Maple Leafs Hockey Blog

ESPN Maple Leafs Preview

2007-09-25T14:36:00.000-05:00

By Scott Burnside

OK, so the rebuilding program is officially out the window, what with GM John Ferguson mortgaging the future in the form of three draft picks, including the 13th overall selection in June's draft, to acquire netminder Vesa Toskala and troubled forward Mark Bell. Now, both acquisitions may yet turn out to be winners. Toskala may yet be the next Miikka Kiprusoff, a Finnish netminder who comes out of nowhere to be a world-beater. Bell could chip in 20-30 goals while roughhousing opponents once he returns from his 15-game suspension stemming from his drunken-driving conviction. The bottom line: The Maple Leafs once again have revealed themselves as a team devoid of a genuine plan for the future. One day, it's build from within; the next (or in this case after two straight playoff misses), it's win today. Still, the Leafs finished just one skinny point out of the playoffs, so they aren't that far off from a trip given that the East again figures to be achingly close.

OFFENSE
The Leafs were no slouches with the puck with the eighth-best offense in the league. They should improve with the addition of Jason Blake, who scored a career-best 40 goals with the Islanders last season. The assumption was Blake would be a good fit with captain Mats Sundin, who signed a one-year deal in the offseason. Coach Paul Maurice told reporters he thought of a Blake-Kyle Wellwood combination, with gifted Wellwood moving back to his natural position as a center. But Wellwood recently underwent sports hernia surgery and will miss at least three weeks. There's been a lot of talk that center Jiri Tlusty, the 13th overall pick in 2006, could crack the NHL roster out of training camp. The Leafs didn't return veteran forwards Jeff O'Neill, Yanic Perreault and Michael Peca, and the team was hoping Bell would fill some of that physical/offensive void. He will be going to jail for six months at the end of the season and will miss the first 15 games to suspension, so one wonders how much that will affect his focus at the center of the hockey universe.

DEFENSE
For years, Toronto's Achilles' heel was always its spotty blue line. But the Leafs now boast an impressive group of up-and-coming blueliners that includes Carlo Colaiacovo, who appears to have put an early spate of injuries behind him; Jay Harrison; Staffan Kronwall; and Andy Wozniewski. These youngsters will complement a group of veterans that includes Tomas Kaberle, Bryan McCabe, Hal Gill and much-maligned Pavel Kubina. It might be true the Leafs wildly overspent on Kubina (four years, $20 million) last summer, but he wasn't as bad as many fans believed. By the end of the season, he was among their best blueliners (as he should have been). McCabe will always be high risk/ high reward, and Kaberle continues to be one of the best blue-line bargains in the business. Throw it all together, and the back end is suddenly one of the team's strong suits and should continue to be going forward.

GOALTENDING
If there ever is a case when the statistics lie, it's in Andrew Raycroft's 37 wins last season. The mark tied a franchise record, yet the first thing Ferguson did this summer was bring in a goaltender he thinks is better. Trust us, with last season's 24th-ranked goaltending tandem, the rest of the lineup thinks the same thing. Raycroft, a former rookie of the year, simply could not provide enough consistency to get the Leafs into the playoffs. In five of his last six appearances, he gave up at least three goals, so the word "clutch" doesn't exactly apply. Will it apply to Toskala? It had better if Ferguson wants to keep his job. The problem with Toskala is there isn't a great body of work to contemplate. In two seasons sharing top billing in San Jose with Evgeni Nabokov, Toskala went 49-17-5. Those are pretty darned good numbers. He didn't get a sniff in the playoffs this past spring but was the man between the pipes when the Sharks blew a 2-0 series lead against Edmonton in 2006. If the Leafs get that far in 2007-08, it won't matter if Toskala shows up wearing a Spider-Man outfit while pulling a wagon full of chickens because the experiment will be deemed a success.

COACHING
In Maurice's first season as Leafs coach, the team missed the playoffs by one point, which is one point closer than Toronto got the year before under former coach Pat Quinn. Closer to what, however, is the big question. It's hard to imagine Maurice would survive another non-playoff season, but that doesn't seem to bother the erudite bench boss. The Leafs play up-tempo and try to use a bruising forecheck to create offense. Maurice isn't likely to change his style, and provided his lineup stays a little healthier, he shouldn't be too worried about job security.

Scott Burnside is the NHL writer for ESPN.com.

Don't Expect To Carlo This Week

2007-09-25T13:05:00.000-05:00

From TheStar.com...

Kevin McGran
SPORTS REPORTER

Maple Leafs defenceman Carlo Colaiacovo may not play another pre-season game as coach Paul Maurice intends go easy on his oft-injured defenceman, giving him time to let his sore right knee heal.

Colaiacovo has played in two of Toronto's five exhibition games so far but his knee – which underwent surgery in the spring – has been acting up.

"We're trying to strengthen this leg as hard as we can," Maurice said Tuesday. "I think he's fine. We could play him. But we don't really need to see him in an exhibition game.

"If he can go in there (the workout room) and make the leg really hard and make it stronger, then that's what we're going to do," Maurice said, adding it was "normal" for Colaiacovo to experience knee pain.

"We're just trying to keep him on his light program for as long as we can before we turn him loose and say now you really got to play," said Maurice.

The Leafs have three pre-season games left, including Wednesday night at home to Buffalo. The regular season opens next week.

Colaiacovo's setback is the second significant blow to the Leafs with Kyle Wellwood already sidelined a month after groin surgery.

Forward Boyd Devereaux was back on the ice Tuesday, his foot infection having healed.

There is no shortage of defencemen available to play in Colaiacovo's place. Staffan Kronwall and Anton Stralman, both of Sweden, top a lengthy list of young blueliners on the cusp of becoming NHL regulars.

Both are expected in the lineup Wednesday night against Buffalo. Vesa Toskala is expected to start in net.

Was Wellwood Properly Treated?

2007-09-25T13:01:00.000-05:00

The ever controversial Steve Simmons writes in today's Toronto Sun about the possible lack of treatment/attention given to Wellwood with respect to his sports hernia...

(Steve Simmons, TORONTO) -

The lower abdomen injury that has placed Kyle Wellwood's progress on hold is the latest in a series of medical mysteries that have plagued John Ferguson's time as general manager of the Maple Leafs.

This one may be no one's fault. This one may be someone's fault. Right now, with Wellwood out for a month and his case certainly not being considered normal for this kind of injury, it's impossible to know.

What we do know is this: The most promising of all Toronto's young forwards underwent surgery last season, which was conducted by a world-class specialist in the area of sports hernias. And last Saturday, Wellwood again underwent surgery, which was conducted by a different world-class specialist in the area of lower stomach injuries.

Normally, one operation does not beget another.

Normally -- if a sports hernia can be considered normal -- the success rate for the kind of surgery Wellwood underwent last season is very high.

Only he required surgery a second time. And no one can answer for certain as to why.

"He was in regular contact with our trainers, our doctors, our strength and conditioning coach throughout the summer," said Jeff Jackson, the Leafs' assistant general manager. "Everything seemed to be going fine. We had a protocol for him and he followed it."

The team says he followed it. Wellwood's father, in an interview with the National Post, said his son took it easy all summer and didn't really work out.

As usual, the truth may be somewhere in between.

In his four years as general manager of the Leafs, Ferguson has torn up his medical blueprint more than once. He has been impatient with his staff, changing team doctors, trainers, dentists, equipment men, hired a strength and conditioning coach, and altered the team's medical protocols.

And over those years he has had no shortage of medical difficulties with high-profile players.

Winger Owen Nolan ended up with a large medical settlement after leaving the Leafs. Winger Alexander Mogilny was paid while injured in the lockout year. Goalie Ed Belfour was signed to a contract before the Leafs discovered he required back surgery. Centre Eric Lindros lost most of his season with the Leafs on what he believes was an improper diagnosis of his injured wrist.

Now comes the Wellwood situation and you wonder, even in this case, if there is nothing to wonder about. You have to wonder because of the history, because of the problems, because of the medical uncertainties of the past.

On a Maple Leafs team with some youth but not a lot of youth with any kind of upside, Wellwood is different. He was to start the season as the No. 2 centre, partially because he deserves that and partially because there is no one else. The fact the Leafs are toying with Chad Kilger as his replacement at centre is indication enough of that.

Wellwood is one of those special kind of players who always has contributed offence. The question in the NHL always was about his skating and his strength.

Now, with his lower stomach muscles not holding up, it's not hard to wonder about his skating and his strength.

"If you look around the league, there's a lot of groin injuries, a lot of hip flexor injuries," Jackson said. "I don't know if it's the new skates guys are wearing, I don't know what's causing it. I just know it's happening a lot."

At least, the Leafs and Ferguson learned from the Lindros disaster.

They weren't about to wait around and hope for the best. They had their doctors consult with the leading surgeons on the matters and everyone agreed that doing revisional surgery was the only course of action.

The lineup Ferguson pencilled in before the season had Wellwood as his No. 2 centre and Mark Bell as the No. 3 centre. Now Bell is suspended for the first 15 games of the season and Wellwood is certain to miss the first month of the season.

And now they wait, however nervously, hoping the Wellwood they hoped for is the Wellwood they see next month.

Back At It For The 2007/2008 Season

2007-09-25T12:56:00.000-05:00

I just wanted to formally welcome you all back for the new Leafs season. Let's get on with some news...

Lance Hornby writes about the make-up of the 2007/2008 Leafs and the chances of John Pohl making this squad.

The Star gives a recap of last night's loss to the Ottawa Senators in overtime.

And David Shoalts of the Globe gives a good picture of how healthy the Leafs need to be to compete for a playoff spot.

Leafs Give Pony Three More Rides

2007-05-10T18:28:00.000-05:00

(May 10, 2007) - John Ferguson, vice-president and general manager of the Toronto Maple Leafs, announced Thursday that the club has signed forward Alexei Ponikarovski to a three-year contract extension. In keeping with club policy, terms of the contract were not disclosed.

Ponikarovsky, 27, played 71 games for Toronto collecting 45 points (21 goals, 24 assists) with 63 penalty minutes and a (+8) plus/minus rating. This past season he set a career-high in goals (tie), assists, points, powerplay goals (6) and shots on goal (198).

Ponikarovsky has played in 268 career games for Toronto, collecting 120 points (54 goals, 66 assists) with 200 penalty minutes. Over six seasons with the Maple Leafs he has accumulated a (+42) plus/minus rating. In 2002 he was selected to represent Team Ukraine at the Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, Utah. The Kiev, Ukraine native was originally Toronto’s fourth choice, 87th overall, in the 1998 NHL Entry Draft.

JFJ Receives a Passing Grade

2007-05-09T19:29:00.000-05:00

From David Shoalts at the Globe and Mail:

Any doubt about John Ferguson's immediate future as general manager of the Toronto Maple Leafs ended Wednesday when the board of directors of Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment approved his plans for the team for next season.

Ferguson and Leafs head coach Paul Maurice made a presentation Wednesday afternoon to the board, although MLSE president Richard Peddie declined to give any details. All he would say is that the directors approved their plans and that Ferguson will be around for the final year of his contract.

"[Ferguson] and Paul Maurice came in and presented to the board what they wanted to do over the next year," Peddie said. "John's contract did not come up. He is under contract for another year. He is not going any where."

Speculation had been rampant in recent weeks that Ferguson had to impress the board, as there was talk MLSE chairman Larry Tanenbaum and a couple of other directors were unhappy enough with the Leafs' second consecutive finish out of the National Hockey League playoffs that they were talking to potential replacements for Ferguson.

Peddie said that all the board was interested in at Wednesday's meeting was Ferguson's plan for developing talent and acquiring new players through trades and free agency.

"It was a private meeting, so it really makes no sense to say any more than that," Peddie said.

Ferguson was not immediately available for comment.

Rumours Surround JFJ's Future

2007-05-08T21:53:00.000-05:00

TIM WHARNSBY

Globe and Mail Update

TORONTO — When Toronto Maple Leafs general manager John Ferguson presents his plan for the future to the Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment board of directors Wednesday, his future with the struggling National Hockey League club could hang in the balance.

Even though MLSE chief operating officer Richard Peddie said Ferguson will continue running the club next season because his option year was picked up for 2007-08, a league source indicated that if Ferguson doesn't wow the eight-member board with his presentation, his days with the organization could be numbered.

Among other sports properties, MLSE owns the Maple Leafs, basketball's Toronto Raptors and the Air Canada Centre.

"John should treat this meeting very seriously," the source said. "There are people on the board who want him out. He doesn't have everyone's support, by any means."

Multiple sources insist that while Ferguson has the support of Peddie and the board members who represent the Ontario Teachers Pension Plan (Robert Bertram, James Leech and Dean Metcalf), MLSE board chairman Larry Tanenbaum and lawyer Dale Lastman would like to see a change. It is unknown, however, which side of the issue Ivan Fecan of CTVglobemedia, which owns The Globe and Mail, and TD Capital Group's Robert MacLellan stand.

Peddie was asked Tuesday whether Wednesday's meeting could result in Ferguson being let go.

"No, John has a contract through next year, and we're constantly looking at ways to improve and get better, but he has a contract and that's where we're at," Peddie said.

"This is simply a meeting that was planned a year in advance. We're meeting with all the GMs of our four teams [Raptors, Leafs, Toronto Marlies of the American Hockey League and soccer's Toronto FC]. We'll hear what plans they have to get us closer to their respective [championships], if not win their championships."

But whispers persist throughout the NHL that Tanenbaum has spoken with potential contenders to replace Ferguson.

Besides outlining his plan for the NHL entry draft next month, his strategy for the summer-time free agency period, players in the system and the coaching staff, Ferguson will have to explain why the Leafs missed the playoffs in back-to-back seasons.

