by Neate Sager, Out Of Left Field
The best super-obscure analogy for the Bills is that they're the NFL equivalent of Black Label beer back in the day.
This sort of ties in with the Bills' Long Relocation to Toronto. Up here in Canada, there's a writer named Russell Smith. One night a few years ago I caught him on TV late at night, on one of those public television shows you never seek out but sometimes happen upon late at night when you're flipping through channels, wondering, how you wasted your life.
In Smith's telling, Black Label was the beer for arty 20-something crowd he ran with in Toronto as a young man. It was cheap, plus it was 8% alcohol, meaning you could get a nice buzz on every so often and still fit into your leather pants the next day. It offered a kick and kitsch all at once. That's what comes to mind with the future Toronto Bills, seriously.
There is a certain need on my end to keep tabs on the Bills, if for no other reason than the jokes. They haven't been to the playoffs since the Doug Flutie/Rob Johnson nightmare at the start of this decade. Personally speaking, I also pure flat-out loathed them during their glory days in the early '90s and seldom had one good thing to say about them. (Pointing out that the K-Gun offence was basically just CFL football with an 11-man offence was a sure-fire way to piss off associates who favoured puffy Bills windbreakers, as was the style at the time.)
It's only taken a Music City Miracle, the outsourcing of the team's fanbase to Southern Ontario and a looming relocation to Canada (every 200 years, we just have to devastate Buffalo, just because) to whip up some genuine support for the Bills. There's a certain nostalgia about following the Bills, because I'm old enough to be a sad bastard, plus, there's the off-chance that this edition might actually do something, like go 10-6 and squeak into the playoffs.
Passing game
It also makes sense to have two versions of this, one for when man-moving left tackle extraordinaire Jason Peters is moved to end his holdout and one for if the stugots actually sits out the entire season. The left tackle makes that much of a difference for the Bills, especially since their quarterback, Trent Edwards, and his receivers -- underrated Lee Evans, high-leaping rookie James Hardy, slot receiver Josh Reed and little Roscoe Parrish (pictured), go together like the living room n furniture in your first post-college apartment.
Hardy looks like a fantasy football sleeper and the Bills' passing game is bound to improve from third-worst in the NFL (the pass defence was fourth-worst, yet still these guys were a couple plays from a winning season). Oh, and J.P. Losman is now at the stage where he can be considered the ninth-best backup QB in the NFL by Sports Illustrated. Of course, bear in mind, that was one spot ahead of Rex Grossman. All backup quarterbacks are excellent backup quarterbacks, anyways. The good part about Trent Edwards is he won't make a lot of mistakes -- his paradigm game is probably to have an interception-free day with maybe one TD pass.
Running game
Marshawn Lynch ran for more than 1,100 yards last season. He'll be good until the Bills burn him out from overuse in three or four years. His blocking group is decent without Peters, exceptional with him. Sorry, I'm not much for rhapsodizing about the running game.
Pass defence
Forget Bruce Smith -- where have you gone, Bryce Paup? You stop the pass by adding pressure, not coverage. Aaron Schobel is the most reasonable facsimile of a pass-rush threat, and he's got no one who can draw double-teams away from him when it's third-and-10. The Bills need to start getting some heat on opposing QBs, rather than being vanilla.
Their cover guys -- Terrence McGee, Jabari Greer, the rookie Leodis McKelvin -- rate pretty well. It's just that no one can stick to good receivers on every passing play.
Run defence
The Bills picked up Marcus Stroud for the middle of their defensive line and signed weakside linebacker Kavika Mitchell away from the Giants. They'll probably continue to play the run well, and the linebacker Paul Posluszny is going to bear watching after his rookie season was a write-off due to a broken arm.
Special teams
The coverage and return teams are probably worth close to one win a season for the Bills. Rian Lindell and Brian Moorman have to be one of the league's longest-running kicker and punter tandems; Ralph Wilson Stadium might have been built around them for all we know. Parrish led the NFL in returning punts last season and McKelvin will also provide a threat.
Wrapping up
McKelvin had a kickoff-return touchdown in the pre-season game in Toronto, which provides a somewhat awkward way of seguing back to the Big Inevitability. Bills owner Ralph Wilson is still breathing and the buzzards from Toronto are already circling, waiting to move the team to Toronto, where the luxury boxes will be full, but the only tailgating on gamedays will be officially sponsored and require you to pay a cover charge.
