You have to watch this- and you will love the “Toronto” is calling clip- In any event, if in fact the league guru’s watching the video did call they too blew it and this stuff has to be fixed:

“However, it’s difficult to believe Moore will sign in Toronto, even though both parties would like that to happen. It is believed the two sides remain about $1 million (all figures U.S.) apart per season, a gap that is just too wide to be bridged.Moore, based on his breakout season with the Leafs, is thought to be looking for roughly triple the $900,000 he earns this season with a desired two-year deal in the $5 million range. While that seems steep, there are those who believe Moore could command more than $3 million a season on the open market this summer. It is thought the Leafs would happily keep Moore if he would agree to a three-year pact at about $4.5 million, a deal that would average about $1.5 million per season.” Toronto Star, March 3, 2009

One word. Oooops.

“”Brad will provide character, toughness, and he is a proven winner,” Burke said in a statement. “We look forward to the veteran leadership that he will give our team.” January 7, 2009
“With Brad May it’s not just the toughness element which he does bring, but more importantly the leadership he brings to the locker room where the younger guys can see a guy who prepares properly and approaches the game properly and has the leadership skills. the hardest part of being a leader, is coming into a new group mid term and trying to be a leader- But i have seen Brad operate before and the one guy on our staff, Keith Acton pushed harder for this then anyone else…This isn’t a Brian Burke project, I love him as a player but he brings other things, he is very positive and that is very important to a young team, he never comes in a pouty, or in a bad mood. Every day is a great day to Brad May. I want a positive influence for those kids, a guy who pays a terrible price to win on the ice, a guy who practices hard. He is not a great hockey player, but he does a lot of things well and i think our team needs to see those things, how to prepare and act like a professional hockey player.” Brian Burke PTS January 8, 2009

Three words, why not now?

If you are Dominic Moore, don’t you wish you could turn back time? Talk about money you will never, ever, ever get back. Someone will get desperate and sign him. It may be a 2 way deal it may be a tryout, it may be a long way away. The old saying about a bird in the hand……… One has to wonder who was driving that boat, the agent, or Mr. Moore. The real question is, would he dare come crawling back? Would Burke be the bigger man and take him back. Imagine the savings he could get now?

If Brad May is all the things mentioned above, then wouldn’t this be the year to have him around? If Phil Kessel has “issues” don’t you want him around Brad May? If he roomed with Luke Schenn, don’t you want him around Bozak, Hanson and Stalberg? How much money would he demand? How much ice time would he want??

Lots of questions as we head down the stretch of training camp….

Wow- what a change in events the last 5 minutes can make. The first 55 were BRUTAL. It was like a morgue in the ACC. Neither team looked like they wanted to be there. The highlight of the game was a fan answering a trivia question correctly earning all in attendance a free Big Mac tomorrow (seriously, it was the talk of the 2nd intermission). Then the Buds scored to go up 2-1 and all hell broke loose (not lose!). The Caps scored a late goal Gerber went nuts, iced the puck long after the whistle and got tossed. Enter Curtis Joseph who had been sitting on the bench suffering through the same brutal display of hockey the rest of us had been watching. Ovechkin, Semin and Green peppered Cujo with point blank shots and the Buds got a late penalty as well that they had to kill. After each save the place went nuts, with louder cheers of CUJO CUJO ringing down on the veteran goalie. Brad May nearly lept off the bench with excitement after each save and was standing when Cujo game to the bench after time expired in the 3rd period. Cujo stood on his head for the OT as well and held the Caps goalless in the shootout as well.

Besides the Big Mac promotion, major kudos to both the Leafs, Capitals and the fans who gave a teary eyed Canadian Soldier the standing ovation he deserved when recognized by Andy Frost on the PA. It was quite amazing to see the entire Leaf bench shoot up and start slamming their sticks in addition to the Capitals players too. The fans cheered on the guy as he sat, in uniform with this significant other in what looked like disbelief at the tribute. The ovation lasted over a minute for the decorated soldier who just returned from his 2nd tour of duty in Afghanistan. The hell with cheering Mats Sundin. Toronto (players and fans) you did right tonight!

Of course the debate will rage tomorrow about Curtis Joseph and his future with the Leafs and in the league. While I would be stunned if he were to return as a player, I would be more stunned if he played elsewhere. If this is goodbye, what a great way to go out. His entire team mobbing him, the place chanting his name and earning the first star. Cujo, for a man who played less then 8 minutes, this was your night, you earned it.

