In order to add a note of positivity after a bit of a brutal week for Leaf Fans, I thought I'd start a series profiling players who have never worn the blue and white. These are players who could be classy, solid leaders, entertaining as all hell or all of the above.

I'll start with some short blurbs and who knows, I may add on longer entries for other players as I go.

Georges Laraque

The violence and chippiness of the recent game got me to thinking about this big fella who was absent from the fray. One of the best fighters going these days, I've always had a soft spot for big Georges. He gives great interviews, he is quite dedicated to charity (he's still active in both Edmonton and Pittsburgh with the charity, apparently) and he just seems to really enjoy playing the game. He also wrote a very entertaining blog up until recently. Apparently players for the Canadiens are not allowed to blog (?) so he's done for now.

For those who may be interested, here's a video of him devastating our recently acquired Brad May:

Joe Sakic

Burnaby Joe. 20+ years with the same franchise. From the terrible lows of the Nordiques to the cup victories with the Avalanche, Sakic has always been a consummate class act. He's been an integral part of Team Canada in the world juniors, world cup and of course the olympics. He has a street named after him in Burnaby, which I used to drive past on my way to work. He's like the Martin Luther King of Burnaby.

I can't even get mad at him for kicking the ass of Dougie that one time, heck Dougie wasn't even a leaf at the time!

The announcer cracks me up. Anyway, get well soon Joe!