No doubt the future of Leafs captain Mats Sundin also will be discussed at length. Sundin, 36, is expected to be examined by a hip specialist in Sweden today to determine whether he will undergo arthroscopic surgery to repair a torn labrum that was discovered after the regular season ended.

Under Ferguson, the Leafs have had long-term injury problems with players such as Owen Nolan, Ed Belfour and Alexander Mogilny.

Another pressure point for Ferguson is the quick success of his Raptors counterpart, Bryan Colangelo. Under a different salary-cap system and smaller roster size, Colangelo rapidly rebuilt the Raptors into a divisional champion.

The 39-year-old Ferguson finished his fourth year at the helm of the Leafs and had his option season for 2007-08 — believed to be worth about $850,000 (U.S.) — picked up last November.

The Leafs' budget will not be an issue in 2007-08. Peddie said yesterday the club will spend right up to the salary cap next season, which is expected to be raised to at least $47-million (U.S.).

"We will spend to the max," Peddie said. "Whatever the NHL says we can spend, that's what we'll spend."

Ferguson has recently been a consultant for Steve Yzerman, who put together the Canadian team that is entering the medal round at the world championship in Russia undefeated.

Ferguson returned last Sunday from the world championship and plans to return to Russia Wednesday for the final four days of the tournament.

Leafs Lock Up White For 3 Years

2007-05-08T21:47:00.000-05:00

Well, tomorrow JFJ goes in front of the Board for his "State of the Team" address or to outline his "Plan" for 2007-2008. In the meantime, JFJ made sure to lock up young defenceman Ian White.

(May 8, 2007) -- John Ferguson, vice-president and general manager of the Toronto Maple Leafs, announced Tuesday that the club has signed defenceman Ian White to a three-year contract extension. In keeping with club policy, terms of the contract were not disclosed.

White, 22, played in his first full NHL season for the Maple Leafs in 2006-07. In 76 games, White collected three goals and 23 assists for 26 points, along with 40 penalty minutes and a (+8) plus/minus rating. White finished the season tied for second in both assists and points among all NHL rookie defencemen. White also tied an NHL single game season high, when he earned a plus/minus rating of (+6) against the Bruins at Boston on January 4.

White has skated in 88 career games for Toronto, registering 32 points on four goals and 28 assists. He was one of 14 players who played for the Maple Leafs this season to have at one time played for the American Hockey League affiliate Toronto Marlies. The Winnipeg, Manitoba native was originally Toronto’s sixth choice, 191st overall, in the 2002 NHL Entry Draft.

Marlies Ticket Prices

2007-05-07T19:51:00.000-05:00

Well we have all heard of the Maple Leafs increasing their ticket prices, but they seem to have implemented a better system for their farm team, The Marlies.

May 7, 2007

MARLIES ANNOUNCE NEW TICKET PRICING STRUCTURE

Changes reflected in both individual and season ticket prices in advance of 2007-08 AHL season

A proud member of the American Hockey League, the Toronto Marlies announced on Monday significant changes to their pricing structure for the 2007-08 season.

Both season seat and individual ticket prices have been reduced. The team’s platinum season seats, located within seven rows of the ice surface, have been reduced by 38% to $30. More than 84% of the seats at Ricoh Coliseum, located at Toronto’s Exhibition Place, are now $25 or less with season seat prices ranging from $15 to $30 per game.

"We recognize that consumers have many options when it comes to sports and entertainment in Toronto and we want the Marlies to be one of the top choices on their list because it’s an exciting, entertaining hockey product," said Tom Anselmi, executive vice-president and chief operating officer of Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment. "We've made significant changes to our ticket pricing, ones that will be favourable and affordable for all hockey fans whether they are individuals, groups or families."

Side level season seats have been reduced from $30 to $25 per ticket while premium and regular priced end zone season seats will be lowered from $20 to $15 per ticket. McDonald’s zone tickets (available in advance of game-day) remain at $10 per ticket.
Season seat holder benefits have also been enhanced to include exclusive player/coach meet and greet events, parking discounts, passes to the Marlies skating party, access to special Leafs practice events and much more.

The primary affiliate of the Toronto Maple Leafs, the Marlies begin their third American Hockey League season in Toronto this October. The league’s 72nd regular season schedule, including all Marlies home and away dates, will be announced in early August.

Originally built in 1922, Toronto’s Ricoh Coliseum underwent a major renovation in 2003 and welcomed more than 400,000 patrons last year. In addition to the Marlies, the facility hosts trade shows, concerts and the annual Royal Agricultural Winter Fair.

For further information on the Marlies’ new pricing structure and to purchase season seats, visit torontomarlies.com or call the team’s ticket line at 416-597-PUCK.

Maple Leafs Raising Ticket Prices Next Year

2007-05-04T20:07:00.000-05:00

The price for mediocrity has risen for Toronto Maple Leafs season ticket holders.

Leafs season ticket holders will pay nearly six per cent more to watch the Buds at the Air Canada Centre in 2007-08. The highest priced ducats have been raised the most with platinum and gold sides going up to $182 each from $171.52. The lowest priced seats, purples, have been raised to $37 from $34.70.

Richard Peddie, the president and CEO of Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment, refutes the notion they're taking advantage of a captive audience. He notes that subscribers were notified of the increase in February and 99 per cent have renewed.

"Show me businesses that have not passed on costs of the last three, four years," said Peddie. "That's not being greedy. I think in real dollars that dollar today is still worth less in real buying terms to us than it was four years ago because we're not keeping up with inflation. I think our behaviour in the last couple of years has not been greedy at all."

Randy Starkman for the Toronto Star

And if you disagree with the increase - you can always join the Senators fan club!

Prime Time Sports Summary - May 2, 2007

2007-05-03T19:20:00.000-05:00

Here are the NHL Stories from Prime Time Sports last night (National Hour):

Host: Bob McCown
Guests: Jim Kelley from Roger Sportsnet
NHL Call-In: Al Morganti from Comcast Sports and Eric Duhatschek from the Globe & Mail

Main NHL Story:
The Shane Doan incident. Doan was accused 17 months ago of making a "French-Canadian" slur during an NHL game. Doan has been named the captain of the Canadian over in Russia. Duhatschek, who has known Doan for a long time, said that this is really uncharacteristic of Doan and also the NHL is known being strict on things like this and yet they are coming to his defense - therefore the investigation the NHL did must have proved that Doan didn't say what the government is alleging he said and case closed. Morganti said the story really hasn't hit the US, but Morganti just can't believe this story - he thought Canada had more common sense. Morganti feels this is all politically driven and he feels sorry for Doan. Kelley brought up the fly in the ointment point that the official involved said under oath that a french slur was said during a lawsuit between the official and Doan. Kelley asked, did the NHL do enough research? Duhatschek said during the NHL investigation they concluded that something was said, but it definitely wasn't Doan and no one will say it was them - drawing the blame away from Doan. Duhatschek said that all three officials should submit a deposition about what they saw and heard on the ice. Duhatschek goes one step further and said if Doan is "acquitted" what will the Canadian government do to rebuild his reputation? Morganti brought up the fact of Don Cherry and why does he get away with it, especially given his position.
John Tavares - The 16 year old phenom of the OHL. McCown feels that he is flying under the radar and wants to know why. Duhatschek suggested that because Tavares hasn't played internationally for Canada, yet and the people out west haven't seen much of him. Duhatschek said that give him sometime and within 2 years Tavares will be a household name. Morganti said there really isn't too much of a buzz about him now, outside of hockey people, and really in the US no one has heard of him or cares, simply because they have Crosby and Ovechkin already to watch and also some of young USA players (Jack Johnson, etc) deserve some of the spotlight right now, but his time will come. McCown said if he was a GM he would attempt to suck by the time that draft year comes up.
Phoenix Coyotes GM Position - The GM list has been shortened and a decision is due soon. Will Gretzky still have a say? Duhatschek says yes and also says it's hard to pick who will get that role as there are so many potential GMs out there, some new and some with only a year of experience. McCown asked Morganti - should Wayne's name be on the list. Morganti said no. Given Wayne's track record as a coach and his only GM experience is with Team Canada (which is a different pool altogether).

Prime Time Sports Summary - May 1, 2007

2007-05-02T17:37:00.000-05:00

Here are the NHL Stories from Prime Time Sports last night (National Hour):

Host: Bob McCown
Guests: Jim Kelley from Roger Sportsnet

Main NHL Story: Both Kelley and McCown talked to Ron Foxcroft of FOX40, who has co-created the "Precision Time System." This system is currently being used by the NBA and the NHL is considering looking into implementing it next season. You can read more about the system and how it works here. The reason this system has come to light was because of the late goal scored by Sergei Brylin of the Devils against the Ottawa Senators the other night. Foxcroft said that his company has finalized the system and is waiting for the NHL to make a decision on its use.

Bullets: Kelley talked about the politics surrounding the Shane Doan incident.

Sundin Update

2007-05-01T21:08:00.000-05:00

After the rumour broke this morning, there has been a flurry of stories and comments going around:

Howard Berger talks on his blog why this rumour is just another reason why Mats should part ways with Toronto.

The Toronto Star reported that Mats' agent and the Leafs had denied the rumours.

Then, David Shoalts at the Globe & Mail confirmed the story further.

On Leafs Lunch, their main thought was that this wasn't a story to get at Mats, but rather one to get JFJ out of the GM role. You can listen to the podcast here.

Prime Time Sports Summary - April 30, 2007

2007-05-01T20:32:00.000-05:00

Here are the NHL Stories from Prime Time Sports last night (National Hour):

Host: Bob McCown
Guests: Gord Kirke, a sports lawyer and Jim Kelley from Roger Sportsnet

Main NHL Story: Kelley brought up, after talking about how boring Baseball is, that this years playoffs are dead boring. Kelley was shocked that even the Sabres are playing "bore yourself to win." McCown interjected by saying the NHL did its best to attempt to change the game for the better, however the GMs refuse to change and are finding ways to keep the game as boring as it was pre-lockout. Kirke brought up that since this game is built around money, the teams want to find ways to win because winning brings in the cash. Everyone from the President to the Players want more money and the only way to get it is to win. Playing entertaining hockey will not fill the vault and it will not get you the wins you need. McCown then traced the rule changes back to when they were introduced and moved forward to prove that the new rules have been negated and it is now time again for the NHL to look at making further changes to its league. McCown's suggestion is to move to 4-on-4. Kelley didn't respond well to that comment, but felt that major changes are needed. He feels opening the nets will make a difference and making 2 minute penalties permanent - i.e. the player serves the full 2 minutes regardless if a goal is scored or not. The roundtable then discussed the levels of scoring in the league - which are up, however the ice seems crowded. McCown then moved to comparing the OHL and the NHL to the past - where in the past the OHL had high scoring games and then they made rule changes, but still are experiencing low scoring games, like the NHL. So the problem is not only with the NHL, but seems to be with hockey in general. Kelley said the league went back to the "old school" when mid-season (this year) the defencemen became more aggressive and got away with some big hits and with clearing guys out from in front of the net. This lead to coaches all around the league telling their teams to be more aggressive, as it seems some of the "new" rules are being laxed. McCown felt Kelley was wrong and he blamed the problem on the size of the player. Under the new NHL system the smaller player was to get a chance to shine and not be a liability on the ice. This would hopefully filter down to the OHL and lower and we should expect to see a new wave of hockey players both big and small, but all with strong talents. Kirke talked about how, when he was agent, the only thing that mattered was size. Kelley said that if Sean Avery is the face of the NHL, the NHL is not doing their job. Another example was Gary Roberts going to the Penguins - they got him because they needed grit. It seems that last year that grit wasn't needed - look at the Hurricanes of last year. This year it seems that that "grit" factor is something that every team needs to survive in the playoffs. The roundtable discussed the fact the grit is drawing in people to watch and can help bring more people to the arena - the reason why Avery went to NY. McCown then brought up the tender statistics in the OHL - where goalies, on average, have a GAA under 3. The NHL has basically become soccer on ice. Kirke had one last comment on the NHL and "entertainment value." Kirke felt that those who judge what "entertainment" is, think that the rough stuff is more entertaining than high scoring, wide open games. McCown agreed saying that the media is mainly built with "tough guys" preaching how such and such a team has to get tougher or find more grit in order to compete - guys like Cherry, Kypreos, Domi, etc. All around the roundtable felt that losing the red line has only lead to "dump and chase" hockey, which then becomes a small vs. big battle in the corners. Kelley talked about the American view on hockey - they want to see scoring, if they don't, they are simply watching pong on ice. The league has to make some changes for the future.

Sundin Needs Hip Surgery?

2007-05-01T07:12:00.000-05:00

From Steve Simmons at the Toronto Sun

Mats Sundin's future in Toronto -- and his future as a National Hockey League player -- suddenly is in question after it was learned yesterday that the Maple Leafs captain requires hip surgery.

According to a source in the medical community, Sundin needs surgery almost immediately to repair a hip problem, complicating his still-to-be determined contractual status with the Leafs.

It isn't known which hip requires the repair.

The hip trouble and surgery is similar, the source says, to the operation that all but ended Alexander Mogilny's career as an NHL player at the age of 37.

Sundin, coming off his lowest goal-scoring total in a decade, turns 37 himself in February.

The Maple Leafs hold an option on Sundin's contract for next season but already have hinted that it is their intention to sign the long-time centre with a two-year or three-year extension.

For Sundin to be ready in time for next season, assuming there is a next season, he would need to have the surgery sooner rather than later. In recent years, any Leaf player needing hip surgery went to Dr. Marc Phillipon in Pittsburgh.

If the Leafs' off-season status wasn't already complicated enough, dealing with the Sundin situation makes it all the more so. For one thing, general manager John Ferguson has yet to be confirmed to return next season. Ferguson, meanwhile, has to make a decision now on what do about his captain's situation.

