Comments on: Leafs buy out Tucker and other Leaf News

By: mojo19

mojo19 — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 21:59:44 +0000

thank you

By: leafy

leafy — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 16:06:10 +0000

Very true, but all these Leaf veterans do is prevent the Leafs from finishing in the bottom 5 and landing a franchise player.

Fletcher appears to have a strategy....get rid of the vets, bring in young players, and get a shot at another top 5 draft pick. I applaud this approach, something the Leafs have never done in over 40 years, ie, re-build properly.

By: the_word

the_word — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 15:08:19 +0000

Putting the cart before the horse, you need young talent first.

By: the_word

the_word — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 15:07:05 +0000

I don't think you can question Tucker's heart. He played balls out, with little regard for his long term health, played with passion and was quick to drop the gloves with guys twice his size. He wasn't a natural talent on offense and he still put up decent numbers. Last season we saw his ice time cut in favor of Blake that hurt Tucker. Blake didn't really earn his spot but Maurice's hands were tied along with JFJ in the signing of Blake. Tucker was one of the few Leafs that made the game difficult for their oppenents.

By: buds8

buds8 — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 14:40:31 +0000

I love all of the Tucker supporters that show themselves now that he is no longer a Maple Leaf….I loved Tucker, key word loveD as in past-tense….he is too slow and does not have enough skill to compete on a daily basis in this league, letting him go will not haunt the Leafs in any way, he will fall under the Peca and Nolan and Allison and Lindros releases….good move Cliff!

As far as Wellwood goes, I don’t see him as having the same potential as Sullivan, I see him as a decent 3rd liner, nothing more….no heart or desire…good ridance and good luck!

By: Bure96

Bure96 — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 13:24:43 +0000

I think this is a mistake. I rarely agree with buying out players unless the player your buying out is making 4 million and clearly isn't worthy of playing in the NHL. Darcy Tucker had an off year, but 18 goals is still pretty good production for a 3 million doller. He doesn't even get payed to score goals, he does exactly what Sean Avery does (maybe not quite as well though). Be in your face, and annoy you.

Don't do it Flecther.

By: leafy

leafy — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 12:39:39 +0000

Notwithstanding the cap issue, Tucker is just about done.

The guy's body has taken such a beating over the years, he's got nothing more to give. Even a simple thing like getting up off the ice became a big chore for him.

The old Tucker was made of teflon, feisty, in-your-face, and scored goals. Last year's Tucker was a shadow of his former self.

Clearly Fletcher decided the cap hit spread out over 6 years is worth it. The alternative is to hog up a roster spot that could have gone to a younger player with a future.

By: nordiques100

nordiques100 — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 11:57:27 +0000

i dont know about tucker and his character. i think he whined too much and that was not a good example to set for the team's younger players.

and where was the effort on some nights......like against a no name team like florida. he wasnt consistent at that. he was also very poor on the backcheck. there was no effort there. if he isnt going to buy into the defensive side of things, certainly wilson had no use for that.

his time was up. he will probably have a good year next year somewhere but he was done as a leaf.

By: nordiques100

nordiques100 — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 11:53:13 +0000

i think the issue has nothing to do with productivity.

to me, i dont think tucker ever bought into playing defensive hockey. i think the type of team wilson envisions will be stronger at that part of the game and if one of the leaders doesnt show any willingness to buy into the program, change has to be made. sure he wasnt given a shot, but just look at his play under maurice. he had a terrible plus minus and was a liability in his own end.

another thing is that tucker is a bit of a selfish player. on the PP he only camped at one spot on the ice, looking to score rather than looking to make the pp a success. he took selfish penalties. and he whined and complained on just about every single one of them he took. that kind of example is not what a team turning to youth needs. you could see some of the impact he and players like mccabe and sundin for that matter had on the team. the leafs, almost all of them, whined about every single penalty call. its that kind of culture that needs to be rectified.

and if you do want to speak of productivity, it is not likely a player who has a breaking down body at age 33 is going to be any more productive that he is right now.

at the same time, he could be effective in the right situation. toronto was simply not a good team and he was placed as their 2nd best forward. he is a 3rd line guy who can be capable of being a good energy player and add grit and leadership. he couldnt do that on the leafs as he was placed in a role of top scorer and first line player. he is far from being that.

i am sure tucker will have a decent season next year. but if it was in toronto again, we'd get nothing more than what we've seen the last few years. lots of time lost, plenty of side show, too much whining.

By: DJTOKid

DJTOKid — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 11:51:17 +0000

I'm hearing alot of people wanking about this Tucker thing. i think its a good move for the leafs heading forward. Think about this for a second, the leafs aquire Mayers an energy guy that plays something like Tucker. Mayers makes around 1.3mil per season, the buyout for Tucker is 1mil per season. Meaning they rid of Tuckers contract, replace his role on the team with someone else and save, thats right SAVE, 700k per season. That will cover the Raycroft buyout. So you see the big picture sometimes tells a differant story then then one right infront of your eyes.

I'm glad there was no McCabe buyout, that wouldn't have made finacial sense. I say keep him and try the trade deadline or next years offseason to move him. If you look at his contract he could be very appealing to some teams at 4.15mil for the last two years of his contract. Even though the cap hit is still 5.75 he won't cost a team alot out of there pockets. Or buyhim out of his final two years, that would be a little more affordable then now. Though he gets ripped buy everyone all the time Bryan McCabe still has alot of game and is a solid NHL pro.