Pictures of the Lunar Eclipse

Canada Takes Game One

Penalty killing will clearly be an important part of Canada’s game in the Super Series.The Canadian team had to play through eleven short handed situations, including a couple of five on three situations in game one of their eight game series against Russia.

As seems to be the case in Internationally officiated games, any form of contact can suddenly send you to the box, particularly anything to do with the hockey stick. Canada played almost one third of the game down a man on the ice, but still managed to not only weather the storm, but to turn the flow of the game around and move the game into the Russian end of the ice.Game one saw Canada fall behind two to nothing before storming back to score four unanswered goals on the way to a 4-2 opening night victory.

Lunar Eclipse

If you're able to get up really early tomorrow morning, you may be able to see the moon go copper red during a totak lunar eclipse. The big event will occur in Toronto - before sunrise, in fact, at 4:51 EDT. It will reach full eclipse stage an hour later. In about 90 minutes, the moon will change from its grey-white colour to a coppery red.

Pirates?

Maybe the Leafs Curse Will End Now?

A treasure hunter searching in Florida waters came across a true Canadian find - a Stanley Cup ring marking the last time Toronto's Maple Leafs were able to clinch the hockey championship.

The ring has been missing for some thirty years. It belonged to former Maple Leaf right-winger Jim Pappin, the player who led his team during the 1967-68 season playoffs with seven goals and 15 points.

Pappin was so disillusioned with the Leafs after they traded him to the Chicago Blackhawks, he gave his ring to his father-in-law.

A Toronto Maple Leafs Stanley Cup ring is a rare piece of jewelry, indeed.

I can't imagine giving one away. So now maybe the curse over the Leafs will finally end.

Another Prediction for 07-08 NHL Season

From The Hockey News Yearbook

Eastern Conference
1 Ottawa*
2 N.Y. Rangers*
3 Pittsburgh
4 Buffalo
5 Carolina*
6 Tampa Bay
7 New Jersey
8 Atlanta
9 Philadelphia
10 Washington
11 Toronto
12 Florida
13 Montreal
14 N.Y. Islanders
15 Boston

Western Conference
1 Detroit*
2 Anaheim*
3 Calgary*
4 San Jose
5 Minnesota
6 Vancouver
7 Nashville
8 Colorado
9 St. Louis
10 Chicago
11 Dallas
12 Los Angeles
13 Edmonton
14 Columbus
15 Phoenix

I like some of these predictions better than McKeen's. Not so sure if Nashville will make the playoffs with their talent sell off and ownership distractions. Maybe most suprising is that the Leafs are rated 11th in the East after upgrading in net. This likely reflects the aging Sundin, continued weak team defense and penalty killing, and their ongoing mangement distractions. What do you think?

59 Year Old to Play College Football

Thank you Mike Flynt for making my dream of playing for the Leafs one day come alive again.

His biggest regret of his life was getting kicked off the college team before his senior year. So Flynt returned to Sul Ross State this month, 37 years after he left, at age 59, and six years before he goes on Medicare.

Flynt is eight years older than his coach and has two kids older than any of his teammates.

Ouch!

I woke up this morning and heard the score thinking it was a NFL exhibition game. Texas breaks a 110 year old record but reality will set in this morning - they are 15 games out of a playoff spot.

I noticed Baltimore couldn't hold a 3-0 lead going into the 4th.

You will never see me dressed like this

Peca joins list of local boys who career fizzles out as a Leaf

Player signings at this point of the summer tend to be players at the end of their career matched with teams that either have huge gaps in their line up or some cap space left to spend. So the signing of Mike Peca by the Columbus Blue Jackets is a perfect fit.

Peca joins Shayne Corson, Eric Lindros, Jeff O'Neill, Jason Allison, Joe Nieuwendyk, and Drake Berehowsky as local boys who got to live out their childhood dream of putting on a Leaf uniform. In each case they left Toronto disappointing themselves, management and the fans.

Sidney Crosby Launches Reebok Clothing Line

At the age of 20, Sidney Crosby has already become the face of the NHL. The PR machine behind him will likely tightly control his image to prevent another Ed Belfour or Michael Vick.

The Wayne Gretzky of the current generation has already won the Hart Trophy and the Art Ross Trophy (though robbed of the Calder in his rookie year). So expect to see lots of kids wearing clothes labeled "Rbk SC87".

First Prediction for 07-08 NHL Season

From the McKeen's Hockey Yearbook.

