Enter Blue Guy

I think Burke is serious in a way that if no deal materializes, there is no loss in keeping Tomas, but at the same time this has to be a tactic to up the value. Put teams in a desperation frenzy were hopefully Burke is most likely to get his monstrous return. I don't buy it at all that Kaberle is off the market, he's just tossed all deals off the table that aren't going to make him drop his socks.

You can't be a GM of a rebuilding franchise and flat out not have your best bet for a big return off the trade market. It's not like they are going to build around Kabby or anything. I'm sure Burke will be waiting until the very last second of the deadline with his finger on the trigger waiting for a mega deal.

I believe it more with White. He's just now getting a real chance with the Leafs and he's exceeded all expectations.

Also, the rumors of Ryan Smyth to Calgary have the makings of a legendary hockey soap opera. Could you imagine if Edmonton and Calgary end up meeting in the playoffs and Ryan Smyth is in red and black?

I'd go with squash. Squash is fun.

That would be an incredible deal. Word is Boston ranks his value higher than those two as well, so it would be a tough deal for them to pull the trigger on. But a coveted prospect on top of a 1st and 3rd would be great return.

I'm glad this bit of a news got public. Not to say the rest of the GM's wouldn't know about deals involving their players of interest, but it's out there with a public price tag on Tomas and the trade value only goes up if any other teams want to bite.

Forgive this massive post, it could really two or three posts... but that's not allowed.

My take on rebuilding through the draft.

The draft is a gamble that leans towards the purpose of making the worst teams better. To completely rely on the early rounds of the draft to rebuild your team is ridiculous. It's worked for some like Pittsburgh, Washington, and Chicago, but look at most teams that make yearly trips to the top lotto spots; Tampa Bay (rags to riches, then rags again overnight), Long Island, Atlanta, Phoenix, LA to name the most familiar yearly suspects. It is nice to see Florida do well this season or else you could throw them in there too. Columbus is still pretty virginal and they too are doing well this year. But they rest of them own property in the NHL basement.

You build a core and hopefully in 3-4 years you will be in the process of building around that core and taking the next step. Or in the case of a lot of these yearly bottom feeders, your core matures into young vets, but not really going anywhere so you start drafting your next wave of prospects and hopefully you can make it work next year. Or the year after that. Then what do you do when all your young stars all need contracts around the same time? Start all over again?

There are various reasons why the same teams shit the bed every year, it's not always just to get a desired young stud, in one of NYI many problems their star goalie spends half his career in a full body cast or something, but in a lot of cases franchises are so quick to look to the draft as a symbol of hope and maybe stop short of making other moves to improve in favor of stockpiling and holding out for draft day.

Obviously the draft is a mighty tool that can be great to take advantage of if you need to, but if I'm a GM, I put major emphasis on scouting and if by chance I end up in a position where I have a premium spot in line to grab a building block, I take what I need or I try to trade it off and get something I'm confident I can use in the future. If that's not possible, then you take a chance grab on something you hope will be beneficial in one way or another.

All that is easier said than anything else. I'm nothing more than a puckhead playing fantasy GM, not an actual GM feeling everyday pressures of turning a hemorrhaging team around. All I know is that I'd feel much more comfortable with a rebuilding franchise with a high value on scouting some of the less familiar young talent, that can make the sensible deals, and shows competence with team management, rather than selling it all for picks and over-farming your crop of prospect in draft after draft after draft.

So far Brian Burke is passing on being the GM of team on the mend.

NOW! On to the Maple Buds.

On defense;

I'd like to keep a core of Schenn(duh) and White, along with at the very least either one of Kaberle or Kubina.

I've said what I had to about Kaberle. At his price and contract length, he is very worth to keep around as a veteran, point producing leader. On the flip, if the chance arises and you can unload Kubina's 5 mil, take it.

With the $4 Million dollar man in Finger, you have to keep him. And in all honesty, he's had a pretty good second half of the season. Not even worth 2 of his 4 mil, but enough that I can make my peace with the deal and move on.

Van Ryn is a solid vet and has been a catalyst when he's been healthy, but he is a movable piece that can be replaced and is attracting attention from teams. He could easily be gone by the 4th.

I like Sifers, but he is lacking real NHL experience. He shows some nice promise, but still very green. He's at a point where you have either fit him into the lineup now and start to get something out of him or he may not be anything more than a call-up.

I'd like to believe Anton Stralman can be a powerplay anchor on this team, but he's also pretty green when it comes to even strength play. Again, a lack of meaningful NHL experience could be it, but if somebody wants Stralman, he's expendable.

