In a previous life I coached kids hockey with some buddies in Detroit. None of us had kids on the team, rather we thought it was a good way to give back to the community, work with some kids and have a good time. We did it for three or four years working our way up the travel program in Michigan. By the end of our run, we were coaching at a fairly senior level. I stopped coaching for a couple of reasons. First, I moved, first back to Toronto and then shortly thereafter to Miami for law school. Secondly, and perhaps most importantly, I realized at the ripe old age of 25 that I was way too competitive.

When my son asked me to coach his soccer team some 10 years later I reluctantly gave in, again for a couple of reasons. The first reason is that I didn’t know the first thing about soccer (how much trouble could I get in?), secondly, I was bored out of my mind whenever we went to the field for his games, thirdly, I hoped I had mellowed a little bit and could use this as a test for hockey should he ever ask me to coach his hockey team and finally and more importantly, for the simple reason that he asked.

So, this past spring when we signed up for the 2009-2010 hockey season when he asked me to coach him, I agreed. This time for 2 reasons. One, cause I learned in soccer that indeed I had mellowed and yes, more importantly, because he asked. To date I have had a complete blast. I am not the head coach so I have been fortunate enough to only play a small role as one of two assistant coaches. The coaches and parents on our team are extremely lucky. There isn’t a bad kid or parent amongst us. There isn’t a parent or kid in the group that doesn’t have their head in the right place. Everyone is there 100% for their kids to have fun. We all want our kids to learn the importance of team sports, and want our kids to have fun. i have yet to see with this group any thoughts, notions or ideas of grandeur. It’s a relief to say the least.

Tonight, I was reminded however, of the evils that lurke in arenas teaching our kids. I saw first hand the reason why we have problems in hockey here in Canada. I saw a coach with such an ego that he has lost all grip on reality. It was the prototypical case of what we as hockey parents should avoid like the plague, the worst part is the person exhibiting these behaviors has no clue what exactly he is.

Here is what happened. My team, a group of 7 and 8 year old house league boys had a practice scheduled at a local arena for 6:10pm. Our head coach wasn’t going to attend. So myself and the other assistant coach showed up to run the practice. We got to the rink early and immediately found there was a problem. We found a scheduling problem existed on the specific rink we had been told was reserved for us. Another team from our league was also there getting ready to practice. Now, in the grand scheme of things, this type of “conflict” isn’t a big deal right? I mean, keeping in mind the purpose of the exercise, the focus on the kids, how hard could it be to resolve the issue? I mean, even the 7 year old boys could suggest a proposed solution- split the ice.

So when the other assistant coach and I approached the coach from the other team, one would think that given reasonable minds a resolution could be achieved quickly. Instead, this coach, decided in less than 3 seconds, that his team was more important than ours, and that there was NO WAY his team wasn’t going to practice as scheduled. He looked at us and said, without batting an eye, oh no, my team is practicing, we have a playoff game tomorrow. He turned away, walked in to his locker room and slammed the door.

He did this in front of his players, his players parents, our players and our players parents. I mean isn’t this the guy you want to leave your kids with to teach life lessons? This guy had his priorities completely out of whack. Trying to talk to him was like trying to reason with a baby. It didn’t matter that we tried to tell him that he wasn’t in the wrong. It didn’t matter that we suggested that our association double booked the ice. The coach on multiple occasions actually wanted to fight over the ice! Can you imagine that this guy is allowed 10 seconds with the youth of today? In less than 30 seconds he decided that we were wrong and that his team was more important than his.

Finally, he asked us, what exactly we would suggest as a compromise. When we suggested something novel I guess, i mean a really innovative idea called SHARING the ice; splitting it in half, his response was, “that’s really tough to do”! Have you ever heard anything more inane? Unless his kids are lining up for the provincial championship that will decide their entire fate, no 1 practice can be that important to a group of under 10 year olds! I mean who was this guy at the rink for, his kids or his own ego? If this is as freaked as he gets about something so stupid as this, how does he react on the bench when a kid, i don’t know, scores on his own net (you know kids sometimes do that)?

Thankfully, the parents on his team, who were watching this all unfold, were able to speak some sense into this guy. The damage, was already done. While someone was talking to him on his team, we told our kids to go home. It wasn’t really worth it. After about five minutes, we were waiting to make sure that no more of parents showed up, he approached and said that we could share his ice. This was after he showed us his blackberry with the email confirming his ice time. We tried to explain to him that we never questioned whether or not he was told he had the ice. We told him that weren’t made about the mix up. Shit, as they say, happens. We were mad that a fellow coach would act as immaturely has he had. The message appeared to be lost on him. it wasn’t until 5-10 minutes passed and some more folks from his team talked to him that he tried to apologize to us. The damage was, already done.

