Peca: Take 2

Chris Says:

The Peca rumours just won't die. Apparently JFJ has made more than one phone call to Peca expressing the Leafes interest in having him back. Again, the problem being that the Leaf cap space is negligible right now and that the team would have to move\trade some bodies in order to free up the cash. First up on the chopping block? Stajan.

There' s no point in trying to figure out what's going to happen here. We're not the only team in the hunt for this guy so our (in)ability to tender a competitive offer may be moot if another team (Rangers) is able to plunk down the right amount of cash. Things can change in an instant and we're all outsiders trying to peer behind the curtain.

Peca's feisty and great on the penality kill but I don't think it makes sense to get rid of Stajan just to keep him around. It smacks of trading developing talent for established age and that's a sucker's bet the Leafs keep falling for year after year.

Peca back?

Chris says:

Prescient comment Steveo. Apparently the Leafs are kicking Peca's tires.

Would Peca be a good fit for the Leafers? If the price is right. I never felt like I got a great opp to evaluate Peca as a player. When he took that hit last year I knew he'd be out for awhile. (Althougth I never figured on the rest of the season)

Bottom line. If you look at the Leafs roster as it stands now there's not a lot of money to go chasing after Pec without moving around some other people. I'd be interested in bringing him back, but it all depends on his price tag.

Goalie moves

Steve says:


Emery re-signed with Ottawa...word on the street is that L.A. wanted Emery, but would look to Raycroft should Emery re-sign...now that that has happened (3 years @ 9. something stoopid mill), what can L.A. offer us....? and is it a good idea...I think perhaps not...some competition and less games played this season could be a positive thing for Raycroft...that and a new catcher!

Chris says:

Ahhh. Here we go. Apologizing for Raycroft. I have nothing against the guy but after his inaugural season with the Leafers I no longer feel secure with him anchoring the net. I've lost faith in him and that says a lot.

Where Rayzor falls short, in comparison to other recent Leaf goalies, is that the man is only as good as his team. If the D in front of him is porous you never felt that he would make up the difference. Cujo and Eddie were not the be all and the end all of Toronto goalies but occasionally, when the chips were down and the rest of the team were playing ragged, they'd steal a game by completely stonewalling the other team.

I've never felt that presence or seen that brilliance from Raycroft.

Steve says:

and steal a game or 2 is what teams need these days. I think that Toskala can certainly steal a few games for us...and maybe this will be what Raycroft needs...he is young still...so I am willing to give him another season...but if his glove hand still looks week a few weeks into this season..trade him!

OR...if we can get Peca back, we should lose Raycroft to open up cap space to allow that to happen...unless Peca signs for 1.5m...which is a possibility....

Nathan Perrott

Chris Says:

Winger Nathan Perrott has re-upped with the Marlies. Perrott had a couple brief stints with the big club a couple years ago.

sickness and JF Senior

Steve says:

I have not been posting because I have been sick...and I think my sickness is being caused by my rotted basement floors! I started tearing them up yesterday with my father-in-law. We were hoping top be able to use a circular saw to cut sections, but the wood is so rotted, that we ended up having to use the claw side of our hammers!
my basement is now a pile of ripped up wood and tiles, with a lot of dampness and water which is not helping my sickness at all.
But I did manage to find some time late last night to watch some of a vintage game between the Leafs and habs from the JF Senior days.

R.I.P. JF

Chris Says:

Um. I haven't been posting because of it's the Offseason and for once, not much is happening. At least nothing Leaf related.

Fergie's memorial service takes place this Saturday in Windsor. He was 68 when he passed on. It says something about the state of modern medicine when you can genuinely claim that 68 is far too young.

more O for less D

Steve says:

another Leaf rumour...(woo hoo)...is that Leafs are speaking with the Avs about Hejduk and Svatos....in exchange for some help on their blue line...

I imagine that for us to get Hejduk, we would need to give up a pretty decent player...the rumour has Cola attached to the trade...which I hope does not end up being the case...but we will have to lose someone more than half decent for this to happen...

Hejduk - Sundin - Blake

that's a sweet line!

Chris Says:

Ahhh the rumour mill.

