Thursday Mail Bag

So Georges Laraque has been deemed of no value by the Montreal Canadiens.

That's got to be a hard one to take for those who believe the presence of an enforcer is integral to having success in the NHL. Like the Washington Capitals, Detroit Red Wings and a few other teams, the Canadiens will now proceed without muscle.

Meanwhile, the Leafs will have both Colton Orr and Jay Rosehill in the lineup tonight against Tampa.

Somebody's swimming against the current here. Now on to this week's mail bag.

Q: Hi, Damien. I read in the Star that Chris DiDomenico is skating with the Leafs, which is good news after his leg injury. Any word on his progress, where he fits in with the Leafs' plans and an evaluation of his potential?

Gary Pinder, Ottawa

A: Apparently he is working on building up his leg strength with Leaf trainers and skating coach, hope is that he might be able to rejoin Chicoutimi for final weeks of QMJHL season.

Q: Since the Leafs have no 1st round picks this year (so far anyway), I assume they will be active again with regards to US College Free Agents. I've haven't heard a thing about them this year, are there any good ones in play that rival Hanson, Bozak & Gilroy?

Shaun Guidolin, Cambridge

A: I'm told that at this point no big-name prospects equivalent to Hanson and Gilroy have yet emerged. Two names to watch for, however, might be University of Vermont defenceman Dan Lawson, a 6-foot-3, 246 pounder, and Cornell goaltender Ben Scrivens. But this market will become clearer in the next few months.

Q: Hi Damien,



What are your thoughts/reflections of the old dog Cujo upon his 
retiring? Hall worthy?

 Osgood has the numbers, but Cujo was a better "money goalie." Regarding
 being 

Cup-less, how many Cups did Bernie Federko/Dale Hawerchuk win?

Your 
thoughts?



Thanks.
Michael Nestlehut, Harper Woods,Michigan



A: Curtis Joseph will be right on the borderline as far as getting into the Hockey Hall of Fame. With the fourth most wins in NHL history, I figure he probably belongs. That said, Tom Barrasso's not in, and I would put Barrasso ahead of Joseph. Can't say I agree that Joseph was a better money goalie than Chris Osgood. Osgood's Cup rings sort of settle that argument, and the fact he was able to win in Detroit while Joseph, for a variety of reasons, could not. But the HHOF tends to be inclusive, rather than exclusive like Cooperstown, so I figure one day Joseph will get in.

Q: 

Hi Damien,



It seems that over the last few years the Flames have started strong and
 then faded in

 the last 1/3 of the season and into the playoffs finishing well below
most analysts 

expectations. Why do you believe they continue to struggle down the 
stretch? What do 

they need to do to become a Stanley Cup contender again?



Thanks,

 Christian De Cloet, Hamilton

A: Lack of finish and skill up front, I would imagine, plus a heavy workload borne by goaltender Miikka Kiprusoff that may leave him weary by the post-season. Adding Jay Bouwmeester in the off-season was a bid to have a strong youngster capable of playing major minutes by April. But this is a team that in my mind still lacks a No. 1 centre. 



Q: 
What are your thoughts on the simmering debate and competition between
 the NCAA and

Major Junior systems of hockey development?

 If I were a parent of a young hockey player, I think the NCAA route is a
 no-brainer.

The benefits of a US college education and a more safety-oriented 
development league

 are obvious to me. Though I enjoy the on-ice product, I find it
increasingly difficult

 to support Major Junior hockey for the brand of hockey it promotes and
the personal

 sacrifice required of the player. I expect I'm not the only one. 



Michael Paris, Toronto




A: A wise hockey man once explained to me that just as there are good major junior situations and bad major junior situations, there are good NCAA setups and bad ones. It depends on the kid in question and the program, whether its major junior or college. For me, if I ever had a child interested in playing at an elite level, I would push the college route if there was a school that I felt could offer a serious educational component. There are many scholastic success stories in major junior, to be sure, but I think you're asking an awful lot of a young person to carry that hockey workload and be successful with the books. And I'm not one who would ever urge a young person to forgo an education in favour of hockey.

