Ok, so when I say this, I want to make it clear that I am not in anyway comparing sports to the tragedy of September 11. So for those who are going to go there, just stop.

I remember the time when a major news event happened when I used to stay up until 11:35 to see what Ted Koppel was going to say on Nightline. I knew Koppel would have the best guests and that was the way to get the best info. Fast forward x number of years to that dreaded day in September. There was no longer a need to wait up for nightline. CNN, MSNBC and whomever else covered the events of the day around the clock. The way we ingested and demanded news certainly has changed. Twitter has moved things to the news on demand realm.

The world of sports is no different. We used to have to wait for the morning paper to arrive (or for us to arrive at the subway station) to pick up the papers to get the facts and opinions we needed. Even as late as the last year we had to wait for the opinions from our favorite (or favorite to hate) to get memorialized in ink. Locally speaking, that has finally changed.

Consider that tonight at 10:01 Steve Simmons tweeted “Bryan Colangelo says – If you want to blame somebody for the Raptors, blame me – Read my column in Tuesday’s Sun …”

Or, you can read it now online at 10:02.

Dave Feschuk’s excellent opinion piece on the Raptors season was posted just moments before Simmons piece. Bruce Arthur’s Chris Bosh article that was in Monday’s paper similarly appeared Sunday night.

Point your browser over to search.twitter.com and enter the words Ovechkin suspended. You will find that before the suspension was made “public” by the league the Washington Post tweeted it, then published it and then the entire hockey world followed. Damien Cox first tweeted the news (a retweet of the Washington Post author Tarik El-Bashir post) and a little while later tweeted again that his opinion piece was now available on the Toronto Star’s website.

Thanks to twitter, RSS readers and feeds and incredible wesbites like Kuklas Korner the ability of fans to keep up to date in near real time is spectacular. For those of you who read this site on a regular basis are aware, I constantly say the NHL should buy twitter- I think it was made for the league. (yes I am saying it tongue in cheek). Consider that while the technology eyes are on SXSW this week, Twitter, during it’s presentation talked about, the little league that could:

“Twitter CEO Evan Williams showed off new technology Monday that lets content partners cleanly pull Twitter links and streams onto their Web site through JavaScript, instead of an API, but keep hush on advertising plans…..
…..Some features demonstrated by Williams at SXSW already exist. The National Hockey League (NHL) has been using a similar technology for months. In fact, the league attributes the technology to keeping fans glued to its site during the recent NHL draft picks.”

Don’t believe me yet…. Remember that little hockey game a few weeks ago between Canada and the USA?:

“Between 2:29 and 2:54 p.m. Pacific time, more than 3.5 million status updates were posted, which is twice the pace of the rest of the day.”

Back when I started this blog, the Globe and Mail was the leader in this new age era. They used to update their site nightly around 10 or 11pm with their feature stories for the next day. They, and the National Post left the Sun and Star behind. Now it appears that the tables have been turned. The Toronto Star has fully embraced the technology era. Their website, at least in the sports section is ever evolving. Not only do their writer write, they blog, live blog and tweet. The National Post and as evidenced by tonight’s Simmons column, Toronto Sun are slightly behind the Star. The Globe and Mail seems to have changed tactics, delaying the articles by their columnists a tad.

It’s funny that the Roy MacGregor writes a column this week that contains this gem:

“When newspapers start confusing “hits” with “circulation,” there is an undeniable danger to journalism.”

MacGregor is a legend. I am not sure there is a more well respected sports writer in the country. However, it says here that his column is off base.

“If, as increasingly appears to be the case in the uncertain world of Web publishing, traffic is what matters most – and may one day be the basis for figuring out how finally to make money out of Web content – then it only stands to reason that those working in the business will chase traffic harder than stories.

Why, given that traffic often increases when celebrity is involved, would a journalist risk a low-traffic day by introducing readers to someone they do not already know – regardless of how important that person’s story might be? ”

Is this any different in the electronic world as it was in the paper world?

I mean all that has really changed is that things are much more trackable. Do you think that what sells is different today then it was before? Rush Limbaugh didn’t need to track hits to know what would light up his switchboard did he? Al Strachan, John Robertson didn’t have the benefit of analytics to tell them what to write. I mean do we really need to watch Don Cherry to hear what he is going to say? Simmons Sunday column hasn’t changed one bit since the advent of the most modern technologies.

“An American friend who now does a daily blog for a major U.S. newspaper says he came to realize there were certain tricks to Web journalism that did not apply during his many years as a hard-copy reporter.

The key to increased traffic, he says, lies in striking the hot buttons almost immediately – if possible, right in the headline.

If you can get as high up as possible those magic names and phrases that incite the American public – Sarah Palin, the Clintons, Tiger Woods, global warming, anything to do with sex – then the thousands upon thousands who have signed up for alerts on anything to do with Ms. Palin, Mr. Clinton, Mr. Woods, climate change, sex will come flooding to your page.”

None of that is new. What’s new is that idiots like me now, if we are willing to take the time can publish our own opinions. What has changed is the reach. Mr. MacGregor’s friend the blogger hard copy days never got beamed out to the world. With the exception of a few publications, very few stories in local papers ever got national let alone international attention. The pallet has changed and the audience size has changed, the game hasn’t. How many articles in tomorrow’s papers will be good news stories? Do we watch adoringly at the smooth pace of traffic along the 400 northbound on a Friday evening? No, we rubberneck at the poor guy who has wrapped his car around a pole. All the same things sell. The difference is that clicks and hits have replaced the physical sale of a tangible piece of paper. People used to buy the paper for what they could expect to find inside. We knew what our certain reporters were going to say on a subject and we were prepared to pay for it. Now we point our browser to our favourite outlets and we pay by having our eyeballs scan leaderboards and skyscrapers on a page.