This is where the problems in hockey start. Within each organization is a person like this. It’s not that they don’t have the right credentials. They aren’t bad people per se. They just don’t see the big picture. They don’t understand that there lessons are being monitored by the kids they are coaching. Their words and actions have huge impacts on the kids. It really isn’t only about winning. Teaching kids how to win and how to lose is equally important.

Proof? I have tried to tell my kids that falling in sports isn’t necessarily a bad thing. When they first learned to skate or ski, I told them that when they fell it meant that they did so because they were trying really hard. In fact, not falling could at times be a sign that they weren’t trying hard enough. I have told my son that practice in hockey for him is more important than the games themselves. It is in these practices where he learns the most. Our coaching group talked up this practice as being important because it was on the eve of our last regular season game. So, as my son and I walked out of the arena, my son looked and me and said, “if we lose tomorrow dad, will it be because we didn’t practice tonight?” Our kids listen, they hear everything we say, even in jest or in passing. The next time you hear the question, whats wrong with hockey in this country, take a look inside the locker room of your nearest arena. I suggest that inside you will find someone coaching a team like I did tonight. That my friend is the problem, that is the evil face of youth hockey. That is where this lack of respect starts. If it is happening at this age, can you imagine how much worse it is as the kids get older?

TSM

@yyzsportsmedia

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

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

TSM

@yyzsportsmedia

You have to pardon my lack of enthusiasm for the good ship Maple Leafs these days. I have to admit that their on ice performance and more so results has got me a tad bit apathetic. More so, the coverage of the team has done nothing to excite me. I know it seems a little bit odd to say it but I miss the days when the Leafs were getting carved for everything they did…

When those who used to bash them all the time, are telling us that things aren’t as bleak as they appear, well, where the hell is the fun in that? I watched a good part of last night’s game tonight and was left with the conclusion that there are 3 players on the Maple Leafs that are potential difference makers.

Let’s get the obvious out of the way, I mean how big an idiot would I be not to mention Phil Kessel? That being said, he is the one guy on the Leafs team who you noticed every time he was on the ice. When little TSM plays, there is always one guy on every team who is eons ahead of the rest of the team. Kessel is that guy on the Leafs. There is no one who compares with his speed of talent- no one close. The hope and I do mean hope is that Kadri resides somewhere in the same zip code.

The second is Gustavsson. He stands tall has a presence and despite only playing in a few games, he has earned the confidence of his teammates. Yes he has made mistakes. What he hasn’t done is let in the crap goal at the most inopportune time as Toskala always seems to manage to do. As Gustavsson’s plays goes, so too will the fate of this team.

Lastly is Kaberle. The guy who I said they had to deal last summer is playing out of his head. He, is eons ahead of the rest of the pack on defence right now. There is no one playing at his level.

The problem is, that the drop off from those three is gigantic. Brian Burke talked about having his skill guys and then his plumbers- a top group and a bottom group. Right now the distance to getting to that point appears to be huge. The fall off from Kaberle to the next defenceman is amazing. What’s more unbelievable is that the next best guy, in my opinion is Ian White! The guy who didn’t dress early next season. Here is a guy who doesn’t have a ton of talent but works his ass off every shift. The drop in forwards is worse. There isn’t one guy right now who can score. After Kessel went 0-10 last night (and I am not knocking him), who is left to score the goals? i have confidence in no one.

A friend emailed me last night that the Maple Leafs are 19 players away. You have to laugh. The alternative is much worse isn’t it? I don’t know why it has happened but the skill level, especially upfront is embarrassing. Grabovsky, Blake, Stajan, Hagman are all, for the most part totally infective. You have to think that at some point relatively soon it will make sense to bring the college kids up and let them go. I mean last year Luke Schenn played well when he was getting tons of minutes. Why not say to Hanson and Bozak (who may or may not have had h1n1 flu) guys, go out there and play as hard as you can and don’t worry about screwing up- I will still throw you out there again. It’s pretty much what Wilson did last year with Schenn. I can tell you this as a fan, I would be much more interested in watching those guys then the aforementioned group now. I watch the current group and I just get angry. At least if they were kids, you would be patient, feel that there is a system in place etc.

So….Burke has a foundation of 3. Kadri, as pathetic as it sounds right now is the great hope to get to 4. It’s no wonder Burke has been so quiet of late, the magnitude of the job ahead has to be incredibly daunting.

