It’s over… Really over. Even John Belushi’s Animal House Character John “Bluto” Blutarsky would admit It’s over. Really folks, we haven’t seen anything like this around here for a long time. The trading of Vince, the trading of Gilmour, the trading of Felix Potvin, all come to mind sort of. Never, and perhaps becuase of the digital age has a bigger mess of a situation ever been made. Personally, I think there are a lot of people out there who in retrospect look pretty foolish. This constant need to be first is just not journalism. The quality of reporting goes way down and the fans suffer. I think lots of folks should be embarrassed.

Let me start with the easiest target. Hanky is an easy target. To his credit he built a very solid audience. He is proof of the hunger there is for knowledge in the great game of hockey. Whether it is only in Canada and a select group of US markets and then a handful of die hards in other US markets, we are a dedicated bunch who live online looking for anything, literally anything to fill that hunger. However, (and for the record I am not calling Hanky a journalist) the Sundin Saga has also painted Hanky in the worst of light. I am not sure how many people out there read his column tonight after the signing but mannnnnnnnn. How can he say once “as I told you” with any degree of dignity. I mean come on. Yesterday he gave Sundin to NYC his highest rating E5:

“I was told it is done by three sources. Mats to the Rangers. Stay tuned much more to come including how the Rangers will make it work. Update: I am told that one of the teams involved in these sweeps has been informed of Mats decision…”

As the fine folks at hockeyanalysis.com pointed out, Hanky had him going to almost every team in the league at one point. It became an industry (hockey) joke. It takes a big man to admit when he is wrong….That clearly isn’t the case here. (and I don’t buy the my job is to only report what I hear crap…)

I hate to do this, as it is totally unfair, but the next guy who blew this one is McCown. When I say I hate to do this, I mean to jump from Hanky to McCown. There is no comparison between the two and they are so far apart, Hanky at the North Pole, McCown at the South. And too much in between to mention. For that reason alone, McCown has some splaning to do. He is the most listened to sports talk show in the city, hell maybe even in the country. He said on his show today that the syndication of the show on sportsnet may be the largest audience that network gets for non live sporting events. He is huge, he is entertaining and he is the measuring stick. Yes he has had a long head start, but I am sure that the fine folks at 640 have their eyes squarely on his show when the books come out. For McCown to be so bold, so confident and so wrong….. OH MY. The guy is clearly connected. I don’t doubt for one second that someone high up whispered in his ear. No one, and I mean no one opened his lips on the air. That prediction sat out there uncontested for 4 days until fact proved it fiction. The night after his prediction (or maybe 2 nights) Kypreos was on the air and McCown said (after Barry clearly disputed the accuracy of the report) “Oh, it’s happening. It’s like your dinner tonight, you may not know when or where, but it is happening.” Even the director of communication for the nhl twittered about McCown’s bold statement when he went it. In essence the league itself broadcast what McCown said. Does this hurt McCown? probably not. Do his rating go down? no. Do his sponsors care? no. Does he credability take a shot- you betcha. I am not in the media business. I just have to believe that when you are about to go on the microphone you have to pretty sure when are going to be this bold given whom you are..Bobcat blew this one big time.

No one in the Toronto Papers really ran amok with this story. There were no bold predictions per se. They were more followers then leaders. There was a ton of useless fodder on whether he should come back here, whether he would come back here, whether he would be welcome back here….yadda yadda yadda. Larry Brooks was really the first one who publicly brought up the Rangers (Hanky aside, and he brought up the winnipeg jets at one point i think). He never said done deal that is for sure. He did say last night that Sundin would give them until the end of the month. That didn’t happen. Some egg on his face too I guess. Berger doesn’t watch TV so who knows what he was thinking. Not much was said, but man did this story eat up time, energy and kill a lot of trees.