So, no matter your poison, you can now have access to it sooner. That’s a good thing. Even better, there are more people writing on subjects we care about every day who never had a voice now do. I have 92 feeds in my rss reader. The vast majority are blogs. Of those, almost all are written by people who never before had a voice. Those who write for clicks will find that eventually the cream rises to the top and the quick buck will in fact end. The good writers, professional or blogger will survive and remain relevant.

As for me, my brain is in about 4 different time zones right now, as Tomas Kaberle says, I need a maintenance day.

TSM

@yyzsportsmedia

Bruce Arthur’s Bosh story is here
Dave Feschuk’s Raptors story is here
Steve Simmons’ Toronto Raptors story is here
Roy MacGregor’s technology/journalism article is here

So the game after the game is over and Canada won 8-1. The big game is now on Wednesday so let’s see how that goes before we make any decisions or final thought on goalie gate.

As I suspected the piece that Brady found on CTV’s website was indeed written by Damien Cox. The same story ran in today’s Toronto Star under a different headline. This of course led to some more coverage.

Bill Houston picked up on Damien’s column:

“Look, maybe Cox has a man crush on Brodeur, I don’t know. But Brodeur played poorly in Canada’s 5-3 loss to the Americans and, arguably, should have been pulled the first period, when he gave up the puck in a goofy baseball attempt to clear it, which led to a goal, and also let in a softy.

To bring him back against Germany tonight would have been ridiculous and irresponsible. Of course, you make a change. I would have gone with Marc-Andre Fleury, but Luongo is certainly a better choice than Brodeur.”

The article was just so blatantly slanted as pro Brodeur. The comments were so over the top in his defence it’s nearly impossible to ignore.

Brady tore on off of Brodeur on the Watters show today which was followed up with an interview with Cox himself. As far as I can remember Cox has only appeared on this show once before, when Brady tore a strip off the headline writer at the Star on one of Damien’s column.

Brady was courteous to his guest yet he did ask the important questions too. Cox was asked out of the gate whether or not he had spoken to Brodeur directly to provide the basis for his comments on how Brodeur felt. Cox was clearly uncomfortable with the frankness of the question. He said that he hadn’t spoken directly to him but that he “knew how Marty felt”. It’s rather interesting because Cox says that we all know that Brodeur is THE classy athlete and that he would be mad at Damien for putting his feelings out there. Which is kind of odd isn’t it. I mean Cox is patting him on the back, praising him yet at the same time sharing Brodeur’s feelings that certainly paint him out to be at the very best selfish.

To me the highlight of the interview came when the issue of bias came up. Cox said that there were people who were suggesting that Damien is biased towads Brodeur because they are friends and they wrote a book together. Cox took a minor swipe at Brady’s named partner, Bill Watters by saying that there are people who think Bill Watters shouldn’t speak about the Maple Leafs because Watters is a disgruntled former employee! Now, 2 things. One, Cox has already admited to his relationship with him. Although he “didn’t get an exact quote from Brodeur” he does “know this is how Brodeur feels”. He does talk to Broduer’s people regularly. There is no way Brodeur or his people get word out about his feelings without his approval. Cox is biased towards him. Similarly, Watters is biased against the Leafs when it comes to ANY issue that relates to ownership. He is similarly biased against the owners of the Argos who may or may not have dismissed his son. It doesn’t take a genius to know EXACTLY what is going to come out of Watters mouth when it comes to MLSE. He looses all credibility when he does discuss them. Similarly, the more Damien talks Brodeur the less credible he will be.

Let’s hope this is the end of goalie gate, 2010.

From Washington.

TSM

@yyzsportsmedia

Houston is here

You can find cox and brady here

Thanks to Greg Brady for posting this on Twitter tonight as I wouldn’t have seen it. Irrespective of what you think of Martin Brodeur’s play the other night, I don’t think anyone got overly personal with him. I mean everything I read was pretty respectful, noting what an incredible career he has had, stating that he absolutely had to make the Olympic team etc. This article, which I can only suspect was written by Damien Cox, there is no author attribution is way off side and one can only assume it has too much to do with Damien’s personal relationship with Brodeur. Cox on twitter took a shot at anyone criticizing Brodeur Sunday night stating that they “don’t understand the game”. This article goes beyond:

“Martin Brodeur doesn’t feel like he was lied to. Just blamed unfairly, and undoubtedly disrespected by head coach Mike Babcock.

Not only did Babcock call out Brodeur for his play in a 5-3 loss to the United States on Sunday, he then told Roberto Luongo he would be in goal for the qualification match against Germany a few hours after the game but waited to deliver the news to Brodeur, the winningest goalie in the history of the sport, until before practice on Monday.”

What’s odd about that is that there isn’t a quote from Brodeur in the piece at all!

“So it’s gold or bust with the Vancouver Canucks netminder, a sizeable risk given that outside of some fine work at the world championships the 30-year-old has never defined himself as a winner.

Now’s his chance. The last time Luongo had a chance to step forward an assert himself as Canada’s top netminder he coughed up the bit in the deciding game of last year’s playoffs for the Canucks and surrendered seven goals to the Chicago Blackhawks.”

Ok, Brodeur is your buddy, but really, is he so low that he would want someone taking shots at Luongo? I mean did Luongo do anything wrong here?

‘Babcock better be right on this or he deserves to be roasted on the spit of Canadian hockey opinion for all the unhelpful waffling he’s done on this issue.”

Wow. No, really Wow. Hypothetically speaking, Luongo pitches a shutout tomorrow, Canada doesn’t score and the German’s win 1-0 in a shootout. Should the spit we spinning because of this choice? Come on! These guys are professionals. No, Brodeur didn’t let in any Toskala’s but still, he had to know the possibility of getting replaced was real.

“For reasons he declined to explained, he then gave the opening start against Norway to Luongo.

In the next game, Brodeur’s brilliance saved Canada in the shootout against Switzerland, and Babcock praised the veteran for his play and his leadership. But after the loss to the U.S. on Sunday, Babcock identified Brodeur as the problem, saying “tonight was a night we’d have liked to have been better in that area.”

