Leafs Should Try Hanson
With the Toronto Maple Leafs failing to garner at least a point against the Chicago Blackhawks last night after an admirable performance from goaltender Vesa Toskala, there was an issue with the Leafs’ offensive squad that became increasingly visible in the dying minutes of the game.
Grit.
Yes, even after Brian Burke boldly stated his team would no longer be “picking their teeth out of the glass,” he forgot to mention that offensively, the current squad are about as intimidating as a Hal Gill bodycheck.
Besides the fourth line, which lacks any sort of offensive acumen, the Leafs are not in possession of a player that can play the role of an effective power forward. Excuse me for mentioning Mats Sundin, but I can vaguely remember the days when Sundin and Nikolai Antropov would dominate down low, using their size and strength to control the play behind the net and in the corner boards.
Last night, for example, the Blackhawks’ defense were clearing the puck out of their zone with relative ease throughout the game, and specifically in the dying minutes. They were aggressive on the puck carrier and forced the Leafs to dump the puck down low. And, no surprise, due to a lack of grit, the Hawks out muscled the Leafs’ diminutive forwards in the corners on a regular basis and stymied any sort of chemistry the Buds were attempting to establish.
Which brings me to my point.
Perhaps it’s time to bench Matt Stajan, who has been underwhelming after his 55-point breakout last season, and call-up Christian Hanson, who leads the Toronto Marlies with 13 points in 13 games. Hanson, a natural center, has the tools to become an effective player at the NHL level, but he’ll have to develop the composure and confidence required to thrive as a player of his nature. He has the size, strength and offensive upside to establish a role as a power forward, and perhaps now is the time to give the 23-year-old another shot.
The Leafs need some sort of net presence to screen the goalie and cause havoc for the defenders down low, and although Hanson isn’t the second-coming of Christ (Gustavsson stole that title), he may help the Leafs remedy, if not temporarily, the glaring weakness they have upfront.
At this point, the fourth line seems to have the exclusive responsibility of displaying some aggressive play in the opponents end. If the Leafs hope to compensate for their lack of skill, they’ll have to start scoring some garbage goals. And that’s not going to happen if the forwards are too afraid to a) screen the goalie and b) dig for the puck in the corners.
Sure, the Leafs could call-up players like Viktor Stalberg or Jiri Tlusty, but isn’t that just more the same? It’s time to implement some truculence upfront, and experimenting with Hanson is a start. When Ponikarovsky is the most threatening presence in the top-nine, you know it’s time to bring in some grit.
You stay classy, MLHS.
ronguillet@mapleleafshotstove.com
November 15th, 2009 at 11:26 am
you can say kessel will be better than hall because kessel was better than hall at his age and has improved leaps and bounds hall is on a STACKED windsor team i mean hell dale mitchell just went back to them halls stats are blown up a tad hall will average 30 goals sixty points but you can ask any scount who they would rather have at either age its kessel. the problem is hes at the top of the draft so you think hes a stamkos or tavares but hes not hes not anywhere close to them so i think thats why we shouldnt be so worried about not getting hall he wont be as good as kessel will be.
November 15th, 2009 at 11:31 am
I think Burke is going to target either a guy like Richards or Lecavalier in trade, or look for Marleau or Kovalchuk in UFA. Thats his oinly options right now and we all know it. There is no such thing as tanking without your OWN first rounders, so he can recoup them, but it wont matter how we play. I would guess hes going to trade Kaberle for a 1st and a prospect though, and go from there. Either way, we need to find a #1 center, who is not superstar talent, but allstar talent. I would personally like Lecavalier, even though he has a big contract, because hes stilll only 29, has a cup ring, and could step in a be a leader. Who really cares about the $$$$ when we are this bad right now? If we do the same thing we are doing now, do you see us winning a cup in the next 10 years? I didnt think so. God I hope Burke does this
November 15th, 2009 at 11:32 am
@onlycrime
your assessment of our talent is way overinflated . We are not elite we are not competitive we are bottom feeders. e’ve had a few good periods but shots are not the measure becase many ofo urs are not quality shots. Lets see the highights for proof of that. our defence is currenty that bad coughing up the puck with regularity and not finishing. wake up at the end of the week 1/4 of the season is done and we will be in 29th spot already 10-12 pts out of the playoffs.
