Maple Leafs 2 v. Penguins 5: Mental Shortcomings Exposed
by PPP on Oct 11, 2009 12:37 PM EDT
in Game Recaps
Email
PrintFor whatever reason, the Penguins looked downright lousy last year vs. Toronto, losing their last three meetings, including the final one that resulted in Michel Therrien’s firing.
It's certainly not rocket science to figure out why the Maple Leafs won three of four games against the Penguins last year. Last year they outworked the Penguins all over the ice for 60 minutes. Last night, they'd have been lucky to have been considered on top of the game for 6 minutes. The fact that they weren't able to dominate the defending Stanley Cup champions - a team that's only lost 15 games in their last 50 (a .700 win percentage) - should not come as a shock to anyone with half of a clue but the way in which they lost most certainly was considering the kind of coach Ron Wilson professes to be.
I am not sure what the most painful aspect of this loss was: the uneven performance, the numerous mental errors, Toskala's continued inability to venture outside of the blue ice, or the 3 hours I spent dreaming of seeing Tyler Bozak and Christian Hanson on the ice.
The less said about the first period the better but then I would have to apply that to the rest of the game and this recap would meet an early demise. It's not so much that the Leafs only got two shots - that's always a fun thing to see - because the Leafs have done the same to other teams but that that kind of effort could come after three days of practice. Actually, the entire game was stunning considering the Leafs just spent three full days learning that the effort they put forth against the senators was in no way acceptable. Three days were spent drilling into the players' heads that:
- We don't carry the puck into the middle of the ice (Jason Blake - 1-0 Pens)
- We stop dump-ins and don't sit on our goal-lines on shots from the point (Vesa Toskala - 2-0 Pens)
- When you go to the net good things happen. (Jay Rosehill - 2-1 Pens)
- When your team has just cut the lead t one goal because your fourth-liner got his first career goal don't go take the dumbest of penalties.
- If one player is watching Malkin circle the zone we don't need two more to help him watch.
- Also, just because Crosby goes behind the net doesn't make him invisible. (Every Leaf on the ice - 3-1 Pens)
- Again, just because Crosby goes behind the net doesn't make him invisible. Also, don't fear the white ice. (Vesa and the PKers - 4-1)
- When you shoot low and go to the net good things happen. (Niklas Hagman - 4-2)
- If we've just scored it makes sense to not gift a goal as soon as possible.
- Don't make soft passes that are easily picked off.
- One more time, the white ice isn't white lava. (Mitchell and Vesa - Pens 5-2)
Now, some of those things can be fixed by buying one player on the team a TTC pass and a giving him a note that reads "502 - Exhibition" so that he knows how to get to his new home. The others can hopefully come from greater familiarity with each other. The compressed and busy exhibition schedule did no favour to the Maple Leafs' attempts to create some semblance of offensive chemistry or the greenshoots of understanding among the defence. What won't come is a sense of urgency among the players.
Burke spoke about not being afraid to send excess salary to the Marlies and seeing Bozak, Hanson, and Gunnarsson head down there caused some consternation among the faithful. I made the argument that it gave the Leafs real depth for the inevitable injury crisis because veterans on the Marlies have to come up through re-call waivers while the kids are waiver-exempt but if Burke wants to send the message that no one's position is safe he'd send Toskala down as soon as Gustavsson is healthy for a conditioning stint. That allows for Vesa and MacDonald to swap spots without having to go through waivers. It'll allow Vesa to continue trying to work out the numerous holes in his game while showing that the Leafs are actually willing to dump non-performers.
It's not time to start summary executions yet but more performances like this will get the Fire Ron Wilson crowd (current membership: Bruce "Malkin to the Kings" Garrioch, Damien Cox, and FireRonWilson) murmuring louder and louder. Burke will definitely make some changes before it comes to that because he's been pretty clear on the fact that he's still not comfortable with the make up of the team. I wonder how many more listless performances it will take though...
ps. One Final Note - I think we can all agree that Scott Hartnell's a piece of shit for biting Kris Letang but Don Cherry makes a good point about putting your stanky glove in another player's mouth. Also, I hope Letang is able to remove the sand from his vital areas after the disgusting embellishment after Rosehill tapped him in the stomach with his stick.
175 comments
|
0 recs |
Do you like this story?
Comments
Best comment re: the Hartnell incident I’ve heard-
Kris Letang- it’s what for dinner!
"We've had an ongoing problem with Grabovski this year." Bob Gainey, 4/04/09
the other yellow meat
Refusing To Bow To Your Standards Since 2006
by JaredFromLondon on Oct 11, 2009 1:10 PM EDT up reply actions
It’s early, but the Kessel trade is right now looking like the worst trade ever. What the fuck was that loudmouth thinking.
he was thinking the players he brought in would be playing the way they could and not forgetting their brains on the teams he brought them from.
He was also thinking its 4 games and is far to early to be judging anything except the effort of said players thus far
Refusing To Bow To Your Standards Since 2006
by JaredFromLondon on Oct 11, 2009 1:12 PM EDT up reply actions
Until Kessel plays we can’t nominate the trade as “worst ever”
by The Meatriarchy on Oct 11, 2009 1:28 PM EDT up reply actions
I agree, but I’m not expecting a great performance from Kessel these season, after injury, surgery, and time missed.
And the trade won’t be based on his first season for those very reasons.
Pension Plan Puppets: A Toronto Maple Leafs blog and a group therapy session.
We have kessel for the next 5 years
If we evaluate it after 3 or 4 years and the Bruins have 2 top prospects (a la Taylor Hall) and Kessel is injured all the time and can’t score 20 goals, then it’s a failure.
If the Bruins have Taylor Hall and a comparable, but Kessel scores 40+ goals regularly then both teams win
If the Bruins end up without top 10 picks, and Kessel scores 40+ goals regularly then the Leafs win
If the Bruins don’t get top prospects, but Kessel is a bust, both teams lose and who cares.
Way too early to figure this out yet… 4 games when Kessel hasn’t played any at all is sort of bordering on moronic.
"Success is the ability to go from one failure to another with no loss of enthusiasm."
- Sir Winston Churchill
I'm pretty sure he's talking about the Leafs.
by Steve Burtch on Oct 11, 2009 2:20 PM EDT up reply actions
He was thinking of picking up a former top 5 pick that has scored 30 goals before his 22nd birthday.
It should also be noted that Kessel FELL to 5th that draft and leading up the draft was usually ranked in the top 3. I’ll repeat that he FELL in the draft and still was in the top 5.
Life as a Toronto Sports Fan?... *sigh*... It is what it is...
As bad as that trade could turn out – I wouldn’t even call it the worst in this decade. Luongo/Shirokov/Kraijeck for Bertuzzi/Allen/Auld still ranks up there as one of the greats.
Welcome
Thanks for joining.