Wasn’t Babock in the wrong then for pulling Luongo in favour of Brodeur for the Switzerland game? I didn’t hear the entire Babcock session after the game, but I don’t think he threw Brodeur under the bus at all. Did he say that they would have preferred to be better in net? Yes. Isn’t that true? I mean, wouldn’t Brodeur have preferred to have been better in net? Hell Cox’s article in today’s Toronto Star sang the praise out of Ryan Miller. Wouldn’t we have preferred that it was Brodeur’s play we were all yapping about today? Ooops, I mean in the positive not the negative.

“None of this had to happen. Babcock could have announced in Calgary that it was time for the youngsters to take over and anointed Luongo and Fleury as the two goalies, with Brodeur in reserve.

Failing that, he could’ve made it clear once in Vancouver that Luongo would be the starter Again, that would have been an entirely defensible strategy.

Instead, he dithered, and in so doing has made the country’s national goaltender the lightning rod for all criticism about the team.”

Sorry, I’m not buying that. Brodeur earned his spot. Played well, or was “brilliant” in his last game vs. Switzerland. So he didn’t have a great game last night. if Babcock goes back to him and he has another off night then what? Babcock has three good alternatives. One of those guys is a future hall of famer. Babcock has the right to be undecided in net and chose to ride the hot or not goalie. If Brodeur pitched a gem last night, do you think he wouldn’t ride him going forward? How can we be surprised that given the performance last night it be so wrong or so surprising that a change is coming?

“But by making his goaltending choice a game-by-game proposition, Babcock has created great uncertainty where stability was necessary.”

I don’t know, I would rather Babcock rides his guys based upon his gut feeling. Not based on history, not based on bias, but on who he feels should be in net. Babcock needs to choose the guy who he thinks gives him the best shot at winning each game. I sense there is too much bias in this article.

The article is here

Something to watch tomorrow in the papers/airwaves. What do expect tomorrow? First, the sky is falling guaranteed commentary, don’t you love when the press rub it in the fans faces, they love to see us suffer I guess. What should be more interesting is how the talking heads handle the Brodeur situation. There will be some pro and some anti. Some will defend Martin and others, well, not so much.

Examples???? Well, Damien Cox was certainly defending his co-author, I mean buddy tonight on Twitter. Conversely, Greg Brady was suggesting that perhaps Mike Babcock erred in his selection of goaltenders tonight. Rest assured who’s to blame for the loss will be issue number one tomorrow. Me? I am thinking Mayor David Miller should resign over this one, it has to be his fault.

Watching all the experts debate this one will be fascinating. I mean Brodeur isn’t the guy most of these guys hate. I think it will be hard for many of them (especially Cox) to take a swing at him.

Another great night for this great game, and yet another example of how hockey is so well covered on twitter.

have a great night/morning

TSM

@yyzsportsmedia

Long before there were blogs or twitter there was a daily email list for Toronto Maple Leaf fans in which the author, Steve Kee used to, from time to time call upon Leafs management to “throw a bomb” in to the room. Well sports fans, that is exactly what Brian Burke did today. He undid many of the errors of regimes past. Burke blew up the Toronto Maple Leafs. The question that remains is if he blew em up real good?

It was a good old fashioned hockey trade though wasn’t it? I mean it’s the type of trade that we used to try to make when I was in fantasy leagues. Hell, it’s the type of proposals you sometimes see on message boards on hfboards.com. It was a good old fashioned hockey trade.

The best part of the trade, to me at least is that none of the experts, and I do mean NONE had this anywhere on their radar. Eklund, Garrioch, Berger, Kypreos, Dreger….not a word anywhere. Yes, some believed that Dion Phaneuf could be moved NO ONE had him coming here.

I know I say this time and again, but the hell with a business plan, but man was it fun following this on twitter today!!! Seriously, Dreger, Arthur, Kevin Allen, Mckenzie, Brady (all the awesome hockey bloggers) were on this with all us fans chirping in. It was good old fashioned fun. It was why we love sports. It was amzing to watch it unfold on twitter. Minutes after the press release went out about a press conference, twitter came to life. Everyone seemed to think JSG was the deal given the Ducks recent goalie signing. Then boom! Dreger tweets that something huge is going on. What seemed like hours later he tweeted again that Dion was a Maple Leaf. It was almost electric on Twitter. Everyone started chiming in with shock and awe. After the presser the rumours continued to grow on the Blake deal. Burke said the second deal would bring cap relief. How could the buds be adding JSG and getting cap relief. The OC register posted a story that the deal was Blake, Toskala for JSG and a 1st rounder. Sheer elation hit twitter. It wasn’t until just before the presser to announce the deal that Greg Brady was first to tweet that there was no pick involved. Seconds later Burke announced the second deal.

Back to the lack of noise. We heard that J.S. Giguere could get bought out or dealt here, but it hasn’t been on anyone’s radar of late. Think about all the “insiders” out there, and not a single one caught word of this. It’s a HUGE deal, 7 players and no one had any sense of it. AMAZING. Blake? untradeable. Toskala? untradeable. Bam- both gone. For those who acquired the Maple Leaf players, one has to think that Aristotle had it wrong when he wrote about The whole being more than the sum of its parts.

So, without further ado- here is what has been said around the globe so far on the trades:

First- some noteable quotes from those involved:

“We are in buying and selling mode,” said Burke. “Our goal at the start of the season is to make the playoffs. I know people are going to think there’s an issue here as far as my sanity. It’s still our goal.

“We have some guys who are in rental modes as far as our contracts. We’re listening on those guys. We’re looking to add as well.

“I think this deal takes some offence out of our lineup. That’s the next question, who replaces that offence?”

It’s kind of funny when you think about it. Come on now, raise your hand if you thought the Maple Leafs roster as assembled could ever land anything close to Phaneuf without dealing Kaberle or Kessel? Seriously the collection of spare parts on the Leafs in our minds had next to no value. Everyone was saying that with the exception of Kaberle, Burke would be lucky to get a 2nd round pick for any of them if he could dump them. Talk about turning nothing into something. So, the question is, what now can he do with those left who he has deemed expandable?

