Puck Drop: 7:00pm ET

TV: Leafs TV

Leafs Lineup:

Forwards:

Niklas Hagman – Matt Stajan – Jason Blake

Alexei Ponikarovsky – Jason Allison – Lee Stempniak

John Mitchell – Nazem Kadri – Christian Hanson

Jay Rosehill – Rickard Wallin – Colton Orr

Defence:

Tomas Kaberle – Mike Komisarek

Francois Beauchemin – Luke Schenn

Carl Gunnarson – Garnet Exelby

Goaltender:

Vesa Toskala

James Reimer

Flyers Lineup:

Forwards: James van Riemsdyk, Mike Richards, Claude Giroux, Scott Hartnell, Danny Briere, David Laliberte, Dan Carcillo, Darroll Powe, Ian Laperriere, Riley Cote, Blair Betts, Mark Bell.

Defencemen: Matt Carle, Chris Pronger, Danny Syvret, Braydon Coburn, Ole-Kristian Tollefsen, Randy Jones.

Goalies: Ray Emery, Brian Boucher.

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

That was Damien Cox on October 2, 2008.  Seems like only yesterday…. Damien continued:

“Individually, I think it will be intriguing to watch players like Mikhail Grabovski, Nikolai Kulemin, Mark Bell and Jamal Mayers, who seems like a very classy guy. Fans can also watch Alex Steen, Matt Stajan and Carlo Colaiacovo closely for signs that they can truly be important pieces of the puzzle down the road. Finally, Leaf fans can hope team management sticks to an intelligent game plan of rebuilding. That should include moving some veterans for prospects and draft picks at the February trade deadline. Remember, Philly got Braydon Coburn at the trade deadline in ’07, and now he looks like a future Norris Trophy winner. So if the Fletcher regime is on its toes, there will be real opportunities out there.”

Those at the time where his measuring sticks.  Another reporter/blogger predicted a dead last finish.  So how can anybody be surprised by his blog this am?:

“It’s amazing how many have decided that this Maple Leaf season has been a season of overachievement because the team usually played hard. It’s as though the lousy Leaf record isn’t lousy at all. Most important, what seems to have been overlooked entirely in all the gushing over the “effort” Ron Wilson has been able to coax out of his team on a regular basis is the fact this club has deteriorated into the NHL’s worst defensive team.”

I don’t have an problem with Damien’s criticism.  Wilson is the coach and this is his team.  I am the first one to say that he has done more with this squad then anyone really expected despite failures in other areas.  The one thing I think he got out of this group where others failed is hard work.  Apparently that isn’t easy in the NHL these days as leaf clubs have been devoid of for what seems like eons.  I think this years edition played hard, really hard almost every night.  I can’t say that about last years club especially when you consider the difference in talent levels.

“Look, it was clear the Leafs would be bad. What’s surprising is how they’ve chosen to express their awfulness, specifically by being absolutely rotten at keeping the puck out of their own net. Teams limited by talent generally try to play conservatively.”

Again, I have no problem with that.  He laid out in his mind what success would be and they failed miserably in that area.  For a whole host of reasons, not the least of which is goaltending.  It’s Wilson’s team and he will be judged based on the record.

“So maybe Wilson has done the best he could this year with a very limited roster. Breaking in Luke Schenn comes at a cost, and youngsters like Jaime Sifers and Phil Oreskovic have had to learn along the way. But for the first time in more than a quarter-century the Leafs will be the NHL’s worst defensive team, and some of that has to go on the coaching staff. That’s far more noteworthy than the fact they frequently tried hard, don’t you think?”

Actually no I don’t.  I am not seeing the world through blue and white colored glasses either.  I expected them to be brutal and they weren’t nearly as bad as I thought.  The fact their defense and goaltending were porous was a surprise, but so too was their ability to score goals.  Very few teams complete a season without surprises, good and bad.  Am I surprised they are worst in goals against?  Yeah, I am.  realistically though the this type of team usually plays the trap to win. Wilson and then Burke refused to do that. Also, Wilson played his kids a lot, and didn’t hammer them for screwing up. So, to answer your question, the fact they are dead last in defense is worth nothing. However, irrespective of the fact that these guys are supposed to play hard, they haven’t in years fast and that Wilson was able to get them to do on a regular basis is certainly noteworthy too. I certainly wouldn’t say that one is “far more” noteworthy.

Good on Mark. He obviously worked hard with the Marlies. He can’t play tonight due to immigration issues.