There will be blood on Toronto and Southern Ontario's hands when the annexation of the Bills is completed, but try to not see this simply as shameless opportunism from the Rogers Communication oligarchy, even if they are already dancing on Wilson's gravesite. It's been almost 200 years since Buffalo was torched in the War of 1812, so Canada is long past due to devastate that town again.
The Bills look like a good young team -- hence my renewed interest, even though I cheer for the Minnesota Vikings. They're nothing spectacular, but they might be able to rides their defence and special teams to a 10-6 record and an AFC wild-card berth. In other words, they might look average and nondescript, but they get the job done, and they pack a wallop -- just like the Black Label of yore.
Thursday, August 28, 2008
SPECTACULARLY AVERAGE: THE STORY OF THE 2008 BUFFALO BILLS
Saturday, August 16, 2008
MCCABE'S GOING TO FLORIDA, BUT WHO'S COMING TO TORONTO?
by Mike Jack, Mike Jack's Hockey Articles
Sources close to the Toronto Maple Leafs are saying that Bryan McCabe has agreed to waive his no-movement clause in order to become part of a trade with the Florida Panthers.
Apparently, all the players involved in the trade have been agreed upon by Leafs GM Cliff Fletcher and Panthers GM Jacques Martin, but the trigger won’t be pulled on the deal until after McCabe is given his $2 million signing bonus by the Leafs on September 1st. This would obviously save the Panthers some money.
The other players involved remain a mystery. Though sources say there will likely be a second player headed to
Another rumour is that the Leafs will receive defenseman Mike Van Ryn. Though this rumour has not been confirmed or denied, I see it as unlikely. The major reasons why McCabe is being dealt it because the Leafs are trying to built a younger and more defensive team and with the signing of Jeff Finger, the possibility of 2008 5th overall draft pick Luke Schenn making the team, and the potential signing of Swedish defenseman Jonas Frogren, the Leafs have a defenseman to spare.
Van Ryn is more of an offensive defenseman, and with the likes of Tomas Kaberle, Pavel Kubina and Anton Stralman on the point there isn’t any urgent need for the Leafs to gain another offensive defenseman. Van Ryn is younger than McCabe, but at 29 years of age, he’s no spring chicken either. He also may not be recovered from wrist surgery by the time the season starts, and the injury plagued Leafs probably won’t be willing to take on another injury prone player.
What other Leafs may be involved in the trade? Depending on who they get in return it could really be anybody. Besides newly acquired players Jamal Mayers and Curtis Joseph and starting goaltender Vesa Toskala, the only trade eligible player the Leafs have over 30 is Jason Blake. With the Leafs new youth movement, Blake could be on the move. The often injured, Carlo Colaiacovo and the underachieving Mark Bell are other players that may be involved.
The Leafs are most likely interested in obtaining a young two-way forward from the Panthers that could play anywhere on their top three lines. Here’s my list of the top 5 Florida Panther players that the Leafs would be most interested in:
5. Kamil Kreps – A 23 year-old center who showed strength defensively and promise offensively in his first full season last year.
4. Rostislav Olesz – A 7th overall draft pick, the 22 year-old winger hasn’t performed to expectation offensively in his first three NHL seasons, but he plays aggressive while staying out of the penalty box.
3. Stephen Weiss – A very capable player at both ends of the ice. The 25 year-old center was also born in
2. David Booth – The 23 year-old winger had a phenomenal sophomore season proving that he can not only play a great physical game, he can also rack up the points.
1. Nathan Horton – It’s obvious why the Leafs would want this guy on their team. He can score, he can hit, he can play in his own end and he has the potential to be a super star if he had more offensive freedom. If the Leafs want to get him though, they’ll definitely have to give up more than just Bryan McCabe.
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
WILL KUBINA REMAIN A LEAF? ONLY 3 DAYS LEFT TO DECIDE
by Mike Jack, Mike Jack's Hockey Articles
As Toronto Maple Leafs General Manager Cliff Fletcher promised, there have been many changes made to his team this off season. Veterans have left the team in favour of younger players with growing potential. One player who has been the subject of trade rumours but still remains with the team is veteran defenseman Pavel Kubina. However, if the team wishes to trade him, they’ll have to do it by August 15th. That’s when Kubina’s no trade clause will kick in.
There were rumours around last season’s trade deadline that Fletcher had requested Kubina to lift his no-trade for a trade he had in place with the New York Islanders. Supposedly, Kubina was about to approve the trade but then denied it. Kubina went on to finish the season strongly. His improvement may have saved his job with the Maple Leafs.
