7:35 pm – As part of their centennial celebrations, the Canadiens decided to honour their rivalry with the Maple Leafs this evening. It started with a compilation video on the scoreboard of “several of the players who have made the rivalry special” – such as some French Canadians who played for the Leafs (Felix Potvin) and players who starred for both teams, like Vinny Damphousse. While I think this is a very classy idea from a first-rate organization, it is a bit odd that this part of the evening is televised. On the other hand, it is neat seeing the players stand behind the blue line and sit on the boards, watching this video along with the fans. Only Andrei Kostitsyn seems to have better places to be.
Vincent Damphousse, Felix Potvin (who is 4 years younger than Curtis Joseph), Pete Mahovlich, Wendel Clark (who gave a rowdy fist pump), Steve Schutt, Borje Salming, Phil Goyette, Darryl Sittler, Guy Lapointe, Johnny Bower, and Jean Beliveau were all in attendance. Beliveau got a standing ovation from fans of both teams, including a usually reticent Ron Wilson.
FIRST PERIOD!!!
7:50 – With the opening faceoff, this one is underway! Good to see Matt Stajan back in the lineup for the Leafs, they need his hustle and leadership.
7:53 – Mikhail Grabovski is playing with Andre Deveaux and Niklas Hagman. Deveaux gets tangled up with Max Pacioretty and gets a hooking penalty.
7:54 – Pacioretty and Yannick Weber, the German-Swiss defenceman, are on the top power play unit for the Habs, showing Coach Guy Carbonneau’s frustration with his teams’ 27th ranked powerplay. Apparently the move pays off, as Sergei Kostitsyn taps one into the empty net behind the absurdly out-of-place Toskala. 1-0 Canadiens – For the 28th time this season, the Leafs have allowed the first goal in a game.
7:56 – Maxim Lapierre hits Stajan from behind – Leafs powerplay.
7:58 – On the 2nd powerplay unit, Grabovski is still getting boo-ed by the Canadiens fans every time he touches the puck. There has to be a reason why the Canadiens hate him so much. Allegedly, he left the team last season when they were on a road-trip in Phoenix. He went to visit his agent in Los Angeles because he wasn’t getting played and he wanted to be traded. Either way, both Grabovski and the entire Canadiens roster took it very personally.
7:59 – Lapierre gets sprung as he comes out of the box. Jeff Finger tries to hold the puck inside the Canadiens' blueline, but it bounces right to Lapierre, about 10 feet behind. Ian White gets back to prevent a 2-on-0, but Lapierre looks to shoot the whole way. He blows it right past Toskala. 2-0 Canadiens.
8:04 – Weber gets a slashing call. Bad penalty by the Swiss-German. Aaand there’s a quick goal, right off the faceoff. Domenic Moore wins the faceoff cleanly and Tomas Kaberle snipes one right through traffic. 2-1 Canadiens.
One thing that can be said for the Leafs is that they have a couple of solid centres. Matt Stajan and Moore are both reliable draw-men – the only problem is that they’re both 3rd liners.
8:10 – A replay showing Tom Kostopoulos’ dirty hits from the last time these two teams met. He took Mike Van Ryn out for a month on a hit from behind. Tonight, he gets tangled up with Jonas Frogren, and gets the worst of it – Frogren is a tough customer. Kostopoulos is in pain on the bench but looks like he’ll be back.
8:13 – The Kostitsyn combo comes buzzing around the Maple Leafs net. Toskala kicks out an ugly rebound to one of them. I don’t know which one, because I can’t tell the difference. Toskala is really fighting the puck tonight.
8:19 – Joe Bowen has now given stats on 4 different occasions regarding Tomas Kaberle’s success against the Montreal Canadiens. Please shoot me.
8:20 – Brad May makes a splash in his 1st period as a Maple Leaf – he goes bowling and takes out 2 Canadiens who don’t have the puck and narrowly misses a third. Charging – make that 2123 career PIMs. Toronto is going to like this guy.
8:23 – 1st punches of the night are thrown, and neither May nor Mikhail Grabovski are involved! Pacioretty takes a few swipes at Toskala after he covers the puck, so Ian White gives him a face-wash.
8:25 – Melt of Grabovski getting it from the Canadiens last time these two teams met in November. Something happened to cause this amount of hate between Grabo and the Habs, but nobody is talking (or those who do all the talking – Grabovski and the Kostitsyns – do not speak English, so I can't translate). Last game, Saku Koivu – one of the more gentlemanly players in the league - sucker punched him.
8:26 – Kostopoulous sucks Toskala out of the net on a wrap-around and Guillaume Latendresse taps it into the empty net. This is the 2nd goal scored tonight in which Toskala is not in the crease when the goal is scored. Where is Justin Pogge when you need him? 3-1 Canadiens. Also, I just Googled Guillaume Latendresse and that is what came up. I'm afraid to Google Matt Stajan.