So folks, let’s review what we have learned from Toronto Maple Leafs General Manager Brian Burke:

1. Antropov isn’t going to be offered an extension, time for a change of scenery…

So what are we to make from this bold statement? Well, there are a couple of things to consider. Burke could be trying to motivate his player. Irrespective of what the end result is, Burke simply could be trying to light a fire under Antropov’s A$$. It worked for Ron Wilson for Jason Blake and it worked for Matt Stajan. Maybe Burke wants to take some of the bad cop reputation away from his coach. Burke could also be speaking the truth. However, dumping on a guy isn’t going to increase his trade value as we head toward the deadline. So while I think there is absolute truth in Burke’s words I am convinced that this is an attempt to motivate the hell out Nik. If you want to stay here, show us you can play like the top forward Cliff said you are. Antropov is a UFA this off season. He needs to perform at a high level in order to get the contract his agent has likely been promising him is forthcoming. So Nik either picks up the pace and gets dealt to a contender or picks up the pace and earns big bucks. The alternative isn’t good for Antropov. The downside from Burke’s comments unlike what you may read here are pretty minimal..

2. All our waiver eligible guys in the minors will get called up

Although I never really believed it, there is a line of thought out there that players don’t want to play in Toronto. The reasoning is that despite the losing, the franchise has not been run in a manner in which players would aspire to be Maple Leafs. I think Burke is certainly trying to clean up that image. By doing right by deserving guys in the minor players won’t look at signing 2 way deals with the Leafs as a trip to minor hell. The lesson is, if you get sent to the Marlies and you work hard you will get a shot, either here or on waivers with someone else. I think that is terrific. It should strengthen the Marlies and the Leafs. If Mark Bell and others are working their butts off, why not reward them with either a sniff in the NHL or a shot at being claimed. It pushes players to work harder on the pharm and provides the necessary motivational carrot that we all need from time to time. It also pushes the guys currently on the roster. If you don’t play well a hungry guy from the minors is coming up..

3. Kubina and Kaberle won’t be forced to waive their NTC

This is a real beauty by Burke. He holds the hammer here. It’s classic. He encourages the players to submit a list of 10 teams they will accept a trade to so to create the appearance of a choice in where they may play next year. Burke hasn’t said I will trade that player to one of the teams on their respective list. All it means is that if Burke get’s an offer he likes from one of those teams he has an ok in hand that the player will go(unlike when Cliff allegedly dealt Kabs last year). If Burke doesn’t get an offer he likes he can deal with all the teams in the league at the draft for either or both of Kubina or Kaberle. While JFJ was a total clown, and I would so much rather not had had either guy have a NTC, at the very least he has this small window where the NTC disappears to hang his hat on….like i said, at least…. Lastly, the honoring of the NTC is just another attempt by Burke to change any negative perception of the Leafs organization around the league. Berger and others like to say all the time how forcing players to waive their NTC or putting them on waivers would have an everlasting negative effect on the ability to sign players into the future. Well, moves like this can only help improve the reputation. Add the handling of Cujo for the Buffalo game? I mean look, the team let a veteran player stay home and be with his kids, rather then go on the road for a game and sit on the bench as a backup. Who wouldn’t want to play for a team that does that??!! I don’t wish an injury on any one person. However a timely injury to a teams top defenceman would help us out BIG time.

4. It’s up to Vesa if he is the goalie of the future

Another great motivating tool by Burke. One game doesn’t make an example. So the fact that Vesa played well against the Habs isn’t the least bit meaningful unless it is the start of a series of great games. Remember the complaint isn’t that he can’t play well, it’s that he can’t put together a string of games like the one he played in Montreal (a string is more then 2 by the way). If he keeps pushing Vesa’s buttons and he gets really hot, he either has a hot goalie to trade or one to keep. On the flip side, Vesa snaps, mentally speaking, and can’t put together a string of one good period let alone 3 games. What’s the loss, he either waves him or gulp suffers with bad goaltending to the bottom of the standings I mean top of the draft.