In the end, Mat’s proved he is human. Kyreos said it perfectly tonight about the guy he got to interview over in Sweeden. “Mats was upset about giving the Leafs a discount last season and he wanted to make up for it.” Despite the money, I never really thought he would go to Vancouver. I just didn’t see it. I should have though, because like it or not, this came down to one issue; MONEY. Had the rangers gotten the MONEY up, he probably would be a Ranger. They couldn’t and he isn’t. I don’t begrudge Mats that. The guy is entitled to make what the highest bidder is willing to pay. I think a lot of people painted Mats with rose colored brushes. In the end, he isn’t so unlike the rest of us. He followed the buck. In fairness, he really hasn’t done it before. He never bolted the buds despite the fact he probably could have gotten more elsewhere. At 38, if someone is willing to pony up 10 million why the hell not. Give Gillis credit. He is a former agent and he knew the most important lesson. He set the bar. I don’t care who else was in the game. Their offer was being compared to 10m. Is whatever team offers the next highest amount worth taking less money? That answer is usually no. Gillis did what he as an agent would want a gm to do. Open the market high and wait. Keep the dialogue open and remain patient. Say all the right things, keep them interested and eventually it will come down to $. It almost always does.

I can’t believe how quiet the papers are all at 11:50pm. The story broke around 6pm and with the exception of Damien and the Hat, no one else of major consequence has anything posted. Damien is right in his column. After the obligatory shot at the leafs (at least he admitted he hates Toronto) he says that this should be good news for the buds”

“The signing of Sundin, you see, breaks the logjam. Everyone who didn’t get him can aggressively turn to Plan B, and a team like the Maple Leafs, who will most certainly be sellers between now and the March trade deadline, just saw their assets increase in value.Nik Antropov, for instance, is now worth more than he was yesterday. Unless Atlanta decides to trade Ilya Kovalchuk or Tampa tries to move Marty St. Louis or Minnesota opts to dump Marian Gaborik, Antropov might end up being the best forward available by the deadline. ”

I agree in principal. It takes two (or sometimes three) to tango though. I do find it curious how a guy is a proverbial stiff when he is HERE but has real marketability when it comes to the deadline. It smells a little of the setting of the table for the first Burke attack. Can’t you see it coming? I can’t believe that Burke couldn’t get more for __________? Take the positive spin fro Damien, at least he has an article up.

What is missing? The attack on the point that matters:

“I never believed in rent a player to start with, if you wanna be part of a team thats going to have a chance to win the stanley cup or a team that will go far in the playoffs, uh my opinion has always been that you be there from training camp at the start of the season to be part of the group and uh that’s another reason too”

That is what i am waiting for. It will be interesting to see who takes the time to really call him on it. Simmons did a little bit. The sun has such a brutal website that it isn’t up yet if it is going to be so I can’t tell you. Mat’s is entitled to change his mind. To say that he has never believed in something is as strong a statement as you get. Sundin used that as his main reason not to leave last year. He probably sold all the others on the same thing. He then turned his back and did just that. At the very least, had he signed over the summer you could say he would have been true to his word. Now, the guy who Cox told us has always been an honest guy is, ummmm, a liar?

I am interested in seeing what Cliff has to say. So far I haven’t seen anything from him. Burke’s response was irrelevant. I am more interested in his reaction to the brutal exhibition in Boston then his opinion on Sundin that’s for sure.

Then there is the issue of course of what will this do to his legacy. Will he be Ray Bourque and win a championship? Will he mirror Borje and Cujo and curse the day he left? Only time will tell. You know my opinion, the odds are way against him. The good news is he has lots of dough to hedge those odds with right?

I am really glad this over. It will a nutty day tomorrow with all the press to talk about. I will try to post as best i can. I am taking the family south for 10 days and am going to try and beat out the storm so the trip to the airport begins at 445am. about 4 hours and 35 minutes from now. I don’t know how well I am going to be able to post from the ocean (assuming i make it down there) so LT has graciously accepted my begging to help out.

Let me say this however. I started this blog in May or June I believe. It has been a blast every minute. It hasn’t been a chore in my daily routine like others can be. To those of you who are kind enough to read what i have to say and especially those who feel compelled enough to comment or email I can’t thank you enough. I hope everyone out there and your families have a happy, healthy holiday season (Damien, Steve, Howard, bob, Brady, Wilbur you guys too).

well my bags are packed I’m ready to go………………….

