You’ve finally completely lost your mind, saying you love Damien.

You are now officially a lost cause, and may God have mercy on your soul.

I am shocked — shocked! — that Damien has chosen to come down on the opposite side of most Leaf fans!

but this calls for an intervention.

provide solid leadership

This is the part he did not fulfill. As Kaberle has shown this year by giving Burke a preferred list of teams, while acknowleding he’d still rather be a Maple Leaf, leadership comes from setting a positive example, pragmatism and maturity, doing what’s best for the team above all else, representing managements’ decisions, not disagreeing with them, not holding out against them, and certainly not deluding the rest of the dressing room into chasing childish fanatasies of being a playoff contender, under the mantra of “anything is possible”.

There’s a guy in my office who will only lift a finger when he’s contractually obligated to do so. He’s selfish, uncomprimising, stubborn, and refuses to sacrifice. Nobody calls him a leader. In fact, nobody likes him at all. He has completly the wrong attitude for company success and the last thing we want is for new employees to learn from him.

I don’t know if Damien Cox is the guy I’d want in my corner…

Cox wrote yesterday that Leafs fans should be upset that the team didn’t get any assets in return for Sundin. Am I missing something, or is Cox talking out both sides of his ass?

From the Coxbag

Carlos Harvoski, Peterborough

Do you know this guy? Seems like a fake name to me…..

I like Adam Proteau’s take…

Leafs fans have every right to be upset if they believe that Mats looked them in the eye and lied to them. On the other hand, you can give Sundin the benefit of the doubt and make a legitimate argument that Mats had every right to change his mind. I`m willing to accept this from EyeBeleaf, but not from Cox. The dude is still taking cheapshots at Tlusty more than a year after the “incident”. He’s the last one to be lecturing us about “ill-conceived, illogical past grievances.”

I even got over Darcy Tucker already. Read it: good riddance.

For once, I agree with Damien.

I couldn’t resist – my take is here, complete with Cox’s contradictory take on things back when Cliff Fletcher was hired: http://bitterleaf.blogspot.com/2009/02/you-dont-need-weather-man-to-know-which.html

Time to lighten the mood:

"Leading by Example" — This is the inspirational story of Mats Sundin and his valiant efforts to keep his Muskoka Five teammates from having to endure a couple of months in a posh hotel in a new city.

Just kidding. It’s actually a nice story:

"Leading by Example" — This is the inspirational story of Master Seaman Dale Shewchuck of the Canadian Armed Forces and his journey to help Curtis Caron, a partially paralyzed nine year old hockey player from Dartmouth, Nova Scotia.

Can’t you see? This is tearing us apart! We’re playing right into Damien’s hands.

Everyone repeat three times:

In Wendel I trust
Ottawa sucks
Schenn is godlike
Damien is dumber than a bag of farts
The Cup will come

To me, all this Mats stuff is a little pointless. If he had of waived last year, I would have been excited about the return. If he had of stayed and lead us the playoffs, I would have loved that, and idolized him even more. Unfortunately, neither of those things happened, and the Leafs got the worst scenario. Sundin then changed his mind, that’s fine. I personally wish he would have retired, but he didn’t. I also wish he wouldn’t have “lied” or changed his mind, but he did. Whoopdedoo.

I however, will not be cheering him, because I don’t cheer for any opponent. There are players I like around the league, for a variety of reasons. Ovie, because he does things I’ve never seen before, and has the excitement in him I wish all players had. Others, because they’ve represented Canada so well over the years (i.e. Doan, Smyth, Yzerman, Sakic, etc). None of these players however, would be cheered when they came to MLG or the ACC. They are the enemy then. I can cheer for them against any other team, but not against the Leafs.

I personally will save the Sundin love until he either A) becomes a Leaf again, or B) retires. Then I’ll cheer him heartily anytime he sets foot in the ACC again.

I wouldn’t boo, just because I save booing for players I loathe. And I really don’t think anybody here loathes Sundin. It’s like a girlfriend that breaks up with you, no matter how much she hurt you there will always be some feelings for her. I will only ever boo the people who I never want to see put a Leafs uniform on (i.e. Alfreddson). And hell, even if they somehow become Leafs I’d probably change my mind. I know I did a bit with Peca (though I didn’t really loathe him, just dislike him). Hell, I didn’t like Burke until his name was brought up originally.

So boo, cheer, do whatever you want to do. I’ll be treating Sundin no different than any other Canuck on Saturday, meaning I hope Schenn pastes him with the biggest open ice hit I’ve ever seen.

Will you boo Sundin louder than whichever goalie you put in gets yanked by the end of the first that night?

…Just warming up friends!

THIS SUNDIN THINK IS TEARING US APART!

is a friggin’ liar. Simple as that; there’s no disputing it. Boo away.

I can’t believe I missed all this over lunch. Sorry for leaving you alone in here, eyebeleaf.

I hate to say it, but Damien’s 100% right about Sundin. Even a blind squirrel finds the odd nut. As a reminder, if you’re in the anti-Sundin camp, that puts you in cahoots with Don Cherry and PJ (laughing)Stock. I’ll take Damien over those two turds.

What was the supposed deal for Sundin last year anyway? Higgins and a first? What has Higgins done this year? Would that deal really have changed the course of this rebuild significantly? And didn’t anyone else get the impression that Mats would have come back here this year if Burke would have him?

I just found out I get to be at the game Saturday. Fucking right. I’ll have my Mats jersey on, and I’ll be on my feet cheering for him. I may also have to make a sign that lets Mats know the cool kids still love him, and that the boobirds are mentally challenged.