Jim Gregory survives Leaf chaos, earns hall nod

My tickets to the Hockey Hall of Fame Induction ceremonies

From the Toronto Star:

Jim Gregory has his game plan.

"I'm trying to handle it all like a big game," he explained this week in an interview as he prepared for his induction on Monday into the Hockey Hall of Fame.

"You want to have the adrenalin going, but you don't want to be so emotional you can't function."

The problem in treating his induction like a "big game," however, is that he hasn't had to prepare for one of those in a while.

Not since Maple Leaf owner Harold Ballard made the ill-advised – and ultimately disastrous – move of deposing Gregory as the team's general manager in the spring of 1979 has Gregory worked for an NHL club. Soon after being fired by Ballard, he signed on with the NHL Central Scouting department and has worked for the league in one valuable capacity or another ever since.His decade at the helm of the Leafs – he succeeded Punch Imlach in 1969, and then was himself succeeded by Imlach 10 years later – was a tumultuous time, the first part of the franchise's long walk through the wilderness that is still continuing after 40 years.

Others, including Ballard and NHL president Clarence Campbell, advised the young Gregory in the early 1970s not to bother worrying too much about the upstart World Hockey Association, and Gregory ended up overseeing a large, destructive exodus of hockey talent from the Leafs.

But it was what happened in the late 1970s as the WHA was disintegrating, however, that may have proved more pivotal in the history of the club.With the WHA Winnipeg Jets looking to join the NHL, Swedish forwards Anders Hedberg and Ulf Nilsson became available to the highest bidder in the spring of 1978, and Gregory pushed hard to get them.

The Leafs had blazed a trail years earlier by hiring Borje Salming and Inge Hammarstrom, and Hedberg had been on their negotiation list at one point."We were already a hard team to play against," said Gregory. "I believe those guys would have made a difference to us."

As it was, the Rangers won the day, paying between $2.4 million and $2.7 million for the Swedish forwards. Gregory now says he didn't want to upset the Leafs' salary structure, but others believe that he prefers to protect the memory of Ballard, who stubbornly declined to cut the necessary cheques.

The Leafs beat the Islanders in the '78 playoffs but lost to Montreal, and in the ensuing months the unemployed Imlach, canned by Buffalo in December 1978, gained Ballard's ear with the help of King Clancy.

When the Leafs lost to Montreal again in the '79 playoffs, with the Habs then beating the Rangers with Hedberg and Nilsson in the Stanley Cup final, Gregory and coach Roger Neilson were out and Imlach was back in charge."I felt like we were doing a painting," said Gregory. "But three-quarters of the way through we were told we weren't going to paint anymore."

Had Gregory successfully lured Hedberg and Nilsson, Leaf history might have been very different. Two explosive offensive players would have added a new dimension to the Leafs, Gregory might have been able to fend off Imlach's return and the Leafs should have been able to be competitive with the Habs, Islanders and Flyers as the 1980s began.

Instead, Gregory found his path elsewhere, and on Monday it will take him into the Hockey Hall of Fame where he'll join another from his birthplace of Port Colborne, Ont.

"I was born across the street from Ted Kennedy," said Gregory. "He was my idol."

Gregory, then, missed finding immortality as the hockey boss of the Leafs.

But he made it just the same.

Walking Funny?

source

More on the Canadian Dollar and the NHL

I found this table on the Battle of Ontario blog which illustrates what impact the rising Canadian dollar has had on the Ottawa Senators and the Toronto Maple Leafs. The Senators are paying about the same amount (in Canadian dollars) in salaries this year as they did in the 2000-01 season and slightly less than in the 2002-03 season. However, the Leafs are spending substantially less. About $15 million less than in the 2000-01 season and about $50 million less than in the 2002-03 season.

Canadian Dollar is Changing the NHL Landscape

I think the NHL Collective Bargaining Agreement is taking a beating as a result of the rising Canadian dollar. Negotiated just 2 years ago, the currency issue was never a consideration. But then why would you expect it to be.

