Labour Day Classic Today: Steeltown vs. Hogtown

Mats Sundin Update

Mats is coming to Toronto but no to play for the Leafs.

JP Barry was just interviewed on Fan 590 and stated that his client Mats Sundin will be in Toronto September 5th to participate in a charity game being played for the Right to Play organization.

Lightning owners strike again

On Thursday night the Hockey News came out with a story that the Ottawa Senators and Andrej Meszaros had hit a contract impasse after being unable to come to an agreement all summer. The Hockey News was reporting that an unknown team had made a multi-year offer to Meszaros with an average annual salary of $5 million. It was rumoured to be those crazy guys running Tampa Bay.

Word just got out that it was Tampa Bay. Following a frantic Friday which included talks of offer sheets, numerous names thrown about as trade bait and the possibility of another team entering the equation as part of a three-way deal, the Senators and Lightning finally came to a consensus.

The Senators traded Meszaros to the Lightning for defencemen Filip Kuba and Alexandre Picard, with a first-round draft pick - while saving a few dollars in the process.

When talk originally surfaced of the Lightning presenting Meszaros with an offer sheet in excess of $5 million per season late Thursday, it was unlikely the Senators would match the offer. The Senators would have been content with the first, second and third round draft picks in 2009 that the Lightning would have been forced to cough up for raiding the Senators of a restricted free agent.

However, that Lightning plan hit a snag because the club had previously traded away their third-round pick to the Pittsburgh Penguins. While it's believed the Lightning tried to re-acquire the third-round selection on Friday, they were rebuffed by the Penguins.

It's quite possible that Lightning owners Oren Koules and Len Barrie as well as their GM Brian Lawton did not realize you need to have the necessary draft picks on hand when you make an offer sheet.

A recent call to Mats Sundin

A recent telephone conversation between Mats Sundin and his North American agent P.J. Barry.

Barry: So Mats you’re sounding well.

Sundin: you too J.P.

Barry: I was hoping we could have a chat about where the summer has taken you.

Sundin: For sure. I had a great vacation in Barcelona. I just love the Spanish beaches. And the fishing is outstanding. Played a lot of golf. We’ve had a really good summer here. Josephine and I have spent a lot of time decorating our home.

Barry: I was thinking more about your hockey career. I got a call from Cliff Fletcher this week.

Sundin: Cliff is such a great guy. We go back a long way. I was so happy to see him come back to Toronto and think the changes he has made will turn around this team in the next 2 year. I hear Cujo is back.

Barry: So does that mean you are thinking about re-signing with the Leafs?

Sundin: I don’t know.

Barry: I also heard from Mike Gillis.

Sundin: I hear Mike is a great guy from teammates that have used him as an agent. They were really sorry to hear he had left the business. I know he doesn’t have management experience but don’t be surprised if Vancouver challenges in the West. Hey they got the best goalie in the world with Luongo. And that offer they made me was mind blowing.

Barry: So does that mean you are thinking about signing with the Canucks?

Sundin: I don’t know.

Barry: Glen Sather has sent me 5 or 6 text messages this month on updates.

Sundin: I am really in awe of that guy. He has done so much for the game. Look at all those Stanley Cups. The great players he has coached over the years. You could learn a lot from a guy like that. And New York is such an exciting city to play and live in. It sort of reminds me of Toronto but bigger.

Barry: So does that mean you are thinking about signing with the Rangers?

Sundin: I don’t know.

Barry: I ran into Bob Gainey last weekend playing golf. He asked if anything was happening.

Sundin: Hey Bob is such a great guy. I had some awesome discussions with him in June. Can you believe the young talent he has put together? I really enjoyed playing Montreal last season. It’s scary to think what they might do this year.

Barry: So you have decided to sign with Montreal?

Sundin: I don’t know.

Barry: Well August is over in a few days and training camps are opening next week.

Sundin: Hey I got to run over to Pottery Barn with Josephine. Give me a call some time next month. It was great talking to you.

Barry: Take care. Bye.

What did you do for your summer vacation?

Christian Rusu will have quite the story to tell when he goes back to Broadview Public School with his Grade 8 class next week.

One minute late Monday morning, the 13-year-old house league goaltender was laughing with his friends, taking off his equipment in the dressing room after a hockey camp session at the Bell Sensplex.

The next minute, he was back on the ice, facing shots from the Ottawa Senators' Chris Kelly, Chris Neil, Chris Phillips, Shean Donovan, Anton Volchenkov and Jason Smith and several other National Hockey League players.

While NHL training camps don't begin until mid-September, many players have already returned to the ice for informal pick-up games to get ready for the season.

However, one of the expected goaltenders failed to show on Monday so the call went out for an immediate replacement.
Enter Christian.

As he put his equipment back on, he could hear the sounds of NHL players warming up, their heavy shots ringing off goal-posts and crossbars and echoing off the end boards, no doubt wondering what he was getting himself into.

more here

His face says otherwise....

Mats Sundin Update

Mats has flown to Copenhagen to act as Grand Marshall for the International Snakes and Ladders Championships.

Howard Berger is such a homer

Here are the predictions of Howard Berger of the FAN590. I guess over the summer he has forgotten that Cujo is back.

