In comes Tonto

Our good pal Kenny Campbell (treeware division) has a real nice one this morning on Steve Thomas -- the talk about possible contract terms, and the talk from Stumpy:

"I'm just concentrating on doing what I have to do to make this team. I plan on having 15 goals by Christmas, anyway."

Whew. Is that all? This is the new NHL. These guys are supposed to be scoring 15 before the platinums are filled at the ACC.

And about this preseason game tonight, in Hamilton against the Bruins -- keep an eye out for Wade Belak, defenceman. Yup, call this one a training camp experiment. And when do the experiments stop and the preparation begin? (Like, say, cutting some players -- subscription required -- down from an unwieldy 56?) Only Pat Quinn knows for sure.

God love Brett Hull, who has this to say about Ted Saskin taking over atop the NHLPA in place of Bob (Not)Goodenow: "It's like firing the Lone Ranger and hiring Tonto."

Now here's something we mentioned here yesterday: Jason Allison's owie is still bothering him, and he's not playing tonight.

Down in the U.S., they've got hockey fever. Why, the McPaper has a big takeout on Ken Dryden to take care of that.

Down in Miami, Joe Nieuwendyk says he's never thought about retiring.

The Lightning are back, with a win -- and a commitment from their owner.

And a couple more, if you must: The NHLPA is grieving Keith Tkachuk's suspension (Atta go, Tonto!). And no, please -- not another Pavel Datsyuk update. (This time, it's the last one. We can only hope, anyway.)

Colorado, sans Peter Forsberg and Paul Kariya, will count on Milan Hejduk, among others, to score more. His knee injury looks like very bad news. But congrats to Peter Budaj, former OHL puckstopper in Toronto, who appears to have won a job in the bigs. Update: Hejduk will have more surgery and is out 4-5 weeks.

OHL watch part II: Robbie Schremp and Danny Syvret, standouts for the unstoppable London Knights last season look like faves to crack the Oilers lineup.

Tonight, we get a close look at Brad Boyes on Hamilton ice. Most remember when the Buds traded the Mississauga native along with Alyn McCauley in exchange for Owin' Nolan (or 2 playoff goals and a lawsuit if you're counting with Leaf Nation dollars). Says Boyes:

"It's going to be good. I get to play at home and against the team that traded me. I'm definitely excited."

And note to NHL sharks: call Devils GM Lou Lamoriello is deseperate to sell with a club that:

"Couldn't take the ice with a payroll in excess of the cap opening night (Oct. 5)," and that the league would "compel" the Devils to cut salary to comply," according to the New York Post.

Is there a capologist in the house?

Comments

[Ken]

What is wrong with Pat Quinn. I guess he just is unable to quit his bad habits-- choosing ancient veterans over developing prospects, quitting smoking..etc. What's next, the return of Dougie G and Wendel Clark? Stumpy has been great for the Leafs in the past but if he chosen over Alex Steen that sends a horrible message to prospects in the organization. We would all love to see Thomas play again in the blue and white but the Leafs are not that phase right now. I would take Steen with 10 goals over Thomas with 20 if it means Steen will do better in the long run. The Leafs need to make sacrifices now in order to prepare for the future!

[denial]

good morning blogshine

Quick start: Hapster, good points last night re: our respectful disagreement. Just want to add that in my view, Curtis' stats are all outta whack because of Detroit. Curtis doesn't like conflict; that's why he left here and went away. There was too much conflict in Detroit; apparently, Count Hasek didn't even speak to him. It was a bad fit for a good goalie. I think he'll do well in Pheonix and give that team a chance to win most nights, and that's all you can pretty much ask, especially in the western conference.

but i'm not trying to get the last word in; just mentioning the above in case you thought i was glazing over joseph's less-than-stellar performance lately, and his low base salary now. I think that hockey teams and players, just like you and me in our jobs, succeed or fail based on the fit. right person in the wrong fit = failure. it's nobody's fault. bad luck, bad timing, bad vision, whatever. I strongly believe that a Hitchcock or even a Sutter wouldn't have won the gold in Salt Lake; Quinn was a great fit, cause Quinn is a stabilizer. but he's not good in a crisis and in situations that require quick change.