You have to love the television business… Sportsnet drew huge numbers for the Toronto Maple Leafs, Tampa Bay Lightning game last night. It was in the top 10 most watched events in Sportsnet’s history. So, what does David Akande say? ““This number proves once again that Sportsnet is the destination for hockey that matters. Whether it is for the pre-game show, intermissions
or the game itself, we are the home for the Toronto Maple Leaf fan.”

Classic! Hell, this game could have been on Rogers 10 and it would have drawn the number. I think what Akande meant was thank you Phill and the entire Maple Leafs training and medical staff for getting him back so early as otherwise we would be shitting bricks.

Meanwhile, one has to wonder about the pressures and limitations on writers for the MSM. I say that because when you read Bill Houston’s blog these days, he is a lot more daring than he used to be while writing for the Globe and Mail. Case in point:

” Don’t take it personally, Bruce. Avery trashes everybody. Besides, you are fat. And if Avery motivated you to lose a few pounds, that’s a good thing.”

No, “Bruce” doesn’t refer to the author of “off the post”, rather it is referring to the head coach of the Washington Capitals. Boudreau was apparently taken back by Sean Avery’s comments about Boudreau’s weight.

Am I alone in thinking that now that Houston is out from under the Globe and Mail he is going to be a lot more candid than he was before. For some reason I just can’t see him calling Bruce Boudreau fat while writing his old column. A refreshing change to say the least. I guess he subscribes to the truth hurts philosophy.

Lastly, I am sure i am in the minority here, however i don’t think it’s that big a deal if some professional athletes got their H1N1 shots ahead of the rest of us. To be honest I kind of expected it. Oh, and I think what David Branch did today took enormous balls. I would have preferred it if he had tossed the Erie coach as well. Branch’s rationale was that players lack the respect and that is why the injury took place (combined with the current health of the victim). Well, if a player skates 40-50ft at breakneck speed and pulverizes another player, one has to think that part of that follows the coaching philosophy of the team. I feel for the kid who got suspended- but not nearly as much as I do for the victim or his family.

TSM

@yyzsportsmedia

Houston is here

There are 47 shopping days for NHL GM’s not named Brian Burke. We all know that Burke’s own holiday Christmas trade freeze kicks in early, so if the Toronto Maple Leaf GM is going to make a deal, the window to do pre-freeze is just over a month away. I’m certain if he were asked he would say something along the lines of he is always looking to improve the team, that other teams are offering up nothing but bad contracts etc. etc. etc.

One area most of us agree that Burke should go looking for some help is in net. Vesa Toskala is simply not the answer. He hasn’t even shown to a be a capable backup to Jonas Gustavsson. I think Toskala is still waiting for the shootout to begin in Montreal.

Lots of folks talk trade in the MSM of the NHL. There aren’t too many worth listening to when they do. Too many of them are just simply off the post when it comes to rumors. I can list on one hand the number of guys who discuss potential trades that are the least bit reliable. Pierre LeBrun is one of the guys who is actually pretty good at it.

Now LeBrun, in his latest column isn’t talking rumor per se, rather speculation on a deal that he believes should be made:

“In my opinion, if there’s a trade that just makes too much sense, it’s Jean-Sebastien Giguere to Toronto. Clearly, it makes sense for Anaheim, which wants to cut itself from the goaltender’s contract ($6 million this season and $7 million next season). But I also think the Maple Leafs should give this some serious thought (I think they have, at least a little bit).”

We’ve had this debate before already the main question in my opinion is what are we giving up to get him? Can’t give up picks. If we are taking a huge salary back, I hope we are either dumping a huge salary or getting prospects or picks back.

“The Leafs are one of the few teams on Giguere’s short list (he has a no-movement clause), he would be reunited with goalie coach Francois Allaire and he could mentor rookie Jonas Gustavsson, much like he did Jonas Hiller in Anaheim. Let’s face it: Vesa Toskala (UFA July 1) is probably beyond repair in Toronto, where the fans have turned on him. The Leafs, meanwhile, could rid themselves of some excess baggage in the Giguere deal, perhaps sending a forward or two the other way, a guy like Alexei Ponikarovsky, for example.”

Excess baggage I agree with. Is Ponikarovsky the excess baggage though? I am not saying I am in love with Poni but there are others I would sooner throw over board as “excess baggage”. I would have to assume that Toskala would have to go the other way too no?

“The Leafs will have some extra bodies up front when Phil Kessel makes his much-anticipated return. And, by the way, Giguere might help the Leafs win a few games over the next year and a half, which isn’t a bad thing considering Boston holds both of Toronto’s first-round picks. It’s just my own speculation, but I just think it makes too much sense.”

Winning games would be a refreshing change around here. Leaf loses are becoming as accepted as NHLPA leadership changes. I am not a fan of change for change sake, however I do think with that if things don’t get MUCH better as we approach and surpass the 15 game mark Burke has to do something.