Here are some photos from in-between OT and the shootout:

Here is the video of Alexander Ovechkin’s shootout attempt on Cujo:

So Brian Burke has been offered a lottery pick for Luke Schenn. His response was why trade a 19 year old player who is earning 22 minutes a night of ice time for an unproven prospect. Question is do you agree? From my perspective, I wouldn’t make this deal before the lottery happens. Unless I knew it would be for #1, I wouldn’t make the deal. I can’t imagine that at this time the other team, and I am willing to bet it was Tampa, would trade their number one straight up for Schenn. They would want more. They don’t want players either, they want prospects or picks. Burke would get crucified if he traded Schenn plus anything for a lottery pick. That doesn’t mean Schenn is untradeable. As Burke has said publicly already, offer me 10 first rounders and he is gone. We all know that he says that tongue in cheek. The offer could be less then 10 first rounders and Schenn would be gone. One for one, would you trade Luke Schenn for John Tavares? I haven’t seen JT play first hand. I have seen a bit on TV and I have read the reviews. One NHL scout told me this am that he would make that trade every day of the week and 2x on Saturday. I would be stunned if Schenn got moved prior to the end of the season. Would I be shocked if he got dealt before or at the draft? Not one bit.

I really liked the segment Stellick and Landry had after talking to Ron Wilson. Wilson was good, he didn’t say too much. He was asked the usual questions, he dumped a little bit on Carey Price, but recovered quite well. The only thing that stuck with me was when Wilson said there are 7 or 8 guys from which to build upon. We could go through the list of who they are, granted it gets harder after Schenn and Stajan. it got me thinking though. If Burke is able to clean the slate, I mean really gut this team, from Wilson’s perspective was this season a waste of time? All the principals, practices, lessons etc. that he has tried to instill, if they are left on only 5-7 guys and you have a new 10-15 (and lots not even consider the Marlies roster), are they any further ahead. Unless all the guys Burke acquires are Wilson type guys or are so raw that the bad habits haven’t been established, next season could be equally as frustrating for Wilson. I guess the only difference will be that the guys he will be coaching should be long term guys as opposed to this years bunch. As a coach, or coaching staff, that has to be frustrating as hell.

Stellick made a great point after the interview. He said that Wilson is the cover boy of the Leafs team this year (along with Schenn he said) but if Wilson is next year then Wilson and Burke have a big problem. I think that is exactly right. I think the one thing this team really lacks is an identity. Who is the one Maple Leaf player the fans rally around and support. It’s hard to say Luke Schenn. He is only 19. It is not like he is leading end to end rushes (that isn’t his game). He doesn’t have an overly dynamic personality (he is 19!). While the physical part of the game is certainly good, he doesn’t throw Wendel Clark like hits (he’s only 19 and he plays defence). Grabovsky is a lot like Sergei Berezin, fun to watch especially when he scores but…. Jason Blake has really come a long way. He has a few thousand more miles to become a fan favorite. The team doesn’t even have the prototypical mucker or plumber for the fans to cheer especially when he scores. May could be that guy, if LOST were more then a TV show and time travel were possible. The next 13 days are going to be interesting as hell. I think they will exciting in that moves will be made. I don’t see anything tangible coming back that is going to get people excited. It’s hard to get over excited about a draft pick, except that it offers the greatest thing ever, and no, not a mutton lettuce and tomato sandwich, HOPE… Hope for maple leaf nation is the greatest thing. With JFJ we had none, well none that related to winning. The hope was that the powers that be wake and realize the mistake they had in hiring him in the first place.

13 days to go, a TON of work to be done. This should be a very,very interesting time for leaf fans.

So folks, let’s review what we have learned from Toronto Maple Leafs General Manager Brian Burke:

1. Antropov isn’t going to be offered an extension, time for a change of scenery…

So what are we to make from this bold statement? Well, there are a couple of things to consider. Burke could be trying to motivate his player. Irrespective of what the end result is, Burke simply could be trying to light a fire under Antropov’s A$$. It worked for Ron Wilson for Jason Blake and it worked for Matt Stajan. Maybe Burke wants to take some of the bad cop reputation away from his coach. Burke could also be speaking the truth. However, dumping on a guy isn’t going to increase his trade value as we head toward the deadline. So while I think there is absolute truth in Burke’s words I am convinced that this is an attempt to motivate the hell out Nik. If you want to stay here, show us you can play like the top forward Cliff said you are. Antropov is a UFA this off season. He needs to perform at a high level in order to get the contract his agent has likely been promising him is forthcoming. So Nik either picks up the pace and gets dealt to a contender or picks up the pace and earns big bucks. The alternative isn’t good for Antropov. The downside from Burke’s comments unlike what you may read here are pretty minimal..