The Leafs do have quite a few blue-liners and it seams that somebody will be leaving before the new season begins. Early this week, it was reported that Bryan McCabe has lightened his stance on his no-trade clause and Fletcher has said that his situation is “going to be resolved amicably before training camp.” If McCabe is traded, Kubina may remain as the team’s primary point shot specialist.
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
SUNDIN WATCH: DAY 67 TOO MANY
by E. Spencer Kyte, Bugs and Cranks
Every day there is another Mats Sundin Update.
Yesterday he took a twenty minute dump, spent fourteen minutes in the shower and rubbed one out to Internet porn for seven minutes.
Today, we have the always important "Sundin decision coming later in the week" announcement.
I may not be the first - and I certainly won't be the last - but please allow me to say,
WHO GIVES A FLYING FUCK?
What exactly has Mats Sundin done in his career that warrants keeping daily tabs of his activities?
Stanley Cup Rings: Zero
Stanley Cup Finals Appearance: Zero
Eastern Conference Finals Appearances: One
Hart Trophies: Zero
Art Ross Trophies: Zero
The Sundin Situation as it stands now, has Vancouver offering far too much money ($10M per), Toronto low-balling the guy who has been their Captain for the last decade ($7M) and the Toronto Media wondering allowed when The Big Swede is going to make his decision.
I can understand Mike Gillis throwing the money he has at Sundin; he's a first-time GM on a team that hasn't made the playoffs in two years due to inconsistent scoring and has a roster with a couple of notable Swedish players. Sundin makes sense.
Toronto? They're just being Toronto.
"Hey Mats, why don't you come back for $7M? We'll give you a No Trade Clause. I know we tried to get you to waive that last year, but this year will be different. Promise."
What makes all of this Sundin Drama and the attention that the Toronto fans and media have been paying it over the last two months even more ridiculous is the lack of coverage being focused on an actual great player, leader and future Hall of Famer, Joe Sakic.
Every move Sundin makes makes headlines and his inactivity gleans coverage too. Meanwhile, Joe Sakic just sits at home as the 8th Leading Scorer in NHL history, a two-time Stanley Cup Champion and 2001 Hart Trophy Recipient (as well as the Lady Byng and Pearson that year too) who is waiting to make a decision about his future.
Breaking News: We interrupt this story for a Special Report from Toronto...
Mats Sundin had a Tuna Sandwich on White for Lunch.
And now back to our regularly scheduled nonsense.
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
DECISIONS, DECISIONS: HAS MATS SUNDIN MADE HIS CHOICE?
by Mike Jack, Mike Jack's Hockey Articles
Captain Mats Sundin has been meditating and reflecting in his homeland of
Sundin’s possible choices are:
a) Sign with the Toronto Maple Leafs, the team he’s lead for the last 13 seasons for an alleged $7 million one-year deal.
b) Sign with the Vancouver Canucks, the team that offered the most money - a $10 million per season, two-year deal. That would make him the highest paid player in the league.
c) Retire.
I believe Mats Sundin has made his choice and he will play for the Toronto Maple Leafs this season.
On Sunday, Aftonbladet (a Swedish newspaper) published an interview with Mats Sundin. This is what he had to say:
“I will make a decision in the end of July or beginning of August.”
“If I am going to play, it’s for the full season and I want to be there from the beginning of August.”
“If it was all about the money, I would have signed with
“I feel strongly for
“Joe Nieuwendyk has come into the club’s front office, and he’s a fantastic leader and has got a real winner’s mentality. I believe he’s going to help a lot in the process of building a club that’s strong and can fight for the Stanley Cup in the future. I believe they’re going to get a good team already this season.”
I translate this as: “I will announce my decision by the beginning of August. I want to play a full season. It’s not about the money, so I’m not going to
With Sundin in the line-up, the Leafs roster will definitely be an improvement on last year’s team. With the key additions being Niklas Hagman, Jamal Mayers, Jeff Finger and Custis Joseph, and the key departures being Darcy Tucker, Kyle Wellwood and Andrew Raycroft.
The Leafs also have a lot of young players who will continue to improve. Among them are Anton Stralman and Jiri Tlusty who have played excellent hockey for the Toronto Marlies and both saw at least 50 games for the Leafs last year in their rookie seasons. Highly touted prospects Luke Schenn and Nikolai Kulemin may also make the club this season.
