T.O. says no...over and over again

Steve says:

So it has come to light that T.O. does not want hockey in Hamilton...no big shock right? But it has never really been said outright...there have been hints towards this thought, and veiled references to a mysterious "VETO" owned by the Leafs but nobody has come out and said NO.

or have they?

In an open letter to Jim Balsille, Gabe Macaluso, the former CEO of Copps Colesium in Hamilton points out numerous occasions in which he was told by MLSE and others that any attempt to relocate or start an NHL franchise in Hamilton would be met with considerable resistance.

to read the letter, click here

VEsa TOskala...coincidence? I think not!

The Silver Fox does it again, unfortunately

Chris:

Hey look everybody!!! Cliff is trading away draft picks again.

Jamal Mayer, 33 years old, 51 goals, 58 assists and 576 penalty minutes for a third round draft pick.

(Chris rolls up newspaper and waves it in front of Cliff's face)

No! Bad Cliff.

Steve:
No no no...you gotta look at it like this
trade Kilger for 3rd round pick...trade that 3rd round pick for Jamal Mayers
which means Kilger for Mayers...
and Kilger was turning into a train wreck...didn't even report to camp for Florida.

So, although he is not the youth Fletch has been preaching, he is a bit of grit who plays with a lot of heart every night....unlike the person who, in my opinion, Mayers will be replacing...namely Tucker...

Tucker is afraid to drop the gloves these days and seems more bark than bite...while he still has a wicked shot, it's a one-trick pony show..and was defended with ease all last season...

not a bad move IMO.
ps. STL fans are sad to see him go...and say that it's a bad move on their part...

Chris:

Oh for Pete's sake.

He's a third line player. At best.

He's 33 years old and that sound you hear when he steps on the ice isn't the puck hitting the mesh or his gloves dropping, it's his bones creaking.

I know Kilger has issues and I haven't the foggiest what those issues are. But this is not a Kilger for Mayer trade.

This was a third round draft pick that could have been used for anything else, attached as part of a larger trade for example, instead of picking up even more vet talent that we don't need.

I'm not running down Jamal or his abilities. But he's not the kind of player we need right now.

Steve:

Ahh...see...you are so impatient...first of all...many STL followers are saying that if Jamal plays for toronto, that he will become a fan fave within 10 games.
Now the important part of that last sentece is the "IF" he plays in Toronto.
There is now talk of bundling Mayers with a later round pick for Cammalleri from the Kings...

http://kings.nhl.com/team/app?page=PlayerDetail&playerId=8469500&service=page&tab=crs

that's looks alright doesn't it?

Trader Cliff is on the clock!

Chris:

God help us all.

Say hi to the new boss, same as the old boss

Chris says:

No surprise, Fletch is hanging on for another season as the Leafs GM. That means Leaf Nation has to resign themselves to waiting another year before any sort of significant rebuilding plan is in the works. It's clear that Cliff will be nothing more than a temporary steward for the organization, even if he did get to drop 'interim' from his title, as they wait to see if they have a stake in the Brian Burke lottery.

I don't mean to run Fletch down, but he's not going to be able to institute any kind of sweeping organizational change because he won't be kept around long enough to implement anything. Why bother putting the man's name on the office door, he won't be around long enough to earn it. Fletch'll be competent enough, chucking some of the dead weight overboard, and leaving his replacement with a better hockey club than he himself inherited. But essentially it's another season on pause as we wait for our real saviour.

It's a slap in the face. It says that we don't care enough about winning to turn things around now. We'd rather wait a year because we think the perfect man for the job wants us as much as we want him.

Memo to MLSE: He's just not that in to you. There are no guarnatees that Burke will come to Toronto next year. And if that's the case then we'll have sacrificed one more season to the altar of incompetence and organizational inertia.

It's time for some new blood at MLSE, and the first place they should start with is with their corporate governance.

Steve says:

From the Bill Watters Radio Show: Apparently there is a team willing to trade with the Leafs that would see Toronto move up in the draft, all the while still maintaining their seventh overall draft choice. It is likely the team interested is looking to acquire an NTC player.