Ahhhhh yes, the dog days of sum, I mean winter. Let’s review Brian Burke becomes GM, team goes out west, plays pretty poorly in the final 2 games, during the second of which a veteran defenceman gets benched for the entire period before going -3. The team gets back and hires a new head of hockey operations, looses a close game to the Washington Capitals, and at the same time the stud defenceman gets injured (likely for 2 weeks) and one it’s better forwards (Hagman) to injury too. I think that sums up the leafs no? The Raptors fire their coach, who only a couple of seasons ago won coach of the year honors. The new coach is a canuck(first time that has ever happened) and has gone 0 for 2 since. Collectively those two teams have had a change in their ownership structure. Over in Blue Jay land, the GM meetings are now here and the owner just died and the word is the payroll is being dramatically cut. Elsewhere in Toronto, the Buffalo Bills played my (no, I don’t own them) Miami Dolphins in the first ever regular seas game to be played in Canada or Toronto.

Elsewhere, Sundin appears to be on the verge of deciding to make a decision whether or not play this season and then maybe where too. Sean Avery has been suspended for 6 games and ordered to be assessed for the need for anger management therapy. He has apparently asked the PA not to appeal or file a grievance on his behalf (giving Glen Why Can’t I Be Maple Leaf GM ulcers). The Canes fired their coach and replaced him Paul Maurice. Tampa Bay fired it’s coach too this season and may actually be worse under Rick “The Bet” Tocchet. The economy is in the crapper (and going to get worse) and the NHL board of Governors are going to discuss that (and hopefully litany of teams who are allegedly in various stages of financial disarray. ) The Detroit Lions improved to 0-13 (improved is the right word right???) In US college football, Oklahoma and Florida finished 1-2 in the BCS and will play for the BCS national championship on Jan. 8 in Miami. In US college hoops the Michigan Wolverines stunned the Duke Blue Devils who were ranked #4 prior to that tilt…

Forgive me if I left anything out… Why the review? Well, in my usual tour of the papers, tv stations, websites today I can honestly say I didn’t find one single article worth reading or writing about. No joke. With the exception of the blurb on Simmon’s piece which I wrote mainly for Eye….and to bash Howie, again, there was nothing, zip, zero, nadda, zilch to even consider discussing. With all of the above going on, and more I am sure, I was stunned at how little was written or spoken that actually peaked my interest, had me on my blackberry to ping someone, or get my blood boiling. Did you read Larry Brooks today? Don’t bother, there was nothing there. Seriously, even his take on the Avery story was a complete bore.

So, perhaps this is a week in review, or the after effects of another phenomenal festivus last night but here is hoping that it isn’t a sign of things to come. I used to really like Sunday’s for sports media purposes…. Today I felt cheated.

Ok sports fans- the issue of the former captain of the maple leafs who used to wear #13 is in the paper again….

in this corner, a cute little piece of poo, Mr. Hanky:

“Just talking to a source who has been so far very quiet on the Mats Saga….

“Mats is trying to return the first week in December.”

vs.

The Star, the paper that Damien built…

“Barry says Sundin will likely start skating before the end of November, making a mid-December return “a reasonable guesstimate.”

Call me crazy, but I am going to put my money on traditional media and bet on the star…..

Speaking of betting, Dave Perkins from the star has a little tip for those of you who like to bet on sports:

“the Maple Leafs, who can both score a little and not stop the opposition a lot, had gone “over” the total in nine consecutive games before Monday’s 3-2 loss to Boston. Many who like to play had noticed the trend.”

And the award for the story of the day, goes to David Grossman also of the star.. Can you imagine if the NCAA threw out bidding for an actual college football championship? Every city/stadium in the US could bid to host the game, how many applications do you think they would get??? How much money do you think would be part of those bids??? Rest assured that every major market who apply, the cold weather markets that had a dome included…It would generate huge bucks….

Well, here in Canada, the land of football prowess, the Vanier Cup did such a think and got 0 applications! No seriously, not one city bid on hosting the game. Now, I can’t make this stuff up….

“Marg McGregor, CEO of Canadian Interuniversity Sport, said yesterday she was disappointed by the lack of interest and has started looking at emergency options to be raised at a board of directors meeting next month in Ottawa.”It really does surprise me (that there were no offers) because I had expected interest from right across the country,” said McGregor, whose national organization staged the event until eight years ago when it offered the game to the highest bidder among the four regional university athletic associations.”