““Watching (Tyler) Bozak play, I’m confident he can get the job done,” said coach Ron Wilson. “We’ll bring up Marlies, but I haven’t been fair with Wallin in getting him ice time, but he’ll get some now. John Mitchell has a chance to focus on playing better without looking over his shoulder.

“I didn’t calculate how many goals we’ve lost. We’ll have to find ways to manufacture offence, but I’m confident when you give ice time to people, you can never calculate how much offence they’ll make up, but they’ll have opportunities and they’ll score on some.

“But with one fell swoop, we made ourselves the youngest team in the league. We’re not looking back, we’re looking forward now.”

Ahhh yes, HOPE. The one thing we Leafs fans haven’t had since the day Burke arrived. There wasn’t anything positive happening with this team lately and there didn’t appear to be anything on the horizon either. Younger is a good start.

“What I love about (Giguere) is, I’ve never had a goalie that worked this hard. This guy tries to stop every shot in practice,” said Burke. “He takes every scoring chance in practise as a personal challenge. Works like a dog. His technique is sound. He’s a battler. This is a guy who won a Conn Smythe in a losing battle (in 2003, when the Devils beat the Ducks for the Cup), and that doesn’t happen very often.”

This was, it appeared, Burke’s biggest problem with Toskala. It wasn’t necessarily the brutal play during games as much as it was his “preperation methods”. Burke clearly likes guys who work hard and try hard. JFJ’s goalie is gone. Toskala came in with huge expectations and he never lived up to them. When he was at his absolute best he should have been dealt.

“We want a battle in the net. Successful teams have a goaltending controversy all the time,” said Burke. “We want the guys battling for ice time. We want the guys where Ron has a tough decision: Who’s starting tonight?

“Successful teams have battles for ice time, battles for special teams. We’re trying to develop that. There’s got to be contests for jobs, contests for playing time. We haven’t had this here. We’ve had a sense of entitlement. We want to create tension where there’s enough talent level on the roster where the coach has a decision to make.”

I think that is correct. The problem is that neither of his current goalies have shown much to get excited about lately. Will that change? Let’s hope so.

““When you talk about Dion, when you talk about what you need in return, a big part was making sure you could get somebody who could handle the even strength minutes and fit in with the rest of the group,” Sutter said. “You had to get the defenceman back who could play those even-strength minutes and play that side of the ice, the right side. The next part was getting one or two forward that could play in the top nine, and clearly Stajan and Hagman can do that.”

The Ian White story is quite amazing. Going from a healthy scratch last season for how many games, to a key part of a deal for a guy like Dion is remarkable. As for Hagman, he is the only Fletcher move that has proven to have paid out what was expected. I think the biggest problem for the Leafs was that they had role players who had to play bigger roles on this team. Guys were expected to be 1st liners who are clearly 2nd or 3rd liners at best. They may very well excel in their new homes when less is expected of them.

“If the second deal happens, it’s manageable,” he said after the Phaneuf trade was announced. “Right now it’s like a new pair of underwear, it’s uncomfortably tight.”

Burke’s best line of the day, before the 2nd deal was announced, talking about the Maple Leafs Salary Cap situation.

Damien Cox:

“That it did tells you something about the way players are perceived and valued differently in different markets. See, most people see Phaneuf and his enormous salary and Hollywood girlfriend and colorful on-ice persona and think superstar. That White has more points than Phaneuf and a similar plus-minus on a much worse club would come as a surprise to many. So would the fact that in deals with Calgary to get Phaneuf and with Anaheim to get goalie J.S. Giguere, the Leafs gave up 57 goals and received only 11 in return. Still, both the deal with the Flames and the one with the Ducks share one component. The other club is taking most of the risk. If Giguere can’t play anymore – unlikely – the Leafs have added a big salary for next season, but dumping both Vesa Toskala and Jason Blake is a victory regardless of the return. At worst Giguere can mentor Jonas Gustavsson, a job Toskala didn’t exactly embrace. With the Phaneuf trade, Calgary added depth in the four Leafs acquired and may be a better team for the transaction.”

I think Damien is spot on. Everyone thought that either the current roster was worthless or unmoveable. Think about it, how can Burke lose on this deal. This team sucked, are they going to be any worse? Wilson and Burke saw things we would never see. They knew which parts were critical (probably few) and which were expendable. There were 2 guys who they probably would rather not have lost, Hagman and White. The rest of the group?????? PLEASE. In every trade there are players you don’t want to give up.

Calgary Sun:

“Ian White is highly under-rated.

Niklas Hagman gives the Flames another proven sniper.

Matt Stajan has setup skills, and Jamal Mayers packs a punch.

But none of these guys make the Flames more fearsome. ”

Perspective is a wonderful thing isn’t it? I think if I were a flames fan today I would be thinking what the hell!! Dion was a stud- having a tough time and this is all we got for him??

“Don’t get me wrong, the Flames win this seven-player deal hands-down — at least based on the expected short-term results — but there’s more to it than points and the prevention of goals.

The very reason Toronto Maple Leafs general manager Brian Burke wanted to add Phaneuf to his roster is that YouTube aggression that made the former Flames defenceman such a big hit in his rookie season and garnered him a Norris Trophy runner-up position in his second year in the NHL. ”

Hands down? Hmmmmm. As a Leafs fan one has to wonder if the author has seen these guys play lately. Does this mean if the Flames make the playoffs then the Flames win it? What if they crap the bed and lose to Vancouver 5-3 after being up 3-0? It will be some time before we can say something like winner hands down…

“The upside with the addition of Mayers, Hagman and White is they play tough. They should have no trouble fitting in with the Flames and the image they want to project to opponents.”