In the past, Ferguson got himself into some difficulty signing Ed Belfour to a long-term contract before determining the goalie needed back surgery. Considering the heat Ferguson took on the Belfour contract, would he be willing to take that leap of faith again -- and still, will he be given the authority to do so?

Recently, Ferguson did sign wayward forward Boyd Devereaux to a two-year contract even though Devereaux had wrist surgery in this off-season.

MAINLY GOOD HEALTH

Sundin has been a picture of good health and consistency for most of his 12 years as a Leaf. Not only has he led the Leafs in point scoring in 11 of those seasons, he was, on average, 16 points better than the second-leading scorer on the team. While he has missed only 43 regular-season games to health issues as a Leaf -- which are mind-boggling numbers -- he has been injured more frequently in recent years.

It isn't known if Sundin's hip is considering degenerative nor is it known if he suffers from osteoarthritis, the conditions that is hastening the end of Mogilny's career.

NHL Award Nominees Will Be Announced Tomorrow

2007-04-30T19:37:00.000-05:00

Canadian Press

NEW YORK — Sidney Crosby of the Pittsburgh Penguins and Roberto Luongo of the Vancouver Canucks are expected to be among the nominees for the Hart Trophy when the NHL announces the award finalists Tuesday.

The league will also announce finalists for the Jack Adams Award (outstanding coach), Calder Memorial Trophy (outstanding rookie), James Norris Memorial Trophy (outstanding all-around defenceman), Frank J. Selke Trophy (outstanding defensive forward), Vezina Trophy (outstanding goaltender) and Lady Byng Memorial Trophy (sportsmanship and gentlemanly conduct).

Nominees for the NHLPA's Lester B. Pearson Award (most outstanding player as voted by players) will also be announced Tuesday.

The winners will be announced June 14 in Toronto.

Crosby and Luongo could be in the mix for both the Hart (NHL MVP) and Pearson Award. Other viable candidates include Martin Brodeur of the New Jersey Devils, Vincent Lecavalier of the Tampa Bay Lightning and Joe Thornton of the San Jose Sharks.

The 19-year-old Crosby became the youngest player in history to win the Art Ross Trophy as the NHL's top scorer with 120 points (36-84) in 79 games while also sporting a plus-10 rating.

"In addition to leading this team, there's the added pressure of being the go-to guy off the ice for the league," Pens GM Ray Shero told The Canadian Press last month. "But on the ice it doesn't affect him at all. It's hard not to say enough good things about the kid.

"He's a team-first player. He never takes a shift off. When your best player is your hardest-working player, it's great."

Luongo was second in the NHL with 47 wins as well as fourth in the league with a .921 save percentage and sixth with a 2.29 goals-against average, by the far the biggest reason in Vancouver's surprising season, playing 76 of his team's 82 games.

Brodeur has a strong case as well, topping the NHL with a record 48 wins while posting a 2.18 GAA and .922 save percentage while also registering a career-high 12 shutouts.

Thornton, last year's Hart and Art Ross winner, finished second in scoring with 114 points (22-92) in 82 games while Lecavalier was right behind at 108 points (52-56), leading the NHL in goals.

Evgeni Malkin of the Penguins and Paul Stastny of the Colorado Avalanche are the favourites for the Calder and that's not surprising given they finished 1-2 in NHL rookie scoring. Also worthy of consideration are Jordan Staal of the Penguins, Anze Kopitar of the Los Angeles Kings, and San Jose Sharks blue-liners Matt Carle and Marc-Edouard Vlasic.

The Norris could once again be a battle between the usual suspects, Nicklas Lidstrom of the Detroit Red Wings and the Anaheim Ducks dynamic duo of Scott Niedermayer and Chris Pronger although Dan Boyle of the Tampa Bay Lightning, Sergei Zubov of the Dallas Stars and Chris Phillips of the Ottawa Senators also merit consideration.

Lidstrom picked up his fourth Norris in five seasons last year.

The candidates are once again numerous for the Jack Adams. One can make a case for Alain Vigneault in Vancouver, Randy Carlyle in Anaheim, Mike Babcock in Detroit, Michel Therrien in Pittsburgh and reigning winner Lindy Ruff in Buffalo, among others.

Luongo and Brodeur will surely be finalists for the Vezina and should be joined by either Detroit's Dominik Hasek or Calgary's Miikka Kiprusoff, last year's winner.

The NHL's best defensive forward is a wide-open race this season. Jay Pandolfo of the Devils, Samuel Pahlsson of the Ducks, Henrik Zetterberg of the Wings and Mike Fisher of the Senators all merit consideration.

Carlo Colaiacovo Undergoes Successful Knee Surgery

2007-04-30T18:48:00.000-05:00

Toronto Maple Leafs defenceman Carlo Colaiacovo will spend the early part of the NHL off-season working his way back from Sunday's arthroscopic knee surgery.

Colaiacovo, who is expected to begin his rehabilitation in two weeks, had been bothered by a sore leg since a March 13 game against Tampa Bay.

But the 24-year-old Toronto native continued to play and finished the season with a career-best eight goals and 17 points in 48 games. He also ranked fourth among the Leafs' regular six defencemen in plus-minus (plus-5).

Colaiacovo, a first-round pick of the Leafs in 2001 (17th overall), had his share of injuries this season, his first full campaign with the Maple Leafs:

He was sidelined last October because of post-concussion symptoms, stemming from a concussion suffered on Jan. 23, 2006.
He suffered a fractured finger later that month when he blocked a shot during a conditioning stint with the American Hockey League's Toronto Marlies.
In December 2006, a head injury cost him three games.

In 73 career NHL regular-season games, Colaiacovo has 10 goals and 26 points.

Prime Time Sports Summary - April 27, 2007

2007-04-28T17:29:00.000-05:00

Here are the NHL Stories from Prime Time Sports last night (National Hour):

Host: Bob McCown
Guests: Stephen Brunt from the Globe & Mail, Gord Kirke, a sports lawyer, James Deacon from the Fan590

Main NHL Story: McCown started off with bringing up the issue that some people are not overly thrilling with the CBC's broadcasting team for the 2007 NHL Playoffs. The discussion was rooted in that people grow up watching hockey and listening to "one voice." For McCown's era it was the Hewitt's. Now, when HNIC broadcasts with someone such as Jim Hughson instead of their go to guys "Bob Cole, Harry Neale, etc" people feel it takes away from the game. However, the show must go on and people will have to get use to a variety of different voices. The roundtable agreed that Hughson would be next in line for Bob Cole's position. The roundtable discussed what made a "good" broadcaster. Deacon also mentioned that fact that CBC doesn't seem to have a team lined up to take over their "common" broadcasters. The roundtable continued to discuss who could possibly fill in for the Bob Cole's and the Harry Neale's. The final question was: Is this Bob Cole's last year? No one would really say either way "on the record," but they did conclude that it wouldn't be them, it would be the 25-35 year old market that should decide the fate of Bob Cole. McCown then asked about TSN's Pierre McGuire. The roundtable agreed that he works hard to understand the game, however is sometimes afraid to deeply critique a team - he's simply too nice of a guy.

Prime Time Sports Summary - April 26, 2007

2007-04-28T17:16:00.000-05:00

Here are the NHL Stories from Prime Time Sports last night (National Hour):

Host: Bob McCown
Guests: Stephen Brunt from the Globe & Mail,
NHL Phone In: Eric Duhatschek from the Globe & Mail

Main NHL Story: Duthatschek was live at Joe Louis Arena. The main reason for talking to Duhatschek is that McCown feels this will be the best series of round 2. Duhatschek gave a run down of each team and the injuries facing both teams (mainly the Red Wings). Duhatschek talked about the injury to Detroit's Holstrom and the Sharks' Cheechoo. Hat said that Holstrom is out indefinately and Cheechoo seems to be getting back to 100%. Brunt brought up the fact that Detroit isn't selling out the games. Hat replied that simply the prices at Joe Louis are too expensive and the views aren't that good. Mix that with the weak economy in Detroit and Windsor and you get the situation facing the Red Wings. McCown moved on to the fact that San Jose's powerplay has been lacking in the playoffs (2 for 30). Duhatschek feels that the Sharks aren't too worried about the powerplay and it Ron Wilson says it will fix itself. Brunt moved the discussion to the "age" of the Detroit team - can they withstand a run to the cup? Duhatschek replied that the Detroit's better players are more on the young side (Lidstrom, Zetterburg, Datsyuk) and the only real issue lies with Hasek - who seems to be "fresh" and showing no signs of wear. The one thing that may cause a problem is travel. Detroit having to travel out to the west coast constantly will tire them out - it has tired out Duhatschek.

Prime Time Sports Summary - April 25, 2007

2007-04-26T18:02:00.000-05:00

Here are the NHL Stories from Prime Time Sports last night (National Hour):

Host: Bob McCown
Guests: Stephen Brunt from the Globe & Mail,
NHL Phone In: Al Morganti from Comcast Sports and Neil Smith, former GM of the Islanders

Main NHL Story: Smith was subbing in for Eric Duhatschek. Smith and McCown started off reacquainted themselves with each other. First issue: Peter Forsberg - has he played his last NHL game? Morganti says that this is true and the problems he had with his ankle showed how much of a "diva" he was. He was such a distraction for both teams he played with this year and because he is injured there is no way anyone will pay the high price his agent commands. McCown took Morganti's point about the distraction to ask - would the Predators have gone further without Forsberg? Both Smith and Morganti agree that he didn't hurt the team, but he didn't really help the team either. Brunt and Smith then went on a tangent to talk about deadline deals made in the NHL. Smith said that the deals that work out are ones that don't affect the core of the team - and Forsberg's deal did impact the core. Brunt and Smith went on to talk about other deals that did and did not work out in the past and this season. McCown then moved on to a comment made by NY Rangers coach Tom Rennie, when he said that he didn't think Buffalo was the "cream of the crop." McCown asked Smith if this type of thing affects the series or the play of the game. Smith or Morganti said the comments made by Rennie usually have no impact on the game - especially given the underdog position of the NY Rangers. McCown's next discussion was on the bet placed by Buffalo's Mayor to New York's Mayor about the outcome of the series and the dismissal by Mayor Bloomberg of the bet. McCown said this was just a chance for Buffalo's mayor to get his name in the paper.
Round 2 Predictions:
Sabres vs. Rangers - Smith said the Rangers really have a chance against this Buffalo team, simply due to some of the acquisitions made at the trade deadline. Their play down the stretch and the return of Brendan Shanahan may give them a fight in the series, but overall the Sabres should easily win this series.
Devils vs. Senators - Morganti holds his faith in Brodeur and that he will be able to push his team through to the Eastern Finals. Neil Smith agrees that the Devils will move forward in this series based on the tender and the playoff experience.
Canucks vs. Ducks - Morganti says there really is no chance for the Canucks to beat this powerful Ducks team. Smith agrees, plus with the injuries and sicknesses the Canucks are facing is just too much for the Canucks to overcome.
Red Wings vs. Sharks - Smith calls the Red Wings on this one. Morganti also picked Detroit to win, based on their toughness. McCown feels the Sharks will win - based on his points system...

Leafs Re-Sign Boyd Devereaux

2007-04-26T17:56:00.000-05:00

TORONTO (CP) -- The Toronto Maple Leafs re-signed forward Boyd Devereaux to a two-year, US$1.15-million contract, the club announced Thursday.

Devereaux, 29, will earn $550 in the 2007-08 season and $600 in 08-09.

The Seaforth, Ont., native has played 542 NHL games with Edmonton, Detroit, Phoenix and Toronto collecting 150 points (54 goals, 96 assists) with 179 penalty minutes.

Originally Edmonton's first choice, sixth overall, in the 1996 NHL Entry Draft, Devereaux initially signed with the Maple Leafs on October 7, 2006 and was assigned to the Toronto Marlies of the American Hockey League where he played in 30 games.

He was recalled by the Leafs on December 28, 2006, where he finished the season, collecting 19 points (eight goals, 11 assists) with 12 penalty minutes in 33 games.

Devereaux was a member of the 2002 Stanley Cup Champion Detroit Red Wings setting career-highs in games played (79) and goals (nine).

Prime Time Sports Summary - April 24, 2007

2007-04-25T18:37:00.000-05:00

Here are the NHL Stories from Prime Time Sports last night (National Hour):

Host: Bob McCown
Guests: Stephen Brunt from the Globe & Mail,
NHL Phone In: Stephen Walkom, Director of Officiating for the NHL

Main NHL Story: Having Walkom call in to the program, meant that the discussion would focus mainly on the officiating in the NHL. McCown opened up with talking about how rough this years playoffs are. McCown discussed how the "goonery" seems to have moved through the regular season and into the playoffs. Brunt talked to Walkom about the preparation the referees must do during the pre-playoffs meetings. Walkom says his meetings have the goal of trying to keep things consistent, with specific areas (around crease, checks to the head, etc) being emphasized a bit more. McCown moved on to the topic that the media have been talking about the change in the officiating near the end of the season. The officiating seemed to get more lenient. Walkom replied that nothing has changed, nor did he implement a change. Walkom reiterated that his refs have been consistent all season and the GMs are happy with the way the game is being called. Brunt asked if there ever is a time where a change in the way the game is being called must be done "on the fly." Walkom said his refs mainly look for new tendencies with the players and try to adapt to that. The example he gave was that players got used to putting their sticks between the opponents skates, however later in the season the players began putting their sticks between the skates and twisting it. Walkom said the refs just try to stay ahead of the curve. Brunt moved on to goaltender interference and asked if there is any point where the tender is fair game - Walkom said that the call is really up to the refs judgment about whether the player had intent to hit the goalie. McCown asked Walkom about diving and whether there are statistics about the diving now versus diving before the lockout. Walkom said that he feels diving is definitely down and because more attention is being paid to it, the players are less inclined to dive. Brunt talked about the Flames/Red Wings battle of Game 5. He asked whether there was anything the refs did to try to prevent this type of incident from happening. Walkom agreed that the refs knew something like this was going to happen eventually, and he feels the two refs that night handled the situation well. The problem with the refs is they can't call something that hasn't happened and unfortunately they have to have it happen before they can make the call. McCown moved the topic to the refs themselves and the selections made for each of the playoff rounds. McCown mainly wanted to know if Kerry Fraser could be brought back to ref in round 2. Walkom said the guys there right now are doing a great job and barring any injuries, there is no chance he will come in for this playoffs. McCown pushed the "grading" process further. He asked what the most important thing was that he look for in the refs. Walkom talked about the officials that earn the right to get a great rating. Reactions, responses and skating are some the key things that are looked for. McCown talked about negative rating as well, how a ref doing a poor job is easier to cross of the list, than looking for a good ref to advance to the next playoff round. Walkom mentioned that he does not use this system and that sometimes refs do recover and do earn the chance to get a great rating and move on. Walkom said the refs really are a great bunch of guys who support each other throughout the playoffs, even if they don't get the chance to move. McCown also talked about ref pairings and Walkom said that he does try to match up refs that work well together and possibly keep the pair together as they move through the playoffs. Overall, Walkom said the refs are just like a hockey team and some guys have bad nights, some have good night, some work well together and some don't.