Eastern Conference
1 Pittsburgh*
2 Ottawa*
3 N.Y. Rangers
4 Buffalo
5 New Jersey
6 Toronto
7 Carolina*
8 Montreal
9 Tampa Bay
10 Philadelphia (tie)
11 Florida (tie)
12 Washington
13 Boston
14 Atlanta
15 N.Y. Islanders

Western Conference
1 Detroit*
2 Colorado*
3 Dallas*
4 Anaheim (tie)
5 Vancouver (tie)
6 San Jose
7 Calgary
8 Minnesota
9 Los Angeles
10 St. Louis
11 Nashville
12 Chicago
13 Edmonton
14 Columbus
15 Phoenix

In case you haven't seen Barry Bonds' rookie card

Obvious Attention-Seeker

Average Olympic Medals Won Per Million Inhabitants

This map illustrates the average number of medals won per million people in an Olympic Summer Games between 1996 and 2004. Medal counts from the last three Olympic Games were used. So the Bahamas were on top with 5 medals over the last 3 Olympics with a population of 331,000 which works out to 5.04 medals per million people per Olympic Game.

Top counties are:

1. Bahamas 5.04 (Per Million Per Game)
2. Cuba 2.40
3. Australia 2.35
4. Jamaica 2.21
5. Hungary 1.83
31. Russia 0.57
36. Canada 0.49
46. United States 0.33
78. China 0.04

Etobicoke 3-on-3 Girls Hockey

With still 22 days until our first practice, I decided to drop by the 3-on-3 league at Canlan Ice Sports last night to watch some hockey (ok, I have no life). Afterall, the league includes 13 current or former Storm Midget B players and 5 are in league's top 10 scorers.

Going over the stats I noticed that the Black team which is pretty much made up of Storm players was in first place. Mari was 4th in league scoring and had a league leading 10 game scoring streak. Jessica B recorded the most goals in a game. Marley and Maryssa were tied with the most penalties in a game (in different games) and Marley had the league lead in PIM. Is there some sibling rivalry going on there?

Watched last night's first playoff game between Black and Blue. The Blue team had only 3 skaters including Genevieve but held the Black team to a 5-5 tie in regulation time. The game was won by Black in overtime with the winning goal scored by Stephanie. Genevieve lead all scorers with 3 goals and 45:34 minutes in ice time. I'd say she's in mid season form already. Other Storm scorers were Vanessa R (2) , Sheri (2), and Mari.

The other game last night was between Red and White with Red taking the game 8-6. Marley and Maryssa did not score for Red last night but Maryssa did manage 2 penalties. Next week's final is between Black and Red will played at Canlan Ice Sports on Sunday evening at 8:30.

Redesigned Storm Website

Check out the new Storm website at northyorkstorm.com.

The rep teams will be posting team information on the site. But you should check out this site for the best info on the Midget B team.

We could stand for more courtesy on our roads

Cooking by Numbers

Found an interesting website. You fill out the form on what ingredients you have in your kitchen , and it will tell you what you can make with them.

The actual website can be found here.

Interesting Name

Bonds Hits Number 756

Yahoo posted the graphics immediately after Bonds broke the record including the asterisk....

...then within a half-hour it was gone!

Value of NHL Teams as Calculated by Forbes Magazine

1. Toronto Maple Leafs $332 (in millions)
2. New York Rangers $306
3. Detroit Red Wings $258
4. Dallas Stars $248
5. Philadelphia Flyers $246
6. Boston Bruins $235
7. Montreal Canadiens $230
8. Colorado Avalanche $219
9. Los Angeles Kings $205
10. Vancouver Canucks $192
11. Tampa Bay Lightning $172
12. Chicago Blackhawks $168
13. Minnesota Wild $163
14. Ottawa Senators $159
15. Anaheim Ducks $157
16. St Louis Blues $150
17. Buffalo Sabres $149
18. New Jersey Devils $148
19. Edmonton Oilers $146
20. San Jose Sharks $145
21. Carolina Hurricanes $144
22. Phoenix Coyotes $143
23. Florida Panthers $142
24. New York Islanders $140
25. Columbus Blue Jackets $139
26. Calgary Flames $135
27. Nashville Predators $134
28. Pittsburgh Penguins $133
29. Atlanta Thrashers $128
30. Washington Capitals $127

Interestingly, the spread between the bottom 15 team ($23 million) is less than the spread between the top 2 valued teams ($26 million).

It was announced today that Tampa Bay has been sold subject to league approval. No sale price has been made public but it will be interesting to see if it sold for the Forbes valuation figure. The franchise price was $115 million and the owner has lost a total of $60 million so the Forbes value would allow the seller to walk away at about the break even point.

