Bell tolls for Mark

Nice little article about Mark Bell. He seems to be doing well with the Marlies, but it doesn't seem like Wilson likes him very much.

about 3 years ago Karina 33 comments 0 recs |

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I say give him a chance, whey the fuck not? He’s better than Hollweg and Devaux all around and he plays hockey better than May and Mayers

Because Taking The Leafs Seriously Is Not An Option

by JaredFromLondon on Jan 20, 2009 12:36 PM EST reply actions

I agree

Deveaux isn’t knocking anyone’s socks off and neither is Hollweg. It makes the team instantly bigger if he replaces Hollweg and despite the beatings he’s taken probably tougher.

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by PPP on Jan 20, 2009 12:40 PM EST up reply actions

from the article

Mark says that Wilson didn’t even talk to him when he got sent down. Methinks Ronnie just doesn’t want him on the team.

by Karina on Jan 20, 2009 12:41 PM EST up reply actions

Yeah, thats the feel I get. But I like a coach that can be the bigger man and give a player he doesn’t like a chance.
I doubt we’ll ever see Bell though.

Because Taking The Leafs Seriously Is Not An Option

by JaredFromLondon on Jan 20, 2009 12:45 PM EST up reply actions

This sentence hurts my head:

Still, Bell believes he can help the Leafs, and both Brian Burke and Ron Wilson have insisted that, though this organization is rebuilding, they want to win now — that they owe it to the fans not to throw in the towel this season.

Wait, they’re rebuilding but they want to win now? Did JFJ write this?

Bitter Leaf Fan: a life-long Toronto Maple Leafs fan comments on the team, the media and the exasperation...

by mf37 on Jan 20, 2009 12:41 PM EST reply actions

the article is full of fail, but it’s the only one I could find.
They also say that Kulemin is a call up, forgetting that he started in the NHL and had a very, very short stint with the Marlies – and has been injured so he hasn’t even been able to try to make a contribution since coming back up.

by Karina on Jan 20, 2009 12:42 PM EST up reply actions

it’s obvious that leafs brass can’t say anything about “tanking” for fear of messing up the revenue they’ve got from ticket sales.

all we need to know is that the moves that make the most sense, are the ones used least.

case in point:

Ian White was awesome as a forward. He continues to play D with mixed results
Vesa Toskala is terrible, yet continues to start
guys like bell toil in the minors while we trade for Brad May, dress Hollweg nightly and call up Deveaux

we’re tanking. if Bell were stinking it up in the AHL, chances are, he’d have gotten called up…

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by blurr1974 on Jan 20, 2009 12:49 PM EST reply actions

you think at one point they’d consider bringing him up to market him as a player reborn if he plays well.
I mean if he comes up and sucks, better for the tank, but if he comes up and pots 10 in 10, there is a tradeable asset.
Mark Bell is not going to bring this team to the playoffs, unless Marios powers have possessed him.

Because Taking The Leafs Seriously Is Not An Option

by JaredFromLondon on Jan 20, 2009 12:52 PM EST up reply actions

No player is going to bring this team to the playoffs, but any player that could turn into assets should be used.
Thing is, I don’t think it’s any more likely that a team will trade for Bell than Holwegg, so why not keep playing Holwegg who makes less money.

by Karina on Jan 20, 2009 12:57 PM EST up reply actions

true, but Money isnt really an issue, the Leafs have a ton of cap space, and on the off chance that Bell suddenly explodes into 20 goal scorer mode again it might be worth it.
Both take a pretty good beating though

Because Taking The Leafs Seriously Is Not An Option

by JaredFromLondon on Jan 20, 2009 1:01 PM EST up reply actions

Dude has all of nine goals after half a season in the AHL. The only way he pots 20 in the bigs is if he plays in 164 NHL games.

Bitter Leaf Fan: a life-long Toronto Maple Leafs fan comments on the team, the media and the exasperation...

by mf37 on Jan 20, 2009 1:20 PM EST up reply actions

i know its being a might optimistic (but someone has to)
but Bell is an all around better hockey player than either Hollweg, Devaux or Mayers

Because Taking The Leafs Seriously Is Not An Option

by JaredFromLondon on Jan 20, 2009 1:22 PM EST up reply actions

Sure, he’s better than Hollwegg, Deveaux or Mayers. That makes his trade ceiling a fifth round pick.

