College of Sports Media Game of the Night:

It’s a battle of the last two President Cup winners in Motown tonight as the San Jose Sharks take on the Detroit Red Wings. San Jose comes into this one on fire. They’re looking for a sweep on their three day road trip and have won six in a row. One of the reasons for the Sharks’ success is the play of their goaltender Evgeni Nabakov. Nabakov was the NHL’s third star last week, posting a 3-0 record to go along with a 0.97 goals against average. They’ve also been getting some pretty good play up front. In his last nine games former captain Patrick Marleau has six goals and ten assists. The Red Wings have been good, but not great. Injuries continue to plague the team and goaltending has been somewhat of an issue. Top defensemen Brian Rafalski and Jonathan Ericsson are battling the flu and are day-to-day, while forwards Valtteri Filipulla and Johan Franzen are on the injured reserve. Starting goaltender Chris Osgood has been decent this year. He’s been especially good as of late. Osgood has only allowed one goal in two games and on Tuesday night he earned his 50th shut out blanking the Boston Bruins. This season he’s started ten games and has a 5-2-2 record with .902 save percentage. The question for Detroit is what happens when Osgood is off his game or needs a rest. Back up Jimmy Howard has been average at best. In five starts he’s 1-2-1 with a 3.42 goals against average.

I was out most of the day today so I didn’t get a chance to listen to much radio. Thankfully, Bruce Arthur was listening when Brian Burke was on the Fan 590. Contrary to what some have written recently about Brian Burke, the guy gets it. He knows what he has to do. The question is does he know how to do it or is he able to do it again?

“”It corrodes your confidence,” Burke told The Fan590 yesterday. “I think your forwards won’t gamble at all on the offensive end, and they won’t hang around and take a chance on a loose puck because they figure they’ve got to get back. Your [defencemen] give up the blue lines, both blue lines, way too quickly, way too easily.”

The “IT” is shitty goaltending. As you have read here and other places, bad goaltending effects the entire psyche of the team. It’s not just the bad goals, its the total effect on the entire team.

“Right now, we’re playing with our third and fourth goaltender in the organization. No one else in the NHL is doing that, and it’s hurting us, it’s showing up.”

Well, at least we agree on the problem. The question is does anyone really have any faith in #’s 1 and 2? Someone who’s opinion I kind of respect has told me privately that they are convinced that the Burke/Wilson plan involved getting the entire town turned on Vesa to get him out of here. Now the comment was partially in jest, however the sentiment was pretty clear. There is no way they wanted to start O for….. but……

“He told The Fan yesterday that he learned his goaltending lesson in Vancouver, where Dan Cloutier sabotaged some pretty good teams, whether due to injuries or otherwise. “So I got to Anaheim and I said, ‘Never again will I be short on goaltending,” Burke said. “‘Never again.’

Ummmmmmmmmmm….my never seems to have come around pretty quickly no?

“Goaltending is like pitching,” he told the radio station. “It doesn’t matter how good the rest of your team is … It doesn’t matter what other positions you solve, it doesn’t matter if you’re GM of the year for the other positions – if you don’t have goaltending, you’re going home.”

You see, I agree with everything the guy says. No I don’t think you rush to judgement after 6 or 7 games. But….As Kenny Rogers said, or sang, you got to know when to hold em….. Forget the Monster for now. He is too young and too raw. The question is very simple. Can Vesa Toskala be a number one goalie here? It’s not whether he is a number one goalie. Lots of players have left the big smoke and gone on to play well elsewhere. Is Vesa done here? That is the question Burke needs to answer. Right now he is a team without an ace, a number 2 or number three pitcher. His players are playing like every pitch is going to end up over the fence. He is saying all the right things. The question is what does he do about it???? I wonder what his new goalie guru thinks of Vesa. Both Burke and Wilson were pretty tough on Toskala last year. His play so far can not have endured them any more. One can wonder why if he is saying all these things right now why he entered the season with a questionable number one, a rookie number two and well, Joey.

It seems pretty obvious that, as he said above, all the moves he made over the summer are pretty irrelevant until he finds a goalie. A guy who will relax the players in Toronto and carry the load until Jonas is ready and seasoned. His front office staff have to find that guy who can come in and, oh, I don’t know, make a big save right out of the gate. Burke knows it, question is can he get it. Time will tell.