Pension Plan Puppets: A Toronto Maple Leafs blog and a group therapy session.
So let me get this straight. We traded for a player who is 21, just scored 36 goals, but is currently injured. We have the expectations of at the very least competing for the playoffs, and because the first 5 games have gone terribly, we’re done for the year. And since we’re already done for the year and it’s only the first 5 games, it was really dumb of us to trade Taylor Hall, next year’s #1 overall pick and a second rounder for Kessel?
I was wondering if you could tell me how you function without anything between your ears?
It’s been 5 games. Kessel hasn’t suited up for us yet. Gustavsson is injured. The new players are all accustomed to the system yet. Nor are the accustomed to each other and their tendancies. This is what happens with team that have a major overhaul in the off-season. It takes time. We’re not dead yet. And what if those first rounders turn out to be Alex Steen and Carlo Colaiacovo V2? Are you telling me you wouldn’t trade Steen and Carlo + a 2nd rounder for Kessel? There’s a reason that players like Kessel cost more than it seems like they’re worth, it’s because you have a 95% idea of what you are getting. With a 1st rounder, all you know coming into the season is that it will be 1 of the first 30 players taken in the draft. Other than that, you know nothing.
Also, slow starts don’t kill your team. Case-in-point, the team we played last night, Pittsburgh. They were out of the playoffs on FEBRUARY 15TH!! Take a look at that for a second, it says February 15th. It is currently October 11th.
My point, don’t rush to judgement, and chill your bananas. Please.
by Belligerent Burkie on Oct 11, 2009 2:37 PM EDT up reply actions 8 recs
All good points, although I think it’s important to note that the rumblings in Leafs nation seem to have less to do with the overall stats (0-3-1) and the more to do with how bad the team has looked over that span. They’ve looked lost, lazy, and weak, and regardless of how much time there is to improve, there’s nothing wrong with holding the team accountable at present for their poor play.
And a slow start didn’t sink the Penguins, but they Crosby, Malkin, and others to help turn the ship around. The Leafs are way more of a bubble team than Pittsburgh, and every loss is going to sting if we want to make the post-season.
I realize that Pittsburgh was a much better team at that point last year than we are now. But I’m just trying to show that a slow start doesn’t necessarily kill you. While I agree that the Leafs best hope for a finish is 7th, from there anything can happen. Remember Edmonton? They almost did the impossible, but they did make it to the Cup Finals as an 8th seed. Remember Anaheim (pre-lockout)? They almost did the impossible as well. They made it to the finals as a 7th (8th?) seed.
Once you make it to the playoffs, then anything can happen.
by Belligerent Burkie on Oct 11, 2009 5:47 PM EDT up reply actions
and also
the pens didn’t automatically become a killing machine once they had all that new talent on their roster. It took a while for them to gell too. And they had way more top end talent than we do now.
I want to trade players between my teams. Spoon can go to the Leafs (truculossity!), and Vesa can go to the Tigers, where conceding 6 points a game puts you at the top of the league, not the bottom.
The Leafs
Need to show the same effort they showed last season. They just don’t seem to fit together, and that’s a bit worrisome. I think this team will put it together eventually, but I hope before it’s too late. I would hate to see the Bruins draft Taylor Hall for the first overall pick in this year’s draft!
It’s not that the Leafs have one point in 4 games that bothers me, it’s how bad they’ve looked doing it.
I must respectfully disagree. We do not need another career 4th liner who thinks he’s worthy of 2nd liner money.
by Belligerent Burkie on Oct 11, 2009 3:15 PM EDT up reply actions
I’m starting to think you’re the real Burkie.
A Nation of Masochists I can't believe "Stay Truculent!!!1" replaced goodbye.
I sort of agreed with Cox this morning: http://www.thestar.com/sports/hockey/nhl/mapleleafs/article/708687—ron-wilson-maple-leafs-just-not-clicking
“In a nutshell, after one full season and four games, the Leafs either aren’t listening to what Wilson is preaching or can’t execute his instructions.”
I think they listened to his instructions perfectly fine last year. They played how Wilson wanted them to play. This year has been different but it’s 4 games.
Cox and the MSM just want Wilson fired because he pisses in their cereal.
I agree that the MSM hate Wilson because he calls them on their bullshit. But right now the team looks shockingly disinterested in playing hard, or following his system. It’s going to be interesting to see how this gets fixed.
So they shut off after one year of doing a lot of what he wanted them to do? I don’t buy that it happens over one summer.
Pension Plan Puppets: A Toronto Maple Leafs blog and a group therapy session.
Sure, it seems unlikely. And it’s only 4 games. But defensively they have looked awful so far and if it keeps up either the players aren’t listening, or don’t know how to do what he wants them to do.
The defence has improved over the past two games but every fucking mistake ends up in the net because Toskala is such shit.
Glen Healy put it best last night (I think) “At some point, your goalie has to make a save.”
The Mitchell giveaway would have been a great time to make a save but instead of stopping it Toskala was on his knees early.
Pension Plan Puppets: A Toronto Maple Leafs blog and a group therapy session.
The problem with Toskala, as many of the broadcasters and commentators pointed out last night, is that he lacks confidence. Both in himself and in the defence in front of him. The reason he has to play so deep is because he’s concerned about every single player on the other team being able to pass cross-ice at will against this defence. If the new players are able to mesh with the current ones, we will see both the defence improve and the goaltending improve.
I don’t think Marty Brodeur could put up decent numbers with revolving doors posing as defenceman.
by Belligerent Burkie on Oct 11, 2009 2:40 PM EDT up reply actions 1 recs
the problem with toskala is that he sucks
Refusing To Bow To Your Standards Since 2006
by JaredFromLondon on Oct 11, 2009 4:20 PM EDT up reply actions 1 recs
Toskala is not a great goalie, I understand. But if he were playing on a team that had solid defence, like in San Jose a few years back, he can put up numbers of a second tier goalie, and that’s a lot better than how he’s performing in this current situation.
Go look at his stats from his San Jose days, they were much better than they were here.
by Belligerent Burkie on Oct 11, 2009 5:44 PM EDT up reply actions
he was also younger, on non-surgically reconstructed hips with waaaaay less pressure
Refusing To Bow To Your Standards Since 2006
by JaredFromLondon on Oct 11, 2009 5:46 PM EDT up reply actions
Yeah
We looked at the stats. When the Sharks finished 11th and 5th in the league he had a .901 and .908 sv%.
So basically if the Leafs morph into such a great defensive team that they become a top 10 team in the NHL Toskala will become 2nd tier goalie. 2nd tier.
Pension Plan Puppets: A Toronto Maple Leafs blog and a group therapy session.
2nd Tier is much better than anything we have so far. Joey McDonald, 3rd tier (at best, probably 4th tier). Gustavsson could be a really good, possibly even great goaltender, but we don’t know yet. Success overseas is not a guarantee of success in the NHL. While I think Gustavsson could be a good goalie for us, he won’t be much better than Toskala is now if he has to play with our “after you” defensive approach.
