Larry Brooks has a very good column this Sunday. No, not just because it’s the first one where he doesn’t rip the Toronto Maple Leafs. He talks about a couple of issues, one I had no previous knowledge of.

“folks around the NHL sure would be interested in learning even one of No. 87’s reasons for rejecting David Letterman’s invitation to host his Top Ten while the Golden Boy was in New York this week.”

So, according to Brooks, Sidney Crosby elected not to appear on Letterman. This isn’t the first time Brooks ducked out of a major US appearance, allegedly having declined to appear on the Today show after the Stanley Cup Victory.

Brooks does mention that he can’t imagine the demands on Sid’s personal time. However, not knowing the reasons why these two major appearances were shot down one can only wonder. For all we know these types of appearances were requested at the last minute and Crosby was booked up. It’s not like the rest of us who would dump many of things for that type of request.

It does raise the question as to what type of obligations come with being the poster boy of the NHL. Should he have to drop everything whenever one of the big boys comes a calling? Is it fair to judge him for not wanting to be on Letterman? Would he also deny the chance of hosting Saturday Night Live if he were to be asked?

The thing that I would have loved for Brooks to suggest in his column is that perhaps the NHLPA should be pressing Sidney to appear at these gigs as they could help grow the game from an economic standpoint (I am saying that largely tongue in cheek).

Anyways, Brooks’s column raises a question as to what our the obligations of the star players in the NHL like Sidney Crosby.

Thoughts?

Sorry folks I forgot to post this video- it’s a gem….

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

Interesting reading the papers today as the experts respond to Brian Burke’s selection for the USA Olympic team:

“Burke would choose a Canadien over his dead body simply for his having been nearly booed out of the Bell Centre last June at the NHL entry draft. A Size XL ego who is loved or loathed with no grey area beyond his snowy scalp, Burke immediately claimed that he didn’t take the podium abuse personally. But …”

That from Dave Stubbs of the Montreal Gazette.

Choosing the team is thankless, unless of course you win. No one is ever going to be happy and neither Brian Burke or Steve Yzerman are exempt from the criticism.

However, Burke, if nothing else wants to win. I can’t imagine that being booed in Montreal entered Burke’s mind for 1 second when he was picking his roster. His ego, as Stubbs points out is too big. There is no way he would let being booed get in the way of winning gold.

“There will be no better time for Gionta and Gomez to thank Brian Burke for Friday’s vote of non-confidence than on March 20 and April 10, when they personally can stick it to his Maple Leafs.”

We shall see then how much Gionta and Gomex are insulted by their omission from Burke’s roster.

Meanwhile, Larry Brooks, Burke’s number one fan chimes in:

“So if Tim Gleason played for the Maple Leafs and Mike Komisarek played for the Hurricanes, which defenseman do you suppose would have been named to the Olympic squad by Team USA (and Maple Leafs) GM Brian Burke and which would be left at home?”

All kinds of thoughts on this one. My first response is identical to the one above. Burke isn’t going to pick his own players as opposed to others if he knows better. He wants to win. Having said that, he did go out and sign Komisarek this off season, he must like him. Would I think for one second that familiarity played a role in say a tie-breaker situation where it was down to 2 players of, in Burke/Wilson’s minds, equal talent- then the answer is yes. If they were trying to decide between 2 guys whom they thought were equally talented I could see them giving the advantage to the one who plays for the Maple Leafs- the old devil you know adage right?

Then, as Burke was being interviewed on TV tonight during the Swedish game at the WJHC fans rinkside were chanting “Leafs Suck”- according to Damien Cox on Twitter. I would think that of all the attention, Burke enjoys this one the most.

I am having my knee scoped tomorrow so may not be many posts during the day

TSM

@yyzsportsmedia

Stubbs is here

Brooks is here

So, if you haven’t had your Phil of Kessel yet, wait till tomorrow when talk radio gets to chime in on the deal. I suspect that when Landry and Stellick take to the air it will be all Kessel all the time. Unless of course Landry was at curing reality camp again this weekend. All the talking heads will be in full Kessel mode tomorrow. Should be interesting. Will he be on the morning show? Which Lunch show will he be on? Both????

Anyway, here are some cool things and thoughts for a Sunday:

The summary of why the Bruins dealt Kessel:

” All in all, Kessel and his agent orchestrated a clever, successful and lucrative free-agent departure. When it became clear to everyone that Kessel preferred to be in Toronto more than anywhere else, including his hometown of the last three seasons, Chiarelli had little option but to acquiesce.

Had Chiarelli not swapped Kessel to Toronto for a pair of first-round picks and a second-rounder, he likely would have been faced with committing $27 million to a kid with 66 career goals and not much grit in his tool kit.