Round 2 Begins

2007-04-24T20:43:00.000-05:00

Here are your Round 2 match ups:

Eastern Conference

Buffalo Sabres vs. New York Rangers

New Jersey Devils vs. Ottawa Senators

Western Conference

Detroit Red Wings vs. San Jose Sharks

Anaheim Ducks vs. Vancouver Canucks

Games start tomorrow!

Prime Time Sports Summary - April 23, 2007

2007-04-24T19:42:00.000-05:00

Here are the NHL Stories from Prime Time Sports last night (National Hour):

Host: Bob McCown
Guests: Stephen Brunt from the Globe & Mail, Tom Wright, ex-Commissioner of the CFL

Main NHL Story: The NHL Rule Changes. McCown and Brunt feel the NHL has gone back to the "old style" for this years playoffs. The low scoring games with lots of violence really makes it look the like the NHL has gone back to the pre-lockout style of game. Brunt and Wright have said the Vancouver v. Dallas series has been very deliberate and boring. Wright brought up the point that the GMs and coaches have figured out how to survive in this new style of game and all you really need to do is get a quick lead and then sit back on it. The playoff have also showed some really non-competitive games - the NY Rangers/Atlanta series was the case in point. Brunt said the league was very competitive heading into the playoffs and most hockey experts were saying how difficult it would be to pick the series winners, however the playoffs have been a complete opposite with most series ending in 5 games. Brunt also said that the goaltending might have an impact on why the playoffs are less exciting than the regular season - pretty much every series has been a competition of tenders. McCown mentioned, using his 4, 3, 2, 1 NHL point system, that San Jose would be the team to beat, as using his system San Jose jumped from 6th to 1st overall in the NHL. And that really shows how powerful this years San Jose team is. San Jose's ability to beat what seemed like a powerful Nashville team, showed how they have a chance at the Cup this year. Brunt brought up the point that it is unfortunate for Nashville, as that was their window of opportunity and they now might be forced to move cities because of the money they spent and the lack of playoff revenues.
McCown moved to the next topic of the "roughness" within the playoffs. The discussion mainly focussed around the Detroit v. Calgary series and when it comes down to it, teams will do anything to win or attempt to win. This moved into the roundtable talking about the fact that the league hasn't changed - the dinosaurs are not extinct. McCown was mainly upset with the trap and how more teams are using it than ever. This moved on to Brian Burke, GM of the Ducks, and how he feels teams have got to still be big and tough - something the NHL said it isn't anymore - but look how well Burke's team is doing in this year's playoffs. Burke has been able to manufacture a team for the NHL at this moment, a team that has skill, but also has a bunch of tough players that are willing to rough someone up and eat up 8 to 10 minutes of ice team. Brunt said if the Ducks win the Cup in 2007, you will begin to see many copycat teams next year in the NHL - which is exactly what the NHL doesn't want. McCown, concluded that the "new" game is not working - goons are still around, the neutral zone is clogged and the scores are down.

Bullets: Sidney Crosby; the Pens can talk to him as early as this summer, even though he still has a year left on his contract. McCown believes that Crosby will ask for the maximum 20% of the cap, but as well, he will want more than the 20% and the Pens will find a way to get around the 20% rule. Wright disagreed, saying that the NHL will sick lawyers on the teams that try this. Brunt responded by saying that the NHL will eventually have to do something, because they have the toughest cap system in pro sports - a hard cap where players salaries are guaranteed. Teams will start getting themselves into deep financial trouble if their team does not succeed based on management's signings. The future of the NHL will have one star player per team and a majority of them will be on the brink of bankruptcy if they attempt or do sign another star. The roundtable discussed possible future Crosby contracts - i.e. 10 year contract for $10 million a year with clauses in there that will make it possible for it to go up if the cap goes up. Overall, Crosby will get his money either through working around the 20% rule or moving to a big city and feeding off the endorsements. Either way we can guarantee that Crosby will be and is a rich man.

Prime Time Sports Summary - April 20, 2007

2007-04-21T18:13:00.000-05:00

Here are the NHL Stories from Prime Time Sports last night (National Hour):

Host: Mike Toth
Guests: Jim Kelley from Rogers Sportsnet, James Deacon from the FAN590 and Michael Grange from the Globe & Mail

Main NHL Story: The roundtable first talked about a breaking news release about Sean Hill being suspended for 20 games by the NHL for violating the drug policy. The story was very unclear at the point and the roundtable decided to discuss drugs and the NHL. They mentioned how Sean was the first player to be prosecuted under this drug policy and most likely he will come out to the media with a "tainted supplement" story, because as Kelley said - the cheaters are usually way ahead of the testers. They also discussed the risk Hill was taking given that he is going to be a UFA come July 1st. Will a team want to pick up a guy who will miss the first quarter of the season? This discussion flowed right out into society - so many people are taking risks to be better, whether it is steroids or cosmetic surgery, etc. And given that Hill was an 8th round pick, he needed to find a way to make a living playing in the NHL and making NHL money.
Discussion moved to the playoffs. On the west coast, the Flames are staying in the series. Kelley made an analysis of why - the Flames power play and the play of Hasek. Kelley says that Hasek is a person whose skin you can get under very quickly and it seems that Jerome Iginla has gotten under it. Kelley suggested that if Hasek continues to be "distracted", Babcock might be forced to play Chris Osgood. Deacon brought up the play of Todd Bertuzzi - he is a physical presence on the ice and will help the Red Wings in their quest for the Cup. The roundtable then went off-topic about the fact that Bertuzzi shouldn't even be in the NHL right now...however, Toth cut that short with a comment about how boring the Vancouver-Dallas series was. Grange talked about the possible curse that will now be put on Marty Turco if Dallas end up losing this series. Toth (who found the series boring) quickly moved on to Ottawa, saying just to P.O. the Ottawa listeners that Toronto still would have beat the Senators, even if the Penguins couldn't.
The roundtable then had the chance to talk to Bill Daly about the Sean Hill suspension. Kelley mainly took over the questioning. Kelley first asked what Hill test positive for and Daly declined comment based on confidentiality. Kelley then asked about the time line. Daly said that through the new CBA, a player who tests positive has the chance to appeal before any suspension is brought down. Therefore, in Hill's case the positive test could have been made much earlier in the season. Kelley then asked about how the process works and what was new since the CBA. Daly talked about how each players can be tested up to 3 times during the season and will be NOT be paid if they are suspended under this policy. Toth chimed in about the timing and Daly said that it doesn't matter about timing and they proved in this case that they will suspend any player who violates the policy regardless of where the season is along the schedule. Kelley asked if this was their only case and Daly agreed. Toth asked about the next steps - Daly said that Hill will be referred to a NHL sponsored drug program where he will spend 2 years and will be monitred. Kelley asked that since their was no law enforcement involved that the substance was performance enhancing only and Daly agreed. Kelley's closing thought was that this was inevitable and he complements the NHL on their testing policy given that previously it seemed, to Dick Pound at least, that it was weak.

The Gretzky Situation: The roundtable discussed this article about the Coyotes and the way the team is like a "country club with no plan in place for the future." Kelley found Jeff Shumways comments to be pro-Gretzky. It appeared that Shumway was blaming Gretzky for the Coyotes problems, however he seemed to have the support Gretzky. Shumway really sent a mixed message here by doing this article, yet letting Gretzky escape with his job. James Deacon mentioned that another interview with Shumway was done after this report, in which Shumway said there WAS a plan, except the two plans were different between the owners and the coaches. The old owner wanted to win right now, whilst Gretzky and Barnett wanted to build with youth.

Last Night In The Playoffs

2007-04-21T08:51:00.000-05:00

3 games last night and 2 eliminations.

The Sabres got rid of the Islanders by a score of 4-3. The Isles staged a strong comeback in the third, but it wasn't enough. Also, Islanders defenceman Sean Hill was suspended by the NHL for 20 games just hours before the game for violating the NHL Drug Policy.

The Sharks got rid of the Predators 3-2, with a late goal by Patrick Marleau. It is sad that one of these teams had to exit the playoffs in the first round.

New Jersey took the series lead with a win over the Lightning. The Devils won 3-0, looks like Broudeur found his playoff form.

Prime Time Sports Summary - April 19, 2007

2007-04-20T19:39:00.000-05:00

Here are the NHL Stories from Prime Time Sports last night (National Hour):

Host: Bob McCown
Guests: Jim Kelley from Rogers Sportsnet

Main NHL Story: Unfortunately, there were no NHL stories from today.

Last Night In The Playoffs

2007-04-20T10:56:00.000-05:00

A couple more teams can finally book their tee times...

Ottawa beat the Penguins 3-0, to send Sid and friends home for the season. This series was a real let down overall, but I am positive this is not the last we have seen of the Penguins and the playoffs.

Minnesota was also sent packing, as they lost to Anaheim 4-1. Not much surprise here, Anaheim is a tough team to beat.

Vancouver lost 1-0 to the Stars. Somehow Dallas is hanging in there.

Calgary beat the Wings 3-2 at home - go figure. I think this was more Hasek's fault than the home ice.

Prime Time Sports Summary - April 18, 2007

2007-04-19T19:46:00.000-05:00

Here are the NHL Stories from Prime Time Sports last night (National Hour):

Host: Bob McCown
Guests: Jim Kelley from Rogers Sportsnet
NHL Phone In: Al Morganti from Comcast Sports and Eric Duhatschek from the Globe & Mail

Main NHL Story: Today was PTS' weekly NHL phone in by Mrogant and Duhatschek. The main topic was the firing of Don MacLean by the Columbus Blue Jackets. At the time of the conversation the firing had not yet officially occurred, but most of the Hockey Pucks points were quite relevant. The general consensus was that MacLean was fired because of the revenues the Columbus management was not seeing. Duhatschek brought up the point that over the 6 life of the team, the first year was their best. Even with the acquisitions of Rick Nash, Sergei Federov, etc, they were not able to get a better record than the inaugural team; which was full of NHL castaways and had Ron Tugnutt playing net. Management had felt they had given MacLean ample time to make this team decent and match the other expansion teams, who all are doing quite well. Morganti brought up the fact that he could see this coming as far back as the Hitchcock signing. When Morganti interviewed Hitchcock, post-hiring, it seemed to Morganti that Hitchcock was hired by the upper echelons of the Blue Jackets and MacLean had really no say. No matter what happened in Columbus, MacLean just signed a three-year contract last summer, so he will be taken care of in-between jobs.
McCown asked the Hockey Pucks who would be next in line for the GM position. Hat suggested Dave Taylor, Jimmy Nill, David McNabb and Steve Tambellini. Tambellini being his number one choice. Morganti suggested Neil Smith or Hitchcock himself could step into the role. However, Kelley responded that Hitchcock wants another Stanley Cup and wants to do it as a coach, not a GM. Further to that point, the Carolina Hurricanes made the right decision at the right time given that Columbus and possible other NHL teams will be looking for a new GM and Rutherford, for sure, would have been at the top of that list had he not re-signed.
Another topic discussed briefly was the attention Hockey Night In Canada is paying to the officiating in the NHL. Hat mentioned that this topic always comes up on the Satellite Hot Stove and you can't let it get to you, the officiating and calls will balance out over the year and by isolating specific incidents will only raise your blood pressure. Morganti said he needs to be talked about, especially in Canada, because the NHL is going around touting that this is the best NHL ever and there is nothing wrong with the league. And as long as Canadians are talking about the flaws, the NHL still has pressure to enhance the game.

Damien Cox's Mailbag

2007-04-19T12:36:00.000-05:00

It's Thursday and that means Toronto Star writer answers some Leaf questions from the fans:

Thursday's Mail Bag

Here is one of the better questions:

Q: Damien; I enjoy your insight into the game and share many of your views. I have never subscribed to the view that Leaf fans would not stand for a complete over haul of the club. An overhaul that would leave the club in a non competitive position for a period of time, perhaps with the playoffs being a distant dream for another couple of seasons. Do you think that the Board will give, or should give JFJ, should he be retained, the latitude to blow up this ship and rebuild from the bottom up? I for one would welcome it.

Jeff Ostic, Fergus, Ont.

A: You’re not the only one, that’s for sure. The “blow up the Leafs” support group may be larger than the Green Party these days.

Would the Leaf board support such a plan? Doubtful. More to the point, this is a organization just as dedicated – or more dedicated – to profits as on-ice success, so a plan that involves multiple years outside the Stanley Cup playoffs wouldn’t interest them.

Finally, people often cite such an approach as though it had a guaranteed outcome. But there’s no guarantee that finishing low in the standings would necessarily net quality young players, and while everybody loves the Pittsburgh Penguins right now you can look no further than the Washington Capitals or Chicago Blackhawks to understand being lousy may also mean you stay lousy.