5. Would like to extend Dominic Moore

Sales 101- talk up the assets you want to move. Count the guys Burke has praised since he took over. Forget Schenn, mostly because he is young. I can really only think of 2. Moore and Blake (of late). Now, Blake was in Wilson’s dog house and successfully worked his way out. I have to think that Burke would love to deal Blake and the more he and everyone else talk about how awesome he has been playing the more he hopes someone gets desperate and wants to pull the trigger on a deal for him. Besides the positive reinforcement on Blake can’t be bad either. Then there is Moore. The more Burke says he wants to sign/extend/reward Moore the more he hopes others are listening. Dreger has said he hears teams ask about him quite a bit. Well, the more Burke says we want to keep him, the higher it should drive the price up. Just like the Antropov dis drives down the price, the “I want to keep Moore comments should increase the value.” The only pitfall is with regards to money. If his agent gets a fat head and says hey, you told the world how great he is, you should pay him x…well then Burke made his own monster. It says here that won’t happen and even if it does it’s a risk worth taking. Dominic Moore as good as he has been is 29 years old. In 3 years when the Burke is going to want to contend is going to be 33. Not ancient, but something to consider. He would be a guy worth keeping in the short term because he plays Ron Wilson hockey. Worth keeping, but not essential….If someone is willing to over pay…..

As an aside… we bash him all the time(even above), but a hat tip to Howard Berger is deserved for his interview with Brad May that no one else had:

“After the game, however, May had a gleam in his eye when I approached him for a quick interview. He was being hurried along to the Leafs’ team bus for a trip to Pierre Trudeau Airport and a flight down to Fort Lauderdale. But, Brad wasn’t going to leave without getting something off his chest — taking dead-aim at Guy Carbonneau, the coach of the Canadiens.
“Carbonneau put Georges out there… sent Georges out there, and he actually thought we were going to back down,” May contended. “I know all about that guy, and I’m talking about their coach. You know what? It’s not going to happen. It’s been 19 years [in the NHL] Guy… keep sending them out.”
Asked why he felt so certain that Carbonneau had instructed Laraque to fight, May replied: “Guy just doesn’t have any idea what’s it’s like to be a tough guy. The toughest guy in his family is Brendan Morrow, his son-in-law, who’s an unbelievable player and very tough. Guy Carbonneau [used to be] incredibly tough blocking shots in the NHL, but never in a fighting role. He knows nothing about it. There’s respect to be shown in a situation like that, but he wanted to set the tone and I was happy to be a part of it.”

That is the type of work we used to get from Berger. It would be nice to see more of it. Good stuff Howie.

By LT

We are just past the half way mark and mere days before the All Star break….Deadline dealings will no doubt heat up shortly.  Not all cup contending or playoff wannabe (in some cases “needtobe”) teams will be looking for this years version of Marian Hossa….Many teams will be looking for lower priced, small pieces of the puzzle….vets that can handle playoff pressure or simply more 3^rd and 4^th line depth to deal with injuries.  We all know about the Kaberle’s, Kubina’s and Antropov’s that we hope Burke can morph into picks and/or prospects….But there are a few vets on the Marlies that I believe the Leafs should consider recalling to see (and demonstrate to potential suitors) if they have anything left at the NHL level that could net more, albeit lower, picks in this years draft.   I’m referring to Mark Bell, Boyd Devereaux and Bates Battaglia.  Bell especially; who apparently has played extremely well of late (read Sun Article by Steve Buffery).  Before you laugh – I know that the league is probably filled with guys like these and that there will likely be very few teams interested in our older farmhands….but why not give it a try?  All three will be UFA’s after the season so it’s our last chance to get any value for them and there is no downside for the acquiring team as there are no long term commitments.  Drafting is a numbers game; especially in the later rounds….there are lots of great stories of low picks becoming good NHL’ers…why not try to parlay one or all three of these guys into late picks?  One might argue that playing these guys will stunt the development of others….Well, for a few games, I see no harm in asking vets like Mayers and Hollweg (who doesn’t play regularly anyway) to sit and sending a guy like Deveaux back down to the AHL for a few weeks.  If you think I’m way off – especially on Devereaux and Battaglia…at least give me Mark Bell. 

Another consideration (and perhaps most damaging to my suggestion above) is the risk of losing these players on re-entry. I’m not an expert on the CBA but after reading the rules (Article 13) I believe all three players mentioned would have to clear waivers if recalled…(someone correct me if I’m wrong).  So, we could risk losing them for nothing.  So perhaps the ultimate question is….is it worth it to attempt to bring them up to demonstrate their worth at the NHL level vs. trying to peddle them based on their AHL performance?  Another option is to focus on other moves and simply let them remain with the Marlies and ride off into the sunset at the end of the season. 

 What do you think?