They play tough? Come on man. The Leafs haven’t played tough all year! There are a lot of things you can say about the guys who got traded, with the exception of Mayers who apparently was tough one day, none have played tough lately.

“Based on the old adage of the team which receives the best player wins a trade, the Flames are losers. But it will take time to prove that theory.

A long time.

Phaneuf has shown he can be a major factor in games — albeit some times for both teams — and has yet to tap all his potential. Not known is exactly how much potential exists and whether he’ll make use of it all.

Could he be the next Chris Pronger? Maybe.

He could also be the next Wade Redden.

That possibility is a major reason Sutter pulled the trigger on a blockbuster. As was the emergence of Mark Giordano.”

I think these comments are fair. The problem in the NHL is that defencemen take longer to mature. Hell how many of us at various points have wanted Burke to throw Schenn out the window? You have to have patience with these guys. It says here that Sutter didn’t think he had the ability to wait. Darren Dreger is now reporting os a huge deal between the Flames and the Rangers- “Jokinen to the Rangers for Kotalik and Higgins” so this trade was obviously a precursor to something else.

Eric Duhatschek:

“Your first thought, upon hearing the news that the Calgary Flames traded Dion Phaneuf to the Toronto Maple Leafs in a blockbuster seven-player trade, was probably the same as mine: When did Flames general manager Darryl Sutter start channeling one of his greatly unlamented predecessors, Doug Risebrough?”

How many times was this reference made today? Seriously, and I don’t think anyone is saying that Phaneuf is the next Gilmour. Given the parties involved it just was too hard to believe what we were hearing.

“Still, the operative point about Phaneuf is that he was a Calder trophy contender, was a Norris trophy contender and theoretically could be that again. Who, among the players coming Calgary’s way, fits that bill?”

That’s just it. As Leaf observers it just doesn’t seem possible does it?

“Typically, any team that acquires a core player without giving up a comparable asset in return wins the deal hands down. Score this one heavily in Brian Burke’s favour – and when the J.S. Giguere deal is complete, something that was discussed as long ago as last summer, that’ll be a win as well.”

I am not comfortable saying it’s a slamdunk win, I just can’t view it as anything less than a non-lose. It’s a lot like the Gilmour deal.

“But this isn’t enough for a core asset, not nearly enough – and cannot be explained away as simply a move to shed $6.5-million (U.S.) worth of Phaneuf’s annual salary. On some levels, it looks like a panic move, borne out of desperation for a quick fix.

In the end, that Sutter would give up on Phaneuf at this comparatively early stage in his career is probably the most surprising part of the deal. That he couldn’t get more for him in return is probably the most disappointing. ”

Trying to be an unbiased observer, that is exactly what I thought when I heard the details on the deal. What does Sutter know that no one else does? Is Dion a bigger dog than anyone thinks? It just doesn’t seem right.

David Shoalts:

“By the time the Giguere trade was completed, Burke’s cap situation was actually better than it was at the start of the day. He shipped out a total of $14.93-million in salaries for this season and took on $13.25-million. That represents a saving of $1.68-million over the rest of this season. ”

And now we know why teams have cap guru’s – watching and listening to the numbers today was quite amazing. James Mirtle has a great snapshot look at the number$ involved in the trade here

“Burke said the trades, in addition to improving the Leafs defence and vastly improving the goaltending, were aimed at shaking up a country-club atmosphere on the team that persisted despite a lot of off-season shuffling.

“We have had a sense of entitlement here and we’re trying to change that,” Burke said. “Today is an important part of changing that.”

And now we know whom Wilson and Burke seemed to think were a part of that country club attitude. The old guard had to leave before the new mandate could be carried through.

Bruce Arthur:

“But that staircase remains stranded somewhere on the horizon, and in the meantime the Leafs had become a dead ritual of a team without a first-round pick. They were, in a word, pointless.”

Exactly- who the hell wanted to watch, as Brady and Watters said the other day there was NO reason to go to a game. The team sucked, they had no draft picks, the kids really weren’t playing all that much. There were more jersey’s in the stands for former Maple Leafs than current. It wasn’t a very good situation at all.

“And then Sunday, the dynamite. Goodbye, Ian White and Niklas Hagman and Matt Stajan and Jamal Mayers. And goodbye to Blake and Toskala, who might have been the two least tradable guys on the roster. Burke shipped out older guys, spare parts, replaceable pieces, toxic assets. Sure, White was having a whale of a season, but he’s not headed for a Norris Trophy anytime soon

Ah yes, Steve Kee’s proverbial bomb. Has ever a more accurate statement been written about the guys Burke dealt? Seriously. Older guys, spare parts, replaceable pieces and toxic assets! EXACTLY- it’s bang on, dead on and just purely brilliant.

“in the space of an hour, the Leafs GM changed the narrative of the entire season. Burke had spent much of the season reduced to a bystander; you saw him in the reaction shots during games, and in the occasional televised rant to the media. But he seemed neutered by the NHL’s cap system, like almost everybody else.”

I have wondered for months why the NHL teams even had GM’s. None of them have done ANYTHING since the beginning of the summer. We had heard lots of talk- but seen no action. There was no proof of life.

“But whether Burke has swung and missed or not, at least he’s taking a swing. This is the guy Leafs fans were thrilled to get; this is the guy who isn’t afraid to try, and isn’t afraid to fail. This is Brian Burke.”

Let me answer that one in the words of the immortal Hedo Turkoglu “BALLS”- Brian Burke has them. “BALLS” Brian Burke, unlike many of his GM breathern threw caution into the wind and pulled the trigger on 2 large deals. For that we should all be thankful. At least he was willing to take a chance.

“After being moved, Blake stood in a hallway in the Air Canada Centre and seemed visibly relieved.

“This is where it all is,” Blake said. “It’s not easy playing here. It’s a great organization, great fans, but there’s a lot of pressure. And it can get to you.

“Am I surprised? Yeah. Very. I never saw it coming. But I think it’s a good thing.”