TSM

@yyzsportsmedia

Bruce Arthur is here

Brian Burke Is brianburke-hc-20091019

Listen to the Chat here

“Maple Leaf fans – and the media, and the city, it seems – aren’t even patient for a retooling, or at least a retooling that some believe is doomed to failure.”
Damien Cox

“The point is, most hockey commentators in Toronto have rolled over for Burke. They blame goaltending, the defense, the coach and the forwards for the team’s awful start, but give Burke a pass.”
William Houston

” Hey Leaf zealots, why overreact this early in a season in which your team can still finish 78-3-1? Get off the high bridges and shut those upstairs windows. Better days – as always – are just around the corner, right? In the interim, here are some observations after a 5-2 trampling of the Blue & White by the defending Stanley Cup champions at the Air Canada Centre”
Howard Berger

“Even more ominous would be the aftermath of a seventh consecutive defeat – Saturday night at home to the New York Rangers. An anomaly in the schedule has the Leafs idle for an entire week, which means that Burke, Wilson and the players would have to munch on an 0-6-1 record for a full seven days.”
Howard Berger

6899

12,179

13,103

13,280

5,000

So once again we are suckers, we are idiots and yes we are losers. Right, I mean, we still seem to love our hockey teams. The nerve. I mean, our team loses every game it has played so far and we are “panicked”. Oh the horror. Oh those idiot fans. Oh those losers. I know, let’s shit over the same people who indirectly put food on our plates. The more I piss them off the more they will read what I have to say the more money I will make. That’s the logic right? We all are sure that Stay At Home Berger is the world’s biggest closet Maple Leaf fan. He is negative, not because he believes it, but rather because the competition is and he thinks that he has to be in order to compete. He no longer is an insider. He hasn’t broken a story since I don’t know when. To be honest, I am no longer quite sure what the hell he’s an authority on at all. But I digress. Stay at Home Berger is doing what he thinks he has to do.

The question is, or perhaps the answer, I guess, is… What would these brains prefer? would they be happier if we stopped listening, reading, watching and going? No seriously. Would these guys prefer an apathetic fanbase? Look at the Jays. Do these think that their bosses would employ 1/4 of them if the ACC was as empty as the TED on a nightly basis? If the Leafs were 0-6 and the fans weren’t calling the talk shows, commenting on stories like the sky was falling what would these guys we talking about? If no one was reading, listening or watching would they really be happier? So the media would be happy if the love fell off the maple leafs, unemployed but happy…I don’t buy it. These guys are sellouts. They write what they believe will sell. No more and no more less.

The proof is in the Burke furor. Houston, the NY TImes and others are getting on the Toronto Sports Media for going soft on Burke. The problem these same guys have is they have sung the Burke song for so long they no longer have a choice. Seriously, go back in time as many years as you want, but I can’t remember the last time they had a GM that the press actually endorsed. They liked Cliff when he made the Gilmour deal. However the rose fell off pretty quickly as he dealt the picks away- TRADE SCHMAFT- remember that. Following Cliff in no specific order, Mike Smith, Ken Dryden, Pat Quinn, JFJ and Cliff part deux. The “experts” had issues with credentials of all of the above for a wide range of reasons. Each GM or acting manager had their own flaws according to those who are considered the brightest and best of our sports media team.

The battle cry from EVERYONE was to bring in a REAL hockey man. Someone like a Ken Hollan. Someone who had won. Someone who could build the modern day Maple Leafs. Go back over the last 10 years and read the comments on how the Leafs need a GM who can build a hockey department. One who will have total control and build the organization properly. As Burke became a possibility these experts zeroed in on him. In essence they wanted him here. Yes, he’s great for the media. He’s a great quote. There will always be a good story. Life won’t be dull under Brian Burke. The problem for each and every one of these guys is, they begged for and fully endorsed the hiring of Burke. When the team was struggling over the years they said that is what the team needed. Now that he is here they can’t start saying Ooops less than a year in. To do so would be to admit the unthinkable, that they don’t know shit. I mean if the guy they wrote about this team needing for years isn’t, what does that make them????

So, Cox’s article today isn’t all that surprising. Neither is the perceived hysteria over the current losing streak. The problem in his town is that neither the song nor the singers have changed despite lots of other things changing. GM’s, presidents, players and more have been run out of town. The commentators haven’t. The wise read, watch and listen to be entertained. The fools take it as anything more than that.

The numbers above, by the way, represent attendance at various NHL buildings over the last 2 weeks:

6899- announced in Phoenix

12,179 – Nashville announced attendance

13,103- Nashville announced attendance

13,280- Columbus announced attendance

5,000- number of unsold tickets in Tampa

So I ask the media, if the Leafs had numbers like that, do you think you would have a job???? Do you prefer the empty seats or the ship of fools?????