Jim Basillie's bid for the Predators was higher than the value of all but 5 or 6 teams and almost double the franchise's actual value. Still the current bid is $193 million which is more than the value of 20 other franchises and about $60 million above the Forbes value.

Edit: The price paid for Tampa Bay has been made public and it is $206 million which is over $30 million above the Forbes value. So despite the fact that few teams make money (and the profitable teams are never up for sale), there are buyers willing to over pay for the right to own a NHL team.

Minor League Baseball Promotions

The Long Beach Armada of Los Angeles of California of the United States of North America Including Barrow, Alaska reacted to the recent NFL dogfighting scandal by hosting Michael Vick Animal Awareness Day. Fans were encouraged to bring their dogs to the game and anyone who brought a Vick jersey or shirt was given free admission. The in-game promotions were changed to make the dogs more welcome, including a doggie first pitch, a wiener dog race and dog washes. And don’t worry about the dogs leaving a mess on the field.

The Lowell Spinners put on Political Correctness Night. The names of the positions were changed, leaving the Spinners playing “first base-person” or “vertically challenged stop.” In a classy touch, errors weren’t announced to the crowd so the players didn’t get embarrassed.


Mullet Night is the kind of promotion only Jeff Foxworthy could love. Fans seeing the Portland Beavers are urged to dress up like rednecks and participate in toilet seat horseshoes and the unofficial hub-cap tossing world championship.


Drag in Drag Night has been in the works for a long time. Brave volunteers from the Winston-Salem Warthogs front office volunteered to dress up in drag for this game, but only four will get the, um, honor. Throughout the month of July, fans could donate money to one man’s jar; the four lucky winners will get to drag the infield in dresses. And no, it’s not all for kicks; all the money raised is going to the Special Olympics.




Finally flocculent fans can show of their unintentional sweaters at the Hairiest Back in Louisville Contest at this Louisville Bats game. The winner of the contest gets free hair removal courtesy of Avanti Skin Centers.

A-Rod Will One Day Pass Bonds

It seems only appropriate that Alex Rodriguez becomes the youngest player (and the 22nd player) to hit 500 homeruns, on the same day that Barry Bonds hits homerun #755 to tie Hank Aaron. Because it becomes the wish of all baseball fans that Rodriguez will someday surpass Bonds and remove his tainted record from the books. There is no question Bonds is a great players but his relentless pursuit of the Aaron record has hurt not only his reputation but that off the game of baseball.

I wonder what’s around the corner…

Caffeinated Diet Drinks

If you are moderating your caffeine intake - it's worth noting that most diet soft drinks have as much (or sometimes even more) caffeine than their sugar-filled counterparts.

Diet Pepsi MaxPer 12oz can : 69mg caffeine
A can of regular Pepsi-cola contains 38mg caffeine


















Diet CokePer 12oz can: 46.5mg caffeine
Diet Coke has significantly more caffeine in it than regular coke (34.5mg).

Photo Album Has Moved

The Midget B photo album has moved to flickr. The address can be found here.

Girls Hockey Merger

Official Announcement - July 18, 2007

Representatives of the Ontario Women's Hockey Association, Central East Girls Hockey League, North Metro Girls Hockey League and South Western Girls Hockey League have held several meetings to discuss options that will best serve league operations and maximize strengths for the benefit of all teams.

We are pleased to report that there is unanimous agreement to form a southern Ontario girls' hockey league for the 2007-2008 season.

Be advised that there will be a meeting on Tuesday, July 31, 2007 from 8:00 pm to 10:00 pm at Stage West Hotel in Mississauga. The structure of the new league will be presented. Delegates will answer any questions at that time. Ensure a representative from your association is in attendance to take the important information from this meeting back to all teams involved.

Thank you

Bryan Chappell, President, OWHA
Mark Robinson, President, SWGHL
John Chandler, President, NMGHL
Mary Jean Van Dorp, President, CEGHL

Leafs Targeting Peca

JFJ is publicly stated he would like to resign Mike Peca and Peca has repeatedly voiced his desire to return to the Leafs. So with two willing parties it's likely a done deal.

However in the era of the salary cap, nothing is that simple. Peca will likely sign for less than the $2.5 million he earned last year because of the severity of the injury he sustained. I would guess he will earn between $1.5 - $2.0 million. But Leaf salaries have already hit $48 million and the cap is $50.3 million. JFJ has to leave himself some cap space. As well, the centre spot begins to get crowded. The first two lines will be filled by Sundin and Wellwood. That leaves Peca, Stajan ($875,000) and Pohl ($450,000) for only two spots. Economics seem to suggest Stajan is on his way out.