2. All our waiver eligible guys in the minors will get called up

Although I never really believed it, there is a line of thought out there that players don’t want to play in Toronto. The reasoning is that despite the losing, the franchise has not been run in a manner in which players would aspire to be Maple Leafs. I think Burke is certainly trying to clean up that image. By doing right by deserving guys in the minor players won’t look at signing 2 way deals with the Leafs as a trip to minor hell. The lesson is, if you get sent to the Marlies and you work hard you will get a shot, either here or on waivers with someone else. I think that is terrific. It should strengthen the Marlies and the Leafs. If Mark Bell and others are working their butts off, why not reward them with either a sniff in the NHL or a shot at being claimed. It pushes players to work harder on the pharm and provides the necessary motivational carrot that we all need from time to time. It also pushes the guys currently on the roster. If you don’t play well a hungry guy from the minors is coming up..

3. Kubina and Kaberle won’t be forced to waive their NTC

This is a real beauty by Burke. He holds the hammer here. It’s classic. He encourages the players to submit a list of 10 teams they will accept a trade to so to create the appearance of a choice in where they may play next year. Burke hasn’t said I will trade that player to one of the teams on their respective list. All it means is that if Burke get’s an offer he likes from one of those teams he has an ok in hand that the player will go(unlike when Cliff allegedly dealt Kabs last year). If Burke doesn’t get an offer he likes he can deal with all the teams in the league at the draft for either or both of Kubina or Kaberle. While JFJ was a total clown, and I would so much rather not had had either guy have a NTC, at the very least he has this small window where the NTC disappears to hang his hat on….like i said, at least…. Lastly, the honoring of the NTC is just another attempt by Burke to change any negative perception of the Leafs organization around the league. Berger and others like to say all the time how forcing players to waive their NTC or putting them on waivers would have an everlasting negative effect on the ability to sign players into the future. Well, moves like this can only help improve the reputation. Add the handling of Cujo for the Buffalo game? I mean look, the team let a veteran player stay home and be with his kids, rather then go on the road for a game and sit on the bench as a backup. Who wouldn’t want to play for a team that does that??!! I don’t wish an injury on any one person. However a timely injury to a teams top defenceman would help us out BIG time.

4. It’s up to Vesa if he is the goalie of the future

Another great motivating tool by Burke. One game doesn’t make an example. So the fact that Vesa played well against the Habs isn’t the least bit meaningful unless it is the start of a series of great games. Remember the complaint isn’t that he can’t play well, it’s that he can’t put together a string of games like the one he played in Montreal (a string is more then 2 by the way). If he keeps pushing Vesa’s buttons and he gets really hot, he either has a hot goalie to trade or one to keep. On the flip side, Vesa snaps, mentally speaking, and can’t put together a string of one good period let alone 3 games. What’s the loss, he either waves him or gulp suffers with bad goaltending to the bottom of the standings I mean top of the draft.

5. Would like to extend Dominic Moore

Sales 101- talk up the assets you want to move. Count the guys Burke has praised since he took over. Forget Schenn, mostly because he is young. I can really only think of 2. Moore and Blake (of late). Now, Blake was in Wilson’s dog house and successfully worked his way out. I have to think that Burke would love to deal Blake and the more he and everyone else talk about how awesome he has been playing the more he hopes someone gets desperate and wants to pull the trigger on a deal for him. Besides the positive reinforcement on Blake can’t be bad either. Then there is Moore. The more Burke says he wants to sign/extend/reward Moore the more he hopes others are listening. Dreger has said he hears teams ask about him quite a bit. Well, the more Burke says we want to keep him, the higher it should drive the price up. Just like the Antropov dis drives down the price, the “I want to keep Moore comments should increase the value.” The only pitfall is with regards to money. If his agent gets a fat head and says hey, you told the world how great he is, you should pay him x…well then Burke made his own monster. It says here that won’t happen and even if it does it’s a risk worth taking. Dominic Moore as good as he has been is 29 years old. In 3 years when the Burke is going to want to contend is going to be 33. Not ancient, but something to consider. He would be a guy worth keeping in the short term because he plays Ron Wilson hockey. Worth keeping, but not essential….If someone is willing to over pay…..

