Hockey rant today, because nothing else of any importance is going on in my life. (How sad is that?)
THE TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS. I've been a true-blue fan for most of my life. As such, I have a few things to say.
It's time to blow this team up. In the immortal words of Bart Simpson, "I didn't think it was possible, but they both suck and blow."
You look at the Make-Me-Laughs and the first word that springs to mind is lacks. As in: Lacks talent, lacks coaching, lacks heart, lacks goaltending, lacks defense, lacks offense...should I go on?
And remember, this is a die-hard fan talking.
I mean, they lost to Washington last night. At home. And Washington is the worst road team in the league. AND we were facing their second-string goalie.
I'll give the Capitals full credit for the win, because they deserved it, and never mind that we handed it to them. The Caps outworked us to every puck. The Leafs were forever making sloppy plays, blind passes, and ill-advised shots. Then we took penalties on account of we couldn't be bothered to catch the man we'd just given the puck to, so we hooked him instead.
There were exactly two players on the ice for the Leafs last night who have nothing to be ashamed of: Darcy Tucker and Chad Kilger. Everyone else stunk out the joint, to varying degrees.
At this point I say trade Sundin. And it's not that I'm a Mats-hater...it's precisely because I like him that I'd like to see him moved to some place where he has a shot at a Cup...and an opportunity to play with something other than a couple of tomato cans on his wings. Just look at what he did with Team Sweden. Not to mention Sundin is one of the few assets we have with any decent return.
Jason Allison may be our second leading scorer, but he has no defensive sense. The same could be said of our leading scorer, Bryan McCabe...and he's a defenseman! Both should be moved, if we can find anyone stupid enough to take them for anything more than a bucket of pucks.
Before the season started, I was a tad ambiguous about the signing of Eric Lindros. As expected by many, he's been injured for most of the season. Jeff O'Neill has been too...he obviously has recurring brain cramps.
Then there's our tried and true Tie Domi. Hang up your belt, Tie, you're done.
I won't even get into the defence corps. With the possible exception of Tomas Kaberle, they're all fodder.
And Eddie...love ya, man....it's time to go. You've got a Hall of Fame career...I won't hold this past season against you...just salvage some pride and retire, okay?
I am actually hoping we lose every game as convincingly as we lost last night. Maybe then by the trade deadline it will be clear as crystal to the top brass that drastic action is needed.
But if we win so much as one game, I can just hear John Ferguson Jr. saying "look! This team can win!"
Blow it up....blow it all up. And make sure Quinn is a casualty.
2 comments:
The Leafs need new coaching and new management who will be bold about changing up the team and trading players. I agree about Belfour. The poor man is tired, and it shows.
I've stopped watching their games, for the most part.
Yup. I agree. In fact, I blogged about the Bryan McCabe trade situation this morning.
Here's a snippet:
"Look, I used to really like McCabe. I thought he was a pretty good pick up at the time, but his play has really started to tank this season.
What's that you say? I'm crazy? He's scoring more goals than ever and is a leading candidate for the Norris Trophy?
Anyone who thinks McCabe is having a great year has never played defence. Let's look at the stats, shall we?
With a couple dozen games to go in the season, McCabe has already recorded the highest number of points in his career. Way to go. Can I have your autograph?
But wait. What's this little stat over here in the corner? +/-? What's that?
I'll tell you what that is: that's the most important stat in hockey. Forget goals, forget assists, forget penalty minutes. +/- refers to the ratio of goals you're on the ice for versus goals you are on the ice against. This is the one hockey stat defencemen should take the greatest pride in. McCabe has been all over the map during his career in terms of +/-, going from an atrocious -24 in his rookie year to as high as a very respectable +22 last year.
What's he at this banner year? The year he's racking up all these points? The year he is being mentioned as a candidate for defenceman of the year?
Zero.
Thats' right: he has been on for the exact same number of goals for as against. Which means, that as a defenceman, he's no better than a wash. A team is as likely to win with him as without him. It also means that while he's busy scoring at the other end, he's neglecting his defensive zone responsibilities (and taking a ton of penalties). Did you see the highlights (I use that term loosely) of the game against Washington the other night? In just about every clip where you saw a Capital celebrating a goal, you could see McCabe in the background."
He stank at the Olympics where his poor end zone coverage and penchant for penalties was on full display, and he's going to be looking for a hefty raise next year. I wouldn't cry if, for $5M, they traded him instead.
Oh yeah: JFJ is a meatball and Quinn should be a GM not a coach. Again, check out my blog for more.
Take care.
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