Down Goes Brown

Clark (And Some Other Guy) To Be Honoured

2008-07-21T17:35:00.000-07:00

Recent news over at TSN reports that this coming season, the Toronto Maple Leafs will honour the numbers of former captains Wendel Clark and Doug Gilmour. Clark's number 17 will be honoured on November 22nd in a ceremony held before the Leafs game against the Blackhawks, while Gilmour's 93 will be honoured on January 31st before the Pittsburgh Penguins. Wendel Clark and Doug Gilmour represent a period in Maple Leafs history when the club turned from league wide laughing stock to a respectable team that would reach the conference finals four times in the next decade. It's good to see that both of these men are receiving their own ceremony so that the fans and the city can show once more how much we appreciated what they gave to the franchise. Both ceremonies should be great reminders of a time when the Leafs were a team to be taken seriously.

The unfortunate side of this is that once more the Leafs have been unable to come to terms with and honour former captain Dave Keon. It is a shame that Keon remains bitter over his treatment from Harold Ballard. Though his original complaint is justified, it would be a wonderful night to welcome back such a beloved franchise figure who was arguably (by my father anyway) more important than either Clark or Gilmour (though I'm not sure about that). Regardless I eagerly await a chance to hear chants of Wendel shouted from the home crowd faithful. That'll sure bring me back.

Is Brunt Just Getting My Hopes Up?

2008-07-18T08:42:00.000-07:00

If you've been paying any attention to the NHL lately you may have noticed that things haven't exactly been going well. For starters the new IIHF/NHL agreement, that has been in place for about a week, is already raising serious charges of tampering. Alexander Radulov for example doesn't see why a contract signed in good faith (it goes both ways Cliff) can't just be broken so he can get out of Nashville faster then stable ownership. Yet Radulov is not the only player to be suspended by the IIHF. The NHL signings of Nikita Filatov and Jason Krog are being contested by the KHL (not CHL, it's Kontinental with a K). Apparently players haven't been allowed to defect to the West since 1991, though this is news to me.

In Leafs news (shocking for a blog dedicated to them) the MLSE brain trust has decided that giving fans a free exhibition game will make up for the fact that we haven't had a decent team since the lockout and won't for several years to come. I can't think of anything new to bring to this that Chemmy hasn't already said. All I can say is I'd rather they allow real Leaf fans back into the stadium so maybe I could see a game in my lifetime. As for PPP's story that the NHL taking the Leafs out of three Saturday night games, I can only say that I can't wait for Habs fans to use those two games as an excuse to whine even more about how they are the most popular franchise (as long as they're winning) and that the CBC is prejudiced to the French. God I hate Les Habs.

Even more embarrassing to the NHL, and a great blow to Commissioner Gary Bettman's prestige, is the situation regarding Nashville Predators owner William "Boots" Del Biaggio. Apparently the NHL in their rush to save such a hockey mad market sort of forgot to really check over old Boot's financial situation. Well its a good thing it all turned out so well. What's that he bought the team with borrowed money before declaring bankruptcy, and that money was actually borrowed from other NHL owners? Oh Gary, you've really screwed up this time. If diluting the talent pool and adding financially unstable markets to a already financially vulnerable league didn't get you fired, and losing an entire season to "break" the players union and bring financially sustainability that lasted about two seasons didn't get you fired. I hope against hope that this little mess is the end for you.

Hey Everyone

2008-07-11T17:47:00.000-07:00

Hello to any new readers from Pension Plan Puppets and thanks to Chemmy and MF37 for the link. I wish we could welcome everybody with an exciting, witty and informative new post, but there’s not much going on. Though I do promise that the minute something exciting does happen (besides Frogren since Steve is doing an amazing job breaking that down), we’ll be all over it like Clark on McSorely.

Tuesday Leafs Roundup

2008-07-08T18:14:00.000-07:00

Stajan Signs

Well the “next captain” of the leafs signed yesterday for 1.75 million over 2 years. How an unskilled checking center who has never, never, shown any signs of offensive skill gets a such a reputation as a valuable player I’ll never know. I mean even Alyn McCauley had one awesome playoffs. Not to mention was actually valuable defensively.