As promised, the first of several stories appeared today about the value of cap space as we edge towards 2010-2011. Damien Cox wrote about it in today’s Star. Instead of moving through his album, we can move right to the end to begin:

“The Leafs, you see, could stand to take on a veteran player with an oversized contract if the other team was willing to throw in a second- or third-round pick in the deal. In effect, then, the Leafs trade their cap room for a future draft pick. Everybody wins.That’s the ammunition Burke has, and he plans to use it. The trick, however, will be doing so in such a way as to not improve the club with veterans to such a degree that a top-five draft pick next June disappears in the process.”

What a strange situation indeed. The suggestion is that the Leafs should take veteran players from another team on 2 conditions, one that the veteran player comes with a draft pick(s) and secondly that the player has to suck; or suck enough as to not improve the team. So this poses a few questions. First, whom are the leafs trading in exchange for the pick(s) and bad (enough) player? Assume for a second that the Leafs aren’t going to trade Luke Schenn. Who will these other teams be willing to take back? Before you say Jason Blake, in a we take your “crap” you take our “crap” deal, remember that the teams Cox wants to trade with want to save money, not take it on. So, who can Burke trade, because when you take on a veteran and a draft pick(s), you usually send picks or future considerations the other way. This time the Leafs can’t send picks the other way, that doesn’t accomplish what Cox is suggesting. So, with the help from the stats over at nhlnumbers.com, here is a look at who Burke can dangle and their cap hit:

Lee Stempniak cap hit of 1.882 contract ends after 09-10 season
Alexei Ponikarovsky cap hit of 2.105 contract ends after 09-10 season
Nik Antropov, cap hit of 2.050 contract ends after this season. If the Leafs do this they better get a lot back for trading an expiring contract
Jamal Mayers, cap hit of 1.333 contract ends after the 09-10 season
Dominic Moore, cap hit of .900 contract ends after this season. See Antropov
Niklas Hagman, cap hit of 3.000 contract ends after 2011-2012 and NTC this year will make it hard to move him this year
Ryan Hollweg, cap hit of .485 contract ends after this season. See Antropov (except don’t expect a lot back)
Pavel Kubina, cap hit of 5.00 contract ends after 09-10 will make it hard to move him for these reasons
Tomas Kaberle, cap hit of 4.250 contract expires after 10-11 but has a ntc
jeff Finger, cap hit of 3.50 contract ends in 11-12 not likely
Mike Van Ryn cap hit of 2.900 contract ends 09-10
Jonas Frogren cap hit of 1.065 contract ends 09-10
Vesa Toskala cap hit of 4.000 contact ends after 09/10

I left all players under 25 out as their salaries are fairly low and their age making their trade probability fairly low. The Leafs also have Mark Bell with the Marlies to move. The harder thing is how do you trade for high priced talent that isn’t going to improve your team? That just isn’t going to be easy to do. Also when you take these bad guys back how long a contract are you willing to take back? I wouldn’t want a contract back that goes beyond 2010-2011.

I don’t doubt for one second that Burke would like to use his cap space to his advantage. Doing it in a smart effective way is not going to be easy. Also, would the media give Burke a pass for trading for “crap”??? Believe it when I see it.

Cox’s article can be found here

Ohhhhh the outrage! The Lunacy! How is it possible that Montreal’s Tom Kostopoulos get’s three games, where is the system where we can easily predict what in suspension terms a violation may cause a player???

Give me a break.

“And you have the NHL justice system, always an ever-changing dynamic, requiring new levels of imagination from those who mete out hockey justice and from those trying to understand that justice.”

Damien, get real. Read a section other then the sports section, at least when you are going to talk about “justice systems”.

“This is always the way its been with NHL suspensions. Completely scattershot, no minimums or maximums, just make it up as you go along. Right out of one’s imagination.”

Hello, have you ever looked at the “real justice system”?

Take a look at a post I ran way back in the early days when very few were reading this site:

“Mark Bell, Dany Heatley… American Justice?
August 21, 2008 · 4 Comments

Kudos to Mark Bell today for repaying his debt to society. It gives time to reflect on two of the most recent episodes of hockey bad boys Mark Bell and Dany Heatley. I am not sure there is a clearer example of justice being blind.

To recall, On September 29, 2003, Dany Heatley killed his fellow teammate Dan Snyder when his Ferrari 360 Modena struck a wall along Atlanta’s Lenox Road. Both players were ejected from the car, which was split in half by the force of the impact. Snyder suffered a fractured skull and internal brain injuries due to the rapid acceleration/deceleration incident. He lapsed into a coma following emergency surgery, and died six days later on October 5 as a result of his injuries complicated by a subsequently-acquired infection.