Its always, ALWAYS, one hundred percent correct. Of course this is the same rumour mill that had Sundin unhappy with Toronto last summer when he put his posh digs up for sale on the market. Or the one that sees him jumping ship after this year if the Leafs don't do something truly cup worthy.

Either way, I'll believe it when I see it.

*Althought I will say this, we've got more depth on our blue line than anywhere else. I'm just sayin.

watching the banner raising...

Steve Says:

edited post***

actual sched shows Leafs at home on Oct. 3rd hosting the Sens
yes...at least our first game doesn't start with that banner crap!

http://www.nhl.com/nhl/app?month=OCT&page=Schedule&service=page

Chris Says:

Only a 40% premium to see the Leafs\Sens games.

I guess "premium" is legalese for "cornholing your fans".

Sid the Kid

Chris Says:

It's not Leaf talk, but who cares.

Sid has re-upped for five more years with the Pens at a price tag of 45 million dollars.

That sound you heard was me crying quietly into my morning cup of coffee.

This guy isn't even twenty years old yet, which means he's barely been able to (legally) drink in Canada and can't yet (legally) imbibe in the city he's playing for.

Yet now he's worth 45 million dollars.

God. Damn.

Steve says:

I know...I told my kids that news last night and they asked me why I didn't play hockey...iI wept on the inside.

Chris Says:

"Daddy, can Sidney Crosby be our new Dad?"

Scott Clemmensen (and then there were three)

Chris Says:

So. We've signed Scott Clemmensen.

Which means we've got three goalies now.

If this keeps up pretty soon we'll be icing a squad of goaltenders for every game.

Clemmensen was the guy NJ put in net last year for the last game of the season, instead of Brodeur. He's the guy who cost the Leafers a playoff spot. Now he may cost Raycroft his job.

Granted Clemmensen is on a two way contract which means he could find himself backing up Pogge in the Mariles. But I think it's pretty obvious that the Leafs goaltending sitch is far from played out.

Because in my eye now we've got one starting goalie, one backup and and one third wheel.

One of these things is not like the other...

Steve says:

I'm pretty sure that Clemmensen is Marlies bound...putting Raycroft in the minors would not only kill his career, but also lose serious $ value for the guy.
No, ... if anything happens in our nets between now and Oct., it will be a Raycroft trade and maybe a Cujo signing.

Chris Says:

Woah. Where did I say we were going to stick Raycroft in the minors? Would his contract even allow it?

No, Raycroft is slowly being delievered the not-so-subtle message that his time with the organization is over.

On rivalries

Chris Says:

For my birthday present last year my gf bought me ticks to see the Sens play the Habs.

Now when I opened the present up I should have been insanely happy (which I was). But you could be forgiven for thinking otherwise. Because I was in a silent quandry.

Who the hell did I cheer for?

The Habs with whom the Leafs had a decades old rivalry?

Or the Sens. The dirty stinking Sens. (nuff said.)

I threw my support behind the Habs. Because hey, they don't live in the same province as me and the last time there was a truly memorable rivalry between them and the Leafs my father was probably still in short pants. Now the Sens on the other hand have been thorn in my side for the last ten years. And when your nearest and dearest, despite all your pleading, is determined to continue cheering for them...well...it builds a powerful hate in a man.

To complicate matters the Habs were running neck and neck with Leafs at the time for that last available playoff spot. So cheering for the Habs would, by extension, be me cheering against the Leafs.

So I just sat on my hands and watched the game. Actually it was almost more fun to watch the various fan factions goad each other. Did you know that even Habs fans do the "choke" symbol when playing Ottawa? I thought that was just a T.O. thing.

Now besides Leaf's games the only other Hockey I watch is when Canada as a whole is repped (think the Olympics or the Juniors). I catch a lotta flack from people that I'm not a true hockey fan. A true hockey fan would continue to watch the playoffs for the love of the game once their team was eleminated.

Maybe they're right. Maybe I'm not a hockey fan, just a Leafs fan. And I'm all right with that. I'll watch other games if they're on the tube, but I sure won't seek em out.

Because when you throw all your support behind one team it starts to feel dishonest to cheer for another.