LeBrun is here

TSM

@yyzsportsmedia

Ron Wilson was on with Bill Watters and Greg Brady today here is a synopsis:

Darren Dregger emails, texts me all the time and I never answer him. He asks me about EVERYTHING, what I am eating, whether I wear thongs or boxers and I don’t respond to him-
Getting away won’t be the big relief that everyone thinks. Going to Vancouver not so different than Toronto or Montreal, Burke and Nonis were GM’s there so it will still be pretty intense. The rest of the trip will be better for lots of our guys.
Was looking at clothes asked the tailor if they had something nice when he is buried in his coffin in a few weeks. Need to have a sense of humor. Been through this before, when you are in a bad streak you feel like you will never win another game. One night you get a little bit lucky and then you win a game and then four or five in a row and you feel that you will never lose again. You can’t panic. As Brian says everyone is throwing you anchors when you need life jackets. It’s not wise to make moves because the strong will pray on the weak. We just simply have to play better. It’s amazing that everything has fallen apart. Won’t be surprised if we win tomorrow night. If we do everyone will say Joey McDonald should be our starting goaltender. We try to avoid the press because it’s hysterical. We haven’t contemplated taking Luke Schenn out of the lineup. We need to lessen his workload when he is struggling. The guys we signed need to simplify their games until we feel good about themselves. I could have sat down any number of guys, the numbers I know, Matt Stajan hasn’t been on the ice for one goal for. We tried to shock the team a little bit. Some times it works, sometimes it doesn’t. Every time we did it last year it worked. We need these guys to know how much we count on them. We could have sat Jason Blake. We as a group decided we had to do something and we really wanted to get Tyler Bozak in a game, so it could have been anyone. Lee Stempniak has been our best player. He didn’t finish very well last year. I don’t know how but he turned his whole life around, at least in terms of how he is playing. He was a bubble guy and he is outperforming every forward we have.

So yesterday you read the post about how the Maple Leafs won’t make the playoffs. Today, I am here to tell you why they will make it. A slam dunk? Hell no. However I think the pieces are in place to get this team to the MLSE payday. Here is why:

First and foremost, the Dream Tream. Burke and his disciples have been at this for long enough in their current roles. This is Burke’s team now and he and the rest of his management team will find a way. These guys know what they are doing, they know what they have and they know how to acquire what they need. The Leafs actually have a hockey department which they haven’t since, well since EVER. Does this mean a cup? No, no cup, but it does mean there should be results.

Next there is accountability and attitude. The Mats Sundin/Tie Domi country club appears to be closed. Wilson and Burke will not allow the players to hide anymore. Losing doesn’t appear to be acceptable anymore.

The additions to the lineups are obvious. Did they add the best players in the league? Maybe not. However the Leafs now have something they haven’t had in years, depth. Their defence from top to bottom should be amongst the best in the league. Consider Luke Schenn. Where does he fit in? There are bodies ahead of him who are going to be getting a lot more ice time than him this season simply because of depth. Up front there are more character players who will help create the type of style Burke want’s his team to play. The younger guys like Stalberg will be fun to watch and he has surrounded them with quality people who play the game the right way.

Goaltending, the coach can’t play, but hopefully he can help those who do. Toskala is in put up or shut up mode. Either he is a number one goalie or he isn’t. If he returns to form from 2 years ago, the Leafs will be in great shape. The Monster seems to have the tools to be a much more reliable backup then Cujo. With the defensive core around them, playing net should be a little bit easier than last year. Now they maybe killing more penalties than in years past, however I think their goaltending will be much improved.

The number one reason the Leafs will make the playoffs is in the numbers. Eight teams make the playoffs. The Leafs finished 12th. 4 teams finished ahead of them. Who makes up the top 8? Well, Pittsburgh and Washington appear to be the closest things to locks. Boston and Philadelphia round out the top 4. New Jersey always seems to make the playoffs and so far there is no reason that I can see that this changes this year. Carolina did well under Mo towards the end of last year so they too will be in the running. So there you have your top 6. That leaves 2 playoff spots left and the pack to fight for them. I refuse to think that the Isles will be all that much better this year. Tampa and Atlanta are crap shoots at best. I am willing to go out on a limb that the Leafs will have at least an equal season to last year. I find it hard to fathom that the three teams who finished behind them will improve enough to pass them. Ottawa traded away Heatley. How much of a cancer was he in the room? Will there be a positive effect or a negative one in having him in San Jose. I am thinking they continue their decline. I am not sure there is team in the league that I am less impressed with their off season than Buffalo. I think Buffalo nose dives this off season. I am not thrilled with the moves the Panthers made either, I don’t see them making the playoffs again this season. Jay Bo was a horse and they haven’t replaced him. That leaves Montreal and the Rangers. I don’t like the moves the Habs made this off season at all. I think they are going to have a tough time getting back to last seasons mark. The Rangers on the other hand should be able to hold ground. I think they did just enough to remain in the hunt.