A good thing? It’s a GREAT thing. Blake is another guy who never had a shot here. I hope he goes to Anaheim and lights it up. I hope he becomes the man. Most of all I hope he remains healthy for the rest of his life. Having said that, I am so glad that he is gone. The fact that we got something back for him is quite remarkable.

Bob McKenzie:

“If you subscribe to the theory that the team that gets the best player wins the trade, it’s pretty obvious who won the seven-player blockbuster deal between the Toronto Maple Leafs and Calgary Flames.

That would, of course, be… the Flames — because right here, right now — the best player in that group of seven is none other than Ian White.”

The numbers don’t lie. Statistically White is the leader. Again, you have to give it to the guy, he has worked his butt off.

“Calgary had to make this deal, and could make this transaction, for a number of reasons…..The Flames simply could not maintain status quo because their mix simply wasn’t right. They had to work too hard to score goals and had no choice but to change things up. This new mix will give them a better shot at generating goals.”

It’s always good to get that perspective. It’s just hard for me as a Leafs fan to see how this group helps them (Aside from the ability to make the deal they did tonight).

“Those who watch Phaneuf regularly say he continues to struggle in terms of being able to play the game without the puck. And that when the Flames leaned on Phaneuf to be better defensively, he bristled at the notion that he needed to change his game. Some might say it’s an ego issue, that Dion is happy being Dion and with how he plays and doesn’t like being told otherwise. Others would say he’s simply not good at that defensive aspect of the game and what you see is what you get. Others think in a less stringent defensive environment, where his strengths as an offensive defenceman and huge physical presence will be accepted and accentuated as is, that he will flourish and make the necessary adjustments to play a more complete game.”

It’s a gamble for sure. However, don’t ya think it’s one worth taking especially given the price paid?

“The other aspect of today’s blockbuster wheeling and dealing by Burke is that the Leaf GM is affecting a culture shock on his moribund hockey team, and that’s never a bad thing.

If nothing else, Burke and Calgary GM Darryl Sutter have provided us all a reminder of what it used to be like in the NHL, taking us back to the good, old days when managers weren’t afraid or restricted from taking a high dive into the deep end of an icy pool.”

Exactly, it was a really fun day today to listen and watch as this unfolded. These are things we traditionally only see once a year.

Darren Dreger:

“The Maple Leafs-Ducks deal is, temporarily, a win-win for both teams. But on the long term, the Toronto Maple Leafs are the winners on this deal because of what this allows them to do. On the short term, the Leafs will have approximately $1.5 million in cap space which they can manoeuvre between now and the March 3 NHL trade deadline. If you’re looking toward the long-term, you can look at the benefits in goal. J.S. Giguere’s contract expires after next season, so Toronto can weigh their options at that point.”

I agree with the guy who broke many of the stories today. Say what you want about DD, he gets the scoops and works hard.

Mike Brophy:

“So at the end of the day, the Leafs wind up with a stud defenceman and an expensive goaltender on the downside of his career; kind of a good-news, bad-news scenario.”

Brophy has more analysis in his article, but I got to sportsnet last and most of it has been written in the other columns too.

Scott Burnside:

“In short, this is a deal that smells ominously of panic.

Perhaps none of this might have come to pass had coach Brent Sutter been able to get more out of this talented Flames team. It was Brent, of course, who famously fled New Jersey this past offseason after failing to get a good Devils team out of the first round in two straight postseasons, claiming he wanted to spend more time with his family in Red Deer, Alberta.

Well, if you bought that line, you’d need to borrow a pair of old rubber boots from one of the Sutter farms. It came as no surprise to anyone that Brent moved swiftly to assume the head-coaching job that was made available when Darryl canned veteran bench boss Mike Keenan.

That little bit of synergy has now turned to a big bowl of muck.”

This is a very good article on the aura that is the Sutters. Take a look for more.

Allan Muir has a very good column (no exceptional nuggets specifically) that you can read here too

Puck Daddy:

“Brian Burke: The Environmental Protection Agency should have started its investigation of Burke by the time you read this, because there has to be something criminal about his massive dumping of toxic assets on Sunday morning.

The only valid concern here is that Burke has overspent on his blueline while Phil Kessel skates without another offensive player at his level. Burke was able to get away with this sort of roster in Anaheim, because Ryan Getzlaf(notes), Corey Perry(notes) and Chris Kunitz(notes) all made under $1 million and Dustin Penner(notes) made a pre-offer-sheet salary as well. The Leafs would have had a young player on that level making peanuts next season … but now the Bruins will. ”

Seriously, I know I have said it a few million times, but I can’t believe Burke got anything let alone Dion + JSG for the guys he let go.

The Anaheim perspective on the deal is here

Adrian Dater:

“The conventional wisdom on any trade usually goes: whoever gets the best player in a trade, wins the trade. It’s true that the Toronto Maple Leafs probably did get the most talented player in their
blockbuster deal with the Calgary Flames early Sunday morning. And it’s true that Toronto could be the “winner” of the deal in the long run.

But for right now, Darryl Sutter hit a home run for the Flames. I picked them to win the Stanley Cup before the season, and I feel better than ever about that pick now.”

Dater is the first out there to call this a homerun for Calgary, but time will tell.

“already had plenty of garlic, with A-list players such as Jarome Iginla, Robyn Regehr, Jay
Bouwmeester and Miikka Kiprusoff.

The Flames now have a better balanced sauce with the four Maple Leafs in the mix. Matt Stajan is a nice pinch of oregano. Ian White is a nice dash of basil. Ian White is the cilantro and Jamal Mayers is the
thyme.

Sound goofy? Maybe. I’m hungry right now.”

Me too! In any event, I don’t know enough about the flames to comment. I remain steadfast that given the way the Leafs played I would be very hesitant to lay my hopes on adding any of them to another roster.

That’s all that’s out there for now. More updates as the day progresses tomorrow.