Trading Stajan who is 23 to sign Peca who is 33 seems to go against youth strategy that JFJ always talks about. But he has no long term contract so what good is a long term strategy (much like the Argo QB strategy). Most people would agree just keep Stajan and let him develop. But the Leafs need help in the penalty killing department. Although Stajan was pretty good there, Peca was much better.

Looking beyond all the rhetoric, the Leafs have not changed their pre-lockout strategy which is go with veterans. Everyone blamed Pat Quinn for this strategy but in fact JFJ full embraces this approach. Trades for Raycroft and Toskala suggest that the Leaf plan is to squeak into the playoffs and pray for some upsets.

EDIT: JFJ was quoted on Aug 2 stating that he was not looking to trade Stajan which would explain why the Peca contract hasn't moved forward.

Al Arbour to coach one more game with Isles

In a classy move, Islanders coach Ted Nolan has asked the former Islander great, Al Arbour, to step behind the bench one more time on November 3rd. Arbour is 74 years old and will mark his 1500th game that night, having gone down in NHL history at 1499 for some 24 years now, he last coached back in 1983 and the wonder years of the Islanders.

Nolan felt it was important for Arbour to reach the milestone. Nolan will also be behind the bench because Arbour admits he doesn't really know the players. They will be going against Sidney Crosby and the Penguins that night.

Sharks' New Logo Unveiled

Don't see much difference except more teal and less black.

Please Do Not Dangle Your Doll

A better translator might help.

Stupid Pet Tricks at the Tour de France

More BBQ Photos

Thanks to Wayne Godda. Click here to see the rest.

Just a Little Paranoid

Last Day on the Job

Hey Does Anyone Have Punch Imlach's Phone Number?

This is turning into an incredible story.

In one of the more bizarre headhunter searches in recent times, the executives of MLSE have talked to anyone with a pulse and an old age pension in regard to the “mentoring” position for John Ferguson Jr. They have approached Scotty Bowman (age 73), John Muckler (also 73), two relative youngsters David Poile (57) and Bobby Clarke (58) and now apparently Harry Sinden (74).

The Leafs seem determined to undercut any value their current GM may have, by trotting out the elder statesmen of the last century. And while we no doubt suspect that all those considered thus far have a fair amount of hockey knowledge and have probably forgotten more than we’ll ever learn, most of it was forged back when the players could be sent to Siberia or Springfield at the whim of the manager.

The long running saga which first got its legs before the playoffs had even finished, has carried on to comedic lengths, with the only message that doesn’t seem to be getting through is that there aren’t that many people really in a hurry to work for the crazy rich guys guarding the Teachers fund at the Air Canada Centre.

How this whole bizarre scenario is impacting on his ability to run the Leafs is a very valid question. It’s the most foolish thing we’ve seen in a long time from the franchise that used to make Foolish its corporate mantra.

You have to feel a fair degree of sympathy for Ferguson, who may be wondering just what it is that his bureaucratic masters at MLSE really want from him. More importantly perhaps he should be looking to find his parachute and go to a franchise a little less loony in their approach to upper management.

Jim Balsillie's Front Man; Richard Rodier

I noticed how Richard Rodier's name continues to pop up in regards to Jim Balsillie's proposed purchase of the Nashville Predators. He has been a frequent guest of The Fan to discuss what is going on behind the scene. So I decided to Google Mr. Rodier to learn more about him.

He is a Toronto lawyer at Gardiner Roberts practicing corporate/commercial and banking law. Prior to law school he was an economist. Richard's subspecialty expertise is in banking, acting for both financial institutions and borrowers in connection with complex secured lending transactions, including financing of acquisitions, hostile take-over bids (hostile would certainly describe the status of the Nashville franchise purchase), sub-debt financing, and equipment leasing.

The Globe reports that a Toronto-based group has submitted an all-cash bid to buy the Ottawa Senators and plans to move the team to Hamilton back in 2002. Richard Rodier submitted the bid on behalf of HHC Acquisition Corp but declined to provide details of who was involved in the bid.

It was also later reported in The Globe that this HHC group had attempted to make a play for the Buffalo Sabres during that team's bankruptcy - again with Richard Rodier acting as the front man.

Now it's becoming obvious who was behind these "cash offers" for struggling franchises - none other than Jim Balsillie.