November 15th, 2009 at 11:39 am
you CAN say hall will not be a crosby. This type of player is seen from their youth to be unique and tracked to their first round selection a la Gretzky. Hall is not this person. Get real. And we can’t build a team hoping for the next Crosby
November 15th, 2009 at 11:45 am
@Only_crime
“Stajan is a 3rd line guy”. Please explain. As I have repeatedly asked, please show me anything that you can that would support this. Anything.
November 15th, 2009 at 11:51 am
@ Jordan I completely agree. not sure if its the right move, but it will be the move that Burke makes. I can seriously see Richards in Toronto or Sir Vincent.
November 15th, 2009 at 12:14 pm
Well, I’m pissed off. I wanted to see those ’80′s jerseys worn all game long. Calgary already broke out their old uni’s from their ’89 cup win 20 years ago earlier this season. It would have been cool to see their old red/orange against the blue/white sleeves of the Leafs.
As for the game, well, I think by now, pretty much everything has been covered. Changes, of some sort, must be in the not too distant future.
November 15th, 2009 at 12:14 pm
The Leafs have, as far as I can see, one legit first liner in Kessel and two, maybe three guys who belong on defense in Kaberle, White, and *maybe* Finger. That’s not to say the rest of the team is complete garbage–although they do have several players that in my mind fit that description–only that they’re being asked to play a system they’re not suited for. Or they’re on a line they shouldn’t be. I don’t care what you say, neither Stajan nor Mitchell belongs anywhere near the first line. It’s not like we have much else, but I’d put Poni or Hagman up there ahead of those two.
Actually, I’m not sure *what* system Wilson is preaching. The Leafs’ PP is good, but 5 on 5 and on the PK they look totally lost most of the time. And for whatever reason, they’re NEVER ready for games. There have been, what, two games all year where they’ve put in a full 60 minutes of effort?
November 15th, 2009 at 12:26 pm
As shocked and pissed off as we fans are, I believe Burke is even more… (you could only see him from the nose up a lot of times last night. Look in his eyes, he truly looks shocked and appauled by the team)
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Given the top ten performance for goal scoring last season, he no doubt thought it was safe to concentrate on the backend this year and not worry about the forwards as much. Didn’t we all think that was going to be an okay plan given the stats from last year?
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How was he, or anyone, to know these guys would play this bad this year… But that’s the problem with stats; they aren’t people. I’ll explain…
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Last year people were playing with something to prove. Yes, we had a low talent team, but they proved they could make up for it. There was something there between the team and they wanted to prove something. But most importantly, they were a team. They were all in this together.
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After last season, they were all told things were going to be different this year. People being moved and you better show up in shape or you’re not on the team, etc. And it worked, more guys were in the weight room working out in the summer than anyone could remember in recent years. So people bought into the idea.
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Preseason comes, and the vets didn’t do much yet all made the team while the kids who worked their butts off and put on such a fine show got sent down. Message? You don’t have to do squat. Combine that with the message that many of these players are just passengers and won’t be with this team when we make the cup run, and don’t you think a lot of these guys are thinking “Why exactly do I need to kill myself out there?” If there is little consequence to not performing, and you know you’re going to be gone anyway, why attempt to perform above the minimum required? That’s not how I’m wired, but a lot of people are…
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So Burke may be the victim of his own perfect storm of sorts. He has a team of people who know the threats are hollow, and that many of them are not wanted and will sooner or later be dumped. Inside they know they aren’t “on” the team, even though they are playing there now. I just wonder how much any of that is factoring in to this pathetic start that we’re watching on the ice.