ah, hell with the quick point. i can't stop now. I've got too much steeped tea in me to stop now!

one of the strange and very interesting (seriously) things about this is that one of the worst things MLSE ever did was allow quinn to be GM and coach. it forced quinn to stay loyal to the players he brought in or kept from leaving; and staying loyal meant ice time often ahead of others who were performing better.

now something for the undergrads in ethics courses to write essays about: in one sense, quinn is the ultimate "coach". he's incredibly loyal, works VERY hard (not a lazy guy), and stands behind his players and his system, even in the face of the cruel toronto media. if i had a kid in house league, quinn would be the ultimate coach. but in the NHL, it's not really about coaching; it's about winning. and to win, you often have to have a fairly ruthless, pragmatic approach; if an annoying prat like Hull is scoring for you, you put him on the top line, even though he's a locker room cancer who claims to be intelligent, yet uses terms like "lynching" as an analogy for his highly unproductive anti-saskin rant.

one thing about hull -- he's a born critic, but not a leader. if he has such a big problem with saskin, he should be sticking his neck out to take over Linden's job. Hull likes to take shots from the shadows, but he doesn't have the courage to stand up there and risk being ridiculed and criticized himself -- and possibly looking foolish. it's a lot easier to vomit out soundbites from the locker room. it takes guts to actually go out there and fix things.

(and no, i'm not being a hypocrit, i'm just a fan and this is just a hobby; i have a real job, and yes, i'm quite bossy in it).

okay, i should go before this gets too long (heh). hey, did any of you see St. Louis' goal last night? That was just plain bohonos!

And although it seems impossible to dislike steve thomas, i continue to think that JFJ needs to do a better job of finessing the message that is coming out of leaf camp (i.e. pat quinn). The message that is being sent to both the rookies trying to make the team AND to young players around the league, is that quinn favors old buddies over performance. it's the wrong message to send; especially now, when players can and will choose to play for Columbus or Edmonton for the same salary (and a lower cost of living than Toronto).

mark cuban was on OTR and you could see why he's so ridiculously talented -- he clearly said that the messaging that comes out of a team has to be consistent and careful, because it WILL become distorted, if it can. Cuban was commenting on Babcock, by the way (sigh).

[Tyler Brown]

I'm indifferent as to whether Steve Thomas makes the team. Steen has now played 1 game (a preseason one) in North America and could use some time in the AHL.

BUT!!!! What is Quinn thinking playing Belak on D. He was a terrible defenseman. With Belak playing D and the probability of Marchment being signed, its just another excuse of kids not getting a shot. Look at what the D would look like:

McCabe Kaberle
Klee Khavanov
Berg Belak
Marchment

Wha? No Colaiacovo or Kronwall? Well Kronwall like Steen could use to play in the AHL for a year. But if Colaiacovo doesn't at least get a shot he is going to be officially ruined by Quinn's old boys club. He is no longer that young and definately needs a chance to prove what he can do. He is longer going to progress in the AHL. He has proven he can play at that level, what he needs is the challenge of stopping NHL players.

Why Quinn? Why do you hate the idea of the franchise having a future?

[N.R.]

There isn't much room for any more players on the team, but with the room there is, a kid there must be. The team is already filled with veteran players and the chance for a couple of kids to learn with the big boys will make them much better players in the long run. I'd rather a 20 year old kid make a mistake then a 40 year old one. With the kid at least there's the hope they'll learn from it and not do it again. With the vet, it's more than likely already a bad habit and one that will be hard to break. Injuries will happen to the old guys and the kids will come up, but isn't better to have a few kids that have experience on the team then a roster full of AHL call ups? Hopefully JFJ makes the right decision. It's his team now and he has to prove he knows what to do with it. Let's just hope Quinn isn't his mentor.