Also, Toskala’s SV% wasn’t great, but in the 2003-2004 season, he put up a 2.06 GAA. The next year, he put up a 2.56 GAA, and the next year (his last in SJ) he had a 2.35 GAA. Those numbers are all substansially better than his 2.74 in 07-08, or his 3.26 last season. If our defence can play like it was expected to before the year began, Toskala will be capable of putting up at least a 2.56 GAA, which was better than Marc-Andre Fleury’s, Miikka Kiprusoff’s, Carey Price’s and Chris Osgood’s GAAs from last season. And all of those goalies managed to make the playoffs last season.
And before you go saying that they all had better teams in front of them, the Leafs finished 10th in team scoring last season. While we don’t have our Ovechkin or Crosby or even a Vanek, this team can put the puck in the net. They just need confidence, which comes from trust, which will hopefully come soon. Before we go the first 10 games without a win would be nice.
by Belligerent Burkie on Oct 12, 2009 12:09 AM EDT up reply actions
Nope
The goaltending won’t improve as long as Toskala’s in net.
If we’re counting on him playing better when he gains confidence in his defence we’re screwed because the defence can’t play when they think every shot’s going into the net.
Pension Plan Puppets: A Toronto Maple Leafs blog and a group therapy session.
Nonono,
the chicken DEFINITELY comes first
I want to trade players between my teams. Spoon can go to the Leafs (truculossity!), and Vesa can go to the Tigers, where conceding 6 points a game puts you at the top of the league, not the bottom.
after the egg of course
Refusing To Bow To Your Standards Since 2006
by JaredFromLondon on Oct 12, 2009 12:31 PM EDT up reply actions
old joke:
Chicken and egg lying in bed together, the chicken smoking a cigarette.
egg: “Well I guess we solved that one.”
I want to trade players between my teams. Spoon can go to the Leafs (truculossity!), and Vesa can go to the Tigers, where conceding 6 points a game puts you at the top of the league, not the bottom.
I have to agree also. You can only blame individuals for a lack of effort so many times. Eventually it falls on the coach to motivate these guys or get new people in.
by Robot Godzilla on Oct 11, 2009 1:38 PM EDT up reply actions
I agree with this.
You don’t need a ton of skill to kill penalties… just a good system, good teamwork and good timing.
If Wilson can’t correct the PK issue, he needs to delegate it to someone who can.
Also, stop taking stupid fking penalties
"Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I'm not sure about the the universe."
Albert Einstein
by Say *plan the parade one more time*... on Oct 11, 2009 3:57 PM EDT up reply actions
Wow. If Cox continues this trend I might start reading him on a regular basis again.
A Nation of Masochists I can't believe "Stay Truculent!!!1" replaced goodbye.
Cox is four for four if not five for five in his last string of entries.
Bitter Leaf Fan: a life-long Toronto Maple Leafs fan comments on the team, the media and the exasperation...
Ok yes if you stick your fingers into someones mouth during a scrum you are asking to get a bite.
However what happens if his hand is just there trying to pull people out or what not and Hartnell actually sought out the bite.
Since it was a scrum you can’t see what was going on.
Life as a Toronto Sports Fan?... *sigh*... It is what it is...
They were rolling on the ground after Letang gave him a facewash. It was just the two of them.
Pension Plan Puppets: A Toronto Maple Leafs blog and a group therapy session.
But is there actual video of him putting his hand in his mouth as in fishhooking him or something? Because I couldn’t see it.
Life as a Toronto Sports Fan?... *sigh*... It is what it is...
Yeah, you can’t see it but I’m saying that he wasn’t reaching into a scrum to pull people out and knowing how jerk players love the face-wash it’s not exactly a leap of considerable faith.
Pension Plan Puppets: A Toronto Maple Leafs blog and a group therapy session.
Besides the way Cherry worded it, sounded like biting should be allowed in hockey.
Life as a Toronto Sports Fan?... *sigh*... It is what it is...
No
the way he worded it made it sound like if you are going to jam your stank-ass gloved finger into a guy’s mouth then don’t be shocked if you get bit.
Pension Plan Puppets: A Toronto Maple Leafs blog and a group therapy session.
No he was bashing the Penguins and Letang for making a big deal out of it. Called him a big baby and what not, Normally I would agree, but this was biting, You can’t even bite in MMA or Boxing and those are sports that are actually all fighting.
Yes if he stuck his hand in there he deserved to get bite but since we can’t see that and neither could he it isn’t a solid argument.
Life as a Toronto Sports Fan?... *sigh*... It is what it is...
Well, like I said, it’s not a huge stretch to assume that his finger was in his mouth. If Cherry was more eloquent he’d have qualified his comment.
Pension Plan Puppets: A Toronto Maple Leafs blog and a group therapy session.
And it’s totally overshadowing Richards move of extreme douchiness where he ran Fleury with about 15 seconds left, IIRC.
"We can categorically state that we have not released man-eating badgers into Iraq"
- Major Mike Shearer
That, at least, was funny.
"We can categorically state that we have not released man-eating badgers into Iraq"
- Major Mike Shearer
by article1 on Oct 11, 2009 5:35 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions
The issue for the Leafs is, if they take 5 – 10 games to get their act together, then improve, but miss the playoffs by 4 or 5 points, then the slow start is going to kill us. And if we miss the playoffs and end up losing a top 10 pick to Boston, I see Kaberle getting traded for a top prospect just to stock the cupboard and calm the fans.
If Kaberle could have been traded for a top pick or prospect I think he already would have been
Life as a Toronto Sports Fan?... *sigh*... It is what it is...
It’s times like these where I wish I had a time machine, then I could travel to Philly, put a gun to Paul Holmgren’s head and make him accept that trade of Kaberle for Carter + a pick (I think it might have even been a 1st rounder)
by Belligerent Burkie on Oct 11, 2009 2:42 PM EDT up reply actions
The trade was ready to go, Kaberle did not waive his NTC
and yes, there was a first rounder in there from Philly.
"Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I'm not sure about the the universe."
Albert Einstein
by Say *plan the parade one more time*... on Oct 11, 2009 3:59 PM EDT up reply actions
Eh, while it would have been a fantastic trade for the Leafs, Kaberle has been the Leafs best defenceman in this young season. On one hand that’s a very good thing because he gives the team a legit puck-moving offensive d-man. Unfortunately, Kaberle is the best by default, since all the other defencemen on the Leafs have been struggling mightily so far.
Supporter of the Sergei Berezin "Give and Go" - You give me puck, then you go to hell
But the thing about a trade like that is it has a domino effect on what would have happened. Instead of trading 2 1st’s and a 2nd to get a player like that, we get that player for one of our, plus we get another pick on top of that. And that can put us in a position to trade one of those firsts plus a roster player to another team for a Kaberle replacement, and we’ll have our picks for the next 2 years as well.
