was a run at the playoffs that had me on the edge of my seat every game.

We missed by one point. Again.

So once again, the logical thing to do is throw a bundle of money in a barn somewhere, lure the deadweight (be it skill-wise or contract-wise) into said barn, and set the thing on fire. That's the logical thing. But as we all know, this is the Toronto Maple Leafs we're dealing with, not a logical organization. As Jason commented yesterday, it will take a few more wins before the higher-ups realize that there is still a chance to make the playoffs, however disastrous that would be for the franchise, and push Fletcher to trade for a Marian Hossa instead of trade away a Mats Sundin. Someone is going to look at this team, see that right now they are six points out of a share for eighth with 25 games left, and decide that things should be dealt with one game at a time.

All year I've been saying to anyone that will listen that this team sucks ass but will find a way to end up ninth or tenth. It looks like that might very well happen.

The morale of this story, in two forms:

1) It is very important that Fletcher dumps someone THIS week. Preferably before the next game. I know it won't happen, but make the statement that you are going forward for the future. I could live with making a run at the playoffs if we still dump who needs to be dumped and don't sacrifice the few kids we have. But really, John Ferguson didn't get fired so that the Leafs could make the playoffs in 2008. So let's get something done sooner than later before the tone around here changes, shall we?

2) The tone will almost definitely change soon. I can't help myself. They're going to make a run this month. I pray to God they don't. I pray that they keep up this "kill good teams but fold against bad teams" gimmick they've been working, given that we draw Ottawa once more and no one else in a top seven seed at the moment all month, and we end up with an abysmal record and four or more trades come the deadline. But fuck, honestly: three wins in their last four, all above three of the best teams in the league, 5-4-1 in the last ten, and two of their better players just game back. The momentum is swinging. This is going to be a bad month for the long-term future of this organization. I hope I will be wrong, but I doubt it.

So I'm just giving everyone a warning that if I start openly rooting for the Leafs to make the playoffs... don't be surprised.

(P.S. at least we didn't lose much ground in the Stamkos slide this weekend)

(P.P.S. fuck Chicago for not being able to close the deal, seal up that second point, and let us have third place back)

Stamkos Standings

2008-02-09T22:38:00.000-05:00

What are the Leafs doing? Winners of their last 2, and 3 of 4 ... this is not helping out in the Standings, especially when teams ahead of us are losing. Stupid Leafs beating stupid Detroit ... hopefully Sundin accidentally got on the Wings team bus at the end of the game and is on his way back to Detroit right now (of course we'll want something in return once we realize he's gone). That'll slow the winning streak down.

Anyway here are the updated Standings to include all of Saturday's action.

1. LAK 57 GP, 23 W, 49 PTS, -26 DIFF
2. TBL 56 GP, 23 W, 52 PTS, -24 DIFF
3. CHI 54 GP, 24 W, 53 PTS, -9 DIFF
4. TOR 57 GP, 23 W, 55 PTS, -27 DIFF
5. EDM 57 GP, 25 W, 55 PTS, -19 DIFF
6. NYI 56 GP, 24 W, 55 PTS, -30 DIFF
7. STL 53 GP, 24 W, 55 PTS, -17 DIFF
8. FLA 57 GP, 26 W, 57 PTS, -6 DIFF
9. WAS 56 GP, 26 W, 57 PTS, -13 DIFF
10. ATL 58 GP, 27 W, 58 PTS, -29 DIFF
11. BUF 54 GP, 25 W, 58 PTS, +7 DIFF
12. CLB 57 GP, 26 W, 60 PTS, -6 DIFF
13. PHO 55 GP, 28 W, 60 PTS, 0 DIFF
14. VAN 56 GP, 27 W, 61 PTS, +6 DIFF

The 3-2 OT win this afternoon certainly did not help the Leafs chances very much. We now find ourselves in the middle of a very crowded 55 point pack. With another win, we could find ourselves vaulting all the way down to 9th (I'm not sure you can "vault" down, but whatever). Not to mention, the current leaders (the Kings) lost to the Penguins 4-2, and the Lightning got a pity point (for losing in OT to ATL). Chicago, the other team ahead of us, was inactive today.

This is not what the Leafs need to be doing right now ... no, no, no!

Stamkos Standings

2008-02-09T00:57:00.000-05:00

Oh dear Dave, won't you just be shocked to come home and find out that your brainchild has been updated even without you? Why am I doing this you ask? Well it's quite simple actually; 1) Dave has been coming up with a lot of good ideas lately (the Game Day previews, now this) and we struggle to commit to them. 2) With real commitment, and consistant posts, I think we could pull off quite an excellent blog. 3) I'm pretty bored and I've had enough of my history for the evening.

So enough of my ramblings, here's what you really want ...

1. LAK 56 GP, 23 W, 49 PTS, -24 DIFF
2. TBL 55 GP, 23 W, 51 PTS, -23 DIFF
3. TOR 56 GP, 22 W, 53 PTS, -28 DIFF
4. CHI 54 GP, 24 W, 53 PTS, -9 DIFF
5. NYI 55 GP, 24 W, 54 PTS, -29 DIFF
6. EDM 56 GP, 25 W, 55 PTS, -16 DIFF
7. FLA 56 GP, 25 W, 55 PTS, -9 DIFF
8. STL 52 GP, 24 W, 55 PTS, -14 DIFF
9. ATL 57 GP, 26 W, 56 PTS, -30 DIFF
10. WAS 56 GP, 26 W, 57 PTS, -13 DIFF
11. BUF 54 GP, 25 W, 58 PTS, +7 DIFF
12. CLB 57 GP, 26 W, 60 PTS, -6 DIFF
13. PHO 55 GP, 28 W, 60 PTS, 0 DIFF
14. VAN 55 GP, 27 W, 61 PTS, +10 DIFF

These standings have been updated to include Friday Nights action which worked out fairly well. CLB lost in OT, BOS beat BUF in a shootout, and CAR leap frogged WAS. The only other game was Ducks win over the Devils but doesn't have any bearing on our standings.

New Additions

Canucks - Not sure why Dave didn't include them in the first place (seeing as though Phoenix made the cut), but there they are at the bottom of our standings. I chose to include them because it puts all 14 teams who are currently out of the playoffs on the board.

Capitals - Having lost the Atlantic Division lead by losing to Carolina on Friday the Capitals make their first apperance on our board. They're only out a point though so don't be surprised to see them jumping in and out over the next little while.

Subtractions

Hurricanes - With their win they moved out of 10th and off our board.

24 of the 30 teams are in action tomorrow, so it should be a busy day in the Stamkos Standings, we'll let you know how things shape up (hopefully).

#57 - vs Detroit (3:00pm start time)

2008-02-09T00:51:00.000-05:00

I have to be honest, I really don't know what I'm doing. But Dave asked me to do this because he won't be around a computer this weekend. I'll do my best.

The Wings have been unstoppable this season (minus Thursday's loss to the Kings). I mean year in and year out they are always one of the better teams in the league, but did everyone else just get really shitty, or did Detroit get even better? They are 15 points clear of ANYONE else in the ENTIRE NHL. They're 24 up on Nashville for their division. They could pack it in now, and still win the conference. Hopefully for us Leafs fans they don't give up (I'm on the "cheering for loses because loses are good" side of the fence too).

The Leafs are coming off a very spirited win against the Canadiens Thursday. It was a pretty physical game that turned out to be quite entertaining (I actually watched the whole game). Unfortunately the Leafs were on the winning end of a 4-2 score. I thought the Earl - Sundin - Tlusty line looked fantastic. If I could come up with just one reason to keep Sundin it would be so he could center a line with these two youngsters for the rest of the season. Sundin has got to have a positive impact on their development, no?

The NHL has screwed with the time though (assumingly to accomodate the battle atop the Northeast), so if you're planning to watch the game, notice the 3:00pm start time.

(PS. If Dave is going to overlabel, I will try to underlabel).

I'm back...

2008-02-08T14:59:00.000-05:00

Alright,

So I'm going to start making posts on here again. I will start by posting one of my favourite hockey images...

The Slide for Stamkos

2008-02-08T14:57:00.001-05:00

Just so we're all clear, the goal from here on out is for Toronto to end up in the bottom five of the NHL, with the lower we finish, the better. The idea is to beat the draft lottery, land the number one pick, and draft Steven Stamkos. What we're going to do here every day from now on (or pretty much every day, hopefully) is update these 'reverse standings'. These will be standings that, instead of sorting from most points on down (with the first team on the list being the best in the league/conference/division), it will have fewest points at the top of the list. That's because you WANT to finish last. Because this is the first post in this (again, hopefully) daily series, I'll lay down the ground rules and some other important information.

1) How does the lottery work?

The lottery contains all of our hopes and dreams. Designed to prevent teams from tanking (losing intentionally) a season in order to grab the top pick, the lottery takes the fourteen teams that miss the playoffs and give them weighted odds to win. If you win the lottery, you can move up a maximum of four places. This is important because it means that only the teams ranked 26-30 in the league (or, in our Stamkos standings, 1-5) actually have a chance at getting the top pick. Finishing last gives you the best chance of getting the number one selection in the entry draft. Here are the actual odds:

30th: 25.0%
29th: 18.8%
28th: 14.2%
27th: 10.7%
26th: 8.1%
25th: 6.2%
24th: 4.7%
23rd: 3.6%
22nd: 2.7%
21st: 2.1%
20th: 1.5%
19th: 1.1%
18th: 0.8%
17th: 0.5%

But, as I mentioned, only the 26th-30th teams can actually get the top pick. If 17th-25th win the lottery, they'll move up four spots, but the 30th team will still get the number one pick. The most recent example I can think of this, off-hand, was in 1999, when the Chicago Blackhawks, the 23rd finishing team, won and moved from 8th to 4th with their draft pick. Last-place Tampa Bay kept the first pick. This ended up meaning pretty much nothing, since Vancouver grabbed Chicago's pick, Tampa traded down to fourth and then traded that pick to the Rangers, and Atlanta ended up picking Patrik Stefan first overall. Therein lies a good example of risk: just because you do pick first doesn't guarantee you a real difference making player. Of those bottom four picks, Stefan went first, Vancouver took the Sedins second and third, and then the Rangers took Pavel Brendl fourth. The Sedins have turned out nicely, but the other two pretty much sum up the '99 draft: it sucked.

That was a pretty odd tangent to go off on, and I can't think of a way to segue from that into re-listing the odds for who actually ends up with the top pick, so let's just post them anyway:

30th: 48.2%
29th: 18.8%
28th: 14.2%
27th: 10.7%
26th: 8.1%

This shows that while it's important to finish in the bottom five to get yourself a shot at the top pick, it's way more important to finish in dead last to give yourself the BEST shot at getting that pick. Have teams finished 26th, won the lottery, and picked first? Yes they have. Chicago actually pulled this off last year, moving from 5th to 1st and taking Patrick Kane. The Islanders did this in 2000 as well, ending up with the top pick, which they turned into Rick DiPietro. Still, the odds aren't in your favour. That's why every loss counts.

2) Reverse standings? Stamkos standings? What the hell are you going on about?

This is really simple. All we're doing is taking the overall NHL standings and flipping them upside down. We're simplifying them to only show pertinent information. Example: TSN's standings show home record, away record, conference record, last ten game record, present winning/losing streak, regulation losses, overtime/shootout losses, and goals for and against. With the Stamkos standings, only Goals For and Goals Against from that list are kept, although it's combined into one number, goal differential. It's the same concept as a regular set of standings, except that we're rewarding whoever is the worst team (the reward is the best chance to get Stamkos, hence the name of the standings... I really feel like I'm repeating myself here).

3) So, are you listening the entire NHL here every day?

No, definitely not. Are you kidding? Look at how often we post here. That's waaaaay too much work for us. No, there are certain qualifications to get on this list. It isn't a fixed number of teams or anything, and you can be on it one day and off the next, or vice versa. Here is how you qualify:

a) Do not presently occupy a playoff spot (this mostly goes for the Southeast leader, presently Washington, who are like six points ahead of Tampa Bay for last in the East). If you are in the top 8 in your conference, you don't make the list. I'd say sorry, but you're in the playoff hunt, and I'm a Leafs fan, so fuck you.

b) Have a winning percentage of less than .550. Why .550? Well, we're all familiar with the .500 standard, right? With all of the loser points being thrown around post-lockout, 95 point teams (Colorado last year) not making the playoffs, and Toronto actually only being three games below .500 this year despite the fact that they are awful and should be shot into the sun, .500 isn't a good standard anymore. .550 is the new one. Why .550? It's a pretty good separator between 8th and 9th place at face value, and if you do the math, the NHL is actually playing .5505 hockey this year. I guess we could round that to .551, but not only does it leave for uglier math, but it doesn't stroke my ego in the way that eye-balling .550 does.

4) Does Toronto beating Montreal last night royally fuck us then?

Thankfully no, because Edmonton won the night before, and (somehow) Los Angeles, Tampa Bay, and Chicago all won last night as well. We didn't fall back at all. Plus, Montreal didn't win, which is always good news. That's not to say it's not ALL good news: with another Islanders loss, they're suddenly only one point behind us, a Blues loss puts them closer to Stamkos and farther from the playoffs, and Steve at Hockey Analysis outlines just how badly this month could go for us. But that's ok, because we still have hope. And hope is a good thing.