The Continental Hockey League

I’ve been hearing some people referring to Jagr signing with the new CHL in Russia to be akin to the WHA signing Bobby Hull in 72. This is quite frankly ridiculous. Signing an aging star who only plays if in the mood, and one of the top 10 players in NHL history still in their prime is quite different. I don’t see the new “European League” (still only in former Soviet Bloc) being such a threat until players like Malkin are willing to take the money over the higher skill level available in the NHL. Also their trophy is calld the Gagarin Cup, because. You know. Hockey and space travel. Yeah.

Jason Smith signs with Ottawa

There’s not much to say here really. Smith seems on the decline and will be a downgrade over the overrated Redden. Perhaps he is being brought in to shown the Senators heart and motivate a team that has in my mind blown their once assured place as Cup Champions. Is it obvious I only mentioned this signing to make fun of the Senators?

Frogren Signs

The highly touted European Defensemen that old Cliff was mentioning has turned out to be one Jonas Frogren, Frogren is a classic stay at home type who may bring some more physical play to the Leafs this year. It’s unclear wether he is a depth signing or a projected starter. Either way with 9 Defensemen available, and only Schenn waiver free, it looks like someone is on the move. Please be Bryan.

Leafs Hire Nieuwendyk

The Toronto Maple Leafs have begun hiring their crack exec team of the future with the hiring of former player Joe Nieuwendyk. As a player Nieuwendyk seems destined for the Hall of Fame, yet he has very little experience as an executive. This seems to be a similar situation to what Detroit has done for Steve Yzerman. By giving him a frankly meaningless position (special assistant to the general manager) they hope to have Joe learn from the best and become their GM of the future after their first GM (tampering warning!) Brian Burke retires/leaves/is fired of the future is done. I like Nieuwendyk and hope he can turn his understanding of the game into future success with the Leafs.

The Offensive Woes of the Blue and White

2008-07-04T16:06:00.000-07:00

I don’t think anyone expects the Leafs to be a playoff team this year. Even those who believe in the Ron Wilson/first year coach magic have to believe that this Leafs team is going to be hard to watch. The only question is how bad will they be? The 2007-2008 Toronto Maple Leafs were a slightly above average offensive team last year. The Leafs were of course lead in both goals and points by captain Mats “sitting on the fence” Sundin. One of the questions that has to be asked is how much of an effect will his probable departure have on not just our overall scoring, but on the individual performances of our players.

Last year the Leafs had only one player other than Sundin score 20 goals and no one other than him rack up 60 points. Some have said that last year was an off year for many players offensively (Blake, Poni, Tucker, Wellwood) and that we can expect some resurgence from them. Yet at the same time the removal of Sundin from the lineup creates a large vacuum of talent that is worrying. What I mean to say is how much of the recent success of Leaf players (especially Poni and Antropov) can be attributed to Sundin.

Antoropov had a career year last year in points, goals and most importantly for him games. I don’t think his talent is in question, though his health certainly still is. I think the Leafs can rely on at least 24 goals from him should he stay as healthy as he was last year. Ponikarovsky on the other hand has never impressed me offensively. He plays a solid two-way game and has shown some skill, but even Jonas Hoglund could score with Sundin as his linemate. Jason Blake seems to me the most likely to improve upon his 07-08 numbers. He did reach a career high in assists with 37, but he was expected to be a 20+ goal scorer who had his lowest goal total (15) since 01-02. But there are signs of hope. He lead the team 332 shots on goal. The problem was only a hair over 4% of those went in, well below his career percentage of 8%. If he can rebound from the cancer issues that clearly effected his play last year I think we’ll see 20 goals from Jason Blake, unless he’s run out of town before then.

With the addition of Hagman we may be able to see some of Sundin’s goal production replaced, though I don’t think he’ll have the same talent around him that he did in Dallas, so a slight drop of is to be expected. Other then that the roster looks pretty bleak. Stajan will never ever score 20 and Steen still needs to step up his game to before he can be seen as a scoring threat like his father was. Other then that the roster looks pretty grim.

