Curious thoughts as the news that Jeff Jackson has moved on from the Maple Leafs. Jackson it has been reported wanted the opportunity to move up in the organization and obviously felt that things are crowded in Burke’s world. This is strange however isn’t it? Am I nuts or do I not remember someone already asking for permission to interview Nonis last season only to be denied? Hasn’t Brian Burke said that he almost expects Nonis to get the calls again this summer? I am pretty sure that when Poulin was hired one of the reasons given was that Burke was thinking that Nonis like Joe N. would get plucked sooner rather than later?

So, if one assumes that Nonis isn’t long for the world wouldn’t that allow Jackson to move up the ladder?????????

Hmmmmmm……

The Toronto Sun has been running, and re-running the “Maple Leafs suck, have always sucked, will always suck, it’s the fans fault” ticket for several weeks now. Bill Lankhoff has been leading the way, each article less intriguing then the next. Today’s 2 pager is no real exception.

Let me start my review by asking a series of questions:

What was it that everyone knew and wanted in a new GM?
What was it that everyone wanted the new GM to do?
Didn’t we all say that we had patience for the rebuild?

“Brian Burke promised there would be changes when he took over as general manager of the Toronto Maple Leafs.

And, there have been.

It’s just that nobody expected it would be a change for the bad.”

We all wanted a GM who would come to Toronto, without blue and white colored lenses and would have the conviction to do the things that many of his predecessors didn’t. Yes, the goal is to win a stanley cup. However, we all knew that the goal ahead was to blow this team. We had seen the quick fixes. None of them fixed anything. What was needed was, as Steve Kee referred to as throwing the proverbial bomb in. Yet this time the bomb needed to be nuclear.

As Howard Berger wrote in his blog last week, of the thirty something players who wore the blue and white in 2007-2008 one remains, Tomas Kaberle. Next in line in terms of seniority is Kulemin only to be followed by the cagy old veteran, Luke Schenn.

“Toronto is now the only city in North America with two teams that have American Hockey League rosters.

In rebuilding the Leafs, Burke has left this team naked of much of its recent history.

Maybe, that isn’t such a bad thing.

Maybe this was a dirty job that someone had to do.”

Maybe?????

I’m told that the vast majority if not all of the candidates considered for the GM job when Burke was hired all said the same thing. The franchise had to be totally blown up. From the bottom up. Everyone acknowledges that this has been done.

“There is no denying that today’s roster is weaker than the one — flawed as it was — that Burke has blown up.

People want to believe in Burke.

They want to believe he can rebuild the Maple Leafs as he did the Anaheim Ducks.

They want to believe he is constructing an Iron Curtain defence like he did in Vancouver. ”

Isn’t the notion that it’s weaker redundant? Look at the guys he has jettisoned. Their has to be 2 steps to this, knocking down and then building up. The vast majority of Burke’s work so far has been in the blowing up. For those, like Lankhoff bitching, consider all the crap that was leveled at the teams in the past. Look at the guys Burke has thrown over board in order to start again. He hasn’t lost or given up 1 player that you really wish he had kept(we’ll talk draft picks in a second).

The mere fact that he was able to get anything, let alone a guy like Phaneuf for the guys he got rid of remains nothing short of remarkable. You have to knock it down before you build it up. No matter what anyone, Lankhoff included thought, Burke wasn’t going to turn every piece of chicken bleep into a stud young player. As the guys on TSN said on deadline day, the Calgary Flames now contain a strong nucleus that was the Toronto Maple Leafs. The same Toronto Maple Leafs that owned the non-playoff track record. Burke can’t really be on the hook for last years miss. So his clock starts at 1 this year. Gone are, what really amount to, as the old saying goes, a bunch of over paid bums.

What’s left really is a bunch of maybes. At least these maybes are young. As with the Blue Jays, I am much happier watching a bunch of hungry kids losing yet trying then a “bunch of over paid bums”. I too am going to have to bite my tongue the rest of the way this season and most likely next as the losing mounts. Games like the one this past week against Carolina can’t be tolerated. Losing is okay, not showing up isn’t.

