The dream died last night in Toronto. It wasn't much of a dream to begin with (just making the playoffs) and didn't have much chance for success but it official ended with the Bruins 6-2 butt kicking of the Maple Leafs last night.
The offseason promises to be interesting.
Will the upper management of MLSE actually hire a new General Manager and give him full control over hockey operations ?
Will the new GM have the stones to eat some contracts, Raycroft, Tucker and maybe Blake spring to mind, and move in a new direction ?
History tells us no and regardless the Leafs will continue to be a huge cash cow but as fans we can only hope.
My plan sees a new 2 year deal for Sundin at 4 million a year, a couple of small signings along with buy outs of Tucker, Raycroft and maybe even McCabe. Bring back Clemmenson at 500K, play Toskala 65 games and play Pogge 60 games in the AHL, resign Deveraux, Moore and look to deal McCabe (with the threat of a buyout if he won't waive his no movement), Bell and Wellwood.
That's a start at least, and if they can pry Kulemin free from Mother Russia they have three solid lines and five reasonable D Men (Kaberle, Kubina, Colaiacovo, White and Stralman) and whatever they get for McCabe/Bell/Wellwood.
If anyone is interested I'd be happy to take an assistant GM position for 200K and a moving allowance.
On another note I awoke this morning to see the Vancouver media rallying around the plight of David Scholfield and DJ Kearney whose house burned down on Tuesday. Both the local TV outlets and the Vancouver Sun were calling out for support for the couple and their two teenage children.
Excuse me ?
Yes the loss of one's home and many personal possessions are tragic and I feel for them but Mr. Scholfield was the former director of purchasing for the BCLDB, drawing down six figures prior to his early retirement and 50K+ per year pension and Ms. Kearney is a sommelier of some note so I'm assuming that they:
1) have some financial resources
2) had insurance on the house they owned.
I should, at this point, mention that I've known Mr. Scholfield for many years and do not like him but, that notwithstanding, if we are going to "rally around" the plight of people in the hospitality industry how about the single moms working double shifts at White Spot or the dishwashers working 10 hour days to take home $300 a week without benefits.
It is unconscionable to me that prominent people in my industry are asking for assistance for a couple earning six figures a year when we can't get dental plans in 75% of the restaurants in the Province and the drive to view the burnt out Scholfield/Kearney residence will likely take you over the Second Narrows Bridge, under which people live in cardboard boxes.
I'm sure I'll draw some heat for this but I can't believe that this is the way the hospitality industry should provide a "wave of support" for the unfortunates in the industry.
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
The Importance of Being Mats
Let me preface this by stating that I have no empirical proof that Scott Burnside's parents and grandparents are 1st cousins, but it is at least an explanation for the drivel he writes.
In his latest column Burnside proposes that should Mats Sundin not waive his no trade clause the Leafs should:
Strip him of his Captaincy
Make it clear that they will not give him a new contract
Send him to his room
Okay I'm an acknowledged Leafs fan and Mats lover and I really believe the best interests of the team lie in trading the captain at this time, however a "no trade clause" is a commitment that should be upheld. What Mr. Burnside is saying is basically that the team says "Yeah we'll give you a no trade clause but if we want to trade you you better waive it or we'll treat you like a pariah". Given that Mr. Burnside resides in Atlanta it's entirely likely that he is unaware that some athletes wish to stay in the city where they have played for a considerable length of time.
Sundin, and other players like him, have no trade clauses in their deals because they don't wish to have their personal and/or business lives uprooted every spring. No trade clauses are not handed out to journeyman and third year players they are rewards for veterans who have roots in the community they play in, and who are generally solid leaders within those communities.
Burnside further smears Sundin, and Tomas Kaberle, by stating that their only reasons for the "no movement clause" is that they don't want to play in the playoffs. Of course Burnside has no evidence to back this up but hey he's a columnist so it's his opinions that count, not facts or journalism.
The fact of the matter is Mats Sundin has earned the right to decide his future and where he finishes this season, and MLSE put that right in in his contract. In my perfect hockey world Sundin would be traded for two solid prospects and a #1 pick, win the cup with Detroit/Anaheim/Dallas and then return to Toronto in the offseason but that decision is Sundin's, and Cliff Fletcher's, to make not anyone else.
Given his stated contempt for legal boundaries and his desire to punish someone for just doing what is rightfully their due I can only imagine how the discipline runs with the children in the Burnside household.
In his latest column Burnside proposes that should Mats Sundin not waive his no trade clause the Leafs should:
Strip him of his Captaincy
Make it clear that they will not give him a new contract
Send him to his room
Okay I'm an acknowledged Leafs fan and Mats lover and I really believe the best interests of the team lie in trading the captain at this time, however a "no trade clause" is a commitment that should be upheld. What Mr. Burnside is saying is basically that the team says "Yeah we'll give you a no trade clause but if we want to trade you you better waive it or we'll treat you like a pariah". Given that Mr. Burnside resides in Atlanta it's entirely likely that he is unaware that some athletes wish to stay in the city where they have played for a considerable length of time.