I realize that all sounds good in theory, but might never have happened, but I still wouldn’t mind trading Kaberle of a 46 goal scorer and a 1st. Any way you slice it, that’s a good trade.
by Belligerent Burkie on Oct 11, 2009 5:42 PM EDT up reply actions
If the Leafs miss the playoffs by 4 or 5 points the pick likely will be outside of the top 10 and Kaberle will only get moved if he asks to be moved.
Pension Plan Puppets: A Toronto Maple Leafs blog and a group therapy session.
I don’t necessarily think he’ll be asked. If his no-trade clause is nullifed by the team missing the playoffs, and we have him for only one more year when we almost certainly won’t be using his skills to compete for a cup, AND we lose a first rounder, I can see him getting moved. Especially if he has a good season, and is a steal at 4.25 for one year.
A strong season from Kaberle might get some more interest for teams for sure.
Pension Plan Puppets: A Toronto Maple Leafs blog and a group therapy session.
The thought of a top prospect, someone to play with Kadri and Kessel, has me interested in the possibility.
Let's not forget that
Columbus eventually settled for Anton Stralman to run their PP from the point. We traded him to Calgary for a 2nd rounder.
I’m guessing Kaberle is worth more than that.
"Success is the ability to go from one failure to another with no loss of enthusiasm."
- Sir Winston Churchill
I'm pretty sure he's talking about the Leafs.
by Steve Burtch on Oct 11, 2009 2:00 PM EDT up reply actions
I guess the other good thing is that the only first rounder that moved at the deadline last year was for Olli Jokinen and he still had a year left on his contract at the time of the deal.
Pension Plan Puppets: A Toronto Maple Leafs blog and a group therapy session.
On another positive front
Florida is down in the basement with us, and they might be open to trading players… i.e. Horton.
Their D is as bad as ours btw. 4 games, 17 goals against.
"Success is the ability to go from one failure to another with no loss of enthusiasm."
- Sir Winston Churchill
I'm pretty sure he's talking about the Leafs.
by Steve Burtch on Oct 11, 2009 2:04 PM EDT up reply actions
Hmmm
But McCabe is the captain now.
Pension Plan Puppets: A Toronto Maple Leafs blog and a group therapy session.
Not sure if this deal happens at the deadline. Kabs might just say no. Burke might not want to ask in the first place. But in the summer he doesn’t have a choice, and a team looking to add a top puck-moving defenceman at a bargain price might give up a top prospect, expecially if they’re in a window where they’re competing for a cup.
Didn’t see too many of those trades this summer except for the Leafs.
Pension Plan Puppets: A Toronto Maple Leafs blog and a group therapy session.
- It’s generally a bad thing when your fourth line out-scores your 1st and 2nd combined.
- Shooting for a target may not make you a sniper. We were listening to the MOJO call on the way home from T.O. and Bowen said “Blake with a shot- right into the chest of Fleury”. I was laughing while trying not to smash something.
"We've had an ongoing problem with Grabovski this year." Bob Gainey, 4/04/09
How about a penalty kill that went 0/3?
40 years we've stayed loyal, waited, and pained. That is the honor of being a Leafs' fan.
2-for-5 but those problems are encapsulated in the stupid penalties part and the shitty goaltending part and the Crosby not being invisible part.
Pension Plan Puppets: A Toronto Maple Leafs blog and a group therapy session.
The first goal where it bounced off the boards around the net and right to the open man (Crosby) at the side seemed like a lucky bounce to me.
Life as a Toronto Sports Fan?... *sigh*... It is what it is...
The bounce was lucky but three Leafs followed Malkin around the zone and completely ignored Sidney Crosby. The low defenceman should have been right there to deal with him but both were on the other side of the net.
Pension Plan Puppets: A Toronto Maple Leafs blog and a group therapy session.
That is true. I was just annoyed by the way Hughson worded it on TV.
“There is only one place that puck is going to bounce and that is why Crosby went there”
Ummm no, Pucks go all kinds of ways off boards and don’t usually bounce at an angle off a flat board around the net.
Life as a Toronto Sports Fan?... *sigh*... It is what it is...
Yeah, Hughson was too busy gushing to note that Crosby does that move with great frequency because it causes the defencemen in the league to lose track of him. The puck bouncing directly to him was a bit of good fortune.
Pension Plan Puppets: A Toronto Maple Leafs blog and a group therapy session.
It was kinda disturbing how much he was all over the Penguins.
Life as a Toronto Sports Fan?... *sigh*... It is what it is...
I eventually tuned it out.
Pension Plan Puppets: A Toronto Maple Leafs blog and a group therapy session.
But in all honesty, I don’t blame them. The Penguins are a good hockey team and if we don’t like the weekly gush-fest of other teams, then I’ll have to grit my teeth and bear it. The Leafs aren’t good enough for me to complain.
Supporter of the Sergei Berezin "Give and Go" - You give me puck, then you go to hell
If we had been watching the broadcast on the Penguins network with their commentators then fine.
I know Bowen is a Leaf Homer, but that is because he is our broadcaster.
This was a national broadcast. National broadcasters should have some semblance of impartiality.
Life as a Toronto Sports Fan?... *sigh*... It is what it is...
Oh, I agree about impartiality. But Bob Cole and Harry Neale have always been accused of Leafs favouritism. They only difference is that they didn’t give a damn and we loved them for that attitude.
Supporter of the Sergei Berezin "Give and Go" - You give me puck, then you go to hell
Actually I never liked them all that much, but thats just me.
But then again now that we have Hughson I do miss them
Life as a Toronto Sports Fan?... *sigh*... It is what it is...
The annoying part is even when the Leafs did something right(few and far between) it was all about ’See how Malkin came back for his defensive assignment blah blah blah.
if you are going to embarrass yourself by complementing one team, at least when the crappier team does something right, acknowledge it.
Hughson has a crush on Crosby and Malkin…the colour guy wants to hump Gonchar
"Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I'm not sure about the the universe."
Albert Einstein
by Say *plan the parade one more time*... on Oct 11, 2009 4:03 PM EDT up reply actions
Yeah, they invent mute for that reason.
Pension Plan Puppets: A Toronto Maple Leafs blog and a group therapy session.
I watched the game while listening to music. It’s how I watch most games that Bowen’s not announcing.
A Nation of Masochists I can't believe "Stay Truculent!!!1" replaced goodbye.
There should be an option for being lazy because thats why they lost.
Toronto Maple Leafs: Bringin' The Pain Since 2009
Correct me if I’m wrong, but in the preseason – didn’t it seem like the Leafs needed the young players like Kadri, Stalberg and Bozak to spark the older players. In sending so much youth away, did we lose some vital energy?
by Robot Godzilla on Oct 11, 2009 1:51 PM EDT reply actions 1 recs
I can get behind this idea.
