The Curtain Comes Down

As expected, the final 24 hours of NHL trading did include a couple of dozen trades, and as expected Cliff Fletcher couldn't pull a rabbit out of a hat. Asking him to do so after just over a month on the job was a MLSE fantasy, of course, but it does make you wonder whether John Ferguson, with more preparation time, could have done more.

Instead, the Leafs still have their five no-trade heroes - Mats Sundin, Darcy Tucker, Pavel Kubina, Bryan McCabe and Tomas Kaberle - and have failed to use the trade deadline to significantly advance their rebuilding needs.

"One thing I can assure you is that the face of the Maple Leaf hockey team will be different come October," said Fletcher.

Hal Gill got the Leafs Pittsburgh's second rounder, which could be helpful. Dumping Wade Belak and Chad Kilger for middle-round picks probably isn't going to mean much, but you never know.

All of this is nothing, however, that couldn't have been done without Fletcher. The notion that he could somehow recreate the magic of the Doug Gilmour trade for this franchise 16 years after the fact was foolish at best, but that's what the MLSE board tried to sell the public, and now those same board members look foolish again.

It's sad, really, to see such a prominent franchise reduced to playing on the periphery while teams like San Jose, Pittsburgh and Dallas take centre stage. The Pens deal for Marian Hossa, stealing him from under the noses of the Montreal Canadiens, while the Sharks landed Brian Campbell and the Stars added Brad Richards.

The Leafs, meanwhile, added four draft picks - and not high ones - and are remained wedded to players they clearly would like to be rid of, like Kubina, Tucker and McCabe. Fletcher had no bold moves to make, and so made three easy, simple ones. He did say one of his Untradeable Five initially agreed to a trade before the Leafs' game against Ottawa on Monday, then changed his mind after the game.

"We weren't skating in the same arena as some other teams," said Fletcher. "We're happy with the results of the day based on going in knowing the situation of all our players."

"This is just the first step of the process," said Fletcher. "I did not think we could do more."

Comments

[Freddy Samuel]

the leafs are a hopeless cause... enough said!

[Tim]

"...All of this is nothing, however, that couldn't have been done without Fletcher. The notion that he could somehow recreate the magic of the Doug Gilmour trade for this franchise 16 years after the fact was foolish at best, but that's what the MLSE board tried to sell the public, and now those same board members look foolish again...."

I believe some people were calling for Ferguson's head. They had to put someone in charge if they got rid of him.

Did you want them to get rid of Ferguson, eh Damien?

[Bob B]

Well..I guess its just the end to a perfect season, we dump our only muscle as well as our best stay at home d man...and with any luck..and inspired play from the non tradeables, we should be able to miss the playoffs by a few points..and watch other teams win the lottery.
Oh my..playing golf must be far more important than winning!
But how does it feel for those players..the five to stay were they truly we NOT wanted.
Not personal..just buisness.

[hK]

I have to admit I'm puzzled with the Huet trade. He's an experienced goalie capable of going on a hot streak. For the Habs to put everything on Price's shoulders is crazy. He's good but odds are he's not a young Dryden or Roy who carried the Canadiens through playoff runs. The failure to sign Hossa is going to hurt them as well. Maybe they could have packaged Huet and Ryder for Tanguay, the Flames could use a strong backup.

On that note, why the Pens, who will get Crosby back before the playoffs, got rid of sand and paper guys like Armstrong and Chirstennsen in favour of another soft, skilled forward in Hossa, is beyond me.

Anyway thinking Fletcher could pull a magic deal in a month was a pipe dream, as Damien correctly points out. The problem with the Leafs is that they lack players who can combine toughness and speed, like, for example, Mike Fisher.

[leaf fan]

I think I heard on the radio how the unmentioned Untradeable Five player who changed his mind is Kubina. I am disappointed that the Leafs couldn't get draft picks who were a bit higher than the ones they got or even a young prospect who might've helped out the team down the line. I had a feeling that the Leafs wouldn't be able to trade any of the f*&^&*& famous three (I like Sundin and Kaberle) for a couple of weeks now, but this could've been the year that they got some nice, young talent for their veterans.