8:28 – End of the period, and there is another scrum. Deveaux is the instigator of this one as he hits Komisarek and sticks around to have a chat. Lapierre comes in from behind and gives Deveaux the old glove-to-face treatment. Grabovski is there to chirp Latendresse after everything is over and done with. Maybe he’s just an a-hole?
It’s great to see that there is some hate between these two teams!
8:31 – 1st Intermission interview: Brad May acknowledges that he was “maybe over-aggressive on the back-check” for his charging penalty. I say it again: Toronto is going to like this guy.
SECOND PERIOD!!!
8:48 – We find out that Grabovski and Latendresse both get misconduct penalties and Deveaux gets a double-minor, while Lapierre is in the box for 2:00. The refs clearly are trying to send a message – hopefully it won’t be received.
8:52 – Some good, fast paced hockey – Moore and Blake have really gelled as line-mates, which is good to see. Blake was really disliked by fans for his general lack of effort earlier in the season, but he has put his best foot forward in the past 5 weeks, since joining up with Moore. This bodes well for his value on the trade-market.
8:55 – Joe Bowen tries out the nickname “Triple-M Line” as Brad May joins up with John Mitchell and Jamal Mayers. Hopefully this line doesn’t stay together long, because I don’t have the heart to tell Bowen that this might be the least creative, and therefore worst line name ever.
8:57 – Deveaux lays into Andrei Kostitsyn after he unsuccessfully tries to fight Sergei. There is a delayed penalty called on the Maple Leafs, but conveniently Alex Kovalev snipes one past Toskala, top corner. This play was kept alive by a big juicy rebound left sitting at the top of the crease by Toskala. 4-1 Canadiens.
9:04 – After a scrum in front of the Canadiens net in which more than a few players get face-washes, Finger is in the penalty box. Toskala makes his 1st and 2nd saves of the night in which no rebounds were given out. What is Justin Pogge up to tonight?
9:05 – White and Plekanec nearly drop the gloves after Luke Schenn makes a nice kick save to prevent Kovalev from tucking in his 2nd goal of the night. On the high angle replay from above the net, Toskala is not even in the picture.
9:08 – Kostitsyn and Blake gets a 10-minute misconduct. Blake doesn’t seem to know why. Referees have clearly had enough of the post-whistle antics. I’m not sure if Kostitsyn actually thought he was going to fight Blake, but they’re done for the period. On the bright side, Grabovski and Latendresse come out of the penalty box! We may have a Semin-style slap fight before this one is over.
9:12 – Even better! Jamal Mayers and Kostopoulos go at it! I think Kostopoulos is injured, but that didn’t stop either of them. Right at the end, Mayers pumps Kostopoulos with jersey-filled left jabs. Decision: Mayers.
9:14 – Literally 2 seconds later Brad May and Francois Bouillon go at it… They circle like a couple of heavy-weights. Apparently May is a south paw. No - he’s a righty! Before the fight even starts, Brad May switches hands and starts throwing them righty. Both exchange some big shots: I never knew Bouillon was a heavyweight. May’s right hand gets stuck on his elbow pad AND SWITCHES TO HIS LEFT HAND! MAY DAY! MAY DAY! Not since Rocky Balboa and Apollo Creed's rematch have I seen such an interchangeable right and left combo! Bouillon is surprised by a series of heavy lefts from May toward the end of the fight. What a fight! Edge: Brad May.
For the 3rd time: TORONTO IS GOING TO LOVE THIS GUY!
9:22 – Woah! I was so excited after that fight, I needed to go get a drink of water. And while drinking it, I chipped my tooth. This actually happened. This is pretty standard stuff for me, I’ll be fine.
9:29 – Immediately after Moore misses an empty net on a give-and-go with Jamal Mayers, the other Kostitsyn (Andrei) taps in a pretty similar set-up from Robert Lang. This is why the score is 5-1 Canadiens. This is what my old hockey coach Roman would call a two-goal swing. This was the only thing he ever said that made any sense.
9:37 – Ninety-six penalty minutes were handed out that period!!! Nice work boys. I clearly picked the right game to watch.
THIRD PERIOD!!!
9:49 – Felix Potvin didn’t bring his equipment, so the Maple Leafs put Curtis Joseph is in net for the Third Period. Ron Wilson must have torn a strip off them in the locker room, because the Maple Leafs come out with more speed than they’ve shown all night. Maybe May offered to fight the entire team left-handed if they didn’t try harder.
9:56 – 7 minutes and 41 seconds into the period and we get our first whistle. The Maple Leafs must have to catch the 10:30 train back to Toronto.
10:00 – Brad May flies through the camera’s field of vision and tries to hit Andrei Markov behind the Canadiens net, but misses. It is safe to say that Brad May has had a bigger impact with his new team than Mats Sundin did with the Canucks last night.