As an aside… we bash him all the time(even above), but a hat tip to Howard Berger is deserved for his interview with Brad May that no one else had:

“After the game, however, May had a gleam in his eye when I approached him for a quick interview. He was being hurried along to the Leafs’ team bus for a trip to Pierre Trudeau Airport and a flight down to Fort Lauderdale. But, Brad wasn’t going to leave without getting something off his chest — taking dead-aim at Guy Carbonneau, the coach of the Canadiens.
“Carbonneau put Georges out there… sent Georges out there, and he actually thought we were going to back down,” May contended. “I know all about that guy, and I’m talking about their coach. You know what? It’s not going to happen. It’s been 19 years [in the NHL] Guy… keep sending them out.”
Asked why he felt so certain that Carbonneau had instructed Laraque to fight, May replied: “Guy just doesn’t have any idea what’s it’s like to be a tough guy. The toughest guy in his family is Brendan Morrow, his son-in-law, who’s an unbelievable player and very tough. Guy Carbonneau [used to be] incredibly tough blocking shots in the NHL, but never in a fighting role. He knows nothing about it. There’s respect to be shown in a situation like that, but he wanted to set the tone and I was happy to be a part of it.”

That is the type of work we used to get from Berger. It would be nice to see more of it. Good stuff Howie.

Let's Make a Deal

The Challenge:

Name 5 players who you would keep after the deadline not named Schenn or Grabovski with a 5 words or less explanation why. Please add your list…here is mine and then Nealio’s

1. Hagman- No Trade Clause
2. May- Luke Schenn’s mentor
3. Finger- Steady D Man
4. Stralman- Young, Cheap & has potential
5. Nikolai Kulemin – Young Cheap & has upside

Nealio:
Stajan: Hasn’t peaked yet, leadership qualities
White: Smart, effective, workhorse, young, best-moustache
Moore: Best bang for your buck
May: Toughest ‘vet’ we have left
Finger: Toughest stay home D man

To me, Stajan, White and Moore are all assets who are at their peak in terms of value. If you can get good value back, you deal them….It’s not, you know, personal….

Something in the water tonight I think. A very strange evening as people saying all kinds of stuff making us raise our eyebrows…

Craig Hartsburg, “Those guys cost us the game, you try to trust your best players and they cost you the game, it’s happened before.” Those guys are Spezza and Alfredsson. Their line was a minus 10 tonight.

Folks, this guy is TOAST and he knows it. Stick a fork in him, he is done. The only question is, is this a solo execution or is Mr. Murray going with him? I would not be the least bit surprised that by the time I am sitting in my kids parent/teacher conference tomorrow am that this changeover is underway. Remember what the Sens owner did the Leafs dressing room after being beaten in the playoffs???? I wouldn’t want to see what his house looks like right now.

Watters: ” I wouldn’t trade Tomas Kaberle straight up for Dany Heatly”

Ummmmmm. Ummmmmm. There has to be more to this story. You know I am not a huge DH fan. I am not going to get into that again. I am alone in thinking that Brian Burke would make that move in a split second??? That would be a no-brainer. Would Wilbur trade Blake for DH? Hollweg?? Mayers??? Mayers, by the way had his best night as a leaf tonight.

Mike Brophy to Pat Quinn: “I know for a fact you didn’t talk with any other teams about coaching after leaving the maple leafs.
Darren Millard/Pat Quinn (Together): “BOSTON
Brophy/Quinn/Millard:” ____________________________________________”
Enough silence to leave force Pat Quinn, the guest to explain the Boston situation.

What the hell was Brophy thinking??? (I smell a minus/down arrow in the new media power rankings). Even my dog new about the Boston story. Good on Pat Quinn for rescuing the moment. Please land in Pittsburgh PQ.

The constant bickering, eye rolling between Nik Kyrpos and Bill Watter is PRICELESS….I would love to hear these guys off the record speaking about the other..By the looks in their respective eyes whenever the other is speaking is awesome!!! Seriously folks, watch a segment…

Oh, and what is the over on the number of mentions, comments, questions about Grabovsky getting fined/suspended for shoving the lineman? Will it be higher then the number of times Hogan mentions grey cup visits tomorrow, or the money references Richie MacLean makes on his show tomorrow? It says here Grabs gets fined, but not suspended (if anything at all).I for one think he played a great game by the way. Yeah he got too riled up, but at least he should a little bit of heart. Interesting clip seeing Brad May trying to pull him back a bit. I thought May looked AOK in Maple Leaf blue and white and not too bad in the fight either.

I once ran a poll asking people to rate the best of the Toronto dailies. In my opinion there is no contest. The Globe is eon’s ahead of the others. Next comes the Star, followed by the Post and the Sun.