Last seasons key pick-ups, Vesa Toskala and Jason Blake should also improve this season. Toskala was a bit shaky in his first 15-20 starts as he not only had to adjust to becoming a first time starting NHL goaltender, but he also had to do it in Toronto, the center of the NHL universe. Blake’s battle with his newly diagnosed cancer and his troubles adjusting to his new line-mates made it difficult to attain a great follow up to his 40-goal season the year before. Both players improved as the season went on and should start strong in the up coming season.
Without Sundin though, the other improvements will be out weighed by the loss of their super star leader.
On another note, don't you think Captain Mats looks a little like Captain Picard?
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
SINCE ROY HALLADAY IS SUCH A BILL MURRAY FAN ...
by Neate Sager, Out Of Left Field
Roy Halladay, you might be on B Squad, but you're the B Squad leader.
On Monday, Halladay likened playing for the perennially also-ran Toronto Blue Jays to being "like a little bit of Groundhog Day ...You want to talk about why we're succeeding, what we've done to help us get to the point of where we're at, and we just haven't done that ... It's hard to keep talking about the same thing."
To a diehard Jays fan, that's the equivalent of, in the last two hours, having lost your job, your apartment, your car and your girlfriend. And then depression set in. There's only one way to respond -- with an open letter pieced together from Bill Murray movies. It's the best way to get inside this guy's pelt and crawl around for a few days.
Dear Doc,
So it's true. A commenter on Drunk Jays Fans a while back claimed you'd been overheard wondering over dinner in a Toronto eatery if you were doomed to play your entire career in Toronto and never make the playoffs. It must make your lips numb just to think about it.
If this was coming from someone who isn't the god of ground-ball outs, people would be saying, right about now, his bladder feels like an overstuffed vacuum cleaner bag and his butt is kinda like an about-to-explode bratwurst.
This is a letdown. In the grand scheme of Blue Jays baseball, a high-dollar hurler betraying any trace of human emotion is really more of an A.J. Burnett thing. You're the Doc. You can chew your way through a concrete wall -- or the New York Yankees lineup, as you did with a two-hit shutout last Friday at Rogers Centre, the world's only 50,000-seat video-rental outlet -- and spit out the other side covered with lime and chalk and look good in doing it.
As a bonus, you usually finish the job in less than two-and-a-half hours.
This can be forgiven. You forgot that your cross to bear is putting up Cy Young-worthy stats while throwing for a team owned by Rogers Communications. Rogers' baseball philosophy: A hundred-dollar shine on a three-dollar pair of shoes. That kind of explains why the Jays have given 205 at-bats this season to Kevin Wench.
You saying you're unhappy and "one thing I really want to accomplish in the rest of my time, is win a World Series," could mean Toronto is headed for a disaster of biblical proportions, real wrath of God type stuff -- human sacrifice, dogs and cats living together... mass hysteria!
Up until now, the impression was that you were cool with being the best Roy Halladay you could be. That was enough for us, even if it never was with Mats Sundin during the NHL season. You taking the mound every fifth day was one reason not to look at the long winter and see a winter bleak and dark and bereft of hope -- but enough about the Toronto Maple Leafs.
What else is there for a baseball geek in Canada, aside from fulminating at the brilliant bits of misinformation that periodically spew forth from GM J.P. Ricciardi? Since you pitch for a team that hasn't been anywhere near the playoffs since both of us were in the eleventh grade, the satisfaction of a job well-done is supposed to be enough to keep you happy.
Who knew? You're always so concerned about your reputation. Einstein did his best stuff when he was working as a patent clerk!
You're not alone in having a weak moment in Jays-land. In the spring, there's always the wild thoughts, imagining a real Cinderella story, came out of nowhere, to lead the pack in the cutthroat AL East. By the team summer heats up, it's usually obvious that even if you guys play so far above your heads that your noses bleed for a week to ten days; even if God in heaven above comes down and points his hand at our side of the field; even if every man woman and child held hands together and prayed for us to win, it just wouldn't matter because all the really good-looking girls would still cheer for the Red Sox and the Yankees because they've got all the money and for the Tampa Bay Rays because they have more brains, and those teams will go to the playoffs!
It just doesn't matter we win or we lose. It just doesn't matter!
You're needed in Toronto to take dead aim on the rich boys. Get them in the crosshairs and take them down. Just remember, the Red Sox and Yankees can buy anything -- and the Rays have a much better drafting record than the Jays have under Ricciardi -- but they can't buy backbone. Don't let them forget it.