The question for Burke and the MLSE braintrust is: if the Leaf dressing room and culture is as bad as has been alleged, is a potential fifth round pick worth bringing Mark Bell up?

Bitter Leaf Fan: a life-long Toronto Maple Leafs fan comments on the team, the media and the exasperation...

by mf37 on Jan 20, 2009 2:17 PM EST up reply actions

yes, it gets him out of the leafs system and opens up a spot on the marlies for a potential developing youth.
I’d take a 5th rounder for him any day

Because Taking The Leafs Seriously Is Not An Option

by JaredFromLondon on Jan 20, 2009 2:23 PM EST up reply actions

I forgot

Mark Bell even existed

"God's in His heaven. All's right with the world." - Robert Browning (1812-1889)

by Winkle on Jan 20, 2009 2:28 PM EST up reply actions

he has earned a place in my heart for killing half of alfredsons brain cells last year

Because Taking The Leafs Seriously Is Not An Option

by JaredFromLondon on Jan 20, 2009 2:29 PM EST up reply actions

That does

indeed merit some kind of reward

"God's in His heaven. All's right with the world." - Robert Browning (1812-1889)

by Winkle on Jan 20, 2009 2:34 PM EST up reply actions

The challenge is three fold:

First, call up Bell and give him some ice time in hopes he’s not exposed as a guy who can only pot nine goals in a half-season of AHL hockey and who wasn’t tossed out of three NHL markets.

Second, find a team with the room to take on an additional $2M in salary for a marginal player.

Third, consumate a trade with what must be a very small group of teams where the Leafs don’t have to take back a salary dump of a player who will eat the ice-time/development of someone on the Marlies/Leafs.

If Burke can do that, my hat’s off to him.

Bitter Leaf Fan: a life-long Toronto Maple Leafs fan comments on the team, the media and the exasperation...

by mf37 on Jan 20, 2009 3:40 PM EST up reply actions

Fist pump.

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by Chemmy on Jan 20, 2009 1:53 PM EST up reply actions

not saying one player...

and i’m not even thinking playoffs.

however, should something click between a few players, we could steamroll ourselves right into 9th place, and right out of top 5 picks.

"We’re looking forward to building the type of team the Rangers are able to buy."
The Left Coast Lock

by blurr1974 on Jan 20, 2009 1:01 PM EST up reply actions

hah

good point. Why take the risk of something working when you can have guys put in an effort and look good and still lose?

by Karina on Jan 20, 2009 1:07 PM EST up reply actions

thats what Vesa is for!

Because Taking The Leafs Seriously Is Not An Option

by JaredFromLondon on Jan 20, 2009 1:08 PM EST up reply actions

But Bell isn’t holding his breath waiting for the Leafs to call him up from the Marlies even though, despite a slow start to the season, he now is third in scoring on the Marlies, and third overall in goals, with nine.

Wow nine goals in the AHL guy is setting the hockey world on fire.

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by Chemmy on Jan 20, 2009 1:11 PM EST reply actions

Jammies

You just blew up my sarcasm-detector

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by Winkle on Jan 20, 2009 1:17 PM EST up reply actions

He is

compared to 15 goals in his last 100 NHL games. He’s not a complete player, either; he’s a mediocre fighter who takes selfish penalties and gets lost defensively. He had a couple of decent scoring years playing on the #1 line of a truly awful Chicago team, and that’s it. They liked him so much, they dumped him to San Jose where Wilson tried his best to put him on a line with Joe Thornton. Somehow, though, he couldn’t score despite playing with one of the best playmaking centres in the league.

Yeah, I had him in the pool that year.

He’s probably better than Hollweg, although Hollweg at least knows his role. But then, I don’t know why Hollweg ever dresses.

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by Back In Black on Jan 20, 2009 2:16 PM EST up reply actions

Yeah, Mark Bell is terrible. Thanks for the hit on Alfredsson, you’ve made a couple million playing hockey, this is probably your last year.