“But when looking at a roster of mostly college kids, untested rookies and a sprinkling of second-hand veterans that faith is being severely tested. People look at what Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment is selling and who can blame them for wondering about what they’re buying.”

Sorry, if your faith is being tested, your a tad clueless and your expectations aren’t realistic. The team was full of crap and this is part of the process. I will say this once again about prices, tickets etc. If you don’t like the prices, stop paying them. MLSE, the New York Yankees, Morton’s Steak House, the Four Seasons hotel will ONLY CHARGE WHAT THE MARKET WILL ALLOW. This constant chatter about shame on MLSE for doing what their doing is crap. They are a business. My company runs the same way. I am sure everyone who is reading that works, works for a company that is the same too. Private schools, restaurants, do it as well. No one is holding a gun to anyones head saying you must keep paying. If you are questioning anyone, question yourself. If you aren’t happy, stop buying.

“Plus, I personally share a pair of greens and they’re $180 a pair and my wife is a hockey nut too, so we’re there all the time. And, I’m looking at the roster. We have maybe seven bona fide NHLers and one top-six forward. If we’re an American Hockey league team and you can get top of the line tickets for twenty-five to fifty bucks why should I be paying this kind of money for a team when only 30% of the roster is NHL calibre.”

That’s crap. Go to a retailer in Toronto pick up most items, look at their price and then go home and see what you can pay for it in buffalo. My family is going to Las Vegas this summer. I need 4 plane tickets. The cheapest flight in Toronto is $504 roundtrip. They are flying from Detroit for $219! Don’t give me this crap about gas….4 people in one car, driving 4 hours each way will be in total an extra $120 TOTAL, not per person. Take a look at Buffalo Sabres tickets. Drive to Pittsburgh and see a game. “why should I be paying this kind of money for a team when only 30% of the roster is NHL calibre.”? Becuase your a fan, you want to go and that’s the price of tickets. IF you don’t like it, don’t pay it! I guarantee you there’s a ton of others out there who will.

“Fans expected that Burke would have to gut the place before rebuilding but few expected that the hole could get this dark and this deep.”

Then we (and me included) were idiots. You can’t get uperstars by trading collective crap. Answer me this. If Burke hadn’t traded our picks to Boston for Kessel, would Leaf Nation be elated? Would these articles be written? What were we expecting?

Now- the Kessel issue. Im not sure there’s been a more polarizing issue for Leaf fans since the whole Mats Sundin saga. The hard part to swallow with the Burke era so far is that Kessel appears to contradict what he is preaching. Trading picks for a player doesn’t flow the right way. Yes he got a kid back, but man he gave up a lot. The biggest problem is, is that Kessel has yet to capture the imagination of the Leafs fans. The biggest question is will he ever? Those who watch junior hockey are drooling over the the guys who could be drafted at the top of this year. On paper they appear to have much greater star value than Kessel. Burke argues that he likes the kid he has. A bird in the hand…..as the saying goes. What if Burke is right? What if the Kessel produces at a clip of 20-30 + goals a year and the guy Boston picks becomes the next Alexandre Daigle? I am not suggesting it will happen- but what if?

The point is we all have to (and most of all me) take a deep breath and relax. Let’s enjoy the ride and watch this unfold. More bodies are going to go overboard this summer. No one saw or predicted the Phaneuf move. Right now the prospects of a gaining any forwards of any significance are slim given the UFA list. Let’s see what happens.

TSM

@yyzsportsmedia

This is pretty funny stuff- Toronto Maple Leaf GM Brian Burke on the Dion Phaneuf trade:

god bless youtube users

TSM
@yyzsportsmedia

It started at 8am and lasted until, well, I turned it off at round 5:30pm. 2 Major tv networks, 2 radio stations and the Score all had wall to wall coverage. Add to that the countless blogs, websites and then there was twitter. It was enough hockey coverage for even the biggest die hard. If ever the saying the numbers don’t lie were proven incorrect it was today’s deadline. Yes, there were lots of trades, but there was no sizzle. It was a day spent waiting for the other shoe to drop and at least locally it never did. In the end what Toronto Maple Leafs were left with is the uncomfortable feeling that their team is going to be life and death to get to 25 wins (they currently have 19 with 19 games to go). On the upside, Brian Burke’s nuclear destruction of the Maple Leafs continues. More on that in a bit.