5) Tiebreakers?

Points is the first tiebreaker, obviously. The less points you have, the higher you are. Beyond points, we're going to rank by games played (because if you have games in hand, it's more likely you'll get points and move ahead), wins (since that's the official first tiebreaker in the NHL at season's end anyway, and if you aren't winning a lot of games, that's good for your Stamkos hopes), and goal differential (again, if you're getting badly outscored, it's more likely you'll lose more games).

I think that about covers it, so let's take a look at the Stamkos standings themselves, posted in what I really hope will end up as a nice little table. It probably won't be. GP = games play, W = wins, PTS = points, DIFF = goal differential.

1. LAK     56 GP, 23 W, 49 PTS, -24 DIFF
2. TBL     55 GP, 23 W, 51 PTS, -23 DIFF
3. TOR    56 GP, 22 W, 53 PTS, -28 DIFF
4. CHI     54 GP, 24 W, 53 PTS, -9 DIFF
5. NYI     55 GP, 24 W, 54 PTS, -29 DIFF
6. EDM    56 GP, 25 W, 55 PTS, -16 DIFF
7. FLA     56 GP, 25 W, 55 PTS, -9 DIFF
8. STL     52 GP, 24 W, 55 PTS, -14 DIFF
9. ATL     57 GP, 26 W, 56 PTS, -30 DIFF
10. CAR   56 GP, 26 W, 56 PTS, -13 DIFF
11. BUF    53 GP, 25 W, 57 PTS, +8 DIFF
12. CLB    56 GP, 26 W, 59 PTS, -5 DIFF
13. PHO   55 GP, 28 W, 60 PTS, 0 DIFF

And there you have it. I'm out for the weekend, so I guess the next possible update for this will be Monday. Christ, day one and we're already not doing it every day. We suck.

#56 - at Montreal

2008-02-07T19:16:00.001-05:00

Yeah, so I did decide to do game day topics from now on. Neat, huh?

Tonight we are in Montreal to battle the hated Canadiens. But, of course, we want Montreal to win. Why? Two reasons:

1) If Montreal wins AND Ottawa loses, Montreal will pass Ottawa for first in the division and conference. Which is awesome, because while we should all hate Montreal, fuck Ottawa.

2) If we lose, combined with Edmonton's win yesterday, we keep pace in the race for the number one pick, namely: Steven Stamkos. I say keep pace because the two teams that are beneath us in the standings are Los Angeles, who plays Detroit tonight, and Tampa Bay, who play Nashville. A loss is always helpful these days, but especially tonight, when there is no chance Detroit takes a loss, and Nashville will probably win, too.

Toskala gets the start (why? Is Maurice not with the program? Does he not read the blogosphere? No? Oh...) and McCabe might be back, replacing Wozniewski in the lineup. This somehow doesn't scream loss to me. Oh well, here's hoping.

The Brett McLean Five-Point Special

2008-02-06T19:03:00.001-05:00

You know, I considered watching the game last night. I've been itching for some hockey lately, I've liked watching the Panthers since the Pavel Bure trade, Toronto was coming off of a big win in a season where there haven't been many. Was I naive enough to think that doubling up Ottawa was going to kick the Maple Leafs into a playoff push? Of course not, but I thought that maybe they'd be up for playing a good hockey game.

I was wrong.

Thankfully, much like the night before when I had the option of watching The Baby-Sitters Club on television but decided to stay in bed, I passed. Judging by the 8-0 score, the hat-trick (and assist) from Richard Zednik and a five point night from Brett "What the FUCK?!" McLean, and Andrew Raycroft's magnificent 4 GA/7 SV/31 MIN stat-line... I'm not going to lose any sleep over it.

There's not many positive things you can say about this team these days. Actually, I've narrowed it down to two:

1) Andy Wozniewski was waived today. Yeah, you can look at this as a "Bryan McCabe is finally back" moment, or you can look at it as "Wozniewski is finally off the damn team". I'm going with the second one. It's cloudy outside, but I could have sworn I could see sun when I read about this.

2) The real big wins for this team are the big losses. In which case, HELL FUCKING YEAH WHAT A GAME

Really, since Tampa and LA won (not to mention Edmonton the night before), and since we were somehow closing in on the Panthers, this just helps solidify a top pick in the draft. While I haven't lost my faith that this team to completely fuck this up and end up in 9th place yet again, every loss brings us closer to that not happening.

***

Steve and I have discussed what we think Fletcher needs to do in the next 20 days to right this ship, or at least cover the sinkholes and give the next guy buckets to bail the water out. Steve is very much a "trade Sundin" guy, believing the first priority should be to dump Mats to the highest bidder. I don't think this is necessarily an anti-Sundin sentiment. I know that Steve thinks the key is to get rid of Sundin so that those who are left behind are so demoralized that they only play worse, securing a higher draft pick. I suppose there's merit to that idea, except that I really don't think this team can get much worse. This is probably easy to write after last night's game, but they already play like shit with Sundin in the lineup. This just isn't a good team.

Me? Well, my stance was defined a couple of posts ago. That said, I'm more open to a Sundin deal now, and have singled out a couple of teams I wouldn't mind doing business with. The problem there is that I've been watching Mats toil for the blue and white for as long as I've been a hockey fan, and while I've never really considered myself a huge Mats guy (I've always liked him and thought he was one of the best players in the league, but it's not like I'm naming my hockey blog after him or anything), the thought of him in a different lineup makes me rather sad. So, I tend to want a lot for him, the kind of return that probably will have people laugh and think of me as a traditional message board Leafs fan who ridiculously overvalues Toronto players. Whatever. Here's what I've looked at around the league and decided I would be content with as a return on Sundin:

From Anaheim: Bobby Ryan and the Oilers' first pick (basically two top five picks in return for giving Mats his best shot at a Cup and probably a mortal lock that he'd come back in July).

From Carolina: Tim Gleason and two of Andrew Ladd, Brandon Sutter, and Carolina's first pick this year (probably a lot and this depends on the Hurricanes sticking around the playoff hunt and Rutherford not really thinking things through, but I like Gleason and think he'd be a good fit with the direction the blueline should be headed, plus you get a player, prospect, and a pick in the teens, or at least some combination of those three).

From Calgary: Alex Tanguay (yeah, I'd do this straight-up... doing this trade helps Calgary because it clears money off the books for next season, allowing them to try to keep Huselius/Langkow since you know Sundin wouldn't stay, it gives Sundin a decent shot at winning the Cup, and the public sentiment seems to have turned against Tanguay in Calgary. Here, it gives us a great, top-flight forward locked up - yeah, he's another big ticket guy, but Tanguay is the type you WANT to be dropping 5.75 million on. Plus, you get Sundin back next year, and you have two-thirds of a great top line already).

Of course, none of these are realistic and it's probably more likely we'll get an abortion of a return like the one suggested by Pierre LeBrun last week (Sundin and a one year extension to Detroit for Hudler, an '08 first, and an '09 second... the picks are worthless because Detroit always finishes so high, and I don't think Hudler is ever going to be anything special) and that I will be angry.

Anyway, I still don't think you need to trade Sundin, and I've started to sway myself on not dumping Pavel Kubina for whatever you can find. When Steve and I were discussing this, he asked me that if I can put together such a good argument for how he's valuable, then why not just keep him? And I really didn't have a good answer to that. I'd still move him if you can get something back, because he does have a large contract, but it's only for another two seasons and I'm no longer opposed to keeping him. A similar thing is happening with me and Jason Blake. His contract is horrible, but a 20 goal, 50 point guy has some value to a team, and that's assuming he doesn't rebound slightly. Past that, what are the options? Again, if you can find someone to take him, do it, but why buy him out and eat a 2 million cap hit for the next EIGHT years? $4 million sadly isn't bad for a top six guy and Blake is one of those. He just needs to be better for next year. But I mean, it could be worse... he could be Dustin Penner.

McCabe, Tucker, and Raycroft NEED to be off this team by next season. I think Gill will get moved at the deadline, and Bell will probably get bought out. I think Tucker would work well in Edmonton's lineup, but a) why would they try to add a veteran at the deadline? and b) why would Tucker waive his no-trade clause to go to another rebuilding team? Maybe it's just my unbridled desire to get Rob Schremp that's giving me these thoughts.

I think we might start doing regular game-day topics around here like you see on a real hockey blog. Who knows?

Oh and Steve, no, I am not going to stop ridiculously over-labelling my posts.

The Long Awaited, Long Overdue, Long Deserved, Celebratory, Ritualistic Dance - Post

2008-01-22T23:10:00.000-05:00

If by some horrible force of nature you are completely ignorant (or possibly retarded) then the title of this post does not make sense to you. Even those that aren't completely ignorant/retarded probably need an explanation as well though, so don't feel all that out of place dear readers (haha).

This is the long overdue post to celebrate the firing of Mr. John Ferguson Junior. I have been calling for this man's head since Day Two (day one I was still trying to decide what I thought of the guy). I never liked him, and that is no lie. I was willing to give the poor guy a chance though. Unfortunately he turned out to be even worse than I could have ever imagined. He dealt out bonehead after bonehead contract to mediocre players, and crippled a once proud - I can't even type this without laughing - franchise, and then beat it when it was down.

Now to Ferguson's credit, he was never really given a fighting chance. Toronto is the hockey mecca of the world (or at least we in this mecca like to think). It's bad enough that a player's, a coach' s, and management's every move is scrutinized (all the way from the latest performance, to which side of the bed they woke up on this morning). But Ferguson also had to constantly deal with his power and authority being undermined. As Dave mentioned below, Richard Peddie, an excellent business man, somehow feels the need to intervene in an area he seems to have little to now knowledge in (that being the sporting operations side of the organization, whether it be formerly with the Raptors, or currently with the Leafs). Peddie certainly did not make the situation any easier or manageable for Fergie. I won't sound off on Peddie any further because Dave has captured my sentiments perfectly, so if you really want to know what I think, read his long ass post below.

Now I acknowledge I hate Ferguson, and I think he was terrible for this franchise, I'm going to take the high road today. I'm sure many individuals have chosen to further bash the man today, scrutinizing everything he has done leading up to this fateful day, but not I. I am here to mention some of the things - albeit few - that JFJ did right in his time in Toronto.

1) Locking up Tomas Kaberle at $4.25 million per season for 5 years (contract ending in 2010/11).
- Kaberle has been arguably our best player over the past few season (yes, yes I'm aware Mats Sundin is STILL a Leaf). Compared to some of the contracts dished out to defenceman over the past few season - primarily our own players - Kaberle looks to be a solid investment at a reasonable price for years to come.

2) Aquiring San Jose's Cheaper Goalie (Vesa Toskala).
- Sure we had to (I assume) take Mark Bell in the deal as well, but we needed an upgrade in net. I liked Raycroft last season (06/07), contrary to most. He set a Leafs record for wins in a season, and in my opinion that was pretty astounding. The problem with Raycroft is that he didn't make the easy saves when he needed to. It seemed he would let in a lot of soft goals which undoubtedly cost us a playoff (when looking at the entire season). Toskala served this purpose. We have him for two seasons at 1.375 million (less than what Razor is making) and then we have him for another two seasons after that at 4 million, which could be getting steep by the end of the contract (09/10) ... but for now, we'll give JFJ the benefit of the doubt and say this was a good move.

3) Trading Tuukka Rask
- Now this is going to be a controversial one but I'm going to try and justify this. Here goes. I'll start by saying the trade was initially good because Razor played a ton of games for us in his first season as a Leaf (I'm too lazy to look up the final total) and that was exactly what we needed after putting up with Belfour and his back for a few seasons. With a better defence and greater confidence this former rookie of the year could have excelled here.

But more importantly than that we freed up room for Justin Pogge. I don't know, and only time will tell which goalie is better (Rask or Pogge), but one of them had to be moved. JFJ decided that Rask was the one to be moved. In the long run it may backfire, but for now I'll say it was good because it gave them a full time job and time to develop - even if it meant one wasn't going to be a Leaf. Also it filled a need for a starting goalie ... unless you wanted to bring back "EDDIE" "EDDIE" "EDDIE".

4) Signing Hal Gill
- I don't really like the guy, but he's played pretty solid in his year and a half in the blue and white, and at just over 2 mil a season he doesn't have the albotross of a contract that McCabe and Kubina both have, making him a very valuable piece of this franchise. It's a good signing because it worked out, and gives us a fairly moveable defenceman that we may be able to get an overpaid return on ... I can hope.

5) Keeping Chad Kilger
- Every team should have a Chad Kilger. I think he's a hard worker, that appears to be a good locker room guy. At 1.2 mil this season, and 800,000 and 700,000 the next two seasons, he should be kept around.

6) Signing Boyd Deveraux
- Another guy like Kilger, and that seems to be the Leafs problem ... all our players are in this mold, except some are being paid way too much money. Assuming we had some talented players on the top 3 lines, I'd have no problem putting out a 4th line where 2 of the 3 guys were Deveraux and Kilger.

So JFJ, I have chirped you all these years, and now finally I am giving you some credit. I suppose it's a little too late now that you are at the ACC cleaning out your desk, but find solace in the fact that there is one individual offering you praise for your time here in Toronto.

But please, excuse me, I'm off to do my ritualistic celebration of your firing dance around a fire I current have lit on my living room floor. The face paints are all laid out nicely, and I will soon be dancing to "Apache jump on it, jump on it, jump on it".