And if Chiarelli chose not to match the presumed offer sheet, then the compensation, as spelled out by the collective bargaining agreement, would have been only first-, second-, and third-round draft picks. The potential for Brian Burke rolling out the offer sheet ultimately forced the deal, with the Leafs GM deftly, in concert with Kessel’s stated desires, forcing Chiarelli’s hand.

No other suitor stepped up with an offer, Chiarelli also confirmed, and that was because no club wanted to yield assets to Boston and then be positioned to suffer Burke’s roundhouse right of an offer sheet. Imagine if the Predators swapped Colin Wilson for Kessel one morning, only to see him that afternoon sign the Leafs’ offer sheet?

Just wasn’t going to happen, not without Kessel checking off on a sign-and-trade deal, and he wasn’t going to do that after determining over the summer that he wanted to wear Toronto’s blue and white.”

That from Kevin Paul Dupont in the Boston Globe.

Toronto Sun writer Mike Zeisberger has a good piece on where things may have gone awry in Boston:

” Phil Kessel “was pissed off.”

At the Boston Bruins.

At coach Claude Julien.

And at the embarrassment of being banished to the press box as a healthy scratch for three games in a post-season grudge match against the rival Montreal Canadiens.

If ever there was an example of the rocky relationship between the Bruins braintrust and Kessel, this was it.

It was the first round of the 2008 playoffs and Julien, having seen his Bruins blown out of the Bell Centre in the opening game by the high-flying Habs, decided to dump Kessel from the lineup.

Julien wanted more grit. He wanted better two-way play from his forwards. He was, in his own opinion, getting little of either from Kessel.

So, there was the young forward, sitting in the rafters, decked in a spiffy suit, feeling helpless as he watched his team muster just four goals during his three-game absence.

It gnawed away at his gut. How couldn’t it?

“It was tough sitting out,” Kessel admitted at the time. “It was very disappointing. It was a tough time for me.”

And maybe, just maybe, it was the beginning of the end, at least in terms of the marriage between Kessel and the Bruins.

Kessel responded by scoring twice in his return to the lineup. How’s that for making a statement?

Julien is one of the best bench bosses around, a no-nonsense guy who goes by the credo: “My way or the highway.”

But The Benching, as it is now known, was something Kessel never forgot, according to those close to the young sniper. ”

Ron Wilson isn’t going to give Kessel the warm and fuzzy’s either, but one has to believe that Brian Burke knows that.

The best article on the state of the Maple Leafs today is written by Damien Cox:

“But what Burke has indisputably achieved is a remarkable transformation of a team and an organization in slightly more than six months.

Last winter, the Leafs were an outfit adrift without personality, a club that had scored a bunch of goals early in the season, was terrible defensively, wasn’t ornery to play against and, depending on the game, might fill out half or more of its lineup with skilled European-born and trained players.

Today, the Leafs are destined to be one of the NHL’s goonier teams, a club dominated by North American talent and muscle, a team that surely has a distinct personality sculpted entirely by Burke.

He has changed the roster, added front office personnel, lured one of the game’s top goalie coaches and revamped the pro and amateur scouting staffs. A club that not that long ago seemed unattractive to players with other choices has in rapid succession outbid stiff competition for Mike Komisarek, François Beauchemin, Colton Orr, Christian Hanson, Tyler Bozak, netminder Jonas Gustavsson and, really, Kessel.

For each of these players there were at least three bidders and in some cases four times that many. But Burke got them all.

Suddenly, the Leafs are a destination, mostly because of Burke’s personal touch. He pursued Hanson and Bozak for months. He twice went to Sweden to chase Gustavsson. Kessel, while disputing Boston GM Peter Chiarelli’s assertion that he asked for a trade, clearly decided some time ago that being aggressively courted in Toronto was a great deal more enjoyable than being tolerated in Boston.”

As I asked the other night, has the tide turned in Toronto. We have been told for a long time that no one wants to come here. Suddenly players seem to be saying that they want to play here. Will the Leafs win the cup? Who the hell knows. Winning starts with an attitude and character. The malaise that was the old team, the Mats Sundin/Tie Domi country club atmosphere appears to be finally eradicated. The fact that guys like Cox and Simmons et. all are saying so publicly says a lot.

So with Kessel here, what else can we talk about? Well, the Coyotes decision isn’t newsworthy yet. Gretzky isn’t in camp and continues to get crucified for it. The lack of respect for the great one, whom I wasn’t a huge fan of before by the way, is nothing short of pathetic. Whether or not he is deserving of the money, the reality is the guy put the league on his back for YEARS. Ownership (backed by Bettman) hired the guy and guess what, he has fulfilled his end of the bargain. From where I am sitting, the guy who is arguably the greatest of all time is getting shafted. But no, that isn’t what I want to talk about. What I want to talk about it the NHLPA.