The real wild cards in all of this will be Jiri “NSFW” Tlusty and Nikolai “I played with Oveckin and Malkin” Kulemin. Truthfully I don’t expect much from either. Kulemin will be an NHL rookie and doesn’t seem to have the scoring talent to be the next Borschevsky, let alone the next Malkin. While Tlusty does indeed have the talent but seemed overmatched next year and still needs to time to adjust his game to the NHL.

I’m not sure exactly where the scoring will come from. As my Bruins loving friend always asks, “Will Kaberle lead the team in scoring?” frankly that seems entirely possible. I really do hope that I’m wrong about the leafs scoring woes, and that with Wilson behind the bench we’ll have a minor resurgence and have an team that’s at least fun to watch. Yet I can’t get the vision of the Leafs at the bottom of the league struggling to score goals all season. Then again that wouldn’t be so bad if after that we get to see Brian Burke call out John Tavares’ name at the draft would it?

Edit: Here's a good article on next years Leafs Defense. Finger turning out like Lefebvre would be a dream.

Free Agency Pt.1

2008-07-03T21:21:00.000-07:00

With alot of the action coming to a stop in the NHL's free agent period it is time to reflect on who were the real winners this past week. This is the top three signings, which will be followed by the bottom three in the coming days.

1-Marian Hossa-Detriot Red Wings

There was much talk about where Hossa would land before the clock struck midnight. The Montreal faithful had already begun the process of penciling him in on several line combinations in preparation for their impending and inevitable Stanley Cup win to coincide with their 100th year as a franchise. Despite the fact that Montreal has never successfully signed a free agent in franchise history, many had high hopes. (I kid because I hate)

Also riding a wave of optimism was the Edmonton Oilers after trading for Gilbert Brule, Lubomir Visnovsky and Erik Coles neck. Hossa would fit in well with the Oilers fast, offensively dynamic team so it was thought to be a perfect fit. The only problem was that the Oilers play in Edmonton. Alas it was the Detroit Red Wings who surprisingly signed Hossa to a one year contract below market value sending the collective fan bases of the NHL into a horrible spiral of self loathing and suicidal depression. Congratulations to the Red Wings on two consecutive championships.

2-Sean Avery-Dallas Stars

With the addition of Sean Avery to a line up that already included Steve Ott, the Stars are presumably starting a shit movement. Early rumours had Avery going back to the Rangers, or joining the Vogue offices full time. Instead Brett Hull aggressively pursued Avery and also signed him to just a little under market value. Sources close to the Stars say that the possibility of sex with Jessica Simpson may have influenced him in his decision.

With Sean in their line up they replace a lot of the grit they lost with Hagman and gain some notoriety. Dallas is a team that most people seem to ignore regardless of how they play. They are generally an overlooked team because of the fact that the Western Conference is stacked and also because it is always San Jose’s year. A solid player who will defend his teammates against the oppressive French Canadians and black people.

3-Everyone-Tampa Bay Lightning

By tanking the last few games of the season the Lightning screwed over the Los Angeles Kings and ensured the draft selection for Steve Stamkos. They then signed Ryan Malone, Gary Roberts, Radim Vrbata, Vaclav Prospal, Adam Hall and Olaf Kolzig. Since the Lightning play in what is affectionately called the LOL hockey division these signings almost ensure them a playoff spot, which has to feel good for the new owners that promised changed. Although there might be questions regarding how quickly this team can come together with so many new faces it should be enough to make them competitive regardless, which must be frustrating for Leafs fans expecting a slow and painful rebuild.

Playoffs!