Here's to hoping Cliff Fletcher can save this miserable franchise (at least in terms of on ice performance, everyone knows they're still a cash cow) ...

So much for that

2008-01-22T12:21:00.001-05:00

See what I mean by things changing momentarily?

I guess this means we can retire the 'Fire JFJ' tag.

Dave being Dave

2008-01-22T03:35:00.001-05:00

Come on, we should all know by now that whenever I say 'I'll finish this later', I don't mean 'later in the day', I mean 'next week', or (more likely) 'not at all'.

Last time, I looked at the problem this team has in a very general sense. You know, the players aren't good enough to win more than they lose regularly in the National Hockey League, the front office is filled with people who probably shouldn't have the jobs they do, and the people who run the team from the board room are a meddling group of incompetents on a good day. Everyone knows the problems with the Toronto Maple Leafs. If you couldn't figure it out just from watching the past few years, you've surely figured it out by the non-stop media bombardment over the past month or so. The Leafs are a mess, people, we all know it, let's go a little deeper today, shall we? I want to look at what this franchise needs to do to get back on track - from a hockey perspective, obviously, as everyone with money invested in the organization is sitting pretty.

The first step, I think, is pretty obvious. Richard Peddie needs to be removed from the hockey operations side of the company. He's done a wonderful job of making money for MLSE. That's great. I'm happy for him and them, I truly am. More power to Peddie for doing... well, whatever it is that he does that makes them so much money. Good for Richard Peddie.

But that doesn't qualify him to be making decisions about the day-to-day hockey operations. It doesn't qualify him to be anywhere NEAR that department. And yet, there he sits, president of the Toronto Maple Leafs. So the first thing that needs to be done is move him out of the job.

(I'm not going to suggest that Peddie be outright fired - are you kidding? From 1998 to 2003, when Steve Stavro sold off and Peddie got involved in the hockey operations, he did nothing but make fistfuls of money for MLSE. He's not making them lose anything now. He won't get fired, and doesn't deserve to. But they should move him back to his old job so he can make them money while not hampering the hockey team.)

Many people, apparently including myself, looked at the chain of events that happened with the Raptors as a good model to take. Peddie hired someone as GM of the Raptors, it didn't work out, so he snaked a proven, young executive to be the new GM. Most importantly, he gave Bryan Colangelo the unilateral power to reshape the team however he saw fit. Colangelo was hired in February of 2006. The Toronto Raptors made the playoffs in 2007. This is the model the Maple Leafs need to adopt.

But if Peddie does not step aside, back to the money-making shadows of the board room, and give control of the actual hockey team to the new people in charge of building it, nothing is going to change, and nothing will matter. As long as Peddie remains president of the hockey team, the team will spin its tires. Period.

Anyway.

Next step is removing John Ferguson, Jr., from the position of general manager. Now, I like Ferguson. I like that we hired a young guy (he was 36 when hired, and is still only 40), and I feel really bad for the situation he was thrown into. Let's be honest with ourselves - Ferguson was never going to succeed regardless of how good he was at the job. And, again, being honest with ourselves - he didn't do a very good job. Is he capable of doing better? I'd think he'd have to be. Does he deserve a shot somewhere else? Maybe. Does he need to go now? Absolutely.

Again, this is someone I don't know if I'd fire outright. It's not like he made the Owen Nolan trade or anything. All kidding aside, can't we give him a scouting job or something? He's a young guy who was handcuffed by the situation he was given. He's worked as a professional scout before, re-assign him to that department. Just keep him away from contracts.

At this point, we've removed the president (Peddie) and the GM (Ferguson Jr.), which brings us to the next guy on the blame train: Paul Maurice.

I personally believe Maurice is the right man for this job. I enjoy his personality, I believe in his style, and I think the blame should fall to the inferior player personnel, not the coach.

That said, I give him one more year. Ideally, the roster is so dramatically reshaped next year that you're able to get a real sense of what he can do with this team. If the results aren't strongly positive, go back to the well. I'm not saying "get us to the playoffs next season or you're gone", but he has to prove that he can steer this ship back to respectability. I keep him on, but with the understanding that he's out of a job if things don't change.

More or less, that takes care of the office jobs that are already filled. I'm still on a very light hockey diet these days - I read a ton, but I don't watch all that much or follow the inner workings of the organization closely, so I'm not the guy to tell you that, say, the head European scout isn't doing his job. Now we need to look towards filling them.

One of the fun parts about this entire mess (assuming you're neither Maurice nor Ferguson, that is...) is that things are changing more or less by the hour. I was fully PLANNING to this post last week the day after I wrote the last one, but then it took a big part of the day to get caught up on what I missed while I was sleeping, and then by the time I was caught up, I had a host of new things to read. And by the point that the day's news had finally slowed, we were all expecting Cliff Fletcher to come back and blow the team up. The tone of my post would have changed, since I was planning on saying something like "I have absolutely no fucking idea who we hire right here and now", so I decided to wait things out. And I waited, and waited, and we still don't have Fletcher making his triumphant, Rock-esque return speech, and here we are a week later. But I digress.

The point of that was to segue to my suggestion for the GM spot: hire Cliff Fletcher. I know, ground-breaking and all, given that the entire mainstream media and blogosphere has been buzzing about this for a week. But still, I'm sticking with it.

I like the idea, a lot. The only condition is that it has to be understood that it's an interim position. We all love Fletcher, but he hasn't executed a successful, long-term plan on a hockey team since he worked for the Calgary Flames. And he left them in 1991.

However, we're looking for a short-term thing at the moment. Specifically, I want Fletcher to come in, cut the fat, stock the cupboards, and position the team to be young and competitive in the coming seasons. His track record (joined the Maple Leafs in 1991, traded five players to Calgary for five better players - including Doug Gilmour - the next season, had the team in the playoffs the season after that; joined the Coyotes in 2001, had the team in the playoffs by the next season when he was kicked upstairs so that Michael Barnett could destroy the team; and I thought he did more with Tampa but Wikipedia has nothing and I can't be bothered to look elsewhere) suggests he can do that. Really, what is he being asked to do? Fill the job until someone with a long-term vision can come in. Until then, clear out as much dead cap space as you can, get whatever young players, draft picks, and general assets as you can, leave the new guy with cap room and young talent to work with, and then sit back in a nice, comfy advisor's job. In the process, you're throwing the fans a bone by bringing back a name from the Passion teams. Why not?

However, I wouldn't expect Fletcher to be calling the shots by the draft, when I'd hope that THE new guy is in charge. So, who is that guy going to be?

Well, I don't have the first fucking clue.

Darren Dreger and other MSM outlets like throwing around names like Ken Holland, Jim Rutherford, and Brian Burke. Holland is the best GM in the league and has some serious tenure with Detroit, as Rutherford does in Carolina. Burke and Rutherford are no slouches, either. How the hell does anyone figure that they're going to bail on their jobs to come and work for this team? ESPECIALLY if Peddie doesn't get out of the way and give them complete control? Don't get me wrong, I'd be utterly ecstatic if MLSE convinces Holland to jump ship, but I'm not counting on it. Most of the other presently employed GMs aren't particularly desirable to me, and the ones that aren't employed, well, aren't employed for a reason. We're not going to be able to go and steal the direct architect of one of the best teams in the league like Peddie was able to do with Colangelo and the Raptors (unless, of course, there's fire to the smoke re: Holland), so I think that means we should look at the best and brightest 'understudy' executives working for other teams who haven't got a shot yet. I'm talking specifically about hiring either Jim Nill from Detroit (he's highly regarded, and if we can't take Holland, why not swipe his assistant?) or Wayne Thomas from San Jose (another well-thought-of guy who's working in a successful organization). My personal pick is Thomas, but I'd be satisfied with either one.

Then you have the president's spot, and I want Scotty Bowman for that - assuming he's still interested, that is. I don't know that he really wants to have the day-to-day grind of the GM job, but hiring him first (and yeah, I wrote it backwards, whatever) and letting him pick his own GM (and if Bowman is doing the hiring, you have to think the chances of it being Holland or Nill increase) and then letting him sit back and get involved when necessary might be tempting. If you can't get Bowman, give Fletcher the president's job when you hire a new GM. Or make the next GM take the president's job, too. I don't know. The goal should be Bowman.

So, if we follow, we're replacing Richard Peddie with Scotty Bowman, John Ferguson, Jr. with Cliff Fletcher and then Wayne Thomas, and giving Paul Maurice one more year. Cool.

Dealing with the mess of the actual team is both way more complicated and way more simple. Get rid of the old guys with big salaries. I'm not one of those message board Leaf fans that dramatically overvalue all of their own players, nor am I expecting significant returns. But, come on. It's trade deadline season. You're seriously going to tell me that in a market with MAYBE five teams committed to selling (Tampa, Los Angeles, Toronto, Edmonton? Buffalo?) and everyone else within striking distance of the playoffs, you're not going to be able to find someone to flip a draft pick or prospect of some sort for some of what needs to be moved? You're going to tell me that Columbus, the last NHL team to have never made the playoffs, sitting on the bubble with ten million in cap space and another ten million coming off the books next year in Sergei Fedorov and Adam Foote's expiring contracts, are going to tell their fans that "sorry, Bryan McCabe doesn't fit in with what we're trying to do here"? A team like Chicago, desperate to make the playoffs for the first time since 2002, isn't going to think long and hard about bringing Hal Gill (who's actually having a pretty good year, oddly enough) on board? Phoenix, in a similar situation as Chicago but a lot more cap space, is going to pass on secondary scoring players in the form of a Jason Blake, Darcy Tucker, or Mark Bell?

Again, I'm not saying get huge returns for them. You can't. McCabe has three years and a 5.75 million cap hit left, Kubina has two years and 5 million per, Tucker has 3/3, Blake has (an absolutely FUCKING insane) 4/4. Bell and Gill each have one more year left at 2.5 and under, so they're actually not entirely that unreasonable, except that Bell pretty much sucks and Gill likely isn't going to play this well anywhere else, ever again. But that isn't the point. Cliff Fletcher does not need to hit a home run with a Pavel Kubina trade, he needs to clear Pavel Kubina's salary off of the books and get him out of here. And, by being aggressive and ruthless and playing on all the factors of a seller's market at this time of the year when teams have cap space and prospects to spare and need to show their fans they're serious... I think at least a few of these guys can be moved.

If I'm running the team, the only three people I DON'T trade are Mats Sundin, Tomas Kaberle, and Vesa Toskala. I'll look at my evidently contrarian stance on Sundin later in the week, but I think you can build a solid team around those three in the short term. I'm looking to the New York Rangers here. When they blew their team up in 2004, they kept Jaromir Jagr. So I keep Sundin. Trade him if you can get a massive return and you know he's coming back next year, but keep him otherwise. Other than those three, everyone is available.

I think Fletcher, or whoever is hired to stick and light the dynamite, has a few goals in order to get the team ready for next year:

1) Clear out as many of the Tucker/Blake/Kubina/McCabe/Bell/Raycroft sucktet as possible. Bryan McCabe is a very useful player in this league, no question, but at 5.75 million on a team that needs to be blown up, he's worthless. Get what you can for these guys. Don't try to swing for the fences unless you're given your pitch, just try to get on base. Clearing these guys out cleans up a LOT of dead cap space and opens up a lot of roster spots. And all of them are moveable. All of them. But do it in the next month, while teams are making retarded decisions. If you can get someone to give up something of value for Raycroft right now, you're not getting it any other time. Pull the trigger.

2) Trade Hal Gill. He's having a good year, he's got one more year at 2.075 against the cap, he's big and he's a veteran. I would never have predicted it, but Gill is pretty much our best non-Sundin/Kaberle trading piece. You should be able to get something decent here. I mean, realistically, how many teams are going to be dedicated sellers? If we go with the five listed before, what is everyone's options on defense? Rob Blake and Brad Stuart from the Kings, Steve Staios and Dick Tarnstrom from Edmonton, Brian Campbell from Buffalo, and then the Toronto guys. Play the market. Play it hard. Teams like Columbus, St. Louis, Chicago, Phoenix, Florida... they're not going to be able to NOT make moves at the deadline unless they fall way out of the hunt.

3) Get Andy Wozniewski off of the team. He's a UFA at the end of the year. Good. Keep it that way.

4) Explore trading Alexei Ponikarovsky, Nik Antropov, and Ian White. Ponikarovsky is the guy I'd most be satisfied with moving, since I think he's pretty much reached his ceiling. While 20 goal, 35 point guys have a place, at his price tag, I'd see what you can get for him. Antropov is finally having the great year he's been teasing since 02/03, and White is a young, puck-moving defenseman. These are players that will help for the future, but if you can get something that will help more, look into it.

5) Stock up on prospects and draft picks. Look, when New York did this in 2004, I remember looking at a lot of the returns they got and thinking "wow, they stacked their cupboards". They didn't. Prospects don't always turn out. Toronto gave up a lot for Brian Leetch - two prospects and a first round pick for Leetch and a swap of mid-round picks - but neither of those players turned out and the pick ended up being flipped to Calgary for another pick - and neither of THOSE two players, Lauri Korpikoski and Kris Chucko, have done anything of note yet. Hell, neither have even played an NHL game. The point is, by getting lots of prospects and picks, you're increasing your odds. Think of it as buying lottery tickets. The more you have, the better shot you have at winning, right? This is the same thing. Get in bulk and hope enough of it turns out so that you break even.