Forget the Coyotes, forget the Detroit Lions, forget the Toronto Blue Jays, there is no bigger joke in sports than the NHLPA. What a farce. What a total embarrassment for those who worked so hard for this union to be built. Those surrounded by the action should be embarrassed. Those talking from a far should be more so. Here is what sounds like has happened. A power play. Plain and simple, those who weren’t in control wanted it and got it. The way of the PA is equally as simple. They had Eagleson, we know the mess he left. As a result they brought in the hardest of hardliners, Bob Goodenow. As a result of his actions they appointed Ted Saskin. As a result of his actions they brought in Kelly. For every action there is a reaction. The constitution is too soft, so they go off the charts heavy. It’s too heavy, they go easy. It’s too easy…… How dumb are these guys? Seriously?

The press coverage over the last week would be enough to embarrass me into quitting the PA if I could. Consider this:

“According to a report from Montreal radio station CKAC – the same station that correctly broke the news and details of Roberto Luongo’s contract extension last month – former Detroit defenceman Chris Chelios is planning on speaking with other players about the possibility of bringing Kelly back, claiming that he had been misinformed. This comes not quite three weeks after Kelly was knifed in a 10-hour, all-night meeting in Chicago, against all common sense.”

Misinformed? Are you kidding me?? You are the guy who is responsible for the guy being hired. Then, you lead the effort to have him fired in the middle of the night AND NOW YOU WERE MISINFORMED????? Who admits that? Who leads a witch hunt on bad info?? Oops we fired you by mistake??? I mean somewhere Kelly’s lawyer has to be loving this.

“I definitely want to know how things happened,” Crosby told ESPN. “I am part of the union like every other player and I think we all deserve a good explanation.”

UMMMMMMMMMMMM, NO. You don’t deserve an explanation Sidney. You see, the majority of your membership doesn’t care about the issues really. Guys like you don’t take an active role in the PA, you pawn that responsibility off on the Matt Stajan’s of the world. If you cared, you would be your team rep. You would know what you signed off on when you ratified your constitution. You would be going to meetings, making calls and be up on the issue BEFORE this shit happened. Don’t cry about spilled milk after the fact! You put the current executive in place, mostly out of apathy. You, and I don’t mean to pick on Crosby, and your union brothers got exactly what you deserved.

“”You’re a player rep and the players are relying on their reps to do their job,” Stajan said. “If we could have all 750 players there, great, but that’s hard to do. We felt a change was needed and we made it.

“You had a leader (Kelly) who came under an office review,” Stajan added. “There was proof there (the office) was not functioning well, and that’s on the leader. In any business, that’s what can happen in situations like that (reviews). I don’t know why anything else is coming out now, some guys are speculating, but that’s what we decided and it was unanimous.”

As much as I loathe Matt Stajan, I can tell you this, I have a ton of respect for that position. He’s the guy who went to the meetings. He’s the rep. He’s the guy that got the job because no one else wanted it. I’d be pissed if I were him too. He got stuck doing a job and now after he did what he was asked to do people are pissed???? Give me a break.

“Indeed, the Block Report not only solved nothing, it exacerbated the mistrust and contempt that factions of the PA had for each other following its collective bargaining collapse. Union leaders — excuse the oxymoron — then produced a constitution ratified by an ignorant membership that neutered the position of executive director.”

Look, if the membership is/was ignorant it has only one place to look…in the mirror. Every player who voted in favor of the constitution has an agent. Every player could have read the damn thing. Every player, however was sick and tired of the mess. Every player wanted to get back to playing hockey. So they passed the buck. The allowed others to deal with their problems. Now they are bitching????

” Neither, however, does the Players’ Association, now apparently spoken for by people such as Matt Stajan and Andrew Ference, the latter the Boston player rep who last year famously suggested the wrong players were making too much money. Sidney Crosby isn’t the only one who wants answers. Players across the league have been left in the dark. The internal union Web site is widely disparaged by membership as more a source of propaganda than information. Players are asking for answers. Maybe this time they’ll get some. Maybe this time they’ll get answers they never received from the Block Report. Maybe this time they will be entrusted with details of their history so that they don’t repeat it.”

Sorry Larry, I am not buying it. The players have only themselves to blame for guys like Stajan and Ference be leaders. Any player who is pissed about the leadership I am sure could have been their team rep. Do you think there was one team with a battle for the rep position?? Not a chance. These guys couldn’t have cared less. They made their beds and now they are lying in them. To say otherwise is insulting.

It’s almost as insulting to hear a guy like Roenick talk about the positions on the board were held by young uneducated kids. As opposed to the harvard grad degree carrying vets like you JR??? Funny how when asked if he would be interested in playing a role on the PA Roenick took about 3 tenths of a second to say no. All the talking heads in the union have a ton to say now. Where were they before?