November 15th, 2009 at 12:45 pm
Team composition is largely the domain of the GM. Every GM manages a team that already exists before his appointment. Every GM is supposed to use his authority and judement to improve the team according to his thinking and liking. In fairness to Burke, he inherited a team with probably the least skill in the whole of NHL. We all knew that we do not have skilled and gritty forwards and our defence was porous and our goal-tending was atrocious. Our problem was and remains team composition.
BB chose to focus on the making Toronto a fighting juggernaut, hoping that it will take care of all other ills/ weaknesses. To that end, he acquired G. Exelby, Komisarek and Colton Orr. He did all this with much media fun fare and more media time than he has ever had in his life. He loved every second of it and continues to do so.
Even before the draft, I developed a mild dislike for the media love of BB. No other GM was so vocal about his plans or theories. His theories sounded simplistic and overblown. However, many fans and especially the media fell in love with Bombastic Burke and his half- backd theories.
He truculently declared that his acquisitions will make defenceman more confident and provide room for the forwards to score. Countless repetitive interviews, explicit references to the Pronger trade on which BB seemingyl buit his reputation, bravado and the unednding stupid emphais on PTBT has won us ONLY 3 games of 17 or 18.
Kessel is a great player, however I dsiliked the trade and said so at the time too. We simply do not have the supporting cast. Kessel’s trade was a big media splash but is proving ineffectual to the win column. It is not his fault, the team simply does not have supporting cast.
Kabs is on one of his hotteset streaks, still we are on pace for the worst start in almost a hundred years. BB’s inability to trade Kabs was a big disappointment. Kabs is a very good player, we simply have no use for him at this time. Missing play- offs by one point or 10 points does not make any material difference.
Going forward, the first requirement is to objectively see the state of things at present. We are all humans and make mistakes. So is BB. If he admits that PTBT alone cannot win games, it will be a good start. BB should try and trade some of the non-performing vetrans. It will be difficult with the team’s on-ice performance so far, but he is the GM and gets paid big money for doing his job. He is supposed to make things happen.
If he is unable to do any trade, which will be a reflection on his capacity to operate as a GM, he should at least two bury contracts in the mionrs. This will probably put the fear of GOD or in this case DEMIGOD BB in the hearts of non-prforming players. We may also be pleasently surprised by some call ups. In any case, there will be room for some experimetation.
At the trade deadlind, BB should try to trade Kabs, Poni and even Komisarek to our advantage. This is not a time for holding on to stupid failed theories, but to recognize reality and move forward with realistic expectation.
We need gritty and skilled forwards as we cannot buldoze our way to the Podium. Other 29 teams are not wearing BANGLES. The also are not planning on playing pansies at the sighting of a leaf’s jersey. I hope BB sees that and try to strengthen our team with gritty and skilled players.
November 15th, 2009 at 1:10 pm
@Gary
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I’ve posted something similar a few times. This is precisely why we cannot blame Ron Wilson for anything yet. He has a team full of guys that know they won’t be on the roster next year. If Burke has his way, Ponikarovsky, Stajan, Stempniak, Blake, Mayers, Primeau Finger, Exelby and Wallin will all be gone by the start of next season, and possibly Mikhail Grabovski and Nikolai Kulemin as well. None of them will be Maple Leafs long-term, and no one seriously expects Burke to resign more than one of them. What are they supposed to play for?
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Burke should have seen this coming though, after watching the exact same thing happen to the Habs last season. They came in with a team full of guys that though they were all that and would easily get contract extensions after a glorious centennial campaign. Instead, they sucked it up, and immediately stopped working, because it became evident that few, if any, would be resigned. In the end, Gainey flipped half his team and started fresh this year.
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The challenge now is to find takers for Jason Blake and Jeff Finger; create roster space for the Marlies that deserve a chance, and see where the team stands at the deadline in regards to Tomas Kaberle and his NTC. Anyone else think that the St.Louis owner telling his coach and management that it’s time to win now is him posturing for a Kaberle move?
November 15th, 2009 at 1:18 pm
Nice post Falcon and spot on.