10:04 – Eight minutes left and the Canadiens fans start singing “Na-na-na-nah, hey hey hey, goodbye!” They never speak this much English when I need directions to Rue Ste. Catherine. As if on cue, Max Pacioretty bangs a rebound past CuJo. 6-1 Canadiens.
10:09 – I just discovered www.bradmay.ca. May, in his own words:
“Gritty left winger Brad May is a top-notch locker-room guy who keeps his opponents honest when he’s on the ice.” True enough!
I just copied and pasted that from his site. He is also apparently building a golf course near Toronto. As he describes it:
"it’s going to be the best new golf course in Canada when it’s completed."
No capitalization required.
10:12 – Deveaux gets into it with his two favourite people – Komisarek and Lapierre. Face washes all around – Lapierre and Deveaux get ejected. Interestingly, Grabovski is trying to climb into the Canadiens bench, but then notices one of the Kostitsyns is on the ice. I doubt if he cares which one. Grabovski charges after him, but then the linesman drags him down. While Grabovski and the linesman were tangled up, Brad May is hanging out of the bench, telling him to take his helmet off.
Joe Bowen: “Well, no let him go, I want to see this!”
Then something weird happens: Grabovski shoves the linesman then decides to quit while he’s behind. Before he leaves, he gives a Richard Nixon-esque double-peace sign to the fans. Knowing the NHL, they'll probably say that he "assaulted" the official and he'll get suspended for the relatively harmless push. On the other hand, you don't want your players taking liberties with the on-ice officials. It's a sticky situation and Grabovski really did not do himself a favour tonight.
10:19 – Stajan scores. 6-2 Canadiens.
10:22 – Well, the Maple Leafs never really showed up for this one *cough*Toskala*cough*. That being said, I really can’t wait until February 7th when we have our re-match! GOOD NIGHT MONTREAL!
Showing posts with label Toronto Maple Leafs. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Toronto Maple Leafs. Show all posts
Thursday, January 8, 2009
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
The Toronto Predators - Coming to an Air Canada Centre Near You!
With their recent article discussing the feasibility of having two NHL hockey teams in Toronto, the Globe and Mail opened a whole wave of responses that made this move seem imminent. While the overwhelming response from the media and fans alike is premature, there are too many arguments for the addition of a second NHL team to the Greater Toronto Area to ignore.
It is an understatement to say that there is a lot of interest in hockey in Toronto and considering the size of the city, it would be easy to find 18,900 fans to sell out the new team's games every night (let's, for convenience sake, call them the Predators). The infrastructure is already in place: there is a strong precedent for teams in the same league sharing facilities, such as the Los Angeles Lakers and Clippers in the L.A. Coliseum, and the Giants and Jets as roommates in Giants Stadium. There is a prospective owner with deep pockets who has been very vocal about his interest in owning an NHL team in Southern Ontario - Research In Motion's Jim Balsillie. He already tried to overpay for the Nashville Predators (and ultimately ended up offering $20 million more than the offer that was accepted, which is suspicious).
The time is right for the game to "grow" into a market that is a proven hotbed. Hockey is the biggest sport in Canada and in spite of the league's recent failures to make inroads in the Southern United States, they need their next franchise to be a runaway success. Of the most frequently named cities that have expressed interest in landing a NHL team (Winnipeg, Hamilton, Quebec City, Kansas City, Houston and Las Vegas), Ontario seems to provide the most financially viable home. There are questions about Winnipeg's fans willingness to pay top-dollar for a ticket and Quebec City needs more companies who have become the top ticket-buyers in today's professional sport landscape (ie, luxury boxes). And following the struggles of the NHL in Nashville, Atlanta and Phoenix, who in their right mind would decide to put a team in Houston or Las Vegas? (On the other hand, who has accused Gary Bettman of being in his right mind?)
One NHL executive who requested anonymity has said, "If you take out the Canadian teams, which have done so well since the lockout largely because of the Canadian dollar, the league's revenues are actually only growing at a 2 per cent clip per year... It's not enough. We're not really growing as a sport, and we're still invisible in the U.S." 1 This says that the league, if not Gary Bettman - who is still committed to growing the game in areas where ice does not naturally occur - has finally realized that they have been under-serving the Canadian fans that they have long taken for granted.
In Southern Ontario there are 15 OHL hockey teams that, by all standards, are considered professional. 4 of those teams make their home in the Greater Toronto Area, which also compete with the AHL's Toronto Marlies. This shows that there is a hockey market that has needs beyond what the Toronto Maple Leafs serve. If New York City has 3 NHL teams and Los Angeles has two, why can't Toronto?
