Comments on: The Plan Did Remain the Same and Came Back to Bite Them

By: 92-93

92-93 — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 09:06:30 +0000

what a waste of time.

morrissey would kill himself if he knew you took up his name online.

no wait, he would get depressed, start drinking a lot and write very bad ballads that shoot to #1 on the charts but last there only a week. he would become a one-hit wonder out of sheer depression over realizing that some dumb Montreal Canadiens fan took up his name on online chat forums.

By: morrissey

morrissey — Wed, 16 Jan 2008 22:19:35 +0000

Calling the Leafs fundamentally important to the well being of the sport of hockey is not overstating their importance just a tad? You're a *****ing arrogant sack of Leaf shit, wake up to reality already. But oh well what can we expect from the city that had to build the worlds tallest phallus to compensate for their collective lack of penis size?

By: 92-93

92-93 — Wed, 16 Jan 2008 19:45:27 +0000

the leafs as an organization were and still are not in a position to make those kinds of deals for Pronger (or for Toskala for that matter).

they simply cannot trade away youth and players entering their prime for prime time players because there is no organizational depth and not enough players coming down the pipeline.

i said that then and i say that now. that is why the Toskala deal - although i like the guy - doesnt make sense long term because of what they gave up in the draft.

Pronger on a team of so-so players is worth nothing. but you put him on a team with a decent veteran core and a boat load of very good young players and good goaltending (i.e. Anaheim), then you have something special.

i think it was the right decision by Ferguson and it does indicate that (as he has mentioned elsewhere that he wanted to rebuild but was told 'no') his scouting inclinations were still evident in some of his moves but were continually and thoroughly supressed due to the pressures of the market he operated in.

Belfour's signing - although myopic because it was just before the lockout - was an UNDERSTANDABLE move from the perspective of what he was coming off of (re: a 10 shutout season, solid years as a leaf netminder, stealing the Senators series in 2004, etc.).

was it a good move? nope -considering age and injuries that caught up to him, it was a shortsighted one ... but the amount of hindsight some fans use in their criticisms of JFJ is pathetic sometimes.

and not all teams were 'clearing the decks' and not all teams had to clear the decks salary-wise. and no, it was not clear to ANYONE that a strike or cap was going to be imposed ... that was STILL VERY MUCH UP IN THE AIR at that point.

the payroll by the leafs was only rivaled by a couple of teams (not the NYR who rebuilded through sheer luck ... NOT through foresight ... before the season before the lockout). i wish people would realize that and stop thinking about history as 'inevitable' ... because there was nothing inevitable at the time.

By: 92-93

92-93 — Wed, 16 Jan 2008 19:35:00 +0000

sundin is a class act REGARDLESS of his decisions on the NTC.

period.

regardless of what the franchise needs, he has given WAY TOO MUCH to the Leafs.

By: 92-93

92-93 — Wed, 16 Jan 2008 19:33:50 +0000

actually under the fletcher and quinn regiemes leaf fans did expect the best and got pretty solid contending teams.

but i can see - as usual with you - that your hab bias and inability to see things in any balanced way when it comes to the leafs means that i am wasting my breath trying to have a decent hockey debate with you.

"Toronto is not the centre of the universe nor even the hockey world, get over it already, no one outside of your city gives a toss about that pathetic franchise."

i mean ... what the hell are you talking about or referring to???

where do i say this? just because i acknowledge that Toronto is an important hockey town you write this crap? i mean, what are you compensating for (no wait, please dont tell me).

no one - other than pathetic, small-penised non-leaf fans - give a rats ass about whether or not toronto is the centre of the universe.

By: 92-93

92-93 — Wed, 16 Jan 2008 19:29:29 +0000

its ludicrous actually and that its why its so darn shocking because its coming from Cox.

i mean, he takes the years 1956 to 1990 - as a scout, builder, GM, etc. of the Habs, Blues, Flames, etc. ... and COMPLETELY ignores them.

he ONLY gives credit for his work with the leafs from 1991-1994. and then from 1995-1997 with the leafs and his time with the Coyotes ... he (justifiably) criticizes Fletcher.

but look at that again ... that's 37 years of solid work and about 10 years he makes mistakes.

and like you said, a lot of the mistakes with toronto had to do with the context of the leafs (big money franchise, no limit to spending, quick success that is hard to sustain).

but yeah, all that other stuff Fletcher did? it means nothing and therefore the Leafs are fools to consider him. ... unbeliveably bad journalism/blogging by Cox.

By: mojo19

mojo19 — Wed, 16 Jan 2008 13:58:43 +0000

Well, not that I'm making excuses, but they've had enough bad bounces this year, they were bound to win a game like that eventually.

By: morrissey

morrissey — Wed, 16 Jan 2008 13:24:46 +0000

The fact that it hasn't happened in that market for 40 years yet the sport has thrived and expanded despite that is a clear indication that it's not fundamentally important. Toronto is not the centre of the universe nor even the hockey world, get over it already, no one outside of your city gives a toss about that pathetic franchise.

By: KingCanada

KingCanada — Wed, 16 Jan 2008 12:27:28 +0000

Hopefully Sundin is a class act and waives his NTC (because its wat the franchise so desperatly needs) and then McCabe follows in his footsteps along with everyone else the Leafs brass can manage to package away.

In a interview with JFJ last night he was saying that he has been talking alot with other GMs about possible trades but would not specify who.

By: leafy

leafy — Wed, 16 Jan 2008 11:47:25 +0000

I completely agree with your assessment of Cox's piece. I normally like Cox, but I think he provides a pretty slanted view on Fletcher.

The problem with Fletcher was that the team improved TOO quickly in his first few years as GM, so he shifted his plan from re-building to trying to acquire veterans to shoot for the cup. I think Cox's article short-changes Fletcher.