So as we get closer to the deadline I think Burke will be able to add the pieces needed to get the team to the money making round. I think the addition of Kessel will be a huge moral booster for the Maple Leafs. The pieces may not be there now, but I think they will be. I think there are enough quality guys on the pharm to push those on the big club that they will keep the team moving forward. A lock? No. A team that is interesting as hell to watch this season? For sure. Intriguing will be the word I think we use a lot to talk about the Leafs.

TSM

@yyzsportsmedia

So we are finally at the time when can start to look at the now, as opposed to looking forward. Summer is over. Most of our beloved reporters and media members will be back from vacation, Maple Leafs rookie camp is on, soon the big boys and the Raptors will be working out and of course, the NFL is almost ready to start up again. This week, there is going to be more news on the Coytoes and I would bet on the NHLPA. Follow that with Kessel, Heatly and it should make for an interesting week. Before we look at those items as they unfold, I thought it interesting to look back a little bit to see how far we have come.

It was 10 years ago, a search showed that we were hearing rumblings of the potential sale Of Maple Leaf Gardens. How sad I must say that not much has happened with the old building since the sale articles appeared in September of 1999. Only in this city can we sit on a historic building for so long. Look around at other cities with, dare I say equally if not more historical properties that either get restored or torn down in short order. Here in Toronto a building just sits. For my two cents, it doesn’t matter what is done with it as long as it gets done soon. If it were a movie theater, it would be cool to know you are sitting in the old gardens. If it were condo’s it would be cool to know that they were the old gardens. But for nothing to go on isn’t right. I suspect the city has held this up (way to go Mayor Miller) as there is nothing better for bureaucrats to do. It’s time me move on. Get this right.

Similarly, I read that it was 10 years ago that the Maple Leafs had 2 potential players as hold outs, Dimitri Yuskevich and Bryan Berard. What a difference 10 years make. When was the last time we saw a holdout with the Maple Leafs. Holding out these days will make it pretty difficult to play. If players hold out too long they won’t play at all. Funny in reading the articles back then to read the quotes of one Ken Dryden and of course one Wilbur Watters. My how their careers have changed in 10 years. Interesting also to read quotes from Dryden having to defend the Maple Leafs payroll of about 33-35 million back then. Does anyone miss the Dryden years? Does anyone miss the Watters years? The good thing about the Watters years was we knew the media would get lots of info and scoops. Watters was a great quote then, much as he is now.

Ten years ago I was just married living in Miami. We had a dog, but no kids. 10 years ago the Jays were bad, and well, not much has changed there either. It’s hard to believe how fast time has gone, yet equally so hard to believe how little has changed.

With all that has gone on this summer, it will be fascinating to look back and see where things are 10 years from now. Will the Jays be any better, will Burke’s Leafs have won the cup?? Where will the Coyotes play?

Interesting questions, any predictions where we will be in the year 2019?

By the way, did anyone catch Bob Elliott’s latest column in the Sunday Sun. He had a summary ala Simmons Last Word piece. I have to say it was damn good. Interesting how versatile the Jays writers are. Griffin has written some excellent non-Jays stuff I seem to recall, you all know where I stand on Jeff Blair and now Elliott. Do you think there is a reason for this? I do.

TSM

@yyzsportsmedia

Brian Burke was on the morning show on the Fan 590 this am. Yes, despite last nights performance I went back this am. Burke was at his best, to say the least:

He was asked a few questions about the US camp, most notable answer was that no positions (ie starting goalie) will be determined at this camp, it is purely for team building purposes. Furthermore he said that the anti-doping process for players invited to this camp and the 40 others who will be considered is strict, every day from now until the Olympics they have to provide a 1 hour window each and every day where they will be available for a random drug test. So from now until the games each player has to log into a computer and say, every day where they can be found for 1 hour each day. (I wonder if the back seat of a cab in Buffalo works?)

When they got around to issues of the Maple Leafs, Burke was asked if he had interest in a player like Alex Tanguay who has been waiting for a deal all summer and may be forced to take less money. Burke’s response:

“No”

This was followed by a little bit of an awkward silence.