I’d say it shouldn’t be long before players are called up but the Marlies have only played two games this season
Pension Plan Puppets: A Toronto Maple Leafs blog and a group therapy session.
They also have two more wins than the Leafs. :P
by Robot Godzilla on Oct 11, 2009 1:56 PM EDT up reply actions
I'm guessing I wasn't the only one bothered
by the comment that “some of these players made the team based on last season” when Wilson said it.
After all the shit about competing for spots that was kind of like a slap in the face.
"Success is the ability to go from one failure to another with no loss of enthusiasm."
- Sir Winston Churchill
I'm pretty sure he's talking about the Leafs.
by Steve Burtch on Oct 11, 2009 2:01 PM EDT up reply actions
It was a curious statement to say by Wilson, but I guess I understood it. Wilson wanted to give his veterans a shot of confidence through the media and to let them know, the coach will give them leeway to get out of their ruts. However, what Wilson should be now saying/preaching/doing is that the team is playing uninspired and embarrassing. The same veteran players he showed confidence earlier have to reward him or they’re going to have their minutes reduced and/or benched.
Supporter of the Sergei Berezin "Give and Go" - You give me puck, then you go to hell
I’m guessing I wasn’t the only one bothered by the comment that "some of these players made the team based on last season" when Wilson said it. After all the shit about competing for spots that was kind of like a slap in the face.
I’ve been saying this since camp opened and I’m not surprised that the accountability and competition is taking second place to contract status.
I also am going to be the broken record here – I think this season might be like the post-lockout year when the team doesn’t start winning until the vets get moved and the kids get called up (and by then it will be too late).
Bitter Leaf Fan: a life-long Toronto Maple Leafs fan comments on the team, the media and the exasperation...
Players who deserve to be benched and/or demoted so far
1. Toskala
2. Exelby
3. Blake
4. Stajan
5. Beauchemin
Until 3 out of those 5 start playing well, this team is going to look like dog shit.
"Success is the ability to go from one failure to another with no loss of enthusiasm."
- Sir Winston Churchill
I'm pretty sure he's talking about the Leafs.
I would put Beauchemin ahead of Stajan at least.
He looked awful last game (Stajan) but he played decent in others.
Life as a Toronto Sports Fan?... *sigh*... It is what it is...
He's been good in some areas
but not others…
and that wasn’t in any particular order… just off the top of my head.
"Success is the ability to go from one failure to another with no loss of enthusiasm."
- Sir Winston Churchill
I'm pretty sure he's talking about the Leafs.
by Steve Burtch on Oct 11, 2009 2:01 PM EDT up reply actions
Stajan has 8 shots
in 73:06 of ice time. He also only has 0 assists, and a -2 rating since all his goals are on the PP.
He isn’t out there to be a sniper, and his shot totals reflect that. But he isn’t setting anyone up for goals either, and he’s taking stupid penalties.
Conclusion? He’s played like crap.
"Success is the ability to go from one failure to another with no loss of enthusiasm."
- Sir Winston Churchill
I'm pretty sure he's talking about the Leafs.
by Steve Burtch on Oct 11, 2009 2:09 PM EDT up reply actions
Burke said as much on Leafs Lunch.
The PP goals are nice exclamations but he needs to be better everywhere else.
Pension Plan Puppets: A Toronto Maple Leafs blog and a group therapy session.
Which will be hard
When his wingers don’t play the down low grind it out style he’s actually pretty good at.
Playing him with speed/rush wingers when he needs guys good on the cycle to produce is unlikely to work.
If Grabovski was comfortable with Hagman and Stempniak, I would actually think about switching Stajan to play with Ponikarovsky and Kulemin.
"Success is the ability to go from one failure to another with no loss of enthusiasm."
- Sir Winston Churchill
I'm pretty sure he's talking about the Leafs.
by Steve Burtch on Oct 11, 2009 2:13 PM EDT up reply actions
2nd Marlie was called up today
BY THE DUCKS.
Mikkelson was promoted today.
"Success is the ability to go from one failure to another with no loss of enthusiasm."
- Sir Winston Churchill
I'm pretty sure he's talking about the Leafs.
Two other thoughts
1. My dad made the comment that the Penguins really know where everyone is going when they have the puck. They make passes and the forward knows where it’s going.
2. I hate Vesa Toskala. Nothing new there but I like to repeat it.
Pension Plan Puppets: A Toronto Maple Leafs blog and a group therapy session.
Other issues
1. Schenn has 15 hits, but only 3 blocked shots?
2. Niklas Hagman has 0 hits.
3. Alexei Ponikarovsky and Jamal Mayers have 0 blocked shots.
4. Jason Blake and Jamal Mayers have 1 hit each.
"Success is the ability to go from one failure to another with no loss of enthusiasm."
- Sir Winston Churchill
I'm pretty sure he's talking about the Leafs.
hits are good...
but blocked shots are important too.
Komisarek has 13 hits and 11 blocked shots already.
Finger has 6 hits and 3 blocked shots in only 2 games.
"Success is the ability to go from one failure to another with no loss of enthusiasm."
- Sir Winston Churchill
I'm pretty sure he's talking about the Leafs.
by Steve Burtch on Oct 11, 2009 2:14 PM EDT up reply actions
Ian White
has 7 hits and 6 blocked shots.
"Success is the ability to go from one failure to another with no loss of enthusiasm."
- Sir Winston Churchill
I'm pretty sure he's talking about the Leafs.
by Steve Burtch on Oct 11, 2009 2:14 PM EDT up reply actions
Even Kaberle
has 5 hits and 4 blocked shots.
3 blocked shots from Schenn just isn’t getting shit done.
"Success is the ability to go from one failure to another with no loss of enthusiasm."
- Sir Winston Churchill
I'm pretty sure he's talking about the Leafs.
by Steve Burtch on Oct 11, 2009 2:15 PM EDT up reply actions
Good things from a forward perspective
1. Kulemin – 2 games, 10 hits.
2. Stempniak and Hagman have 13 shots each.
"Success is the ability to go from one failure to another with no loss of enthusiasm."
- Sir Winston Churchill
I'm pretty sure he's talking about the Leafs.
I'm disappointed...
…in how easily this team gets pushed around night after night, but not that surprised. For all the talk of truculence and pugnacity we don’t seem to have a very big forward core, and they’re knocked off the puck so easily. Wouldn’t mind seeing Bozak and Hanson up; they seemed pretty hard to knock, as was Stalberg.
Stålberg
should be playing by Monday… he was cleared for practice Sunday with the team.
Hanson, Bozak, and Tlusty should all be playing regular minutes, as should Kulemin … they’re young… relatively strong… and they want to be playing in the NHL badly.
If we have to ditch the likes of Stajan or Blake, I won’t lose any sleep at all.