“”We have had numerous discussions with our clients and other players around the league regarding the dismissal of Paul Kelly as executive director of the NHLPA,” agents J.P. Barry and Pat Brisson of CAA Sports said in a statement.

“Some of the things we have learned about the process are very troubling to us. We are encouraging each of our clients to educate themselves with union matters so they can understand how these types of decisions are reached. We believe that a strong and unified voice is necessary. In order for that to happen, the majority of players must be heard.”

And there, sports fans is what you really need to know. What, or who is in large part behind this?? Agents. Rest assured that the comments by Sidney Crosby were at the request of his agents. Again, not a slam against Crosby, but rather a hunch. There has always been infighting at the top about power and who is the driving force behind the PA. Many an agent would love to be driving that bus. Who is really behind the curtain???? One day we will learn. Is it really Eric Lindros? Is it Bonnie Lindros????? Is it Chelios?? Rest assured, whomever is pulling the strings is doing so not for the good of the players, certainly not for the good of the game. No, there is only one force that could cause this, selfish greed.

Quotes on the PA came from here, here and here

By the way, who’s your favorite famous Phil?

Collins?
Donahue?
Esposito?
Bourque?
Hartman?
Jackson?
Lesh?
Dr.

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

On Fan 590 Tonight- thanks to Mike S.

- open phones with McCown from 4:05 to 4:40
- co-host at 5:05 is James Deacon
- Bart Andrus, head coach of the Argos
- Stephen Brunt of the Globe & Mail
- Bob Elliott of the Toronto Sun on baseball
- Doug Smith of the Toronto Star on basketball
- legal analyst Rob Becker

On 640 with Duff and Watters:

4-5 – Mike Van Ryn in studio
5:10 – Larry Brooks on Zherdev

TSM TAKE: Mccown is back! Not a minute too soon either. (with little offense to Jeff Blair who is a great fill in). I’ll take Deacon over Kelley any day too. Argos aint looking so hot and the coach is taking heat in the Canadian press for it. Brunt brings his usual opinions from the east cost- wonder if it is raining there like it is here. Elliott on all things Blue Jays, does anyone care these days? Not by the look of ticket sales. Raptors chat with Doug Smith, the schedule came out today, does anyone really look at those for discussion purposes? The Coyotes situation is a freaking nightmare of a mess. Becker should be telling us the same thing and more. Van Ryn is in studio. Question is, is he healthy and ready to play a full season. Larry Brooks, would look good on Hockey Night in Canada’s hotstove lounge, he is opinionated as you will hear tonigt when he talks Zherdev and the New York Rangers walking away from his arbitration award.

TSM

follow us on twitter @yyzsportsmedia

So with Mike Milbury apparently gone, the question to you today is, who do you think should be on CBC’s Sports – Satellite Hotstove on Hockey Night In Canada? I have some names and opinions, but considering how much we love/loathe the segment I asked a friend last night this question, who, besides Bob McKenzie and Darren Dreger is hockey’s number one insider? That is, if you were to say, this rumor/news has to be true if for no other reason ______________ said it, and I trust him/her. One caveat to your list, the person can’t be on tv anywhere else on Saturday nights.

So, here are some of my thoughts, considering that the role is rumor monger/NHL news fact finder and it’s league wide not just Toronto:

Pierre Lebrun is still a solid choice, he does great work and is watchable
Larry Brooks, love or loathe, he knows his shit and he would be good for controversy
Kevin Allen, USA Today’s hockey writer is well connected across the league
Bill Watters, word is he may not be doing much TV anymore, or a dramatically reduced role and no Saturdays. Say what you want about him, he knows everybody but seems to add the letter E to the end of everyone’s name
Kevin Paul Dupont- Boston Globe writer is solid, been around for a long time and knows his shit
Scott Morrison- Ok he’s a tad dull and or stiff, but he knows his stuff too and is watchable
Jonas Segel- Couldn’t help myself
Tim Wharnsby- Good writer, been on the beat for a long time
Matt Sekeres- Used to cover the Senators and now covers the Canucks

On the out list:
Bruce Garrioch- Way too much fiction, not enough fact
Eric Duhatschek- I love him as a writer but he is too Sr. for this
Al Strachan- do I need to say why?

So, what do you think?

Nasty day here, so while the kids catch a movie, thought I would try and wrap up the weekend. Lots out there being said, much of it accurate, all of it predictable. I have come away with one major conclusion. The NHL draft is yet another over hyped made for tv event. It’s great for the kids who get drafted. For the general public (excluding those who are die hard junior fans) it’s really a lot about nothing. It’s a time where media types create buzz and rumours to get idiots like me excited enough to watch.