Emergency options, like what, paying a city to host the game??? Ummmm Marg, my brother has a huge backyard, it has a play structure on it right now, but for a couple hundred bucks a few buddies of mine will move it and you guys can play your game there…. No, wait that won’t work there aren’t goal posts….. hmmmm, I am sure one of the local high schools will let you play there…

“An announced crowd of 26,787, many benefiting from reduced-price or complimentary seats, saw Manitoba beat Saint Mary’s 28-14 at the Rogers Centre. “Now might be time for (the CIS) to take this over again,” McGregor said. “It’s not just for next year; we don’t have a home for the Vanier Cup for the next few years and that concerns me.”

I am sorry, this is too funny. I feel like I am watching an SCTV rerun…. They are joking right????

” This year’s game will be played Saturday at Hamilton’s Ivor Wynne Stadium, with the Laval Rouge et Or taking on the University of Western Ontario Mustangs. McGregor supports the idea of shuffling the season-ending finale across the country.”It’s not good for the game to be in the same venue each year and maybe a way to go is to partner with the CFL, she said.”

Or anyone else that will take us??? Someone who had to listen to Hogan today, please tell me that he talked about this with the Stache this am???? This had to be HUGE news on his show…Did he take bids or ask for donations on his show???

Now here is the line of the article:

“But McGregor quickly ruled out a partnership with the 2009 Grey Cup in Calgary. “We’d have to play on a Friday night and Calgary weather worries me – it’s not an attractive option,” she said.”

Wait, friends are telling me is it miserable in Toronto right now, can you tell me how Ivor Wayne Stadium in late November is “an attractive option”?????? No offense folks but there is not enough __________ in ________________ to get me to sit OUTSIDE in Hamilton to watch a Canadian College Football game, rouge or no rouge….

Back from having his appendix out, nothing has changed in Hanky Land (except that I am hearing strong rumors of his intent/desire to sell hankybuzz.com)

Has anyone suggested, or heard a thought that says Cliff is out there trying to deal Kaberle right now? Didn’t think so. The one thing I have read is from Hanky writer Happy Howie Berger that Kaberle probably regrets not waiving it last year and likely would this year at the deadline. Which, I happen to think is true.

Meanwhile in Hankyland we get:

“On Kaberle being moved from the Leafs…

Just say No. It will not happen. As of now, there is no way he is waiving. Things can change, but know this: As much as it took to get McCabe to accept a deal, it will take ten times that to get Kaberle to accept one. He wants to retire a Leaf plain and simple. He will either re-sign in Toronto or play in Sweden I am told, but he will not be a rental. Not in his blood at all.”

Of all the dumb shit this guy writes, this may take the case. Sorry, the leafs trading for Jay Bouwmeester, that was dumbest thing ever. In any even this is way up the list. He may want to retire a leaf, but should the buds not make the playoffs, as expected this year, his NTC is temporarily gone, and I would be wiling to bet so will he. As for the not in his blood… A certain former captain that used to wear #13 for the Leafs said the same thing. Yet, people a hell of a lot smarter then me, one, who’s name rhymes with “girdle” has the Rent A Sundin sign out for the whole world to see…. Look, all joking aside. Why are we talking about this on October 27th? He isn’t being traded now, he isn’t being asked to waive his no trade now. So if you are trying to drum up leaf news to boost your UV’s to increase value for the sale of hankybuzz, try something moderately on the plausible side…

“Damien Cox is one of the most respected writers in all of hockey. I grew up reading Damien and have always found him to be fair and balanced. ”

Is this guy serious????

In another useless blog on Fox sports, Big Al writes about the 5 ways Bettman should improve the NHL.

This one is by far the best:

“Move the press boxes closer to the ice. Hockey is incredibly fast, but because press boxes are as far from the action as they can possibly be, the game looks slow. Many American writers are new to the game and aren’t aware of the speed at which it is played. If they were, they would write in more glowing terms. Since basketball takes this approach, it’s surprising that Bettman hasn’t mandated it.”