The pathway to salvation is as narrow and as difficult to walk as a razor's edge -- which more or less sums up your team averaging only 3.8 runs in your starts this season.
That is your burden. If you could pitch in a hair shirt, you would. Having to have a World Series ring to be validated is some screwhead fetish. You're pitching for the doomed, otherwise known as diehard Jays fans. They're lost, they're helpless, they're somebody else's meal, they're like pigs in the wilderness.
They --we -- need a leader every fifth day. An army without leaders is like a foot without a big toe. And you're always gonna be here to be that big toe for us.
Of course, you'd like a little something, you know, for the effort, you know. Oh, uh, there won't be any October glory, but when you die, on your deathbed, you will receive total consciousness.
So you got that goin' for you, which is nice.
(There are 17 quotes from Bill Murray movies buried in this post. How many can you find before resorting to checking IMDb?)
Tuesday, July 8, 2008
DEAR BRYAN MCCABE, WHY ARE YOU STILL IN TORONTO?
by Mike Jack, Mike Jack's Hockey Articles
Dear Bryan McCabe,
Why are you still in
I mean, I understand why you originally wanted to play in
One thing about playing in the center of the hockey universe though is that there are more eyes watching you than in any other NHL market, and these eyes do not forget what they see. You should know better than anyone what they’ve seen. They’ve seen a guy score on his own net. They’ve seen a guy pass the puck directly onto the stick of his opponent allowing his opponent to score the goal that defeats your team several times. They’ve seen a defenseman who seems to take his time skating into his own zone to defend the offensive rush of his opponents. They see their worse defensive defenseman get paid more than any other player on the team. You’re the 10th highest paid defenseman in the league, and the fans in
Because of these things, you get booed. I’m sure you can hear it. You’re not only booed at the arena.
Now, you know just like everyone else knows that you hold the key to your own destiny. You’ve got a no trade clause and the Leafs management along with every other hockey fan in the city wants you to waive that no trade clause and leave town. I don’t understand why you’d want to stay where you’re not wanted. If you go to some city that doesn’t care about hockey so much, maybe they won’t notice your horrible defensive play if you put a few pucks in the net. Why not go anywhere that wants you?
Look, chances are that the
Anyway, I hope you take my suggestions under consideration and have better luck next season.
Sincerely,
Mike Jack
Saturday, July 5, 2008
THE CFL: YOU ACTUALLY KNOW SOME OF THESE GUYS!
by E. Spencer Kyte, Bugs and Cranks
Following up on my fellow Canadian Bureau member Neate's post from yesterday where he pretty accurately linked all the CFL teams to their NFL counterparts, today brings another lesson in your Canadian Football League education.
Sure the CFL is littered with guys you've never heard of and French Canadians with names neither of us could pronounce properly, but it's also got some names you might remember and a couple you should get to learning now too.
No CFL'er is more famous than the Toronto Argonauts kicker Mike Vanderjagt. That's right, the Drunk Idiot is back in TO and back in the CFL after washing out South of the Border. Vandy returned this spring to the team where it all started and has been the same Mike Vanderjagt that washed out of the NFL. He missed a couple makable kicks during Week 1...
Toronto seems to be the destination of choice for the bulk of the big name former NFL imports to the Canadian game, as the Argos brought in both David Boston and Bethel Johnson at Wide Receiver this season. So far, they have both performed much the same as the did in the NFL - Boston is hurt and out for pretty much the whole year and Bethel Johnson still can't catch the ball.
As Neate mentioned in his piece, their are some quality former NFL receivers playing here in the Great White North who are quality contributors.
Jason Tucker has been outstanding in Edmonton since coming on board and Ken-Yon Rambo is part of a solid receiving corps in Calgary that could include former Tennessee Titans First Round Pick Tyrone Calico somewhere down the line.
Quarterback is the glamour position in the CFL too and there are a few names you might recognize doing their thing up here.
Kerry Joseph, last season's Most Outstanding Player, was a Safety with the Seattle Seahawks for a time before coming to Canada to Quarterback the now defunct Ottawa Renegades.
Michael Bishop finished second in the Heisman voting during his final season at Kansas State. Now, after an 11-1 season as a starter last year, he's serving as Joseph's backup in Toronto, a situation that is sure to be troublesome all season long.