So, how did the day go? Well at 8:05 TSN was having audio problems with Pierre Mcguire’ mic and a few moments later James Duthie wanted to break down all the deals that happened prior to the day. Duthie was quickly told to nix that idea for fear that all their best material could be used early on leaving the talking heads with nothing to talk about. Over at Sportsnet Rob Faulds was teamed up with Bill Watters (forshadowing?) out of the gate. All kidding aside it was a good segment between the two as Faulds asked Watters what happened on deadline day. After the usual jokes about the buffet breakfast, Watters explained how much work had to be done leading up to the deadline and that when he was with Cliff they would all sit together and Cliff would be the maestro, making sure everyone was working in concert.

Following that was really the start of the theme of the day. Tomas Kaberle. Nick Kypreos first on twitter and then with Bruce Garrioch suggested that the Leafs knew the teams that Kaberle would consider and that by the end of the day a deal would likely be worked out. The folks at The Fourth Period quickly came on twitter and said that the Ducks had inquired as to Kaberle’s availability and were told he wasn’t going to waive his no trade clause- “end of story” was how TFP ended their tweet. Inretrospect, Kypreos had it right. In fact Kaberle had let the Leafs know 2-3 teams he would be willing to go. What happened the rest of the day was quite interesting to watch if only for the Kaberle piece.

Steve Simmons on twitter and on TSN emphatically denied that Kaberle was “in play” which is NHL trade deadline speak for available or being shopped. At 8:30 Bill Watters was on Sportsnet and said that there had not been any talks between the Leafs and Kaberle. Watters did say that the only way a deal would happen is if Burke were able to make a deal and then take it to Kaberle’s agent to see if they would approve. Watters at that point was wrong, Kypreos was right- little did we know.

There was no action for several hours so we were kind of stuck listening to a whole lot of speculation. TSN was uncomfortably dull in my opinion. They had too many people saying all the expected things and to be honest we didn’t hear enough from the people we wanted to hear from. Hats off to James Duthie who put in yeoman’s work. He drove the entire show and manned one panel himself. The first panel was himself with Mike Keenan, Darren Pang, Matthew Barnaby, Craig McTavish and Michael Pecca (I am sorry if I forgot anyone.) Their was a good yet somewhat awkward exchange between Barnaby and Keenan about player reputations and players sending him text messages that they were hoping to be dealt. Keenan talked about former players and how he defended a guy last year that TSN (and Barnaby) disparaged. I liked Matthew Barnaby the player, he was pretty awful today. He’s clearly a bright guy, but is as stiff as a board. He didn’t smile, joke or look like he was enjoying what he was doing one bit. Mcguire had a few good lines during the day, at one point McTavish was asked whether he hated the media as a coach, and he said that he did but not as much as Kevin Lowe did. McGuire’s response was that had Kevin Lowe called the media a few deadlines back they could have saved him from the Ryan Smythe deal- ouch. Later in the day he quipped that Lee Stempniak was a total and utter failure.

The other panel was Dave Hodge’s Sports Reporters. Hodge was with his usual group, Damien Cox, Steve Simmons and Michael Farber. These guys just weren’t used properly. It’s not really fair either. With the exception of Cox and maybe Simmons to a degree, these guys aren’t rumor guys or source guys. They are critics or analysts. There was really nothing to critique or analyze. So we really got no added value from them today. I know why TSN had them, they just weren’t very good today.