EASTERN CONFERENCE

1. PITTSBURGH 107 pts.

2. MONTREAL 104 pts.

3. WASHINGTON 100 pts.

4. OTTAWA 103 pts.

5. PHILADELPHIA 96 pts.

6. NEW YORK RANGERS 93 pts.

7. BUFFALO 92 pts.

8. TAMPA BAY 91 pts.

9. CAROLINA 88 pts.

10. NEW JERSEY 86 pts.

11. BOSTON 85 pts.

12. FLORIDA 83 pts.

13. ATLANTA 76 pts.

14. TORONTO 73 pts.

15. NEW YORK ISLANDERS 69 pts.

WESTERN CONFERENCE

1. SAN JOSE 114 pts.

2. DETROIT 111 pts.

3. CALGARY 100 pts.

4. ANAHEIM 104 pts.

5. DALLAS 100 pts.

6. COLORADO 97 pts.

7. MINNESOTA 95 pts.

8. EDMONTON 93 pts.

9. CHICAGO 91 pts.

10. PHOENIX 89 pts.

11. VANCOUVER 88 pts.

12. NASHVILLE 85 pts.

13. COLUMBUS 82 pts.

14. ST. LOUIS 79 pts.

15. LOS ANGELES 74 pts.

Early NHL predictions

Here are the predictions from McKeen's Hockey and The Hockey News in their annual magazines. So far the pundits are not impressed by the off season moves by the Leafs unless you are shooting for Tavares lottery.

Eastern Conference
	McKeen's Hockey	The Hockey News
1	Montreal*	Montreal*
2	Pittsburgh*	Pittsburgh*
3	Philadelphia	Washington*
4	Washington*	Philadelphia
5	NY Rangers	Ottawa
6	Boston	NY Rangers
7	Ottawa	New Jersey
8	Carolina	Carolina
9	New Jersey	Tampa Bay
10	Tampa Bay	Boston
11	Buffalo	Buffalo
12	Florida	Florida
13	Toronto	Atlanta
14	NY Islanders	Toronto
15	Atlanta	NY Islanders
Western Conference
	McKeen's Hockey	The Hockey News
1	Detroit*	Detroit*
2	Dallas*	San Jose*
3	San Jose	Minnesota*
4	Calgary*	Dallas
5	Edmonton	Anaheim
6	Chicago	Edmonton
7	Anaheim	Chicago
8	Vancouver	Calgary
9	Colorado	Nashville
10	Minnesota	Phoenix
11	Phoenix	Vancouver
12	St. Louis	Columbus
13	Columbus	Los Angeles
14	Nashville	Colorado
15	Los Angeles	St. Louis
*- division winners

Mats Sundin Update

Mats and Josephine hit the hiking trails in Kungsleden until it began to rain. So they headed off to Drottninggatan for the rest of the day for some shopping.

Mats Sundin Update

Mats traveled down to Barcelona for some deep sea fishing and beer for the weekend. Didn't get around to returning Cliff Fletcher's call.

I'm getting so tired of the Olympics

I'm guessing there's no parking

Olympic Memory: Eric the "Eel"

In 2000 a young man named Eric Moussambani from Equatorial Guinea qualified for the Sydney Games through a "wild card." The wild card was designed to encourage developing countries without expensive training facilities to get more involved in Olympic sports.

"The Eel" learned to swim eight months prior to the Olympics. He was 22-years-old. He learned and sort-of-practiced in a hotel pool. One of only two pools in all of Equatorial Guinea. Before the Olympics, Moussambani had never even seen a 50 meter sized pool, let alone swim in one.

As "The Eel" was ready to swim his ceremonial heat, his two competitors false started. They were disqualified. So Moussambani swam the race alone. While his time was twice the Olympic standard, he displayed the true Olympic spirit. "The Eel" gave it everything he had.

Mats Sundin Update

Today Sundin enrolled in a cooking class. During the class he prepared chicken kiev, hearts of palm salad and creme brule. After the class Sundin met a friend for a beer.

Why can't all instructions be so clear?

Photo Finish in Women's 100 M Hurdles

Canada's Priscilla Lopes-Schliep wins the bronze by a whisker. 2/1o0th of second between 2nd and 6th place.

Mats Sundin Update

Hey another golf day for Mats. He spoke to his North American agent P.J. Barry from the golf course to find out about the weather in Canada.

You don't see a lot of signs like this

Most hated Maple Leaf players

OK, you had your chance to vote and here is the all-time despised Maple Leaf players.



At starting goalie is Andrew Raycroft with his cement trapper and the gapping five hole. Raycroft managed to set a team records in wins but lost his starting job the following season. Next season he will be breaking the hearts of Colorado fans.













Bryan Marchment makes the team on defense. Despite playing only one season on the Leafs just prior to the lockout, he obviously impressed Leafs fans with ability to take out players at the knees and his 13 league suspensions. After the Leafs he moved on to Calgary where he ended his career with an impressive 2307 penalty minutes and 40 goals.






The other starting defenseman is Finish great - Aki Berg. The slow footed Berg used to delight Leaf fans with his puck carrying skills and this laser passes to opposition players. Berg played just over 3 seasons with the Leafs before returning to Finland. He was drafted 3rd overall by the Kings and scored an impressive 15 goals in the NHL.









The starting centre is Dmitri Khristick who was best known for being released as a free agent in 1999 by the Bruins rather than pay the $2.8 million that an arbitrator set as his salary. The Leafs signed him to a four-year, $10.29-million contract. He was the invisible and manged only 15 goals over 80 games before he was shipped off to Washington.








On left wing is Swede Jonas Hogland who scored 29 goals in his first season with the Leafs. He was best remembered for expecting Mats Sundin to carry Hogland on his back for 4 seasons. Hogland was often seen disappearing whenever not playing with Sundin.





Finally on right wing is John Kordic who in a brief career with the Leafs managed 446 penalty minutes in just 104 games. Hard to believe you get into so many fights from the end of the Leaf bench. Kordic helped establish Gord Stellick as a big league manager when he came to the Leafs in 1988 for Russ Courtnall. He will be best remembered for the day in 1992, when several police officers were called in to restrain Kordic, who was trashing a room at the Motel Maxim in Quebec City. He died in the struggle.