That's not to dump on major junior, and I don't necessarily agree the NCAA is “more safety oriented” than the CHL. Both have advantages, but the advantage of including education makes one preferable to the other in my view.

Q: 



Hey Damien, love reading your articles!

My question is in regards to the leafs. For years the leafs never had an
 elite winger 

for Mats Sundin. He leaves and we now have Phil Kessel. I have been thinking since 
the start of

the season, why didnt the leafs try to get Sundin back for 1 year.
watching him play

in Vancouver i noticed his heart just wasn't all there. I think with him
 at center and

 Kessel on the wing the leafs could be in a playoff spot. Do you think if
 Burkie tried

to get Sundin back at the start of the season he would have laced them
 up for 1 more 

yr. and how do you think the leafs would do if sundin was playing with
 Kessel.



Thanks Damien, you rock! 



Daniel Stanghieri, Brampton

A; Thanks for the kinds works, Daniel. For starters, Sundin did play on teams that had first-rate wingers, including the likes of Gary Roberts and Alexander Mogilny, so I don't necessarily agree Sundin never had an elite winger beside him. I think if you felt his heart wasn't in it last year with the Canucks was because, well, he was done as an NHL player. Coming back to Toronto for one more season this year would have been an mistake for the player and the team. 



Q: 


Hey Damien,



First, let me say how much I enjoy reading your stuff and hearing you on
 the radio.

You are a strong leading voice in what is a very competitive media
 market. We are

 lucky to have you!! (you can use this part of the email for your next
round of salary

negotiations!!!)

Now two questions...

First, I watch the Leafs regularly and while I have no issue with Wilson
 calling out

players like Blake, Kessel and, most recently, Kaberle, for poor play, I
wonder why he 

is silent on others. My biggest frustration is Alexei Ponikarovsky...for
a big man

with speed and big shot, he is invisible more nights than not. What is
Wilson seeing

that I am not??

 Second, what are the odds of Kaberle finishing off the season with the
 Leafs. Lots of

 talk from Burke that he isn't going anywhere which makes me think that 
he actually

will be moved.



Thanks,



Stephen Forbes, Toronto

A: I hear you Stephen, and you're not wrong. But let's face it, Wilson doesn't have many options beyond Ponikarovsky, and he is tied for the team lead with 18 goals. His inconsistency is what drives the Leafs nuts, and I'm pretty certain he'll be moved by the March 3 trade deadline.

As far as Kaberle, Burke's words on this matter have been misinterpreted. He never said Kaberle would not be traded. He said he would not ask the veteran defenceman to waive his no-trade clause. Big difference. At some point, Kaberle's agent, Bobby Orr, may do what he did last year, and that's give Burke a list of team that Kaberle would be willing to be traded to. 




Q: Hi Damien.



A non-Leafs question for you. How can the Blues be so offensively 
challenged? 

Kariya, Tkachuk, Berglund, Oshie, Perron, Boyes, McDonald, Backes etc...
They should

 be able to score at will (or at least at a better clip than they have so
 far this

year). Seems like a good mix of vets and young players. Maybe the vets 
have all

 expired at the same time and the young players have all regressed. On
 paper, this

 team should be much better than what they've shown so far. Your
thoughts?



Matthew Barron, Toronto



A: The Blues have been a perplexing squad this year, and their pop-gun attack is a big reason why. When you look on their roster, you probably don't see the playmakers in the middle or a big-time wheelman on the blueline. They were clearly counting on Patrik Berglund to be a significant force at centre in his sophomore year, and that just hasn't been the case. It's a young team with more youngsters on the way (Alex Pietrangelo) that probably just isn't ready to win yet. 