[steve]

Get real Damien, no one with a brain thought that Cliff was brought in to work miracles at the trade deadline. "one was to wonder if JFJ could have done more" ? WTF are you talking about.. what could he have done? Get a second round pick instead of a 3rd rounder?

PLEASE. Fletch was brought in because someone's head had to roll and MLSE decided it was JFJ. That's it. His job is to free-up cap space for the new GM, period. He accomplished part of that today. He made it clear that he will be dumping salaries in the offseason (buyouts all around) and re-investing in some free agents and maybe leveraging some of the assets he picked up today in offseason trades.

You know what's sad? Having to read you blog posts.

[Eric]

What a disaster. No emotion here, just the truth. This was a disaster for the Leafs. This was the time to move pieces for more than they're worth and virtually nothing came of it. As soon as the summer comes, it'll be a LOT harder to move contracts, and contracts are all the Leafs will have. Disaster. I hope Sundin enjoys retiring with a familiar jersey on his back and Tucker, Kubina and McCabe enjoy losing. Disaster.

[Matt]

The Leafs are officially the NHL's designated Sand Bag. I wouldn't be surprised if other team's gonna start crashing the net. Who's gonna stop them, Tucker?

[Sean]

Assuming Kubina is the unnamed player who backed out of a deal last night, what's the over-under on how long it takes Fletcher to trade him once his contract allows it? Maybe 90 seconds?

I say he goes to Edmonton, just out of spite.

[TH]

It's sad that Fletcher did something for the sake of doing something, even he has no job to protect as he will be gone when the new GM is found. In business there are situations that turnaround specialists are hired to turnaround a company in the red before the new management is formed. These turnaround specialists will fire everyone, sell everything and take whatever money they can for themselves, proclaim the company is turned around and then disappear, leaving behind ruined careers, lives and communities.

[TT]

Wrong. With JFJ at the helm, he might have screwed up big time by trading away this year's first round pick for another stiff, still imagining that the Leafs can somehow squeeze into the playoffs. With a dump board, they may be suckered into his way of thinking.

[kevin h]

this is nothing new to most leaf fans who have been around for awhile..just more disappointment.whoever is in charge better whisper into maurice's ear to stop playing toskala...or else.!! at this point,another year missing the dance by one or two points would be a disaster...more than usual, i mean

[Ian Archambault]

It's official. The point scoring structure of the NHL has officially screwed us out of an eventful trade deadline. The new NHL; built for 3 point games decided in shootouts means that as of Trade Deadline day; there as 7 point spread between the 8th and 14th spot in the East and an 8 point spread between the 5th and 12th spot in the West.
One of two things has to happen; either they push out the trade deadline by a few weeks to make sure there's a clearer playoff picture at the time of the traded deadline. (ie. 18-20 teams fighting for a spot as opposed to 26 teams). OR: They change the scoring structure of the game and stop awarding 3 point altogether. Since there are no more ties with the inclusion of the shootout, why should they award the losers any points at all?
I don't blame the Canadian Teams for a mediocre trade deadline that means the cup will be raised once again by an American team, I blame the scoring structure of the league.

[Matt]

Its becoming clear what Fletcher is planning:

- trade Kubina between July 1 and Aug 15 when is no-trade is not in effect due to the Leafs missing the playoffs
- buy out contracts/send to Marlies Raycroft, Bell
- try to trade McCabe, Blake
- sign a few free agents to plug holes

I did notice that only Antropov and Toskala were the players singled out by Fletcher to help build around. No mention of Sundin.

Does anyone know if buyouts still count against the cap?

[milrock]

Want Stamkos? Play Raycroft for the rest of the year!!!!!

[skiff]

No-one should be excited about draft prospects where the leafs are concerned. you know they'll pick the wrong guys even if the wind up in the top three of the draft (which they won't because they'll go on a useless late tear like every year). Stick a fork in this organization...there is no possibility of success for the Leafs anymore. Go Raptors!!

[401West]

Decent assessment Damien but I think Bob Gainey was smart to not get fleeced by Waddell. Also, I think the other 29 teams know the Leafs have a pathetic, overrated team and offered little or were simply not interested. I doubt anyone inquired about Don Cherry's superstar Wellwood.

[Gman]

Am I the only guy here who feels like everybody except me got lucky on prom night?