The panel you did want to see was Gord Miller hosting Darren Dreger and Bob Mckenzie. This is there day to shine. You don’t however get to see them all that often. Most of the time you do see them they are on blackberries. Of the panels, there’s was on the least. Going to “the dealbreakers” as they were called only to break deals felt like a rip off. I wanted to hear from them way more. I know the argument is they can’t be on because they are talking to sources but they can find away, we are used to one talking while the other types or…… It was funny watching all three of Miller, Dreger and Mckenzie. Each was behind a laptop yet each was feveroshly typing on a blackberry. Of course inquiring minds wanted to know why the multiple tools and we were told that It’s easier to Twitter on laptop. Some emails on laptop too. BB for texting and emails and calls. So there you go.

Duthie tried to do a tour of the Canadian clubs but kept getting side stepped by minor deals. It was frustrating in retrospect because the deals were so minor and insignificant. The first things they should have done is a tour of the Canadian teams. Lastly the bit with Jay Onrait were brutal. They weren’t funny in any way shape or form.

By comparison, our team was impressed with Sportsnet’s coverage. Marc felt that Sportsnet’s talent did a very good job and their best content came from out west. Don Taylor was flanked by Garry Valk and Mark Spector, and the two latter men were very insightful. One of the day’s highlights was Spector’s breakdown of the Wojtek Wolski/Peter Mueller trade. He was very blunt with his thoughts on Mueller, saying that if Colorado head coach Joe Sacco was questionning Wolski’s toughness, he was going to have his hands full with Mueller.

Considering the consensus is that that trade was the day’s best, it’s a tip in Sportsnet’s cap that they were able to get Wojtek Wolski on the phone before TSN did.

The overall product was very good, although it did seem at times like they were sticking to a pre-determined lineup. They would throw to Evanka Osmak for a recap when nothing new had broken, and sometimes there was a little too much Doug MacLean and Nick Kypreos at a time. Overall though, Sportsnet made a boring deadline day as entertaining as they could.

The thing is if you are watching Sportsnet you want to hear Kypreos, and Richie Rich MacLean. They’re the insiders. So too much of them is okay. This is thier day. I thought Watters was good when he was on (and you know I don’t say that all that often) and I though Gary Roberts was pretty good too- way less stiff then Peca on the other network.

On the radio, I was unimpressed by what the Fan was doing. I was surprised at how little I saw or heard Gord Stellick either on the Fan or Sportsnet. again, the fan suffered simply by virtue that there just wasn’t a whole lot to talk about. 640 mixed it up quite a bit, Brady drove all day and had good guests, opinions and updates. They didn’t go to Jonas all that much which was also a good thing. Dennis Beyak was good today too.

Things were simpler at the Score where Steve Kouleas provided updates as they happened.

Around noon word broke that Brian Burke had dealt Martin Skoula to the New Jersey Devils for a draft pick. Skoula jokes ruled the twitter world for about 20 minutes- a real highlight of the day.

At 12:30 the Kaberle talk started again. This time it was started by 640 Toronto. The rumor they had was Kaberle heading to Washington. This of course started the whole is he “in play” or isn’t he “in play”. That talk lasted until about 2:30pm. At about 130 pm Aaron ward told a group of reporters, I am sorry I don’t remember which group he was talking to that “The worst part in the age of bloggers is they’re about as reliable as Toyota gas pedals.”

Just before 2pm the 640 crew were talking about teas, specifically chamomile tea (I am a green tea fan myself). At 1:40 or so Eklund chimed in that Kaberle was absolutely in play and that this information had been confirmed. Shortly thereafter TSN stated that there were some teams for whom Kaberle would waive the no trade clause. It was at this time that Jonas Segal tweeted that Kaberle told reporters he had a deal with Burke to consider any deal Burke found acceptable. This too set off alarm bells all over as the discussion turned into all Kaberle all the time.

Shortly after that I started looking in on the Maple Leafs war room cam that they had on their website. Talk about seeing nothing. I mean to see the guys sitting around doing nothing was truly inspiring. Dave Poulin stared at the same pages for about 90 minutes while the other guys just stared at their computer screens or ate cookies.