Last Night In The Playoffs

2007-04-19T10:44:00.000-05:00

We are starting to see the end of the Round 1 with one elimination last night and few more, possibly, tonight.

The NY Rangers ended the playoffs for the Thrashers, by beating them 4-2. How big of an impact has Sean Avery been for the Rangers?

The Sabres and Chris Drury took care of the Islanders, reassuring us all that Sabres are a Cup contending team, by a score of 4-2.

New Jersey, with the help of a Scott Gomez OT goal, put the Devils back into the series with the Lightning. The Devils won 4-3 to tie the series up at 2 games a piece.

San Jose edged over the Predators 3-2. I am going to miss the play of this series when someone eventually wins - I bet the Sharks.

Prime Time Sports Summary - April 17, 2007

2007-04-18T18:08:00.000-05:00

Here are the NHL Stories from Prime Time Sports last night (National Hour):

Host: Bob McCown
Guests: Jim Kelley from Rogers Sportsnet
NHL Phone In: John Muckler, GM of the Ottawa Senators

Main NHL Story: John Muckler called into the show and both McCown and Kelley talked to him about some of the issues surrounding the Senators. McCown first brought up the state of the series with the Penguins. Muckler commented that it is a very tough series and will continue to be one. The Penguins team is young and fast and Ottawa must match that with skill. McCown continued, mentioning how this series will be seen as a "hurdle" for the Senators to get over, given their past playoff performances. Muckler responded that he knows his team must win in the playoffs, regardless of their regular season performances. Muckler feels that this 2007 team is built differently than previous years and has all the make-up of a playoff winning team. Kelley asked Muckler about the state of his team and why they should be considered a playoff team. Muckler responded with the example of the adversity the team faced when they were plagued with injuries. Those injuries allowed some of their 4th liners and AHL players to prove themselves, which in turn has made the Senators a very deep team in terms of NHL playing time and experience. Muckler really thinks the maturity of Ray Emery will also help them to succeed. Kelley and Muckler talked about the physical side of the series and the playoff on whole and so far Ottawa is winning the physicality battle in the first round. McCown brought up the issue of the Gary Roberts trade and some of the rumours going around the trade. Muckler responded simply with no comment. As was mentioned on AM640's Leafs Lunch yesterday, by Bruce Garroich of the Ottawa Sun, Roberts didn't go to Ottawa because Muckler would not give Florida their first round pick, but I digress. Kelley asked Muckler about his feelings on the officiating so far in the playoffs. Muckler seemed quite happy with the Officials and feels he has a great pair of Refs for the Pens and Sens round. This brought on a discussion about the style of play in the post-lockout era and the officials. Kelley asked Muckler about the play of Daniel Alfredsson, who seems to be playing for vengeance this series, because of the weak defensive move he made on Buffalo's Jason Pominville in last years playoffs, which ended the Senators hopes at the 2006 Stanley Cup. Muckler just said that Alfredsson is playing like a leader, like the captain of the team or, in other words, like he should be. Finally, McCown asked Muckler if he had any feelings about the CBC snub by the NHL on the Saturday night game last week. Muckler said what is best for the NHL will be decided by the NHL.

Bullets:
Jim Kelley and Bob McCown sent their condolences to the family of Gaetan Duchesne, who died of a heart attack at the young age of 44.

Ferguson Has Faith In The Young Guns

2007-04-18T15:00:00.000-05:00

James Murphy from NHL.com reports on the Maple Leafs' Young Guns this week. He talks to JFJ about the future of the Leafs and where the young players fit in.

Read Here.

Last Night In The Playoffs

2007-04-18T11:30:00.000-05:00

There were 5 great games last night and some big turns for a majority of the teams.

The Penguins lose to the Senators 2-1. The Penguins are trying, but the playoff experience of the Sens is starting to show. One more Senators win and they are in Round 2.

The NY Rangers completely destroyed the Thrashers 7-0 last night. Looks like the Rangers star players are coming out of their shells.

Vancouver edged passed the Stars 2-1 and surprisingly this game was over in 60 minutes!

Minnesota finally found their scoring touch as they were able to beat the Ducks 4-1 and keep the series alive.

And Calgary was able to silence the brooms, by winning 3-2 over the Wings at home.

Prime Time Sports Summary - April 16, 2007

2007-04-17T19:21:00.000-05:00

Here are the NHL Stories from Prime Time Sports last night (National Hour):

Host: Bob McCown
Guests: Jim Kelley from Rogers Sportsnet and Gord Kirke, a sports lawyer

Main NHL Story: The roundtable discussed the coaching situation in Calgary. On Monday's Leafs Lunch on AM640, Bill Watters suggested that Darryl Sutter fire Jim Playfair right now - That's right, 2t games INTO the playoffs. Both Kelley and Kirke found this suggestion unreasonable. They feel that the Flames are in too deep right now, both in the season and in tiredness. Suter behind the bench would not turn things around. The main reason why this won't work is that this Flames team isn't the team as the 2004 team that went to the Cup final. The current Flames team can only win at home and just barely squeaked into 8th place. The fact of the matter is, this team is playing like its record and its ability. A good point brought up by Kelley is - would this discussion happen if it were Paul Maurice or Ted Nolan - I don't think so, so why with Playfair? The only situation where Playfair might see his walking papers would be if the Flames go out in 4 games.

Bullets: What would be a bigger let down: Ottawa or Vancouver being knocked out of the playoffs? Both Kirke and Kelley agreed neither as the teams they are playing are good. The Penguins are the team of the future and the Stars has a great record heading into the playoffs. If either lose, which in the roundtable's eyes, is unlikely, Canadians will not be too upset and start chanting "Choke."

Monday In The Playoffs

2007-04-17T11:12:00.000-05:00

There were 3 games last night in the Stanley Cup Tournament:

The Sabres won back their home ice advantage with a 3-2 win over the Islanders.

Vincent Lacavalier strikes again - this time he puts his team in the series lead with a 3-2 win over the Devils.

San Jose came out flying in last night's only Western Conference game with a 3-1 win over Nashville.

Prime Time Sports Summary - April 13, 2007

2007-04-15T20:10:00.000-05:00

Here are the NHL Stories from Prime Time Sports last night (National Hour):
Host: Bob McCown
Guests: Stephen Brunt from the Globe & Mail, James Deacon from the FAN590 and Gord Kirke, a sports lawyer

Main NHL Story: The roundtable discussed the situation in Phoenix again. Specifically, an interview that Cliff Fletcher had earlier in the week on the FAN. Fletcher had mentioned that Gretzky had not yet talked to him, which is very un-Gretzky-like (he usually is on the phone all the time). The roundtable talked about why Gretzky was in Phoenix in the first place - it was to grow the NHL and help out a poor market, however, now with all his friends gone and the team doing poorly, can Phoenix and the NHL afford to get rid of him? Deacon talked about how it usually the case that Great athletes usually make poor coaches, because they think some things are easily done and therefore expect too much for their players. The roundtable agreed that given his current position, and with Mike Smith now gone to Russia, Gretzky should step aside. As was talked about earlier in the week, even if the Coyotes hire a new GM, it will be very difficult to do anything to Gretzky - can a clause be put in his contract that allows him to get rid of the coach with no questions asked. But if the new GM does fire Gretzky, we come full circle and again the question of the Coyotes surviving in Phoenix returns. Overall, the roundtable agrees that, given Cliff Fletcher's past record with teams, that if he was unsuccessful the problem must have lied elsewhere (the coach) and that the only solution is to get rid of Wayne. Deacon brought up the point that given the strong Canadian dollar, the team should get rid of Wayne and move back to Winnipeg.

Canadian GM's
Kevin Lowe will not be fired in the off-season, however he will be in the 2008 off-season if he doesn't turn his team around. If any personnel moves are going to be made in Edmonton, it would be with the coach - he just didn't seem to get the team fired up when they needed to win.

Bob Gainey is 100% safe.

John Ferguson Jr., according to Richard Peddie, has a 50/50 chance of returning to the Leafs. This fact was taken out of the way he spoke during an earlier interview. However, Gordon Kirke, believed that Peddie acted this way because he was responding to the way his players talked to the media on exit interview day. Leafs Nation was quite upset with the positive interviews given by Andrew Raycroft and Darcy Tucker and Peddie was just trying to calm down the Leafs Nation by suggesting that the season wasn't what the organization had hoped for. James Deacon suggested that if a big-name GM becomes available (like with what happened to the Raptors) JFJ can pack his bags, because the Leafs have the money and the reputation that can and should attract top talent.

Bullets:
Rick DiPietro - will attempt to play Game 2- they have to play him over Dubielewicz because of the money they pay him
Mats Sundin - resign or not - everyone agreed that resigning Mats is the best for the Leafs, except for McCown...go figure.

Sundin Guarantees A Stanley Cup

2007-04-15T20:06:00.000-05:00

From today's Toronto Sun, in an interview with Leafs Capitan Mats Sundin, he says "But I will tell you one thing," he said emphatically. "The Toronto Maple Leafs will win the Stanley Cup while I'm still with the team."

Click on the quote to read the full article.

Last Night In The Playoffs

2007-04-15T10:50:00.000-05:00

NHL Playoff Summaries for April 14, 2007.

Sid the Kid was able to tie the series up heading back to Pittsburgh, as the Penguins got a 4-3 win over the Senators.

Zach Parise still continues to light it up for the Devils, however last night his performance was strong enough, as the Lightning tied up the series on a goal by Vincent Lacavalier. Lightning won 3-2.

With DiPietro, the Isles were able to steal one from the Sabres at home, the Islanders beat the Sabres 3-2. The series now heads to the Island.

Finally, the Rangers took a 2-0 series lead with a 2-1 win over the Thrashers, in what was a battle of goaltending.

Last Night In The Playoffs

2007-04-14T10:35:00.000-05:00

Playoff Summaries for Friday April 13th, 2007:

San Jose wasn't able to pull out the win, but they get revenge for Hartnell's hit on Cheechoo. Nashville won the game 5-2.

Dallas tied up the series with a 2-0 win over a tired Canucks team.

The Ducks go up 2-0 in the series with a 3-2 win over the Wild.

Prime Time Sports Summary - April 13, 2007

2007-04-13T15:31:00.000-05:00

Here are the NHL Stories from Prime Time Sports last night (National Hour):

Host: Bob McCown
Guests: Stephen Brunt from the Globe & Mail

Main NHL Story: McCown and Brunt only talked for about 5 minutes on the NHL and it dealt with the fact that in the US, the station broadcasting the Dallas vs. Vancouver game, Versus, cut to an infomercial during the Overtime periods being played. I am surprised anyone was watching Versus at that time of the night in the USA.

Leafs Morning News

2007-04-13T08:53:00.000-05:00

Now the focus in the media has shifted from on the ice to off the ice.

JFJ seems to have won the approval of MLSE President Richard Peddie - National Post

Stephen Brunt of the Globe & Mail writes about the situation at MLSE and why the Raptors have a much better chance of winning a championship than the Leafs do.

Steve Simmons of the Toronto Sun also writes about MLSE, except he has a source inside MLSE to help him and his readers understand what is fact and what is fiction.

The Toronto Star's "Voices" section is also concerning Leafs management.

And finally, some player news:

Bryan McCabe will not have surgery this off-season on his shoulder, except is it likely that Leafs forward Boyd Devereaux will go under knife for the pain he has been having in his ankle.

Also of note, Kyle Wellwood threw out the first pitch at last night's Jays vs. Tigers game. He brought along pals, Ian White, Matt Stajan, Carlo Colaiacovo and Andy Wozniewski.

Last Night In The Playoffs

2007-04-13T08:37:00.000-05:00

Four more Game 1's last night. In my opinion, Wednesday night was a bit better for quality of Hockey, but given that two of last night's games were 1 vs. 8's, it should be expected.

Buffalo's offense was just too much for the Islanders slow moving defense, Buffalo wins Game 1 by a score of 4-1.

New Jersey and Tampa Bay played a tight game right into the 3rd period, however the Devils were able to pull off a 5-3 victory.

Detroit completely dominated the 8th place Flames - and this was predicted to be the upset series! Detroit wins 4-1

Another tight Eastern match-up, has the Rangers squeeze out a victory over the Thrashers by a score of 4-3.

Sundin Turns Down Spot In Worlds

2007-04-12T17:11:00.000-05:00

STOCKHOLM (AP) -- Mats Sundin has turned down an invitation to play for Sweden at the world hockey championship in Russia.

"It's sad, but I can understand his decision," coach Bengt-Ake Gustafsson said Thursday.

The 36-year-old Sundin, whose Toronto Maple Leafs missed the NHL playoffs, was one of the key players on Sweden's team last year when it won the Olympic gold medal.

Alexander Steen of the Leafs is the only NHL player who has accepted an invitation to play for Sweden so far, but several others are expected to join the squad..

Before the world tournament, Sweden will play Russia in a home-and-home series on April 19 and 21 for the European Hockey Tour title and a warmup against the United States in Stockholm on April 25.

The tournament is April 27-May 13 in Moscow, and Sweden is the defending champion.

Prime Time Sports Summary - April 11, 2007

2007-04-12T16:47:00.000-05:00

Here are the NHL Stories from Prime Time Sports last night (National Hour):

Host: Bob McCown
Guests: Stephen Brunt from the Globe & Mail
Uplink: Al Morganti from Comcast Sports and Eric Duhatschek from the Globe & Mail, Scott Moore from CBC Sports

Main NHL Story: McCown talked about 3 NHL topics with the Hockey Pucks." 1) The CBC snub by the NHL; 2) The Phoenix Coyotes firings; and 3) The Playoffs. He talked to Moore about the CBC snub as well.