Mats Sundin Update

Mats tried to look for Cliff Fletcher's phone number but couldn't find it. He eventually gave up and headed off for a manicure and pedicure appointment.

Another Mats Sundin Update

Mats worked out at the gym today and went for light skate. Then he and Josephine went to listen to indie bands at Debaser Slussen.

Why trading Bryan McCabe makes sense

he rationale for trading Bryan McCabe is plain and simple. The Maple Leafs have too many big salaries on their defense with McCabe ($5.75 million), Kubina ($5.0), Kaberle ($4.25) and Finger ($3.5). McCabe carries the biggest hit and may not even be in the top two. You can't justify paying that kind of money to a defenseman on the second pairing and it will ensure that you remain undermanned on offense.

McCabe's salary over the next 3 seasons is $4.1 million. Considering what free agent defensemen signed for this past summer, he is no longer in the ranks of the over paid. The new group is made up of Wade Redden, Brian Campbell, Mike Commodore, Mike Rozsival and Jeff Finger. But salary isn't the main issue when it comes to McCabe - it's his salary cap hit. His cap hit remains at $5.75 million for the next 3 seasons. So for the Maple Leafs who are trying to create some cap space, it's a necessary move.

If they Leafs clear about $3 million in cap space in a trade and don't sign Sundin, they will be operating at about $10 million below the cap. That allows for some significant moves during the next offseason.

Why isn't this an Olympic event?

Mats Sundin Update

Mats took off in the morning for a skate at the Globen Arena followed by lunch with Josephine at Cafe Kaffekoppen. Josephine dragged him furniture shopping in the afternoon at Svenskt Tenn.

New Drills for the Coming Season

Mats Sundin Update

Mats was seen heading off with his golf clubs in the morning. Returned in the afternoon for a massage appointment at his home. He picked up Josephine in the evening for dinner at Stallmästaregården.

The Worst Leafs Over the Past 41 Years

I was discussing with some friends some of the useless players that wore Maple Leaf jerseys since their '67 Stanley Cup. Dimitri Khristich, Aki Berg, Jonas Hogland, Mikhael Tellqvist, Trevor Kidd, Bryan Marchment, Calle Johansson, and the list goes on and on. These players all played a part in ensuring 41 years of uninterupted futility. So it's time for another poll. Pick the worst Maple Leaf lineup. Have fun!

Next Captain of the Maple Leafs....Kaberle

Well my blog polling tells me that Tomas Kaberle should be the next captain of the Toronto Maple Leafs. Fifty percent of respondents picked the Czech defenseman who also has captained the Czech national team. Kaberle will be much like Sundin - a quiet type who will speak up when he finds it necessary. Respondents found the other choices to lacking in experience or leadership skills. I really think Kubina would make an even better captain the Kaberle. Matt Stajan received a lot of support but he just is not there yet. Although he has had a few stretches of good hockey, no one can claim he has had one strong season yet. Alex Steen had the least support and for good reason. I don't see a lot of passion in that kid.

Here is the final results:

Kaberle 50%
Stajan 17%
Rotate captains 12%
Majer 6%
Antropov 6%
Kubina 4%
Steen 2%

The Gretzky Trade: 20 Years Later

Yes it's been 20 years since Peter Pocklington traded away Canada's most prized asset - The Great One. The Oilers have never recovered, that's for sure. And I doubt the Kings would still be in the NHL if it wasn't for Gretzky. In fact I doubt we would have the NHL in Anaheim, Phoenix, Nashville, or Tampa Bay. The trade picked up interest south of the border and spurred expansion. The league quickly grew from 21 teams to the current 30.

Some say Gretzky out grew Edmonton. But the trade was more about money because Pocklington needed cash to keep his meat packing business going. Gretzky went to Los Angeles with Mike Krushelnyski and Marty McSorley for Jimmy Carson, Marin Gelinas, 3 first round picks and $15,000000. But at least the Oilers won one more Stanley Cup. The Kings have yet to win one.

Mats Sundin Update

Mats got up early to play golf with friends. Had dinner at the club afterward.

Umm, that's perfectly clear

How many cheerleaders fit into an elevator?

It sounds like the beginning of a bar joke but it just so happens that 26 teenage cheerleaders had to be rescued from a tiny dormitory elevator in Texas this week.

The girls, who were attending a cheerleading camp in Austin, packed themselves into the elevator at 6:00 last night. They apparently exceeded its capacity, because when it reached the ground floor, the doors wouldn’t open.

Some of the girls made frantic cell phone calls, bringing police and firefighters to the dorm. Eventually, a repairman got there and got them out — after nearly half an hour of work.

In related news, scores of teenage boys are expected to be lining up outside an Austin, Texas dorm elevator at 5:58 tonight.

Mats Sundin Update

Mats slept late this morning and went for a swim before meeting Markus Naslund for lunch. Mats had a warm goat cheese salad and two glasses of Pinot Gris. No report on what Naslund had. Mats then headed over to the home of his fiance, Josephine Johansson for the rest of the day. No word on what he did there.

Old technology

Mats Sundin Update

Today Mats took his Saab in for repair, bought a couple sport shirts, had an afternoon nap, and invited his parents and fiance over for a BBQ.

Nothing else to report.

So who will be the next captain of the Toronto Maple Leafs?

It's August 1 and there is no news coming out of Stockholm. At this point no news is looking more like bad news. Mats Sundin didn't jump at the chance to play for a young, talented Montreal team with a legitimate shot at a Stanley Cup. Sundin didn't jump at the Vancouver offer which would have made him one of the highest paid player in the league. He hasn't decided to return to the Leafs to provide some leadership to an inexperienced, rebuilding team.