"Success is the ability to go from one failure to another with no loss of enthusiasm."
- Sir Winston Churchill
I'm pretty sure he's talking about the Leafs.
by Steve Burtch on Oct 11, 2009 2:22 PM EDT up reply actions
At least if the team was young
we could forgive growing pains and mistakes.
Watching veterans get beaten so badly is just pathetic.
"Success is the ability to go from one failure to another with no loss of enthusiasm."
- Sir Winston Churchill
I'm pretty sure he's talking about the Leafs.
by Steve Burtch on Oct 11, 2009 2:22 PM EDT up reply actions
I'd leave one of Bozak or Hanson down actually
and leave Stempniak up.
"Success is the ability to go from one failure to another with no loss of enthusiasm."
- Sir Winston Churchill
I'm pretty sure he's talking about the Leafs.
by Steve Burtch on Oct 11, 2009 2:25 PM EDT up reply actions
I'd also strongly work the phones to trade Stajan
he must be worth something after last season.
Even if I think he’s shit, I’m sure someone out there likes his game.
Pat Quinn and the Oilers maybe? Who knows.
"Success is the ability to go from one failure to another with no loss of enthusiasm."
- Sir Winston Churchill
I'm pretty sure he's talking about the Leafs.
by Steve Burtch on Oct 11, 2009 2:26 PM EDT up reply actions
Stajan for Penner?
We still need a power forward… and Burke liked Penner a lot back in the day. I don’t care if he’s overpaid… we could demote Blake to the Minors to get under the cap.
"Success is the ability to go from one failure to another with no loss of enthusiasm."
- Sir Winston Churchill
I'm pretty sure he's talking about the Leafs.
by Steve Burtch on Oct 11, 2009 2:27 PM EDT up reply actions
He's big for the wrong reasons
Stajan for Penner?
There’s a reason Penner’s knickname is “penne”
Big, slow, undisciplined and underproductive is not what this team needs.
Bitter Leaf Fan: a life-long Toronto Maple Leafs fan comments on the team, the media and the exasperation...
Actually, Copper n Blue made one hell of a defence of Dustin Penner.
He actually does a good job of driving results with some of the Oilers’ best players.
Pension Plan Puppets: A Toronto Maple Leafs blog and a group therapy session.
He’s 27 years old, best year was 47 points, he’s declined in production the last two seasons, and he doesn’t show up for stretches at a time.
He’s 6’ 4" 225 pounds and Lee Stempniak through 10 more hits (87) than Penner (77) last season.
All this for a $4.25M cap hit through 2012 and we’d have to move assets to acquire it? I thought JFJ was fired about 18 months ago.
No thanks.
Bitter Leaf Fan: a life-long Toronto Maple Leafs fan comments on the team, the media and the exasperation...
We could trade Stajan and Stempniak for Penner; that way there wouldn’t be cap issues, and we free up space for Bozak/Hanson. Plus it would shake up the team, maybe make them play better. But I doubt Edmonton would be interested.
you really dont like stempniak do you?
Refusing To Bow To Your Standards Since 2006
by JaredFromLondon on Oct 11, 2009 3:54 PM EDT up reply actions
Meh. Just seems like we have a lot of players like him in the system, and he’s an FA after next year anyway.
he’s been the most consistant forward the leafs have had this season (not that that is saying much)
Refusing To Bow To Your Standards Since 2006
by JaredFromLondon on Oct 11, 2009 4:22 PM EDT up reply actions
yeah, but trading two cheap and effective players for one expensive marginally effective player isnt a good deal
Refusing To Bow To Your Standards Since 2006
by JaredFromLondon on Oct 11, 2009 4:48 PM EDT up reply actions
If Blake was replaced by Dustin Penner, that’s one thing. But I agree with Jared in that I don’t get the appeal of Penner at all.
Supporter of the Sergei Berezin "Give and Go" - You give me puck, then you go to hell
Eh, I just like the thought of Penner because he’s big and I’m fed up watching this team get pushed around. Also, I wonder if he’d do all right with Kadri centering him in a year or two.
id trade penner for Blake and Mayers or something, but not stajan and stemps
Refusing To Bow To Your Standards Since 2006
by JaredFromLondon on Oct 11, 2009 5:09 PM EDT up reply actions
depending on how they finish the season, probably.
If stajan can replicate the year he had last year and Stempniak can also have a similar, if not better year, it would definetly not be out of the question.
It would also depend on what other moves are made through out the year
Refusing To Bow To Your Standards Since 2006
by JaredFromLondon on Oct 11, 2009 5:17 PM EDT up reply actions
Ok since I made the original point here's something
1. Stajan won’t replicate last season… I’ve made that case before but we can watch it all play out this season for people to munch on.
2. Penner might be exactly what his stats say he is, but even if he only provides the Leafs with 20 goals and 25 assists every year for the next 3 seasons, he’s more physical than most of the Leafs top 6 right now, and he won’t garner much over 65 penalty minutes in a season.
3. The Leafs actually had 2 of the 9 players who were within their first 5 years in the NHL, and managed to get 40+ points while having 85+ penalty minutes last season on their roster: Dominic Moore and Mikhail Grabovski. The others were Milan Lucic, Ryan Malone, Brandon Dubinsky, Corey Perry, Ryan Getzlaf and David Backes.
Frankly I find it weird to see Moore and Grabovski on that list… but they’re on it. Somehow we need to find a replacement for the feistiness of Moore, and Grabovski needs to recapture what he had last season.
"Success is the ability to go from one failure to another with no loss of enthusiasm."
- Sir Winston Churchill
I'm pretty sure he's talking about the Leafs.
by Steve Burtch on Oct 11, 2009 11:14 PM EDT up reply actions
The difference between being lovably bad – like we were at times last year – and being apocalyptically bad, which is what we are now.
"We can categorically state that we have not released man-eating badgers into Iraq"
- Major Mike Shearer
Even worse....
We have no first rounder to give us hope about losing.
Sorry, Tankers. There will be no “Save Us Taylor Hall” this year…
The home of truculent opinions about the Maple Leafs. Come visit, won't you?
"I'm Nazem Kadri, and I approve this blog."
by Marc Pilgrim on Oct 11, 2009 2:34 PM EDT up reply actions
That isn't the only way losing can help the team.
It can give Burke an incentive to trade or demote crap older players, to bring in younger players to work their butts off.
"Success is the ability to go from one failure to another with no loss of enthusiasm."
- Sir Winston Churchill
I'm pretty sure he's talking about the Leafs.
by Steve Burtch on Oct 11, 2009 2:37 PM EDT up reply actions
Losing, without a 1st round pick to soften the blow, can also cause short-sighted deals in an effort to get the team out of the basement.
Bitter Leaf Fan: a life-long Toronto Maple Leafs fan comments on the team, the media and the exasperation...
ie the Tom Kurvers Effect.