After the Kaberle talk started we learned that Calgary acquired Vesa Toskala which of course led to another 20 minutes of Toskala jokes on twitter. Farber and Simmons chimed in that the only problem with Calgary acquiring so many Maple Leaf players is that the Leafs as a team have been so brutal for so long. One of the guys on on TSN said of Matt Stajan that he is the wrong guy at the wrong time.

Tony Ambrogio, who would make a great Maple Leaf beat reporter by the way was all over the Burke/Kaberle story, being the first to report that infact that there was a short list of acceptable teams to Kaberle and that Burke had unsuccessfully tried to trade Kaberle to them.

Just before 3pm everyone was saying that Lee Stempniak had been traded but no one could be quite sure to whom or for what. Just after 3pm Mckenize reported that it was a deal to Phoenix for draft picks. Shortly after that word came out that Joey McDonald had been dealt and that Leafs acquired a defenceman from Pittsburgh.

Burke addressed the media around 3:30 pm and was very good.

He started by thanking Poni for his years of service to Toronto and then he confirmed as much as he could about the other deals as they had yet to be approved by the league, he mentioned them because word had leaked out. Burke then confirmed what had been reported by Kypreos in the am that Kaberle had given a short list and what Tony Ambrogio reported that Burke couldn’t get a deal done with any of those teams. Burke said that he dealt Poni because they asked for a 4 year extension and Burke was confident Poni would get it on the open market, just not from him. He said that they were offered a 2nd rounder and a 4th rounder for Poni by another team but they liked the prospect more. Burke also said that this isn’t a 5 year rebuilding plan. They are trying to do it much faster. Burke said that he looks at his defence, from 1-6 and he thinks they are as good as any 1-6 in the league. He said he wants to keep Kaberle and has told him he would talk extension with him. He looks at college free agents the same way he would if he were to find a wallet. In his closing Burke said that he doesn’t care about the Kessel picks. He said they knew the risk when they made the deal and if he was worried about saving face he wouldn’t have dealt the guys he has over the last 24 hours.

Burke did avoid the one question I had which was what now, what’s for the rest of the season. I was at last night’s game with LT and CP and the Leafs were as bad against Paul Maurice as they were when they played for Paul Maurice. Burke said he was furious with last night’s game and that the players had better realize they have a job to do and that they are all auditioning for next season. Still, Burke didn’t say what he expects the rest of the way. He certainly didn’t address the fans in that regard. They can’t give tickets away, but I’m thinking they HAVE to do something- this team is likely going to really suck the rest of the way. Burke did say that he hates being a seller that if you are more than tinkering in March you have failed.

I will say this, the folks in the room with Burke did a really good job asking the questions. They tried to get him to answer all the questions we fans would want to hear. That alone was refreshing.

The best line of the day has to go to the guys at Down Goes Brown who said that “If you want to know about Martin Skoula, take the wheels off your car and try to drive to work every morning.”

Cue the broken record. Twitter rocked today. Not only were the usual suspects all over it, the MSMers were faster to twitter than they were to old school media. A trade would be broken on twitter and at times it was 3-4 minutes before the same person broke it on tv. That is simply amazing. You can see that the guys like Mckenzie, Simmons, Cox, Brady, Ambrogio, Friedman, Kevin Allen have all bought into the medium. They use it to share info, to interact with idiots like me and to be part of the noise. The same is true in almost every major hockey network as well south of the border. It used to be you had to read 30+ newspapers to follow the league, now it is so much easier. It’s truly fantastic.
Lastly, if you are reading this then you are already a fan of the blogs. There are so many good ones that cover the game exceptionally. Here in town we are spoiled, Maple Leafs Hot Stove, PPP, Down Goes Brown to name but a few (sorry if i didn’t mention you). In the USA- Washington, florida, Minnesota, Boston, Detroit, NYR, NYI and so on. All these outlets cover the game and days like today so well.

In the days ahead we will foucs on the days ahead. Ron Wilson hasn’t been left with much to work with the rest of the day. Which gives guys like me lots to write about.

All in all a fantastic day. Yes I’m nuts. No, there weren’t huge deals but it was a great day to be a fan of the great game.