So it may be time for these teams to start looking ahead and moving on. For the Leafs that means figuring out what to do for a captain. No one player stands out. They may have a future captain in Luke Schemm but he may not even be ready for the NHL right now. Young players like Matt Stajan and Alex Steen haven't established the credentials needed to replace Sundin. If you look at the veteran players Nik Antropov, Thomas Kaberle, and Pavel Kubina, they are all possibilities yet each possess flaws as leaders. You could always rotate the "C" among these players for the time being.

I actually believed that Cliff Fletcher picked up Jamal Mayer from St. Louis to fill a leadership void until a younger player was ready to take on the captaincy. Rob Ramage assumed the role between 1989-91 until it was handed over to Wendel Clark.

So what do you think? Pick your choice for captain in the sidebar.

My Mats Sundin Poll

This past week I asked people to predict what Mats Sundin will decide to do this week. Here are the results.

40% responded that Sundin will sign with Vancouver. Seems people were influenced either by the rumours floating around last week or the size of the Canucks' offer. But I just don't see it. Sure they offered him $10 million per season but that is the only positive. Canuck fans are going to be mad at me but I don't consider Vancouver much better than the Leafs. After the Sedins there isn't much there. The amount of travel that the Canucks do for road games is not going to be very appealing to a 37-year old player. He'll feel like 47 by February.

28% responded that Sundin will return to the Leafs. I think there remains a strong possibility that he returns. He has repeated that he would like to retire as a Leaf and although he may have been disillusioned by the end of last season, he would like approve of the direction taken by Fletcher including hiring Nieuwendyk as an assistant. Nonetheless, I'm ambivilant about Sundin returning.
20% responded that Sundin will retire. I doubt it at this point. You don't take 3 1/2 months to decide to retire. But then Sundin tends to wait till the last minute to make decisions about his future. I don't see him retiring when the past season was one of his best.

12% responded that Sundin will sign with Montreal. I'm actually surprised that he didn't sign earlier. The Canadiens are a good fit and would provide him with good young talent to play with. They also have an excellent shot at the Stanley Cup. I wonder if he would find it difficult to return to the ACC so many times?

Well we may find out as soon as Friday. Frankly most hockey fans outside of Toronto are likely bored with the whole thing.

Hockey Night in Canada Theme Song Entries

There have been a lot of entries to CBC contest for a new HNIC theme. Some good, some bad and some really bad. The entry period ends August 31 and voting continues until the start of the season. I guess the new song will be launched with a big fanfare on the first Saturday night of the new season.

There are somewhere in the neighbourhood of 1200 entries. Below is the highest rated. Not sure why but I suspect the composer's friends are stacking the vote. That's the danger of online voting.





Here are the next 3 top voted theme songs.

Wettest summer ever...I believe it

Including today's downpour, the GTA has had about 1o inches of rain since June 1.

As a result I've had to redesign the hot tub we were installing in our backyard.


There is now a canal built into the hot tub to accommodate excess water due to the environment.


In addition, a series of lift locks are being installed to assist entering and exiting the tub.


The project should be finished some time this fall before hurricane hits Toronto.

Argooooos!

Hey wasn't that exciting! Kerry Joseph scored on a 13-yard run with 23 seconds remaining to rally the Toronto Argonauts to a thrilling 35-31 win over the Edmonton Eskimos today. The last drive covered 109 yards in just 11 plays.

No QB controversy here anymore. Joseph finished with a game-high 118 yards rushing, was 22-of-38 passing for 343 yards and ran for a TD and threw for a TD.

Argos receiver James Robinson also had a brilliant game with 10 catches for 194 yards and a TD. The TD was scored on an electrifying catch and run in which he beat former Argo Jordan Younger with quick inside move, pulled in Joseph's pass and ran untouched for the TD.

Can anyone out there figure out Mats Sundin?

I have heard hundreds of opinions on the mindset of Mats Sundin. Everyone professes to know what he is thinking - fans, media, my barber. I have to admit I have no clue. This guessing game has gone on for years and in most cases all the "experts" have been dead wrong.

For years people insisted that they knew that Mats Sundin:

• hated playing under a microscope of the media here
• wanted out of Toronto
• wanted to play with Alfredsson in Ottawa, Naslund in Vancouver or all the Swedes in Detroit
• hated Pat Quinn and various Leaf coaches and executives
• didn't like certain players in the Leaf dressing room

All these theories were likely wrong because Sundin never asked to be traded and kept re-signing with the Leafs.

As he got older he insisted that he was going to decide on a year-to-year basis whether to play again. No one believed him. He insisted that he would like to finish his career in Toronto. No one believed him. When the Leafs tanked this winter and fans decided the team would be better off trading him, he insisted he didn't want to be a rental player. No one believed him. Now we are half way through the summer and Sundin hasn't signed anywhere because he isn't sure he wants to play anymore. No one believes him.

So has Sundin been dishonest about his career at any point in the last 15 years? In the sidebar I have a Mats Sundin poll. Tell me what you believe.

War between NHL and KHL is heating up

The International Ice Hockey Federation informed the NHL, the NHLPA and the Russian KHL that the international transfer of six players are officially under investigation. The six players involved are:

* Alexander Radulov (to KHL)
* Nikita Filatov (to NHL)
* Thomas Mojzis (to NHL)
* Jason Krog (to KHL)
* Fedor Fedorov (to NHL)
* Viktor Tikhonov (to NHL)

Until this investigation has come to its final conclusion and the IIHF has rendered its decisions, all concerned players will be suspended from international transfers and competitions. However, it doesn't stop the players from playing in league games. I have no idea how the IIHF will decide in each case and whether the parties will abide by their decision.