The Globe has Eric Duhatschek, Jeff Blair, Stephen Brunt, Tim Wharnsby, David Shoalts, David Naylor, Michael Grange and William Houston (others too)
The Star has Damien Cox, Richard Griffin, Dave Feschuk, Doug Smith, Mark Zwolinski, Chris Zelkovich and Dave Perkins(others too)
The National Post has Bruce Arthur, Michael Traikos,Jeremy Sandler, Sean Fitz-Gerald, Joe O’Connor, Allen Panzeri and a host of Can West and other Writers.
The Sun has Steve Simmons, Mike Zeisberger, Lance Horby, Ken Fidlin, Terry Koshan, Rob Longley, Alison Korn, Bob Elliott, Bill Lankhoff, Gary Lowen, Steve Buffery, Bruce Garrioch(kind of)

Apologies to anyone I forgot. On the basis of quality of reporting I stand by rankings.

Having said that, I can’t say enough times how far the sun has slipped. Growing up there was no post and the Globe sports section sucked. The Sun was numero uno followed by the Star. Today, I enjoy reading most of the guys at the Globe. I think Blair has become numero uno (as a general columnist). At the Star, love him or hate him Damien is the man there. Griffin’s blog is better then his work on the paper. Smith is better on the radio then in print. Zelkovich was better when he covered the media. At the post it isn’t necessarily the names but the steady content. Arthur is good, and they get so many other guest columns that there is always something to read. In the sun, they have 2 guys who are readable, Simmons and Elliott. Terry Koshan and Lance are ok, and Garrioch is more entertaining and isn’t a Toronto writer. Longley was a better media writer too. The others?????

Today, we honor the worst of them all. I have been scratching my head for a long time wondering how this guy gets to write for a real paper. Today’s article is just a perfect example of how bad he is. Drum roll please…. Gary Lowen. Did anyone read the piece he wrote today? It is total, 100% crap (in my opinion of course).

“A big fuss has been made over the Maple Leafs acquiring Brad May, a 37-year-old winger from the Anaheim Ducks, in exchange for a draft pick.

But, let’s be honest, at this stage in his career he’s strictly Brad December.

And either way, the Leafs won’t play in May.”

Are you kidding me???? This is in a REAL newspaper, not a high school one right?

“Indianapolis Colts star Marvin Harrison’s gun was smoking, but who pulled the trigger?

Investigators have conflicting witness accounts of a shooting in Philadelphia in April, which left one man wounded.

Let’s go to our Clue game to solve this one: It was Plaxico Burress, with Marvin Harrison’s revolver, at the car wash.”

Is that supposed to be funny?

“You know that Jamario has to be over the Moon.

Moon has left the Raptors to be with his wife, Tamara, who has given birth to their first child, a daughter.

Wonder if they’ll give the baby a cool name, like, oh, maybe, Jamaria?

Guess the name Warren is out”

I am not making this up- this is in today’s Toronto Sun!!!!!

“The Philadelphia Phillies have agreed to terms with two pitchers, left-hander Antonio Bastardo and right-hander Yorman Bazardo.

Doesn’t sound like the kind of guys you want to meet in a dark bullpen.”

How does this guy have a job as a writer?????

This is the start of a new feature here on TSM where we will have a weekly (right LT?) Media power ratings- who was hot, cold, up and down in the media.

Tomorrow we feature Radio personalities- feel free to submit any thoughts ahead of time….

If you really want to read more of Lowen’s trash you can read it here….

If you want to know why McCown is number one in this market, listen to his interview of Bryan Burke last night. It is just stuff you don’t get anywhere else. I give a ton of credit to Bob and Stephen Brunt for this one. It was an excellent interview, they asked all the right questions at all the right times. Kudos to Burke too. Here is a sloppily written account, but I highly suggest you listen to it yourself.

Q So are you comfortable that you have a sense what this team is and what it needs?

A Yes, from the start i said that we are too small and that has proven to be our biggest need. The second thing is consistency. If you said to me how is your goaltending? On some nights its adequate, it’s been terrific and on other’s it’s not. Our defensive play, on some nights we are a unit we play hard, the next we don’t. We need a consistent approach

Q Is this a time now where you are still looking at how the teams play or are you asking yourself are the players you have, are these guys good enough?

A The latter-I inherited Ron Wilson, i respect Ron, our coaching is sound, its a good system, it’s entertaining we aren’t trapping- i like the coaching- The question now is do we have the right people to execute that system.