Jarious Jackson played at THE Ohio State before coming to the CFL where his blend of speed and skill better translates. Same goes for Brad Banks, who has gotten to study under one of the greats in CFL history Anthony Calvillo in Montreal.
Don't forget my fair friends to the South, the CFL has delivered some quality talent to you in the South over the years, Drunken Idiot Kickers aside. Here are four more names to keep on your radars as possible additions to the NFL in the coming years:
Buck Pierce, QB
The porn-named quarterback has all the skills to be successful wherever he plays. All he has lacked thus far is health and a full season to prove his talents. He split time three ways last year in BC and is the #1 guy for the Lions right now. One great season bought Casey Printers two years holding a clipboard in Kansas City, so imagine what it could get a guy who can actually hit his receivers.
Jesse Lumsden, RB
He's been to training camps in Seattle and Washington and ended up back in Hamilton both times. The NFL's loss has been the Tabbies gain as Lumsden is one of the most dynamic talents in the league. Anyone who averages 7.6 yards per carry deserves attention.
Andy Fantuz, WR
Neate's either going to love me or hate me for this one. Suggesting that his Riders lose one of their best receivers could get me dropped or he could agree that over his brief CFL career - which followed a brilliant career at the University of Western Ontario here in London - Fantuz has been one of the best receivers in the league. At 6' tall, he might be considered a little small for the NFL, but the guy has an unbelievable set of hands. I know this first hand having watched him murder my Waterloo Warriors for years...
Cameron Wake, DE/DT/LB
When you win Most Outstanding Defensive Player in the same year you win Most Outstanding Rookie, you're at least worthy of a look. Wake, a tweener from Penn State who excelled at rushing the passer last year (16.5 sacks) is the CFL's version of Terrell Suggs and is sure to get an opportunity in the NFL sometime soon.
Wednesday, July 2, 2008
HAGMAN, FINGER & CUJO: WHAT WILL THE MAPLE LEAFS DO NEXT?
by Mike Jack, Mike Jack's Hockey Articles
Yesterday, the Toronto Maple Leafs signed winger, Niklas Hagman, defenseman, Jeff Finger and goaltender Curtis Joseph on the first day of the NHL free agent signing period.
Coach Ron Wilson has said Hagman will most likely play on a checking line with Jamal Mayers who was acquired in a trade with the St. Louis Blues just before the draft. Hagman scored 27 goals last season with the Dallas Star. He was signed for a reasonable $3 million per season.
Finger, who played with
Joseph was the Leafs starting goaltender from 1998 to 2002, and now returns to back up Vesa Toskala. He left Toronto for a chance to win the Stanley Cup with Detroit, but ended up riding the pine when Dominik Hasek signed with Detroit soon after. Joseph signed with
So, what’s
In a July 1st press conference, Fletcher said they'd sign another defenseman in the next couple days. I think the best fit of the remaining
If the Leafs do sign another defensemen though, they'll have eight defenseman signed (Tomas Kaberle, Pavel Kubina, McCabe, Finger, Anton Stralman, Ian White and Carlo Colaiacovo). I think that means that either Kubina, McCabe or maybe even Colaiacovo will be traded. Now that Brian Campbell, Mark Streit, Wade Redden, Michal Rozsival, Brooks Orpik and Ron Hainsey are all signed, teams looking for an offensive defenseman may be willing to dish out the dollars for McCabe or Kubina.
McCabe said he'd waiver his no trade clause to go to
Kubina may have earned another chance with the Leafs after scoring 40 points last season, but at 31, he's now the fifth oldest Leaf and one of seven Leafs that are 30+. Kubina’s contract only allows him to be traded before August 15th.
Colaiacovo could be gone for the same reason that Kyle Wellwood left, he's hurt often. If Kubina or McCabe go, he'd be a good sixth or seventh defenseman though. If Luke Schenn, the 5th overall pick in the 2008 draft, makes a push in camp, he may too take Colaiacovo's spot.
Now, that most of the really good
I think the Leafs will give Jason Blake another shot. He'll be 35 this season, but he had some stuff to deal with next year like cancer. He could still be a top scorer. It looks like the Leafs may be keeping Mark Bell around too. I think that huge hit on Daniel Alfredsson at the end of the year saved his career.