The KHL immediately announced that they did not agree with the suspensions because there is no agreement covering Radulov and Krog when they were signed. The KHL said they would not enforce an agreement that hasn't been signed.

A Nashville newspaper reported yesterday that Radulov has begun to practice with his KHL team which is bound to elicit a strong reaction from the NHL. NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly had already begun sabre rattling the day before when he told the AP that they didn't care if an agreement was in place. Unless Radulov is returned to his NHL team, the NHL will not be sitting down to negotiate anything with the KHL. There will be no cooperation between the two leagues.

This has got to be the most interesting development during the NHL off season. Where Sundin ends up pales in comparison.

So when does the Maple Leaf youth movement start?

Excuse me but maybe I misunderstood. When Cliff Fletcher suggested that the Leafs would be rebuilding with youth, I thought that meant the likes of Justin Pogge, Robbie Earl, Jeremy Williams, Brent Aubin, John Mitchell, Dale Mitchell, Darryl Boyce, Ben Ondrus, Kris Newbury, Alex Foster and Jay Harrison would have a good shot at seeing if they could develop into NHLers. Instead Fletcher has been picking up players from other teams' rosters - mostly 3rd or 4th liners. Add in the expensive free agents signed and the kids have no where to play. The only rookies for this coming season appear to be Nikolai Kulemin and Mikhail Grabovski and neither played for the Marlies this past season.

Many people thought it was odd to see the Leafs trade a 5th draft pick to grab Ryan Hollweg from the Rangers. A 5th round draft pick is a long shot to make the NHL but what is disturbing for me is that fact that the Leafs history is filled with traded picks for marginal players. Hollweg is strictly a 4th line enforcer. But Kris Newbury had a 101 penalty minutes in 54 games with the Marlies and seemed capable of filling the enforcer role without the loss of a draft pick.

The impression I am getting is that the Marlies do not have any talent that can help the Leafs. In other words, the Marlies are stocked mostly with career minor leaguers and not NHL prospects. So where are the Leafs of the future to come from as Fletcher continues to deal away draft picks? The Leafs traded away four 2nd and 3rd round picks in 2008, 2009 and 2010 in addition to two 5th round picks. Meanwhile the Leafs have not picked up a single draft pick in an exchange and have about 10 players best suited for 3rd or 4th line duty.

Deleted Scene from "Dark Knight"

See more funny videos at Funny or Die

NHL vs KHL

By now everyone has heard about the Continental Hockey League (KHL), the new Russian league which essential the previous Russian Super League with 4 additional teams.

This is the brainchild of Alexander Ivanovich Medvedev, a Russian oil baron and the vice-president of Gazprom, who has his heart set on creating a hockey league that can rival the NHL. There is a patriotic element to the project in that he and his colleagues resent the fact that there hockey stars are playing in North America.

I see one of the objectives of the league is to repatriate Russian players back to Russia. In fact that has gradually been taking place. In the season prior to the lockout there were 57 Russian players in the NHL. This past season that number has fallen to just 27.

Contributing to this has been the lack of a player transfer agreement with Russia. Most major European hockey nations have an agreement whereby the NHL pays some money to bring players from these nations to the NHL. This money helps to pay for development of future players and the cost of development of the new NHL player (at least in principle). The negotiation of these amount has been done in a "take it or leave it" style by the NHL and the Europeans have no leverage. Russia is the only nation to reject this agreement. This means that Russian contracts do not have to be honored in North America and North American contracts do not have to be honored in Russia. A Russian player who signs in North America can decide that he is unhappy there and leave in mid-contract to sign in Russia. The recent agreement between the NHL and KHL means that the parties will at least honour each others contracts although no transfer fee has been agreed to.

So will the KHL hurt the NHL?

There is little agreement on the impact of the new league. If the goal is predominantly to repatriate Russian players well there are few left in the NHL. The big stars like Ovechkin and Malkin could make more money back home but would not be playing with the best players in the world. Even older players like Federov rejected better offers from Russian teams to remain in the NHL. But other players like Alexei Yashin, Aleksey Morozov. Danny Markov and Oleg Kvasha went back to Russia. The signing of Jagr and Emery weren't big deals because Jagr was at the end of his career and Emery was being treated as an untouchable by NHL teams.

Everything changed with the signing of Alex Radulov who was still under contract with Nashville. Entry level players are underpaid in the NHL but their big money starts when they can become free agents. The Burke-Lowe feud is because Burke feels that Edmonton's offer sheet to Dustin Penner has the potential of increasing salaries for younger players. The KHL can potentially have a similar impact.

As long as the KHL poaches Russian players and marginal NHL talents (like John Grahame and Chris Simon) no one will get that worked up. The real danger is the Europeans that do not pay even close to what is being offered to players by the KHL. But what would happen if the billionaire Russians target North American stars? What if Rick Nash who becomes a free agent in about 2 years is offered$100 million over 5 years? No NHL team can come close to matching that. Things might really get interesting.

Tampa Bay Lightning make radical changes

New Lightning owners Oren Koules and Len Barrie have certainly made their mark on their recent purchase. The changes to the Maple Leafs pale in comparison to the remake going on in Tampa Bay.

The new Lightning team has been remodeled from top to bottom. Jay Feaster was basically pushed aside and draft picks, signings and trades were being orchestrated by former player agent and now vp of hockey operation Brian Lawton. Last week Feaster resigned. He followed coach John Tortorella and Bill Barber out the door.

The new owners have been directly involved in all new hirings and signings. They hired Barry Melrose as coach - which is just one of many surprises since Melrose hasn't coached in 13 years and only had one succuessful season. Soon a number of additional personnel were brought in including Rick Tocchet, Greg Malone and Tom Kurvers (famous as being the player the Leafs picked up for a draft pick that turned out to be Scott Niedermayer).