6) Stay away from retarded contracts like those of everyone in point 1.

Now, obviously, there are no guarantees with anything, especially in this business, but I think that if the interim GM can come in and execute these steps, it will clear the slate nicely for the permanent GM. Yeah, it's asking a lot, but what the fuck is the point of doing this if you aren't going to do it right?

This weekend is the All-Star Game, and after thinking about it over the last couple of days, why did any of us really think a big move was coming last week? The ASG provides the perfect opportunity to give everyone a chance to regroup after a big change like this. So I really think that something is coming down the pipe this weekend. I'm guessing Ferguson gets fired and Fletcher is given the interim job. Peddie won't go anywhere, at least not yet, and probably not at all. Why now? This year is a write-off anyway, and Fletcher isn't the guy who's going to get the long-term power. Peddie will step back in the summer, or this team is fucked, period.

Ah, but who are we kidding? This is the Toronto Maple Leafs, people. The three game winning streak we had last week wasn't a fluke, it's how things are going to be for the rest of the season. They're going to pick their game up, McCabe is going to come back, and we'll have another ninth-place, one-point-out finish. Ferguson will keep his job, sign Brendan Morrison to a stupid contract, and trade Jiri Tlusty for Dwayne Roloson. I'll be writing this exact same post next January, just like in March, I'll be writing the exact same "holy shit guys we can make the playoffs for really real" posts I wrote last year.

The sad part is, I actually believe that that is probably what will happen. I mean, this is Toronto. Nothing is ever, EVER, going to change.

That's about it for me. I'll leave with a link to Tom Benjamin's take on the crisis. I need some sleep.

Crisis

2008-01-15T02:27:00.001-05:00

I'm just starting to think that hockey is a really hard sell for me in the late part of the year. Last year I got really into things after the calendar turned, and this year it's the same - otherwise I wouldn't be writing this. Then again, we're under different circumstances this time around, so let's get into that rather than make yet another apology on lacking posts, shall we?

The Toronto Maple Leafs, as presently constructed, are a sham of a hockey team.

There's not much more to say about it than that, really, but why not go into the gory details? The team is completely unwatchable. We went to a bar last week to watch the game against the Kings, and we ended up leaving well early (well, at least I did - Jared stayed to get drunk, I'm sure).

Everything about the team is set-up wrong. The goalie situation has been botched again and again and again, and that's coming from someone who really likes and believes in Toskala. The defense is terrible and has precisely one quality, top-flight player. The offense scores goals, but not enough to make up for all the goals that go in the net, and there are some seriously rotten contracts up front. The players have stopped listening to the coach, the general manager is dangling in the wind, the team president is meddling and in over his head, and the ownership is fractured and apparently unwilling to do anything. At least, unwilling to do anything with any sort of speed.

The Leafs have been bad all year, a culmination of the post-lockout teams being just good enough to almost make the playoffs with a big run at the end to hold off sweeping changes, at least two seasons of short-sighted trades and signings pre-lockout, and a messy ownership situation that has crippled the team ever since Steve Stavro sold off in 2003. That was when most of us first heard of Richard Peddie, the man who became the public face of the team's upper-management and the one who became more hands-on in decisions for both the Leafs and the Raptors. Peddie will probably never lose his job - since he joined the team in 1998, MLSE has tripled in value - but he's proven, both with the Raptors and Maple Leafs, that he shouldn't be involved in the sporting operations of these teams. The Raptors turned their organization around when Peddie hired Bryan Colangelo, gave him full control and stepped back to the board room. Unless the MLSE board and Peddie are prepared to do something similar with the Leafs, nothing is going to change.

Pretty much everyone out there sees this thing coming to a climax by week's end, and I'm in with that group. Apparently, there's a board meeting tomorrow, and I expect they'll make a decision on Ferguson then. That decision, I assume, will be to fire him. That said, I think they won't announce it until later in the week to try to get the interim guy under contract. We'll see.

There are numerous great reads on the internet about the Leafs' situation that have been written in the last couple of days. I've sort of become sidetracked since I started writing and my thoughts aren't as focused, so while I take a little bit to jot down what I think needs to be done, why don't you go ahead and take a look at some takes that are out there?

James Mirtle: Where the Leafs sit, Leafs look to Fletcher

Pierre LeBrun: Career Suicide

Lowetide: He's a Real Nowhere Man

Alec Brownscombe: 'Trader Cliff' Makes Sense

Damien Cox: Leaf directors need to act now

Eric Duhatschek: Scotty Bowman: Mr. Right

Scott Burnside: Leafs' limbo driving team into NHL basement

Jason Voulgaris: A Post For Wonderful Surprises, This Thing I Have Become, I Hear Ottawa Has a Good Team, It's Mess, I Confess

Needless to say, things have gotten bizarre here. The sky is falling and the tornado alarm has been sounded. We've got a crisis on our hands - or at least, that's how it certainly feels. I'll be back with more on this later.

5 Reasons Not To Fire John Ferguson Jr.

2007-11-29T22:43:00.000-05:00

5. You've stuck with him this long, at least give him until the end of the season, see if something turns itself around.

4. The Leafs are 14th in the East, and dead last in the division. It's not like they're going to get any worse.

3. Us Leafs fans (or it is Leaf fans?) are stupid. We'll still pay $200 for a nosebleed seat, just to "boo" a shitty team. The profits won't go down, I promise.

2. The real source of the problem is not JFJ. It's the fucked up management of MLSE. Richard Peddie and Larry Tanembaum (spelling?) are the real stars of the show, JFJ is just the puppet. They need to relinquish some control, ie. Bryan Colangello with the Raptors.

1. I've been calling for JFJ's head for about a year and half, you don't want to prove me right now.

Hey, Fuck You (Dave)

2007-10-03T23:59:00.000-05:00

You went from June 10th to September 28th without saying shit on this blog, so you can't complain about me being "inactive" ... say what you will about Jared.

That said I have some very interesting thoughts about the NHL opener (the real one on Wednesday night, not the fake London ones). Those thoughts can be summed up in the following quote, "how about those baseball playoffs?".

The Rockies won their first playoff game since 1995. Beauty. Now (assuming Philly can win at least one game) the Phillies can win their first playoff game since 1993.

The Red Sox opened up their series with the Angels by riding a HUGE performance by Josh Beckett. A 3 hitter. Man can that guy pitch when it means something.

Then, the team that seems to be getting counted out took a 1-0 lead on the Cubs. Surely you know who I'm talking about, or have you counted them out too? Shame. It's the God damn DBacks. Now I consider myself a DBacks fan (only behind the Jays of course) and even I've barely heard of their team. For the most part they are a bunch of young "unknowns". I'm calling it right now, they will surprise the fuck out of people - granted that could simply mean winning two games, how should I know.

There is one thing I know though, fuck the Leafs and their inability to win games, oh and fuck Heatley for killing Dan Synder and not dying too ... it was the Leafs darkest day when he surived. And you thought I wasn't going to address hockey at all ...

Hey guys what's going on in this blog

2007-09-28T20:33:00.000-05:00

Hey ~~everyone~~ both of you, just thought I'd stop in and see what's up. The lolNHL returns to action soon, tomorrow if you want to count the London games, and next week if you don't. Toronto is probably going to return to the ninth position, mere points out of the playoffs, teasing us yet again with a nice little run at the end only to shit on all of our chests. That's right guys, Pissed-off, bitter Dave is back!

Now if only those assholes Jared and Steve would write again...

Two Words ... (and it's not suck it)

2007-06-26T20:57:00.001-05:00

VESA TOSKALA !!!

And Just When You Thought I Was Gone ...

2007-06-14T18:57:00.000-05:00

I make a return appearance, just to annoy everyone once again. Unfortunately, this will not be my trademarked rant, I was just popping in to say "hello". While I'm here I thought I might do some predictions regarding tonight's awards ... not that anyone cares, but I will anyway.

Hart Trophy will belong to Sidney Crosby, but Luongo deserves it more.

Vezina Trophy will go to Marty Brodeur, 12 SO is ridiculous.

Lester B. Pearson Award winner will be Vincent Lecavalier, just have a feeling. Wouldn't be surprised if Luongo got it though.

Nick Lidstrom and the Norris Trophy ... get out! Ya think?

Calder Trophy winner will be Evgeni Malkin.

Selke Trophy is probably going to Rod Brind'Amour, Jay Pandolfo might surprise.

Lindy Ruff was again the best coach in the league, and hands down wins the Jack Adams.

Martin St. Louis will win the most pointless award in all of professional sports, the Lady Byng.

Well there are my predictions, someone will have to let me know how I did ... I'm certainly not watching that boring 2 or 3 hours of pointless TV.

What the fuck is a draft?

2007-06-10T22:22:00.001-05:00

I'm not normally a big fan of Hockey's Future. It's a (valuable, I suppose) resource that a lot of people in the online hockey community swear by, but I've just never been into it. I could get into various reasons, but let's be honest, they're irrelevant and you don't care. You want the goods! And, thanks to this post at Japer's Rink, I found an interesting little experiment that HF has been conducting recently. It takes a look at the 2002 NHL Entry Draft five years after the fact:

We have measured success in selecting by using NHL games player, because it is
fair to all types of players, flashy goal scorers to defensive defensemen.
Overall, NHL teams have gotten an average of 22.5 NHL games per pick out of the
2002 draft class, which is not far from the averages for 2000 and 2001, each
after five years. The Toronto Maple
Leafs have gotten the most value out of the 2002 NHL Entry Draft thus far,
averaging 59 NHL games per pick. They accomplished this despite making
their first selection at 24th overall. The Chicago
Blackhawks came in fourth among teams, despite not picking until 21st
overall.
The above 'blockquote' (silly Web lingo) is from this article, whereas the link above (the highlighted word 'experiment' takes you to the Toronto-specific page.

Basically, 2002 brought Alexander Steen, Matt Stajan, Ian White, and Staffan Kronwall to the blue and white. It also brought Jarkko Immonen (and, for that matter, a handful of what HF had decided are 'busts'), but hey, he's a Ranger now, so he's not the point. The point is that it appears that the Leafs had a very good draft. I know. I'm as shocked as you.

Maybe a little bit more of that magic, eh guys? God knows that this team needs it.

I can only hope Darren Dreger is not lying to me

2007-06-10T17:25:00.000-05:00

But, given my past issues with him, not to mention his horrid rumour-mongering and past career decisions, I don't hold out much hope.

Bryan McCabe still has four years remaining on a deal that averages $5.75
million per year. He also has a "no movement" clause which some suggest he
would waive for one team, the New York Islanders. If the Islanders can't
re-sign Ryan Smyth or Jason Blake, they'll need to make a splash. The
Maple Leafs won't initiate a discussion, but with 8 defensemen soon to be under
contract they might listen. Freeing up valuable cap space to enable the
Leafs to be a contender for top free agent players is very appealing. This is a
distinct possibility.

Now, McCabe certainly isn't, you know, TERRIBLE or anything, but I've never approved of his contract. For the caliber of defenseman he is (you know, worse than the much more affordable Kaberle), I want him either a lot cheaper or not on my team. I like the guy and all, but I'm not comfortable with Bryan McCabe the player for damn near six million a year. Like Dreger mentions, there's a lot of benefit to the team by trying to dump McCabe. We free up a ton of cap room and have the opportunity to pick up more players, such as a better defenseman (I'll take either Timonen or Hannan, thank you very much).

The bottom line, to me, is that without his breakout offensive first-half of the year last season, McCabe isn't staring at all that money because he not only isn't good enough defensively or consistent enough offensively (i.e. just not fucking good enough) for that kind of money, but he's not nearly the crowd favourite that other guys who've gotten ridiculous contracts (Tucker's $3 million, Domi's $1.5 million back in the day) are. The only reason he has that contract is because he has a big shot and was picking up lots of points on the powerplay at the start of 2005-06. He petered out after his injury, and he hasn't been the same "league leader" player since... well, no shit. He never was. Then again, when have the fucking Toronto Maple Leafs ever been known for their fiscal sanity?

I'm in favour of moving him, but I want as much as possible in return. He's not a terrible player, just really overpaid. And really stupid. Who can forget his pre-lockout comments? Yeah Bry, I hope you're able to get by now that Toronto's paying you out the ass. Fucking 'tard.

I am still here!

2007-06-10T12:36:00.000-05:00

I have not forgotten about this blog OR Nikolai Borschevsky.

Maybe the last title was a bit deceiving.

2007-06-08T21:22:00.001-05:00

Haha, I guess we are absentee bloggers. Who knew?

But um, yeah. All three of us are working (Steve pretty much full-time, Jared at like eight hundred different places, and me for the first time ever), and there just isn't a whole lot going on in Leaf-land right now. Since we're using this as a Maple Leafs-only blog and not an NHL blog in general, well, there's not a lot for us to say. Unless you want to hear our thoughts on the Sundin and Antropov contracts, but frankly, I don't give two flying fucks about thinking about that.