Besides Fletcher’s promise to sign another defenseman soon, any other moves the Leafs perform this off season will depend on whether or not they trade Kubina or McCabe and whether or not Sundin decides to sign back with
Saturday, June 28, 2008
WHO WILL THE MAPLE LEAFS SIGN?
by Mike Jack, Mike Jack's Hockey Articles
General Manager, Cliff Fletcher has accumulated quite the pile of money by relinquishing the likes of Darcy Tucker, Andrew Raycroft,
With the NHL free agent signing period just three days away (July 1st), it could be a wild free agent season for the rebuilding Toronto Maple Leafs. If the Leafs choose not to go for their own unrestricted free agents, they’ll have about $18 million in cap space available to sign younger unrestricted free agents with their only real roster needs being three forwards and a back-up goalie.
So, with $18 million to spend, here are the top five players the Leafs should offer a contract to on July 1st:
5. Jeff Finger, Defenseman
The Leafs may need a defensive defenseman on their second defensive pairing. Hal Gill was suppose to be that guy last year, but a younger defensive player like Finger or Brooks Orpik will do them one better. They’ll definitely need another defenseman if they decide to trade Pavel Kubina this summer.
4. Wade Dubielewicz, Goaltender
With the buying out of Andrew Raycroft and farmhand, Scott Clemmenson becoming an unrestricted free agent, the Leafs need a back-up for Vesa Toskala. Some may say they should give Justin Pogge a shot, but Justin Pogge definitely needs to learn how to be a consistent AHL goalie before he sees any time in the NHL. Pogge was Clemmenson’s back-up for most of the Marlies play-off run. Unlike Raycroft, Dubielewicz know his role as a back-up. He prepares himself as such by training himself to be ready to save his team when his starter goes down. When Toskala was hurt last season and the Leafs needed Raycroft to step up, they went on a huge losing streak. Dubie may not have had a lot of wins last season, buy his .919 save percentage speaks for itself. Other younger back-ups the Leafs may go for should include Alex Auld and Curtis Sanford. Any of these goalies could be signed for less than half of what Raycroft was making.
3. Patrick Rissmiller, Winger
Rissmiller is a tough third line player that has played under coach, Ron Wilson. He along with newly acquired Jamal Mayers could help fill the gap in grit left by the absence of Tucker, Kilger and Belak. If they don’t get Rissmiller, then maybe they could go for Matt Cooke.
2. Kristian Huselius, Winger
During this free agent season, the major thing the Leafs need is a super-star forward in their 20’s - maybe even two or three if they decide to trade Jason Blake. Huselius may not be a super-star yet, but he is the second best younger unrestricted forward available. He had 25 goal and 66 points 2007-08, and 34 goals and 77 points in 2008-09. If he were on the Leafs, he’d probably see a lot of time on their top line. Other younger forwards that the Leafs may go for are Radim Vrbata, Ryan Malone, Niklas Hagman, Jason Williams, Josef Vasicek, Antti Miettinen and Pascal Dupuis.
1. Marian Hossa, Winger
Hossa is the younger super-star the Leafs need to get if they don’t sign Sundin. Though Hossa had one of his worst regular seasons last year, he proved he can perform in the play-offs by finishing third in play-off scoring. Hossa has the potential to score 100 points this season and he’s remained healthy virtually his entire career. Hossa is also eight years younger than Sundin. Sundin is apparently looking for $7 million next season, and Hossa is looking for slightly more. What kind of drama would this add to the battle of
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
MAPLE LEAFS TUCKER, RAYCROFT & WELLWOOD AS GOOD AS GONE
by Mike Jack, Staff Writer
Earlier today (
For Raycroft, this is likely the first step to buying out his contract. He is an obvious candidate for a buyout after recording only two wins in 19 games last season. He’s scheduled to make $2.2 million next season. There will now be a 24 hour period where any NHL team can claim Raycroft off waivers. If Raycroft is not claimed, the Leafs can either assign him to their farm team, The Toronto Marlies, put him on re-entry waivers where they’d be responsible for half of his salary if he’s claimed, or buy out his contract making them pay out 2/3 of his contract over two seasons. If the Leafs do decide to place Raycroft on the Marlies, his $2.2 million won’t count towards their salary cap.
Many Leafs fans may be surprised that Wellwood will mostly likely not be with the team next season. You may think a rebuilding team would be interested in keeping a 25 year-old who scored 42 points in 48 games in 2006-07 and was once touted to hold the position of the team’s second-line center. However, Wellwood has missed 56 games in the last two seasons mostly due to a sports hernia. Odds are the Leafs doubt the 5’10,” 180lbs forward will ever recover. The team may also be impatient with injury prone players since leading the league in “man-games-lost-to-injury” during the 2006-07 season. Wellwood is currently a restricted free agent, but if he’s not claimed on waivers and not presented a qualifying offer of 105% of last season’s salary, he’ll become an unrestricted free agent.