Sundin, and other players like him, have no trade clauses in their deals because they don't wish to have their personal and/or business lives uprooted every spring. No trade clauses are not handed out to journeyman and third year players they are rewards for veterans who have roots in the community they play in, and who are generally solid leaders within those communities.
Burnside further smears Sundin, and Tomas Kaberle, by stating that their only reasons for the "no movement clause" is that they don't want to play in the playoffs. Of course Burnside has no evidence to back this up but hey he's a columnist so it's his opinions that count, not facts or journalism.
The fact of the matter is Mats Sundin has earned the right to decide his future and where he finishes this season, and MLSE put that right in in his contract. In my perfect hockey world Sundin would be traded for two solid prospects and a #1 pick, win the cup with Detroit/Anaheim/Dallas and then return to Toronto in the offseason but that decision is Sundin's, and Cliff Fletcher's, to make not anyone else.
Given his stated contempt for legal boundaries and his desire to punish someone for just doing what is rightfully their due I can only imagine how the discipline runs with the children in the Burnside household.
Friday, January 11, 2008
Tony Gallagher made me Blog
I thought it was all over. I really felt the blog had run its' course and would just die off, in fact it had been so long since I'd blogged that blogger.com forgot who I was and I had to remember passwords and shit to get this far.
Finally, however, something rattled my chain enough to make me blog again.
No, it wasn't the sorry state of The Leafs, no it wasn't the Canadian kicker shanking a gimme and giving the SeaHawks new life when my Redskins had their hands around Seattle's collective throats, it wasn't even the delay in the start of production of High School Musical 3 or the fact that There Will be Blood isn't a vampire movie. What finally forced my hand was the most recent musings of Tony Gallagher in what passes for a newspaper here in Vancouver.
Now I've never really gotten Gallagher to begin with, his grumpy persona and West Coast homerism have never really appealed to me. I mentioned him in an earlier blog when he blamed the Minnesota Twins hitting coach for Justin Morneau's hitting woes - though of course when Morneau was successful it was all because of good clean Canadian air growing up. Truth be told I just stopped reading his column, but this morning his mug was on the cover of the Daily Fishwrap so I turned to page A4 to read Tony's musings on the recent Canuck's ownership flap, and was glad I hadn't eaten yet.
I don't think I've ever seen such a ridiculous display of flag waving outside the US border in my times. Gallagher would have us believe that the saintly Francesco Aquilini never had any partnership with the evil litigious Gaglardi-Beedie cartel and that his lack of details on cross examination was simply the honest omissions of a very busy man. What's more Gaglardi and Beedie are nothing but thugs for attempting to besmirch the reputation of a man who made his fortune benefitting from his family's long tradition of being Slum Landlords.
C'mon Tony we know that you have to kiss ass with the Canucks brass to get any quality time with Nonis et al, but does your tongue have to go up there too ?
Why is it I get the feeling that Tony had two columns written for this scenario, the one he published and the one that spoke of the evil Aquilini taking advantage of two honest hardworking BC boys named Gaglardi and Beedie.
I'm not sure I'm all the way back but at least the blog is alive for this week. I'll talk about the hamster later.
Finally, however, something rattled my chain enough to make me blog again.
No, it wasn't the sorry state of The Leafs, no it wasn't the Canadian kicker shanking a gimme and giving the SeaHawks new life when my Redskins had their hands around Seattle's collective throats, it wasn't even the delay in the start of production of High School Musical 3 or the fact that There Will be Blood isn't a vampire movie. What finally forced my hand was the most recent musings of Tony Gallagher in what passes for a newspaper here in Vancouver.
Now I've never really gotten Gallagher to begin with, his grumpy persona and West Coast homerism have never really appealed to me. I mentioned him in an earlier blog when he blamed the Minnesota Twins hitting coach for Justin Morneau's hitting woes - though of course when Morneau was successful it was all because of good clean Canadian air growing up. Truth be told I just stopped reading his column, but this morning his mug was on the cover of the Daily Fishwrap so I turned to page A4 to read Tony's musings on the recent Canuck's ownership flap, and was glad I hadn't eaten yet.
I don't think I've ever seen such a ridiculous display of flag waving outside the US border in my times. Gallagher would have us believe that the saintly Francesco Aquilini never had any partnership with the evil litigious Gaglardi-Beedie cartel and that his lack of details on cross examination was simply the honest omissions of a very busy man. What's more Gaglardi and Beedie are nothing but thugs for attempting to besmirch the reputation of a man who made his fortune benefitting from his family's long tradition of being Slum Landlords.
C'mon Tony we know that you have to kiss ass with the Canucks brass to get any quality time with Nonis et al, but does your tongue have to go up there too ?
Why is it I get the feeling that Tony had two columns written for this scenario, the one he published and the one that spoke of the evil Aquilini taking advantage of two honest hardworking BC boys named Gaglardi and Beedie.
I'm not sure I'm all the way back but at least the blog is alive for this week. I'll talk about the hamster later.
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