So it’s just for the new American’s to the sport eh Al? There is next to no chance of this happening. Where would they put the pressbox and who is going to pay for the lost real estate in moving some seats to accommodate the pressbox? If I was going to list 100 things that need to be changed this wouldn’t crack it.

His number one is classic too, “Get a better TV deal”, yeah, like I am sure Bettman and co haven’t thought about that yet…I am sure they aspire to have the worst TV deal in pro sports. Don’t you think that if they could do better then their current deal they would????

Al, do us a favor, go back to doing what you do best….which is what you do in between these usless posts, NOTHING!

“It’s not a lie, if you know the truth”

A quote you see here quite often. I have argued on many occasions that we fans only want the truth. We pay the big bucks so we deserve it.

With that in mind, it is interesting to look at Howie’s most recent post. The gist is that once again the Leaf Brass is lying to the fans about the state of injuries and he aint gonna take it anymore! His thought process is they lied before and there are signs they are lying now…

“The only area in which the Leafs are more inept than winning games is issuing “news” about injuries. Paul Maurice repeatedly made himself look like an idiot [which he isn’t] during his two-year term as coach of the club. Kyle Wellwood had a “slight” groin problem; Carlo Colaiacovo’s knee required “just a bit of rest”… and on it went.”

“I stood firm a couple of years ago on the inescapable fact that Eric Lindros required his torn wrist ligament to be operated on, despite blanket denials from all sides. It’s the reason I confronted Quinn after a Leafs’ practice in Denver in January, 2006 about Bryan McCabe’s groin “strain” actually being a slight groin “tear” – as I was informed behind the scenes.”

So let’s look at the facts. Howie is comparing lying (such an ugly word I know) about the severity of injuries to players who resulted in lengthy stays on the injured list. We aren’t talking about an extra couple of days. We are talking about numerous weeks, not days. It’s no excuse for lying, but lets make sure that we are comparing apples to apples.

“News flash: Jeff Finger’s “minor” foot problem has been down-graded to moderate, and he’ll miss the first week to ten days of the regular season.”

When I read this for the first time, I thought Finger was going to be gone for the first half of the season. Compare Howie’s take on the Finger issue with that of the Star:

“While the injury, according to coach Ron Wilson, is no more serious than that, the 28-year-old can’t yet comfortably put his foot in his skate boot.” So, the injury isn’t any worse, it’s just taking longer to heal. That doesn’t sound like a conspiracy to me. ““Every day it gets a little better but he doesn’t have to skate through the pain – it’s training camp,” said Wilson. “Hopefully he’ll only miss a couple of games and be ready to go in the second week of the season.” Sounds like good judgment to me. Doesn’t sound like a cover up to me.

Here is what Howie had to say about Kubina:
“Accordingly, you can probably forget seeing Pavel Kubina or Nikolai Kulemin in the line-up when the Leafs begin the regular season. On Wednesday, in St. Louis, Wilson claimed both players are sidelined “a week to 10 days” with knee problems. If Wilson is anywhere close to the “accuracy” with which the Leafs have embarrassed themselves in recent years, neither Kubina nor Kulemin will suit up until late-October.”

Here is what the Star had to say about Kubina:
“Pavel Kubina missed Wednesday’s loss at St. Louis with a bruised knee. However, he skated in practice on Thursday and will be ready for the season.“Everything seems to be a go with Pavel,” said Wilson.”

Hmmm, who do you believe.

Here is what I don’t get in Howie’s story…the point. I understand what he is saying, but I don’t get the rationale. Howie starts with the issue of the lying. I am ok with that. He then says that it wasn’t Maurice’s doing, rather he acted at the behest of JFJ (to be fair, Howie has a great line there “learly, Maurice was speaking at the behest of then-GM John Ferguson, who would neither confirm nor deny that he’d been born. But, it didn’t help Paul’s cause, or the team’s). Ok, so in the old regime, it was JFJ. However, Cliff replaced JFJ and that left us with Cliff and Maurice. Wilson replaced Maurice and that brings us today. Howie says “Now, it’s Wilson playing the “let’s lie about injuries” game inherent to his profession, but likely not on behalf of Cliff Fletcher, whose basic honesty has been the hallmark of a long NHL career.” Here is what I don’t get. Why would Wilson lie at this point? Where is the benefit and to whom? Why would Cliff, who’s honesty has been the hallmark of a long career allow it? Howie hurls the accusations, but provides no theory or explanation.