Pension Plan Puppets: A Toronto Maple Leafs blog and a group therapy session.
The Leafs have several problems right now.
1. The Leafs players did not take full advantage of the training camp as a time in which to get comfortably accustomed to both the system, and their new surroundings. Also included in that is learning the tendencies of their teammates, so that they intuitively know where to be when a certain player has the puck in a certain area.
2. The Leafs are not playing well defensively. Self-explanatory really.
3. THE LEAFS ARE NOT PLAYING WELL DEFENSIVELY!
4. The Leafs lack of defence is making Toskala seem worse than he is. Let me explain. If you have no faith in your teammate’s ability to get in the shooting/passing lanes, then you feel the need to compensate for that. What’s the best way for a goalie to prepare himself for a cross-ice pass? Stay deep in the net. This way he doesn’t have as far to go, and he can get square to the shooter in time. The problem with this is that other teams are taking advantage of this and using the pass as a weapon against Toskala, and then just firing a laser that he cannot save because he has given them too much net to shoot at.
5. The Leafs players do not know the golden rule. “Block the shot, or get out of the BLOODY way!” Kaberle showed us an excellent example of half-heartedly trying to block a shot, but what he did instead was provide a screen for Cooke, which allowed him to look like a real NHL player, instead of his usual self which looks like Alex Burrows minus the offence.
6. The Leafs are taking dumb penalties.
7. The Leafs don’t know how to keep up the pressure properly after scoring a goal. Last night they scored 2 goals. After the 1st, we took a dumb penalty. After the 2nd, we gave them a gift goal and shot ourselves in the foot……….. and the head.
8. The Leafs can’t fore-check properly. They either do a poor job of executing or the take a dumb penalty (I’m looking at you Mats Stajan, and Jay Rosehill).
It is a long season, and unlike some of the other comments I’ve seen so far (I’m looking at you “Pal Hal Pall”, you extremely pessimistic ‘fan’) I think the Leafs have a chance. But if this drags out any longer, we’re in serious trouble.
I really hope that Burke can pull a 2 (or 3)-for-1 trade which ships off one of the 9 NHL calibre D-men we have for a forward who can sustain offensive pressure properly, back check, kill penalties and occasionally put the puck in the net.
by Belligerent Burkie on Oct 11, 2009 3:00 PM EDT reply actions
Re: #4
The only thing that could make Vesa Toskala seem worse than he actually is would be if he were operating under instructions to intentionally run like hell away from the net whenever the opposition has the puck. And even then, he’d probably screw that up often enough to occasionally get in the way of a shot, and look at least as good as he does now.
Leafs Rumination: hockey and sesquipedalianism.
by puckurgently on Oct 11, 2009 9:19 PM EDT up reply actions
EVERYBODY PANIC
"Sanity is not statistical." - George Orwell, a Leafs fan...
Stalk me here...
by blurr1974 on Oct 11, 2009 3:15 PM EDT reply actions
i was at that game and they 100% deserved the booing.
when i pay 100 dollars to go to a leaf game, i should atleast get a half decent product. MLSE expects 34,000$ per yr for season tickets, and then they come out and give me a game like that? WHy the hell were GRabovksi and Ponikarovski on a like with Orr?
clearly our idea of toughness so far has been stages fights, and that is NOT toughness, infact it is kind of embarassing. or promoting them in the case of Orr.
Not to mention toskala sucked giant floppy donkey D
and the refs were horrible.
Orr took dumb penalties. Then we made it 2-1 and 20 seconds later, Stajan took a holding penalty in the Offensive zone! and when it is two nothing rosehill goes and spears a guy while the ref is 5 feet away looking at him.
Mayers was absolytely brutal. Wilson is encouraging stupid play and undisciplined penalties by not benching players after stuff like this, and even promoting them.
but burke really should not have built up expectations and said we were going to be tough, teams were gonna fear playing us, and our goal was to make the playoffs and had a good chanceof doing so. He cant say these things then drop 4games in arow and not understand why i am there booing and calling toskala a (insert bad word)
When the leafs sell out every single game since the 1940’s, regardless of how bad they are, the best way to let MLSE know we are upset is to boo.
we have a right to boo. In montral, teams donot stay shitty for very long, because they boo, walkout, and dont come back untill they are good. i am not saying we should do all of that, but to criticise the fans for booing after spending hundreds of dollars to go watch their favorite team play like crap is wrong. MLSE and the leafs should be criticised for putting the fans in such a position. Even leaf fans can take it for only so long. 5 years with no playoffs and 42 with no cup is a long time, and if they think we are going to sit their, continue to make them the richest team in the history of hockey, and cheer for them while they get beat down and dont even try, they are sorley mistaken./
You obviously aren’t on PPP very often, or you would have known that in the past 10 or 15 years, niether the Leafs nor the Habs have sold less than 90% of their tickets in any season. And you can’t tell me that the Habs have been good every single year since the mid-90’s.
And we will show up to the games, and we will cheer, and we will voice our displeasure, but we will never abbandon the team. The Leafs are like a best friend, not like a trendy celebrity that we should only pay attention to when they’re “it” (i.e. Pittsburgh and their fans).
by Belligerent Burkie on Oct 11, 2009 3:56 PM EDT up reply actions
Yeah, I see some of the first part but the last paragraph is not true whatsoever.
Pension Plan Puppets: A Toronto Maple Leafs blog and a group therapy session.
Mark your calendars
If the Leafs go 0-2-1 or worse this week, I expect changes during the upcoming six-day break such as MLSE eating a few million while someone gets familiar with their new Marlies teammates for the rest of the season.
the last two games i have been too, the leafs lost 7-1 and then last nights debacle. i have a right to boo. and i wish i had a bullhorn. Burek has built a team with a lack of talent and a overabundance of knuckle draggers. Watching Mayers Orr and Rosehill fight lastnight made me realize it really served no purpose. these were staged fights, sometimes right off the faceoff, and for no reason other then to show the coach you can do your job. they didnt get the team going, or the fans.
and in the case of orr, there was once instance where he tried to fight someone, threw down his gloves and got a penalty for roughing. thats not helping the team. If orr and mayers and rosehill didnt fight anyone lastnight, the leafs wouldnt have lost even worse. if instead of orr and mayers we had people who could score they might have done better then 5-2 though.
now just so you know, i am not advocating getting rid of them. i LIKE a tough team, and i like to see players protect each other and do whats necessary. but i dont like stupid penalties which hurt your team, or staged fights which serve no purpose.
so far, Burke has taken the “Team Toughness” thing too far. there is no way orr should have ben playing with grabs and poni. i dont know what Wilson was thinking. he was holding them back very obviously. he cant take a pass or make one. i dont even know why he even takes a stick onto the ice, he doesnt use it. he would save time if he didnt wear gloves.