The CBC Snub: Both analysts believe this was stupid on Gary Bettman's part. Morganti brought up the fact that NBC is not paying a cent to broadcast the NHL in the US and the CBC is paying a lot (even more starting in 2008). Morganti point is that in any other business/profession, money talks - why not in the NHL? Duhatschek mentioned that even though CBC is still under their old agreement with the NHL, they are still paying the NHL to broadcast games. He also did not understand why Bettman thought, that one game would save hockey in the US. McCown responded to that saying that 90% of Americans don't even know the NHL is in the playoffs and even less would know to turn on NBC on Saturday to watch the Pens and the Sens.

The Firings in Phoenix: Basically, the Coyotes had no choice, something had to be done. Wayne Gretzky had been sticking up for GM Mike Barnett for too long and this time, upper management had had enough. Duhatschek brought out the fact of the new CEO and new silent partner in Phoenix, which are forcing Gretzky to get on his horse and do something with the team. The Coyotes have said that they will put in a thorough search for a new GM, which is promising. Possible candidates are Pat Quinn and Dave Taylor. The roundtable moved to the discussion of Gretzky and how the organization is so focussed on one guy, it will be difficult to try and change things around him. Whatever they have to do, it has to be big and long term, because the team has done worse in 2007 than it did in 2006 and they are out of excuses in Phoenix.

Stanley Cup Playoffs: McCown brought up the statistics about 8 vs. 1's and 7 vs. 2's. These statistics show that once a team makes the playoffs, they have a legitimate chance of winning it all. Morganti cited the fact that so much goes into hockey and the game itself that anything can happen and no one team has a dominate presence. The roundtable also talked about the East vs. the West. Duhatschek still stands by that the West is a better division, however the East is more exciting to watch. The reason why the East has one the past three cup? The West simply beat each other up in the regular season/playoffs and are just too gassed to all the way to get the Cup.
Predictions for Cup Winner:
Morganti - Penguins
Duhatschek - Sharks
Brunt - Sabres
McCown - Sharks

Scott Moore Interview: Scott Moore, head of CBC Sports, called in during the last segment of the program to discuss the NHL's decision to play the Pens and Sens game on NBC. Basically, Moore stated his case to Bettman, and Gary just wouldn't listen. The interview was cut short due to time, however, the Globe & Mail article is the best reproduction of the effects on CBC and Moore's thoughts.

Last Night In The Playoffs

2007-04-12T10:06:00.000-05:00

The 2007 Stanley Cup Tournament kicked off last night.

In the East:
Ottawa's defense clearly out-muscled Pittsburgh's offense and won the game 6-3.

In the West:
San Jose blew a 4-2 to lead to Nashville, but got the 5-4 win in the second period of OT.

Anaheim beat Minnesota 2-1 in probably the most uneventful game last night.

Vancouver beat Dallas 5-4 in the 6th longest NHL Playoff game in league history.

Leafs Morning News

2007-04-12T08:23:00.000-05:00

Damien Cox answers Leaf fans questions in the Toronto Star mailbag.

The Toronto Star also comments on Leafs participating in the World Hockey Championship in Moscow at the end of April.

The Toronto Sun reports that it is the Leafs fault why the Pens/Sens game won't be on CBC on Saturday night.

The Sun also reports about a Toronto man who found Johnny Bower's Stanley Cup ring in a parking lot and safely returned it.

Prime Time Sports Summary - April 10, 2007

2007-04-12T08:14:00.000-05:00

Here are the NHL Stories from Prime Time Sports last night (National Hour):

Host: Bob McCown
Guests: David Shoalts from the Globe & Mail

NHL Discussion: There was no hockey discussion today. Stay tuned for tomorrow!

Leafs Morning News

2007-04-11T08:20:00.000-05:00

The Leafs are in Maine looking to sign UMaine star Michel Leveille.

Dave Perkins of the Toronto Star talks about how MLSE management abandoned the Leafs and focussed their efforts elsewhere.

The Star also reports that JFJ isn't sweating about his job, and remains confident that he will be GM next year, despite a rough evaluation from MLSE.

Ferguson and Sundin - Extensions For Both?

2007-04-10T21:29:00.000-05:00

Sundin Sits in Limbo...or does he...?

...David Shoalts from the Globe & Mail has reported that JFJ will get a new deal done with Sundin by June 15th

Shoalts also argues in favour of a contract extension for JFJ

And JFJ himself feels the Leafs are on the right path

Prime Time Sports Summary - April 9, 2007

2007-04-10T18:13:00.000-05:00

Here are the NHL Stories from Prime Time Sports last night (National Hour):

Host: Bob McCown
Guests: David Shoalts and Stephen Brunt from the Globe & Mail

NHL Discussion: Today's roundtable was about the two historic Canadian teams that failed to make the playoffs; the Leafs and the Habs.
The Leafs
The discussion started by going over Shoalts' article he has written in Monday's Globe & Mail. Shoalts outlined in his article (at the bottom) why the Leafs ended up like they did and also gave each Leaf player a "do he add value." Both McCown and Brunt questioned a few of his decisions, but Shoalts was able to deflect a majority of the queries. One point that he did bring up was his ranking of Andrew Raycroft. He gave Raycroft a "sometimes" worth his value and justified it by saying that on the list of NHL goalie salaries Raycroft is ranked 23rd with his $2 million contract - justifiable given that it must mean the NHL has 22 better goaltenders in the league. McCown and Shoalts then brought up the Leafs mistakes; signing Raycroft and signing McCabe. Shoalts discussed the age old argument of why did JFJ give Raycroft a new contract when he entered Toronto with still one year left? Now, given his 2006-2007 performance, the Leafs will be unable to trade for him and will be forced to spend about $700k - $1 million on getting a decent back-up tender. The McCabe contract was, like everyone thinks, just a bad move on JFJ's part. The guy is untradable - the only deal that could get done (McCown said jokingly) is Yashin for McCabe, but who wants that? Given that the roundtable was on a roll about bad decisions, they then focussed their efforts on the one who made these decisions, John Ferguson Jr. McCown suggests the Leafs go out and hire NHL Executive Colin Campbell, while Shoalts suggests it won't help, as Campbell himself will be a new GM and he will have his hands tied by MLSE management. Final thought - who would you resign? who would you trade for?
The Canadiens
The Habs discussion was a little less in depth as neither reporter spent much time around the team this season, however they were quick to point out the rough season Montreal had. The season started well for the Habs and then went sour around Christmas time. So many negative events occurred at once that the Habs had the life sucked out of them. The personal loss of Bob Gainey, the Koivu injury and the fact that their was a new coach behind the bench all played into the sourness. Shoalts also brought up the problems the team had with Kovalev and Samsonov plagued their season. The future for the Habs still looks bright, with players like Ryder and Higgins just gaining their NHL senses, however there is a slim chance that Souray will resign in the off-season - Shoalts points out that Souray wants to move out to LA. The coaching situation will be a hot topic for the Montreal media as well, because it is pretty much certain Gainey is not going anywhere. However, the roundtable agrees that a majority of the problems Carbonneau faced were simply out of his hands and Gainey will give him another season to prove himself.

Bullets:
The Ed Belfour fight - what is news about this?

2007 NHL Draft Lottery Results

2007-04-10T12:17:00.000-05:00

Here are the results of the Draft Lottery held today.
Source

1 Chicago Blackhawks (moved up from 5th spot)
2 Philadelphia Flyers (moved down from 1st spot)
3 Phoenix Coyotes (moved down from 2nd spot)
4 Los Angeles Kings (moved down from 3rd spot)
5 Washington Capitals (moved down from 4th spot)
6 Edmonton Oilers
7 Columbus Blue Jackets
8 Boston Bruins
9 St. Louis Blues
10 Florida Panthers
11 Carolina Hurricanes
12 Montreal Canadiens
13 Toronto Maple Leafs
14 Colorado Avalanche

Picks 15-30 will be settled once the playoffs are complete.

Postmortem Leafs News

2007-04-10T11:54:00.000-05:00

Despite the team now officially booted out of the ACC (equipment and all), there are still a few articles floating around.

The Toronto Star writes yet another article about Sundin and how he wants to stay in Toronto. And another!

Leafs bask in the joy of defeat - Toronto Star
For some, the off-season begins - Toronto Star
A Note to the Leafs Nation - Sportsnet
Study in contradictions - Toronto Sun
O'Neill knows his Leafs days may end - Toronto Sun
Leafs Notes - Toronto Sun
MLSE must act quickly - Toronto Sun

Still a lot spinning around out there!

More Playoff Talk

2007-04-10T11:40:00.000-05:00

We are now in the full swing of talking about the 2007 Playoffs. Below are some more analysis regarding the NHL Playoffs:

John Buccigross' Playoff Preview - ESPN
Eastern Conference Preview - ESPN
Western Conference Preview - ESPN
The Scout's Playoff Analysis - Globe & Mail
Playoff Predictions - Globe & Mail
CBS Playoff Predictions - CBS Sportsline
Playoff Power Rankings - Sports Illustrated
Dr. Hockey's Playoff Pool Picks - Canoe.ca

I have to tell you, a lot of people write about the Playoffs - wow!

2007 NHL Playoff Previews

2007-04-09T16:20:00.000-05:00

With the regular season now over, it is time for the "Quest" to begin. Although the Leafs are not participating, I will attempt to cover as much playoff news as I can. Below are some good NHL Playoff Previews.

NHL Playoff Schedule and News - Sportsnet
NHL Playoffs on TSN - TSN
2007 NHL Playoff Preview - ESPN
NHL Playoff Commentary - Globe & Mail
THN.com Playoff Preview - The HockeyNews
NHL Playoffs 2007 - National Post

Season Recap by Mike Ulmer

2007-04-09T16:16:00.000-05:00

If, for some reason, you still are in shock and want to read as much Leafs' news as you can, to comfort yourself, Mike Ulmer at MapleLeafs.com has put in a "season recap" article on his blog.

Leafs still in shock a day later - MapleLeafs.com

Sundin Wants To Stay

2007-04-09T16:08:00.000-05:00

In either a response to Scott Burnside's article from the weekend or just general media talk. Mats Sundin sat down with Pierre LeBrun to discuss his future with the Leafs and why he wants to remain part of the Blue & White.

Leafs facing tough choices - Toronto Star

JFJ's Blog About The Isles Win

2007-04-09T16:01:00.000-05:00

A Tough Way to End It...

April 8, 2007 19:43

In professional sports, when the game is over, there’s nothing you can do. That’s the beauty of it. That’s the agony of it.

Last night, we watched the New Jersey Devils score with less than a second left to push their game with the New York Islanders into overtime. We needed a Devils win. The Islanders won in penalty shots.

On Saturday, we came back from two goals down to defeat Montreal and eliminate them, but it’s a vastly different feeling when the game is out of your control.

Looking back, I thought we needed to get to 92 points to make the playoffs. We got to 91 and we left it to chance. We ended up on the wrong side of the shootout.

The struggle we encountered this year was not surprising. We did expect to have to compete for a playoff spot. Clearly, we did not expect to lead the league in man games lost to injury, but you do expect to have to overcome injury. We were pressed in that area with injuries to Michael Peca, Pavel Kubina, Tomas Kaberle, Kyle Wellwood and Darcy Tucker. It also represented an opportunity for a lot of players who came in and were productive. We got a lot of good play from players who filled in. What was really encouraging was the continued improvement of some players and the evolution of others into solid NHL pros.

I’m talking about players like Carlo Colaiacovo, Ian White, Wellwood when he returned, Matt Stajan, Alex Steen. John Pohl had 13 goals. These are players who will be relied upon going forward.

Because of our young core, I know that no matter how good we are this year, we’ll be better next year.

I also think people saw the effort of our team, the way we came back against Montreal, the way we battled until the very last game. It would have been easy to get down. We’ve been playing must-win games for six weeks and we knew every point was going to be critical.

You can find that one critical point in a lot of different places but there weren’t many nights when we got outworked or out competed.

It was a great sign for our coaching staff and a great sign for the competitiveness and the character of our players.

The Morning After

2007-04-09T11:29:00.000-05:00

Here are some articles written about the Leafs and what to expect in the off-season.

Isles snatch playoff hopes from Leafs - Sportsnet
What would Jim Lang do? - Sportsnet
Second Chances - The HockeyNews
Islanders deserved to win - Toronto Star
Leafs failed when opportunity knocked - Toronto Star
From joy to despair - Globe & Mail
Brodeur does Leafs no favours - Globe & Mail
Picking through the entails to find a salary cap - Globe & Mail
Last shot sank Leafs - Toronto Sun
Heartbreaker for Sundin - Toronto Sun
Raycroft Content - Toronto Sun
Easter prayers not enough to lift Leafs to playoffs - National Post

JFJ and Leafs' Reaction to Islanders Win

2007-04-08T20:54:00.000-05:00

Shootout Comes Back to Haunt the Leafs
April 8, 2007

TORONTO (CP) -- The shootout came back to haunt the Toronto Maple Leafs one last time in the 2006-07 season.

The Leafs were only 4-7 in shootouts this season, for the second year in a row struggling in the extra session. And the irony of the New York Islanders using the shootout to beat the New Jersey Devils 3-2 on Sunday was lost on no one.

"I've been saying for some time this year, it's great for the fans, it's hard for managers and coaches," a crushed John Ferguson, the Leafs GM, said Sunday evening. "And watching another team control your fate is doubly hard, especially when there's no time to do anything about it."

The Islanders' dramatic win on the last day of the regular season knocked Toronto out of the playoffs a day after a riveting win over Montreal at Air Canada Centre kept the Maple Leafs' hopes alive.

Ferguson was back at the ACC to watch the Islanders game and found no fault in the Devils for not starting superstar goalie Martin Brodeur.

"There was no chance he was going to be in net today and I think we all would have been shocked if he was," said Ferguson. "We controlled our destiny, we look to ourselves here. We left it one point short and that's what came back to bite us."