I would argue that the NHL can't afford to NOT add another Toronto team, and at least 1 more elsewhere in Canada. Toronto, the 5th largest market in North America and the biggest hockey city in the world, has 5.5 million fans who are dying to give their money away. The fact that there are Ottawa Senators fans who are Torontonians by birth speaks to the fact that the Maple Leafs aren't meeting everybody's needs.
The NHL also can't afford to expand to a 32 team league. Since they don't want to contract, look for some teams to be migrating back North with the geese over the next 3-5 seasons. When you consider the financial aspect of adding a team to Toronto, consider this: the Maple Leafs earned $1.9 million in ticket revenue every. single. game. last season. ($77.9 million total) To put this in perspective, Phoenix earned $450,000 in ticket revenue... last season. Since 50% of a team's total revenue comes from ticket sales, Phoenix is losing about $35 million dollars every year.
You could read this and say "Phoenix's owners must hate making money!" Or you could read this and remember that the NHL has a revenue-sharing system where the richest teams basically pay the operating costs of the poorest teams. And since 31% of the NHL's revenue over the last two seasons came from its 6 Canadian franchises, realize this: Canucks fans are essentially paying for the Coyotes to rot in the desert. After all, they paid $10 million dollars to support their deadbeat peers last season. The Leafs paid $12 million, Canadiens paid $11.5 million, Flames paid $6 million, Senators paid $1 million and the Oilers paid $800 K. The problem isn't just Phoenix. 11 of the 24 American based teams were either revenue flat or lost money on ticket sales. To put it bluntly, the Coyotes (and 10 other American teams) are on NHL welfare.
This just goes to show that the NHL's current course is ludicrous. How can a league that just underwent a crisis 4 years ago, enough to cancel an entire season, justify not putting a team in a market that will essentially be a license to print money?
It makes too much sense. Toronto needs another NHL team. Kitchener-Waterloo needs an NHL team. Winnipeg needs an NHL team.
After 20 years of trying, the NHL should realize that it needs to end the "Southern Experiment" and give back to the fans who have been keeping the league afloat.
It is an understatement to say that there is a lot of interest in hockey in Toronto and considering the size of the city, it would be easy to find 18,900 fans to sell out the new team's games every night (let's, for convenience sake, call them the Predators). The infrastructure is already in place: there is a strong precedent for teams in the same league sharing facilities, such as the Los Angeles Lakers and Clippers in the L.A. Coliseum, and the Giants and Jets as roommates in Giants Stadium. There is a prospective owner with deep pockets who has been very vocal about his interest in owning an NHL team in Southern Ontario - Research In Motion's Jim Balsillie. He already tried to overpay for the Nashville Predators (and ultimately ended up offering $20 million more than the offer that was accepted, which is suspicious).
The time is right for the game to "grow" into a market that is a proven hotbed. Hockey is the biggest sport in Canada and in spite of the league's recent failures to make inroads in the Southern United States, they need their next franchise to be a runaway success. Of the most frequently named cities that have expressed interest in landing a NHL team (Winnipeg, Hamilton, Quebec City, Kansas City, Houston and Las Vegas), Ontario seems to provide the most financially viable home. There are questions about Winnipeg's fans willingness to pay top-dollar for a ticket and Quebec City needs more companies who have become the top ticket-buyers in today's professional sport landscape (ie, luxury boxes). And following the struggles of the NHL in Nashville, Atlanta and Phoenix, who in their right mind would decide to put a team in Houston or Las Vegas? (On the other hand, who has accused Gary Bettman of being in his right mind?)
One NHL executive who requested anonymity has said, "If you take out the Canadian teams, which have done so well since the lockout largely because of the Canadian dollar, the league's revenues are actually only growing at a 2 per cent clip per year... It's not enough. We're not really growing as a sport, and we're still invisible in the U.S." 1 This says that the league, if not Gary Bettman - who is still committed to growing the game in areas where ice does not naturally occur - has finally realized that they have been under-serving the Canadian fans that they have long taken for granted.
In Southern Ontario there are 15 OHL hockey teams that, by all standards, are considered professional. 4 of those teams make their home in the Greater Toronto Area, which also compete with the AHL's Toronto Marlies. This shows that there is a hockey market that has needs beyond what the Toronto Maple Leafs serve. If New York City has 3 NHL teams and Los Angeles has two, why can't Toronto?
I would argue that the NHL can't afford to NOT add another Toronto team, and at least 1 more elsewhere in Canada. Toronto, the 5th largest market in North America and the biggest hockey city in the world, has 5.5 million fans who are dying to give their money away. The fact that there are Ottawa Senators fans who are Torontonians by birth speaks to the fact that the Maple Leafs aren't meeting everybody's needs.