We’ve been rehashing this is various forms for some time,and I agree that most of the blame falls on Burke.
The problem with Gary Shields theory is the Leafs HAVE out hustled the opposition on the majority of nights.Effort hasn’t been the problem.
Confidence and cohesion has been an issue for some,and that falls on the coach.
Initially it was piss poor goaltending.Of late,that hasn’t been an issue.
Rather our forwards have made every oppostion goaler(exception Osgood) look like the second coming of Terry Sawchuck.
The problem,as Falcon notes ,is talent or the lack thereof.
Forwards are undersized or play that way.( ex;Poni)They don’t drive the net/control the boards effectively,because they can’t.They all end up on their asses.(see Stajan,Blake,Grabo,Stempy,Kessel in order)
And with the exception of PK,they can’t snipe to save their lives….John Mitchell the most glaring example.
No,this team isn’t very good and Burke gambled they were.The desire to retool rather than rebuild has been a mistake.
There are ways to remedy our maladies but that requires demotions and trades that may be unpallatable/impossible respectively.But that’s why Burke gets the big bucks.
Big balls,big proclamations and big dice have equalled snake eyes Burkey.Time to fess up,make changes and earn your paycheck.
November 15th, 2009 at 1:19 pm
Cameron-most of the players you mention-stajan,stemp,poni,mayers,exelby,Toskala are all on expiring contracts and I believe Burke counted on those players to really “bring it” as they are in contract years which is typically when players really step it up. He obviously miscalculated with this assumption not understanding how utterly useless most of them are. I agree that Finger and Blake are the key contracts that need to be moved, however, I just don’t see any team taking them on unless we sweeten the pot with prospects. My feeling is that someone that we really don’t want to see moved, a la a top prospect or maybe Schenn or Hagman will take the fall-the only way it doesn’t play out like that is if MLSE buries contracts which I have argued I don’t believe they will unless fans stop going to the games which as we know aint gonna happen.
November 15th, 2009 at 1:21 pm
Kaberle is our only player at the moment that has any worth to any team. At the deadline if Kaberle has 40 – 50 points we can litteraly squander ransome for him. What makes Kaberle so important is that there are’nt alot of point producing PP quarter back’s and he can put a team to another level.
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Teams that would suit him:
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Atlanta: Any deal would have to start with Evander Kane (even though they love him down there) and end with Tobias Enstrom to give us some more youth on D and to replace Kaberle. We may need to send a poni type player to help them in the playoffs, but a deal like that is what my high asking price would be.
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New Jersey: You can see the void missing from Rafalski and Nedimayer. Kaberle could really make them a favourite in the east to go all the way. I don’t think a deal would get done, because we’re in need of something they don’t have a record of giving up. Prospects and picks.
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Los Angles: Everyone new Burke wanted Brayden Schenn at the draft, and even though i’m not so high on him my self he would be the key peice to get a deal done. Also Johnson clearly needs a new scenary so maybe something could work. Even though Toronto isn’t excacaly the escape goat a player like Johnson would want.
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Columbus: Voracek + 1st + 2nd is my asking price. We would also send one of forwards with an expiring contract to help them in the playoffs, ie: Stemp, Poni.
November 15th, 2009 at 1:35 pm
@LeafsRyan
I’d take Kabs for E Kane straight up.Done deal,but doubtful Atlanta would go for it.
Problem comes back to Burkey.He’s cornered himself with his big mouth and won’t talk to Kabs about the NTC beacuase he’d look like a hypocrite.
We’re dreaming in technicolour unfortunately.
The best time to sell Kabs is now(if you want to gamble on receiving a high first rounder) and it`s not going to happen.
If he waits to the trade deadline your getting a mid first round pick at best,or picking up prospects.Off season,….less again.
I just wish Burke would learn to play poker and keep his cards close to the vest.