“Burke was brought to Toronto to do more than the obvious. It’s a very difficult job, having inherited this mess. But as any sports executive will tell you, managing a team and managing expectations are very different roles. Burke has managed the team reasonably well. He needs to manage expectations better, and for him, that may include toning down the buildup rather than leaving Leaf fans in their all-too-normal state of wanting more.”

That’s entirely accurate and predictable. Simmons is right on all counts with that summation. Burke has no one but himself to blame for any negativity he his experiencing right now. That’s not a bad thing, and maybe that’s the way he likes it. The reality is he set big expectations and unfortunately didn’t fulfill them. There are consequences to that. He is a big boy and he can handle this.

Simmons’s by the way was also right in this assessment:

“Some things were meant to be forever, like late nights on The Fan 590 listening to Stormin’ Norman Rumack shmooze with the “future hall of famer” Jimmy Devellano or the NHL exec, Rick Dudley. For those of us who can’t sleep, and there are many, the abruptly fired Vampire was reason to be awake”

Graveyard shift aint sexy, but Norm did it well and got quality guests.

“Attendance at the union meetings in Las Vegas was so limited, it seemed as if one had wandered into a game in Glendale. Fact is, the PA did not have enough player reps at its own meeting to tally the vote on the critical issue of voting on the 5-percent cap escalator clause that eventually was adopted through e-mail tally”

I thought the same thing when I learned of the meetings. How freaking hard is it to get guys to go to Las Vegas for free?

“Much worse, and perhaps scandalous, is that a number of players went to Las Vegas on the union’s dime, partied, and never bothered to actually, you know, attend the meetings. Wait until the summer meetings in Rome.”

Now that’s funny, I mean these guys really are all Peter Pans. Not wanting to grow up, ya know. So it’s no surprise that they go to Vegas….VEGAS….and party right? But some allegedly got so hammered they didn’t make it to the meetings… Classic! Sounds like the Olympic games when certain players trashed their rooms. Good news is that hockey players are the “nice guys” of the professional athletes.

“Players who voted against the escalator did so in order to reduce escrow for the coming season. But their votes were short-sighted and selfish, for it always is important to have the cap as high as possible and the most money possible in the system. A higher cap means more available money for free agents — and approximately five-sixths of the players in the NHL will become free agents during the term of the labor agreement……The members of the NHLPA should understand they will be facing a negotiation in which Bettman and the Board will seek significant givebacks in nearly every area. Their performance last week that was marked by apathy, self-interest and greed, does not bode well for their future.”

Is Larry Brooks really name David Miller???? Has their been a more ardent supporter of Unions over the last 10-15 years than Larry “David Miller” Brooks?

“Finally, we asked Lamoriello who would be coaching the Devils this season.

“I might have a surprise,” said the man who is never surprised.

Introducing Mike Keenan.”

Now that would be awesome. Can you imagine Keenan coaching a Lou team? Talk about a fun place to play….

File this under stupid:

“Greater Toronto Area hockey organizers are happy to have Nazem Kadri as the new poster boy for the Maple Leafs, but they don’t expect the Middle Eastern community to start flooding minor hockey.”

Really?
Really?
I mean Really?

Did someone suggest they would? I mean come on. Why even write a story like that? Don’t get me wrong, I think the fact the Kadri has been drafted is fantastic, but to put pressure on the kid that all of the sudden throngs of kids are going to start playing hockey is, unrealistic and not necessary.

Want to know why I went to the University of Vermont?

“It’s hard to believe two Harvard-educated hockey executives like Brian Burke and Peter Chiarelli would have, in the famous words of Strother Martin, such a failure to communicate. There they were on the NHL draft floor Friday night, both poised to consummate a major trade that had been negotiated over the previous two days. Burke wandered over to Chiarelli at the Boston Bruins table and said he planned to wait until after he’d made the seventh pick in the draft, and then announce a deal that would send veteran Maple Leaf defenceman Tomas Kaberle to the B’s in exchange for winger Phil Kessel and a 2010 first-round pick. “What do you mean? I’m making that pick,” responded Chiarelli. The Bruins GM believed the Leafs had included the seventh pick in this draft in the transaction, something Burke didn’t think he’d tossed into the mix. The deal collapsed then and there and the hockey world will have to wait to see if it’s resuscitated next week, next month or never”

Clearly a Harvard education is all that it’s cracked up to be. Come on folks. It can’t really be that complicated. Easy words to follow, I will trade you ___ if you trade me ____, the response is one of only 3 possibilities, yes, no, or what about ____. I mean, next your going to tell me you didn’t make a trade because of a fax machine jam…WHAT!!!!!???

These guys make big bucks and they can’t the details right in a trade?? I either have too much faith in the system or these guys pay as much attention to detail as little TSM does. One word, PATHETIC.