Losing 5-2 on Long Island last Thursday is one of many games the Leafs would like to have back.

"Sure, we can look at that one point in a lot of places over 82 games," said Ferguson.

The Isles had a comfortable 2-0 lead in the third period Sunday before New Jersey scored twice, including the tying goal with one second left in regulation, to force overtime and revive Toronto's playoff hopes.

"I'm sure for the fans it was pretty exciting," said Leafs forward Kyle Wellwood, attending Sunday night's Raptors NBA game. "When New Jersey scored at the end, it was unbelievable. With 15 seconds left, it looked like the Islanders were going to the clear the puck.

"When Jersey scored, we figured things might go our way."

Ferguson fought to control tears during a media scrum in the Leafs dressing room held moments after the Isles' victory.

"It's going to take a little while to collect my thoughts here," said a visibly emotional Ferguson. "Disappointing... A lot of good things happened for us this year. Some great play from a lot of the younger players. But all that's lost on us at this point."

Just how much progress is up for debate. The Leafs finished one point out of the playoffs a year after missing the post-season by two points. They scored 254 goals, the exact same number as last season, and gave up 263, one more than last season. And they picked up one more point in the standings than last year.

But in their defence, the Leafs were hammered by injuries, leading the NHL with 335 man-games lost.

"We had some real injuries to deal with, and unfortunately that did slow us up at different times of the year," said Ferguson. "And I thought we overcame that pretty well. The players came in and did a very capable job even bordering on outstanding. But we were No. 1 in the league to man games lost to injury in what turned out to be the toughest division in the East and probably in the league to qualify.".

Ferguson's own future will immediately come under scrutiny. He's got another year left on his deal but has missed the playoffs two of his three seasons in charge.

"I don't think he's going anywhere," Wellwood said of his GM.

Said Ferguson on his future: "I'm not in a position to comment on everything right now. These are things that will be addressed. These reviews occur annually at the end of the year."

A disappointed Wellwood wondered what if. The Leafs beat the Buffalo Sabres three times this season and felt they could give them a run in the first round.

"I just think if we had made the playoffs we would have been a hard team to beat," said Wellwood.

It was an exciting stretch run that felt just short, highlighted by big wins over New Jersey, Buffalo, Ottawa and Montreal. But the last few weeks of the season will also be remembered for key losses at Washington, Buffalo and Long Island.

"Just an exciting finish to the season but clearly disappointing for us," said Ferguson. "We had enough opportunities during the year to take advantage of it. I had said during the year that I thought we needed to get to 10 games over .500, we got to nine and got the right to cheer for the Devils."

Leafs Out, Islanders In

2007-04-08T18:17:00.000-05:00

It looks like the loss of Rick DiPeitro for the Islanders was not enough to put them out of the playoffs. The Islanders pulled off a 3-2 shootout win over the Devils in New Jersey. While watching the game on TSN, the game looked to be in the hands of the Islanders all night long. When Richard Park scored the Islanders second goal with a quick wrist-shot, I knew the game was over and the Leafs would not being on the "quest for the Cup" in the 2007 campaign. When I eventually turned the TV back on to see how the game finished, I felt let down, as once again the Leafs would not make the playoffs, but also angry at Lou Lamoriello for not putting Martin Brodeur in net. However, now, after a few hours too cool down, maybe having Clemmensen in net for the Devils was a blessing in disguise. Why? Had the Leafs clinched that final 8th spot, they would be facing the Buffalo Sabres; a team which the Leafs play hard against, but still only won 3 of the 8 games against them during the regular season. The second reason is now the Toronto media and Leaf fans can begin to call for the head(s) of some of the brass over at MLSE. First on the block will no doubt be Leafs GM John Ferguson Jr. In fact, Steve Simmons at the Toronto Sun as already written a piece about JFJ's future. The rock begins to roll. Next, the management at MLSE, Richard Peddie and Larry Tanebaum, will be scrutinized for their complacency and possibly compared to Harold Ballard - running a team that will never win, because you know the fans will show up and fill the ACC. The Leafs not making the playoffs for the second time in a row and never since the lockout could put some power back into the hands of those die-hard Leaf fans, who want to see changes. I hate to sound repetitive, but again, all we can do is wait.

Questions in the off-season:
The Future of Mats Sundin: Will the Leafs pick up the option on his contract, will the Leafs try to get a new deal done, or will Sundin be elsewhere next October?
John Ferguson Jr: Was Leafs management expecting this outcome, hence the reason for the one-year contract extension inked back in November, was it basically Peddie taking care of JFJ in case is in unsuccessful in 2007?
The Blue Line: With over $16 million tied up in 3 defencemen, can the (new?) GM do anything to unlock this handcuff on the point?

I am positive more questions will arise in the off-season, but don't worry I will still maintain this blog throughout the off-season, so I look forward to see what the future has in store!

The Waiting Game

2007-04-08T11:12:00.000-05:00

The Leafs certainly caught a few breaks last night - and those breaks gave them a 6-5 win over the Montreal Canadiens. The first period was a clear domination by the Leafs. Huet looked like he'd be able to save the game for the Habs after facing a pile of Leaf shots. However, once the Leafs got on the board, Huet seemed to lose some confidence. The Canadiens played a strong 2nd period, but overall the Habs spent too much time playing a man down. The third period started off with the Habs two men down which started the Leafs comeback. Once the Leafs began to rebuild their confidence, the game was all theirs. I feel sorry for the Canadiens players, as I am positive the Montreal media will dissect this game and the season for weeks to come. As Leafs fans we can only hope the Devils can pull off a victory when the face the Islanders at 3:30pm ET today. All we can do now is wait...

Leafs do their part, now wait - Sportsnet
Leafs stay alive with win over Canadiens - TSN
Leafs stay alive, send Habs home with third-period rally - ESPN
Leafs pull off memorable must-have win - ESPN
Leafs in limbo - Toronto Star
Maple Leafs do their part - Globe & Mail
Leafs do their part - Toronto Sun
Toronto sill has a chance - National Post

And It All Comes Down To This

2007-04-07T11:48:00.000-05:00

Well Leaf fans, tonight is the last game of the regular season and the biggest game of this season for our beloved Maple Leafs. Most news outlets are calling this the biggest game in Leafs and Habs history in the past 5 years. A lot of heat from the Toronto media is going towards those highly paid Leafs players who have remained without a goal in a long time, other media sources are citing the game as a battle of goaltenders ,as each team has been lacking in defensive and offensive play. Whatever they call it, this game will be huge for those in Leafs Nation and Habs Country. Yesterday, on Leafs Lunch, Jeff Marek and Bill Waters asked Leafs head coach Paul Maurice about any potential line-up changes. Maurice responded that the line up should remain the same as on Thursday, however he remained mum on the possible replacement of Yanic Perrault with either Travis Green or Jeff O'Neill when that question was asked by Watters. Regardless of who replaces who, the big guns; Sundin, McCabe, Kaberle, Tucker and Kubina all must play tonight in respect of the money they are earning.

My prediction - Leafs 3, Habs 2 with the winning goal coming late in the 3rd.

Classic in the making - Sportsnet
Thursday's madness sets up elimination tilt - ESPN
'Dogfight' goes down to the wire - Toronto Star
Final battle for Habs, Leafs? - Globe & Mail
Hey guys, it's time - Toronto Sun
Leafs, Habs square off in 'game of the season' - National Post
Play of Kovalev, Sundin could decide outcome - The Montreal Gazette

Prime Time Sports Summary - April 5, 2007

2007-04-06T20:12:00.000-05:00

Here are the NHL Stories from Prime Time Sports last night (National Hour):

Host: Bob McCown
Guests: Jim Kelley from Rogers Sportsnet, James Deacon from the FAN590 and Adam Proteau from the Hockey News

NHL Discussion:
The point system and it deception. McCown believes the NHL points system is flawed. He thinks a 4, 3, 2, 1, 0 system for would work for points. This system places emphasis on winning in regulation time (4 points) and puts less emphasis on a shoutout win (2 points). McCown did this analysis on the 2006 - 2007 season and found some surprising results. The best team in the NHL would be the San Jose Sharks and not the Red Wings - they would fall to #2. The most interesting parts come near the bottom, where the Hurricanes would be 15th overall and would be winning their division. This system really shows the strength of the Western conference. Proteau really thinks this system has a legs, and feels it is just too difficult for teams that fall behind early to catch up to those that started the season well. For example, numerous teams, the Leafs included, have gone on some serious win streaks, yet maybe move 1 position up. Kelley and Deacon really loves this system as it forces teams to win a game within 60 minutes. Deacon brings up the point of conflict between the NHL's MO of making hockey more interesting to the casual fan and putting less emphasis on the shootout with this point system. Gary Bettman has been quoted many times as saying that the shootout makes the game more exciting to those casual fans - putting less emphasis on it, may make the NHL look unstable in its decision making. McCown rebuts this by saying the shootout is simply not part of hockey - if it was, why are teams dressing a guy who is a shootout "expert" yet is unable to anything else? Kelley raises the point that some powerhouse teams may runaway from the pack quicker and therefore become "unreachable" and the league's parity would be lost. I think it's a nice idea and may work, but as these guys discussed it would change how GM's would pick their teams and the decisions coaches would make during game - as they want to get the win in regulation.

In addition, and while Bob was on roll, he suggestion to fix the All-Star game: fill the penalty box with cash and who ever wins, gets the cash.

Bullets:
The Pavel Datsyuk contract - too long and will take money away from a good goaltender when Hasek leaves. This move (7 year contract) is very unlike the Red Wings. Overall, the panel agreed this was not a good move, especially given Datsyuk's past playoff history - they should have waited.

Sundin's Future

2007-04-06T16:10:00.000-05:00

Scott Burnside of ESPN writes an interesting story about the future of Mats and the Leafs after this weekend.

Could Saturday's game be Sundin's last as Leaf?

Are These The Last 30 Hours Of The Leafs' Season?

2007-04-06T15:42:00.000-05:00

As we look forward to tomorrow night's contest, Leaf fans must keep one important fact in mind. Because Toronto lost last night, even a win tomorrow against the Canadiens may not be enough. Here is what has got happen in order for the Leafs to reach the playoffs.

The Leafs must beat the Canadiens in regulation time. If the Habs take it to overtime, the Leafs are done as they are in possession of the tiebreaker.

The Islanders must lose one of their weekend afternoon games.

Articles:

Three-card monte - Globe & Mail
Islanders cheering for the Leafs to beat the Canadiens - Globe & Mail
Who deserves it? - Toronto Star
The Tale of the Tape, Habs v. Leafs statistics - Toronto Star
For Habs, it's simple: Beat the Leafs - Toronto Star

Prime Time Sports Summary - April 5, 2007

2007-04-06T15:20:00.000-05:00

Here are the NHL Stories from Prime Time Sports last night (National Hour):

Host: Bob McCown
Guests: Jim Kelley from Rogers Sportsnet, Paul Coffey former NHL player

Main NHL Story: Limited hockey discussion on Thursday night. For the first 20 minutes or so, Paul Coffey was live in studio and the panel discussed some of the hot topics around the NHL. Paul mainly talked about the NHLPA issue and his involvement (which was limited), however from his view he was very thankful for what the PA did for him and his career. Kelley talked about the situation in Edmonton and how the city is so focussed on hockey that it becomes difficult for the star players (Pronger, Smyth, etc.) to keep the town happy. Coffey was very impressed with the work Oiler's GM Kevin Lowe has been doing since his was given the job. McCown brought up the fact that the Edmonton of the 80's and 90's is a totally different from the Edmonton of today - simply put, if your winning, it's a place you want to be, if the team is not winning, then the city seems to take a dip. Going along with that difference, is the difference between the game today and the game back when Coffey played. Coffey agrees with a majority of the rule changes, however he feels more power should be given to the defencemen. Coffey says that today's defencemen have trouble expanding their game. He feels that a more "robotic" motion is in place - when in the defensive zone, the defencemen can't lay a hand on any attacks and when they flip to offense, they simply fire the puck up to the forwards. The days of the rushing defenceman is slowly slipping away.

Finally, Coffey talked about his Baycrest Hockey Tournament for Alzheimer's. The tournament runs from April 26 to 28, 2007. Click the link for more info.

Well, It Wasn't What We Hoped For...

2007-04-06T11:27:00.000-05:00

As I watched the Leafs game last night, there was good feeling in my body that the Boys had a chance. The Canadiens were down by 2 goals with little time left in regulation and the Leafs were tied 2-2 with a feisty, yet beatable, Islanders team. I think it was only a minute or so after that, when Jason Blake skated around the Leafs' offensive zone like he was an extra attacker and then fired a shot just at the top of the circle, that put the Islanders up by one. That goal also showed how poor the Leafs defensive was playing and also that the Islanders had done their homework on Raycroft (a high shot on the glove side is his weaknesses). After that point in the game, the Leafs were simply playing out of desperation. You could see that the Leafs bench was beat and that there was no chance of them scoring the tying-up goal. This loss now puts the Leafs fate out their own hands and the playoff equation is now simple for the Leafs - they must win tomorrow night. The rest is out of their control. Below are some articles on last nights game.

Fate out of Leafs' hands - Toronto Sun
Leafs down to last chance - MapleLeafs.com
Leafs downed, but not out - Sportsnet
Leafs fall, as Islanders keep hope alive - TSN
Isles hand on to slim playoff hopes, down Leafs - ESPN
Leafs down to last chance - Toronto Star
Islanders condemn Leafs to last chance saloon - Globe & Mail
Leafs on the clock - Toronto Sun

Tonight's The Night

2007-04-05T18:05:00.000-05:00

Well Leaf fans, tonight is the night. The Canadiens and Rangers game starts at 7:00pm EST, and the Leafs and Islanders follow close behind at 7:30pm EST. Posted below are some articles/previews for tonight's match up. The first one, by Scott Burnside at ESPN, best describes the situations each team faces and what will happen if the different teams win or lose.