Burke was then asked if he would consider other free agents who are still available and may have to take less money as the season gets closer. Burke’s response:

“No”

After some more silence Burke expanded:

“Alex Tanguay is a good hockey player, but right now we have depth at defence. Yes we have cap space, but our next play will be to trade some of that depth for a forward. That trade will likely involve having to take on extra salary. That is how we will use our cap space, not by adding more free agents.”

So there you have it. No reason to mention team Maple Leaf(is that better than Big Blue?) until camp begins. By all accounts Burke is planning on dealing someone or someones from the blueline for a more expensive forward. Other than that, it’s what you see is what you get.

TSM

@yyzsportsmedia

Happy Mother’s Day to all you mothers out there. Lots to get to it:

“”We were a little bit troubled to see three sweeps,” Kelly told the FAN 590 last week. “From our standpoint, from a business perspective … we like to see six- and seven-game series. “If the suggestion is somehow you’re telling players to blow games to extend series, number one we would never say that, we’re not saying that, and even if we did say that, players would ignore us. I mean, these guys are out to win,” Kelly said the other day. “I’m stating the obvious, which is, when we have large-market clubs in the playoffs and we have six- and seven-game series, it generates more revenue for us and particularly in a year like this one, that’s a good thing. I don’t think there’s anything controversial about it.” “If (the players’ association was conspiring to lengthen playoff series) you wouldn’t have had three sweeps in the first round,” said Kelly. “If you were ever going to do it, you would have done it in the first round – right? – when it was less of a gamble.”

Certainly strange comments from the NHLPA teamster, I mean boss. What exactly is Kelley saying? If he is stating the obvious, why say it? There must be something else he is getting at. He is really smart. He only makes comments for reasons. So what is he trying to say here?

Here is Damien’s latest on Hamilton:

“All in all, it sure sounds like Hamilton is being used again as it has been on countless occasions – remember Peter Pocklington’s threat to move the Edmonton Oilers to Hamilton? The chances of a team actually landing on the shores of Burlington Bay remain remote. Is that a bad thing? Joyce told the National Post in a weekend interview he doesn’t think the NHL could survive financially in Hamilton today and that he’s glad he didn’t get the team back in ‘90.”

This isn’t a knock on Hamilton or those who live there. Does anyone else think that a second team for the GTA is different than a team in Hamilton? I think that a team in Hamilton will put more pressure on the Buffalo Sabres then on the Toronto Maple Leafs. I know lots of folks in the St. Catherines, Oakville areas who are Sabres season ticket holders. I suspect that all of them would line up to get tickets to a new team in Hamilton. I doubt that these folks would line up to get tickets to a second team in the GTA for the same reasons they don’t get leaf tickets. First would be price. You put a team in Vaughn or anywhere else in the GTA and you are going to be charging Maple Leaf prices. Why? Two easy reasons, you can and you have to. Teams charge what the market will bear, the Leafs have proved what the market will bear. Will it be entirely the same price? No, but it will be damn close. The owners would have to charge the same price because of the costs involved in securing a franchise in the GTA. They aren’t going to do it to lose money.

Back in Hamilton, who are going to be the corporate sponsors? Who is going to buy the luxury boxes? I am not being cynical, I am asking the question because I don’t have the answer. There is no question Hamilton is being used here. The difference is that in the past cities were used against cities that currently have teams. For example, Kansas City is clearly being used by the Islanders as a threat to the folks in NY. The owners are saying (indirectly) if you don’t help us with a new building, then we will move to Kansas City. In the Hamilton case, it’s more like pressure on the league. The league is desperate for new owners in multiple cities
The only ones around want to move those cities to areas where the owners think they can make money. Fans in Hamilton are being abused in that there are hopes are probably getting raised unnecessarily.

Not entirely new, but the Editors at the Toronto Sun want to give the commish the old heave ho:

” After 16 years in the job, it’s time Gary Bettman stepped down as NHL commissioner. The league needs a new public face, and a less polarizing figure, to take it to the next level of success. Someone who can look with a fresh and unbiased eye, for example, at whether BlackBerry billionaire Jim Balsillie’s $212.5 million US bid for the bankrupt Phoenix Coyotes –if he can move the team to southern Ontario — is in the best interests of NHL hockey and the fans. While it’s team owners who will ultimately make that decision, Bettman’s enormous influence as commissioner and his previous fierce and successful battles against Balsillie’s efforts to purchase and move the Nashville Predators in 2007 and Pittsburgh Penguins the year before, naturally raise questions about his objectivity. ”

It’s an opinion, and one that quite frankly means squat. To me you have to look at a combination of issues not just one before turfing someone after 16 years. Unless of course this is the straw that breaks the camel’s back.