TSM

@yyzsportsmedia

College of Sports Media Game of the Night:

The last time the Los Angeles Kings and New York Rangers played was December 17, 2008 in LA and the Rangers skated away with a 3-2 overtime win. The Kings and Rangers are the hottest teams in the league and will battle tonight in Manhattan. Both New York and LA lost their opening games, but have combined for nine straight wins (LA four in a row and New York five). The key to New York’s quick start is how well they’ve been finishing games. The Rangers have outscored their opponents 13-5 in the third period. Former Minnesota Wild Marian Gaborik leads all  New York forwards with five goals and four assists. The Rangers have also been getting production from their back end. Their defence has scored ten goals already this season. For the Kings their early season success can be attributed to the play of goaltender Jon Quick. Since letting in six goals to the Phoenix Coyotes on opening night, Quick has only allowed nine goals in four games. Up front, centre Anze Kopitar and Ryan Smyth have been carrying the offensive workload. The two have combined for a total of eight goals and nine assists. The Kings come into this one riding another streak as well. They’ve won the last four of six meetings with the Rangers, including the last three at the Madison Square Gardens. In fact the last time the Kings lost in MSG was Nov. 28, 2000.

Maple Leafs would be ecstatic but for that whole September 18th trade. While alarm bells shouldn’t be sounding after 5 games (they should be blarring) the fact that the Maple Leafs have no where to go but up should be music to us Maple Leaf fans. I mean so many times we have been told the only way to improve is to shit the bed- literally- finish dead last and get the top pick. Problem is, we never had the right person at the top to assemble the right combination of talent to get us to the bottom. Cliff and Brian did too well last year and we didn’t get to the bottom. Like many years prior bad simply wasn’t bad enough.

Now, however, 5 games in Leaf fans it looks like we may just have the right group. These guys are, without a doubt the worst group the Leafs have assembled in a long time. No, 5 games does not a season make. However these first 5 have been preeeeeeeeeeety telling. Let’s see, the forwards can’t score, and they can’t come back to take a pass or help the d. The d, they, for lack of a better word Ssssssssuck. No really, they suck. Ian friggin White is the best of a bad bunch right now. In net?????? baaaaaaaaaaaaah The bright side is that this could be a good draft year…

What?????

We did what with our first round pack????????

So, what’s a coach and GM to do? I mean where do you turn?????

Cox suggested demoting Toskala and Blake to save some big $. Ok, let’s say for a second we are going to do that. Who or what are you going to spend that money on???? Personally I don’t think Blake has been in the bottom half of the forwards in terms of performance. I know Wilson benched him tonight, but he appears to be the only guy forechecking. Who do you bring up from the Marlies???? Those offense powerhouses Hanson and Bozak??????? They are kids. The answers have to lie in that locker room. The coaches have to find a way to reach this guys. There really is no other way. Unless there are some real hidden gems who have yet to be signed that I am not aware of this group is it. Burke has dealt the first round picks for this year and next. The young kids aren’t worth moving. The answer is currently on a plane likely freaking out. It’s a long season and Burke and Wilson should support the bunch they went with. If this continues for long then, as a friend used to say- throw a bomb in to the room.

It is amazing though how are perspective has changed due to one day when one trade was made. If Burke doesn’t make that deal the level of panic is dialed way down- except at all the local media outlets where wait till next year wouldn’t be good for ratings. With the picks gone, the negative tone of the media will continue to carry the day. Wait for all the i told you so’s in the paper tomorrow.

TSM

How good does it feel to say that???? Man it has been a LOOOOONNNNG time coming, exhibition or no exhibition:

Forwards
Andre Deveaux – John Mitchell – Jay Rosehill
Nikolai Kulemin – Jason Allison – Jiri Tlusty
Wayne Primeau – Nazem Kadri – Colton Orr
Viktor Stalberg – Tyler Bozak – Christian Hanson

Defence
Jeff Finger – Francois Beauchemin
Garnet Exelby – Ian White
Phil Oreskovic – Jonas Frogren

Goalies
Vesa Toskala
Joey MacDonald

Whom, Leaf fans do you think will make the big club? The over under is at 20%…thoughts?

TSM

@yyzsportsmedia

Back in Toronto after a wet weekend in New York. Had a great time but man it was miserable weather wise. So here is what I am hearing this evening on the Kessel front. Burke absolutely wants him. I am told from multiple people that he has presented three different scenarios (I say scenarios because I am not sure an actual offer has been made).

The first you may have seen on the net or twitter tonight, two first round picks and a second for Kessel.
The second is a first round pick plus a top 6 forward on the Maple Leafs who the Bruins are extremely high on and may actually be insisting on in any deal for Kessel, in return the Maple Leafs may actually get a pick back plus Kessel.
The third would involve a mix of prospects and picks in exchange for Kessel.

So there you have it. Personally, I despise the first scenario. I don’t like dealing 1st round draft picks, trading 2 of them has to be for a guaranteed home run. With all due respect to Kessel, he isn’t a guaranteed homerun. I like the second one, as I am not overly in love with any of the Maple Leaf forwards enough to say untouchable. The third scenario makes little sense to me. This is the first time we may actually have any prospects, dealing them now seems way too early. I will be really pissed if Burke deals Stalberg.