Then there was the bid for the Penguins last year that fell through after the NHL included a long list of conditions at the last minute. Jim Balsillie pulled out of that purchase and walked away from a $10 million deposit.

If you include the plays for the Sabres, Senators, Penguins and Predators, Balsillie's been lining up for troubled NHL franchises now for a lot longer that has been reported to this point.

And you can bet he'll be at the front of the line the next time a franchise is drowning in red ink (Phoenix, Atlanta, Florida).

It's Friday the 13th

Never Going to Make the NBA

Is ESPN Trying to Kill Hockey?

This piece is a week old by this point, but premise is fascinating: Is ESPN deliberately trying to kill hockey?

The reduced exposure on ESPN can only be harmful to the NHL. By minimizing coverage and highlights, the network is effectively reducing the imprint of the game on Americans' collective sports consciousness. Worse still, several ESPN writers and commentators have gone out of their way to emphasize the demise of hockey. During the NHL's regular season, hockey was only mentioned on-air if there happened to be "some egregious brawl" or if it was being "dissed" for its invisibility and irrelevance.

Returning on July 8

A History of Backstabbing

Damion Cox covers 40 years of Maple Leaf politics on his blog.

It seems back in the 1960s, Stafford Smythe and Harold Ballard pushed out John Bassett, then Ballard pushed out the Smythes, then when Ballard died Steve Stavros outmaneuvered Don Giffen who had brought in Cliff Fletcher, then Stavros dumps Fletcher for Ken Dryden who brought in Pat Quinn, then Quinn outmaneuvered Dryden, then Larry Tennenbaum pushed out Stavros, then Tennenbaum brings in Ferguson, then Ferguson pushes out Quinn.

Wow that would make a great TV mini-series. So now John Muckler may be brought on board to continue the boardroom antics. Meanwhile the Ontario Teachers' Pension Fund keeps making money.

By the Numbers

Sports Illustrated has compiled a list of top athletes by jersey number. Not that everyone on the list is not deserving but I think if you chose an unusual jersey number, you might have a better shot at making the list. The toughest number to choose was 32 but with 68 the choice was slim. Perhaps if I had played wearing 911 I too could be in Sport Illustrated. Here are some of the numbers:

00 - Jim Otto (NFL)
1 - Warren Moon (CFL, NFL)
2 - Secretariat (horse racing)
3 - Babe Ruth (MLB)
4 - Bobby Orr (NHL)
9 - Ted Williams (MLB) tough to choose between Williams and Gordie Howe
10 - Pele (soccer)
33 - Kareen Abdul Jabbar (NBA)
44 - Hank Aaron (MLB)
55 - Orel Hershiser (MLB)
66 - Mario Lemiuex (NHL)
77 - Red Grange (NFL)
88 - Alan Page (NFL)
99 - Wayne Gretzky (NHL)

Fire Bettman

There is a website dedicated to bringing together people who agree that Gary Bettman should resign or be fired from his position as NHL Commissioner - http://www.firebettman.com/.

I have to admit there is some merit to this cause. Honestly, it always felt like most hockey fans took a dislike to Bettman on sight when he took office in 1993 and never had a real reason to dislike him. I think that has changed. You always had this sense that he was anti-Canadian although his denials were never convincing (sounded too much like Dick Cheney). But clearly his true colours have come out.

Forcing Predators’ owner Craig Leipold to walk away from earlier negotiations with Canadian billionaire Jim Balsillie (who was planning on relocating the team to Hamilton, OT) is outrageous. Now Leipold is in negotiation with William "Boots" DelBiaggio but the offer is close to $50 million less than Balsillie’s, and it is said that he plans on relocating the team to Kansas City once the Predators’ lease in Nashville. The NHL already tried Kansas City in the 1970s and it was a disaster. No reason to believe a second shot will be any more successful than the second round in Atlanta.

"Let's get this straight -- Balsillie anted up $220-$238 million U.S. for the Predators, plus possible indemnity payments to the Leafs and Buffalo Sabres and the costs of a new arena to replace Copps Coliseum a few years down the road. DelBiaggio puts up $190 million and he's apparently going to get the team, in a city where the NBA and NHL have each failed.

Why? To fulfill Bettman's vision to "Americanize" the NHL.

Barry B*nds' long trek to tainted glory

If Barry B*nds has retired after the 1998 season, he might have been happier than he seems in long trek to tainted glory. He would have been spared the disturbing spectacle of his vilified approach to Aaron's 755 career home run record.