Steve says:
BUT, by cheering for the Sens to win, you are really cheering for your team better it's chances to make it into the playoffs...how is that dishonest in any way?
You knew the standings when we went to that game and you knew what the different outcomes would do to the Leafs chances. So where was your Leaf jersey?!!!
ps. to anyone reading this, NEVER take your car to the palladium, or Scotiabank place or whatever the frik they are calling it these days...it took me 2.5 hours to get out of the parking lot! and then the traffic was soooo stupid on the highway, it was basically another parking lot...
take the bus...

Chris Says:

I wore my Leafs cap into the den of the beast which is more than I can say for you!

Muckler

Steve says:

Today MLSE is meeting with John Muckler to interview him for a babysitting position. He is quite the experienced babysitter. 50 years of experience and 5 Rings (not marriage rings, the other kind).
I think this might become a new trend in the NHL if it works out. You know,...management really likes a guy as GM, but he needs some fine tuning so they bring in a dinosaur to kick his ass for a while until the GM develops a thick enough skin to properly deal...that sorta thing...
I saw was speaking with some Sens fan about the situation and he said that it would be an admittance (is that a word..i think it is...) by Leafs fans that the Sens are a better organization...I asked him then if that meant that the Sens were admitting that they were inferior to the Rangers, to the Sabres, and the Oilers...he had nothing to say...

know ya hockey before ya try to brag!

Chris Says:

Oh for frig's sake...

We already have a GM.

S#%t or get off the pot already. If you don't want JFJ then at least do him the honour of treating him like a human being and fire his ass. It's bloody clear to all of us watching on the sidelines that for whatever reason you don't trust him to do his job without some kind of hand holding. Don't screw around with him and his job, muddying up some already pretty dirty water. Who the hell would want to come and work (much less play) for the Toronto Maple Leafs with this kind of nonsense going on?

It's like the dying days of the Roman senate at the MLSE board. Everyone wants to get their hands into whatever pie they can. Everyone wants power. With such a byzantine power structure who is really in control of the front office?

Is it JFJ?

Is it Peddie?

Is it Tanenbaum?

Will it be Muckler?

What we really need is clear sense of the organizational chart for MLSE. Who reports to who and who's in charge of what. Right now the left hand doesn't even know we have a right hand, much less what it's doing.

I don't want Muckler and more importantly we don't need him as it stand right now.

Enough with the backroom politics. Let's put a hockey team together already.

An email conversation...

This is a typical email conversation between Steve and Chris...

Chris:
Locals are trying to buy the Preds apparently.

Steve:
really...how is that gonna work...the only reason the sale didn't go for Balsillie is they wanted to keep the teams in the US

C:
Well, The sale isn't dead technically.I wouldn't bet money on it succeeding, but it's still alive.Now if JB threw more money at it.

S:
he threw more than $50 mil more than the other guy, and showed that Hamiltonians would buy tics!...what the heck does betteman want

C:
A Hummer.

S:
as in oral sex or the gas guzzling vehicle?

C:
Whatever one gets the job done.

Toskala's New Contract

Chris says:

So the Leafs have resigned Toskala to a two year extension on his current contract.

Just in time for Pogge to take over the reins.

Which means, by my count, we've got one to many starting goalies. At best, we're in a platooning scenario with Toskala and Raycroft splitting the duties. Realistically? Someone is warming the bench.

I think the Leafs are going to give Raycroft a very short leash this year. The first goalie to go on a hot streak has won himself the starter's role and the other guy is officially backup. I think this may be the Leaf's way of letting him know his days are numbered. Great White Hope in 06, Yesterday's man in 07.

S'gotta be a tough blow when you're dealing with million dollar salaries and the prestige of being a number one starter.

They jury's out for now. I haven't seen Toskala play enough to make a call on him either way. But I do know that I watched Raycroft let in enough soft goals over the stretch to wear my loyalty to him pretty thin.