For one thing, the salary cap is tied to league revenue. Everything is calculated in U.S dollars. So the 6 Canadian teams pay salaries and report revenue in U.S. dollars. With the Canadian dollar rising about 25% against its American counterpart, revenues have grown without any increase in attendance, new TV money, etc. I made this point before when the cap was increased to $50 million. And I understand that 40% of NHL revenue now comes from the 6 Canadian teams.

So you can count on another substantial cap increase for next season. So what does it all mean? Well what you would consider a small market and large market team is being redefined. Edmonton has always considered a small market and has had trouble competing with the big boys. Not any more. But as well, struggling U.S. markets are struggling even more. Salaries are being pushed up by the Canadian currency and they can't compete. This is the reverse of what was happening 10 years ago when Canadian teams couldn't compete because of the falling Canadian dollar.

Also, teams like the Nashville Predators, Florida Panthers and Phoenix Coyotes, which rely on revenue-sharing money, must generate a year-to-year revenue growth rate in excess of the league average revenue growth rate according to the CBA. But the rising Canadian dollar makes that impossible for these markets.

In the past Canadian teams survived partly because they always had strong fan bases but were just at a financial disadvantage. But small market American teams do not necessarily have that strong fan base. The answer may be to move some franchises to Canada. However, Commissioner Bettman has absolutely no interest in the Canadian market. Meanwhile he has his eye on expanding the NHL to Kansas City and Las Vegas. Owners will be convinced because they are eager potential owners who would provide at least $500 million for existing owners to stick into their pocket. Expansion revenue is not part of the CBA so there is no sharing with players.

Mike Modana Tops All American Born Players

Mike Modano scored twice on Wednesday night, placing his name atop the scoring list of all names of American born NHL players.

Two quick goals in Dallas' 3-1 victory over San Jose on Wednesday night propelled Modano ahead of Phil Housley for the record of career points by an American born player. His scoring touch Wednesday gave him a record breaking 1,233 points in 1,253 regular-season games and he has accomplished it in 242 fewer games than Housley required.

Modano who has only played for one NHL squad the Stars (all be it in two NHL cities) is one of the shining lights of the American hockey program, and has consistently provided scoring thrills for NHL crowds during his long and impressive career.

Top Ten Maple Leafs Since Their Last Stanley Cup

A lot of players have worn a Maple Leaf sweater since their last Stanley Cup in 1967. It's been a couple generations of players that have come and gone. The franchise is beginning to look like the Chicago Cubs of the NHL. Well, I've put together my 10 top Leaf players not to have won a Cup here over the last 41 years.

10. Dave Andreychuk (92-96)
Dave was fortunate to hang around long enough to win a Cup with Tampa Bay in 2004 at the age of 40. He falls on this list because during his time with the Leafs he was a prolific goal scoring. In the 1993-94 season he scored 53 goals. He lead the league in powerplay goals in 1991-92 (28) and 1992-93 (32). He played at the edge of the paint and took quite a beating to score many of these goals.

9. Lanny McDonald (73-80)
Lanny was also a gifted but rugged goal scorer. In his last 4 seasons with the Leafs he averaged 43 goals per season. Unfortunately his best season was with Calgary where he scored 66 goals. Like Andreychuk he finally won a Stanley Cup late in his career (1989).

8. Norm Ullman (68-75)
Norm was one of the most consistent players in the NHL during his career. He was the key player in the 1968 Frank Mahovolich trade. Early in his career he centred Gordie Howe and was an All Star. With the Leafs he wasn't so lucky but playing with Floyd Smith and Paul Henderson, he still had his best year in 1970-71 when he scored 85 points.

7. Jacques Plante (70-73)
Jacques had such a long and distinguished career that his accomplishments with the Leafs are largely lost in time. At the age of 42, he had the lowest goals against average (1.88) in 170-71 with Leafs and was an All Star.

6. Rick Vaive (80-86)
Rick was one of the few gifted Leaf scorers during the pathetic 1980s. He holds the Leafs single season goal scoring record (54) and had 3 50-goal seasons. That is amazing looking back at those weak Leaf teams. During this career as a Leaf he scored 537 points in 534 points at a rate of 1.01 points per game, second only to Doug Gilmour.