2008-07-02T17:13:00.000-07:00

While most of the recent headlines have been linked to the flurry of free agent activity, Kevin Lowe and the Edmonton Oilers have made several interesting trades to bolster a team that hasn't made the playoffs since their improbable run to the Cup Final in '06. The Problem for the Oil last year was surprisingly not scoring goals, they were 11th in the league despite Dustin Penner leading the team with only 23 markers, but instead keeping them out of their own net. The Oilers let in 251 goals this season, good for 5th worst in the league. Coupled with the fact that Edmonton had the 5th best penalty killing percentage leads one to think Edmonton really requires defensive help during even strength situations. That is what makes Kevin Lowe's trades so confusing.

In three separate trades the Oilers have acquired Lubomir Visnovsky, Erik Cole and Gilbert Brule for Jarret Stoll, Matt Greene, Raffi Torres and Joni Pitkanen. Visnovsky is a undersized offensive defenceman who the Oilers hope can combine with Sheldon Souray to help a powerplay that was ranked 20th overall last season. In acquiring Lubo the Oilers sent Jarret Stoll and Matt Greene to the L.A. Kings. Now Jarret Stoll is clearly no defensive specialist, as made clear by his team worst -23 last year. Coupled with the emergence of Sam Gagner and Andrew Cogliano made his meager offence expendable. It is the inclusion of Matt Green that I frankly don't understand. Greene while not the greatest of rearguards was a physical stay at home force on the Oilers' blueline. Wouldn't he be exactly the kind of player the Oilers need right now. This decision is made stranger by Lowe's other moves.

With Visnovsky's addition to the Oil Kevin Lowe needed to dump salary to pursue other free agents. Knowing this he dealt injured and arguably overpaid (to the tune of 2.2 million) Raffi Torres to Columbus (they seem to love injured over-payed players there) for a bag of pucks. Oh and Gilbert Brule, but really does anyone expect anything from a guy who hasn't had anything close to a good season since being drafted? Though this deal will look good if Brule can become even a mediocre NHL forward. So with this move to clear salary was Lowe looking for a stay at home defensive type to solidfy his blueline? In a word, no. Instead Lowe traded one of his three offensive minded defencemen to Carolina for Erik Cole. I'm not against trading Pitkanen, and getting Erik Cole more than makes up for the trading of Raffi Torres, both offensively and defensively, but it still doesn't address their weakness at the blueline.

Not only that but Lowe didn't even seriously pursue any of the better defencemen available since July 1st, but instead went after Marian Hossa. How exactly does that solve at lack of defensive strength? Maybe Lowe is looking to nab some underrated defender that they have lacked since trading Jason Smith for Pitkanen in the first place. Of course all of that being said the Oil are an almost sure bet for the playoffs. They play in a suddenly terrible division, with a team using two backups in net (Colorado), a team that can't score enough to take advantage of the best goalie in hockey (Vancouver), and a team that just lost the best two way player (Minnesota), and a team who barely made the playoffs has lost two of their top three offensive weapons for an injured malcontent (Calgary). So I hope Edmonton is ready to cheer their team to a first round playoff exit. I know I wish I could be as optimistic for the Leafs.

Also because Chemmy at PPP asked me to, check out this Toronto Maple Leafs Blog. Ha ha, google bombing.

The Dawn of a New Era

2008-07-01T23:47:00.000-07:00

Welcome to The Ballad of Wendel Clark, a new site dedicated to the the monstrosity that is Gary Bettman’s NHL. Today was the beginning of the NHL free agency period and with an increase in the salary cap, from 50.3 to 56.7 million, a flurry of movement was expected from teams across the league. Yet nothing could prepare fans and analysts alike for the massive spending spree that occurred today. Over 300 million dollars was handed out to NHL free agents, that despite the fact that several of the top players available have yet to sign. That includes Marian Hossa who apparently is being heavily pursued by Edmonton and Mats Sundin who was offered a ridiculous 20 million over 2 years by the Vancouver Canucks. Many of the contracts handed out today have made me question the sanity of several general managers across the league. I mean in what world is Christobal Huet worth 4.2 million over 4 years?