Steve says:

Raycroft will be traded. We will get rid of his 2mil cap hit and replace him with Cujo at 800K.
If JFJ keeps Raycroft around, it will be a mistake. That's way too much to pay a bench warmer, and with Toskala in place, that is exactly what Raycroft will be.
Cujo has expressed an interest in returning to Toronto even if it means a reduction in salary. As much as I don't like Raycroft, his #'s are slightly better than Cujo's and when it comes down to it, that means more. The fans want Cujo. His price is better. He has experience. But I can't help but wonder if Raycroft is designed to be a platooning goalie. Maybe we just played him too much last year.
I don't think we'll get the chance to see..I bet he'll be gone by summer's end.

Bates Battaglia re-signed.

Chris says:

Battaglia has resigned with Leafs

650k a year for two years.

Bates did a great job stepping up last year when the Leafs were reeling from all their injuries. He showed a lot of grit and a lot of heart. I don't know if he'll be playing with the big club to start, but I certainly think he has the potential to crack the roster. Either way he's a good player to call up if we lose someone over the course of the season.

Overall, I'd say the signing was a good thing.

Steve says:

I mostly agree, but I don't think he'll even make the big team unless there is an injury. We have better players who will force him out of the line....Unless he has a fantastic season with the Marlies, I think he'll be part of a trade later in the season....maybe something with Raycroft as a package deal...

Great Signing by JFJ

Steve says:

I think the Jason Blake signing is not only great for the Leafs on the ice, but in the bank account as well. Of all the UFAs out there, Blake is the top scorer! and his price tag is decent for the Leafs. There is still some room to dump a bit of blueline and maybe get one more depth player, but I must say that this lineup looks pretty good.

Chris says:

I agree. Value for money here. Considering what the big guns where getting in terms of dollars as well as the lengths of some of their contracts we came out ahead on this deal.

Jason Blake 20 million over five years.

Blake is coming off his best season ever, 40 goals plus last year. I don't expect that we'll be seeing that kind of production out of him this year. But it's nice to know that he has that kind of potential in him. In that respect I hope to be pleasantly surprised. He'd certainly make an excellent Captain if Sundin follows through with his rumblings about "retirement".

Blake's biggest downside? At 33 years old he's getting a little on in hockey terms. A five year contract at this stage in his career could easily be his last.

But what I really got a kick out from all the signings is how our division rivals are now mere shadows of their former greatness.

Remember how tough Buffalo was? No more.

NYI? Gutted.

Devils? Sans Gomez.

The balance of power has changed and the Leafs look to reap some of the rewards.

Steve says:

He is getting older, but he started late (25) so he is actually approaching a peak.
I see no reason why you would expect less from this guy. He will most likely be on a line with Sundin...and that cant be anything but good for both players, and the team, and of course, us.

I don't know that he is "Captain" material as the initial reports are that he is a bit selfish with the puck sometimes and sometimes whiny in the dressing room. I don't where these "reports" originate so I suppose we will have to see how he reacts after moving to Toronto.

It's true that a lot of the "better" teams in our division have lost a lot of punch, and some like Montreal lost most of what they had to begin with....even Ottawa has lost more than it has gained...and they cant find a coach who wants to go in there under Bryan Murray...wonder why...

I think we will see the Leafs closer to the top of our division than where we ended up last season.

Free Agents 2007

Chris says:

Come Sunday the Free Agent market is open for business. Given what's gone down in Leaf Nation over the last couple of weeks I think it's pretty safe to say that we won't be looking to spend any money on Defense or Goal tending.

So it's Forwards for us, (preferably one able to find the back of the net with some consistency).

After the Toskala\Bell trade we've lost a bit of wiggle room in our pocket book, although I still believe it's worth shopping around McCabe's contract and see who shows interest. Let's see what big names we might like to see wearing a Leaf Jersey this winter.

Ryan Smyth.

It seems like every team under the sun wants to get there hands on this guy and I don't think the Leafs are any different. Personally, I like the idea. With Sundin looking to hang up his skates in the next year or two I think we need to look outside the organization for the next person to wear the C. I think Smyth could be our man. However, if a bidding war erupts I don't think our pockets will be deep enough to land him.

Paul Kariya.

Let's face it. The Preds are holding a fire sale right and probably won't fight very hard to keep him.

Todd Bertuzzi.