Isles, Rangers, Leafs, Habs prepare for Thursday's rush - ESPN

Season on the line for Leafs - Sportsnet
The Leafs, Habs battling in New York - TSN
New York, New York - The Toronto Star
Penultimate playoff push - The Globe & Mail

Toronto Blue Jays Frank Thomas Commercial

2007-04-05T18:02:00.001-05:00

Prime Time Sports Summary - April 4, 2007

2007-04-05T16:03:00.000-05:00

Here are the NHL Stories from Prime Time Sports last night (National Hour):

Host: Bob McCown
Guests: Jim Kelley from Rogers Sportsnet
Call-In: Rob Becker, Legal Analyst; Laurel Lindsay, VP Marketing for the Blue Jays and John Gordon from Rogers Sportsnet

Main NHL Story: Unfortunately, there was no hockey talk today. However, just to make this post somewhat interesting I have posted the Toronto Blue Jays commercial featuring Frank Thomas. Laurel Lindsay was on Prime Time to discuss it and the fact that it was too violent to be aired on private channels. Thought the readers wouldn't mind a peak at.

"Real" Hockey Fans Like Fighting: Poll

2007-04-04T17:31:00.000-05:00

Article taken from the Toronto Star website

Apr 04, 2007 05:27 PM

Canadian Press

OTTAWA – Talk of banning fighting in hockey has some fans ready to drop the gloves, a new poll suggests.

A huge majority of people who describe themselves as avid fans – 76 per cent – oppose a fight ban, says the Decima survey.

The only respondents who favour a ban – by a margin of 52 per cent to 30 – are those who say they don't follow hockey.

Among those who follow the game occasionally, 43 per cent want fighting out of the game while 52 per cent are opposed.

The poll of 1,000 people was conducted last week after NHL vice-president Colin Campbell said he was willing to examine a ban on fighting.

Jeff Marek's Blog Post

2007-04-04T11:59:00.000-05:00

Came across this article on Jeff Marek's blog. Marek is the co-host of Leafs Lunch on AM640. He usually keeps his posts up for a day or two, so check it out while you can. The best part of the post are the 5 points at the bottom on what the Leafs must do to get into the playoffs - it will be a tough road ahead!

McCabe, ? of the day, sobering thought
Wednesday, April 4, 2007

Leafs Remain In The Hunt

2007-04-04T11:08:00.000-05:00

Last night the Leafs beat the Flyers in overtime 3-2 with a howitzer from Bryan McCabe. Overall, the Leafs looked good last night, especially Raycroft, who had to come up big after his performance in New York on the weekend. As I posted yesterday, I was hoping for a Rangers win, however the Islanders won 3-2 in the shootout. This is still a good scenario for the Leafs, as now the Rangers will be playing Montreal tough on Thursday night to secure their playoff position and the Leafs will face an Islanders team who may attempt to rest the game on the shoulders of their new goaltender Wade Dubielewicz, who played on his head last night. Don't get me wrong, the Thursday night contest will be a tough one for the Leafs, but given the recent track record of the Islanders since the injury to DiPeitro (1-3), this game should result in a Leafs W.

Here are some links about last nights contest:

Toronto remains one spot out of eighth in the East with OT win - ESPN
McCabe's OT goal keeps Leafs in hunt - TSN
Leaf playoff hopes alive - Sportsnet
A gigantic sigh of re-Leaf - The Toronto Star
Leafs keep pace with playoff pack - The Globe & Mail
Leafs keep hopes alive - National Post
McCabe keeps Leafs in hunt - The Toronto Sun

Prime Time Sports Summary - April 3, 2007

2007-04-04T08:13:00.000-05:00

Here are the NHL Stories from Prime Time Sports last night (National Hour):

Host: Bob McCown
Guests: Jim Kelley from Rogers Sportsnet
Uplink: Al Morganti from Comcast Sports and Eric Duhatschek from the Globe & Mail

Main NHL Story: As it was Tuesday, McCowan dedicates a 20 minute segment to the NHL with the “Hockey Pucks” Morganti and Duhatschek. Today’s topic was extended from yesterday and McCowan got the opinions of Morganti and Duhatschek on the Claude Juilien firing.

Facts and Analysis:
- More discussion was made around the fact that the team had over 100 points, had clinched the playoffs and was seeing the return of key players to the line up.
- Both Morganti and Duhatschek had no clear answer for why Lou did what he did.
- Duhatschek speculated that with the new arena coming to New Jersey next season and the Devils being a strong team, Lou decided that putting himself being the bench would be the best chance for the team to raise a Stanley Cup banner in the new arena for the 2007-2008 season.
- McCowan suggested there may be a playoff impact with a new coach coming in so late in the season; however Morganti and Duhatschek both agreed that there would be no impact as the key Devil players (Brodeur, Elias, Gionta and Gomez) played for Lou last year and the young players will simply follow the veterans lead.

Conclusion:
It appears that the only person who knows why Julien got fired is Lou Lamoriello and he doesn’t seem to want to discuss the issue any further. We’ll see in the next months how well this move pays off for Big Lou.

Bullets:
With Tuesday being a big night in the NHL for the 7 through 11 teams in the east, do any coaches have their neck on the line tonight?
- Morganti discussed the situation in Carolina and felt that head coach, Peter Laviolette, has simply had a tough year. Morganti reiterated that Laviolette should have no problem being the behind the bench next season, however there may be the slight possibility that the Hurricanes may go out a look for a new coach in the off-season.
- Also discussed was the situation in New York with the Islanders; overall it was agreed that the injury, late in the season to Rick DiPietro will ultimately save Ted Nolan’s job and Nolan should have no worries if his team misses the playoffs.
- Finally, Duhatschek talked about the late Colorado surge and the fact that if this team doesn’t make the playoffs this year, they certainly will in 2008 and have a good shot at leading the west next season
- Who will get the 8^th and final spot in the East?

- Morganti – Leafs

- Duhatschek – Leafs

- Kelley – Leafs

- McCown – Not the Leafs

Leaf Articles - April 3, 2007

2007-04-03T12:16:00.000-05:00

The following articles I thought would interest Leaf fans. I know there are many more out there, but the Wellwood story is well written and really bleeds what a Canadian hockey player is. The Wharnsby article is more breaking news and a preview of tonight's match up.

Scott Burnside from ESPN writes about Kyle Wellwood and the struggles his family went through with his father's metal illness

Tim Wharnsby is reporting that Carlo Colaiacovo will not dress tonight against the Flyers

Cheers!

Prime Time Sports Summary - April 2, 2007

2007-04-03T11:27:00.000-05:00

Here are the NHL Stories from Prime Time Sports last night (National Hour):

Host: Bob McCown
Guests: Jim Kelley from Rogers Sportsnet and James Deacon from The Fan590

Main NHL Story: Near the bottom of the hour, the roundtable discussed the situation in New Jersey. McCown put forward the questions, was this the right move and why did it happen?

Facts and Analysis:
- The Devils had won 4 of their last 5 and were getting key players back from the IR - there is no clear statistical reason as to why the coach was to be fired.
- This is the 3rd time Lou Lamoriello has fired a coach that seemed to be doing a good job and the second time he has put himself behind the bench.
- Discussion around Eric Duhatschek's article in the Globe & Mail.
- The Power of Lou Lamoriello - is he really doing any coaching? Rumours have it that Devil's assistant coach John MacLean is actually the brains behind the Devils strong season and that Lou just plays the "I am watching you" role. This is what was said to occur when Lou was behind the bench last season for the playoff when Larry Robinson stepped down.

Conclusion:
Lou Lamoriello fired Claude Julien for losing presence within the locker room. Julien began to favour some players and began showing signs of weakness, hence Big Lou stepped in to set things straight. Combine Julien's favoritism and Lou's MO and ego and it creates the scenario which we saw unfold yesterday. James Deacon closed the discussion off with a simple "It's just Lou being Lou."

Bullets:
Later on in the segment, the roundtable discussed the situation of Jared Murray - the grand-nephew of Ottawa Senators coach Brian Murray. You can read the article here, if you haven't already. As the roundtable discussed, this situation is a National disgrace. How is it that in a nation devoted to hockey we must limit those with talent? This is the same thing that happened to Gretzky in Brantford - he was forced out the city and had to play in Toronto. I guess the reason for all this can be found at the other players on the team and their parents. These players don't get a chance to "shine" and their parents were sick of it. Now poor Jared, an 8-year old kid, has to sit out from the game he loves.

The Final Three

2007-04-03T09:59:00.000-05:00

Morning Leafs Fans,

Well there are only three games left in the regular season for the Leafs, and all of these games are must win to attempt a run at the Cup. Tonight at 7:30pm EST the Leafs face the Flyers at the ACC, as well there are 12 other games around the league. Some games of note are:

Carolina at Tampa Bay - 7:30pm EST
The key scenario here is that if the Leafs lose and Tampa wins, the Lightning will clinch a playoff birth. The Hurricanes could enter 8th place in the East or be eliminated from playoff contention depending on the outcome of the Montreal vs. Boston game.

Boston at Montreal - 7:30pm EST
The Habs are going to be the door the Leafs have to go through to get into the playoffs. Basically, as a Leafs fan, we need to cheer for the Bruins here.

New York Rangers at New York Islanders - 7:30pm EST
The Islanders are all but done in the Eastern playoff race and with a Ranger win, the Rangers will clinch the playoffs. Leafs fans, however, should keep an eye on this game, as the Boys head to the Island on Thursday night, and depending on the intensity of this game, it could foreshadow what the Leafs have to prepare for on Thursday.

We should be hoping tonight for a Leafs win, Bruins win, Ranger win and a Lightning win - but I wouldn't put any sum of money on all four of these teams winning tonight.

Cheers!

Monday Hot Stove

2007-04-02T21:03:00.000-05:00

With only one game in the NHL this evening (Blues and Stars), one big NHL story, which everyone already knows about, and a weekend without Prime Time Sports, Leaf's Lunch and HockeyCentral at Noon, I figured I would post some interesting stories from around the league. As this will most likely be common on Monday's, I will entitle my Monday posts as the "Monday Hot Stove." Basically, a NHL wrap up of the weekend and other NHL news that I would consider to be of interest to the readers.

John Buccigross of ESPN.com gives those common NHL fans a review of the season as well as his thoughts on the 2007 NHL playoffs.

Eric Duhatschek of the Globe and Mail talks about the playoffs and where the Canadian teams sit relative to the "Quest for the Cup."

Pierre LeBrun of the Canadian Press writes about the final week in the regular season.

That's all for tonight...and for those that missed it I have posted the Tucker v. Avery fight from last night - I had to put some Leafs stuff on here somewhere!

Tucker vs Avery Apr 1, 2007

2007-04-02T20:57:00.000-05:00

Out Like A Lion, In Like A Lamb

2007-04-01T20:17:00.000-05:00

Welcome Back!

I figured I would start by doing a short write-up about the Leafs' two-game weekend . As I am not a professional writer, these types of things will only occur when I have some extra time on my hands. However, tomorrow I will start getting this website in shape for a more stable routine and begin accumulating Leafs stories and opinions from around the web.

-----------------

Well Leafs fans, I assume that this weekend you were glued to your TV set, in anticipation that the Boys would come through and you could start saving your wages for playoff tickets.
On Saturday night, the Leafs faced Sidney Crosby and the Penguins, which brought their four-game win streak to the Big Smoke. The game looked promising right off the bat as Chad Kilger netted a pass from Kyle Wellwood to put the Leafs up 1-0 only 5 minutes into the first period. The game continued to go in favour of the Leafs as they were up 4-1 with just under 30 minutes to go in the game. However, the surging Penguins scored 3 unanswered goals, including the tying goal which came at 19:56 of the 3rd period, to send the game into extra minutes. Thankfully, Thomas Kaberle was able to seal the 2 points for the win with an overtime goal set up by Kyle Wellwood again.
Sunday night, the Leafs traveled to New York, to face the Rangers. The Rangers were coming off a 6-4 win against the Flyers in Philadelphia. Although the Philly game wasn't as intense as what the Leafs were faced in the Penguins, both teams would have to find their legs this contest. On a side note, this was the first Sunday game for the Maple Leafs this season (good or bad sign?). This game was (again) of utmost importance to the Leafs, as a loss would mean playoff destiny would no longer be in their hands - as Carolina beat the Panthers in OT during an afternoon match up. The first period did not look good for the Leafs. Although they escaped the first 20 minutes with tie, there was obvious signs of tire throughout the Leafs bench. The next 40 minutes belonged to the Rangers. After Andrew Raycroft got the pull in the second with the score 4-2, JS Aubin proved to be no better letting in 3 goals on 9 shots. The final score was 7-2 and with 5 minutes left to play the Rangers fans began signing "Hey, Hey, Hey Goodbye." How fitting.

Welcome!

2007-03-29T14:51:00.000-05:00

Welcome to the Maple Leafs Hockey Blog

Starting April 1, 2007, this site will be your resource for all things Leafs and NHL hockey. I will give you a little background about what you should expect from this site. First, I am sports writer based out of Toronto, Ontario - therefore when I am not writing on the Leafs, a majority of my stories will be of Canadian content. I will do my best to keep in touch with NHL issues around North America, however the volumes of media written everyday about the NHL will lead me to prioritize my news. What will differentiate my site from others, is that I will attempt to summarize the discussions held about the Leafs and the NHL on the two local sports radio stations here in Toronto. Each day I will blog about the Hockey discussions held on AM640's Leafs Lunch and The FAN590's Prime Time Sports. If time permits, I may discuss The FAN590's HockeyCentral as well. I hope you enjoy what I have to say and check back for updates.

Cheers,

Jeff