“Including yesterday’s draft, Burke has successfully added some youth and hope to the Leafs in the form of Christian Hanson, Tyler Bozak and first-rounder Nazem Kadri. He could know as early as today whether Swedish free-agent goalie Jonas Gustavsson will sign with the Leafs, and at noon on Wednesday will begin trolling for free agent help along with 29 other talent-hungry clubs. If Burke can realize a profitable deal for Kaberle, the club’s most talented European, the club’s new North American-first direction will be furthered and another younger talent will be added to the pile. Maybe he and Chiarelli didn’t combine their Ivy League educations successfully on Friday. But nothing was lost, with much still to be gained.”

Accurate assessment by Damien, one that isn’t really all that predictable. It’s good to see that the scribes in town aren’t dumping on Burke just yet. I think that time will be saved for just prior to training camp. If Burke hasn’t produced by then…well, he won’t face the same type of positive outlook from the likes of Cox. I think we all need to remember that Burke inherited crap. Those before him, left him next to nothing. We all know it. This isn’t going to come easy or quick. However, I still say that if Toskala played as well as he did 2 seasons ago, the leafs would have made the playoffs last year. Is this team far from a cup? HELL YES. Is it far from the playoffs? I doubt it. What this means is that Burke has to play his cards right. You can make the playoffs and still build a franchise. Don’t overpay for players, don’t sign stupid contracts. Make good draft choices, give players time to mature. Sign younger free agents and manage the cap properly. You can’t win the cup if you aren’t in the playoffs.

“But for all the bluster about truculence, Burke also wants the organization to be as light on its feet as a dancer in case the salary cap drops the season after next, and that’s why it’s what he does from this morning on that will really require prudence and forethought. It’s why even though Tomas Kaberle makes just $4.25-million (all currency U.S.) these next two years, now’s the time to move him because $4.25-million against the 2010-11 salary cap will likely be much more significant than $4.25-million against this year’s cap; certainly to any team looking to acquire Kaberle. It’s why keeping Pavel Kubina, a free agent after this year, makes sense, unless somebody seriously makes an offer that includes a top-two defenceman. There is value to having his ice time without needing to worry about having it in 2010-11.”

Jeff Blair has nailed it I think. I think that is entirely the plan. If the cap drops dramatically next year, can you imagine the position Burke will be in if he has been able to expand on his available cap space? Teams needing to dump players, free agents available and Burke with cash to spend. Can we hit fast forward to next year????

“You could argue that it will be easier to make hay in the free-agent market next summer; that Burke could very well come out of this summer with less than $20-million committed beyond next season. That would give him even more power next summer because in a market with a lower salary cap, free-agent prices could be diminished, and surprises could be in store as teams try to shed salary (let alone what might happen if there’s anything to Jarome Iginla tiring of life with My Five Sutters). That, too, is something Burke will think about. At any rate, for all the good work Burke wants to do in the draft and all the talk about building from within, it’s apparent that the Maple Leafs’ ability to manoeuvre in the free-agent marketplace will determine how soon they become the force Burke wants them to be. The draft will provide the base to build on, but his wallet remains Burke’s biggest ally in his bid to make everyone start hating the Leafs for the right reasons. ”

That sounds good to me!

“Sather meanwhile categorized the contract demands from impending unrestricted free agent Nik Antropov, whom the Blueshirts acquired from Toronto at the deadline for a second-round pick, as “ridiculous.” “Based on the first volley from [agent] Mark Gandler, there is a slim chance [of Antropov returning],” the general manager said following the fifth round of the Entry Draft. “There’s a snowball’s chance in hell that’s going to happen. It’s ridiculous. I hate to criticize an agent, but let’s have a little bit of reality here.”
Antropov, who scored seven goals in 18 regular-season games for the Blueshirts but was barely a factor in the first-round defeat by Washington, earned $2.05 million last year. He’s believed seeking a long-term deal for at least $5 million per. Good luck to him.”

Ok, let the bring back Antropov banter begin. I think his agent missed the memo on the current state of the economy. When people say that the big players will get their money, the reference isn’t to height. I would be stunned if Antropov got anywhere near 5 million a year. Sather makes mistakes, but I can’t see him being that dumb. Gandler needs JFJ to get hired quickly. That from Larry Miller here

“I’m not proud of that fact and I’m not happy about it. I feel for this kid. Unfortunately, that’s the flip-side of this business. I don’t know yet what we’re going to do with him, but, when in doubt, what you do with a good, young player is send him a qualifying offer and then figure out [the next step] later.” That’s Howie quoting BB on Justin Pogge. Personally I don’t get the hesitation. You signed a good goalie coach. You are going to hire your own minor league coach. Why not qualify him and see what happens. There is no real downside whatsoever. Berger is here

There are a ton of rumours out there right now. I am not ready to buy many of them. Not questioning the sources, rather the substance. Lots of sites are claiming that LA took Bryden Schenn out of spite for Burke. I am having a tough time believing that. Guys don’t get to be GM’s and draft based on spite. It just doesn’t work that way. Now could a deal be worked out as suggested, where Kaberle becomes a King in exchnage for Schenn, sure it could. I love reading the banter on the various blogs. I especially love it when they don’t have E’s next to the rumours. I hope they are all true and Burke is talking deal with almost every team across the league. I think a lot of it is, however hot air and should be treated as nothing more than entertainment.