Heatley was charged with vehicular homicide(also called murder) as a result of the crash. He pleaded guilty to second-degree vehicular homicide(murder), driving too fast for conditions, failure to maintain a lane, and speeding. He was sentenced to three years probation and ordered to give 150 speeches on the dangers of speeding for his crime. If memory serves me correctly, this was not the first time that Heatley wrapped his car around a pole for going too fast.

Conversely, During the 2006 Labour Day weekend, Mark Bell was arrested in the San Jose area for alleged hit and run and driving under the influence. Both are felony offences. His arraignment was set for January 3, 2007. Bell pleaded no contest to drunk driving causing injury and hit-and-run on August 14, 2007. Although Bell was supposed to serve time for his actions, his sentence was reduced to 11 weeks of community service. So instead of spending time in the clink, Bell busted his butt for eight hours a day, five days a week for 11 weeks in Santa Clara County working on the side of highways, picking up garbage, cutting grass and pulling weeds.

Doesn’t seem quite fair to me. Heatly, an alleged repeat offender KILLED someone. Sorry, not just SOMEONE, one of his best friends and teammate. His sentence never included jail time, he got off with having to give 150 speeches. Ummmmm hello???? He KILLED someone. I don’t buy the argument that he has to carry the grief of KILLING his best friend and teammate so that is punishment alone. What Bell did pales in comparison to what Heatly did. I am not trying to lessen either the actions or effects of what Bell did. Drinking and driving, hitting someone and then fleying the scene is brutal. It seems to me however, that at least Bell was dealt with appropriately. Where is justice?

I know the family of Snyder begged for leniency for Heatly. They are true heroes having to deal with the death of their son. The family of Keith Magnuson also pled for leniancy in the sentenicng of Rob Ramage when Ramage, allegedly under the influence totaled his car killing his friend Keith Magnuson . Ramage, sentenced in Canada is going to jail for four years (pending appeal).

So let’s review, Bell, hits someone(who miraculously avoids death), while drinking and driving and and flees the scene. He pleads out, gets sentenced to jail and serves his time doing 11 weeks, over 440 hours on the CA highways with other criminals. Ramage, allegedly KILLED someone, while allegedly under the influence, and has been sentenced to 4 years in jail. Then there is Heatley, who Killed someone, while under the influence of alcohol (albeit within the legal limit) and he has to give 150 speeches????? Even if each speech lasted 2 hours apiece, it doesn’t equate to what Bell just did, that would only be 300 hours!

So, irrespective to what we think of him on the ice, we should salute Mark Bell, for repaying his debt to society. Here is hoping he has learned his lesson and will continue to be a valuable member of our society.”

Where is the justice in that. The reality is there is no such thing as a predictable justice system. Life just doesn’t work like that, at least on this side of the pond. In other parts of the world they deal with criminal acts in a much different more predictable fashion. Yet when one of us has to go through their system be cry and moan at the severity of the system. Do you all recall the kid from North America who was going to get whipped for shoplifting. The outrage, our governments got involved trying to help this guy out. Hey, where was the call that the system was predictable. Folks over there know what happens if they try to shoplift. Here criminals know the system better then the cops and judges do.

Every case takes on it’s own life. Each has it’s own perspective. Is that fair?? No, it’s not fair. Should we be all up in arms about it??? Nobody seems to be doing much yelling. Dan Synder was effectively murdered. His killer got nothing. Mark Bell severely injured someone and got a heftier sentence. Where were you on that one Damien????

This is sports, sometime we all need to be reminded of that before we go off the deep end crying about injustices. Besides, if we all knew what every offense was going to result in, what would these guys write about?

Hats off to Stu Hakel over at slapshot.blogs.nytimes.com for getting this up…

“‘He’s interested,’ Gainey said. ‘I told him to make a decision. I said, if you feel like you want to retire, then retire. But if you’re not sure, you should play and the emotion will come….”

Gainey is pretty slick. What a great line.

“‘But do you think he’ll come to Montreal?’ the fan asked.

“The half-smile pushing the outer limits of a real grin this time, Gainey replied, ‘He didn’t say no.’”

Do we think that Sunin got to say goodbye here last week and now is ready to move on?

On another note, Mark Bell has taken Tie Domi’s 28…..discuss amongst yourselves.

Kudos to Mark Bell today for repaying his debt to society. It gives time to reflect on two of the most recent episodes of hockey bad boys Mark Bell and Dany Heatley. I am not sure there is a clearer example of justice being blind.