The NHL also can't afford to expand to a 32 team league. Since they don't want to contract, look for some teams to be migrating back North with the geese over the next 3-5 seasons. When you consider the financial aspect of adding a team to Toronto, consider this: the Maple Leafs earned $1.9 million in ticket revenue every. single. game. last season. ($77.9 million total) To put this in perspective, Phoenix earned $450,000 in ticket revenue... last season. Since 50% of a team's total revenue comes from ticket sales, Phoenix is losing about $35 million dollars every year.
You could read this and say "Phoenix's owners must hate making money!" Or you could read this and remember that the NHL has a revenue-sharing system where the richest teams basically pay the operating costs of the poorest teams. And since 31% of the NHL's revenue over the last two seasons came from its 6 Canadian franchises, realize this: Canucks fans are essentially paying for the Coyotes to rot in the desert. After all, they paid $10 million dollars to support their deadbeat peers last season. The Leafs paid $12 million, Canadiens paid $11.5 million, Flames paid $6 million, Senators paid $1 million and the Oilers paid $800 K. The problem isn't just Phoenix. 11 of the 24 American based teams were either revenue flat or lost money on ticket sales. To put it bluntly, the Coyotes (and 10 other American teams) are on NHL welfare.
This just goes to show that the NHL's current course is ludicrous. How can a league that just underwent a crisis 4 years ago, enough to cancel an entire season, justify not putting a team in a market that will essentially be a license to print money?
It makes too much sense. Toronto needs another NHL team. Kitchener-Waterloo needs an NHL team. Winnipeg needs an NHL team.
After 20 years of trying, the NHL should realize that it needs to end the "Southern Experiment" and give back to the fans who have been keeping the league afloat.
Friday, August 15, 2008
Summer Recap: The Most Changed Teams
Since the Detroit Red Wings cruised to their 11th Stanley Cup victory earlier in the summer, the landscape of the NHL has shifted. In some cases, the changes are subtle and will not much affect a team’s chances of securing the Ultimate Goal. In other cases, teams (and, in some cases, players) have made decisions that will affect the world for generations to come.
It is understandable, with the summer splendor that surrounds us, if fans cannot, by opportunity or decision, keep up with all of the changes that have taken place to shape the 2008-2009 NHL season. So, I will outline some of the most significant changes that have occurred since the beginning of the Free-Agent Season that started on July 1st.
Some teams are trying to get better. And while it may sound crazy, some teams are trying to get worse. Here is a look at two teams that have re-tooled their rosters and will deliver a noticeably different product on the ice. In one instance, the team should be less competitive. The other team completely turned around their fortunes in a matter of months.
Let’s start with the bad news:
Toronto Maple Leafs:
The suits on Bay Street have finally discovered what the average fan could have told you one season after 2004’s lockout: in order to win in The New NHL, you have to build internally. And with a new youth-based movement underfoot at the ACC, there is finally a light at the end of the tunnel. However, conventional wisdom tells us that the night is always darkest before the dawn.
There has been a changing of the guard and that is most evident by the conspicuous absence of Mats Sundin’s name on the Maple Leafs’ roster. Sure, he may return. But Toronto General Managers of yore would, by August 1st, have looked at the roster and realized that the latest edition of the Maple Leafs are going to score the fewest goals in the NHL by approximately 30. At this point, they would have panicked and made him an offer he can’t refuse. The difference between our-last-inept-general-manager-who-shall-remain-nameless (henceforth to be known by the abbreviation: OLIGMWSRN), and current GM Cliff Fletcher is this: OLIGMWSRN iced a bad hockey team that was trying to be good; Fletchy is going to ice a hockey team is simply too bad to compete. And this is very intentional. The only way that the Maple Leafs can be as hopeless as Fletcher needs them to be is if Mats Sundin is not their captain. He is too willful, too talented and he will strap the team on his back to almost make the playoffs yet again. Under Sundin’s watch, the Leafs cannot vie for last place in the NHL.
If you were to take a quick inventory of the staples of Leafs teams in the past few seasons, you would notice a common theme. They have been shipped out for players who are less expensive and less recognized than their predecessors.
Paul Maurice: Gone.
Andrew Raycroft: Gone.
Kyle Wellwood: Gone.
Darcy Tucker: Gone.
Mats Sundin: Probably gone.
Brian McCabe: Gone. (read the sports section on September 1st).
To have 6 of the most recognizable figures on one team not return for the next fall constitutes the largest remodeling project in recent memory that does not involve Ty Pennington (mercifully).
With Luke Schenn to be the face of the franchise in the near future, with another top prospect to be added in the 2009 Entry Draft, the Leafs are onto something that will be reminiscent of the formerly-hopeless, now-talent laden Chicago Blackhawks.
On the other side of the coin…
Tampa Bay Lightning:
I am terribly impressed with what has happened in Tampa Bay this summer. With a completely re-vamped roster and having Vinny Lecavalier locked up for the rest of his natural life with a new 39-year, $356 million contract* the Bolts are looking primed for a return to relevance in the Southeastern Division. They are easily the most improved team in the NHL and will look to make a run at things in the Eastern Conference this year.