TSM

@yyzsportsmedia

What to do on NHL trade deadline when there aren’t many big fish available? Create buzz on what many thought was a dead issue. Brian Burke has said that he won’t ask Tomas Kaberle to waive his no trade clause. Tomas Kaberle has said he doesn’t want to go anywhere. Seems straight forward enough.

Nick Kypreos and Bruce Garrioch appear on Sportsnet this morning and start the banter. While they didn’t necessarily on where things stand they agreed that they believe that Tomas Kaberle will be dealt. They didn’t believe that the Kaberle camp has submitted a list of yet (one of the two suggested one was coming though).

Gord Stellick said on the fan 590 that he didn’t believe that anything would happen with Kaberle, or anyone else on the Leafs roster for that matter.

the guys at the fourth period have tweeted emphaticly that the Ducks inquired into Kaberle’s availability and were told he won’t wave his NTC.

Bill Watters is the one who brought reason to the scenario. Watters suggested that what could occur is that a list won’t change hands, and that rather Burke will get an offer he can’t refuse and he will take it to Kaberle’s agent. The agent will ask to talk to the team and either an extension will be worked out or no deal will be done. That my friends seems to make the most sense. I ask this rhetoricaly, after seeing this team last night, why Kaberle would want to stick around this season is beyond me given that he is a near certainty to be dealt this summer.

TSM

@yyzsportsmedia

Come on, raise your hand if you have ever heard of Luca Caputi. As word circlated through the ACC tonight that Burke had apparently dealt Alexei Ponikarovsky for Luca Caputi the biggest response was WHO. Apparently Martin Skoula was thrown in the deal as well, however the MSMers out there seem to think that Burke will try to deal him as well. After watching the game tonight, I would like to think Burke is going to deal about 6-8 guys tomorrow for ANYTHING in return. The Leafs were playing the Carolina Hurricanes, the Maple Leafs made the Canes look like Team Canada 2010. My favorite Ponikarovsky Maple Leafs memory was about 2-3 years ago I was at a local Toronto restaurant on a Saturday night around 10:30pm near the ACC. As I was leaving Poni showed up and asked for a table, without batting an eye he was turned away. He tried to tell him that he was a Maple Leaf player and was laughed out the door.

Here’s a video of Caputi :

Here are the stats on the New Boys:

Here we go folks- Game on, tomorrow will either be a National Holiday or a National Day of Mourning….

Here’s hoping it’s a great game.

More throughout the game!

Ok Sports fans, here is your homework. It’s not very often that I insist you read something, but Michael Farber’s article in Sports Ilustrated is must reading. The story on Brian Burke is fantastic. Talk about a story that “captures the spirit of thing”:

“A few days after Brendan came out to his father, in late December 2007, Brian told him, “You know the best part? I don’t have to take anything back.” Burke says he never told his children there was anything wrong with homosexuality. But when he really rummages through his memory, he concedes there are smudges on his otherwise clean conscience. When he played in the American Hockey League in the late 1970s—he was a stay-at-home defenseman whose skills fast-tracked him to Harvard Law School—he spoke in the lingua franca of the locker room. “Yeah, I used those slurs,” he says. “I’m embarrassed by it. It was an accepted part of the [hockey] culture, and it still is. But not on my teams. It’s a big part of trash talking, and that’s got to change.”

That’s just one piece of Farber’s story that caputures much of the Brian Burke that we don’t get to see or hear about..

“”Last summer I said something [nasty] about Kevin Lowe, and Brendan asked, ‘How can you stay mad at someone?’” Burke says. “I said, ‘It’s easy.’ He said, ‘No, it’s not. He used to be your friend. It doesn’t make sense. I don’t approve.’”
When Lowe, now the Oilers’ president, learned of Brendan’s passing, he e-mailed Brian, referring to their shattered relationship while offering his sympathies. Burke immediately called Edmonton G.M. Steve Tambellini, with whom he had worked in Vancouver, and asked him to tell Lowe that this is one broken fence he wants to mend.
And so Burke and Lowe began the healing process last week at Canada Hockey Place. In their best moments, the Olympics can be as much about peace and friendship as about rivalries. Five nights before the U.S. beat Canada 5–3, the grieving father walked over to Lowe, a Team Canada executive, and offered his hand. Burke says an awkward sort of half man-hug accompanied the handshake. ”

Fantastic stuff Michael, a great story on a Burke. It becomes easier to become a fan of Burke with each passing day. While he portrays himself as the big truculent type, you can tell there is a softer side that is probably driving the bus more often than not. That’s good to see.