The Stanley Cup playoffs are finally over, as the Anaheim Ducks beat the Ottawa Senators. I don't know about the other guys, but I only made one wrong prediction all playoffs (which would be taking the New York Rangers over Buffalo in round two). This, of course, means the OFFSEASON~! is here, which means we should finally have things to write about. Of course, even that won't last too long, and it's still three months before training camp (a time that has never had interest to me, personally, as a hockey fan) and four months before the start of the season, so things may be bare for a little while. I've talked to Steve about opening this up to Toronto sports in general, so that he can blog about the Blue Jays basically daily while I chime in every now and then with "what the fuck why doesn't this guy have a higher OBP trade him now". We'll see how things go on that. I'm open to it just to find more shit to write about here.

But we haven't forgotten (ok, maybe Jared has) about Bring Back Potvin, so if you continually check this blog in hopes that we'll finally write something to kill like ten minutes of your day, don't bail out just yet.

After all, Ottawa didn't win, now did they?

We are NOT absentee bloggers, I swear

2007-04-21T11:30:00.000-05:00

Ok, so the truth of the matter is, all three of us are very busy with exams right now. Well, I'm not really, given that I've had the week off, but I have nothing to write about (be it here or my other blog) lately for whatever reason. I'm incredibly apathetic to the NHL playoffs right now anyway. Steve is wrapped up in the start of the MLB season, and Jared... well, I'm not entirely sure what Jared is up to right now. If you could look in some ditches or something so we can try to find him, that'd be great.

Anyway, I guess the point is that we don't want you to think that we've abandoned the cause. We're just a little sidetracked at the moment. So I've embedded this little clip of the glory days to help tide you over until we return to our regularly scheduled programming.

Playoffs: Round One

2007-04-12T21:13:00.000-05:00

Surprisingly I wasn't ready to axe anything on Sunday, mainly because I'd been expecting the outcome since the Leafs lost on Thursday; I'm not sure if I posted that here though. Anyway, I can't say I was mad (I was heartbroken though), because it was the Leafs fault, they had numerous games in the last few weeks where they could have easily gained a point and ended up in the playoffs - as it was they didn't do that, and now I'm focused in on the Jays (and to some extent, I suppose my exams).

Anyway, as I usually do, I won't just make first round picks, I'll go all the way through.

First Round

Red Wings over Flames (in 6)
Wild over Ducks (in 7)
Canucks over Stars (in 6)
Sharks over Predators (in 7)

Sabres over Islanders (in 4)
Devils over Lightning (in 4)
Rangers over Thrashers (in 4)
Senators over Penguins (in 7)

Second Round

Red Wings over Wild (in 7)
Sharks over Canucks (in 7)

Sabres over Rangers (in 7)
Senators over Devils (in 7)

Conference Finals

Sharks over Red Wings (in 6)
Sabres over Senators (in 5)

Stanley Cup Finals

Sabres over Sharks (in 7)

The NHL Playoffs start tonight

2007-04-11T18:55:00.000-05:00

and the Leafs aren't in them, which probably explains why none of us have posted lately. I think we're all pretty distraught and pissed off about Toronto's situation. On Sunday I was very surprised Steve didn't show up at my house with a fucking axe. Come to think of it, if Steve shows up to our exam tomorrow with an axe... I really won't be surprised.

Who is everyone taking for playoff picks? I've got Buffalo, New Jersey, New York, Ottawa, Detroit, Anaheim, Vancouver, and San Jose, in that order.

BOWENISM - Apr. 5/07 - Maple Leafs vs. Islanders

2007-04-05T18:20:00.000-05:00

And tonight's BOWENISM is...

The Watchdogs of the Woven Warehouses

Top 10 Reasons Why We Will Win Tonight...

2007-04-05T08:47:00.000-05:00

As I sit here on my porcelain recliner, ideas are going through my head of why the Leafs are going to win tonight against the New York Islanders. Here's the top 10 reasons I could think of why the Leafs are going to win....

10. Nobody on our team pretends they have a DH contract in the MLB where the other players face is the baseball.

9. Have you ever seen a plane fly into a building in Toronto?

8. Sure, we may overpay some of our players - but we still don't sign them past 5 year deals.

7. I think anybody in the league could spell our goalies names...ask someone to spell Wade DoubleBubble, and I bet the choke.

6. Our jerseys have never made people want to go out and eat an entire box of Captain Highliner Fish Sticks.

5. Yeah, Wendel Clark played for both teams, but how often do you see him on the Island watching a game?

4. Wendel's moustache was FAR better in Toronto as well.

3. Our owner doesn't run a corner store in his spare time.

2. Our owner manager also doesn't disguise himself as one of the players on the ice (haven't you always wondered why Charles Wang is never around when Richard Park is?).

1. Our coach doesn't live in a WigWam.

That's just fantastic

2007-04-02T00:09:00.000-05:00

So much for that. Steve pretty much covers my sentiments over the loss in the post below (though I don't share the feelings regarding baseball), and I don't have much to add. Way to kick me in the nuts though guys. I mean, I've been hyping this team up as sixth-place potential all week and hey... I guess now I know why I don't get hyped about this team often.

It's going to come down to the last game against Montreal, plain and simple. I hope we're sitting ahead of them going into that game but either way we'll need a clean victory there to get in. Dammit. I'm not happy with hockey this weekend.

Losing 7-2 is Sweeeeeeet!

2007-04-01T22:33:00.000-05:00

So you're going after one of the final playoff spots available. You're fighting with numerous teams for it. You've got a game in hand on some of these teams. So what do you do? You go out and lose 7-2 to the Rangers ... just to make the next week even more interesting/difficult than it already was. SWEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEET!

Oh well, who gives a fuck. My real love came back tonight. It gave me something to be excited about. Let's go Blue Jays.

This is a really, really important day

2007-03-31T09:48:00.000-05:00

At this point of the season it probably goes without saying, but still. Tonight probably makes or breaks our playoff hopes. Let's look at what we need to happen tonight:

Philadelphia has to beat the Rangers, one way or another.

It'd be nice for the Rangers to pick up a clean (regulation) loss, but it's not essential. If the Rangers are kept to 87 or 88 points, that sets up a massive game tomorrow night. If they pull off what would seem to be the easy win and get to 89, well, I won't be very happy, because it doesn't give the Leafs the chance to pass the Rangers tomorrow.

Tampa Bay needs to take a clean loss to Washington.

I should also note that it would be convenient for Atlanta to lose to Boston, too, but since someone has to win that division, I suppose they can win. However, Tampa needs to lose, and they need to not get any points while doing it. If they can stay at 88 points, they're still within reach for my end of the weekend sixth place scenario, which would be fantastic.

Buffalo and Ottawa need to take care of business once again.

Buffalo had the Islanders last night, Ottawa had Montreal. Tonight they switch. They got wins last night and they need to pick up two more. As an interesting side note, if Buffalo wins, they clinch first place in the conference. It's weird cheering for Ottawa, but it's important to keep the teams beneath us down, so I'm fine with them winning (although if everything else falls into place, I suppose the Islanders may have a win here). If New York and Carolina don't get back into it soon, they're going to be left behind.

Montreal obviously needs to lose because they stand directly in front of Toronto. If they lose and the Maple Leafs win, we sit one point ahead of them with a game in hand, which is a great position to be in after they seemed so far ahead of us (and had that terrible five game winning streak to boot).

Toronto needs to keep Crosby off the scoresheet.

Aside from the fact that this would help towards my dream of seeing Thornton catch and pass Crosby for the Art Ross, it's the key to winning against the Penguins tonight. If Crosby doesn't get anything, we can take them. If gets a point, maybe. If gets a couple, we're probably fucked. If we win this game and sit in the playoffs at the end of the night, I will go ahead and say we will stay there.

Also, if we win, we have the Rangers tomorrow in a game that COULD see us end up in sixth place (it's looking unlikely after Tampa's win, but that's ok).

I guess that the most important things for this weekend are Montreal losing again, Toronto getting two wins, and the Rangers getting two losses. If nothing else on this list happens, these are the ones that probably mean the most. We should be fine if that happens.

BOWENISM - Mar. 29/07 - Maple Leafs vs. Thrashers

2007-03-29T18:08:00.000-05:00

Well, just the fact that Joe Bowen opened up tonight's broadcast with the words, "Welcome to HOTLANTA!" made me know that tonight's Bowenism would be a good one...and here it is:

The Superheroes of the String Saunas

Remaining Schedule of 7 Eastern Teams; Realistic Results?

2007-03-29T17:48:00.000-05:00

I am in class, as Dave just mentioned. I'm not even going to look at the Leafs running boxscore on yahoo tonight; simply because I'm taping the game and will watch it later. So instead I am going to entertain, well maybe not entertain, but keep myself busy, with this blog. Yay. Here's what it is going to be ... a look at each of the schedules for the teams we are fighting with. I'm only looking at 7 teams though, Atlanta, New York Rangers, Tampa Bay, Montreal, Us, New York Islanders and Carolina. Fuck the Panthers. I'm not including Buffalo, New Jersey, Ottawa and Pittsburgh for obvious reasons (they've clinched a spot, and they are too far ahead anyway). Here goes nothing.

Atlanta Thrashers - 5 Games Remaining - 89 Points - 1st in Southeast Division - 3rd in the Eastern Conference

Tonight - vs Toronto Maple Leafs
Sat. Mar 31 at Boston Bruins
Wed. Apr 4 vs Washington Capitals
Fri Apr 6 at Carolina Hurricanes
Sat Apr 7 vs Tampa Bay Lightning

Realistically ... the Leafs are playing better than the Thrashers, and should win this game (0 Points). Should beat the Bruins (2 Points). Should beat the Capitals (2 Points). Hopefully will beat the Canes and Islanders with no overtime so the Leafs can benefit (4 Points). This gives the Thrashers 8 more points, finishing the season with 97.

New York Rangers - 5 Games Remaining - 87 Points - 3rd in Atlantic Division - 6th in Eastern Conference

Sat Mar 31 at Philadelphia Flyers
Sun Apr 1 vs Toronto Maple Leafs
Tues Apr 3 at New York Islanders
Thurs Apr 5 vs Montreal Canadiens
Sat Apr 7 at Pittsburgh Penguins

Realistically ... should beat the Flyers (2 Points). Beat the Leafs in OT (2 Points). Beat the Islanders and Canadiens, once again to help the Leafs (4 Points), but lose to the Pens (0 Points). Finishing with 8 more points, and a total of 95 Points.

Tampa Bay Lightning - 5 Games Remaining - 86 Points - 2nd in Southeast Division - 7th in Eastern Conference

Fri Mar 30 at Carolina Hurricanes
Sat Mar 31 vs Washington Capitals
Tues Apr 3 vs Carolina Hurricanes
Fri Apr 6 vs Florida Panthers
Sat Apr 7 at Atlanta Thrashers

Realistically ... Two games against the Canes? Eww. Split these two games, one win, one loss, with no overtime (2 Points). Beat the Caps and Panthers (4 Points), lose to the Thrashers (0 Points). 6 Points more, finish with 92.

Montreal Canadiens - 5 Games Remaining - 86 Points - 3rd in Northeast Division - 8th in Eastern Conference

Fri Mar 30 at Ottawa Senators
Sat Mar 31 vs Buffalo Sabres
Tues Apr 3 vs Boston Bruins
Thurs Apr 5 at New York Rangers
Sat Apr 7 vs Toronto Maple Leafs

Realistically ... lose to the Sens and Sabres, but with as well as they are playing, let's assume they get two points, one way or another (2 Points). Beat the Bruins (2 Points). An overtime loss to the Rangers (1 point). Can't give them anything against the Leafs (0 Points). 5 points, finishing with 91.

Toronto Maple Leafs - 6 Games Remaining - 84 Points - 4th in Northeast Division - 9th in Eastern Conference

Tonight at Atlanta Thrashers
Sat Mar 31 vs Pittsburgh Penguins
Sun Apr 1 at New York Rangers
Tues Apr 3 vs Philadelphia Flyers
Thurs Apr 5 at New York Islanders
Sat Apr 7 vs Montreal Canadiens

Realistically ... a win over the Thrashers (2 Points), some how getting a point over the Pens (1 Point). Same with the Rangers (1 Point). Beat the Flyers (2 Points). Beat the Islanders (2 Points). Beat the Canadiens, probably in overtime (2 Points). 10 points, finishing the year with 92.

New York Islanders - 6 Games Remaining - 84 Points- 4th in Atlantic Division - 10th in Eastern Conference

Fri Mar 30 at Buffalo Sabres
Sat Mar 31 vs Ottawa Senators
Tues Apr 3 vs New York Rangers
Thurs Apr 5 vs Toronto Maple Leafs
Sat Apr 7 at Philadelphia Flyers
Sun Apr 8 at New Jersey Devils

Realistically ... losses to all the teams, minus the Flyers. Without DiPietro, give them 3 points just for fun. Finishing with 87 on the year.

Carolina Hurricanes - 5 Games Remaining - 84 Points - 3rd in Southeast Division - 11th in Eastern Conference

Fri Mar 30 vs Tampa Bay Lightning
Sun Apr 1 at Florida Panthers
Tues Apr 3 at Tampa Bay Lightning
Fri Apr 6 vs Atlanta Thrashers
Sat Apr 7 vs Florida Panthers

Realistically ... again fuck the two games between teams we are fighting with. Split them (2 Points). Lose to the Thrashers (0 Points). Panthers ... they're playing decently ... I can wish can't I? (3 Points). Gives them 5 points, and a total of 89.

Realistically - or maybe hopefully on my part - here's what the standings would look like come April 8th at roughly 11:59pm.