Any time you solidify your veteran core with tested leaders like Mark Recchi (who still has not passed his ‘best-before date’) and Gary Roberts, you have done your team a service, regardless of the number of games they play. Roberts has a presence that teaches young players how to be a professional and his physical training is second to none (ok - second only to Rod Brind’amour). If the Lightning were smart, they would offer him a front-office job when his playing days are over, because few people understand hockey in the way that Roberts does.
They bolstered their goaltending with veteran Olaf Kolzig, who will be a good backup to the relatively green Mike Smith.
And as far as I’m concerned, they made off with one of the most underrated players in the entire NHL in Radim Vrbata. He is a solid two-way player who has a scorer’s touch and he isn’t afraid of physical hockey. And speaking of physical, they added Gary Roberts, Jr. - Ryan Malone. He really came into his own this past season in Pittsburgh, under Roberts’ tutelage. While the Lightning overpaid for Malone, it isn’t the end of the world, because if they didn’t someone else was going to.
And we cannot forget the addition of Steven Stamkos, who is definitely the real deal. Stamkos was the consensus #1 Draft Pick this past spring. The Lightning have learned from the debacle of making Lecavalier the youngest captain in the NHL by not putting Stamkos under too much pressure. He will thrive in a veteran-laden environment and will benefit from the experience of his teammates, who can teach him how to deal with the pressure.
However, there are several things that Tampa Bay may not have taken into consideration:
a. Barry Melrose has not coached in 13 seasons. When you take into consideration what the NHL looked like in 1995, it would be an understatement to say that the game has evolved dramatically. Some of you may not remember 1995. To jog your memory of what the world looked like, here are several significant events from the glorious perspective of hindsight:
i. Yahoo! and eBay were founded.
ii. Mississippi ratified the 13th Amendment. You know… the one that abolishes slavery. (Note: It became part of the Constitution in 1865. This was more of a gesture to slaves everywhere.)**
iii. Braveheart wins the Oscar for Best Picture.
iv. Christopher Reeve was paralyzed in a horse-riding accident.
v. O.J. Simpson’s gloves did not fit.
vi. The Toronto Maple Leafs were still in the Western Conference.
vii. Paul Kariya and Peter Forberg were rookies.
viii. Claude Lemieux won the Conn Smythe Trophy and the Devils won the Stanley Cup.
In an Austin Powers-esque video, I would love to help catch Mr. Melrose up on the events of the last 13 years***. This is a great idea for a reality TV show. While he has not been cryogenically frozen, I still imagine that he is wonderfully out of touch with 2008 – hilarity would ensue. Also, it might be helpful for Tampa’s new owners to mandate that Melrose re-grow his hockey-hair, as it is undoubtedly the source of his coaching powers.
b. They still play in the same division as Alexander Ovechkin, who will upgrade from Tropical Storm to a full-fledged Hurricane this season. This may have been a confusing reference, as he plays in the same division as the Carolina Hurricanes, you still understand the point – he is still getting better.
*The terms of this contract have been exaggerated. But it is a long time. And a lot of money.
** Poor taste? You decide!
***Austin Powers was not made until 1997. Barry Melrose probably will not understand the reference.
There are a lot of questions that remain to be answered in the next few weeks:
- Will NHL veterans Joe Sakic and Mats Sundin return to the teams that have been built around them for the past 13+ years? Or will they opt for permanent vacations in Burnaby and Bromma, respectively?
- Will Lauren Conrad and Audrina be able to overcome their Lo inflicted differences and fill the void left in their lives by the absence of Heidi?
- Did Rachel Hunter refuse to marry Jarret Stoll until he no longer lived in Edmonton? (We may never know the answer to this question, I am just painfully curious. And yes… I’m talking about THAT Rachel Hunter.)
- Will Martin Havlat make it out of the 1st period of his 1st game before he breaks a bone this season?
These are the questions that keep me awake at night. My counselor says I need to make real friends who aren’t on a TV show. Although, I do feel like I could be the winner on ‘Bromance’.
So, with the dust beginning to settle, the 2008-2009 NHL picture will begin to look clearer over the next few weeks. I will continue to break down who went where, why and what it all means!
It is understandable, with the summer splendor that surrounds us, if fans cannot, by opportunity or decision, keep up with all of the changes that have taken place to shape the 2008-2009 NHL season. So, I will outline some of the most significant changes that have occurred since the beginning of the Free-Agent Season that started on July 1st.
Some teams are trying to get better. And while it may sound crazy, some teams are trying to get worse. Here is a look at two teams that have re-tooled their rosters and will deliver a noticeably different product on the ice. In one instance, the team should be less competitive. The other team completely turned around their fortunes in a matter of months.
