Fletch Lives!

Ah the more things change, the more they stay the same in Leafland.

Looks like the puppetmaster (for those of you that saw the bizarre show put on by Fletcher and Peddie during the presser from the ACC, you know what I'm talking about) has decided the best course to fixing the mess he created is to go with something old. Let's hope this summer brings us something new (in the form of a hockey man that will operate without interference) and something borrowed (like a sense of decency and class from one of the other hockey orgs). Needless to say the fans are blue and looking at the dearth of prospects in the org, aside from Pogge, they will likely continue to be for some time.

Of course, Fletch's arrival and the news coming out of MLSE suggest that this is indeed the logn awaited start of the always on the horizon 'rebuilding plan'. From MLSE's lips to God's ear if it is finally true this time. I am still not convinced that any hockey guy that could actually come in and right this ship would ever actually consider it given the behavior of the MLSE board and the level of interference that they seem to have. MLSE are going to have to pay someone a dump-truck full of money, which is luckily the only thing about owning a professional sports team they seem capable of managing. We shall see...

Ferguson Finally Fired

Alliteration aside, this should have happened last summer. JFJ and the MLSE board have managed to take a once mediocre franchise and turn it into the Cleveland Browns of Hockey. A team so mismanaged and inept, so burdened with bad contracts that the only hope they have is for a return to the 'old' pre-salary cap NHL. Even if there are trades forthcoming, which there should be, this team's only hope for a quick about-face is to convince the veterans to go and to somehow win the NHL draft lottery this season AND next. Talk about wishing upon a star...

Honestly, you would think an organization that also owns an NBA basketball team that seems to know how to manage their respective salary cap would at least have the nuts to, oh I don't know, pull their head out of the sand and ask the guys over in Basketball operations, "hey, so can you guys explain this salary cap thing?"

The MLSE ship careens on, throughout this whole debacle showing their true colours along the way. They hang JFJ out to dry in front of the entire hockey world, somehow expecting this sideshow to actually ATTRACT talent. With all the haste of a glacier, Peddie et al have effectively shown their cards to the world, shrugged their shoulders and let out a collective "meh" when it comes to the on-ice performance of their financially successful hockey club.

Update on Hockey Intelligence

I am still working on my Hockey IQ stat (HIQ), but have hit a bit of a wall with regards to getting up-to-date, timely statistics. I have a few calls in, but if anyone knows of a source, other than manually copy/pasting them from NHL.com, please don't hesitate to drop me a line.

On a personal note, I am going on a road trip through the high desert country of the American southwest, and will be back on Wednesday. Obviously, no updates till then, unless I stumble upon an internet terminal and some free-time while peering into the Grand Canyon.

My quick take on the Buds prospects for the weekend:

The struggling Devils visit the ACC on Saturday. They are having trouble scoring goals, and if the Leafs can manage to put a lid on Gionta, they have a decent chance at winning this one.

On Monday, the surprising Islanders come to town. Led by a rejuvenated Yashin and a red-hot Jason Blake, this game will be a real test. Yep, the Islanders are actually playing well. Put the credit where I feel it is due, on coach Nolan. He seems to be working his magic once again. Heck, he should be a coach of the year finalist just for getting Yashin to actually start trying out there.

Have a good weekend!

Game Recap: Bruins 2 - Leafs 1

Aubin deserved better than that finish. He won the team that point, making numerous miraculous saves when they needed them. Good for him for playing so solid.

Looked like the Buds were skating in quicksand tonight. Not the terrible effort that the put out against Florida a few weeks back, but just couldn't seem to get anything going. Give credit where it is due, the Bruins played a really solid defensive game. Virtually no scoring chances for the Leafs, almost every shot from the perimeter.

Is the Bates Battaglia experiment over yet? I give the guy marks for effort, but he has no ability to make or accept a pass, or apparently hit the net with a shot.

I honestly don't think that Kyle Wellwood could could break a pane of glass with his shot. I know using a kid-sized stick gives him better control of the puck, but geez, this guy needs to hit the gym or something.

The Good:

Aubin was spectacular. Maybe the best game a Leaf keeper has played this season.

Pohl looked pretty good, the little time he was out there, but he didn't play enough to give an honest assessment.

Kaberle looks like he woke up a few weeks ago and decided to take the league by storm. He is leading rushes, jumping into odd-man situation, playing down low and was easily the Leafs most potent offensive player tonight.

The Bad:

Kubina looked shaky. Mark this up to the amount of time away from the rink, but he looked to be second-guessing himself all night. One play during the third captured it. Kubina is moving on the right boards out of the Buds zone, and instead of making a break-out pass, or lugging the puck himself, he kind of stops and starts looking around. He then starts to panic, and defers to Ian White to break the play out. Yep, Ian White the rookie. I expect his play will round out once he gets his legs back, so this really isn't a worry.

The Ugly:

Wade Belak. Even typing those words makes me cringe. Belak should not be playing in the NHL, period.

On a more general note, the Leafs face-off men were, collectively, brutal tonight. Honestly, the Leafs get tossed from about a million faceoffs (I was counting), and had no 'Plan B' when they did. NHL.com had the Leafs winning 30 of the 54 face-offs, but it sure didn't seem like it to be honest.

Saturday, the Devils are in town. The way Aubin played tonight, I give him the start and give Raycroft another weekend to heal-up.

Ottawa's REAL Problem - Updated

Go ahead, click on the image above. Notice anything odd about Gerber? Yes folks, his eyes are closed.

EDIT: Egads, I am a moron... I was having this strange feeling of deja vu when posting this item, and now realize that I saw this image on a fellow Leaf blog a few weeks ago... my sincere apologies to the original poster, the great ninja of Raking Leafs ^ (I highly recommend making RL a daily stop-over).

I think I need a breathalizer installed on my keyboard. Posting while drinking doesn't mix. Now, speaking of mix, where's did I leave that tonic water...