There aren't enough syllables in the word No to describe the "Hell No"ness of my answer. He's not the same player of old and I'll be honest I don't like the baggage he brings to the game.

Owen Nolan.

Been there. Done that. Bought the T-Shirt. Pass.

Alexi Yashin.

Steve and I had a debate as to whether or not we should bring Yashin to T.O. if the opportunity presented itself. In the end Yashin's output has fallen off as of late and the crap attitude he brings to the locker room isn't worth the chance he may rediscover how to score goals.

Chris Drury\ Daniel Briere.

I don't think Buffalo can keep both of these guys. I wouldn't cry a tear if either one ended up with the Leafs. Both played well this year and I remember them giving us a rough time whenever the two clubs met up. Either one would probably be more affordable then Smyth if the opportunity arose to sign them. Not a consolation prize, just a signing more in tune with our pocketbook.

Steve says:

The cap was announced to be 50.3mil for this season which means that even if we don't dump anybody, we have roughly $6mil left to spend which should be enough to get us someone decent.
IMO we should go after Kariya. I used to be 100% in favour of getting Smyth, but it looks like NYI are going to throw a boatload of cash at him...somewhere in the range of $7mil/ and a 7-8 year contract...CRAZY!
I would still be happy with Smyth, but he would have to be crazy not to take that $ at this point in his career.

No to Bertuzzi, Nolan, Yashin. No reasoning needed.

Briere declined on the offer from the Sabres...so that might turn into something good...
He would be a welcome youthful addition.

I cant wait to see the bidding wars and watch how they unfold. Too bad we didn't get Muclker signed on by now...he might be a good guy to have holding the hand of JFJ through this oh so important time.

The Bet

Chris says:

In last year's drive to the playoff's Steve and I made a bet with each other.

Steve thought the Leaf's would edge into a playoff spot and I thought it was possible but unlikely. The stakes of the bet was that the loser would have to come to the winner's hometown and pay for a month's worth Leaf TV. As well, the bet had to be paid off by the time the next season rolled around.

Steve likes to claim that I was being disloyal to our team. I prefer to think of it as being realistic. Just because I root for a team, doesn't mean that I'm not able to accurately judge when I don't think they'll make the playoffs.

In short. Pay up Steve.

Steve says:

As if !

Would Adrian bet against Rocky? Would Bonnie bet against Clyde? Would Jermaine vote against Tito?

I feel to a degree that the Leafs had just that much less support from you and in some wacky hippie Karmic way you made them lose, or made Jersey lose that all important game because you want Leafs TV...or maybe you don't even care so much about the channel, and just want to win the bet to soothe your ego about how "hockey smart" you are.

You'll get your "blood money" this summer...and I hope whenever you are watching that channel (which is not possible to get in Ottawa...grrr) I hope you remember the day when you cheered AGAINST the hopes and dreams of the Leaf Nation!

the NHL says "NO" to Canada

Steve says:

Well, it looks as though Jim Balssilie is S.O.L. when it comes to buying an NHL team...it would appear as though Betteman has used his muscle to convince the Preds owners to sell to some other party for $50million LESS than Balsillie because they will move the team to Kansas City instead of Hamilton Ont. as Balsillie would like to.

First of all, it sucks the Batteman is putting teams into markets where they will fail as opposed to putting them in Canada, where the fans will camp overnight to get tickets.

BUT, I also wonder if MLSE, and maybe Buffalo didn't have a hand in this. A team in Hamilton would certainly put a strain on each of those markets. And even though a good portion of the seats at the ACC are corporate season tickets every year...it would still make a dent...and I just don't think that MLSE is terribly interested in working hard at putting a super strong team on the ice in order to keep their fanbase...they would rather just sweep any new threats (Balsillie's Hamilton Blackberries) under the carpet.

Good luck maybe buying Atlanta in a year or so Jim!

Chris says:

I've been back and forth on this issue. But in the end I have to say, Bring the Preds to Hamilton.

I love the Leafs and my feelings aren't going to change either way butI think having a team in Hamilton will only improve the hockey experience in T.O., not detract from it.