East
1. Sabres
2. Devils/Pens
3. Thrashers ... 97 Points
4. Sens
5. Devils/Pens
6. Rangers ... 96 Points
7. Lightning ... 92 Points
8. Leafs ... 92 Points

9. Canadiens ... 91 Points
10. Hurricanes ... 89 Points
11. Islanders ... 87 Points

Tampa would have more wins, and therefore would get the tiebreaker with us. I'm not going to lie though, this is a very plauisble situation ... especially for the Leafs. I don't think I'm asking for too much here ... am I? Let me know.

Live game blog tonight!

2007-03-29T17:40:00.000-05:00

Just kidding. Me and Steve are in class, and Jared is drunk in a ditch somewhere. So you'll have to watch the game for yourself. One or more of us will probably have things to say about the game afterwards.

Go Leafs Go!

Killing two or more birds with one stone

2007-03-29T13:36:00.000-05:00

The week has gone magnificently thus far, as covered by the team here at BBP and you know, having your eyes open. The Maple Leafs have moved up to ninth, two points back of Montreal and Tampa for the seventh and eighth spots and three back of the Rangers for sixth. We sit tied with the Islanders and the Hurricanes at 84 points, although we sit on top due to more wins over New York and less games played than Carolina. That's another big advantage for us over the three teams in front of us, all of whom are within three points: we've got a game in hand over everyone.

Tonight Toronto spends that extra game, and we go up against the Atlanta Thrashers. Earlier in the week I was pretty scared of them, but now Atlanta has lost three straight and only sits five points ahead of Toronto (and once again, the Leafs have a game in hand). Obviously, Toronto can't end up in third, but hurting the Thrashers only helps us, as having all three of the Southeast teams being forced to take only one spot (the division title, giving them third) leaves more spots for us. If Carolina, Tampa, and Atlanta keep losing, it's not likely all three will get in. Which is good news.

Technically, we can't actually move up in the standings tonight, given that Toronto is involved in the only Eastern game of the evening. Even if we pick up the win, we'll still sit in ninth. We'll be tied with Tampa/Montreal, but we won't have the game in hand anymore and we have less wins than both of those teams.

Still, we need the win once again. I'll call it a must-win situation, and that's because we're giving up the precious extra game. We NEED the two points to continue the drive. If we win tonight, and all three of the big games tomorrow night go our way (Tampa and Carolina NOT going to overtime, preferably with a Tampa win I suppose; Ottawa beating Montreal in regulation and Buffalo beating the DiPietro-less Islanders in regulation), and we get a little bit of luck combined with a win on Saturday, we could conceivably be battling the Rangers for sixth place on Sunday. With us possibly walking in with the lead in that race. I don't know about you guys, but I'm damn excited.

The SECOND best thing to ever happen at MAPLE LEAF GARDENS...

2007-03-28T22:54:00.000-05:00

OOOOOOOOH YEAH!

The best thing to ever happen at MAPLE LEAF GARDENS...

2007-03-28T22:47:00.000-05:00

KAMALA!

Mar 27th - Canes vs Leafs - Game Review

2007-03-27T20:55:00.000-05:00

Well there's not much more to say; I covered all I needed to in the previous posts. I'll do a few bullet points though.

- It was a must win game. Not a must rape. It finished 6-1 (a great goal by Ponikarovsky, for the 6th of the evening).

- The only interesting story of the 3rd period was that Paul Maurice absolutely destroyed Chad Kilger. I don't know for certain what his actual ice time was in the period, but he was out there seemingly the entire 20 minutes trying to get the hat trick.

- Oh, I did forget. Matt Stajan got a huge breakaway (another pass from Kaberle, he's been great since his return; save for the first 5 minutes on Friday night) and got stoned. Haha, fuckbag. Normally I'd be pissed, but since it was 6-1 at that point, I just chuckled heartily.

- One thing that I loved about the game (aside from the score) was Paul Maurice. I can't pinpoint the exact moment, but it was just after either the 4th or 5th goal, the camera panned the Leafs bench. You caught a quick look at Paul Maurice, who had a slight smirk on his face, and pumped his fist twice, ever so slightly. Just as fast as it came; it went. Back to business. The reason I liked it was because I've never seen Maurice show any emotion (in the "happy" side of emotion, I've seen plenty of anger). Maurice knew the importance of this game, and that brief moment of happiness said it all.

- That said, I do have some positives, negatives and wrapup comments I'd like to briefly mention.

Positives
- The Leafs stayed out of the box for the most part. No dumb penalties.
- Scored plenty of goals, none of which came from guys named, Sundin, Tucker, Antropov, Kaberle, Wellwood or McCabe. Albeit one from Ponikarovsky otherwise he would have been mentioned in that list too. Good to have others scoring though.
- Leafs dominated the entire game, as we have done quite often lately, save for one bad period.

Negatives
- Sundin isn't scoring. While we're getting goals from others, it would be nice to get him going as well.
- Raycroft did a few things that made me scratch my head. He was lucky he was able to bail himself out; usually those turn into bad goals for our opponents.
- We're scoring too much. Save some goals for other games (this one is kind of a joke, incase you don't recognize my sarcasm).

Wrapup Comments
- Perreault had a goal and an assist, giving him 500 career points in what was his 800th game.
- Kilger's two goals gave him 200 points in his career.
- Raycroft notched his 35th win of the season, leaving him two shy of Ed Belfour's franchise record of 37 (set back in 02/03).
- Leafs are in Atlanta on Thursday.
- I'm going to leave the talk about the results of the teams we are chasing to someone else, I've posted enough tonight; I presume Dave will get to that either tonight or tomorrow. I will say things worked out fairly nicely.
- Finally, fuck, I was anything but brief again.

Mar 27th - Canes vs Leafs - 2nd Period Quickie

2007-03-27T19:53:00.000-05:00

As much as I hate to admit it, maybe that embarassing loss to the Sabres on Friday Night was a blessing in disguise. Since then the Leafs have played like a team possessed. It's only after the second period though. I better not go too in-depth, just incase they do blow it again.

Kilger scored another goal to make it 4-1. Ward allowed a huge rebound off a Johnny Pohl shot (fuck you Dave, Pohl is amazing). We (the TV audience) almost missed the 5th goal as TSN's broadcast randomly cut to an overhead shot of a random arena on an intermission. I thoroughly enjoyed watching a pair of zamboni's gliding gracefully across the ice. Anyway, a long pass from Hal Gill sprang (or is it sprung?) Yanic Perreault on a breakaway who snapped it over Ward's arm. Laviolette pulled Ward after this goal. As a result of all this ... 5-1 after 2 (smiles while rubbing hands together).

Everything else ... Montreal scored 3 unanswered and lead the Rangers 3-2 (WTF?) mid way through the 2nd. Jersey leads the Islanders 2-1 late in the 2nd. Florida has extended its lead to 3-1 over Tampa, just starting the 3rd there.

See ya for the game review?

Mar 27th - Canes vs Leafs - 1st Period Quickie

2007-03-27T19:22:00.000-05:00

I'm feeling like shit today, really randomly, so I don't feel like sitting straight up for very long. Hopefully I can reel this off without rambling.

Great start for the Leafs tonight. Scored 47 seconds into the game. Bit of a weak goal by Devereaux, but we'll take it. The second goal was scored after Cam Ward was trying to clear a rebound, and ended up batting the puck into his own net, another weak one. The third Leafs goal came off a fucking lazer of a shot by Kilger on a delayed penalty. Only downside is we allowed an early goal ourselves on a 2 on 1 (Erik Cole assisting on Eric Staal's 29th of the Year). 3-1 after 1.

Good news out of town. Florida has scored 2 goals since I started this blog and now lead the Lightning 2-1 in the 2nd period. The Islanders are down 1-0 after 1 to Jersey (and apparently DiPietro is out indefinitely; always good to hear). Finally the Rangers have a 2-0 lead on MTL after 1.

Quoteable: "He started like Perdita Felician ... but since then he's calmed down" Glenn Healy re: Cam Ward's start, and the first Leafs' goal of the game (this was before the 2nd and 3rd goals were scored. It made me laugh).

Hope that wasn't too lengthy. Start fof the 2nd, so back to bed I go.

BOWENISM - Mar. 27/07 - Maple Leafs vs. Hurricanes

2007-03-27T18:24:00.000-05:00

So, this is my first post of a Bowenism. What is a Bowenism you ask? Well, it's pretty straight forward. A Bowenism is the term which Maple Leafs broadcaster, Joe Bowen, uses to introduce the goalies. They are always a collection of descriptive words that start with the same letters.

So, on that note...here's the Bowenism for tonight!

The Creatures of the Crescent Creases

Want Some Good News?

2007-03-26T22:09:00.000-05:00

So apparently I'm supposed to be the emotional guy (Dave suggests this below). Which I suppose is a fair claim to make since everything I've posted so far has been based on emotion. I guess all my posts are underlined by emotion though, regardless of whether it is here, elsewhere, or even in relation to my other sports teams (Packers and Jays by the way). The fact is, I love sports, and I get extremely emotional about it. I don't know how Dave can stay so calm. A win makes me exstatic. A loss crushes me, usally for days (I'm still fuming about Friday night, despite the big win on Saturday). Anyway, this post wasn't supposed to be emotional, and yet I started getting worked up again. I'm stopping now, and going to mention what I originally came for.

I was just checking the schedule for tomorrow night; this is where the good news comes in. As you should know by now the Leafs have an ENORMOUS game against Carolina ... at home. The good news is (or bad news depending on the results) everyone we are chasing is also playing. How is that good news you ask? Well dear readers take a look at the opponents.

New York Rangers (87 Pts; 6th in East) @ Montreal Canadiens (84 Pts; 10th in East based on Tiebreakers)

The Canadiens have been playing really well as of late (see Dave's post below) but the Rangers have been playing even better (and as Dave may have mentioned; I can't actually remember if he did) are probably out of reach by now. With Lundqvist on our side, the Rangers should (and hopefully will) beat the Canadiens Tuesday Night.

New Jersey Devils (96 Pts; 2nd in East) @ New York Islanders (84 Pts; 9th in East based on Tiebreakers)

The Devils might not win the Atlantic this year when you combin their recent play with that of the Penguins (the two teams are currently tied with 96 point apiece). But they are the Devils afterall. They're just one of those teams that constantly scares me. As many injuries as they have, they still have a fucking wall in Martin Brodeur. That's all the reassurance I need. Good chance the Isles lose this one.

Florida Panthers (76 Pts; 12 in East) @ Tampa Bay Lightning (86 Pts; 7th in East)

While the Lightning aren't sitting in the "three prong 84 point" teams ahead of the Leafs, they are still ahead of us - but not by much anymore. They currently sit at 86 points and are struggling lately (4-6-0 in previous 10), so I thought it was worth mentioning their game too. Also, Florida currently trails the Leafs (albeit by 6 points) and could mathematically pass them (chuckles at the thought of Florida passing the Leafs). I guess it would be helpful if the Panthers won, but I won't hold my breath.

Carolina Panthers (84 Pts; 8th in East based on Tiebreakers) @ Toronto Maple Leafs (82 Pts; 11th in East)

How could I leave this one out? All the other games I mentioned will mean nothing if the Leafs don't take care of business themselves. At this point we need wins, while the teams ahead of us need to lose (pretty crazy thought eh?). As you can see by the point totals of all the teams the Leafs are fighting with, there's a serious opportunity to gain ground on all of them come Tuesday night. Let's hope to hell the Leafs can pull out another win.

Monday, March 26

2007-03-26T12:32:00.000-05:00

Yesterday both New York teams faced off and of COURSE it went to overtime. The Rangers prevailed and overtake the Lightning for sixth, while the Islanders lose their game in hand over Carolina and Toronto but move into a tie for eighth.

You know, there's not much to say today. The Leafs have the day off, resting up for a HUGE game in Carolina tomorrow night before coming back to this area for a three-games-in-four-nights stretch starting Thursday (Atlanta, Pittsburgh, and the Rangers).

It goes without saying that the Carolina game is an absolute must win, far more than other "must-win" games have been lately. A clean (regulation) win over the Hurricanes not only puts the Leafs up at 84 points, which right now seems to be the "going rate" (although, given that Montreal, Tampa, and both New York teams are also playing tomorrow, that could very well change), but it keeps Carolina from getting farther ahead, which was the big problem with Saturday's emotional win (that everyone else won, too). But of course, I'm sure all three of us are going to chime in tomorrow with more detailed (me), emotional (Steve), and irrelevant (Jared) thoughts. And isn't that why you come here?

As for the weekend, well, all three of those teams are flying right now and will be really tough to beat. Atlanta's lost their last two, but one of those because of a fluke goal against Pittsburgh yesterday and the other was against San Jose, when Jonathan Cheechoo suddenly remembered he was a 50 goal scorer last year. Pittsburgh is 7-2-1 in their last ten and are making a strong push for the Atlantic division title. The Rangers have won 5 straight, are 7-1-2 in their last ten, and have the best goalie in the entire league for the past two months or so in Henrik Lundqvist.