Q You have a long term project here. How much of your brain in focused on the short term like the brad may deal which is obviously is a short term thing and how much is like a chess game where it is three or four moves away and will pay dividends next year and into the future?

A This franchise has suffered from, and that’s a great question and a fair one… This franchise has suffered from a series of short term fixes and patch work approaches, patches on tires, I am going long term here and our goal is to win a championship. That being said, I do have a responsibility to season ticket holders and sponsors to play the hardest and to win the most games we can. With Brad May it’s not just the toughness element which he does bring, but more importantly the leadership he brings to the locker room where the younger guys can see a guy who prepares properly and approaches the game properly and has the leadership skills.

Q You like him, it’s the 3rd time you got him – he is 37 – leadership can be tricky sometimes can he bring those things to a new group mid stride?

A That is the hardest part of being a leader, is coming into a new group mid term and trying to be a leader- But i have seen Brad operate before and the one guy on our staff, Keith Acton pushed harder for this then anyone else…This isn’t a Brian Burke project, I love him as a player but he brings other things, he is very positive and that is very important to a young team, he never comes in a pouty, or in a bad mood. Every day is a great day to Brad May. I want a positive influence for those kids, a guy who pays a terrible price to win on the ice, a guy who practices hard. He is not a great hockey player, but he does a lot of things well and i think our team needs to see those things, how to prepare and act like a professional hockey player.

Q I spent a lot of time talking about the value of draft choices the direction this franchise is going and i don’t want to get into a fight about what cliff did, because I endorse most of what he did, but he did give up a lot of draft choices and well this probably isn’t much, it’s a 6th round draft pick, but I want to ask you, not you specifically, but what value do you put on draft choices as you try and build and get the buidling blocks in place, which is more important draft picks or free agents, what is your philosophy?

A My philosophy has always been that draft picks are very important. This changes as you get close. When we were close in anaheim I traded everything I could to get Chris Pronger because I was close. Ken Holland and Doug Wilson will deal draft choices because they are close. IDifferent weights you place on things depending on where you are. Right now they are the lifeblood of our team. You are right, there is no point on arguing with what Cliff did. He did some good things. He is a wonderful guy and a friend of mine. I have always tired to avoid throwing rocks at any of the guys who went before me. That is very important. People say that Cliff traded some picks and yes he did, but you will never here me complain about it. First because I don’t like guys who complain, nobody out there listening wants to listen to Bryan Burke complain and second he did what he did to make the team better. We have to do what we can to replace those picks. They are absolutely vital in a cap system. Teams that are successful have kept their picks and drafted wisely. Especially now, after the Edmonton offer sheet everyone locks them up after their entry contract so you are never going to get an elite young young kid..

Q Do you have any sense or confidence that you can start that process of reclaiming these picks before the deadline or is it going to take longer ?

A Yes we have one guy that any team would love to draft in any position in Schenn. Grabovsky is a good pick too, no one is going to quarrel that move either. But I am confident we can move some assets and start to replenish these picks, yeah sure.

Q As you approach that time- and you mention the inconsistency, what do you really like-what do you say, there is something we can hold on to there?

A if you asked me at the 7 minute mark of the first period of last night’s game when the shots were 10-0 I would have not said many names. I don’t call my team out very often. You know that, I try to be very loyal to my team. I was very sour last night and I would have made any player who was on the ice available with the exception of Luke Schenn.

I know what people are saying, why are you dealing the lifeblood of the franchise away for a guy like May? Well he told you why. He obviously has a plan, and he obviously knows exactly what is missing in the room right now. I think it is a huge indictment on Mayers and other veterans in the room. He couldn’t be more clear that there is no one in the room who is doing the little things right. I think we owe it to the guy to sit back and lets things unfold for a bit.

You can listen to the interview here.

Had a quick chance to get with a member of the Duck entourage this afternoon. I, of course asked how Brad May has been so far this season, to which I was told:

“Very good when healthy and in the line-up. Played quite well in a four man rotation on fourth line that included Ryan Carter, Brian Sutherby, George Parros and himself. Hurt his knee in November and missed 6 games, tweaked it again in December in a practice and in a game and couldn’t get back in the line-up after that.”

Of course I can’t wait to hear those complain about dealing another pick…..Quick someone get us a list of guys picked in the 6th round who have made it as an NHLer…..

Sounds like they picked up a big body with a presence to replace those who were supposed to do that..At least I hope it means that those who were supposed to do that are going to be gone soon.