Being a big shot blow hard,while appealing to some and obviously BB`s ego, can really come back to bite you on the ass
November 15th, 2009 at 1:44 pm
@Paso
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I don’t understand your reasoning for why the Leafs won’t bury contracts. Do you really think MLSE is hard-up for cash, or that they are monitoring Burke’s spending. What does it matter to them if they pay Mayers and Toskala (although, he’s looking better now) to sit in the minors, and Bozak and Stalberg to play in the NHL. It costs them the same regardless.
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The only reason the Leafs are not going to bury Jason Blake and Jeff Finger is because it would be pointless. If they are going to be buried, it will be in the final year of their contract, when the cap hit won’t ever come back to bite us again. Bury them now, and a year from now, they are back on the cap whether they are in the NHL or not – which is why the Bruins had to buy-out Schaefer and Eaves this summer.
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I don’t think we’ll have a problem moving out Stemps, Poni, Stajan and even Toskala at the deadline. Someone will take these guys for decent returns, or nothing in the case of Toskala (even if we have to place him on waivers, someone will take him). I think Blake has value left. Certain teams would love a little scoring punch, and Blake can add that to teams that already have solid top-line scoring. He is a good player, despite the hatred he gets in Toronto. There was a rumor that the Panthers were exploring bringing him in to play with Dominic Moore again. I could see that. They have Dvorak, who is essentially a wasted 1.8 million dollars. I think for the extra 1.2 million (in actual salary dollars), they’d rather have Blake – don’t you?
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If not during the season, than in the off-season, someone will take a chance on Blake. Look at Nashville for instance. They need a boost in their scoring, but they know that free agency is not an option. They cannot afford to buy any of the more expensive FA’s (even if they could convince them to play in Nashville), and the cheaper ones do nothing. At 3 million dollars, Blake is a bargain for them, because they will never get to the cap anyways – especially considering it would cost very little to acquire him. I think he has more value than you think.
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Finger could be a tough sell, but I think there are options out there that might present themselves. I really think that something could get done with Colorado. They know what Finger is all about there. They wanted to resign him, but obviously could not match Toronto’s enormous bid (and remember, there were reportedly 14 other teams that put offers in on Finger that were all somewhat outrageous). If you look at Colorado’s numbers, they are losing Clark, Salei and Foote next year, and are unlikely to resign any of them. They are also paying Preissing 2.75 million dollars to be a bandaid. I’d love to swap Finger for Preissing, and bury Preissing at the end of the end season – money off the cap one year sooner, and Colorado gets a much more useful player for an extra 750K.
November 15th, 2009 at 2:09 pm
cameron-if you bury salary it is with the intention of taking on more salary at the nhl level-thus, it is costing you significantly more-i.e. cutting into MLSE’s profit margin. if you have Blake and Finger in the minors it is presumably with the intention of taking on their cap hit, $7.5m per, at the NHL level to improve your club. MLSE has never been one to pass up an oppourtunity to make money nor jump at the chance to lose money.
November 15th, 2009 at 2:15 pm
cameron-Blake $2.2m more expensive than Dvorak.
Blake has two goals-how much scoring would he bring to a club?
panthers are cutting salary not taking it on-if they are moving horton @$4m per they’re not going to replace him with a far older and inferior player in Blake at the same salary especially when he has another yr left on his contract.
I like Finger-too much money/term though for a 5-6 dman.
November 15th, 2009 at 3:30 pm
Hey, it’s their own media that suggests Sexton is interested in Blake. How inferior to Horton is Blake, really? Their stats are basically identical so far, and Blake has actually out produced him over the last few seasons. It’s not as though Horton is a consistent 40 goal scorer and Blake is completley incompetent. He’s invisible a lot in Florida, and their fans are calling for him to be traded for whatever they can get. Look around on Panthers blogs, and you’ll find that much of what we say about Blake, is said about Horton. Don’t be so quick to assume the grass is always greener on the other side.