Think we've got a rivalry going with the Sens now? What happens when you can take in a game on the other team's turf just 45 minutes down the road?

Ticket prices will almost certainly come down. If Hamilton starts bleeding off the fringe fans MLSE is going to want to get butts in seats. And that means dropping the ticket prices to manageable levels. Forget about the corporate drones who leave after the second period. It'll be fans in the seats again. Real fans. Loud, cheering, bang on the glass fans.

It'll force the Leafs to be more competitive. If Hamilton starts winning games and making us look bad MLSE will have to pull out all the stops. The Leafs simply can't coast by on tradition and the good will of their fans anymore. They need to go out and put together a winning team.

And finally, Hockey belongs in Canada. Hamilton and Southern Ontario will treat an NHL franchise a hell of a lot better than Nashville, Kansas City or Las Vegas ever will.

So it may be dead in the water now, but I say keep fighting Jim. Bring hockey back to Canada and we'll love you for it.

Steve says:

Everything you just said is exactly why I suspect that MLSE called up Betteman and put the screws to him. A team in Hamilton would mean all of those good things you listed (lower prices, more competitive team, etc.) but in order to achieve those things, it means work.

and MLSE has shown time and time again, that if there is one thing they don't want to do, it's work towards a better Leaf team.

Don't get me wrong, i love the Leafs and will cheer for them the whole way through, but it is painfully obvious that the idea of a Hamilton team to MLSE is like a Tim Horton's Owner watching a Starbucks open on the same block. They will do everything they can to stop it.

Paul Kariya

Steve says:

check it...
http://thefourthperiod.com/news/nas070627.html

this would be some of the scoring we need...maybe if he wants to jump the Nashville ship before it sinks to the armpit of Canada (Hamilton), then maybe we have a shot..
although...his price tag is a bit steep for 20-25 goals....hopefully he would return to his 45-50 goal form....and come down to a 3.75-4.25/season...
that would make it sweet...
we could even afford to keep McCabe around...and have a small bit of change left for the rest of the year....

yup...I think if Paul Maurice and convince Tucker to park in front of the net more, the Kariya is the way to go.

Mike Peca

Steve says:

Looks like he won't be back in the blue and white...
I think Mike was good for us but due to his injuries (legs, knees, and ligaments) he will only get progressively worse as the next season progresses.
I think his lack of scoring is another reason why JFJ will look elsewhere.
I expect that he will drop Peca and Oneil and use that aprx. 4mil to sign a power scoring forward, which is what we need.
Thanks for the PK help when you were healthy Mike, good luck wherever you end up...(I'm guessing Boston or Jersey)

in my living room

Steve says:

on a slightly different note...

i am presently researching LCD tv's...i will either be buying a 37" Sharp Aquos LCD or a Sony Grand Wega (or Vega or whatev)

I am leaning towards the Sharp simply because the picture looks better, the response time is better (better for watching sports)it has a think profile (4" thick !) and it can be wall mounted!
holy frik!

it's a lot of $ to spend, but i am working it out...cuz after all...I plan to watch a lot of hockey next year as I be-leaf that the Leafs will go deep into the playoffs this year!

Chris says:

Where is my Leafs TV that you owe me? Pay. Up.

Steve says:

I can't believe you are happy about profiting from the Leafs NOT getting into the playoffs...I call into question your loyalties!

the GM role

Steve says:

The word on the street is that the Leafs are looking to sign a "senior role" in management. They want someone like Muckler or Bowman to watch over JFJ. Bowman recently said "It's not going to happen",
( http://www.torontosun.com/Sports/Hockey/2007/06/26/4291013-sun.html)
which I think speaks volumes about what Bowman thinks of MLSE and what shape our organisation is in. That article is written by Steve Simmons though,...so read it with a grain of salt...he hates the Leafs....but some points do ring true of Peddie and MLSE.

If the Leafs can get Muckler I don't think that he will be happy giving "advice" to JFJ. I expect that if MLSE really wants Muckler, he will be offered JFJ's job.

Which I would support 100%

(...i think the phrase 110% is gaaay...)

Chris says:

It's always good to have experienced hockey men in your organization. To that end I think Muckler would be a big help for us.