Since Tucker has a no movement clause, the Leafs won’t be able to put him on waivers. His contract will be bought out and he’ll become an unrestricted free agent. Tucker was a hard-nosed fan favourite in
It still remains to be seen whether or not they’ll buy out the contract of Bryan McCabe. Many have anticipated the buying out of McCabe, but it appears that the Leafs are unwilling to take the large cap hit that would be required over the next six seasons.
The only official buy out so far has the Ottawa Senators buying out the contract of goaltender Ray Emery. The Los Angeles Kings and Tampa Bay Lightning have also placed goalies on waivers. The Kings have tried to buy out Dan Cloutier, but they may not be able to because Cloutier claims he is injured and therefore ineligible for a buy out. Lightning goalie, Marc Denis has been placed on waivers and is eligible for a buy out tomorrow if unclaimed.
Sunday, June 15, 2008
WHO WILL THE LEAFS BUYOUT?
by Mike Jack, Staff Writer
With the NHL’s player buyout period for contracts starting today (June 15th), many hockey fans are wondering how the Toronto Maple Leafs, who have promised to give the team an extreme makeover, will deal with their four players with no-trade clauses and some of their other high priced players that have generated no trade interest from other teams.
Earlier this week, Toronto not only announced the hiring of new Head Coach, Ron Wilson, but the team has also claimed that the search for a new GM will be put on hold until the 2009 off-season and Interim General Manager, Cliff Fletcher, will likely ride-out the 2008-09 season.
When asked if he’d be looking into buying out any contracts during a trade deadline press conference, Fletcher simply responded “Absolutely.” Fletcher’s hands were a little tied in his effort to rebuild the team on trade deadline day by Bryan McCabe, Pavel Kubina, Darcy Tucker, Tomas Kaberle and Captain Mats Sundin who all had no-trade clauses in their contracts. Mats Sundin’s contract expired at the end of the season, so he’s now an unrestricted free agent and can sign with any team if he doesn’t decide to retire.
Buyouts seem inevitable in Toronto as Fletcher told the press during a press conference after the last game of the Leafs season that “There’s a time in the off season where Kubina can be traded. The other three (Kaberle, Tucker and McCabe) still have no trade clauses, but if they need to be dealt with, they’ll be dealt with.”
However, in several other interviews, when Fletcher was asked which players he’s mostly to keep through the rebuilding process to build the team around, he’s indicated that though every player has a price in trade, Tomas Kaberle is a player he’d like to keep around.
Here’s my list of the Top 5 Toronto Maple Leafs that will likely be bought out in the next two weeks:
5. Pavel Kubina: He has been criticized for not living up to his pay grade since arriving in Toronto as an unrestricted free agent in 2006. Kubina thrived in the last couple months of the season and it may be enough to save his job.
4. Mark Bell: The Leafs never had much interest in obtaining Bell in the first place. He hasn’t lived up to the potential he had in his rookie year. San Jose pretty much dumped Bell in the Leafs’ laps as part of the trade that brought Vesa Toskala to Toronto. A cap hit of $2.167 million per season makes him the 3rd highest paid player on the Leafs despite seeing most of his ice time on the 4th line if he’s even dressed. He only has one year left in his contract, so his effect on the cap if bought out would be minimal and for only two seasons
3. Darcy Tucker: Injury prone Tucker had a horrible season, and seems to be nearing the end of his career due to reoccurring injuries. The only trouble is that the Leafs would have to pay out $1million over 6 seasons. This could hinder the Leafs future more than help it.
2. Andrew Raycroft: $2 million for an unreliable back-up goaltender is ridiculous. Nobody is interested in Raycroft as I’m sure the Leafs would have moved him by now if there was any interest at all. With a minimal cap hit over two seasons, the buyout would definitely be worth it.
1. Bryan McCabe: With a cap hit of $5.75 million, McCabe is the 10th highest paid defenseman despite ranking 68th in points by a defenseman this year. His defensive play is sub-par, and Fletcher had commented that even if McCabe waives his no trade clause, there is no interest in him from other teams with his current price tag. Though his cap hit would be about $1.92 million over 6 seasons, I’m sure the Le
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