Let’s start with the bad news:
Toronto Maple Leafs:
The suits on Bay Street have finally discovered what the average fan could have told you one season after 2004’s lockout: in order to win in The New NHL, you have to build internally. And with a new youth-based movement underfoot at the ACC, there is finally a light at the end of the tunnel. However, conventional wisdom tells us that the night is always darkest before the dawn.
There has been a changing of the guard and that is most evident by the conspicuous absence of Mats Sundin’s name on the Maple Leafs’ roster. Sure, he may return. But Toronto General Managers of yore would, by August 1st, have looked at the roster and realized that the latest edition of the Maple Leafs are going to score the fewest goals in the NHL by approximately 30. At this point, they would have panicked and made him an offer he can’t refuse. The difference between our-last-inept-general-manager-who-shall-remain-nameless (henceforth to be known by the abbreviation: OLIGMWSRN), and current GM Cliff Fletcher is this: OLIGMWSRN iced a bad hockey team that was trying to be good; Fletchy is going to ice a hockey team is simply too bad to compete. And this is very intentional. The only way that the Maple Leafs can be as hopeless as Fletcher needs them to be is if Mats Sundin is not their captain. He is too willful, too talented and he will strap the team on his back to almost make the playoffs yet again. Under Sundin’s watch, the Leafs cannot vie for last place in the NHL.
If you were to take a quick inventory of the staples of Leafs teams in the past few seasons, you would notice a common theme. They have been shipped out for players who are less expensive and less recognized than their predecessors.
Paul Maurice: Gone.
Andrew Raycroft: Gone.
Kyle Wellwood: Gone.
Darcy Tucker: Gone.
Mats Sundin: Probably gone.
Brian McCabe: Gone. (read the sports section on September 1st).
To have 6 of the most recognizable figures on one team not return for the next fall constitutes the largest remodeling project in recent memory that does not involve Ty Pennington (mercifully).
With Luke Schenn to be the face of the franchise in the near future, with another top prospect to be added in the 2009 Entry Draft, the Leafs are onto something that will be reminiscent of the formerly-hopeless, now-talent laden Chicago Blackhawks.
On the other side of the coin…
Tampa Bay Lightning:
I am terribly impressed with what has happened in Tampa Bay this summer. With a completely re-vamped roster and having Vinny Lecavalier locked up for the rest of his natural life with a new 39-year, $356 million contract* the Bolts are looking primed for a return to relevance in the Southeastern Division. They are easily the most improved team in the NHL and will look to make a run at things in the Eastern Conference this year.
Any time you solidify your veteran core with tested leaders like Mark Recchi (who still has not passed his ‘best-before date’) and Gary Roberts, you have done your team a service, regardless of the number of games they play. Roberts has a presence that teaches young players how to be a professional and his physical training is second to none (ok - second only to Rod Brind’amour). If the Lightning were smart, they would offer him a front-office job when his playing days are over, because few people understand hockey in the way that Roberts does.
They bolstered their goaltending with veteran Olaf Kolzig, who will be a good backup to the relatively green Mike Smith.
And as far as I’m concerned, they made off with one of the most underrated players in the entire NHL in Radim Vrbata. He is a solid two-way player who has a scorer’s touch and he isn’t afraid of physical hockey. And speaking of physical, they added Gary Roberts, Jr. - Ryan Malone. He really came into his own this past season in Pittsburgh, under Roberts’ tutelage. While the Lightning overpaid for Malone, it isn’t the end of the world, because if they didn’t someone else was going to.
And we cannot forget the addition of Steven Stamkos, who is definitely the real deal. Stamkos was the consensus #1 Draft Pick this past spring. The Lightning have learned from the debacle of making Lecavalier the youngest captain in the NHL by not putting Stamkos under too much pressure. He will thrive in a veteran-laden environment and will benefit from the experience of his teammates, who can teach him how to deal with the pressure.
However, there are several things that Tampa Bay may not have taken into consideration:
a. Barry Melrose has not coached in 13 seasons. When you take into consideration what the NHL looked like in 1995, it would be an understatement to say that the game has evolved dramatically. Some of you may not remember 1995. To jog your memory of what the world looked like, here are several significant events from the glorious perspective of hindsight:
i. Yahoo! and eBay were founded.
ii. Mississippi ratified the 13th Amendment. You know… the one that abolishes slavery. (Note: It became part of the Constitution in 1865. This was more of a gesture to slaves everywhere.)**
iii. Braveheart wins the Oscar for Best Picture.
iv. Christopher Reeve was paralyzed in a horse-riding accident.
v. O.J. Simpson’s gloves did not fit.
vi. The Toronto Maple Leafs were still in the Western Conference.
vii. Paul Kariya and Peter Forberg were rookies.
viii. Claude Lemieux won the Conn Smythe Trophy and the Devils won the Stanley Cup.