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Also, Blake is not 2.2 million more expensive. His cap hit is 2.2 more expensive. His salary amount is 1.2 more expensive. Since the Panthers are entering a rebuilding phase (like it or not), the extra cap hit will likely not matter – especially if they get a player that is far more productive. You kind of have to think of it this way – Blake and Moore together can score 30 goals at a cap hit of 5 million, and a price of 4 million – that’s not half bad. Blake was very slow to get going last year as well, so it’s not as though any sensible GM really believes Blake is going to finish the season with 8 goals. I should probably also add that the franchise is desperate for cash, seeing as no one watches the team play. Acquiring Blake to pair with Moore allows for Stillman (a more expensive contract) to be moved. If everything clicks, it might also allow for Horton to be moved (though, that might happen regardless).
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At this point in his career, Dvorak’s ceiling is 15 goals (and that’s fairly generous). Blake is coming off a 25 goal season, and they have the center that got him there. Realistically, the Panthers are going to start a rebuild that is going to take a few years. They’ll draft very high this year, try and get a nice return on Horton, and then attempt to move out Vokoun and Stillman for whatever they can get. Blake’s contract will not be a hinderance to them. And again, they believe he can produce alongside Moore. The dollar amount will be more important than the cap hit.
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As for salary, Burke can do whatever he wants. If he wants to bury big dollars in the minors on the final year of contracts, all he has to say to MLSE is “well, it makes us playoff contenders – leave me alone!” What do you think is more important financially to the teachers – burying a few million in the minors, or making the playoffs and making million and millions of dollars? It’s not a hard sell for Burke, and he is in complete control. Like I said, the reason he doesn’t bury people right now is because they have too much term left. At some point, he would have to recall them, or have their cap hits on the roster for nothing. In that situation, he would probably lose people like Finger and Blake on re-entry, and end up paying them half their salary anyways. It’s not worth it.
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Also, Burke has misguided loyalty and morals about how to deal with the league’s veterans.
November 15th, 2009 at 4:01 pm
cameron-lol-cap hit is what’s important not actual salary in terms of comparison. Dvorak is over twice as expensive as Blake, who again, has two goals.
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burying Blake and Finger doesn’t make them a playoff team. not even close. the dollar for dollar risk/reward will be negligible. Burke has never hidden the fact that he works for MLSE and financial prudence is a facet of his job. And I honestly believe that is why it hasn’t happened yet-for precisely the point you raise-Burke can’t honestly argue that burying Blake or Finger in the minors will make them a better or more successful team. If they’re going to lose anyway why take on more salary and cost? you cut cost when you’re losing not take it on. it is clearly evident that this is not a playoff team and it is precisely for that reason that Burke will grin and bare it as they say and hope he can make some waves at the deadline. he may make a deal to shake things up but he just doesn’t have any leverage other than Kaberle to do something meaningful. term is very important to if and when you bury a contract but great organizations make tough decisions-see Lou Lammarillo burying Mogilny with three yrs left on his deal-who by the way is a better player than finger and/or Blake are and will ever be.
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I don’t care what bullshit rumors are being fabricated by posters or media. by the way who in the florida media is saying that? The Panthers in a million years won’t take Blake in any trade unless they are unloading twice the salary for him. A duo of moore and blake won’t put fans in the stands, won’t win them any more games and it’s a laughable assumption to think otherwise. If burke could pull off any trade involving Blake, other than taking on twice the salary in return he should win GM of the yr. did you see him last night? he was dismal.
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let’s get some realistic trade scenarios going Cameron-you like to pawn off our waste on other teams.