Q: It seems to me that everyone in the media really wants Brian Burke to
 fire Ron Wilson

 or trade Kaberle or do something, but what will that do? It is always 
the questions

 after the game. I guess that is the question you must have when you are 
losing but it

 won't improve the team any right now. All along he said he has a plan 
and he is

 sticking to it. How is that wrong except that it is boring? Doesn't
 history show that

 stability in the coaching usually pays off down the road? I suppose 
trading the picks

 has a lot of people itching for progress now even though Burke has
 constantly said 

that this trade is designed to pay dividends down the road and not
today. I think that

 he should even try to resign Kaberle to an extension, It is not like he 
old. Your 

thoughts?



Victor Tanti, Ottawa




A: Well, to be fair, I'm not sure I'm aware of a single media person who has advocated the firing of Wilson. Certainly, his coaching has been questioned, as you'd expect with a losing team. I think Kaberle is viewed by many as a good player whose time has expired in Toronto, and that he would fetch a significant draft pick or prospect for the team if he were traded. At some point, you have to move on.

Q: 
Hey D.C.,



Every Leaf fan who's never played a game in the NHL can see the Leafs 
have little

 talent as individuals and as a team. You know pro hockey players and
 their egos: how

 honest are they, with you or with themselves, in assessing their talent?
 Do they know, 

like you and I and the fans, that they've risen to their level of
 incompetence and are

 lucky to have a career of any sort in the NHL? Or do these guys really
think they're 

the bee's knees, they just have to "work harder" and they'll start to
 win?
If it's the latter, does that level of delusion exist at the
coach-manager level?


Thanks,

Sal Scully, North Cobalt, Ont.


A: I think some know exactly how good they are, and some try to fool themselves and others. Take Laraque. I can certainly see how he'd be disappointed with the news today that the Habs have no use for him any longer. But c'mon, he has two shots on goal in 28 games. I know his role isn't to score goals, but his angry outburst, to me, shows he believes he's far more important to the overall operation than he is.

But I think it's a mistake to just assume every player, whether a Leaf or otherwise, is simply what he is at the moment and no better. Players improve. They gain experience. They find a better role. They find a linemate with whom they gel. Most, to my experience, are grateful for their NHL job, and understand they have to work awfully hard to keep it.

-----

Every Thursday, Damien Cox answers your questions in The Spin, only at thestar.com. Click here to submit a question. **Note: please follow the link above to send a question to Damien. Questions posted in the comments section may not make it to the mailbag. Thanks.**

Comments

[Kinger]

Detroit picked up Brad May this year and although he isn't Super Heavyweight muscle like Laraque, we all know why he's there. As for Washington, could we see Mr. Laraque patrolling the ice in Capland soon? Ya never know...

[nugentmania]

The CHL vs. NCAA argument for young US teenagers has gone through some changes in recent years, and this has been driven by the OHL teams in bigger population bases and with deeper pockets. You'll see U.S draft eligible players, ones with first round talent, go a "little" later in the junior drafts. And it won't be Sudbury or the Sault taking them on a regular basis. The usual suspects, the London Knights, seemed to have been joined by the Windor Spitfires and the Kitchener Rangers. Cam Fowler at #17? Wow. Patrick Kane was a 5th rounder for the Knights. Kitchener now has Jeremy Morin, a 4th round pick, D'Amigo from the WJC's, and John Moore, who went higher in the NHL draft then he did the OHL draft in the same calendar year. Nobody kid themselves, these are all pre-arranged deals where the parents are completely complicit and compensated.

[TincupCanuck]

Washington has Brashere...so check again. And when you are a building team like Toronto, its nice to have a goon to protect the players that arent quite ready for the NHL, but instead learning on the job.

[Derp]

Of course Laraque is done in Montreal, look who the coach is. Jacques Martin will never learn. He doesn't believe in toughness and that's why he lost to Toronto 4 years in the playoffs and will not win with Montreal. If it was up to him, the habs would be full of skill and absolutely no toughness ie. Ottawa back in the day. Speed and skill can only take you so far.

[DamienCox]

Damien here. . .anybody have the heart to tell TinCupCanuck that Donald Brashear plays for the Rangers now?