From Leafs Lunch Radio Show:
Cliff Fletcher was a guest and said that since the team did not make the playoffs, they really only have three no-trade clause players on the roster. Cliff is of course not including Kubina, who is more than likely to be traded, or Mats Sundin, who is a free agent.Cliff later went on to say that a team has indeed offered him a first-round draft pick in this year's draft in exchange for a player. He, for obvious reasons, wouldn't name the Maple Leafs player going the other way, or who the other team involved was.He also said he is trying actively to move the remaining no-trade clause players before pursuing other avenues.

Here we go again!

Steve says:

Hey Leafers!

I'm gonna start writing on here again after a few months on nothing major happening. Now there is finally something to discuss.

Fletch has made some decent deals to get the Leafs some more picks and cleared up some cap space.

He wasn't able to achieve the BIG TRADE we were all hoping for due to the NTC's that JFJ handed out like candy. But, now the gloves can come off. Basically now, if you are unwilling to waive the NTC, Fletch is either going to buy you out, or send your ass down to the Marlies (who did really well this year!).

Sundin is still on the fence about his return...his latest comments indicate that he wants to see the Leafs make some real changes towards putting together a winning team. It looks as though Fletch is about to make the first big move.

A lot of rumours are pointing towards Ron Wilson (ex. Sharks coach) taking over the bench duties in Toronto.

I think this is a big upgrade from PM who could never really adapt on the fly during a game. He was also a soft coach who seemed really interested in being liked by the media more than disciplining his team for shoddy play.

Wilson is not like that. He's been known to bench star players when they don't perform. He calls players out in the media for poor work ethic.

I think the Leafs are about to say goodbye to the country club at the ACC.

Welcome to the new boss, same as the old boss...

Chris says:

So Cliff Fletcher is riding shotgun at MLSE.

Try as you might it’s nearly impossible to resist the urge to run into the washroom and continually flush the toilet. For real life authenticity the crapper may even back up on you and spill its filth everywhere.

Welcome to the madhouse.

Make no mistake, Ferberger was not a winning variable for this club, inexperienced and hamstrung by his own bosses he was able to create a team that lived on the bubble of playoff heaven, but wasn’t able to accomplish much else. As much as people might want to lay the failure of this season at his feet it wouldn’t be entirely accurate. The problem is larger than just one man, it is systemic and festers daily in the highest ranks of this hockey mad town.

But if you think Fletcher is the man to turn this team around, I address you to the aforementioned toilet. Fletcher is, at best, another temporary band-aid in a long line quick fixes or, should things take a turn for the worst – and they will, a convenient fall guy to pin the blame on after his turnaround plan to fix the team does anything but.

No, despite all the fuss and hubbub not much has changed for Leaf fans today. We’ve traded one dysfunctional GM for another and though journalists will spend the next couple of days shoving microphones into the faces of anyone who cares all the over analysis in the world won’t do a damn thing, until someone with a little authority decides to focus on winning games and not how to jack up ticked prices.

Steve says:
I agree AND disagree.
While I don't think Fletch will bring us the cup, I do think that he is perfectly capable of making the big Sundin Trade. He was the one that got us our best player...he also got us Doug Gilmour for a bag of pucks essentially...
This guy knows how to trim fat (Woz Raycroft, and White...I'm looking at you) and make a big deal where big deals cant be seen.
I know there have been talks with Brian Burke about coming to Toronto, and that publicly he denies wanting to come here, many "sources" have said that his ego is almost demanding that he come to Toronto and take the basement team to the Big Show.
If Fletch could work a deal with the Ducks (who have Edmonton's 1st pick btw) and then we somehow snag Burke from the sunny west coast...it would be the steal of the decade!

I have a sense of hope again with Fletch making a few deals and being instrumental in choosing the new GM and President (great news...great news!). While I agree that he shouldn't remain at the helm, I do think that he can at least right the ship and get it into smoother waters for the next guy...

Front Office Follies...

Chris says:

Some thoughts on Cliff Fletcher.

If he wasn’t good enough to keep around the first time, he’s probably not the man for the job the second time around.

Damian Cox at the Star has a good take on that angle which I, mostly, agree with.

Personally, I’d like to see new solutions to this problem, not old band-aids who may have lost their effectiveness to staunch the blood loss.