” In his time, Bettman, a tough-as-nails New York lawyer, has been good for the game of hockey, dramatically raising revenues from $400 million a year when he became commissioner in February, 1993 to over $2.2 billion two years ago. He has done what the league’s owners hired him to do — presided over a substantial expansion of the game in the U.S. and negotiated a hard-won salary cap on players’ salaries, albeit at the cost of the entire 2004-05 season, along with a dramatically shortened one in 1994-95, due to another labour dispute.”

” Needless to say, Bettman’s repeated opposition to Balsillie’s attempts to bring a financially troubled U.S. team back to the Great White North, particularly Phoenix given its history, re-enforces the feelings of many that he has a bias against Canadian hockey. That said, don’t forget that Bettman was also instrumental in developing the plan which saw smaller market Canadian teams like Ottawa, Vancouver, Edmonton and Calgary receive substantial financial assistance from the league, including teams in the U.S. Overall, Bettman’s tenure as league commissioner has been a success and he deserves the thanks of hockey fans. ”

Credit to the folks at the Sun for presenting the good, the bad and the ugly. There is no way this will result in Bettman’s demise though.

Bill Lanhkoff has a good piece in the Sun today about all things attendance in the GTA. For all Jays fans who have varying opinions on all things attendance with the Jays, here is the word form the head hauncho:

“The Yankees, the White Sox coming up on Victoria Day weekend and Boston, after that, it will be the measure of where we are,” Beeston says. “This week, we’d like to get three in the 30s (30,000 fans). If it were middle of summer, we’d like three in the 40s, but it’s still May, kids in school, people still not travelling. “But it’s going to be the litmus test. We’re playing well enough that that should happen.”

So there you have it. Big games at big times. 35,000 three times this week. Anyone think they will get it? OK, anyone not named Eye think they will get it? Anything under 30 any of the nights and it’s a disaster for the Jays.

It hasn’t been too often that I say this but Simmons is off base in his column this week:

“MLSEL, owners of the Maple Leafs, stand to be most affected by the possibility of another team in southern Ontario, yet it is mum on the subject. Not a word from blabbermouth CEO Richard Peddie. Not a call returned from chairman of the board, Larry Tanenbaum, who always returns calls. Even quiet from Brian Burke, who is never quiet. While the Leafs clearly don’t want company in the marketplace, the market does want competition. It wants available tickets. It wants more affordable tickets. It wants a playoff team. It wants an organization it can trust and believe in. By remaining silent, MLSEL comes off as arrogant and monopolistic. The Balsillie-Gary Bettman fight isn’t about the Maple Leafs, but it affects their business. Hockey fans want to hear from them.”

I don’t agree. The media wants to hear from them because what MLSE would say would make for excellent media fodder. Theressa Tedesco was on the radio with Doug Fairway the other day and said that the despite all the passion around this issue as it relates to the Maple Leafs, the powers that be there do have a business to run. Most businesses don’t publicize their business plans. That is why MLSE isn’t saying a word. If they were to come out and say we support another team in Southwestern Ontario, (which many a fan want them to do) the press would be calling them liars. If they said we will fight this to the bitter end, (which we all know they would do) then the media would call them greedy whores. So if you are MLSE, why bother? For once they are doing the right thing and keeping quiet. Just as they should.

“Another Bettman quickie: He insisted media people were guilty of “irresponsible reporting” when questioning the financial state of the Coyotes … A question for NHL owners: The league is the second largest secured creditor, at $35 million, in the Phoenix bankruptcy. So how does the commissioner explain to the owners he works for that he is fighting against getting the league’s money back?”

Two great points by Simmons. Bettman inc. are liars. They were lying then (as the media suggested) and are now caught in it. (precisely why MLSE should keep quiet). If this mess becomes Bettman’s undoing it will be for flushing good owners cash after bad. I guess teams like the Leafs won’t care as long as each team is sharing in the expenses. What’s a couple million here or there? Ask the owners of Tampa and Florida, to name a few how they like spending it.

“Another team certain to be against Balsillie’s bid to move a team to Hamilton — the Detroit Red Wings. The Wings, who want out of the Western Conference, would not agree to any team moving from West to East …”

One of Simmons colleagues this week wrote to me that one allay for Balsillie and his makeitseven.com push is Mike Illitch. You know what they say about opinions….

Bruce Garrioch, Brady’s buddy has some interesting stuff today:

” ‘Those longer-term deals can hamstring you a lot as far as future planning goes,’ said Chiarelli. ‘It’s going to come down to this: Whose concept of a short-term will prevail? A player might think a four-year deal is short-term and a team may think a two- or three-year deal is a short-term.’ There aren’t a lot of teams with money to spend. Only seven franchises — Atlanta, Chicago, Montreal, Nashville, N.Y. Islanders, Phoenix and Vancouver — have committed less than $35 million in salaries next season. The Thrashers, Isles, Predators and Coyotes won’t spend to the cap.”