5. Mats Sundin (94-present)
Mats like many others on this list has had to carry his team. He holds the NHL record for overtime goals (15). Another consistent scorer, he has continued to lead Leaf scorers despite never playing with star wingers (ie, Jonas Hogland). In 13 seasons the durable Mats has missed only 40 games. He has made 9 All Star game appearances. Unless he gets traded to a contender, he will never win a Cup. However, he has an Olympic gold medal and at the Worlds won 2 golds, 1 silver and 2 bronze medals. This season Mats became the Leaf career leader in goals and points.

4. Curtis Joseph (98-02)
Curtis had his best years as a Maple Leaf. His goals against average as a Leaf was 2.41 and recorded 133 winds and 17 shutouts. He was runner up for the Vezina in 1999 and 2000 and won the King Clancy trophy in 1999-2000. During his Leaf tenure, the team was very much offense-oriented and relied on Curtis to make numerous saves every game.

3. Darryl Sittler (70-82)
Like Sundin, Darryl was the heart and soul of the Leafs for many years until he was driven away by ignorant management. He was the first Leaf to score 100 points and accomplished it twice. Until this season, he was the Leaf career leader in goals and points. He also holds some impressive NHL records including a 10-point game (including 6 goals) and a 5-goal playoff game.

2. Borje Salming (73-89)
Borje anchored the Leaf defense for 15 years through good and bad seasons. He was an All Star from 1975-80 and paved the way to the NHL for other Europeans. He was a tough competitor who could not be intimidated and the scars on his body are a reminder of what he went through. He played against the bruising Flyer teams during the Broad Street Bully days but never backed down. He holds the Leaf career assist record (660).

1. Doug Gilmour (91-97, 03)
Dougie was the most popular Leaf player over the past 2 decades. He holds the Leaf single season point record (127) and assist record (93). He won the Frank Selke Trophy in 1993 and is the last Leaf player to win a major NHL trophy. He actually came the closest to carrying the Leafs to a Cup final in the past 41 years. In the 1992-93 season he scored a pivotal double overtime goal against St. Louis in the 2nd round of the playoffs with Curtis Joseph in net. In the next round the Leafs were leading the series 3-2. During overtime of game six, Gretzky high-sticked Gilmour, drawing blood, without being assessed a penalty by and then scored the winning goal moments later to stave off elimination. The King went on to win the series. Gilmour finished second to Gretzky in playoff scoring with 35 points.

NHL Trade Gridlock

So do you know how many trades have been made in the NHL since the season started a month ago? Zero! Not even a 4th liner for a low round pick.It's not like there are 30 General Managers who are happy with the teams. Anaheim, Pheonix, Atlanta, Edmonton, Vancouver, Toronto and Chicago have been actively chatting. But with over half the teams very close to the salary cap, it is just to difficult too execute a trade this early in the season. You can't pick up a $4 million player unless the other team takes one back in exchange. And in most cases there's no point. So if Ottawa were to pick up Federov from Columbus, they would likely have to move Redden.

In March, that $4 million player becomes only a $1 million hit on your payroll and becomes more feasible. So GMs have no choice but to wait for injured players to rehab and slumping players to recover. That is what Ferguson has been counting on. He is hoping that the return of Wellwood, McCabe, Bell, Tucker and Colaiavoco will kick start his team. Burke is hoping that Selanne and Niedermayer come out of retired. Waddel hopes that Hossa recovers from his slump/injuries. You make all your moves in the summer and then you have no choice but to stick with what you got.