Frogren's grit and intensity is refreshing, but he is very replaceable.

Offense;

This is tricky. Idealy, I'd clear everybody you can out of there sans Stajan, Grabovski, Kulemin, and Mitchell. Not the greatest young core to work with, but it's the best we've got to work with right now. You can't clear everybody out just for the sake of it. I say this without knowing what could come back in return for what we've gotten rid of.

Stajan could be a decent sized gambling chip, but I think with that you lose the depth, reliability, and experience, somebody who is a real young veteran leader. I think once this team gains some ground and stability, Matt will finally be in a position with enough confidence in himself and his teammates to fill out his role on the team. He's worked his ass off in years were the desire, talent, and now expectations have been low, it would nice to see what Matt could do in a more positive situation. The only problem is Matt needs that now if he is ever going to grow into a solid 2nd line center. I don't know if his development can wait for the Leafs.

Grabovski and Kulemin need fine tuning. They need veteran line mates to give them a shake and keep them focused. Too many unforced mistakes between two skilled offensive guys. Garbo in particular could be a whiz, but he spends to much time out there colliding with teammates and forcing the fucking DROP PASS. Kulemin just needs more experience period. Some more AHL time to get used to the more heads up North American game would've been nice. Either way, they need to gain some smarts more than anything. NOT Hagman! With Hagman, they'll get some pretty cycles going, but there isn't much substance there with the three of them. If Garbo wasn't such a spaz, maybe move him to the wing and put a steady minded, play first center in Stajan to calm them down and teach them the importance of hard work over style points.

John Mitchell needs to get the fuck off the forth line for the majority of the game. What he needs now is some offensive guidance, somebody who can spark him, get him thinking in the offensive zone. This is where I like Nik Hagman, maybe some of his creativity can rub off on Mitchell.

I'm caught in the middle with Dominic Moore. I said it before, if you can keep him for the league average, you need a center with grit and heart to keep this team motivated. He's a respectable point producer this season, which ups his stock for next season, but how am I supposed to buy into Moore doing this again next year? Or the year after that and after that. Right now he's a nice pick up if you can sign him for 1.5 or 2 mil, but I can't put that much faith he'll do it again next year, especially if parts are moved significantly again in the off season. I'd like to think is Burke is taking calls about Moore seriously, because the most value I can see in Moore right now is dealing him while he's hot.

As for goaltending... I flip back and forth on Vesa so much. He goes on streaks where he looks like he's got a bum knee and a hole in his blocker, but then he'll go out and string together 4 or 5 impressive performances. He's playing with a nagging groin, surrounded by low expectations, on team that doesn't always come to play and when they do, they can be easily straight up outplayed. He hasn't been a consistent superstar, but I think it's highly fucked that people don't give Vesa the benefit of the doubt for playing on the Leafs.

I forgot Finger was out anyways.

Hagman out, Tomas and Van Ryn back. I smell Ian White on the wing tonight.

And if you ask me, Burke's price is perfect. Unless we get the moon for him, I want Tomas here for as long as possible.

Is he worth what Burke is telling the world he is? If you are looking at just Tomas' face value, probably not. From that perspective, it's a clear overshoot in price. Look at this way; In Tomas Kaberle you get a proven veteran point producing, playmaking, powerplay specialist with playoff experience and can act in a leader role. At 4.25 a season until 2010/11, he's freaking steal! You can plug him into your line up and he's of low cap consequence compared other D-men of his caliber. If Burke is serious about moving Tomas, I wouldn't be too surprised if he get closer to what he's asking for than people expect.

But the reasons I stated are the exact reason Tomas needs to stay. He'll showcase here more than he will anywhere else and this is where he'll play his most comfortable hockey. Tomas is a key player for us for the rebuilding stages. A leader who at defense can control our offense and as long as he keeps playing like he always has, he should stay valuable on the market if he needs to be shipped out for whatever reason. Lets just say in a a few years things start to turn around, we'd be at the front of the line to hand Tomas a new contract if he could continue to help the Leafs.

Tim Stapleton!

Good game for him. He got caught a few times, but he looked good in the Islanders zone tonight. I always see his name in the paper lighting it up for the Marlies and I like what I saw tonight.

The ACC sucks so fucking hard compared to the Gardens. No atmosphere in that corporate hellhole.