Sports Illustrated’s Michael Farber’s excellent article on Toronto Maple Leafs GM Brian Burke can be read here.

I’m the first to jump on Berger when he writes or says something stupid. His most recent blog on Brian Burke is one where he deserves credit. You can tell it’s from the heart and totally legitimate. Unlike his Maple Leaf/Maple Leaf fan hatred which is clearly contrived, Berger is genuine in this article. It’s good to see that even guys like Berger can still have good days when they don’t try so hard.

Read Berger’s post here.

TSM

@yyzsportsmedia

I hope everyone had a great weekend…Just a few comments before signing off for the night.

Let’s start with the Leafs

What a performance against the Senators. While Giguere certainly played a great game (getting his second straight shutout), the team limited the Sens to very few quality chances. I didn’t recognize #2…he was actually skating with the puck – not treating it like a hot potato. And then he started shooting it! Unreal…2 goals. Is it possible that Phaneuf has already had an influence on him? It’s probably too early to suggest this but, is it possible that Dion is team captain material?  Wilson keeps talking about how vocal he is and how different the dressing room is now.  I really like “b side” to the Leafs – Flames deal….Sjostrom is fast and smart. Paired with Kulemin and the team has a legit / quality shutdown unit.  BTW, I know Bozak may not appear to be lighting it up but, 10 points in 14 games is pretty damn good for the rookie. Kessel is really showing his stuff again. Do you think the Bruins would like him back about now?

BTW, the Leafs should be 3-0 after the Flames and Ducks deals…I’m with TSM, Wilson missed calling a time out to settle his team down in Jersey.

Brendan Burke Tributes

A lot of writers and bloggers had some great articles/posts over the weekend re: Brendan Burke – most did a great job (McGran not included). If you are only going to read 1 post, read Kevin Allen…He sheds some insight into how important family is to Brian and tells a great story about Brian reaching out to him during a tough time. You can read Allen here.

I also liked Ron Wilson’s post game comments. You really get a sense for how close he and Brian are. According to Wilson, Brian exchanged texts with Dave Nonis during the game. The boys gave him one less thing to think/worry about...Maybe even a smile. The next couple of days are going to be real tough for Brian – the funeral is on Tuesday. Thank goodness the schedule worked out and the entire team can join their leader. Wilson’s presser below.

wilson

If you want to read the official obituary and get details re: donations, you can find it here.

Super Bowl

Queen Latifah: thumbs down.

Carrie Underwood: I’m not a fan but she outperformed Latifah.

Halftime: I may have been in the minority but, I thought The Who was good. The drummer (Ringo Star’s son) looked just like Keith Moon!

So what did you think of the game? The score and the stats all point to a great game… but….for some reason; it seemed to go by quick and for me and not very exciting. It’s a good thing the Saints won because their coach almost blew it for them. Sean Payton will probably be written up in the papers as a genius but in my opinion both “gutsy” calls were dumb. Drew Brees deserves to be talked about amongst the greats….what a season, what a game. TSN starts their headline article with “Peyton Manning made his first major mistake of Super Bowl XLIV in the final minutes of the fourth quarter “… I need to watch the replay again but; my first reaction was that the received screwed up…his job was to come back to the ball on that play.

Congrats to the Saints and the people of New Orleans…you needed something to smile about.

Ov v. Crosby

Last comment….Ovechkin may have won today’s game – and he may win the cup.  I’m okay with all of that as long as Sidney brings home gold!

Happy Sunday night everyone.

LT