Yet Huet is far from the only ridiculous contract handed out today. Brian Cambell was signed for 7.1 million over 8 years. To put that in perspective, Martin Brodeur and Chris Pronger, two of the top players at their positions, are paid 5.8 and 6.25 million respectively. What makes this even more astonishing is that both of these players were signed by the same team. That’s right the Chicago Blackhawks just spent 11.3 million dollars or just under 20% of the salary cap on two guys. I sure hope that Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane aren’t looking to renegotiate their contracts in a few years.

But enough of making fun of the Blackhawks, many other teams made absolute head scratching decisions today. Tampa Bay has made some very good moves this off-season, but is signing four Left Wingers (Roberts, Malone, Prospal, and Vrbata) the best way to reinvigorate a team when their second best center is Jeff Halpern? The Colorado Avalanche have given Andrew Raycroft and Darcy Tucker contracts. I didn’t bother to check for how much, I just couldn’t stop laughing at the fact that any GM was stupid enough to sign John Ferguson Jr’s goaltender of the future to a contract outside of the LANH (Ligue Nord-Américaine de Hockey). As for Tucker, I wonder how long it will take the Western Conference to figure out his one-dimensional scoring ability (hint: it’s the cross crease pass). Finally I want to ridicule the signing of Kyle Wellwood by saying Vancouver could have saved a lot of money by offering Wellwood a box of doughnuts every game so he at least has something to eat in the pressbox while TV commentators talk all night about how Vancouver can’t wait to add his “talent” to the lineup. I could also ridicule the Redden and Green signings, but they seem pretty reasonable considering what has happened today.

Yet not every deal today was a complete catastrophe. There were several quality signings made today. The best in my mind is New Jersey’s signing of Brian Rolston. For 4 years at 4 million, New Jersey has aquired a gifted goal scorer, locker room leader and talented two way player. For the same price as a guy who, I promised Ryan not to make fun of , couldn’t score more 20 goals on a pretty good Montreal Team. I’m looking at you Ryder. Another keen signing was Radim Vrbata for 3 years 3 million. This guy is 27 and scored 27 goals on a pretty miserable Coyotes team, he could do very well depending on his line mates in Tampa.

Finally we reach the signings of the Toronto Maple Leafs. I really had high hopes for my beloved Leafs. I spent weeks before today dreaming of exactly who the Blue & White would bring in to make these next few seasons bearable. Names like Voros, Vrbata, Avery, and Hordichuck made me think that maybe old Cliff would make next years Leafs entertaining during the inevitable Tumble for Taveres (see what I did there?). Needless to say, today was a disappointment. I’ll begin with the good. Curtis Joseph returns to the Leafs after his memorable departure in 2002. I think Cujo will be a fine back-up goaltender for next year, and seeing him play the odd game will bring back memories of the semi glory of the 90’s. Next is the signing of Nikalas Hagman. I like Hagman, I see him as a slightly less talented Vrbata. Which makes Vrbata signing for the same price a tad annoying. But he should provide quality scoring to a team that desperately needs it.

Now that I’ve told you the good news we can move on to the inevitable boneheaded decision that every leafs GM has to make (note; I refuse to make a pun about his name). Jeff Finger. Jeff Finger. Who the hell is Jeff Finger? Well apparently he is a defencemen worth 3.5 million over 4 years. Not total mind you, per year. Fletcher describes him as a man “with a little bite to him” great. We may be at the bottom of the league in talent but we lead the lead in bite, scrappiness and moxy. I hope that the Leafs see something in this guy who has only played 98 NHL games in his career that no one else is aware of. What this could mean is that either Bryan McCabe or Pavel Kubina is on the move which seems unlikely with McCabe and unadvisable with Kubina. Regardless, I can only hope that this doesn’t turn into another Jyrki Lumme or Anders Eriksson. My little heart just couldn’t bear it.

Well that was the day that was. I hope to post frequently over the next few weeks before the summer slowdown really takes hold. Topics such as the next round of signings, the Oilers trades, the NHL owner clusterfuck and the Continental League will all be discussed. Another blogger will be joining me as well and his post will be up in the next few days. Until then lets all hope that Gary Bettman resigns, like now. Seriosuly. Resign. Even the French Hate you.