First off they grabbed Steve Stamkos in the draft. Then there was a flurry of trades and signings including free agents Radam Vrbata, Adam Hall, Mark Recchi, Chris Gratton, Olaf Kolzig, Brandon Bochenski, Evgeny Artyukhin They traded for Vaclav Prospal, Ryan Malone and Gary Roberts. They also dumped all-star defenseman Dan Boyle's long-term $40 million contract just months after it was signed. Filip Kuba is, at the moment, the only Tampa blueliner with more than 220 games played. The wisdom of doing so is questionable since they were already very green on defense. In fact they now have enough NHL forwards to stock 6 lines.

I give them credit for the Vincent Lecavalier signing. The 11-year $85 million contract has a cap hit of about $7.7 per season. The last 2 years of the contract (when Vinnie is 39 and 40) are only $1.5 million and $1 million. So if he needs to be bought out, the amount is chicken feed. More likely there isn't enough money on the table to keep Lecavalier from retiring early. So if you knock off those last 2 years, 9 remaining years are worth $82.5 million which would be a cap hit of over $9 million per season. Those last 2 years make a big difference.

Will all these changes turn around the Lightning. Who knows? But you have to give then new guys A+ for effort.

Stanley Cup Comes to Toronto

The Stanley Cup actually made it to Toronto this past weekend. No it has nothing to do with a Maple Leaf renaissance. Rather, it was Kris Draper's turn to bring home the Stanley Cup which has been a NHL tradition for over 10 years. Each member of the Cup team brings the Cup home whether they are from Moose Jaw, Miami or Minsk. And home for Kris Draper is Scarborough.

On the Saturday the Cup went to The Hospital for Sick Children and Detroit Eatery on Danforth and Chester avenues. The 60-year-old restaurant is decked out in Wings paraphernalia and was packed with curious onlookers.

Draper and the Cup rode into Scarborough in a stretch limo where between 1,000 - 2,000 friends, family, neighbours and fans were waiting. The Cup was set up in the backyard of Draper's parents Mike and Mary Lynne. Two off-duty police officers were hired to control the crowd.

Draper posed for pictures for hours, graciously obliging requests for various shots - holding the Cup, placing it on the ground or stepping away from the lens altogether and letting the fans have their moment alone with the 35-pound Stanley Cup. Draper's older kids, Kienan and Kennedi, enjoyed a big scoop of ice cream out of it and the family also dined on Timbits out of the Cup.

WWE Smackdown Match: Brian Burke vs. Kevin Lowe

Why does NHL Commish Gary Bettman want to shut down the fued between Burke and Lowe. It's the most interesting and enjoyable event going on in the NHL right now. You know Vince McMahon would be promoting this like crazy. He would have the two in a ring going at each other as an opener before the next Duck-Oiler game with Don Cherry calling the fight. But prior to that he would have the two mouths yapping at each other just to make sure the pay per view numbers were there. Just shows the NHL knows nothing about marketing.

It all started last July when the Oilers made a US$21.25-million, five-year offer sheet to restricted free agent Dustin Penner and the Ducks did not match it. Burke was immediately critical of Lowe and has never let up. Burke has repeatedly blamed Lowe and the Penner offer sheet for spiralling salaries on young restricted free agents.

Lowe finally shot back at Burke last week during an interview that included some stinging comments about the Anaheim GM on Edmonton radio station The Team 1260.

"I mean, if he wants to debate what our offer sheet did to them or to the salaries, any time," Lowe told the radio station. "The reality is, Rick Nash's contract a number of years ago, (Patrice) Bergeron's and (Ilya) Kovalchuk's; that sets the standard – that's been going on for decades. I'm sick and tired of it. I know everybody in hockey is."

But then Lowe added: “Corey Perry is a hell of a player. What I really want to say about his (Burke’s) bickering about parity and the salary cap is if you’re unhappy about them, then trade him (Perry) our way. We’ll be glad to have him.”

Burke shot back (despite the league gag order): “It is our understanding that NHL member clubs are not entitled to express interest in the services of a player belonging to another NHL organization. Our understanding is that such an expression of interest constitutes tampering. We have asked the league to investigate whether a tampering episode has taken place. We’ve asked them to make a full investigation into that. We will have no further comment on this, and whatever the league’s decision is, we will abide by that.”

This is not going to end real soon.

Mascot Failure

When are the Argos bringing back Leo Cahill?

The Maple Leafs have brought back 73 year old Cliff Fletcher to rebuild the hockey team. The Blue Jays have placed the the baseball team in the trusty hands of 64 year old Cito Gaston.

So it's only a matter of time before the Argos drag 78 year old Leo Cahill out of retirement. Sure he hasn't coached since 1978 but I think he is still on their payroll. Supposedly he is a goodwill ambassador. The Argos might as well join the bandwagon and put their future in some old guy.

Are the Toronto Maple Leafs really getting younger?

When Cliff Fletcher took over as manager of the Toronto Maple Leafs, he vowed the team would look drastically different by the fall and it would be younger. Certainly a lot of changes have taken place with the departure of Belak, Kilger, Gill, Pohl, Raycroft, Wellwood, Tucker and mostly likely Sundin. But are the Leafs younger?

I worked out the average age of the Leafs on the day Fletcher took over in January and compared it to what I anticipate to be their roster when the season opens. I excluded McCabe from the roster, anticipating that Fletcher would be successful in trading him. I also didn't include Schenn who I expect to be returned to his Junior team in the fall. So in Janaury the team average age was 27.8. And today it is 27.6. That doesn't seem younger to me.