You mean those 7-10 year deals aren’t going to be the trend? So three teams currently have lots of money to spend (about 10 million each at least).

” ‘Any time you’re a free agent, there is a degree of uncertainty,’ said Healy, a former NHL goalie. ‘The year I was a free agent, I wondered if I was going to have any offers and I had four teams bidding on me. Teams have to decide how they’re going to build their club. ‘The average difference between the top five (point-getters) last season and the bottom five (point-getters) is an average of $1.8 million. So, it’s not how you spend your money, it’s who you spend it on. Teams that are well managed will typically do well.”

Classic! it’s not how you spend your money , it who you spend it on???? What the fuck’s the difference???????

“TORONTO: $44.523 million to 18 players — $1 million to Darcy Tucker buyout; $733,000 to Andrew Raycroft buyout”

Garrioch has a list of both restricted and un-restricted free agents in today’s paper. In his second column he has these two gems:

” All eyes will be on Toronto GM Brian Burke. He has $44 million US committed in salaries next season, but the belief is he’ll either free up cash with trades or simply bury some players with the AHL’s Marlies to make room for the Sedin twins.”

” ‘The best team in hockey is the Detroit Red Wings. They get the cap number they want and they recognize the risks involved,’ said Glenn Healey, the director of player affairs for the NHLPA. ‘They make their choice because they owe it to their fans to give them their best team.’ ”

Let’s hope Burke is able to dump some JFJ and Cliffy decisions! I have been told from several folks that Mikhail Grabovsky is getting serious offers from the KHL. To be honest, don’t let the door hit him on the way out. If he can get $2m in Russia, go get it. The Healey comment is almost as moronic as the previous one. I have to wonder when Kelley will wake up and realize he has a clown for his spokesman. There are lots of teams who make their choices because they don’t owe it to their fans to give them their best team. Classic.

You all know I am a big Adrian Dater fan. So I am going to guess there is a technical issue and that this gem wasn’t yanked off his blog:

“I just tried watching 10-15 minutes of the Nuggets’ Game 3 against Dallas. That should about complete my NBA viewing quota for the year. Absolutely god awful.
There was a foul on, I’d say, 95 percent of the possessions I watched – a stretch in the third quarter. Every trip down the floor – a foul, followed by whining, followed by an out of bounds play or a free throw. The announcers were awful. Some female was doing the color. Sorry, I’m a chauvinist on this one. How many women play in the NBA? Zero you say? Oh. So why is a woman doing the color analysis for the game? I’ll stick with hockey, and every other sport in the universe over the NBAwful. Thanks, that’s all.”

I had 2 friends over last night. I asked them if they had watched 5 minutes of the NBA playoffs. Neither said they have watched very much. Me, not one minute. Dater’s post isn’t on his blog anymore…

Great piece in today’s NY Times on Jim Balsillie:

“But the clearest template for how Balsillie will handle the N.H.L. in court is provided by Research in Motion’s entanglement with NTP, a tiny intellectual-property holding company based in Virginia, which claimed that BlackBerry service violated its wireless e-mail patents. Many experts shared Research in Motion’s view that NTP should never have been granted wireless e-mail patents. Similarly, there was widespread sympathy about the apparent unfairness of the patent litigation system. Where analysts and others parted ways with Balsillie, however, was his scorched-earth approach. Despite repeated court defeats, Research in Motion rejected the idea of settling with NTP. That ultimately led to a point where BlackBerry service was in danger of being shut down by a court order. After spending millions on its legal defense, Research in Motion was ultimately forced to pay NTP $612.5 million to drop its suit. Foxcroft is among many in Canada who doubt that Balsillie, despite that bitter experience, will readily back down against any challenge from the N.H.L. “He’s the most dynamic, competitive sports guy in the world,” Foxcroft said.”

Happy Sunday, back at ya later. Here are your links:

http://www.thestar.com/sports/article/632001
http://www.thestar.com/sports/article/631996
http://www.torontosun.com/comment/editorial/2009/05/10/9410241-sun.html
http://www.torontosun.com/sports/columnists/bill_lankhof/2009/05/10/9410616-sun.html
http://www.torontosun.com/sports/hockey/2009/05/10/9410656-sun.html
http://www.torontosun.com/sports/columnists/steve_simmons/2009/05/10/9410576-sun.html
http://www.torontosun.com/sports/hockey/2009/05/10/9410661-sun.html
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/10/sports/hockey/10coyotes.html?_r=1&ref=hockey