In an Austin Powers-esque video, I would love to help catch Mr. Melrose up on the events of the last 13 years***. This is a great idea for a reality TV show. While he has not been cryogenically frozen, I still imagine that he is wonderfully out of touch with 2008 – hilarity would ensue. Also, it might be helpful for Tampa’s new owners to mandate that Melrose re-grow his hockey-hair, as it is undoubtedly the source of his coaching powers.
b. They still play in the same division as Alexander Ovechkin, who will upgrade from Tropical Storm to a full-fledged Hurricane this season. This may have been a confusing reference, as he plays in the same division as the Carolina Hurricanes, you still understand the point – he is still getting better.
*The terms of this contract have been exaggerated. But it is a long time. And a lot of money.
** Poor taste? You decide!
***Austin Powers was not made until 1997. Barry Melrose probably will not understand the reference.
There are a lot of questions that remain to be answered in the next few weeks:
- Will NHL veterans Joe Sakic and Mats Sundin return to the teams that have been built around them for the past 13+ years? Or will they opt for permanent vacations in Burnaby and Bromma, respectively?
- Will Lauren Conrad and Audrina be able to overcome their Lo inflicted differences and fill the void left in their lives by the absence of Heidi?
- Did Rachel Hunter refuse to marry Jarret Stoll until he no longer lived in Edmonton? (We may never know the answer to this question, I am just painfully curious. And yes… I’m talking about THAT Rachel Hunter.)
- Will Martin Havlat make it out of the 1st period of his 1st game before he breaks a bone this season?
These are the questions that keep me awake at night. My counselor says I need to make real friends who aren’t on a TV show. Although, I do feel like I could be the winner on ‘Bromance’.
So, with the dust beginning to settle, the 2008-2009 NHL picture will begin to look clearer over the next few weeks. I will continue to break down who went where, why and what it all means!
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
A Manifesto
The Blue Revolution:
A Manifesto
The History of Hockey is the History of Struggle. Forward and defenseman, sniper and goalie, goon and journeyman; combatants standing in opposition of each other, neither side giving, only taking. These opposing sides face each other in constant struggle, a fight between sworn foes – a fight that either ends in a Stanley Cup or the common ruin of a team and its fan base.
At this point in our history, We, the Citizens of Leafs Nation are at a crossroads. We can shirk our duty as Citizens of a great Nation and cower in the face of Adversity, or we can stand with pride at our Nation’s past and hope for our Nation’s future. We have the need to change, the strength to reconstruct, and the courage to start over. I propose to you, Dear Brothers and Sisters, that we institute this change. We need to become the means of a Revolutionary Shift in the way this Nation remembers its proud hockey past, how we see ourselves in our impoverished state of hockey present, and how we can impact our own hockey future.
I do not necessarily know much about being a revolutionary, nor am I a terribly political person; however, the silence of our humility at the hands of our keepers from Bay Street has become too much to bear. The Air Canada Centre needs to roar in triumph just as Maple Leaf Gardens once did. Therefore, The Blue Revolution must begin.
Any movement at its inception must provide a strong and unified front, lest it become a fractious and divided group. It needs to have clear goals and demands by which the success of the revolution may be gauged. Those goals, my friends, are easy to identify: Our Revolution will end only when our Nation is in the hands of a Wise and Just ruler who has outlined an acceptable path by which to govern Leafs Nation, so that we will best be able to ice a team that is capable of not only competing for, but winning Hockey’s Holy Grail.
As Citizens of this Great Nation, our Oppressors have distracted us from the ultimate objective for too long. For three seasons, we have failed to make The Playoffs. This fact is ultimately irrelevant. The greater problem is that for Two Score and One Year we have failed to make Lord Stanley a guest in our Home and Native Land. This is no easy task; however, teams without our numbers and strength of support continue to accomplish this feat each and every year.
Whether or not our Oppressors change name is inconsequential. They are all cogs in the same wheel – Pat Quinn is Cliff Fletcher, just as the citizens of Soviet Russia received no respite from Khrushchev to Brezhnev. For too long have we sat idle under the yoke of ineptitude while Larry Tanenbaum and the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan lounged fat on their thrones made from the tithes of the hard-working citizens of Leaf Nation.
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Brothers and Sisters, Unite! Join the Legion as we tell Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment, ‘This has gone on too long!’ Let us declare in One United Voice that The Playoffs are not good enough! Let us knock down the walls of 40 Bay Street and rebuild in the image of Greatness from days of yore.
Pick up the Refrain of The Blue Revolution as your own, as we seek to reclaim the Fertile Lands of The Playoffs under our Banner! We will not be deterred by Bruins, Lightning, Senators or Canadiens! We demand more from our Toronto Maple Leafs! .
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