There's a possible eight points up for grabs in the next week. I'm going to say right now that it's absolutely essential for Toronto to pick up no less than five of those points. That would put them at 89 with three games to play, which should be enough to keep pace (especially if we get a clean win against those dastardly Hurricanes). Then to close off the year we have Philadelphia, Montreal, and the Islanders. The worst team in the league and two of the teams we need to beat. Let's say we got 2-1 (wins over the Flyers and Islanders and a loss to Montreal) in that last week; if we get five points this week, that leaves us at 93 points when the season is done. That will probably be enough to get us in. So, if we can keep pace or even get a little ahead this week, our destiny will be ENTIRELY in our own hands.

We're not dead yet guys.

Captain Planet?

2007-03-25T18:31:00.000-05:00

Something about this picture really made me laugh. Then I started to wonder...how long until we see Sir Paul McCartney starting to attend Leafs' games at the ACC with his "No More Land Mines" shirt on.

I know Sundin's a good captain in the dressing room and on the ice and stuff...but Captain Planet...c'mon.

Well, colour me shocked

2007-03-24T20:32:00.000-05:00

Toronto hung on to win 4-1.

I'll definitely take a series split from Buffalo; three or four points here would have been a LOT better but I think two is impressive enough. More important than the actual points here is the moral victory: after last night, the team needed to show that they weren't going to be too shaken up. Look at Edmonton after the Ryan Smyth trade (although granted, Edmonton has been a fucking terrible team all year and I picked them to finish 13th in September). The team was destroyed emotionally. Toronto needed to get a quick win here to prove that they weren't going to let the collapse on Friday get to them. This was really important for Raycroft, since goalies are always a little wonky like that. Raycroft had a great game, Toronto got that win, and I have confidence in the team again. Maybe we're still behind the pace, but we're still alive. And that's important.

The only thing that sucks about this is that everyone else in the race picked up four points over the last four days. It would have really been nice if someone else could have done their job. Off the top of my head (meaning I haven't looked at standings and won't be doing that to make the math correct), Toronto sits at 82 points - which is good for 11th. Montreal and Carolina move back into their tie for eighth with 84, and both of them have more wins than Toronto.

I don't know. It's going to be really, really tough. But this team showed tonight, coming off of last night, that they still have a bit of moxie in them. I'm not going to count them out yet.

Oh Fuck ... Here We Go Again

2007-03-24T19:08:00.000-05:00

The Leafs are up 3-1 in the 2nd Period. Anyone willing to bet they fuck it up again? I'll give it 2-1 odds that they lose. Place your bets now.

A Weekend with the Slugs

2007-03-24T18:52:00.000-05:00

It's been an emotional weekend as I'm sure you can pick up from Steve's rantings.

The game last night was... well, weird. I didn't see much of the first two periods, as I was continuing my usual tradition of "not actually watching the Leafs play", but then Jared arranged a get together for the last period of the game and pounds upon pounds of chicken wings. It was us here at BBP along with one raging faggot/Sabres fan (another came later... after the win... wearing a Sabres jersey. Which I can guarantee he put on just as the Sabres won the game, and that he probably would have hidden if the Sabres lost (or, alternatively, if Buffalo still sucked, probably wouldn't even own it).

What I did catch of the game was really weird. Toronto was hanging with Buffalo. That... well, that shouldn't happen. And I guess the only explanation I can come up with for what happened in the third period is that Buffalo realized "hey, what the hell, why is Toronto winning?" and decided to not put up with that. The Leafs completely fell apart. We were sitting there, enjoying our artery-clogging food and the fact that our favourite team was handily winning over arguably the best team in the league (well, Brett wasn't, he stayed kind of quiet. He only really talked to order his food, talk about something non-hockey related, or, interestlingly, praise Toronto. I guess the lesson here is that Buffalo fans are really just Ottawa fans who realize how gay they are for liking Ottawa and wish they were still Toronto fans). As Steve mentioned, there were other (drunken) Leafs fans in attendance; the one guy who was wearing a Toronto jersey kept yelling and carrying on with Jared, who was in his McCabe jersey.

Then, all of a sudden, everything went to hell. I honestly cannot explain, rationalize, or even describe what the hell happened. Everything went wrong. Everything. Four unanswered goals. Goals on consecutive shots. Brett coming out of the closet and trash talking the Leafs. The other guys in the bar got up and left. We saw one goal and thought it was the replay of the previous one, only it was actually a new goal. It was horrible. No one player, event, or magical elixir deserves the blame - everyone shit the bed in the last 15 minutes. The worst part is that we weren't even surprised.

So now we're into the second game, midway through the second period, and the Leafs are up 3-1 again. Devereaux is on speed this weekend, Tucker's having a beast of a game with two goals (making up for the horrible game he had last night, I guess), Raycroft is playing great, and the crowd is really into it. Hell, Ryan Miller even got chased from the game, and we got to see Ty Conklin. Ty Conklin.

Can Toronto win this game? I don't know now. Before last night, based on the first half of tonight's game I would say they definitely could. The Leafs are in charge out there. But last night we had a 4-1 lead and that went to hell, so I'm nervous for how the rest of this goes. We need the win, no question. Especially with both New York teams winning earlier today, Montreal having Washington on the bill for tonight, and Carolina inexplicably leading San Jose. As it is, we're three points out of a tie for eighth. Letting Montreal and Carolina take points while Toronto gets none will be a complete disaster.

Fire JFJ ... shame it won't happen

2007-03-24T18:11:00.000-05:00

So maybe I'm just ranting for the sake of ranting. Maybe I'm ranting because Memphis just lost to Ohio State in the NCAA Tournament. Maybe it's because I can't seem to beat my high score in a pinball game. Maybe it's because the Leafs are about to start, and I'm still pissed about last night. Whatever the reason is, this rant just came to me while listening to Don Cherry in the pre-game.

What I propose is firing John Ferguson Jr, the Leafs shitty GM. Why? Because the Leafs are fucking balls and someone needs to take the fall. This year there's no Pat Quinn to blame though and you're not going to fire a first year coach in Paul Maurice (well I wouldn't put it past JFJ). So what do you do? You fire the architect, the guy who put the team together. The same guy that decided McCabe was worth 5 plus million a year, and deserved a no movement clause. The same guy that thought Kubina was worth roughly the same amount. To be fair, I will acknowledge the Kaberle signing was good, and to sign Tucker for as little as he did was a fairly good move as well. That's not the point though - this team is shit, and someone needs to be blamed and I'm blaming JFJ.

Now, it's all well and good that I'm saying to do it but it's not going to happen. Why? The Leafs (the team on the ice and the front office) are rewarded for mediocrity. Leafs fans have made this franchise one of the most valuable in all of sports. Leafs fans continue to support this team, despite failure, after failure, after failure. Fuck, one of the most recognizable sporting franchises in all of North America, if not the World has not won a championship since 1967. In fact they haven't even been to Stanley Cup Final since the league expanded from the original six. They're simply a miserable excuse for a organization. Yet the fans (myself included) flock to them as if they are golden gods and we put hard earned dollars into the pockets of the owners. These people are making money hand over fist - and are loving it. Yes, like anyone else they are happy because they are making money, but more important than that, they're happy because they know they're pants-ing every fan that goes through the gates at the ACC and are driving a god damn fucking bus up their rectum, and all the fans turn around, smile, and say "thank you sir, may I have another?"

Yes, the Toronto Maple Leafs Organization mother fucks their fans. We put so much time and money into this team, and yet we never ask for anything in return (apart from an occasional anal penetration). I mean who needs a Stanley Cup? What the fuck good is that going to do? The ACC is filled every night regardless.

If the Toronto fans want a Cup, they're only going to get it by doing one simple thing. Sending the owners a message. Not a message like this blog, not an angry email, not a fucking letter that's just going to be trashed. A real message. Stop going to the ACC. Stop paying for a mediocre product. You wouldn't do it for the Jays. You wouldn't do it for the Raptors. You wouldn't do it for the Argos. You certainly didn't do it for the Roadrunners. I don't know, but I'm assuming you wouldn't do it for the Rock (the NLL team). So why do it for the Leafs? I can't answer that.

What I can answer is that message will never get sent. People will never stop watching the Leafs. The Leafs aren't going to win their fans a Cup, and yet fans will keep showing up. The owners will continue to buttfuck us and take our money; AND WE'LL SMILE WHILE THEY FUCKING DO IT. WE'RE A MISERABLE BREED.

Fuck You Matt Stajan; Season Over

2007-03-23T23:00:00.000-05:00

Well that was a fucking shitty game if you are a Leafs fan. Sure if you're a Sabres fans you're grinning like a fucking moron.

Well I don't have anything to say in defence of the Leafs. That was bullshit. A 4-1 lead, only to blow it all fairly late in the 3rd and lose 5-4. That's fucking balls, there's no other way to put it. They should be ashamed of themselves. They absolutely dominated that entire game. It was a fucking mauling. We (all of us at BBP and some other friends; who happen to be Sabres fans) were out for dinner. There were other Leafs fans there, and we were all celebrating, thinking we'd just won an extremely well played game, and we were that much closer to a playoff spot; when all of a sudden everything goes to hell, and the Leafs shit on themselves.

Well fuck me. I'll call it now. Despite any mathematical chances and despite the fact the other teams could still lose, and everything stays the same (minus games remaining) the Leafs season is over. That loss will be the straw that breaks the camels back. That's it. Nice try, we faked being a decent team for almost the entire year.

Also, fuck you Matt Stajan. Like sure it's all well and good you finally decided to score a goal (the Leafs second of the game). It's also great you decided to assist on the 3rd goal. But fuck you that you decided to do it right after I called you Matt "Can't Score" Stajan. Honestly, that's fucking bullshit. I hope Cam Janssen (at some point next season because we will not be joining the Devils in the Playoffs) takes your fucking head off. I hated you before, but making me look like a fool on a brand new blog? That shit ain't gone fly. Fuck that.

Mar 23rd - Leafs vs Sabres - 1st Period Quickie

2007-03-23T19:43:00.000-05:00

I'm going to try and get as much down as I can. I had quite a bit to say, but I don't know whether I can remember all of it now.

- Battaglia turned the puck over in our own zone leading to the Sabres first goal (PP). Bates had plenty of time to get the puck out, but as seems to be happened far too often lately, the Leafs players are getting very little on clearing attempts (especially the back handers) usually leading to a great scoring chance, or as was the case tonight a goal.

- McCabe. While he scored late in the period to tie it at 1 (5 on 3 PP - Kaberle nice little one-timer setup), he continues to fuck up in his own zone. Another brutal giveaway lead to a great goal scoring chance for the Sabres - Razor bailed him out.

- Stajan sucks balls. I've never liked him, and I'm starting to like him less and less ... he just fucking sucks. He had a breakaway, and shot it right into Millers chest. Then a few moments later, the Sabres think they are about to clear the puck and a Leafs defenceman (whom it was I can't remember) jumps in and keeps the puck in. The Sabres are all caught leaving the zone, the puck is shovelled to the front of the net where Matty "Can't Score" Stajan is waiting all alone. Of course he didn't score; look at the nickname I gave him.

- Kaberle showed a bit of rust earlier, but seemed to work out the cobwebs towards the end of the period. Can't fault him too much for that.

- Very phsyical first period - from both sides. Lots of hitting, lots of scurmishes after the whistle. Loved it.

- Also a very fast paced period. Made for a very entertaining first period. Let's hope the next 5 periods are this entertaining.

- Won't be posting after the next two periods, BBP is going out for wings and to watch the game. Hopefully posting an overall game review later though.

Finally...

2007-03-23T15:23:00.000-05:00

So, it's about time I put something up on here. This could also be the first of two posts today...providing I get around to posting tonight's Bowenism.

Anyhow...I just thought this would be a neat little post to start off my time here at Bring Back Potvin. I have assembled an all-star cast of Leafs. However...this is no ordinary "all-star" team. Please see below...
----------------------------
ALL TIME (Modern Day) LEAFS
----------------------------
**Forwards must have never scored more than 40 pts/season with the Leafs.
**Defensement must have never score more than 25 pts/season with the Leafs.
**Goalies must never have played more than 25 games a season for the Leafs.
**All players come from 80s/90s/and 00s.
----------------------------
FORWARD LINES
----------------------------
1. Tom Fitzgerald // Alyn McCauley // Shayne Corson
2. Mike Foligno // Steve Sullivan // Gary Valk
3. Wayne Presley // Mike Krushelnyski // Todd Warriner
4. Tie Domi // Kirk Muller // Ken Baumgartner
----------------------------
DEFENSE
----------------------------
1. Jason Smith // Jamie Macoun (30 pts...but he's exempt due to his moustache)
2. Bill Berg // Drake Berehowsky
3. Bob McGill // Sylvain Lefebvre
----------------------------
GOALIES
----------------------------
1. Marcel Cousineau
2. Don Beaupre
3. Damian Rhodes
----------------------------
I SWEAR TO GOD, THIS TEAM WOULD WIN THE STANLEY CUP
----------------------------

This Is It ... !

2007-03-23T12:31:00.000-05:00

If you're a Leafs fan, you've heard the words, "must win" virtually non-stop these past few weeks. Whether it be Paul Maurice, the players, the media or other Leaf fans, someway, somehow these two words have been mentioned prior to every game for the last little while. The next two nights will be no different.

As Dave so eloquently mentioned below, all the teams the Leafs are fighting with won last night (Montreal, Carolina and New York Islanders). The Leafs are currently sitting in 11th place - behind each of the aforementioned teams - 2 points out of 8th.