“This subject drives fans of the Blue & White around the bend, primarily because they want to be treated with honesty and respect by the team they have so loyally followed through the years. And, really, they deserve nothing less. Understanding, however, that they’ve long been played for fools by the Leafs, it is met with a shrug when injury nonsense is filtered through the media… their only link to the hockey club. Without recourse, fans vent their anger on the messengers, oddly choosing to align with those at the root of the deception.”

True and, not so fast. Lying of any shape does piss us off. It has to be lying though. I think we all owe it to Wilson and Fletcher to see where this headed. When I hear a guy is a day to day and he is out for months, I will be right there with Howie. Now, for the second part of your point. Our only link to the club isn’t the media. Blogs, message boards and other modern means of technology all appear to be appealing to hockey fans. Our anger which gets vented at the media is unanimous in picking on those who don’t give the home team a fair shake. That is difference. Be fair and balanced and you will see less hate mail. When all you do is constantly bitch and moan about the team, what fan is going to support your cause? We are sick and tired of the train wreck coverage of our sports teams. Don’t confuse people filling your email inbox with anger at the cause. It’s just that you are the cause of our anger. Your message has gotten stale.

I have this question many a time, but now at least one “expert” has answered it… What will define success this season for the Buds?

Interesting in that this off-season/preseason of doom and gloom AssClown as we are supposed to call him actually puts a pretty positive spin on the 08-09 campaign:

“I really think there’s lots to hope for, primarily a team that becomes much harder to play against and manages to be competitive through a new commitment to team defence. It might not be pretty, but if Leaf fans see a team that can be in the top 10 in the league in team defence, that’s concrete progress.”

So there you have it. A goal. A goal which is something to strive for. I don’t think it is that unreasonable that we ask that this team be:

-much harder to play against- hell it can’t get worse then it was
-be competitive through new commitment to team defence- I think this is the right approach and we have been sold this bag of goods so we are entitled to expect it.
-Top 10 in team defence- This is not going to be easy, but again is something to shoot for..a realistic goal

He continues:

“Individually, I think it will be intriguing to watch players like Mikhail Grabovski, Nikolai Kulemin, Mark Bell and Jamal Mayers, who seems like a very classy guy. Fans can also watch Alex Steen, Matt Stajan and Carlo Colaiacovo closely for signs that they can truly be important pieces of the puzzle down the road”

Agreed, 100% it will be intriguing to watch those guys mentioned and I think that it is time for Steen, Stajan and Carlo to put up or shut up.

“Finally, Leaf fans can hope team management sticks to an intelligent game plan of rebuilding. That should include moving some veterans for prospects and draft picks at the February trade deadline. Remember, Philly got Braydon Coburn at the trade deadline in ’07, and now he looks like a future Norris Trophy winner. So if the Fletcher regime is on its toes, there will be real opportunities out there.”

Yes, that is what we are playing for right, the drive for the trade deadline of 2009. Cliff has a long time to convince the holders of NTC’s to move on. Let’s see how many picks and prospects he can get in February. Here is hoping the guys we can move have good enough seasons to bring back good assets. We all have to remember that each player is no more then an asset, right, and the goal is to have the most valuable assets, we need to sell those assets when their value is the most…That is what great teams do…..

The rest of Assclown’s comments are the usual but you can read the expected here.

Sometimes we learn more about a subject by what isn’t said. With every passing day, we are gaining insight into what was broken in the home team’s dressing room at the ACC by what we are hearing is new, as opposed to what was wrong.

To his credit, Cliff Fletcher hasn’t publicly criticized any ex- Maple Leaf, certainly not on the basis of character anyway.

Ron Wilson, without naming names has certainly alluded to a need for a change in leadership in the room. It doesn’t take rocket science to discern who he is pointing the finger at and for what. Even the media appropriately nicknamed those who wouldn’t waive their no-trade clauses as the Muskoka 5, a tongue in cheek swipe at the cozy, country club atmosphere of the dressing room at that time.