To recall, On September 29, 2003, Dany Heatley killed his fellow teammate Dan Snyder when his Ferrari 360 Modena struck a wall along Atlanta’s Lenox Road. Both players were ejected from the car, which was split in half by the force of the impact. Snyder suffered a fractured skull and internal brain injuries due to the rapid acceleration/deceleration incident. He lapsed into a coma following emergency surgery, and died six days later on October 5 as a result of his injuries complicated by a subsequently-acquired infection.

Heatley was charged with vehicular homicide(also called murder) as a result of the crash. He pleaded guilty to second-degree vehicular homicide(murder), driving too fast for conditions, failure to maintain a lane, and speeding. He was sentenced to three years probation and ordered to give 150 speeches on the dangers of speeding for his crime. If memory serves me correctly, this was not the first time that Heatley wrapped his car around a pole for going too fast.

Conversely, During the 2006 Labour Day weekend, Mark Bell was arrested in the San Jose area for alleged hit and run and driving under the influence. Both are felony offences. His arraignment was set for January 3, 2007. Bell pleaded no contest to drunk driving causing injury and hit-and-run on August 14, 2007. Although Bell was supposed to serve time for his actions, his sentence was reduced to 11 weeks of community service. So instead of spending time in the clink, Bell busted his butt for eight hours a day, five days a week for 11 weeks in Santa Clara County working on the side of highways, picking up garbage, cutting grass and pulling weeds.

Doesn’t seem quite fair to me. Heatly, an alleged repeat offender KILLED someone. Sorry, not just SOMEONE, one of his best friends and teammate. His sentence never included jail time, he got off with having to give 150 speeches. Ummmmm hello???? He KILLED someone. I don’t buy the argument that he has to carry the grief of KILLING his best friend and teammate so that is punishment alone. What Bell did pales in comparison to what Heatly did. I am not trying to lessen either the actions or effects of what Bell did. Drinking and driving, hitting someone and then fleying the scene is brutal. It seems to me however, that at least Bell was dealt with appropriately. Where is justice?

I know the family of Snyder begged for leniency for Heatly. They are true heroes having to deal with the death of their son. The family of Keith Magnuson also pled for leniancy in the sentenicng of Rob Ramage when Ramage, allegedly under the influence totaled his car killing his friend Keith Magnuson . Ramage, sentenced in Canada is going to jail for four years (pending appeal).

So let’s review, Bell, hits someone(who miraculously avoids death), while drinking and driving and and flees the scene. He pleads out, gets sentenced to jail and serves his time doing 11 weeks, over 440 hours on the CA highways with other criminals. Ramage, allegedly KILLED someone, while allegedly under the influence, and has been sentenced to 4 years in jail. Then there is Heatley, who Killed someone, while under the influence of alcohol (albeit within the legal limit) and he has to give 150 speeches????? Even if each speech lasted 2 hours apiece, it doesn’t equate to what Bell just did, that would only be 300 hours!

So, irrespective to what we think of him on the ice, we should salute Mark Bell, for repaying his debt to society. Here is hoping he has learned his lesson and will continue to be a valuable member of our society.

I have been waiting for someone to take a stab at what the leafs lineup looks like as of now…and Globesports has done just that….I am adding in the players age, which I think is pretty important:

Jason Blake 35 ($4-million), Mikhail Grabovski 25 (unsigned), Nik Antropov 29 ($2.05-million).

Alex Steen 25 ($1.7-million), Matt Stajan 25 (unsigned), Nikolai Kumelin 22 ($1.49-million).

Jiri Tlusty 21 ($855,000), Mark Bell 28 ($2.167-million), Alex Ponikarovsky 29 ($2.11-million).

Nik Hagman 29 ($3-million), Dominic Moore 28 ($900,000), Jamal Mayers 34 ($1.33-million).

Defence

Tomas Kaberle 31 ($4.25-million), Pavel Kubina 32 ($5-million).

Jeff Finger 29 ($3.5-million), Anton Stralman 22 ($737,700).

Carlo Colaiacovo 28 ($1.28-million), Jonas Frogren 29(unsigned).

Goal

Vesa Toskala 32 ($4-million), Curtis Joseph 42 ($700,000).

Extras

F Boyd Devereaux 31 ($575,000), F John Mitchell 24($475,000), D Ian White 25 ($850,000), D Staffan Kronwall 26 ($487,500), D Bryan McCabe 34 ($5.75-million)

Total over 48m, leaving some room to get to 56. The nice thing is that the core is much younger then it has been in years.