January roster
Sundin 36
Antropov 27
Ponikarovksy 27
Blake 34
Wellwood 24
Tucker 32
Stajan 24
Steen 23
Devereaux 29
Moore 27
Belak 31
Bell 27
Kilger 31
Tlusty 19
Pohl 28
Kaberle 29
Kubina 30
McCabe 32
Colaiacovo 24
White 23
Stralman 21
Gill 32
Raycroft 27
Toskala 30 ---avg. age 27.8

Current roster
Antropov 28
Ponikarovksy 28
Mayer 33
Kulemin 22
Stajan 24
Steen 24
Devereaux 30
Moore 27
Hagman 28
Bell 27
Grabovski 24
Tlusty 20
Kaberle 30
Kubina 31
Finger 27
Colaiacovo 25
White 24
Stralman 21
Kronwall 25
Joseph 41
Toskala 31 ---avg. age 27.6

Mats Sundin signs with Toronto

Desparate for some hitting, Blue Jays general manager J.P. Ricciardi made the pitch to a big free agent early yesterday morning and signed Mats Sundin to a 2-year, $20 million dollar contract. The contract matches the offer made by the Canucks that Sundin had neither accepted or rejected.

Sundin is expected to be in the Blue Jay lineup before the all-star break as a DH and the cleanup hitter. Ricciardi commented that the big Swede who is listed at 6'5" and 230 lbs. has the makings of a great power hitter. Since Sundin can't field, he will strictly DH but Ricciardi feels that his prowess with a hockey stick can be transferred over to the baseball diamond. Certainly he felt that potential was confirmed in a batting practice session set up for Sundin yesterday which was on off day for the Jays.

Reaction from the Maple Leafs and Canadiens was shock and disappointment. Leaf GM Cliff Fletcher commented that he was glad to see Mats stay in Toronto but thought that the hockey club was a better fit. He suggested that maybe the 37 year old would be interested in playing 2 sports. Montreal GM Bob Gainey was dumbfounded and suggested Sundin had given up a shot at a Stanley Cup to play a "boys' game". Sundin indicated that what motivated him was a desire to play in the venerable Yankee Stadium. The Yankees move into a new stadium next season.

What the Leaf lineup might look like in October

Well the Maple Leafs will look younger all right. Not sure if they will look better so I think we can expect another dismal year. Most of the signings and trades are done with though there might be a few more to come. Here is the projected lineup barring any further additions and deletions. If Mats Sundin returns then there is more urgency to trade a defenseman with a significant salary.

Forwards
Ponikarovski - Antropov - Steen
Hagman - Stajan - Mayers
Kulemin - Grabovski - Blake
Bell - Moore - Devereaux

Defense
Kaberle - Kubina
Finger - Stralman
Colaiacovo - White

Goalies
Toskela
Joseph

Spares
McCabe
Tlusty
Frogren
Mitchell

This is supposedly funny in France

...but then they think Jerry Lewis is a genius.

Jaromir Jagr's NHL days are over

It was one of the greatest in the modern era but Jaromir Jagr couldn't find an NHL willing to provide him with a suitable contract. He likely wasn't looking for someone to match the 2-year, $35 million offer he received from the new Russian league but something reflective of his skills. But the collective agreement works against players like Jagr. Any player over 35 who is signed by a team will count against that team's salary cap EVEN IF HE RETIRES.

So if you sign Jagr for 3 years at $6 million per year and he calls it quits after 2, that final $6 million will go against your salary cap. So teams are cautious when signing older free agents and will prefer to only offer 1 year at a time.

Even when Jagr was an up-and-coming junior, the puck seemed magnetically drawn to his stick. His size 6-foot-2 and 210 pounds made him tough to knock around, while his incredible touch, speed and creativity combine brilliantly to made him an almost unstoppable offensive force. His skills have propelled his teams, whether in the NHL or international play to titles and championships.

NHL scouts were intrigued, but many teams were hesitant to use a high draft pick to select Jagr. Unlike other highly rated standouts from his homeland such as Petr Nedved, Jagr was still in Czechoslovakia. He still had a year remaining on his contract with Kladno, after which he would have to perform two to three years of military service before he would be available to sign with a North American team, assuming that Kladno did not then hold him for a king's ransom. The Penguins took a chance because they already had Mario Lemiuex as their franchise player so they took him 5th overall in 1990.

Considering he is only 36 and still very productive, if he had stayed in the NHL, he might have moved up considerably in several statistical areas.

Awards

NHL All-Rookie Team (1991)
NHL First All-Star Team (1995, 1996, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2006)
Art Ross Trophy (1995, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001)
NHL Second All-Star Team (1997)
Lester B. Pearson Award (1999, 2000, 2006)
Hart Memorial Trophy (1999)
WC-A All-Star Team (2004)
Played in NHL All-Star Game (1992, 1993, 1996, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2004)

Stats

Career points: 1599 (9th)
Career goals: 646 (12th)
Career assists: 953 (13th)
Career playoff points: 181 (11th)
Career playoff goals: 77 (11th)
Career playoff assists: 104 (20th)
Powerplay goals: 181 (22nd)
Game winning goals: 112 (2nd)

This is an amazing play

No Drowning, Please

Mats Sundin seems to be on his own timetable

Mats Sundin seems to have injected an element of uncertainty in the free agent marketplace. Despite his age, he is the premiere player in the market - except he isn't quite sure if he actually wants to be in the market. At noon on July 1 he became a free agent and within an hour GMs around the league were scrambling to sign free agents. But Mats is on his own schedule. The problem is neither he or anyone else knows how that schedule looks.