November 15th, 2009 at 4:17 pm
The idea that the players are not trying because they know they won’t be here long, (Gary, were you the first, last thread?), is absurd. I’ve never heard of a player on an expiring contract, tanking. Quite the opposite. All these players are auditioning for a job somewhere next year, and will be looking for multi-year contracts wherever possible. We’ve all seen players raise their game through-out the NHL when it’s time to sign a new deal, only to see their play slip after signing for 3-4 years. Whether they succeed is not relevant, it is their intent that you are 100% wrong about. I don’t know why you are ignoring this well know fact, or do you just choose to because it doesn’t fit in conveniently with your statement. I can’t even call it a logical opinion because it flies in the face of all hockey knowledge, human nature and common sense. It’s nonsense. I have no interest in discussing this, or staying on MLHS today as after reading a few posts I can see that I might as well pick any past day of MLHS from the start of the season, cut and paste, and it’s what I’m finding here now. Little insight, mostly rants by people who think they know more than Brian Burke’s management team. A group of hockey men with probably a couple of hundred years of NHL experience. And you have? Oh yeah. Nuthin’. Nothing but simplistic, pompous, grade school nonsense. Good luck with that. Grow up and get real. Tuesday, The Toronto Maple Leafs will hammer the Sins and start a move up the standings. And perhaps we all don’t cringe every time there’s a shot on net ,from now on. Good day. It’s definitely more enjoyable outside this afternoon than in here.
November 15th, 2009 at 4:19 pm
@Bob
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You’ve never heard of the entire 2008/2009 Montreal Canadiens roster?
November 15th, 2009 at 4:42 pm
@paso
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Actually, salary matters a lot more to certain teams. Salary doesn’t matter to the Maple Leafs, which is why Burke would bury contracts at will if it wasn’t detrimental to the teams cap long term. But the Maple Leafs make so much money that they practically support half the league with their revenue. To the Florida Panthers though, who are going to lose probably about 20 to 30 million dollars this year, salary is far more important than cap hit. And did you even read what I wrote. The team is getting rid of all their other big contracts. Stillman, Vokoun and Horton (who all make more than Blake), will all be gone. Why would they care about his cap – they won’t be anywhere near it for at least a couple years. If Blake and Moore create an effective 3rd line (as they did last year), for 4 million dollars, and the team still recoups picks on Stillman and Horton, then they are laughing.
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Again, Blake only scored a few goals in the first 20 games last year too. Once he found his groove (paired with Moore), he started to score left, right and center. Only a fool would assume that Blake is going to finish the season with 8 goals. The man has only not hit 20 goals once since 2001, and that was the year he was diagnosed with cancer and relegated to 3rd line duties by Paul Maurice. Blake is a vast improvement over Dvorak. He is a guaranteed 20 goal scorer who clicks with Dominic Moore. It makes sense, and it helps the Panthers, who’s offense is dismal
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Blake has bad nights like everyone else – that doesn’t write off his career. Do you watch other teams? Have you ever noticed that everyone has players like this? Even the good players, who negative Leaf fans tend to hype into untouchable hockey Gods that are more valuable than a 19 year old Wayne Gretzky, have terrible nights. Horton has been awful for the Panthers this year – arguably worse than Blake. It’s not as though other teams have all their players playing at 100% with no turnovers, no unmotivated play, and no errors. That’s absurd. GMs don’t judge players based on a few games, they judge them based on their history of success or probability of success depending on age. Like I said, in the last 8 years, Blake has only scored less than 20 goals once.
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No one says anything when the Bruins pawn their garbage off on the Wild for prospects and a pick, but when the Leafs try to do it for a lesser package – “oh no, terrible, no one wants anyone from our roster, they are all terrible and can’t possibly succeed anywhere!” Really? Who would you rather have: Kobasew at 2.333 million, or Blake at 3 million? If you answer Kobasew, you’re blatantly lieing, because he isn’t nearly as productive or effective as Blake.
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So it’s July 1st 2011, and Joe Thornton is available, but we need 7.5 million in cap space. You think Burke hesitates for one second to bury their asses in the minors for the last year of their contract? Of course not. The only reason he doesn’t do it now is because it is counter-productive. What you are talking about is how normal teams would operate – cutting costs when losing, etc.. Sure Burke works for MLSE, but they are used to spending close to 100 million on a team. What’s burying a couple contracts when the salary cap world has decreased your spending by 50%?
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If we continue to lose, and no trades present themselves, Burke will bury some people under the notion that it would be better long-term to get Stalberg, Bozak et al. real NHL coaching, and experience. He won’t be tied down by MLSE, trust me.