Meh, the ACC gets it hard too much, IMO. When the right crowd is there, like when they had Clark/Canadian Forces night (correct me if I'm wrong, but they were on the same Saturday, no?), it was one of the best crowds at the ACC since playoff hockey. I was at a game a few years ago against Philly with the Leafs in the playoff hunt and won it in OT. It was rocketbustah. And the crowd is always hot when the Raptors are on form. It's the fatcats at the Leaf games that weigh shit down when they come full force. Fuck them. But it's always good night when the Leafs are so on form that even the suits are acting like 14 year olds. It's not often, but it happens and it's pretty cool. EDIT: And the crowds are still rocking on Saturday regardless. Fuck, the ACC gets such a bad rap... wrap? Rep? Anyways, it's not nearly as bad people make it out to be.

Boom! The Philly OT game I was talking about.

But nothing will ever beat the Maple Leaf Gardens. I love that old barn. Perfectly rectangular. The crowds disappearing somewhere up in the rafters. Seats all torn up, small, and uncomfortable. I'd hate to see what it looks like now. Fuck, just tear it down and let it die with some dignity.

HA! Gomez is a fucking pylon on skates.

Wait, did Tosky just blank a team in the shootout?!? Contract extension. Print the playoff tickets.

Akiyama is a good international addition to MW. So many tough middleweights in the UFC, in fantasy land they could book a killer tourney right now.

Old news now, but since I haven't posted here since... Sweet Jesus, Marquardt's finish of Wilson was a thing of beauty.

"Brian Burke": Kubina says he won't give me a list of teams he'd accept a trade to. So I gave him a list of apartments in Edmonton with vacancies in June.

I like that one.

SID THE KID HAS SORE GROIN! Cue the jokes about his Pampers being on too tight. Or maybe his scuba suit gave him a nasty case of crotch rot. Elsewhere, Ovie finishes off his morning skate by throwing on a red cape and banging three hot blondes in a kiddie pool full of hundred dollar bills at center ice just for the hell of it.

He should be kept around for his leadership and heart, somebody to lead example by. He's reliable and productive center with Blake, but I think he should be offered a contract that would go with the fact he could drop to the third or at the worst of times, forth line.

I love Moore, but he's had the benefit of playing for the sake of just being competitive, a ton of ice time, and working for a contract. Move him while he's hot, if not sign him for a league average contract or spend the money elsewhere.

I doubt they'll think of moving Stajan anywhere but center if he is still needed in Toronto next season. Especially if Moore isn't around.

Speaking of Moore, is there really going to be a hot market for this guy? If he stays past the deadline and you can keep him for a reasonable price, why not? He won't get this much ice time anywhere else and he's got chemistry with our ball n' chain. The two of them have clicked with Jeremy Williams, it's not like they can't afford to take the chance. If you can keep him the realistic range of around six mil for the next 3 years, he could be a valuable guy for that period.

I know weren't complaining, brother. I'm not trying to come off preachy, just addressing the general issue, yo.

The closest the Sedin's come to the Leafs was hopefully last night. I do not want them and I'm sick of the "90 POINTS BETWEEN THEM!" argument. I don't care.

You could have Stajan and let's say Cammalleri signed as his left wing, are you comfortable with Lee Stempniak being a top line right winger? Without Cammalleri, you'd still have Blake and Hagman as features on left wing. It doesn't look like either of those guys are going anywhere. With no Nik after this season, I'd like it best if they could find a nice right wing to add to the line up. Either that or just plain give up on Stajan and look for somebody fresh to man to the top line. And that would be hard to stomach for me. Stajan is my favorite Leaf from this non-playoff era. Cammalleri is an experienced center as well, no? I think what the Leafs need more than anything for next is a motivated right winger with a big shot, a young vet type with an enough upside that they could hook him to a nice contract and keep him here. Unless they are hoping Stempniak has a more prosperous season next year. His contract is only through 09/10, right?

The Sopranos too. I marathoned it pretty hardcore to catch up to the second half of the final season. I rushed a lot of it, so I can go back and enjoy now more than ever.

I know a lot of people are saying Luke has been disappointing lately, but the way I see it, the season is a bust anyways and I like that he is taking advantage of his playing time to workout in the offensive zone. I'm not as blind to say his deep pinching hasn't caused more than a few game changing turnovers, but again, take advantage of the situation and start to develop an offensive presence now instead of a year or two down the road when the expectations are higher.