Famous Quotes from Coach Bruce

1. Always carry two hankies, one for show and one to blow.
2. Hey Alice, don't have a brain fart out there!
3. Even a blind squirrel sometimes finds a nut.
4. Were you having a blonde moment out there?
5. Have you met my cleaning lady Dorothea?
6. That's a hockey puck on your stick not a hand grenade.
7. That shot wouldn't have broken glass.
8.Do that again and I will shove my stick where the sun don't shine.
9. This team couldn't pass wind.
10. There were so many of you in front of our net that we could have taken a team picture.
11. Holy sh*t house mouse.
12. Safe under the tag!
13. When you coughed up that puck I almost needed a change of underwear.
14. I know its almost Christmas but do you have to be giving away the puck?
15. Hey Buffy, stay awake out there!
16. They do that in Leaside not here.
17. Was that your imitation of a Zamboni out there?
18. That puck hit her in a bad spot...right on the stick.
19. Your turns are so large you have to skate through Hamilton to get back to your end of the ice.
20. That a boy, girl!
21. If you moved any slower we might paint you orange and throw you out on the highway.
22. I bet you could hit a one-legged pirate in the leg.
23. You dance with who ya brung.
24. None of the dickey doo stuff.
25. Remember we're wearing white today.

Who would crave White Castle Latkes?

Leslye Louis of New Melle, Missouri, was selected as the winner of the 16th annual White Castle recipe contest for her original creation, The Latkes You Crave. For Canadians not familiar with White Castle, it is America's oldest hamburger chain with the cheapest burgers around which attracts lots of students (see Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle). I admit to some late night vistis to White Castle while at university in Philadelphia.

Leslye obviously has a very health lifestyle. She is a self-described "White Castle Purist". Through the years, White Castle has remained a big part of her life. She collects White Castle items; she's taken White Castles to her faculty meetings; enjoyed Valentine dinners at White Castle; and wherever she travels, Leslye always makes it a point to make White Castle her first stop.

How nice.

The recipes are judged on the best use of 10 White Castle hamburgers, originality, and taste. Last year's winner was: Enchiladas de White Castle Burgers y Queso.

Here is her winning recipe:

The Latkes You Crave
Submitted by: Leslye Louis

10 White Castle burgers
3 eggs
4 cups grated potatoes
1/4 cup grated onion
4 tablespoons flour
2 teaspoons salt
1 tablespoon parsley flakes
1 teaspoon ground sage
1/2 teaspoon pepper
Vegetable oil

Remove the pickles and crumble or dice hamburgers in a large bowl and set aside. Beat eggs until light and foamy. Stir in the grated potatoes,grated onion, flour, seasonings, herbs and combine with the hamburger mixture. Heat 1/8 to 1/4 inch vegetable oil in a large skillet. For each Latke, drop about 1/4 cup White Castle potato mixture into the hot oil, fry on each side until golden brown. Add oil to pan as needed, to keep proper depth for frying. Drain Latkes well on absorbent paper. This makes about14-20 of the lightest White Castle Latkes in the Latke-land. Serve hot,with applesauce, dairy sour cream, apple butter or eat plain.

Is This How Paul Maurice Started Out?

Maple Leafs Skate Like Pylons

More Leaf Trade Rumours

The Globe reports that Peter Forsberg has decided to bow out of participating in the upcoming Karjala Cup in Helsinki after leaving his first day of practice with Team Sweden complaining of pain in his right foot (The Globe cites his "problematic ankle") and casting doubt onto a possible return to the NHL. There was very high interest in Detroit, Ottawa, Colorado and Vancouver in Forsberg.

Now Ken Campbell of The Hockey News suggests the Ottawa Senators should forget trying to win a bidding war for a banged-up Peter Forsberg and instead try to make "a bold and concerted pitch" for rejuvenated Toronto Maple Leafs captain Mats Sundin.

Come on, everyone in the hockey world knows it'll be a cold day in hell before the Leafs trade Sundin, or anyone else from their roster, to the Ottawa Senators. The only way Sundin might - emphasis on "might" - end up in a Sens jersey by the trade deadline is if another team is involved whereby the Leafs trade him to that team which then "flips" him to the Senators. And if there was any hint of Ottawa landing Sundin, it wouldn't go down.

OK, Whose Baby Picture is This?

John Ferguson Poll

So the poll question was: When will Maple Leaf GM John Ferguson get fired?