November 15th, 2009 at 4:48 pm
and also, have you not been listening to Burke, every chance he gets he talks about how he’s looking to take on extra salary in exchange for picks. what do you think he intends to do with that salary? he wants to take on contracts that expire either this season or next season, and then bury them in the minors, whilst taking back a decent pick. he has said this numerous times.
November 15th, 2009 at 6:15 pm
@Bob is your uncle
Wow, feel better now?
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This is the statement I made that drove you over the edge?
[So Burke may be the victim of his own perfect storm of sorts. He has a team of people who know the threats are hollow, and that many of them are not wanted and will sooner or later be dumped. Inside they know they aren’t “on” the team, even though they are playing there now. I JUST WONDER HOW MUCH ANY OF THAT is factoring in to this pathetic start that we’re watching on the ice.] – I obviously just put the question part in caps so it’s easier to see the question.
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I merely asked the question if the fact that some of the players know they aren’t part of the team going forward might have an impact on their motivation.
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That apparently was sufficient for you to carry on about my simplistic, pompous, grade school nonsense? That I should grow up and get real? Are you for real?
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I’ll agree with one thing you said, it’s much nicer outside than reading dumb shit on here…
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Have a nice day…
November 15th, 2009 at 6:52 pm
cameron
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kobasew @ $2.33m per>blake @ $4m per-not lying. wasnt it you who also said plekanec was inferior to Stajan? yeah we’ll forget that one for now.
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panthers are going to get rid of Vokoun and Stillman how?
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we weren’t discussing cap hit vs salary in terms of general economics we were talking as a point of comparison for blake vs dvorak. you were arguing the panthers need to win now-taking on Blake @$4m per cap hit precludes them from taking on salary that might ACTUALLY help them as opposed to a 37 yr old third liner with 2 goals through a fifth of the season who is known as a shitbag in the room. and to argue that the Panthers are going to cut salary and therefore won’t care that they are taking on more inflated salary-in other words out with the bad in with the bad-is comical.
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the possibility of burke taking on salary this year was grossly reduced when he signed kessel @ $5.4m per. It is absolutely possible that Burke buries salary no doubt-I would love it as I don’t believe he’s changed the culture as much as he bloviates he has. As we’ve discussed though he will need to bury/trade salary to take it on presumably for salary + asset/prospect/pick. and you know how that goes…”Mr. Peddie. I have this deal on the table where we’re going to have to eat $7.5m in the minors and then pay another inflated salary at the NHL level for another year and a half-but we’re going to get a really good pick or prospect in return. Will you please let me make this deal…pretty please?” MLSE signs the checks bud-not Burke. I’m not saying it won’t happen-I think there is much more of a chance it happens next year when a lot of our contracts are off the books-but it remains to be seen if it will. in addition, Burke will have to give up young, inexpensive prospects and picks in order to acquire that salary as those teams will obviously not be able to or want to take on salary when they’re trying to unload it-can we afford to do that when we are so thin on talent and obviously need to sign some expensive top 6 forwards ourselves? It’s not as easy as you make it seem.
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in terms of how other GMs value and assess talent I think I have a rather decent guage as to that issue. I assure you, not one GM in the league thinks Blake @ $4m per is good value-not one. He’s known as a malcontent as well. And if you are telling me that if you asked every GM in the league who they would want @ $4m per-Horton or Blake-that any GM would take blake you’re fooling yourself.
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again Cameron it’s not that we disagree. It’s just that I believe you have a somewhat delusional view as to how we get there. you have to resign yourself to the fact that we will get a very marginal return for most of our roster save for Kaberle. Burke definitely needs to get creative here but my concern is he has painted himself into a corner with the kessel trade, Beauchemin and komi signings and the fact that he didnt trade Kaberle at the deadline or last summer. My fear is that he is going to be forced to move some prospects/young assets in order to get out of this mess. That’s not what a team as bad as this should be doing. kudos though Cameron
November 23rd, 2009 at 9:44 pm
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