Today, we gain more insight. This time from a player who played above and beyond last year and who certainly doesn’t have the “political” label on him. That is, no one ever would accuse Vesa Toskla of having an axe to grind with any ex-maple leaf. Yet in articles circulating this evening, the number one goalie is providing ample light into what was by providing insight into what is.

“It’s not like big names or big superstars are here now,” he said Tuesday after practice. “We’re pretty much everybody on the same level and it seems to be good.Everyone is talking to everybody and we’re just getting used to (each other).”

It’s not what he is saying, it’s what he isn’t saying. Reading between the lines, the superstars or big names on the roster last year seemed to be problematic, and not everyone talked to each other in the locker room. The media made lots of chatter about the nature of the room when guys like Roberts, Green, Domi and Corson where on the team. We haven’t heard much about these issues since those guys left. Clearly, to Toskla anyway, it was a problem.

“I think it’s going to be a much more relaxed atmosphere here now,” he said. “Everybody might feel more relaxed to speak up and say something if they have something on their mind. I think that’s great. That’s how you build good team spirit.”

Who, or “whoms” was not creating this pressure in the past, not allowing players to speak their minds? You take this comment, couple it with the words of the new coach with respect to needing to change the leadership and perhaps the picture becomes very clear. Perhaps those running the room weren’t the great leaders we have all been led to believe they were. It would be interesting to hear the honest opinions of guys like Steen or Stajan as the majority of their pro mentoring has come from the recently departed. I am left wondering if the room was country clubesque as portrayed by the media, or was it toxic?

Perhaps one day we will hear a more definitive truth. The picture being painted from the peripheral aint pretty. It sounds to me like one the biggest problem the Leafs had in the last couple of years was in their psyche. McCabe, Raycroft, Tucker, Wellwood were jettisoned this summer after Belak, Kilger and Gill were dealt at the deadline. Throw in the coaching staff save for Acton and you start to get a pretty good idea of where Cliff saw things. The million dollar question is Sundin. I know, calling into question his leadership qualities isn’t going to make me very popular. I guess we have to start with the question of what is the definition of a true leader? There is no question from a playing standpoint, as Howie correctly points out, Sundin owes the Maple Leafs (or us fans) anything. We got every penny out of him, as a player. Does that also mean he was a good leader. In my opinion, a good leader not only leads by example one the ice, he sets the tone and runs the roost off of it. A good leader doesn’t sneak out a back door after a bad game. A good leader is there to take the lumps night in and night out. A good leader doesn’t let others do that either.

To be fair, I wasn’t there. None of us may ever know what kind of leader he was. None of us may know what the room was like. It certainly seems that as more comes out in the wash, things certainly weren’t as they appeared. I guess they never are.

You know, everyone I talk to and even the dough heads on the call in shows say the same thing about the leafs, in essence, we want the younger players to get a shot, to see what is there, we don’t want to get blown out and embarrassed at home but we have no problem with another losing season when it is part of a larger plan to build something good.

Seems simple enough to me. The question the media keeps asking is, are the fans going to stomach it? Ummm, yes, we have stomached way worse then we are going to see this year. At least this year we know there is a talent shortage. In the past we were sold a bunch of crap! The question is, in my mind anyway is can the media stomach it?:

Look at this from today’s Sun:

” Even NHL bad boy Sean Avery took a shot at the organization recently, rationalizing the Leafs’ decision not to pursue him in free agency over the summer by saying: “They didn’t seem to want me. I guess they wanted to stay in last place.”

Ouch.”

No, not ouch, thank god. Why over pay for a guy who is going to bring marginal results in the grand scheme of things!

I ask you this, if the team looses every game they play this year (i know it won’t happen), the kids play the majority of the time and the kids get better, we finish dead last and get the first pick. Is any fan going to complain? Are you going to call for anyone’s head??? This team is supposed to be bad in terms of wins and losses. What will our friends in the media complain about??? Who are they going to run out of town? To be honest, they keeping if we have patience, truth be told, their very reason for existence is useless this year.

Button down leaf fan, its going to be stormy. I remember those nights at the Gardens, when Brophy was behind the bench and Val James was on the ice. At least this year we know it, they are selling it and finally it will lead to some good!