Short post today. I want everyone that reads this to go check out this article. Howard Berger hit the nail right on the head. It's the best article I've read in awhile.
Anyway, the 'new look' Leafs are in action tonight against the Florida Panthers. Freshly traded Chad Kilger is expected to make his Panthers debut - taking Richard Zednik's spot on a scoring line (???) - while Wade Belak is not. For the Leafs, Kris Newbury and Jeremy Williams have been called up from the AHL, and expect Robbie Earl to be a mainstay in the lineup the rest of the way.
So yeah, go Panthers go!
The Leafs currently sit 26th overall, and I don't want that number to get any lower. The recently nicknamed 'no-trade 5' (Sundin, Kaberle, McCabe, Tucker, Kubina) refused to help the team by fucking off to another organization. Maybe they'll help the team in another way; by continuing to lead a sack of shit team right into the cellar.
This team has shown a lot of heart in recent years...after they've all but mathematically been eliminated from the playoffs. This must be what Sundin referred to when he talked about 'winning in Toronto'.
I just hope this team doesn't get any stupid ideas about making a playoff run. I'm sure they will, though, because the opposite might actually improve the team...something that they're obviously not interested in doing.
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2 comments:
interesting article link mr. bone. i enjoyed reading it but i'm surprised you didn't rip on kubina a bit for such a dirtball move. however, i suppose it was implied! it makes me want to go back and bring up a point: why did you focus (as did leafs nation) all of your anger towards mats sundin? yes, he would have gotten the best return for a team that is in dire need of rebuilding but why does all the responsibility have to lie on him. is it because he is the only player with talent and his reward is to be forced out of his team and do something he doesn't want to do because the rest of the team is worthless? true, sundin hasn't taken the leafs to a cup in all his time here, but i think even you would agree that it's not his fault; he has carried the team many a time. therefore, i think it's unfair to come down on him for his decision. i'm glad he didn't sell his soul to the devil that is MLSEL, whos fault it is that they are in this whole mess. i say the bed has been made and now EVERYONE has to lay in it. it's not sundin's responsiblilty alone.
Thanks for the comment, they're always appreciated!
Yeah, I left Kubina to Howard Berger, who said everything I wanted to (although he didn't name as many names as I'd have liked.
As for Sundin, it's important to note that I hold to ill will against Mats. He only did what his contract allowed him to. But I really think he is in a unique circumstance. I am no happier with the other 4 players with NTCs, but they are all signed for years after this one. Aside from being worth the most (and honestly I think Kaberle may have fetched something more b/c of his cheap, longer-term contract), Sundin was the only one that could have agreed to a trade, played elsewhere for a couple of months, then returned to Toronto to begin next season.
I don't think the Leafs' mess is Mats' fault or responsibility at all. In fact, he's probably least at fault for it. But the reality is that he was also the most capable of fixing it. And all he had to do to give the Leafs a huge boost was agree to go to a team to win a Stanley Cup! Pick any team in the league - whichever team he thinks has the best chance - and Fletch could have swung a great deal for him that would have both given the Leafs some high end talent and/or prospects, and given Mats a great chance at the Cup he'll never win in Toronto.
I said it best in my post, but my bottom line is that refusing a trade shows his true colours. This season is lost - despite what some meathead fans like to think - and Sundin showed that he is more interested in his cushy life in Toronto than in winning. And that's totally fine, and within his rights, but I don't think a player not interested in winning is (a) a good captain going forward (b) a good role model on a rebuilding team (c) worth $5M per season. And for those reasons, I don't think Mats Sundin should be resigned, unless under one specific circumstance: offer him $1M to stay next year and see how loyal to the Leafs he really is.
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