Speaking of entertainment, going to take the kids to UP.

Happy rainy Sunday.

TSM

Simmons is here
Brooks is here
Blair is here

Is the garbage back flow causing usually reliable writer Tim Wharnsby to hallucinate?:

“There is belief the Maple Leafs have been zeroing in on New York Rangers defenceman Wade Redden and forward Peter Schaefer of the Boston Bruins. Schaefer, 31, was buried in the minors by the Bruins last season because of salary cap concerns. He has one more year on his contract at $2.3-million (U.S.). Redden, 32, was signed to a six-year, $39-million unrestricted free-agent deal last summer, and the Rangers would not be averse to moving him.”

Yes there is belief in a lot of things out there, the question is how many of these beliefs are based on any sense of reality. So here is the question I have to ask you, let’s assume Burke is indeed looking at Redden, WHY?

Well, let’s start with the assumption that Burke isn’t an idiot. He does have cap room to use as a bargaining chip. You don’t however give that away. Cap room is worth more than gold these days. So what does Burke want back in return for taking on an albatross of a contract? The one thing he can demand is that the other team ingest one of Burke’s bad contracts…. HELLO JASON BLAKE. The other thing he can demand back is prospects and or draft picks.

If Burke peddles away Kubina and or Kaberle, he will need someone to eat minutes on a young blueline. Either of these guys can do that. Also, while I think Leaf nation is a defenceman killer, the fact that he trades for someone else’s bad contract make it easier to digest. Hypothetically, and I say again, hypothetically, let’s say Larry Brooks, I mean Glen Sather takes on one of our bad contracts and gives us a top ranked prospect and or a draft pick for taking Redden off the Rangers. Do you really care that Redden signed a fat contract a year ago? I know we will be paying the contract, and I know it sits on our books, but Burke does have options in dealing with that down the road too. All I am saying is that, in my mind anyway (and maybe the garbage is getting to me) there is a difference in paying the salary as opposed to being the one who offered it up in the first place.

So, I am going to give Tim the benefit of the doubt on this one. He isn’t our version of Bruce Garrioch. He doesn’t usually float rumours out of nowhere.

Howard meanwhile has a good blurb in his blog and a nice tribute to Norm Rumack too- here is Howard’s take on possible Leafs moving…
“IT WON’T SURPRISE ME IF: All of Alexei Ponikarovsky, Matt Stajan and Mikhail Grabovski are traded by Burke this summer. Not to mention at least one of Tomas Kaberle or Pavel Kubina. This may seem excessive and it might suggest to some of you that I consider these players castoffs. Not true. The reason I believe Burke may peddle the abovementioned is three-fold: a) they have varying levels of marketability, but all can still play in the NHL, assuring the Leafs of return value; b) three of the five [Ponikarovsky, Stajan and Kaberle] badly need a change of address after wallowing in team mediocrity for half-a-decade, and c) Burke cannot affect real change by hanging on to the same nucleus of veteran players. If that requires him to make a sideways move or two – change for the sake of change – then it’s something he’ll have to strongly consider. The Leafs (and their followers) have traditionally over-valued players out of concern they may go elsewhere and burst into stardom. It’s the attitude that prevented John Ferguson, in 2006, from parting with Alex Steen in a deal that would have landed the Leafs Chris Pronger. How absurd does that sound today? Matt Stajan, similarly, is a good player and a quality person. But, he’ll never be more to the Leafs than he is right now… same with Ponikarovsky; same with Kaberle. A change of scenery may refresh the careers of these veterans to some extent (none, I can guarantee you, will begin to contend for individual trophies) and it may provide the Leafs with ingredients they do not currently possess. It will certainly begin to alter what has proven, without question, to be a losing hand. Grabovski is more of an isolated issue. Though he was too streaky to be a legitimate top-six forward last season, the Montreal castoff has undeniable talent and competitiveness. He is worthy of being retained as a building block for the franchise, pending his decision to seek arbitration as a method of landing a contract extension. Burke has limited patience for the arbitration process, beyond respecting its rightful place in the collective bargaining agreement. Once a player chooses that route, there is no back-pedaling – or, as Burke put it, “there will not be any settlements on the courthouse steps”. The sense I have is this: If Grabovski takes the Leafs to arbitration and wins, Burke will trade him. He won’t walk away from a ruling, which is also the Leafs’ right, but neither will he continue to look upon Grabovski as truly a part of the team.”