Prior to the 1999 season, B*nds would have been guaranteed a first-ballot election to the Hall of Fame. He had 411 home runs, 445 stolen bases, 8 All-Star selections, 8 Golden Gloves and 3 MVP awards.

Since then his incredible stats have earned him 4 more MVP awards and provided him with a chance to break Aaron's record. From 1986 to 1998 B*nds averaged a home run every 16.1 at-bats. Since 1999 (when he turned 35 an age where the power should be falling back) he has averaged a home run every 8.9 at-bats.

San Francisco reporters who follow the BALCO steroid scandal report that the Giant equipment manager testified that since becoming a Giant in 1993, B*nds uniform jersey went from a size 42 to 52, his cap size went from 7 1/8 to 7 1/4 (even though he started shaving his head), and his shoe size went from 10 1/2 to 13.

Baseball unlike other sports has a statistical measure of a player's strength - the home run. For 34 years, 60 homers was the season record. Then for 37 years the record was 61. Then in 4 seasons, from 1998 to 2001, that total was surpassed 6 times.

So in the next week when the record is finally broken, there will be some muted celebrations but B*nds and the game of baseball both lose something in the process.

The Ultimate Revenge on a Telemarketer

The Ultimate Revenge On A Telemarketer
Uploaded by SaveManny



Incidently we're one step closer to having a national "do-not-call" list to curb annoying telemarketers from interrupting us at dinnertime to sell us vacuum cleaners and time-shares in Florida.

The Streak Ends!

In a gut-busting showdown that combined drama, daring and indigestion, Joey Chestnut emerged Wednesday as the world’s hot dog eating champion, knocking off six-time winner Takeru Kobayashi in a rousing yet repulsive triumph.

Chestnut, the great red, white and blue hope in the annual Fourth of July competition, broke his own world record by inhaling 66 hot dogs in 12 minutes — a staggering one every 10.9 seconds before a screaming crowd in Coney Island.

Kobayashi, the Japanese eating machine, recently had a wisdom tooth extracted and received chiropractic treatment due to a sore jaw. But the winner of every Nathan’s hot dog competition from 2001 to 2006 showed no ill effects as he stayed with Chestnut frank-for-frank until the very end of the 12-minute competition.Kobayashi finished with 63 HDBs — hot dogs and buns eaten — in his best performance ever. His previous high in the annual competition was 53½. The all-time record before Wednesday’s remarkable contest was Chestnut’s 59½, set just last month.

Maple Leafs are better but are they contenders?

JFJ spent much of June resigning last year's roster with the exception of Jeff O'Neill, Yanic Perreault, Mike Peca and J.S. Aubin. They have now been replaced with Mark Bell, Jason Blake and Vesa Toskala. I expect JFJ is done although he should try to move one of his many over-priced defensemen to a team that missed out on landing a big free agent and cap space. The Islanders with $20 million in cap space comes to mind.

With limited cap space the Leafs were out of the running for the top free agents and had to look at the 2nd tier. I think they did well in signing Blake who is not that expensive and is a consistent 20+ goal scorer in the NHL. He also come with speed and grit. In fact, he and Selanne are the only free agents that scored 40 goals or more last season and Selanne is likely to announce his retirement. In fact, Briere, Drury, Smyth and Gomez have never scored 40 goals in the NHL. Gomez has scored over 20 goals once in his entire NHL career. So its not how much you spend on free agents but how well you spend it (eg, the Leafs' defense).

Adding Toskala alone should be sufficient to push the Leafs into the playoffs. On most nights last year the Leafs could compete with most NHL teams but for their goaltending. Mark Bell is a big risk considering what they gave up in draft picks. He had a terrible year last season on and off the ice. Past reclamation projects have not worked out for JFJ (Lindros, O'Neill, Allison, Peca) but have been costly. Low risk ones such as Battaglia make more sense.

But the Leafs still have many weaknesses. They have too many rushing defenseman but not enough that are strong in their own end. Their penalty killing is weak and Peca is likely not coming back. Too many key players over 30 and not very many youngsters. There is still no heir to Sundin as the #1 centre. So I don't see them as contenders until there is a considerable improvement in goals against and penalty killing.

But the good news is their divisional opponents have not gotten stronger. Buffalo had to sign one of either Briere or Drury and did not. Montreal lost Rivet and Souray on defense and only able to land Hamrlik. Ottawa is in good shape unless they can't hang onto Emery. Boston also has goaltending help now but has many holes in their line up.

So if only someone other than Sundin scores in shootout that would be great.

Maple Leafs kicks off Free Agent Frenzy

Huge acquisition breaking this past weekend...Ontario Teachers Pension Plan wins bidding for BCE telecom.