Oh yeah, the Raptors won again and the Argos tried to go cheap on a new coach and failed!

Wow what a great day, win or lose it was fun!

Damien is here

Calgary Sun is here

Eric Duhatschek is here

David Shoalts is here

Bruce Arthur is here

McKenzie is here

Brophy is here

Burnside is here

Puck Daddy is here

Dater is here

Have you ever played a really shitty round of golf. You know, you lose a ball a hole at least, can’t drive, chip or putt. Until the last hole you drive the shit out of the ball- longest drive of your life- straight down the fairway. You then chip the ball on to the green only to be followed by the greatest putt ever. To the point that as you walk off the course, you say to yourself, hey, I’m not so bad, next time I will kick ass.

Now, consider our beloved Maple Leafs. Every time the sky seems to be falling, you know they can’t win a game, let alone kill a penalty, the are free falling in the standings, everyone including the press is writing them off and what do they do???? They go on a mini streak. Pucks start going in when they shouldn’t, goalies are making saves they have no business making and guys like Colton Orr actually win a fight or two.

Don’t get me wrong, they don’t rise meteorically to playoff levels, no, they win enough games to be considered back into the hunt, do well enough to draw us back in and then, they will return to their mediocrity that we know so well. They will lose like they are losing now….and all will appear almost lost again.

So that is where we are today. The Toronto Sun has an article which basically says Ron Wilson is starting to realize that he doesn’t have the troops to win the battle. The Toronto Star has one that says kids are so bored with the Maple Leafs they are playing video games as opposed to watching Leafs games. The Globe and Mail has one questioning whether Ron Wilson actually deserves the reputation of being a good penalty killing coach.

Every blog around (this one especially) has written this team and players off as crap. The stage is set. Get ready to be teased as we get every year. Its about to happen again. Yes Maple Leaf fans, this is the time when the Leafs are supposed to complete the swan song and nose dive right to the bottom. But no, instead I am certain they will do exactly what they have done in the past, they will pull it together just enough to get our hopes back up. You know, they will hit that tea shot, chip and putt to get us all thinking maybe they aren’t that bad after all…

Unfortunately, for us, like the beginning of Major League, when all the locals comment on just how shitty the Indians actually are, we too know the truth. This team is devoid of real talent. The wholes are big and numerous.

When Mats Sundin arrived, after the Gilmour era, every problem the Leafs revolved around the fact that the Maple Leafs were one dimensional. Every single forward of any name or value that was brought in was done to play with Mats. Only one problem. None could play with Mats. None were as good as Mats. Now, the pressure is on Burke to find someone to play with Kessel. Kessel won’t be a superstar here unless he has someone of equal value to play with. None of the role players will be able to play roles as long as we don’t have depth. It’s really that simple.

You know it’s coming when Damien’s latest article talks about the reason why the Leafs won’t tank this year. The Leafs never tank. They tease. This is the time they do it, at our darkest day, when all looks lost, they will become our short term oasis. Enjoy it while it lasts, but don’t get sucked in….it’s not real, and let’s hope our own talent evaluators know better.

TSM

@yyzsportsmedia

Item- Kevin Allen’s blog post today:

” Here’s what I believe is happening, or will happen, as we move close to the March 3 trade deadline.

3. Although Tomas Kaberle has a no-trade clause, he probably will, around the trade deadline, give GM Brian Burke a list of trade destinations he would accept, just like he did last season. Why wouldn’t he want to play with a team with a chance to win the Stanley Cup?

8, Toronto will move potential free agents Matt Stajan and Alexei Ponikarovsky, and maybe a couple of others at the deadline.”

Ah yes, the annual who will be willing to wave or not wave their no trade clause as the deadline approaches. To be followed by semantics Burke who will say yet again that he won’t ask a player who has a no trade clause to wave theirs. Leaf fans will call the shows with their huge overestimates of what Kaberle would land in a deal.

Burke is in a real catch 22 with Kaberle. He isn’t arguably the best player on the team, he is hands down the best player on the team. Kessel may be come it, but he isn’t right now. I don’t care what Kaberle makes, it’s, for this argument totally irrelevant. If you are going to deal Kaberle the return has to be remarkably better than what you are giving up. Forget the first round talk. If you are dealing Kaberle it’s going to be a team he wants to go to. Those are going to be teams with a legitimate shot at the cup. So a late first rounder for TK? I think not. Prospects? Well, again, unless they are quality A+ why take the risk? I have said this before, and will say it again, Burke can’t let Kaberle go for nothing when his deal is up. However, before he trades him he has to be 100 % sure that either he can’t resign him or he is hitting a grand slam.

Now, as for Stajan and Poni or anyone else on the team not named Kessel- I have full faith that Burke and co can exchange these spare parts for some degree of upgrade. If they are resignable at below market prices, then don’t let their asses hit the door.

Item: From Kevin Paul DuPont :

“It’s the first public tickle the 22-year-old Kessel has received since his departure from the Hub of Hockey. His very public scratch from the first round of the 2008 playoffs, issued by Julien, got him going. Now we’ll see whether he responds to the same kind of goose north of the border.”

Kessel getting singled out by a coach who can’t seem to get any type of performance out of his team for the season and a half that he has been here and being benched during a playoff series, are two entirely different things. i highly doubt that Kessel was remotely bothered let alone similarly embarrassed by Wilson’s antics. Kessel is squeezing his stick way too tight right now. He needs a puck to go in off his head, his ass or some other appendage and he will be fine.

Item- From Steve Simmons weekly column:

“A quick Brian Burke report card. His team stinks. His friend, the coach, can’t get the Maple Leafs to kill penalties or play anything resembling team defence. His big acquisition, Phil Kessel, has gone soft and sour. He won’t be drafting Taylor Hall in June or Ryan Nugent-Hopkins the year after. And his college free-agent signings are nowhere to be found while David McNab, who signed Andy McDonald and Dustin Penner for Anaheim, has come up with another good one for his former team in Dan Sexton. Outside of goalie Jonas Gustavsson, who has had two heart procedures and a groin injury in his rookie season, little has gone right in Burke’s world and, knowing him, that has to driving him to absolute frustration ”

Hard to disagree with what Simmons writes. knowing and hearing Burke lately however his ego is fully intact. He is just over 1 season into his tenure. Let’s talk at this time next season. If we are still on par for an 11 point decrease from the previous season (as we are now) then Burke has a major problem.