What I don't like about the whole thing is how they're clearly positioning Muckler to be JFJ's replacement. How much does that suck if you're JFJ?

I'm not Ferguson's biggest fan. But I do think that he's getting a bit of a bum's rush.

His last two seasons as GM he didn't make it to the post season and in a hockey mad town like T.O. you're damn right that will potentially put your head on the chopping block. But realistically, has the man been given a fair shake?

His first time out of the gate he's still dealing with the effects of the Post Lockout NHL reality. Which means the Leafs are carrying more expensive aging vets then is good for any team.

And last year we had more injured man hours then any other team in the League. Considering we lost our spot in the playoffs by one freaking game, you can't tell me that's not significant.

Basically this is the year he has to shine. He's got the coach he wants and he's in the position to build the team he wants.

You have to let your GM do his job. You've got to respect him enough to let him suceed or fail under his own steam. MLSE isn't willing to do that. Between the one year extensions and shopping for his replacement, it's clear they've already made up their minds.

Steve says:

It seems to me that by creating the "Senior Management of Hockey" position, which has never been there before, MLSE is saying "well JFJ, here it is,...your shot...you do good this year and your job is secure, and the Senior position probably goes away (since it is an added expense to have a babysitter for you), BUT screw up again, and your goose is cooked and Muckler is poised to step in..."
However, this could totally backfire on them, if Muckler decides to retire after a year...assuming it all even happens in the first place...
it sucks to have someone breathing over your shoulder while trying to do your job, but if JFJ can prove that he is worthy of GM'ing the hallowed Leafs, then I bet we see Muckler cut loose after a year.

Shark Bite

Chris:

See.

I KNEW that I was going to have to back up my opinions with facts. I wasn't going to be allowed to just rant about why just the sight of Daniel Alfredsson makes me want to dry heave.

Ok. Some quick thoughts on the Toskala\Bell trade.

Initially I was all for it. But after some time to think I've changed my opinion somewhat. It's not that Toskala is a bad goalie. Steve has just laid out how that's clearly not the case. It's that trading for Toskala was not the right move at the right time for this organization.

Allow me to elaborate.

JFJ is a lame duck GM. There's no other way to look at it. The MLSE board, in its infinite wisdom, has seen fit to only grant him a year long extension to his contract. It's difficult to build a strong competitive team for the future when you might not be around to see them play. Hence the Toskala trade. JFJ needed to make a trade and he needed to make it now, not beacause it would help the team but because he needed to be seen doing something to make the Leafs better ASAP. And to hell with the consequences.

And there are consequences. The draft and develop approach got pitched out the window in favour of a quick fix by a GM feeling the pinch.

Now we've got Bell's 2.1 million dollar salary hanging around our necks next year, restricting our ability to buy in the Free Agent market and giving us a potential bad blood scenario between two goalies both used to being the number one puckstopper.

My question is whatever happened to Aubin? In the 2005 drive to the playoffs he stepped it up and more than filled Belfour's shoes. If he looked less than stellar between the pipes this year its because, in an attempt to justify Raycroft's sweetheart contract, they decided to to overplay their #1 goalie at the expense of their backup. Every time Aubin played he had to shake off a month's worth of rust. Maurice should have played smart hockey and played Aubin every fifth or sixth game, not just when Raycroft had a particularly bad outing and needed to rest up for a night.

So. For 500k we could have used Aubin in back up for another year. This would allow Pogge one more year to sharpen up for his big league debut and saved the Leafs 4.475$ million from the combined hit they took from adding Toskala and Bell's salary to the roster.

That would have left us with one first round draft pick and a much more significant amount of change with which to land a serious free agent.