BCE Inc., Canada's largest telecommunications company, said Saturday it has reached an agreement to be bought by a group led by the Ontario Teachers Pension Plan for C$51.7 billion (US$48.5 billion), making it the largest takeover in Canadian history.

The Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board in co-operation with U.S.-based Providence Equity Partners and Madison Dearborn Partners, LLC won out over several other bidders, BCE said in a statement.

The Teachers Pension Plan was already BCE's largest shareholder with a 6.8 percent stake.

The Ontario teachers pension group — with assets of C$106 billion (US$99 billion) in 2006 — invests and administers the retirement funds for Ontario's 167,000 teachers and 104,000 retired teachers.

THIS IS THE YEAR!! Or does this mean Bell will now have higher prices and inferior products?

Day 2 of the 'Silly Season'

This is the part of the year when hockey GMs totally lose their minds. They throw huge contracts at average and good players as if they were superstars.

Several players signed big money and long term deals with new clubs. Likely all this spending did not create any new Stanley Cup contenders. Nobody bought a winner. This is because nobody of significance was for sale. In fact only one of last summer's top 50 players according to The hockey News was purchased at all (Ryan Smyth bought by Colorado).

It has led to the absurd situation that players who were the best of a weak UFA crop like Daniel Briere will get paid far more than the true stars in the NHL (like Sidney Crosby, Roberto Luongo, Nicklas Lidstrom, Martin Brodeur). If one test of a salary structure is that the best players in the NHL are the highest paid, then the NHL fails.

However, the cap prevents any team from buying their way to contention. In fact many of the top signings were by teams that did not make the playoffs. So obviously, although free agents talk about wanting to play for a Stanley Cup contender, when you sign with Toronto, Philadelphia, St. Louis or Washington, that's not going to be happening. They are going where the money is.

Looking at the top 15 contracts signed so far over the past 2 days, 9 players signed with teams that did not make the playoffs last season. A few teams have been weakened considerably - Buffalo, Atlanta, New Jersey and the Islanders come to mind. Obviously the Rangers and Colorado are much better but are not Cup contenders. It's still early and some of the later signings can have more of an impact than the big names.

Blue Jays should check this pitcher out

Does anyone know what's going on there?

In most organizations the probation period is, what, about three months? At MLSE it appears to be about four years.

Yesterday, MLSE President and CEO Richard Peddie confirmed that MLSE has retained an executive search firm to hire a senior hockey executive to provide counsel to their hockey department.

In what can only be charitably described as backhanded compliment, Peddie said that, despite JFJ being the GM position since of August of 2003 and irrevocably in charge of the Leafs for the past two year, his hand-picked GM is “still learning.”

Ouch! The admission that all is not going well with JFJ’s tenure is like some sort of awful metaphorical eating contest - Peddie choking down some crow while publicly serving JFJ a great big piece of humble pie.

Despite two weeks of near daily media coverage, MLSE’s intentions are about as clear as JFJ’s Master Plan (you know the one-year deal to clear cap space to sign the UFAs who never materialized plan, which became the build-not buy plan that became the deal three first round and two second round picks in four years plan, which sort of fit in with the tougher to play against plan that didn’t really work out, leaving the Leafs with the make the playoffs at all cost and CYA plan. Whew.)

Shane Doan does Subway

Frank Thomas Hits 500th Homerun

The Big Hurt keeps hammering the ball.

Islander Season Tickets for $420

It's true, the Islanders are selling season tickets for $420 - but there is a catch. If you have to order one full adult season ticket, then you can reserve the seat next to you for a child 12 years and younger for an incredible price of $420. Tickets are currently available in designated family sections but that includes good lower level seats.

Makes me wonder how well season tickets are selling on Long Island. Just another example of how poorly the game is selling in the U.S. market. If I was only 12 years old again...oh yes and living on Long Island.

Raycroft vs. Toskala

Here's a look at some work from Hockey Numbers looking at the save percentages of Toskala and Raycroft (left and right respectively) based on shot location:










Looks like we went from a goalie with a glovehand problem to one with a stick side weakness. Still Toskala is again the better overall goalie. There is no doubt that this is an improvement in net for the Leafs.

The interesting thing will be to see how Raycroft reacts to the trade. He can either pout and quit (like in Boston) or he can man up and challenge Toskala.