So if you are an NHL GM, do you wait him out or just fill up your cap space with other player? Can you afford to let others bid for Jagr, Demitra, etc. and come up with nothing? There are 15 teams with enough cap space to still sign Sundin. Three teams (Los Angeles, Columbus and Atlanta) are well below the minimum cap of $40 million and could use Sundin to get to the cap, but Sundin would likely never play for these teams. There are at least 6 other teams that he would not give serious consideration (Florida, Pheonix, Minnesota, Buffalo, Islanders, and Colorado). That still leaves 6 contenders - Toronto (yes, there is a chance and cap space), Montreal, Ottawa, Vancouver, New York Rangers, and Pittsburgh.

For me the Pittsburgh scenario is intriguing. With Hossa signed with Detroit, they have cap space for Sundin. And they would have had difficulty into the future with a long term contract with Hossa. A two year contract works better for the Penguins since he frees up money in two years for their younger stars. If you are looking at teams that Sundin could put over the top, maybe Pittsburgh has even more potential than Montreal, Ottawa or the Rangers.

I'm still dumbfounded by the Jeff Finger signing

I'm convinced that Cliff Fletcher made his first mistake since returning as the Leaf's GM when he signed Jeff Finger to an expensive $14 million) 4 year contract. We all understand that you almost always overpay for free agents unless you are the Detroit Red Wings. But Finger was a career AHLer until about 17 months ago. It appears Fletcher was mostly going by assessments from Ron Wilson and ex Colorado coach Joel Quennvillie.

So searched the Internet looking for some info on this great "find" by the Leafs. He has only 94 NHL games under his belt and 252 AHL games. His salary last season was $475,000 so his new contract will by 7 times that. An Avs blog In The Cheap Seats has this to say about the signing:

First of all, the following has nothing to do with Jeff Finger. I am a fan and will try to watch him the two or three times next year that Hockey Night in Canada broadcasts a Leafs game. I do think the Leafs overpaid for him, but a lot of teams overpaid for far bigger stiffs yesterday.

Jeff Finger is a lot of things. “Shutdown defensemen” is not one of them. I find it amusing that Cliff Fletcher takes fans to task for not having seen Finger, but then seems to imply that he hasn’t seen him either. Instead, he’s relying on the word of a currently-unemployed coach. It’s okay, Cliff. As long as Joel Quenneville says he’s one of the top 5 defensemen, you’ll be fine. If there’s anything Quenneville showed us in Colorado, it’s that he’s a suberb judge of talent. I’m sure the fact that he benched Finger for a while in the playoffs after he misplayed a puck was just because that top 5 D-man needed a little break. And in the Detroit series, when the cameras seemed to catch a red-faced Quenneville screaming “what the fuck are you doing”, what he really was saying was “you’re doing a hell of a job, Brownie”. Maybe I’m just not all that good at reading lips.

Here’s the sentence that really threw me: “[Leafs' coach] Ron Wilson told me he was always on the ice in San Jose games against Joe Thornton”. Which begs the following question: was Ron Wilson watching any of those games?

It’s true that Finger spent some time against Iginla (and had some success, including Iggy into taking some really stupid penalties), but I don’t think he saw a ton of the Sedins. Simply put, the Avalanche generally had other guys - Brett Clark, Scott Hannan and, eventually, Adam Foote - out there against the opponents’ top forwards. That’s not to say he couldn’t have done well in that role, but, again, that’s not really the point.

Toronto fans, my heart goes out to you. You’ve got a GM who apparently is using an ex-coach who can’t judge talent as a scout and you’ve got a coach who seemed to be watching a different game than the one he was coaching. Uh, good luck with that.

From the Denver Post:

I’m just absolutely amazed, though, that the Maple Leafs gave Jeff Finger four year and $14 million. No wonder that team hasn’t won a Stanley Cup since 1968. Unbelievable.

I liked Fingy but….aren’t you kidding me? This is a guy who was gassed after 20 seconds of a shift and was a healthy scratch for most of the postseason, after he screwed up on what should have been an icing call in Game 3 of the first round.

And lastly from Jibblescribbit:

Jeff Finger The Avs tried hard to re-sign Finger, but after the first day of free agency it's easy to see why they weren't able to. He was due an unexpected pay-day, to the tune of 4-year $3.5M/year. That may be the day's most shocking contract.

Finger's agent played the market perfectly. If you look at Toronto's defense Finger will fit in perfectly because he is exactly what they need: A physical presence who can play pretty solid positional defense and block shots. Finger's agent also deserves commendation for seeking out a team willing to spend money and milking it for all it's worth.

Despite being a great fit for the Leafs, Finger was overpaid (again nice job by Finger's agent). Finger is 28 and only a vet of a season and a half. He's a good defenseman, possibly top 4, but not a top-2 guy. The Leafs gave him top 2-3 money. One regret Finger may ultimately have is that the expectations that come with that hefty contract in Toronto may make life miserable. The media scrutiny surrounding Toronto might not be worth it, and the Leafs management has recently been throwing their players (like Sundin) under the bus in order to cover their incompetence.

The Toronto Maple Leafs have gone mad

I thought Cliff Fletcher had gone totally mad when I read the news and saw he had spent $14 million of the Finger and $12 million on Hagman. I mean that is totally nonsense. No one is going to pay that kind of money for the Finger when people like Avril Lavigne flash it around indiscriminately. And I thought Larry Hagman retired long ago from Dallas. That's a lot of money to spend on an old guy. I thought the Leafs were going younger.





OK, my mistake. It turns out the Leafs signed a guy name Jeff Finger for $14 million. And it turns out the Hagman out of Dallas was Niklas not Larry. So why don't I feel any better?

Happy Canada Day!