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by Chemmy on Jan 20, 2009 2:37 PM EST up reply actions

I believe Steve brought this point up on leafs.analysis.com about the Marlies dilemma for MLSE. All points indicate that the Leafs want to make the Marlies competitive enough, so people pay money to see a “winning” team. It’s the reason why players like Stapleton, Bell, Battaglia, etc. continue to have big roles on the team, and why Clemmensen was the starting goalie in the playoffs.

I would further extend this point by questioning the lack of cooperation or at least, the disconnect the Leafs and the Marlies seem to have in regards to player call-ups and how they’re used. Gilbert is a lacklustre coach and his mandate is to geared towards getting a NHL job, and I don’t necessarily blame him. But for a Leafs team that made it clear on their rebuild mode and the need to build from the ground up, the Marlies appear to be disjointed and poorly coordinated with the big picture in mind. So as much as Bell has redeemed his hockey career and his life (good for him), his status on the Marlies and the Leafs doesn’t really alleviate the concerns that Toronto does a poor job in developing their players through their minor league systems.

I find it ironic that if the Marlies went with a full youth movement (that sentence just boggles my mind), the interest level for the Marlies would probably be at the same level, if not slightly higher than it is now, since people would be far more interested in the so-called future Leafs than castaway veterans.

by bkblades on Jan 20, 2009 3:01 PM EST reply actions

I’d much rather see “the next leafs” instead if “those guys who arn’t good enough to play there anymore…or ever were”
but of course if i lived anywhere near the Richo id go anyways

Because Taking The Leafs Seriously Is Not An Option

by JaredFromLondon on Jan 20, 2009 3:05 PM EST up reply actions

Torontonians believe they are too good to go watch an AHL team when they have an NHL team in the city.

They are snooty like that.

Its like Toronto believing that they are too good for the CFL and thus should be awarded an NFL franchise/given the Bills.

"God's in His heaven. All's right with the world." - Robert Browning (1812-1889)

by Winkle on Jan 20, 2009 3:09 PM EST up reply actions

Maybe

But I really do think if the Marlies emphasized on young players and MLSE capitalized on the “future Leafs” aspect with much better marketing and viral campaigns, the Marlies would be a bigger success. I’m rather surprised that MLSE doesn’t overwhelm fans with the Leafs connection on the Marlies. If indeed the city is all about the Leafs, then why stray from that name recognition with your top minor league affiliate?

And as for the CFL/NFL debate, I’m not sure how many people are really in favour of a NFL franchise aside from the main investment group trying to secure the team. I find there are more people shunning the NFL because the CFL game is supposedly much better.

by bkblades on Jan 20, 2009 3:23 PM EST up reply actions

I personally

enjoy the CFL over the NFL, granted the NFL skill level is obviously higher, but the CFL has a much better pace to it, I find I have difficulty staying awake through an NFL game because its just too slow

Also MLSE marketing is a mess, I don’t think they even have a marketing department, you’re right, the Marlies are very much swept-under-the-rug here, I hear the occasional radio ads for their games once a month and that’s it, heck even the local media here doesn’t show highlights from Marlies games or reports scores.

"God's in His heaven. All's right with the world." - Robert Browning (1812-1889)

by Winkle on Jan 20, 2009 3:26 PM EST up reply actions

I think part of the tension between the Marlies and the Leafs is that for the next little while they need to be the dumping ground for JFJ’s mistakes.

Hopefully, as the bad contracts become fewer and fewer, the Marlies won’t need to be a salary-cap escape clause populated by the likes of Bell, Battaglia, etc.

Bitter Leaf Fan: a life-long Toronto Maple Leafs fan comments on the team, the media and the exasperation...

by mf37 on Jan 20, 2009 3:34 PM EST up reply actions

Part of it is about dumping guys into the Marlies that had no place on the big club, as you said. But that doesn’t explain the Marlies constantly signing veteran players to fill their roster. There are plenty of undrafted free agents toiling around that would give the Marlies and the Leafs a better chance to find the boom type players, rather than a temporary boon in production from the same old, same old that older players give you.

by bkblades on Jan 20, 2009 3:41 PM EST up reply actions