Bettman has Painted Himself in a Corner

Nashville is a failed franchise although it had success on the ice. Ten years ago current owner Craig Leipold paid $80 million for a expansion franchise and today it's like worth only about $100 million. So when Jim Balsillie offered $238 million for the franchise, you would think the other owners and Gary Bettman would be falling over each other to approve the sale. That price only increases the value of the other franchises. And that price only makes sense if the team is moved in a strong hockey market.

However, Balsillie's plan to transfer the franchise to Southern Ontario is contrary to Bettman's vision for the NHL. He wants to see hockey as a major sport in the U.S. with a big television contract. So instead Balsillie is treated as an unwanted predator (excuse the pun) and the sale appears to be in limbo. In fact Bettman used quite strong language in regards to Balsillie and suggested that he had lied to him and Leipold. Meanwhile Leipold is dumping high salaried players to reduce his operating losses which isn't exactly going to improve attendance.

Balsillie is likely going to wait and see what the NHL governors want to do about his offer to purchase a team. Bettman has now painted himself in a corner because their are no longer any other suitors for Nashville. Certainly not at that price.

Leaf Cap Space

Despite the suggestion that the Leafs would be busy during free agency, JFJ will largely be a spectator as he was for much of the Amateur Draft. This is what the Leafs have under contract right now. They have less than $ 2.5 million to spend because you need to leave some room if you want to make a trade during the season. They need to add a forward or two to fill the #2 centre spot and to kill penalties. But it will not be Ryan Smyth or Scott Gomez.

12 Forwards: $20,411,000
Antropov
Belak
Bell
Devereaux
Kilger
Pohl
Ponikarovsky
Stajan
Steen
Sundin
Tucker
Wellwood

8 Defence: $20,829,000
Colaiacovo
Gill
Kaberle
Kronwell
Kubina
McCabe
White
Wozniewski

Raycroft: $2,000,000
Toskala: $1,375,000
Belfour's Buy-out: $770,000

SUB-TOTAL: $45,335,000

Cap room remaining: approximately $2.5 million (presumes a $48M cap with some flex room).

Why Ferguson Keeps Trading Away Youth

I could help but notice that by the time the Leafs got around to making their first pick in the Amateur draft on Saturday Montreal had already made 5 picks. So it's not hard to determine who will be better off in 3 years. The Leafs only have one of their first picks from the last 5 years in their organization. In addition, JFJ has dealt away many other picks during that same period for people like Jeff O'Neill, Yanic Perreault, Luke Richardson, Ron Francis, Brian Leetch, Andrew Raycroft and now you can add Vesa Toskala and Mark Bell.

Despite all these moves JFJ insists he wants to build through youth. So why isn't he? Well JFJ will continue to stray from his plan as long as he has no long term contract with the organization. As long as he feels he need to make the playoffs to keep his job then he will continue to sacrifice another piece of the Leaf's future to hang in for another year. So he can't afford to drop to the bottom of the standings like the Flyers did last season.

Since the Leafs keep bringing this guy back each year then just sign him to a multi-year contract and see what he can do. And if you have no confidence in him then why is he in the job for even one more day?

I don't think going "green" was intended to be this

First Team Photo

The first team get together was on a lovely Saturday afternoon in the backyard of Sandy and Jane. It was a great opportunity for players, parents and staff to mingle and introduce each other before people take off for the summer. Next time we meet will be in September for our first practice.

Have a great summer everyone!

Are you a computer geek?

This might be the ugliest dog in the world

Leafs Trade for Toskala and Bell

Ferguson's big draft weekend trade: Toskala and Bell for the Leafs' 2007 1st (moves to 1st in 2008 if San Jose can't get the player they want) and 2nd round picks plus the Leafs 4th round pick in 2009.

My thoughts: Well most good GMs have figured out that draft picks and home grown talent are essential in today's NHL. I guess JFJ doesn't fall in that category. For the second time in his four year tenure, he deals away the Leafs' first round pick.

It's nice to have Toskala to challenge Raycroft and Toskala's cap hit is fine, but he's 30 years old and an unrestricted free agent at the end of this season. Today I heard JFJ actually admit he was unhappy with Raycroft's performance last season. During the season he couldn't say enough nice things about his goalie.

Mark Bell is is intended to fill the power forward spot that the Leafs have sought. He has been a disappointment so far in his NHL career so I'm not expecting a lot out of him. So a conditional 1st round pick, 2nd round pick and 4th round pick seems a bit high - especially if the player San Jose wants in the 1st round isn't available. If San Jose can't get their man, the pick moves to 2008, a draft many are calling the deepest in years - comparing it to the very robust 2003 entry draft.

For me this is another disappointing deal by JFJ.