Item- From Larry Brooks weekly column:

“Here’s what we get to find out about Brian Burke as he runs the Maple Leafs: Can he succeed taking over as GM of a club that doesn’t have a brother of a pending Hall of Fame free agent defenseman on it?”

Here’s the question, is it the Maple Leafs, that Toronto seems to be the focal point of the NHL media or Brian Burke that Larry Brooks loathes? There was a time I actually rooted for the Rangers, now given Larry Brooks, I hope they never win another game. I wonder if Burke were to take over the NHLPA if Brooks would change his tune?

Item: From Damien Cox’s article in today’s Toronto Star:

“There’s no question Gustavsson is agile and quick and aggressive. But a No. 1 goalie? That’s unclear, and there’s just no way the Leafs can go into next season just wishing they have quality netminding.

They hoped Vesa Toskala would bounce back strongly from off-season surgery, and Burke was as wrong on that as John Ferguson was on banking that Andrew Raycroft could replace Ed Belfour.

They can’t just hope Gustavsson can do it next fall. They have to know. That means the final 36 games have to include at least 25 Gustavsson starts, assuming he’s healthy enough, and then a cold, realistic assessment has to be done over whether he’s ready.

If he’s not ready now, it doesn’t mean he won’t be eventually. But a serious contingency plan, like the Islanders had with Rick DiPietro’s status unclear last summer, would be necessary if Gustavsson still has too much to learn.”

This is a serious dilemma for Burke. After all the moves Burke made this off-season, the critics who claimed the Leafs would make the playoffs all did so on the strong belief that the goaltending this year would be improved this year. Hell, given the year in net last year it HAD to be better. Ooops. I don’t care what the numbers say. The reality is, barring a miraculous turn around, the same questions about goaltending will remain after this season. Few teams have been successful with questionable goaltending. Burke has to solve this problem as Cox writes and fast.

Item- Curtis Joseph set to announce his retirement

My memories of Cujo are very strong. I remember him being one of the leagues elite goalies when he played in St. Louis when Doug Gilmour did his round and round in that playoff game where the Buds finally knocked the blues off. I then remember the return to glory on Cujo’s back when he signed with the Leafs. It was the start of one hell of a run with the Leafs. Dare I say the Maple Leafs were respectable when he played in nets here. Then I remember the stab in the heart when Cujo jumped ship to sign with the Detroit Red Wings, claiming to think he had a better chance at a cup. Of course I remember cheering as hard as I could against Cujo and the Wings while he played for them.

In all, it’s fitting that Curtis ends his career here in Toronto. He had a tremendously successful career with stints in multiple cities. Few who get to wear the Blue and White capture the hearts of the fans like Cujo did. Hats off to a great career Cujo. Here’s hoping you find something that will keep you happy and occupied in the future.

TSM

@yyzsportsmedia

Kevin Allen is here

Kevin Paul DuPont is here

Steve Simmons is here

Brooks is here

Cox is here

Further to my article of last night, others are also seeing the serious flaws in the pro game as exposed by the “kids” in the world junior championship:

“This, needless to say, is a problem the NHL runs into when its brand of sports entertainment s juxtaposed with the world juniors or, as will be the case next month, the Olympics. By comparison, the NHL looks mechanical, passion-less and full of phony theatrics.”

EXACTLY

Now granted there isn’t much more entertaining than a game 7 of the NHL playoffs, but the regular run of the mill NHL regular season game like we witnessed either of the last 2 nights when the Toronto Maple Leafs played is just plan old dull.

“Sad thing is, this is where so many of those fine youngsters who competed in that glorious gold medal game on Tuesday in Saskatoon are headed. Whether they want to or not, they’ll be playing in a league that in mid-season too often is part-hockey, part-Gong Show.”

Let’ hope that as the kids move up the ranks to the NHL, the game will improve with higher skill players and less Jamal Mayers types.

yyzsportsmedia

TSM

Damien is here

Here’s your bikini of the day from bikinibeat.org:

On Fan 590 Tonight

4:10 Dave Perkins, Toronto Star
4:25 Damien Cox, TSN & The Star
5:25 Eddie Olczyk, NBC & Versus
5:45 Wayne Parrish, CEO Of Basketball Canada
6:05 Fred Gaudelli, Sunday Night Football Producer
6:30 Brendan Shanahan, NHL’s VP Of Hockey Business & Developpment
6:45 Michael McKinley, Hockey Historian

On 640 with Brady and Watters thanks to Mike S.:

- Richard Griffin of the Toronto Star on the baseball winter meetings
- Jolly Jonas Siegel from the ACC to preview tonight’s Leafs-Islanders game
- Hockey insider Scott Morrison at 6:10

Show ends at 6:30 to make way for the Leafs pre-game show.

Now you see that wasn’t so hard was it. All it took to get this team rolling, just a little bit was the proverbial write off by Damien Cox. Since Damien Cox wrote the this team is really bad and that’s good because at least there is no hiding it anymore, the Buds have played respectable hockey. Now, Jolly Jonas mentioned the “P” word on the radio tonight and well that’s just plain silly. Let’s see this team play 500 the rest of the way and well, that would be one hell of an improvement from the start of the season.

We can’t get ahead of ourselves a small string of games with W’s or hard efforts is meaningless in the grand scheme of things if they are sustained and carried on long term. It would have been so much easier if Cox predicted horrible things for this team right from the get go no? I have to believe his playoff prediction jinxed the team don’t you?

TSM

@yyzsportsmedia