Hey, that Panthers draft pick could turn out to be big someday.

[Hiten Patel]

TT and steve are right on the money. All Damian does is complain about Fletcher. Cliff did a good job with what he had to deal with. He revealed Sundin's true nature. All Sundin cares about is playing 19 meaningless games to end his career. Pathetic.

[smokey]

Damien,

I think you ought to replay TSN's Hodge's commentary to yourself and Simmons. To suggest that loyalty is a bad thing or that trying to lose games to secure a better draft choice are just simply not qualities that anyone should aspire. The leafs have the option of sending guys to the minors next season or still trying to make trades to improve the team.

[Mike Milner]

There isn't much to say really.......anybody who actually paid attention to what has been happening in Toronto since the beginning knew what was going to happen today. It was obvious (especially to anybody that listened) that the players with no trade clauses didn't want to go anywhere. I have no idea why DC would make a comment like "It's sad, really, to see such a prominent franchise reduced to playing on the periphery while teams like San Jose, Pittsburgh and Dallas take centre stage." It sounds like a whiny, petty remark made by a petulant child. IMHO. The only thing Toronto had that would have interested anyone is their first round pick this year, and they weren't about to trade that! The rebuilding process will take 7 or 8 years in a 30 team league, and this is a great start. Other players will be dealt on draft day, others will be sent packing when their contracts allow, and others will be bought out prior to next year. This team will be in a much better position to run at Tavares in the 2009 draft that they ever were to run at Stamkos in the 2008 draft.

[Jamie]

Hi Damien,

I think your columns are the must sullen, negative bits of sports writing in Toronto. Period.

"It's sad, really, to see such a prominent franchise reduced to playing on the periphery while teams like San Jose, Pittsburgh and Dallas take centre stage. The Pens deal for Marian Hossa, stealing him from under the noses of the Montreal Canadiens, while the Sharks landed Brian Campbell and the Stars added Brad Richards."

What? You wanted Toronto to trade for those players? But we were sellers, not buyers. This statement doesn't make sense. You are not going to get the first round picks you want with a package of Matt Stajan, Bates Battaglia and Ian White. Sorry. The team has no desirable players.

The one player that I disagree they should have peddled harder was Antropov. He will be injured again, sooner or later. The stats are just not in his favour. Having said that, now's the time to unload him to a contender where he would be an "Impact Player". They feel he is a player they can build around, they said today. I disagree.

Sorry, trades for the sake of trades is just bad judgement. If you like the sounds of Pittsburgh going after Hossa, then my already low stock of you has fallen even further.

Playoff stats listed below, for the 7 million dollar man.

GP G A Pts
NHL 55 13 22 35

and huge playoff numbers put up last year:

GP G A Pts
4 0 1 1

Those are the stats that you traded a 1st, a 1st from last year and two very sound and well respected players from Pittsburgh.

"but it does make you wonder whether John Ferguson, with more preparation time, could have done more."

I hope your kidding. He's the whole reason Cliff is here. To undo what he did. Big, long, fat, no-move contracts.

Wake up, Damien.

Thanks,

Jamie.

[Ira Rosen]

Fletcher did nothing but trade off three of the Leafs more reasonable contracts and size for spotty draft picks. If he had guts he would have traded Toskala who Ottawa would have overpaid for. Toskala's 30 and by the time the Leafs are decent, he'll be old. The only thing for the Leafs to do now is trot out their lineup and let them get beat up physically and on the scoreboard.

[Rob Culley]

Damien, please try and get over the supposedly "unfair way" Ferguson was treated by MLSE - Cliff is here to try and undo some of the scuttling JFJ commited - He's (JFJ has) done more damage than any Leaf GM in history and that includes your inept sidekick Stellick - I lose a lot of repect for you when you make remarks like "could JFJ have done more". Sure he could have done more - and it would have been more damage. Give it up - JFJ was fired from a job he never should have been hired into - the same way Stellick and Punch were before him...

[Kevin]

I think the trades made by Cliff will take a lot of the spunk out of our drive to finish 11th or 10th. For that Cliff I thank you.

I think the country club millionaires no trade club will pack in the effort by the end of this week. Shorter hockey season, longer golf season. Hey Darcy, Brian Four!!!!