Doan Deal a Killer for the Leafs

Buried under the big news of the Peter Forsberg trade to the Nashville Predators was the confirmation of the signing by the Phoenix Coyotes of forward Shane Doan to a 5 year 23 million dollar deal that includes a no-movement clause. The 30 year old power forward was set to become an unrestricted free agent. The Yotes seemed poised to be a big seller come the trade deadline after already moving forward Ladislav Nagy however the team decided to keep their captain and heart and soul player in the fold.

The deal signed by Doan will have a major impact this summer as there are similar players set to also become unrestricted free agents and will as well be looking for a big pay raise. Included in that list is the Maple Leafs Darcy Tucker.

There is no doubt the Doan signing will influence the negotiations between Tucker and the Leafs as they try to work out a long term deal. Already been discussed has been numbers in the $3-4 million dollar per year range plus a no movement clause. With Doan getting at least that, we can be sure Tucker will be looking for about the same.

Now Doan is perhaps the better player but both are very close in age, both are the heart and soul types, and both interestingly enough have similar stats in their NHL careers.

Doan in his career has amassed 191 goals, 261 assists for 452 points in 779 games and. 6 goals, 6 assists for 12 points in 32 playoff games. Tucker on the other hand has 174 goals, 216 assists for 390 points in 722 games and 10 goals, 11 assist for 21 points in 62 playoff games.

Ironically, both were teammates of a very successful CHL team in Kamloops and members of a Memorial Cup winner. Both also have had success internationally. No doubt, Tucker will look to cash in like his fellow Blazer alumni.

This news could not be better for the Tucker camp with the trade deadline looming and time running out for the Leafs to make a decision. The Leafs will need to sign him or get close to that or else find a trade partner in the next 11 days. From Toronto’s point of view, this is absolutely the worst news because the precedent has been set and the Leafs will likely have to commit to that as the team appears to be set to not make any moves, including trading Tucker away by February 27th.

Tucker has been a great Leaf. He has given them great service giving it his complete effort and laying his body and health on the line almost every night. We have seen that from past Leaf greats such as Wendel Clark. What we have also seen from those types of players is them breaking down later on in their careers because they are no longer able to continue to do the things that made them successful early on in their careers.

Tucker has fought, hit anyone and everyone in sight with his 5’10 160 pound frame, he has blocked shots, bled, been batter and broken and done that since his first game in the blue and white. Now ready to turn 32 this year and currently going through the worst injury of his career, how much left does Tucker have in the tank?

Unfortunately the leadership currently in charge at MLSE does not have the capability or the ability to see or notice what almost everyone else sees. John Ferguson has so far in his career as GM has been more receptive to the notion of the devil he knows than the devil he doesnt.

This explains why he has done a much better job finding minor league fill-ins such as John Pohl, Bates Battaglia as Ferguson was a former minor league GM who scouted extensively these types of players. This explains why he committed major money to Bryan Mccabe despite perhaps better blueliners across the league being available at relatively the same price. This is why he committed major money re-signing Belfour, Roberts and others (including re-signing Aki Berg 3 straight years) with the lockout looming, the financial landscape completely unknown and a cache of other, better players maybe coming available. He much preferred keeping the team that lost in the 2nd round intact.

In all likelihood, Tucker will also receive the same treatment. While the actual salary is still unknown, 3-4 million at least is not out of the question. And the no movement clause is a lock and that will likely keep Tucker around for the balance of his career. That is a shame after seeing the price of rentals rise exponentially thanks to the Forsberg trade and to a lesser extent the Brad Stuart move. Tucker obviously will not garner as much a return that the Flyers received from Nashville, but it appears a fairly good player who could just last 3 months with their new team could fetch one decent young player and one decent draft pick.

The Leafs under John Ferguson have continuously let these opportunities go to waste and in doing so provide more reason to find a replacement for him as general manager. The consistent mismanagement, lack of direction and foolish spending of money has left Toronto in that Stanley Cup drought they are currently enduring.

It is guaranteed now Darcy Tucker will remain a Leaf for life and while he has given Toronto great service, it’s opportunity wasted for the Leafs.

This coming Saturday the Leafs will celebrate their last cup win from 40 years ago. How ironic is it that the principles Punch Imlach followed 4 decades earlier have not changed one bit today under John Ferguson. The Leafs still hang their hats on aging favorites whose best game has long since passed. Fresh ideals, smarts, direction, until the Maple Leafs find someone with those traits, we can expect Leaf Nation to celebrate that ’67 team for a very long time.