Petr the Not-So-Great

Don't worry for Petr Nedved, tossed on the waiver list by the panicking Philadelphia Flyers. Somebody's always willing to give Nedved another chance, willing to believe that they'll be able to harness his ability and make him play hard consistently. That's what the Coyotes thought coming out of the lockout. That's what Philly thought last season after picking him up from Phoenix, and they believed it some more this past summer when they signed him to a new contract worth $2.4 million per. Of course, that's what Vancouver first believed when they took Nedved second overall in the 1990 draft. No matter how many times this chronic underachiever demonstrates he's not willing to give it his all, some team is always willing to buy into the tantalizing appeal of his talent. It will likely happen again, but clearing waivers and being sent to the minors may make it harder. He has to go through waivers again to be recalled to the NHL, and if any other team claimed him, the Flyers would have to still pay half his salary . . . This we now know. MLSE valued Tie Domi's 1,000th game far more than Mats Sundin's 500th goal. Tells you a lot of how the organization understands and appreciates talent. And why is it whenever MLSE tries to hold a ceremony to honor somebody, it always seems slightly awkward? . . . Seven games in and Bryan McCabe looks very tentative out there, yet the tough-love approach used on Jeff O'Neill and Matt Stajan seems not to apply to the Leaf defenceman. A blind behind-the-back pass in the neutral zone that led to the killer goal in a 4-1 loss to Colorado might have landed some Leafs on the bench. Not McCabe. JFJ is looking good for his hiring of Paul Maurice, his acquisition of Andrew Raycroft and his signings of Pavel Kubina and Mike Peca. But as noted emphatically at the time, paying McCabe at the level of a Norris Trophy winner in the hopes he will become won was a terribly misguided notion. They gave him money, term and a no-movement clause and will regret all three . . . The consensus was that the Leafs didn't work hard enough in losing to the Avs. Don't think so. Looked more like the Avs were the smarter, more conservative team and simply kept the game close knowing that Toronto's error-prone blueline would provide the crucial chances to win the game. Look for more teams to adopt that approach . . . A change in the power structure in the Western Conference is clearly underway. Not only is Detroit not running away with its division, it got smacked hard in Anaheim Wednesday night . . . The rest of the NHL's rookie class had a two-week head start on Evgeny Malkin. Assuming he stays healthy, he'll now easily pull away from the pack with few challengers. Boston's Phil Kessel, on the other hand, has yet to score and is looking overmatched at the NHL level. Most teenagers are. On the other hand, many suggested Anaheim winger Dustin Penner could be a serious Calder candidate because he was more mature at age 24 and played so well in last spring's playoffs. So far, Penner has one goal, the same as Malkin after one game. Washington's Alexander Semin, 22, would be a great challenger to Malkin, except he's not a rookie after playing 52 games in the 2003-04 season.

Comments

[Julian]

No, the Leafs definitely did not show anywhere near the effort that they had in the 5 games since the season opener. The Avalanche's win had more to do with them playing less poorly than with some plan to sit back waiting for the Leafs D to make a mistake.

[Steve]

Ok on these points we agree: Kubina, Raycroft, and Peca = solid signings; McCabe = worst signing by the Leafs this summer (unless you think Hal Gill was worse... which I could be persuaded to agree with).

The reason Maurice can't keep McCabe on a short leash is because he has nobody to step up and fill in the minutes McCabe would give up. As much as I don't trust him to play 30 minutes a night, I certainly wouldn't have enough faith in Jay Harrison, Brendan Bell, Hall Gill or Ian White to give them another 2 or 3 minutes each.

As for the effort vs. results problem in the game last night, the Leafs played quite well for the first half of the game or so. They created chances but couldn't convert due to a lack of traffic in front of Budaj. Unfortunately once the Avs took that 2-1 lead things opened up and Raycroft started to look shaky. He should've stopped Hejduk's goal, and Hal Gill should be smeared for lacking the co-ordination to kick or swipe that puck that slid in on his watch. Generally speaking though I would think 1 game does not a season ruin. If they bounce back solidly then this is just an anomaly and not something to be overly worried about. The Leafs main problems will continue to be D and Goaltending.

[Flam Flim]

I was at the Leafs game last night versus Colorado and it was an eye-glazer for the most part.

I agree with Damien about Leaf presentations feeling awkward. Sort of like having to kiss your aunt or sing in front of the entire family or something. And why they gave Domi the red carpet treatment and Mats a wink from the ol' bronze eye will forever elude me.

Poor Sundin. The guy just never quite gets the respect he so deserves.

Beers (and not good ones) are between $6.75 and $12.75 at the ACC. The large one being a pint and some. Wow. What a deal. Did I mention they only sell carbonated urine masquerading as beer at the Hangar? The moral of the story: Smuggle in a tin or down a few beforehand elsewhere.

[Wardo]

Regarding Sundin's ceremony - isn't it true that the players have input for how much pomp and ceremony they would like to have? I understood that Sundin wanted a very simple recognition - and that Domi pushed very hard for a celebration for himself.

I find it difficult to imagine the Leafs deliberately slighting Sundin in such obvious fashion on purpose.

[Ford Prefect]

Can't help but agree with your assessment of MLSE ceremonies. The Leafs have always done them in a kind of half-assed way and they always look awkward.

Go full bore or don't do it at all.

[Charles Houle]

Damien,

I can't give you a source, but the NHL removed re-entry waivers this year. A player recalled doesn't have to clear them.

[B Smith]

On the Sundin ceremony :
"the (Leafs) player gets to choose who shows up and what they should do for him" AM640

The ceremony was what Sundin wanted. Typically, he didn't want a lot of fanfare. It had little to do with the Leafs beyond them respecting the player's wishes over a photo/marketing opportunity $$.