Comments on: TML; A Fans POV

By: mitchamac

mitchamac — Fri, 18 Jan 2008 14:26:39 +0000

no sharks made a pick last year

By: PointMeAtTheSky

PointMeAtTheSky — Fri, 04 Jan 2008 15:15:16 +0000

Actually, as the Leafs are currently 26th in the league, they would draft anywhere from 1st to 7th (in the draft lottery, a team can move up a maximum of 7 points, and can move down a maximum of 2, I believe).

I really hope they continue to suck this year, because they have a chance at getting Stamkos...I'd love for him to be able to play in a Canadian city. Of course, Toronto would probably be better off selecting someone like Luke Schenn...a mean, tough-ass defensive defenseman.

By: Pronger44

Pronger44 — Thu, 03 Jan 2008 23:08:48 +0000

I thought it was an awesome signing for the Leafs and I still believe Jason Blake can turn it around, how this guy only has 6 goals shocks me considering how well he trains and how hard he works in practice, it’ll happen though, look at Ryder finally 2 goals and an assist against TBay tonight. It’s only a matter of time until Blake gets his game going.

By: vindictiveb

vindictiveb — Thu, 03 Jan 2008 23:04:23 +0000

Doesn't San Jose get the Leafs first round pick in this years draft???????

By: zambo

zambo — Thu, 03 Jan 2008 19:25:40 +0000

when the hell is john ferguson ever going to get fired? he always signs players 2 long term deals, with a high pay roll nd than they end up playing like sissys! nd by the way after this season blake has another 4 years to play with the leafs, he signed a 5 year, 20 million dollar contract.

By: mojo19

mojo19 — Thu, 03 Jan 2008 17:05:31 +0000

Good article. Couple of things. You can only carry 23 guys with the big club anyone who isn't up won't count against the cap except for the short period of time they're up.

If you look at NHL numbers at a guy like Staffan Kronvall who was up for a short period of time, his salary is $550k or whatever, but his cap hit is like $60k (or whatever the actual number is), so we'll have slightly more room than that.

By: Gamble

Gamble — Thu, 03 Jan 2008 16:01:06 +0000

Got it more or less right on alot of points. It's hard to judge JFJ completely fairly. He is a hockey man, son of an old Habs favorite John Ferguson Sr. The lions share of the blame falls on MLSE. A rookie GM thrown into one of the most difficult markets in North American sports and at a time where the league undergoes some of the most drastic changes ever. Combine that with the contradicting plans and ideas from the Board of Governors and a lack of job security leaves JFJ in constant panic mode.

That said it's doubtful he would an overly competent GM without those constraints. Though he does have some excellent signings under his belt, such as Antropov (2.05 mil/ 2 year) and one of if not the best in Kaberle (4.25 mil / 5 year).

The problem is when he can't adequately evaluate players, gives into fan pressure or makes a signing to help save his job for another year. These are the signing like McCabe (5.75 mil / 5 year), Blake (4 mil / 5 year) and to a lesser degree Tucker (3 mil / 4 year). A lesser degree because many people felt the contract wasn't unreasonable at the time but Tucker's play has diminished greatly this year, not only because of less PP time but a lack of passion on the ice.

Paul Maurice does deserve some share of the blame. How much is hard to tell since he has proven himself a good coach in the past. The fact that the team plays awful defense and is brutal inconsistant while good players are having some of their worst seasons in years. Not to mention his goalie policy is more than questionable.

The entire franchise needs a complete overhaul to be truly successful again. New ownership would be ideal but the firing of Richard Peddie would be good enough of a start for me.

By: tancred

tancred — Thu, 03 Jan 2008 15:58:02 +0000

That was awesome, man! Hear hear for Morrissey and The Smiths! :)

By: Gamble

Gamble — Thu, 03 Jan 2008 15:05:10 +0000

Blake signed a 5 year 20 million dollar contract. He'll make 4 mil a year for the next 4 years.

By: morrissey

morrissey — Thu, 03 Jan 2008 14:25:45 +0000

Like anything from a Leaf fan would ever be taken seriously, you support a joke.