Friday night versus Buffalo. In Buffalo. Saturday night versus Buffalo. In Toronto. Four critical points sitting on the table, of which the Leafs need to secure two (at least). Anything less, and the season is over. Period.

The Sabres are a tough fucking team, but the Leafs have played them well - which won't be good enough over the next 36 hours. "Well" won't suffice. The Leafs need two extradoinary efforts against the President's Trohpy team (tied with Nashville at 101 points) in order to keep themselves in the hunt.

The question is, after such an emotional game on Tuesday versus the Devils, do the Leafs have enough left? As they stand at the moment I don't think they do. That's as they stand though, Kaberle is "supposed" to be back tonight and should enfuse them with some energy, and hopefully (HOPEFULLY!) the ability to score a fucking powerplay goal.

Come Saturday at roughly 10PM EST everyone should have a strong sense of where the Leafs season is going - let's just hope it's not to hell.

Oh, you don't say?

2007-03-22T22:20:00.000-05:00

I want this blog to be pretty much only about the Leafs and not the NHL in general, and this does relate to the Leafs in a roundabout sort of way, but I need to vent for a minute.

So you know, the Toronto Maple Leafs are in a playoff race and all, trying to get that elusive last playoff spot in the East. Well, maybe even seventh. Or sixth, if Tampa really falls apart. Whatever, the goal is the playoffs, right?

But of course there's these other teams playing the games too and they all want to make the playoffs too. Well, sort of. Philadelphia probably gave up on the playoffs in mid-October, Washington is a year or two away from making a serious run, Boston gave up last season (this will be good for like, I don't know, five years? Seven?), and fucked if I know what Florida's doing.

So those four teams are out, and then there's the cats at the top of the standings. Buffalo, New Jersey, Atlanta (hey guys, welcome back from the dead, glad you could join us), Ottawa and (ugh...it really, really kills me to say this) Pittsburgh. They're all securely in playoff spots, so it's really just the last three in play. Tampa Bay has a pretty decent lock on sixth from the looks of it, so maybe we'll count that and not get too upset over them winning tonight. I mean, shit, does it really matter what that Jekyll and Hyde team does anyway? They're either going to take the division back, stay in sixth, or fall off the face of the earth. So yeah, let's not count them.

That leaves the Rangers, Islanders, Canadiens, Hurricanes, and of course our heroes, the Toronto Maple Leafs. They're all fighting for those last two spots. The Rangers played last night, demolishing the Flyers (and Todd Fedoruk, incidentally) 5-0 in a win that would have been a lot more impressive if they were playing last year's Flyers. I guess we can't be too mad at them, either, given that if they lost to Philly we all probably would have been laughing at them so hard we would have forgotten that there was even a hockey game, or several, on tonight. This post would probably just be "BRENDAN TRAN-AHAN" over and over and over again.

The Leafs also had the night off, which was ok, because the other three teams in the race all had games tonight and have all been spotty of late. I mean, what better opportunity to gain ground than to not actually do anything but let your opponents waste a game and make it easier for you, right?

Except it didn't exactly happen that way and all three of those teams fucking won. The Hurricanes beat Washington 4-3, which probably makes sense because Carolina SHOULD beat Washington but they haven't been winning those games lately and it would have been nice if they could have kept that up. The Islanders beat Pittsburgh just because the Penguins are a bunch of fucking assholes who fuck up everything that I want them to do. I hate them and want them to suck balls all year (because, for whatever reason, I don't think that getting yet another top five pick will help them in anyway... no, I tend to not think like that when it comes to Pittsburgh, I just want to see them lose and lose badly. I officially hate this team more than Ottawa now, and dammit, I'm a Leafs fan, I hate Ottawa more than Hitler hated Jews) so of course they go out and win all fucking year, have everything come together and end up not only in the playoffs, but possibly winning the division and getting home ice. If they don't win the division, they get to play Ottawa, which is fantastic because there's going to be nothing to draw me into the playoffs like the two teams I want swallowed up into the ground and die only happen to be in the same God damn first round series. Sure, one goes home, but one goes on, and fuck that. AND! To top it all off, when I want them to beat the Islanders to help the Leafs' playoff hopes out, well they fuck that up too. Fuck Pittsburgh.

Which brings us to Montreal. Montreal was down 3-2 after the first two periods, and then decided not only were they only going to shoot four times in the third in a bizarro attempt to get back into the game, but that they're going to score on all four of those shots. I'm not sure WHY they decided that was the best strategy but fuck me, it sure seemed to work out because the ended up scoring five unanswered goals in 22 minutes and slugging Boston 6-3. I mean, Montreal SHOULD beat Boston, but they should not beat Boston like that. Suddenly the up-and-down Canadiens I mentioned earlier today have won three straight (tonight's Boston game, another game against Boston where they won via 1-0 shutout, and the game on Saturday where they beat the Leafs in a shootout) and Toronto sits in 11th.

What a great day.

Belated thoughts on the Belak game

2007-03-22T13:39:00.000-05:00

The Leafs don't play again until tomorrow, and I haven't given any sort of thoughts on the win over the Devils on Tuesday, and I still can't figure out the new Blogger-template issues, and the new blog is still looking too empty for my tastes, so here we go.

As usual, I didn't actually watch the game, but I read about it and had both Jared and Steve tell me about it (in particular, the big fight, which we'll get to in a second). I'm very happy with a win against the Devils, a team that I picked before the season to win the Cup and one that I'll probably be picking again in a few weeks to win it all. Lots of people were/are surprised with how good New Jersey has been; not I. I expected this. I also expected the Leafs to be fairly mediocre, and while they've definitely been a better than I had credited them with (although given that I placed them in about 10th, maybe not THAT much better), I still would count them out against a top team like the Devils.

But they won, and won in regulation at that, giving a much needed two points to a team that is struggling in the playoff race. The best part is that neither Carolina nor Montreal, the other two teams that Toronto sits tied with for the eight and final spot, haven't been showing much life lately. Granted, Toronto's been on-and-off with the results, too, but for whatever reason they always seem to hang with the big boys, and that counts for something - particularly with a big home-and-home against Buffalo this weekend. Normally I'd count them out against Buffalo (following my rule that teams that dominate should handle this Leaf team pretty easily), but my confidence is boosted following their showing on Tuesday. I think Toronto can pull out a win and an OT loss, and I'd be pretty happy with three points. I wouldn't be surprised to see them sweep, and I would be surprised at this point to see no points from this weekend. I guess I'll officially predict a win and a loss, picking up another two points, and hopefully neither Carolina nor Montreal will do anything of note so Toronto can get some breathing room like both Tampa Bay and New York did this week.

Of course, if the Islanders are getting a healthy DiPietro back, then that adds another card into the mix. A card I don't particularly want to deal with, given that the Isles have a game in hand and a pretty decent lineup. Of course, they've also lost four straight, so maybe their problems are deeper than DiPietro. Hopefully.

So I'm sort of optimistic heading into the weekend and the final drive for a playoff spot, which is especially weird for me and this Leaf team. I guess after they've gotten this far with such a weak team, they might as well make it. They'll probably break my heart again but whatever. I don't think I can really stress how important this weekend is for the team. A good showing probably puts us on the fast track to a spot... provided Carolina, Montreal, and the Islanders don't all keep up.

As for the Belak fight...

Well, I didn't think that much of the fight itself. A lot of the marvel at this brawl came, I think, because of the build and the reaction it caught. Most fights in the NHL don't have a good story behind it; this one certainly did. And the crowd's reaction to it was outstanding - they blew the god damn roof off. For Belak. That's pretty damn noteable (and hopefully it won't happen again, because the only time it SHOULD happen is in an instance like this and well, why on earth would I want someone to take out our best defenseman?). Quite frankly, Belak became an eternal fan favourite in Toronto on Tuesday and has it made here for life. But again, that's not necessarily a good thing - no matter how awesome it was to see his name get chanted as he struggled to hang with a much smaller man in a fight, he's still pretty useless. If it wasn't for his ability to play forward and defense he probably wouldn't be on the team. Or any team.

The fight itself was sort of bland I thought. Yeah, it was long, but it ended because both guys got tired out and not from any conclusive decision (though you'd probably give it to Belak on emotions alone). Actually, I think you really have to hand it to Janssen - he knew what was coming and took it like a man. I mean, fuck him, but he gained my respect back (well, some of it) with that fight. I guess I'm just thankful Toronto wasn't getting killed so that McCabe didn't go and Bertuzzi Janssen. That would have been... well, not good.

BELAK! BELAK! BELAK!

2007-03-20T19:17:00.000-05:00

As you are probably aware, Wade Belak and Cam Janssen had one hell of a fight tonight during the first period of the Leafs and Devils game. In case you missed it, here's a very quick summary. Belak and Janssen were both on the ice (a good start if you want to fight). They were a distance apart, but they knew what to do. They circled center ice. The fans all rose to their feet. For 1:36 Belak and Janssen threw fists at eachother. Belak landed a few big shots early, that made the crowd erupt into a "Belak, Belak, Belak" chant. Janssen landed a few near the end, until they both tired out. The fans once again erupted into the previously mentioned chant.

- Who would have known Wade Belak would have EVER got a standing ovation.
- The "Belak" chant egnited the ACC Crowd like I have NEVER heard before. The Leafs fans are generally dormant since the only people that can afford tickets are rich fuckers.
- The Leafs played with energy from that point onwards, which lead to their first goal and a 1-0 lead going into the second.
- I'm so very proud of Paul Maurice for dressing Belak. He absolutely had to do it, just incase Janssen took more liberties on our best players.
- I'm so very proud of Wade Belak for knowing what his role was, and going out and sparking the team virtually right off the drop of the puck (if you want to be picky it was 9:23 into the game).
- Fuck Cam Janssen for taking Tomas Kaberle from us. Our powerplay has since gone 4-44 (including the first period of tonight's game).

- (Edit:I added this after the game ended) One of the biggest reasons the Leafs won 2-1 tonight - first time all year we've won 4 straight on home ice - was Wade Belak. As Dave mentioned to me earlier, I never thought anyone would be singing Belak's praises, but here we are. He set the tone early, and from that point on in the game, the Leafs were energized, the crowd was loud, and the Leafs played an overall physical game. They played well defensively, Raycroft kept rebounds close to him; but it all started with Belak's fight. The only negative I can find with the game was that Raycroft got lucky on a few shots that beat him and hit the post ... other than that, a well played game. In for a tough home and home with the Sabres on Friday and Saturday night though.

Here it is incase you for some insane reason have not seen this ...

Bring Back Potvin

Moved!

lol no

Peter.

Trade Center '09, live from the Palace of Wisdom

Steve Simmons, you can kiss my ass

FUCK YEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH

#59 - vs. Islanders

McCabe

#58 - in Buffalo

Standings Update

Outdoor Game in Toronto ... ?

What does the Cory Stillman trade mean for Toronto?

Here With My Two Cents ...

Stamkos Standings, Feb. 11

Stamkos Standings

Stamkos Standings

#57 - vs Detroit (3:00pm start time)

I'm back...

The Slide for Stamkos

#56 - at Montreal

The Brett McLean Five-Point Special

The Long Awaited, Long Overdue, Long Deserved, Celebratory, Ritualistic Dance - Post

So much for that

Dave being Dave

Crisis

5 Reasons Not To Fire John Ferguson Jr.

Hey, Fuck You (Dave)

Hey guys what's going on in this blog

Two Words ... (and it's not suck it)

And Just When You Thought I Was Gone ...

What the fuck is a draft?

I can only hope Darren Dreger is not lying to me

I am still here!

Maybe the last title was a bit deceiving.

We are NOT absentee bloggers, I swear

Playoffs: Round One

The NHL Playoffs start tonight

*BOWENISM* - Apr. 5/07 - Maple Leafs vs. Islanders

Top 10 Reasons Why We Will Win Tonight...

That's just fantastic

Losing 7-2 is Sweeeeeeet!

This is a really, really important day

*BOWENISM* - Mar. 29/07 - Maple Leafs vs. Thrashers

Remaining Schedule of 7 Eastern Teams; Realistic Results?

Live game blog tonight!

Killing two or more birds with one stone

The *SECOND* best thing to ever happen at MAPLE LEAF GARDENS...

The best thing to ever happen at MAPLE LEAF GARDENS...

Mar 27th - Canes vs Leafs - Game Review

Mar 27th - Canes vs Leafs - 2nd Period Quickie

Mar 27th - Canes vs Leafs - 1st Period Quickie

*BOWENISM* - Mar. 27/07 - Maple Leafs vs. Hurricanes

Want Some Good News?

Monday, March 26

Captain Planet?

Well, colour me shocked

Oh Fuck ... Here We Go Again

A Weekend with the Slugs

Fire JFJ ... shame it won't happen

Fuck You Matt Stajan; Season Over

Mar 23rd - Leafs vs Sabres - 1st Period Quickie

Finally...

This Is It ... !

Oh, you don't say?

Belated thoughts on the Belak game

BELAK! BELAK! BELAK!

BOWENISM - Apr. 5/07 - Maple Leafs vs. Islanders

BOWENISM - Mar. 29/07 - Maple Leafs vs. Thrashers

The SECOND best thing to ever happen at MAPLE LEAF GARDENS...

BOWENISM - Mar. 27/07 - Maple Leafs vs. Hurricanes