Maybe one of the worst calls ever on a goal

This alleged goal was in the USA vs. Finland game. I picked the Finnish play by play guys so you could get the other side's perspective on the questionable goal.

To Build a Winner the Leafs Need to Build A Scouting Staff

Everyone puts so much emphasis on acquiring high position in the draft. In fact, a proportion of Leaf fans wanted to see the team tank the last part of the season in order to get a shot at the first pick overall. But the best team in the NHL, the Detroit Red Wings, haven't had a high first round pick in two decades and the majority of their roster was Red Wing draft picks. Out of their top players, only Niklas Kronwall was a first rounder and he was picked 29th. Here is how their other top players were drafted:

Nicklas Lidstrom (3rd round/53rd pick)
Johan Franzen (3/97)
Pavel Datsyuk (6/171)
Henrik Zetterberg (7/210)
Tomas Holmstrom (10/257)

There is no question that the European scouts employed by the Wings are doing an outstanding job. So the lesson for others is obvious. Invest in a strong scouting system and you may never will need to rebuild.

Mothers Day is 100 Years* Old Today

My mom is just 83. Happy Mothers Day Mom!

*On Sunday, May 10, 1908, a simple church services in Grafton, W.Va., inspired by Anna Jarvis who wanted to honour her recently departed mother began a tradition to honour the nation's mothers. A bill introduced in the U.S. Senate that year failed to establish an official Mother's Day, but it set the stage for a successful measure in 1914.

Nice Parking Job

Conspiracy Theories Dominate Leaf Nation

So this is how it will work. The Leafs have only one candidate they are pursuing to run their team and that is Brian Burke. The Leafs sought permission to talk to Dave Nonis as part of a plan that includes getting Burke to Toronto in the summer of 2009, when his contract with Anaheim expires.

Nonis worked for Burke in Vancouver. The theory was that Nonis could be hired as GM now, replacing interim man Cliff Fletcher. A year from now, with Burke having fulfilled his contractual obligation in Anaheim, he could be hired by the Leafs as team president and be re-united with Nonis.

To disguise their true intentions, the Leafs also asked permission to talk to San Jose GM Doug Wilson knowing very well that they would be turned down.

You see the people in MLSE are so clever that they would have no problem covering up any evidence of tampering. Oops, but the smart Toronto media let it out of the bag.

People get a grip! The Toronto sports media has no interest in following the punchless Blue Jays so they are going back to the old reliable Maple Leafs for some headlines. Except nothing much is going on at MLSE except for axing Paul Maurice (which everyone knew was coming). No buyouts yet, no trades, no signings, no GM. So lets make up some stuff.

Is Fabian Brunnstrom Just a Lot of Hype?

A couple weeks ago I mentioned that the Leafs had to try and sign Fabian Brunnstrom. The reason I said that was mostly because the Leafs don't have many quality young players so if they pick one up without giving something up then why not. I did not think he would be the next Peter Forsberg or Mat Sundin.

Since that time the Youtube video I posted has made Brunnstrom an Internet superstar. The media has made this guy out to be a phenom although there is nothing to suggest he is even ready for the NHL. He is a 23 year old rookie in the Swedish Elite League with very ordinary numbers (in 54 games he had 9 goals and 28 assists). The video shows that he is a good skater but so was Alexandre Daigle - remember him. Although about 20 Swedish NHL players passed on playing for the Swedish team at the World Championships, Brunnstrom was never asked to join the team.

He sounds like a guy who would need to play a season or two in the AHL. Unless he lands on a team that is rebuilding and willing to let him develop in the NHL. Sounds like a good fit for the Leafs. Definitely not the Red Wings.

Playoff Nostalgia

20th Anniversary of Jim Schonfield telling Don Koharski to have another donut

You Can't Win With Sundin in Your Lineup?

There was an interesting quote from Mat Sundin in the Toronto Star this week. Rosie Dimanno reports when the subject got around to the deals that Leafs could have made for their captain, his response was:

"I could have gone to Vancouver and where would I be now? Out of the playoffs. Or Ottawa, and where would I be now? Or Anaheim, and where would I be now?"

That might have been the case. But those teams were willing to gamble that he would have had an impact on their playoff run and were also willing to pay big to find out. It's an odd comment by Sundin because so often he has had to carry the Leafs so why not the Ducks or Senators? It's almost as if he doesn't see himself as an impact player though I find that hard to believe. He has been one of the highest paid players in the league for about 10 years. I guess he was just playing devil's advocate.

When Will Jim Balsillie Get an NHL Franchise?

It appears from news reports that Billionaire Jim Balsillie contacted Buffalo Sabres owner Tom Golisano earlier this season about the possibility of purchasing the franchise, a sign he's still seeking an NHL franchise after at least two unsuccessful attempts. Supposedly Golisano indicated he would be open to selling the club, but not if Balsillie was planning to relocate it.

Balsillie had a tentative agreement to buy the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2006. But he withdrew his offer after learning the NHL would restrict his ability to move the club.

His next attempt was to buy the Nashville Predators. That was scuttled last summer after Balsillie indicated he would move the club to Hamilton and began taking deposits from prospective season ticket holders. There are also rumours that he tried to purchase the Ottawa Senators at some point in time.

Clearly, the NHL Commissioner and some of the team owners are not enamoured by Balsillie. But can they keep him from scoring a team forever? Not likely. As the US continues to sink into a recession, NHL teams losing money will go further into the red. Some of these owners will also be suffering financial losses elsewhere in their holdings and find that owning a hockey team may be a luxury than can no longer afford. At some point if it becomes a buyers market because more teams are for sale than there are buyers, the NHL may no longer be able to afford to snub Jim Balsillie. Just look at what's going on in Phoenix and Atlanta - two teams that have never made any money.