Burke and wilson should concretely explain tha ttoughness is not randoming fighting. it is finishing your checks, forchecking hard, protecting each other, hard hits, no space for the other team, crashing the net, and being physically strong and using it.
and if people like orr and mayers continue to take stupid penalties because they think that means they are “Tough” they should be benched.
so far, the triio of Rosehill, Mayers and Orr have hurt the team more then they should help. rosehill to a lesser extent though.
and saying that it is still early is not very smart. this legitimizes playing badly, but 8pts is alot, especially when the leafs need to increase last yrs points total by about 15 to make the playoffs.
they were last place in the entire league going into lastnight, now they are even further behind, and they deserve every boo they get when they play like that.
Booing, which is way more than fair, is different than not supporting the team or not attending hockey games anymore. Not only is it inaccurate to think that attendance woes prompted some sort of change in Montreal, but teams can recoup costs from revenue sharing. Good business doesn’t always go hand in hand with complying to the whims of the fans.
Supporter of the Sergei Berezin "Give and Go" - You give me puck, then you go to hell
Rosehill took a stupid penalty but some of the best forechecking last night was when he and Mayers were on the ice.
The fights seemed staged but at least two weren’t (Adams v. Mayers, and Orr v. Godard).
Pension Plan Puppets: A Toronto Maple Leafs blog and a group therapy session.
I just want to see some fucking effort, lazy assed millionaires.
That game was a disrespect to all of the hardworking players of the past who wore the Blue and White Leaf.
For shame.
"Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I'm not sure about the the universe."
Albert Einstein
by Say *plan the parade one more time*... on Oct 11, 2009 4:10 PM EDT reply actions
i got emailed this:
Ontario Judge makes unprecedented ruling
Another case of truth being stranger than fiction…
TORONTO , ONTARIO (CP) -
A seven-year-old Toronto , Ontario boy was at the center of a Toronto city courtroom drama yesterday when he challenged a court ruling over who should have custody of him.
The boy has a history of being beaten by his parents &
the judge initially awarded custody to his aunt, in keeping with child custody law & regulations requiring that family unity be maintained to the degree possible.
The boy surprised the court when he proclaimed that his aunt beat him more than his parents & he adamantly refused to live with her. When the judge then suggested that he live with his grandparents, the boy alleged they had also beat him.
After considering the remainder of the immediate family &
learning that domestic violence was apparently a way of life among them, the judge took the unprecedented step of allowing the boy to propose who should have
custody of him.
After two recesses to check legal references & confer with child welfare officials, the judge granted temporary custody to the Toronto Maple Leafs, whom the boy firmly believes are not capable of beating anyone.
DID YOU KNOW A CIGARETTE MACHINE HAS PLAYER’S!?1?
Refusing To Bow To Your Standards Since 2006
by JaredFromLondon on Oct 11, 2009 4:24 PM EDT up reply actions
Someone actually told me that one a little while ago, expecting me not to have heard it. Then a few days later, he followed up with the one about what the Jays and Leafs have in common. I mean, I could understand a kid thinking those were mindblowing new revelations (except a kid would probably look at you funny when you said “cigarette machine”), but this guy is 34.
Leafs Rumination: hockey and sesquipedalianism.
by puckurgently on Oct 11, 2009 9:25 PM EDT up reply actions
wow
Y’know, you could have built this joke without the domestic violence and child abuse angles. It still wouldn’t have been funny, but it wouldn’t have been quite so utterly lacking in fucking class.
I want to trade players between my teams. Spoon can go to the Leafs (truculossity!), and Vesa can go to the Tigers, where conceding 6 points a game puts you at the top of the league, not the bottom.
Eh, that joke is so old it was told at Methuselah’s bar mitzvah.
Pension Plan Puppets*
* Blog contains less than 2% puppet content by weight.
Good point
add “so utterly lacking in fucking class or originality” to the list of charges.
I want to trade players between my teams. Spoon can go to the Leafs (truculossity!), and Vesa can go to the Tigers, where conceding 6 points a game puts you at the top of the league, not the bottom.
Someone needs to take a few days and decide if he’s a Leaf fan or if it’s time to hit the road. Doesn’t bother me either way, just get over this half on the wagon shit and decide. It’s the fair-weather people I can’t stand.
"We've had an ongoing problem with Grabovski this year." Bob Gainey, 4/04/09
Dear Leafs,
I’m sending you my bar tab.
XOXO,
Ms. Wrap
As per new community rules; all signature tags on PPP must contain the word "truculent".
(843): the red head has a bf
(1-843): just because there's a goalie doesn't mean u can't score
by Wrap Around Curl on Oct 11, 2009 8:53 PM EDT reply actions
Were you playing the Toskala drinking game as well?
A Nation of Masochists I can't believe "Stay Truculent!!!1" replaced goodbye.
Does that count against the cap?
"Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I'm not sure about the the universe."
Albert Einstein
by Say *plan the parade one more time*... on Oct 12, 2009 10:19 AM EDT up reply actions
I wonder if Toskala even can go down on a conditioning stint given he hasn’t been injured. From the CBA:
The Commissioner may take whatever steps he deems necessary to investigate the circumstances under which a Player is Loaned on a Conditioning Loan. If the Commissioner has reason to believe or determines that the Club has used the Conditioning Loan to evade the Re-Entry Waivers, or otherwise Circumvent any provision of this Agreement, he may take such disciplinary action against the Club, as he deems appropriate.
Wouldn’t Toskala be deemed to be well conditioned by virtue of playing regularly with the Leafs?
Blogging on hockey at fromtherink.com
I wouldn’t call standing on the goal line and watching pucks go past “well conditioned”.
Pension Plan Puppets*
* Blog contains less than 2% puppet content by weight.
So when Gustavsson comes back they say Toskala tweaked his groin (or they tweak it for him) and then they are alright. Of course, then Vancouver will insist on an investigation.
Pension Plan Puppets: A Toronto Maple Leafs blog and a group therapy session.
Comments For This Post Are Closed
Secondary Sidebar
User Tools
FanPosts
Community blog posts and discussion.
Recommended FanPosts
Recent FanPosts
In Association With
Latest Puck Daddy - NHL from Yahoo! Sports
- Thursday’s Three Stars: Max Pac hat trick; Chris Phillips’ memorable 1,000th game
- It’s over: Montreal’s Scott Gomez finally ends goalless streak (Video)
- Scott Hartnell’s goal celebration now includes fighting Dion Phaneuf (Video)
- Puck Previews: Leafs meet Flyers; Steve Yzerman not playing in Winter Classic Alumni Game?
- Three theories on why Hurricanes might pull Tuomo Ruutu off trading block
SBNation.com Recent Stories
StatCounter
Certain photos copyright © 2012 by Associated Press or Getty Images. Any commercial use or distribution without the express written consent of Associated Press and Getty Images is strictly prohibited.