9 (39%) chose Gone by Christmas
11 (48%) chose End of season if they don't make the playoffs
2 (9%) chose His contract will be extended
1 (4%) chose He will be promoted to VP position

In the wacky world of MLSE any one of these scenarios is possible. If the team goes into an extended losing streak then the Christmas pink slip is possible. However, relative to other NHL teams, the Leafs have enough talent to prevent a long losing streak. In fact, they are hovering around .500 missing key players,. Wellwood, Tucker and Bell make up a decent 2nd line on most teams. McCabe and Colaiacovo are top 4 defensemen. But the main reason I don't see an early exit for JFJ is that there is no successor in the wings. There is no strong managerial candidate in the organization. The only people outside with the organization that is unemployed and qualified is Neil Smith and Craig Patrick. There may be more but the pickings are slim. If you search during the off season you can always get permission to talk to employed GMs who might be interested in a change of scenery. Brian Burke has been mentioned as possibly moving to Toronto though I'm not sure if there is any truth to this rumour.

Yes, it is possible that Ferguson's contract gets extended though not many blog readers believe that will happen. Obviously the Leafs would have to qualify for the playoffs for the scenario to play out. For that to happen, they would have to figure out how to win at home. On paper this team may not be as bad as they look, yet they are playing some awful hockey. Should Ferguson dump Maurice and the Leafs improve their play then again he could be extended. Finally, there was one person (who may not have been serious) that predicted he would be bounced upstairs to a VP job. Not likely to happen because he obviously doesn't have too much support on the board. If he did he wouldn't be playing under a series of one year contracts and their wouldn't have been a search for a mentor over the summer.

Storm's Version of the Hansons

Found frost on my car this morning

...so winter should be here before you know it.

Leaf Trade Rumours

There are strong trade winds blowing through Leaf Nation this week. JFJ has been looking to make a blockbuster deal to shake up his under performing team. He has been talking to several western teams including Anaheim, Phoenix and Colorado. The names that pops up continually on the Leaf side are Kaberle and Steen.

Supposedly Coyotes are hot to make a deal which would suggest that they would have to be offering either Shane Doan or Ed Jovanovski. Remember in today's NHL, if you are trading big salaries in mid-season you have to take back big salaries. The only exception appears to be around the trading deadline in March. The Leafs are interested in Colorado players John-Michael Liles and Marek Svatos. But I don't see that happening because both Avalanche players have low salaries.

The trade rumours have died down involving the Leafs and Atlanta. That trade rumour involved Kaberle and Raycroft for Hossa. Waddel wants to wait until closer to the trade deadline because he believes he can get more for Hossa then.

The most intriguing trade possibility involves the Ducks. The Ducks have had an awful start and have a worse record than the Leafs. The Ducks are another Stanley Cup team that are at risk of missing the playoffs the year winning the championship (Tampa Bay, Carolina). They have only scored 29 goals in 14 games and need some offensive help. As well, Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry both become restricted free agents this summer. And after losing Penner to Edmonton last summer, Brian Burke may be concerned about what it will cost to sign both. JFJ would love to land Gefzlaf since his the team doesn't possess a prospect or young player of his calibre.

The bottom line is that Kaberle is the Leafs' most tradeable commodity. McCabe won't waive the "no movement" clause in his contract, Kubina is too slow to help a team in need of offense and Sundin doesn't want to go either. If a blockbuster happens, Kaberle will likely be involved.

Wildest finish I've ever seen to a football game

How the Leafs did in October

Record: 5-5-3 (13 points)
Standing in East: 6th
Standing in East (based on winning %): 11th
Goals For: 51 (2nd)
Goals Against: 51 (30th)
Shots For: 403 (3rd)
Shots Against: 442 (30th)
Powerplay: 11.9% (26th)
Penalty Killing: 78.8% (24th)
Penalty Minutes: 213 (27th)
Goals Against Average: 3.84 (29th)
Save Percentage: .885 (25th)

Power Ranking:
TSN- 12th
Sports Illustrated - 18th
CBC - 19th
CBS - 19th
Fox - 20th
ESPN - 23rd
Yahoo - 30th

It doesn't take a genius to interpret these stats. No playoff spot in the horizon based on October's performance.

Best Costume - YouTube Costume