Word on the street is that Kessel will be dealt early this week and likely no later than Wednesday. We shall see I guess, but it could get very interesting around here over the next couple of days.

Doug MacLean was on the fan’s morning show this am with Don Landry and Gord Stellick. Richie Rich was asked his opinion on Burke’s offseason his response was quite interesting:

MacLean said that Ken Holland, the Detroit Red Wings GM always says that you don’t invest to much money in non point generating defencemen. Brian Burke has brought in multiple non-point generating defenceman. Michael Komisarek signed on for $4.5m/year for 4 years and he has never put up more than 20 points in the NHL. Don’t shoot the messenger, I am just telling you what you have missed on the radio this am. Francois Beauchemin is a little bit better, having put up over 30 points, however, according to MacLean, he did so with some pretty other defencemen named Progner and Niedermayer, Beachemin’s $3.8m /year for 3 years is hefty again for a non point producing defencemen according to MacLean. The same comment was made about Garnet Exelby.

Maclean said that the Leafs (maybe not the fans) are really going to miss Pavel Kubina in that he was a point producing defencman. He also questioned Kaberle’s ability to produce points as the only guy on the team. He said that yes they are tougher, but the pressure on the defence to generate offense (not necessarily in terms of actual points) is going to be great. His point was that guys like Nik Lidstrom, which admittedly are one in a million generate about “200 points a game”. No he doesn’t get that many points, but goals are scored as a direct result of his plays.

This weakness on the blueline, according to MacLean will make it way more difficult for the limited offensively gifted forwards that the Leafs have. They haven’t really added any guns up front who can be counted on to score.

MacLean suggested that the biggest question mark for the Leafs will be in net. Toskala, he said is a number one goalie. Question is, can he play like one. Secondly, until Gustavsson actually plays some games, no one knows how good he will be. As goes the Leafs goaltending, according to MacLean, so to will go the Maple Leafs.

The Leafs, MacLean said may be in the hunt for the playoffs but certainly aren’t a shoe-in to make it. They have to pass a lot of teams including teams like the Senators who didn’t make the playoffs last season. A tall order he suggested.

Of greater interest was MacLean’s take on Nikolai Zherdev. Zherdev, is the reason MacLean got fired. At least, according to MacLean. The contract situation and the fallout from it got him canned. MacLean said that he should have known that Zherdev was going to be a handful when he asked him at the draft after he picked him at 18 years of age what car Zherdev drove and the response was “a Mercedes”. It was interesting that when MacLean told that story, there was silence after the “punch line”. Nikolai Zherdev, according to MacLean is one of the most talented kids he has ever seen. He is also one of the biggest enigmas. MacLean said that he tried literally everything to motivate Zherdev and instill a work ethic in him. He even signed Sergei Federov whom MacLean considers the greatest Russian born NHLer of all time. MacLean took lots of lumps for signing Sergei, but thought if only he could get through to Zherdev… One day Federov came to MacLean and pretty much gave up. Federov said that he couldn’t talk to Zherdev anymore, that Zherdev simply didn’t want to listen. Then MacLean out a real gem. He said that when he went to Zherdev’s place after he was gone, the landord of Zherdev’s place said that he was called to change the locks on Zherdev’s apartment 6 times in the one season he played there! The guys asked MacLean if perhaps Zherdev was guilty of poor judgement, MacLean just laughed and said “ohhhh the book I could write!”

MacLean talked about how the role of the media has made a GM’s job so much more difficult. He said that he has had some time to reflect on his life after being out of the game for a bit. He said that the pressures of the job are one thing, but that the intense media scrutiny on everything really makes it more difficult then in the past.

It was a good interview with MacLean. The problem is, it was the exact same interview MacLean gave only hours earlier with Bob Mccown. As I have said about Bill Watters, you can’t over-expose these guys. No talent is good enough to be on multiple times, especially in the off-season. If you listened to MacLean the other night, there was no reason to listen again today. As I flipped back and forth this am, I heard the same jokes, the same stories and analogies that he used with Mccown. It’s not a knock on MacLean. It’s just over exposure.

In the same vein, have you noticed that Mccown seems to be spending more time with his guests on PTS? Over the last couple of days he has been taking longer, fuller segments with guests and even running later than usual breaks. While he may be driving his producers nuts in doing so, the results, in my opinion anyway are significant. He did it again tonight with Dan Shulman in talking about the Blue Jays. Mccown maybe the only radio host who spends considerable amounts of time on the Jays and seems to think they are going somewhere(and I don’t mean Portland) He made it clear again tonight that he strongly believes that the Blue Jays are not only going to spend the Rios and Rolen money just saved but get to a payroll between $100-120m.

I have to admit, I am not a soccer aficionado, but the Champion League banter tonight on 640 was good stuff too. If only I understand who the hell they were talking about.

Have a good night.

TSM

@yyzsportsmedia