The chatter is starting to pick up…. Eyes and ears open (except around the garbage dumps)

TSM

Tim is here

Howard is here

Interesting column by Larry Brooks on what the Rangers obviously need to do (according to Brooks) to become an elite team in the NHL, get an elite superstar up front. I raise this because if Brooks thinks the Rangers are devoid of talent, where does that put our Buds? Take a look below and replace all Ranger references with Maple Leaf ones….do you buy in???

Before that, recall what I have said about Bettman and how this Coyotes thing will shake out? These guys are vindictive. Another team may end up here, but Balsillie won’t be anywhere near it. Now proof of the second plan is public. The Argo boys are being mentioned and bet all your Terry Greer rookie cards that they are plan A for the second team here. It may not be this year or next, but Bettman would sooner make them the proud owners of a team here than Balsillie. Look for the Argo boyz on Primetime sports with McCown on Monday to discuss. He has put them on to talk Argos in January before, clearly they owe him that right????

Here is Brooke:
“IF WE’VE learned any thing from this year’s playoffs, it’s that it is im possible to thrive in the NHL without elite offensive talent. Which means we have also learned — or have been reminded — how far away the Rangers are from contending for a championship. The Penguins have Evgeni Malkin and Sidney Crosby, the Caps have Alex Ovechkin, Alexander Semin, Nicklas Backstrom and Mike Green, the Hurricanes have Eric Staal, and the Rangers . . . well, and the Rangers have no one remotely comparable. Fact is, the Blueshirts don’t have a forward who would be selected in the top, what, 100 in a league-wide dispersal draft. Fact also is that it has become nearly impossible to get a top-end, difference-making talent any way other than by bottoming out and hitting the draft lottery jackpot, for it is rare indeed that an elite player gets to free agency in his prime. Which brings us to 28-year-old Marian Gaborik, eligible to become a free agent on July 1 following a season in which he, a) turned down an $80 million contract extension from the Wild because he had no interest in continuing to play for Jacques Lemaire; and, b) was limited to 17 games because of a hip injury for which he underwent surgery in early January. Gaborik is one of the NHL’s great talents, having scored 219 goals in 502 games after joining Minnesota as the third-overall selection in the 2000 Entry Draft (after Rick DiPietro and Dany Heatley). But he also has been a chronic visitor to the injured reserve, having played 65 games or fewer in four of his last five seasons. As such, he presents a significant risk, even though he nearly carried the Wild into the playoffs after returning for the final 11 games of the season. The question is whether he is a risk worth taking for the Rangers, who historically have swung and missed in free agency more often than Alex Rodriguez in the playoffs. And the answer is . . . well, the answer is a qualified yes, if the Blueshirts could somehow convince Gaborik to accept a one-year, incentive-laden contract for which he qualifies because of the number of days he spent on IR. It isn’t ideal, but the Rangers could apply up to approximately $4.25M in bonuses to the 2010-11 cap, if necessary. They are choked under the cap, choked beyond belief really, when considering how little they have to show for their expenditures. But it would be a mistake of significant proportions if the Rangers don’t put on a full-court press July 1 to convince Gaborik to try Manhattan by promising to make him the NHL’s highest-paid player if he hits his marks. There is no guarantee Ilya Kovalchuk ever will become available to the Rangers, none whatsoever. There is no player on the roster other than lone untouchable Henrik Lundqvist for whom the Rangers could acquire an elite offensive force by trade, though if we were in GM Glen Sather’s golf shoes, we’d be calling Ottawa and offering Marc Staal for Heatley, we’d be calling Tampa and offering Staal for Vincent Lecavalier or Steven Stamkos, we’d be calling Colorado and offering Staal for the third-overall selection in the Entry Draft, and you get our drift. Forget Mike Cammalleri, a nice player who is going to get way too much money as a free agent. Forget acquiring Jonathan Cheechoo, who has had two consecutive bad seasons. Forget Brian Gionta, who belongs on the other side of the river. Forget B players. Montreal and L.A., both of which have cap space and a serious interest in dealing for the very available Lecavalier, likely will be in on Gaborik if Tampa keeps its captain. Vancouver likely will be a player if the Sedins skip town. And Minnesota will try to convince Gaborik to stay home now that Lemaire has left the building. But Gaborik’s history of injury may prevent him from hitting the long-distance home run he’s seeking. In that case, the potential reward overwhelms the risk of offering Gaborik a one-year, bonus-heavy contract to get him to Broadway, with the implied promise of riches to follow a healthy season”

TSM