Steve says:
True, JFJ is attempting to save his own neck. No doubt about that. But this trade does make sense because nobody we drafted this year would be ready for at least 2-3 years to come to the NHL.
Also, by the time Toskala and Raycroft are due to be traded or whatever, Justin Pogge will be ready to take over...Pogge wont be ready for at least 2 years..he's only 21...and he only had a decent AHL year (mind you, the Marlies kinda blew, so it's not all his fault).
I agree with the suckiness of having Bell's price tag, but hey...you can't always get what you want...especially with JFJ at the helm.
I also agree with the idea that we should have played Aubin more last season...I think we would have at least made it into the playoffs had he been given some more ice time, but that is now water under the bridge...we must look forward.
The draft this year was simply average...it had a lot of stay at home players who will be solid, but not a lot of high scoring players, or really exceptional D-men. So trading away out #1 this year wasn't as crucial as it would be next year or the year after. I will say that I feel me missed a boat by not getting Esposito, but who knows...he could still be traded before he even steps on NHL ice...
July 1st will show us if JFJ actually has a master plan to make all of this make sense... I will withhold final judgement until I see if JFJ can get some real help for our 1st line ...

a little info on toskala

Steve:
Last year Toskala had a W-L-OTL record of 26-10-1.
Therefore out of 74 points San Jose could have got when Toskala was the goalie of record, they got 53, or 72% of the points available. Only Hasek (75%) and Giguere (74%) had better such winning percentages. Backstrom and Osgoode were next at 70%.

I'd say he's in some pretty good company.

Sean Avery

Steve:
there is a new rumour going around about signing Sean Avery from the Rangers.

I can only think of 1 good reason to sign Sean Avery and it isn't his offensive skills.

new signings

Steve says:
we signed Gamache and Harrison ....
this could be one of a few things,...
1. stocking up the Marlies with average - slightly above average players to cover the Leafs when we have injuries
2. JFJ preparing some kind of upcoming trade
3. JFJ resigning another average player cuz he doesn't know what else to do with him.

I'm hoping it's #2

Chris says:
Gamache and Harrison. Does it really matter? Harrison stepped it up last season when the Leaf's were injury ridden. So it's nice to see him back in the fold. But right now the real focus has to be on signing a free agent who can produce some goals or shopping around McCabe's contract and seeing who's interested. Can the Blue Line live w/o McC? I think so.

UFA's

Steve:
I hear a lot of rumours about the Leafs going after Ryan Smyth, Captain Canada. Before his trade to NYI, I never would have thought of him as going anywhere except Edmonton...but now....?

Also, Jason Blake would be decent, and a hell of a lot cheaper!...but the rumour is that he is not good in the dressing room...I'm guessing that refers to some kind of morale issue..i dunno...but I bet the Toronto media would kick his ass into shape fast enough... maybe Toronto will make good on the McCabe/ Smyth rumour...but I don't think there would be much point if we lost McCabe, only to get Blake....if anything it would do more harm than good

I just think it would be good if we could drop some salary and get a real good winger for the 1st line...

In un-Leaf-related news, the Sens have yet to sign Ray Emery...and they still suck!

the Draft

Steve:
this year we traded away our 1st round pick again for a goaltender (Toskala) and a 3rd/4th line winger...which could be seen in a few ways...
1. a band-aid for JFJ's mess from last year (Raycroft and his gaping glove hand)
2. recognizing that even if we had grabbed someone at the Draft, they wouldn't be ready to play for 2-3 years anyway, and our farm team looks like it will present us with a few gifts within that time frame anyhow
3. an attempt by JFJ to get the Leafs back into playoff contention and thereby save his job

either way, I like Toskala, and if the 2 goaltenders share the starting duties, it could turn into something decent.

Greetings.

Chris:

I'd like to second what Steve has said. Basically we decided to move our daily disection of Leaf activity from email onto the net. Our opinions might come more from gut feelings than cold hard facts but that won't stop us from asserting said opinions loudly and often.

This is basically the best time to be a Leaf fan right now. The harsh reality of a grueling season has yet to take its toll on our emotions and with money in the bank and a vertiable crop of top drawer free agents up for grabs who knows what kind of talent JFJ and company can buy.

the 1st post

Steve:
Here is the first post on a blog shared by Steve and Chris. We'll talk about all things hockey, dealing mostly with the team we support through thick and thin...the Leafs.
You may agree with what we say. You may disagree. We don't really care. We may look back at this in a year and disagree. Whatever.
One thing that is for sure is that the Leafs are the best Hockey team ever, win or lose.
Deal with it.