[nugentmania]

Ok, I'll volunteer. Brashear now plays for the Rangers. With one caveat, I don't really have a heart...hahaha...anyway. It's the second part of the comment that I have an issue with. The Leafs need the muscle they have to protect their young talent. Is this what is happening in Toronto? Colton Orr and Jay Rosehill fight other heavyweights in the 1st period. I laughed last night when Matt Walker had to fight for the 2nd time in the first period after he laid the body on Rosehill, was confronted by Mayers and bull-rushed by Orr....all in the same play. How are those 3 Leafs on the ice at the same time?......staying with fights, watched the Dan Carcillo/Sean Avery tilt on the highlights (?) this morning, and sat on my sofa hoping for a double-knockout.

[Vsem]

Regarding your comment about Sundin having Mogilny and Roberts as elite wingers. Just wanted to point out that he had Mogilny for 2 good seasons, 01/02 and 02/03, in the 03/04 season Mogilny was injured and limited. And Roberts he also had for only 2 good seasons, 00/01 and 01/02, again in 02/03 he was injured until March and by 03/04 he was starting to slow down as an effective winger. Also as much as I loved Roberts, I don't know if I'd classify him as an "elite winger", he probably would've been a second line player on a team like Detroit. So all in all he only had Mogilny and Roberts for two good seasons and only one of those seasons did they all play together. Kinda pathetic considering he was with the Leafs for 13 years.

[Arthur Bailey]

Really Damien?

"I think Kaberle is viewed by many as a good player whose time has expired in Toronto, and that he would fetch a significant draft pick or prospect for the team if he were traded. At some point, you have to move on."

Are you saying there is no place in the league anymore for a Stevie Yzerman, who spends his entire career with one single team? and that Detroit team was god awful at times, but that didn't mean Yzerman had blown his chance.

So how come you think Kaberle has blown his? He played on some good Leaf teams, and yes, some terrible ones. If he sticks around, he could still play on some good or great teams, maybe even a cup contender.

I honestly believe they should keep Kaberle as long as he wants to stay in Toronto. If it was a contract year and he refused an extension, then the Leafs can trade him.

[Belligerent Burkie]

"And I'm not one who would ever urge a young person to forgo an education in favour of hockey." - So if you were Crosby's agent, you would have told him to go to College (which he can do after he retires)?

"Take Laraque. I can certainly see how he'd be disappointed with the news today that the Habs have no use for him any longer. But c'mon, he has two shots on goal in 28 games. I know his role isn't to score goals, but his angry outburst, to me, shows he believes he's far more important to the overall operation than he is." - Or maybe he's just emotional because of that thing going on in Haiti?

[Scott Richards]

Damien,

Make sure you let us know here in Philly when to get bored with Dan Carcillo. Just another pretty goal today of the backhand-to-forehand variety after a strip of Joni Pitkanen, and added to his +/- which now stands at +6, a better +/- than any player on the Maple Leafs.

What are the Maple Leafs goons/WWE clowns Mayers, Orr, Exelby, and Rosehill doing again? A combined 3 goals (only half of Carcillo's goals), and a combined -17?

LOL, we wish we could have more excitement like you all have in Toronto. A garbage team with absolutely no prospect for future success. None.

Sounds like loads of fun, but we'll just enjoy our bliss, thanks.

[other mark]

Scott Richards (Philly fan), I wouldn't boast too loudly if I were you about your underachieving team and that half witt Carcillo. They (and he) are bound to implode. You can see it everytime they face adversity. I predict a first round flop. As for the Leafs, to say they have no prospect for future success is absolute nonsense. It may take a couple years, but Burke is on the right track. Another fearless prediction: Burke will package off players and get a lotery pick this year.

[bill smith]

Fat George was done a year ago and everyone but Gainey could see it.
However I agree with the comment on Jaques Martin.
A trap team in Montreal??? Incredible!
As for Philly fans refering to other teams players as clowns? Please.
They love their roller derby there don't they? You can see Lavoilette squirm in embarrassment every game at the escalating buffoonery.