The Leafs desperately need a sniper. They have some good hustle guys and some pretty good puck handlers, their playmaking has been surprising this season, but they lack the clutchness of a big shot on offense. If Poni could get his ass into position for a change, we could make good on his killer snap more. It's like he's just pretending to know what he is doing out there. Story of Poni's entire Leaf career, so much potential in that loaded shot, but not much else. At least he has been somewhat of a consistent physical presence this season. And he's got enough points that we should be able to package him and get something in return. And I swear to God Alexei, if you go to another team and score 30 goals, you'll make me cry.

Devereaux was a refreshing addition to the line up. I missed him against the Blue Jackets, but he was certainly hustling last night. He's a better than defensive forward than most guys on the roster.

I don't know where I stand with Kulemin. I think I see some 2nd line potential for this guy. He's a strong skater with sick hands, he's a got a big frame and is showing he can throw the body. His game is littered with holes, as expected, the kid is a stone cold NHL rook. He doesn't seem that smart and that's one thing you can tell about a young player even in his rookie season, how much of a sense of awareness they show on the ice. Kulemin plays with Grabovski and for as undisciplined as Garbo can be, you can tell he knows his way around the ice. You got Kulemin out there who tries to compliment his linemate playing in a similar fashion, and he just doesn't have the same sense that Garbo has. This leads to plently of fuck ups. Some NHL experience was probably key in the development of Kulemin, but I think that Boyd would have been a much more comfortable and worthwhile winger for the Leafs this year. Kulemin should have got his NHL quota, then built on it down with the Marlies for the majority of the season.

On the complete flipside of Kulemin, John Mitchell. This kid is showing he has the hockey sense to play in the league and he is making the most out of playing with Mayers and May on a nightly basis. Mitchell lacks the a shot and stickhandling. He can get into the zone nicely and he just freezes. Again, he's still fairly young and inexperienced, but it's just shame you can't take Mitchell's intelligence and Kulemin's skill to create something ridiculous. MLSE should put the condos on hold and put their money into something that could make that happen.

Aside from the boos when Mats touched the puck and even though it stung in the end, it was a terrific night. Good game, good drama, fitting result. I don't know if non-Leafs fans understand just how much it means to see Mats shed tears. Nothing in his 13 seasons in Toronto would have made me anticipate Mats letting his emotions get the better of him last night. I hope all the Sundin drama is over for good and I look forward to the night somewhere down the road when they honor the number 13 properly.

Kongo, really? I've never been overly impressed with Kongo.

All these guys still have something to prove and it makes sense to have Nog/Couture, winner gets Brock/Mir. Realistically, I don't know what the odds are of Couture getting in the mix again or how long he plans on fighting in the UFC, but if sticks around I think he's destined to be in a measuring stick role where he takes on the likes Carwin, Cain, Kongo, or Gozaga pt. II. Then we see what happens to the Natural from there. He's in great shape and nothing I've seen shows that his skills have diminished. Brock is just a beast and was a stylistic nightmare for Randy, but there is no way he keeps fighting for much longer.

Cain vs. the winner of Carwin/Gonzaga, please. The man still standing at the end of that scenario should get Couture, if he is available for a fight around that time.

Yeah, he is going to start apparently.

Hopefully he gets a nice, full effort from the rest of the team this time.

I can sleep easy knowing that the Habs will not be winning the Cup this year. When faced with adversity, the Habs resort to playing like shit and acting like assholes. They're shitty assholes.

He railed Garbo, did a 180 and ran Luke. I remember it because I was super pissed. One of the announcers made the comment that the penalty could have easily been a double minor for both hits. It could have been missed because the hit on Grabovski was enough to distract eyes from the rest of the play and there was a whole mess of other crap going on at the time too.

He actually knocked Luke down pretty hard. Luke also didn't have the puck and Georges took a solid run at him. He got penalized for it, though. That was at the tail end of a game where Georges was trying his ass off to run Schenn all game with no luck at all. So yeah, Luke to the brunt of a lot of his checks and barely moved at all before that come to think of it.

Wandy has become so bread and butter that I have not much doubt in my mind a focused and prepared Couture would eat with milk for breakfast.

Not sure why there has been little to no talk of Nog vs. Couture. That seems like one of the most natural match ups at heavyweight out there. Maybe it's just me, I don't hit up MMA forums at all. Mainly because they are complete shit. It's all whining fanboys, wannabe fighters, and 12 year old pretending to take BJJ. Sucks, because I love good MMA convo.

Staal and Orpik, at least of those two won't be there after the deadline. If Shero wants to make an impact deal at least. They're the two most attractive, yet movable parts of Shero's "core".

EDIT: I don't know Orpik's contract actually, so I could be lying. It's not that ridiculous, is it?