I don't think I've seen Don Cherry with a worse outfit

Maybe it's the yellow tie but Saturday's selection seemed more over the top than usual.

Keep Your Eye on the Ball

Sharks Lost But Not Because of Nabokov

Last Night's Stars

1. Marian Hossa, Penguins:

Slowly Hossa has emerged as a key player for the Penguins and after yesterday has ditched his reputation of disappearing in the playoffs. He had two key goals including the overtime winner that sent the Penguins into the third round of the playoffs.

2. Sidney Crosby, Penguins:

The Kid only had 3 shots on net as compared to 10 for Malkin. But he made some key plays and did all the work on Hossa's two goals. Even slowed by injuries Crosby is a dangerous player.

3. Evgeny Nabokov and Marty Turko:

The two goalies were incredibly last night and it's a shame one of them had to lose. Combined they gave up 3 goals in over 6 periods of hockey. The save by Nabokov in the first overtime was just spectacular and had to go to video replay to actually confirm he had gloved the shot before it went into the net.

Dany Heatley Resurfaces

Dany Heatley scored 3 goals and picked up an assist in Canada's 5-1 win over Slovenia (ranked 16th in the World in 2007) in the preliminary round of the World Championships. Heatley had 8 of the 65 shots fired at Slovenian goalie Robert Kristan who very well may have been the star of the game. Seems Heatley feels more comfortable playing against the Slovenians than the Penguins. Only problem is - no one will pay you $10 million to play against semi-pros.

The Latvians are up next. They lost 4-0 to the Americans and have no NHLers in the lineup. Latvia was ranked 13th in the World last year. I just don't get the point of including 16 teams when the bottom half are just not competitve. I guess it provides players like Spezza and Heatley an opportunity to shine.

Zetterberg scores the nicest goal of the playoffs

Nothing to suggest that Darcy Tucker will be bought out

The Toronto Star has a story that appears to be pretty definitive regarding the status of Darcy Tucker. The Star states:

A question mark continues to float over winger Darcy Tucker's future in Toronto, with indications persisting that he will be the first Leaf to be bought out of his contract once the period for buyouts opens June 15.

And where did this information come from? Well Leafs interim general manager Cliff Fletcher wouldn't confirm or deny a Tucker buyout. So since Fletcher won't deny the story, the Star concludes it must be true.

Just one flaw in this line of thinking. When Cliff Fletcher came onboard he informed the media that he would not be confirming or denying rumours regarding trades and other player personnel changes. So his refusal to comment on Darcy Tucker's situation is consistent with what he has been doing since January. To read anything into his refusal to deny a buyout is pure folly.

But it makes for a good story in a week where nothing much is happening in the GM recruitment process.

Last Night's Stars

1. Johan Franzen, Red Wings:

Poolers must be going nuts about this guy. The Mule has been carring a big load in this series for Detroit, scoring three times as the Red Wings completed the sweep of the Avs with an 8-2 pounding. In doing so, he became the first player with two hat tricks in the same series since Jari Kurri in 1985. Franzen's nine goals over the four games equaled the number mustered by the entire Avs roster.

2. Henrik Zetterberg, Red Wings:

He is a star because of an incredible goal he scored last night. His four-point effort was enough to earn him a star, but but Zetterberg potted one that'll be remembered long after the rest of his playoff goals are forgotten. After his first attempt from the slot was rebuffed by Peter Budaj, Zetterberg spun through the defense, retrieved his rebound with his back to the net, and buried a no-look backhander for what might have been the prettiest goal of the postseason.

3. Jaromir Jagr, Rangers:

On most nights his performance would have earned a first star but those two Red Wings were incredible last night. In the wake of a disappointing Game 3 loss to the Penguins at Madison Square Garden, Jagr faced the media and announced that the series was far from over. Then, like another legendary Rangers captain who promised victory, Jagr backed up his words with a masterful three-point performance. His first goal epitomized the playoff mantra of taking a hit to make a play. Using his size and speed to drive down the middle, Jagr unleashed a rocket of a wristshot a split second before he was crunched by Pittsburgh defender Brooks Orpik. His effort set the tone for the rest of the game, and gave the Rangers a chance to take the series back to Pittsburgh.

How To Operate a Rotary Dial Phone

Tough Young Woman

Stanford track and field star Alicia Follmar became the embodiment of "no pain, no gain" after a hard fall in the Penn Relays women’s collegiate distance medley race at Franklin Field. While on the ground, she was spiked in the head by a fellow runner, but did not allow that to deter her from her goal of finishing the race.

Follmar, covered in blood and bruises as though she was an extra in a horror flick, grabbed her baton and finished the race in third place.

Last Night's Stars

R.J. Umberger, Flyers:

R.J. Umberger is having a great series and opened the scoring for the third time in this series. Umberger later added an insurance empty net marker, giving him a pair on the night and six in four games against the Habs.

Patrick Marleau, Sharks:

It was a performance worthy of the captain's C from Marleau, who scored a shorthanded goal for the second game in a row. Marleau intercepted another Zubov cross-ice attempts, took off alone and beat goaltender Marty Turco to tie the game at one, and give the desperate Sharks the spark they needed to bring the series home for Game 5.

Martin Biron, Flyers:

The Habs launched 28 shots at Biron through the first two periods in an all-out effort to stop the bleeding and get their series back on even ground. No such luck. Biron, making just his 11th playoff start, ended up stopping 36 of 38 in Philly's 4-2 win over the Canadiens. He has clearly been the difference in this series and is beginning to look like a Conn Smythe candidate.