Food For Thought

So you could look at this in at least two ways.

Perhaps Nazem Kadri showed he's not only willing to be challenged, but can respond by playing better.

Or perhaps Brian Burke and Ron Wilson knew exactly what they were doing when they publicly criticized the 19-year-old centre.

While it may, by next week, mean nothing, Kadri certainly showed some maturity Wednesday night in Ottawa with a two-goal, one assist program. He didn't whine, he didn't complain, he didn't sulk. He played a good hockey game, albeit in an NHL exhibition, that at the very least means that if he starts the season with the AHL Marlies he went down with a bang.

The last few days, of course, have been a vivid illustration of the fact that there's nothing in hockey quite like being a first round pick of the Leafs.

Other teams send their first rounders to the minors, or juniors, and not a word is said. Nobody in Montreal is calling Jarred Tinordi a failure. In Vancouver, they'd have liked to have seen Jordan Schroeder make the big club, but that's a pretty good team. Ottawa's Jared Cowan doesn't look ready for NHL action, and he was taken two places after Kadri in the '09 draft. The No. 11 pick, Ryan Ellis, is already back in junior. Brayden Schenn, the fifth pick that year, may or may not make the L.A. Kings.

The Kadri story, on the other hand, was a soap opera at Leaf camp last year, and a bigger one this year. Last year, many were arguing he deserved to be in the NHL. This year, others have been suggesting he's just another blown pick by the Leafs. Lacking in both viewpoints is a modicum of perspective.

Players arrive and develop at different speeds. Some struggle, then take off. Some take off, then struggle. Anybody care to remember Lanny McDonald's 14-goal effort as a Leaf rookie more than a quarter-century ago? And he turned out okay.

After his strong effort against the Sens, of course, there will be those who say this proves he should crack the Leaf roster. Well, maybe that's true, and certainly he's done more in one game than John Mitchell has accomplished the entire pre-season.

But don't be shocked if Kadri still starts in the minors. The Burke administration, you see, doesn't look at sending a young player to the minors as insulting him. More to the point, regardless of this one game, there is still nothing wrong with Kadri proving himself in the AHL, then moving on to the NHL.

Then again, maybe the Leafs will keep him. Maybe, knowing their supposedly deep and talented defence and the goaltending tandem of J.S. Giguere and Jonas Gustavsson is likely going to average three goals against a night, the Leaf braintrust will figure they need all the offence they can get.

Kadri made his case Wednesday night. But he didn't sew up a spot. Then again, he may not yet be done making his case.

A Question of Style

It wasn't noticed much in the wake of the Canada-U.S. gold medal final at the Winter Olympics, what with all the celebrations and analysis and national relief.

But Ron Wilson, coach of the U.S. team, delivered a pretty good soliloquy after the match praising not only the quality of the contest, but the attitude and philosophy of both countries in playing a pleasing, aggressive style of hockey.

Basically, Wilson told the international media that this was how the game should be played.

Wilson returned to the more challenging task of coaching the Maple Leafs in the wake of the Olympic silver medal winning effort, and essentially brought the same philosophy.

Now, in his third season as Leaf coach, he continues to preach an ambitious, aggressive style of hockey, one in which his team tries to dictate the play, forecheck hard and has its defencemen play an in-your-face game, particularly in the neutral.

I get that this is a preferred style, and I applaud Wilson's ambition.

It's just not clear it's going to work with these Leafs, with these players.

Obviously, a 29th place club has certain talent limitations, ones that Brian Burke and his staff are urgently trying to address. The Burke administration didn't inherit much - Jiri Tlusty was the blue-chip prospect in the system - and has tried to use free agency to enhance the lineup with the addition of experienced pros and useful college kids.

Right now, the Leafs are scouring the league for a centre, knowing that nobody has to be under the salary cap until opening night so bargains may not become available until the middle of next week.

But given what the Leafs have, it's not at all clear that this team has the capability to play the way Wilson wants them to, as laudable as that approach may be.

They put a lineup out against Buffalo on Monday night that looked very close to the group likely to open the regular season, and the result was another spotty effort, albeit a winning one. You can't draw conclusions from exhibition games, but at the same time, while it was crowd-pleasing to see Phil Kessel and Nik Kulemin show some flash and dash, this still looks like a team that's going to have a hard time keeping the puck out of its net.

Burke has loaded up with veteran D-men, and maybe they'll tighten up starting next week. But the group of Dion Phaneuf, Francois Beauchemin, Mike Komisarek and Tomas Kaberle is anything but formidable when it comes to defending and loses a startling number of one-on-one confrontations, while the Leaf crease remains an area that enemy forwards don't mind visiting.

Against a partial Sabre team, the Leafs gave up 39 shots and four goals, and Jonas Gustavsson produced another so-so effort in goal. This is a team that doesn't have a lockdown defensive tandem or anything resembling a checking line, and the necessity of cutting the goals-against by at the very least a half-goal per game looks like a distant dream. it's great that Kessel, Tyler Bozak and Kris Versteeg look like a decent offensive line, but whatever defensive pairing goes with that line better be prepared to face a few odd-man breaks because none of those forwards will win the Selke this season.

As it stands, the Leafs look likely to give up at least three goals most nights, which is going to make it awfully tough to make the post-season.

There are some optimistic signs. The penalty killing looks somewhat improved, although the Sabres scored twice with the man advantage Monday night. Freddie Sjostrom will be back soon, which adds a good checker and PK man. Keith Aulie was a big surprise in camp, precisely the kind of stay-at-home, defence first, keep-it-simple blueliner that could help this team, and he may be back before Christmas.

Still, one is left to wonder that if the Leafs continue to play Wilson's preferred style, and a style of hockey that when played well is most pleasing to the eye, whether short-term success is possible, or whether a more conservative, tight-checking approach might yield better results until the roster talent improves.

 

The Kadri Question

Clearly, the Leafs are trying to light a fire under Nazem Kadri.

Nothing wrong with that.

If the kid's not ready, he's not ready, and that doesn't mean he's not going to be ready. That he might not be at the stage today where he's ready to step into the NHL and be a front line centre isn't a reflection of his ability or desire. It might be a reflection of his maturity and ability to understand what it takes to be an NHLer, and that's going to come with age.

Moreover, if he starts the season with the AHL Marlies, or even finishes it with them, that's no great insult. Under Dallas Eakins, he'd play as a No. 1 centre, play in all situations, and continue to grow into the bigger body he's been asked to develop.

All this said, the Leafs are rather mystified with the former No. 1 pick these days, both in the quality of his play and what they perceive to be his attitude. Not that it's bad, just that Kadri seems to give off the vibe that he's already in the bigs and is a veteran who just needs to have his game in order by the Oct. 7th.

It's the fight against entitlement Brian Burke and Ron Wilson believe they've been fighting, and partiy its because top prospects are annointed status in Toronto by the media before they earn it. Luke Schenn was heralded as a can't miss stud because he made the Leafs as an 18-year-old, and now, in his third year, he's hoping to get good minutes as a fifth or sixth D-man, with stardom a long way off yet.

The entitlement issue is one reason why the Marlies can be such a useful tool for the Leafs, one that was used successfully last season with Carl Gunnarson, Tyler Bozak, Christian Hanson and Viktor Stalberg.

Nothing wrong with making these guys understand there's a road to travel to the big leagues, and it won't always come with room service.

All this said, Kadri has three or four games over the next week to demonstrate that he has received the message from Burke and Wilson loud and clear. There's still a role there for him. If the Leafs were to draw it up, they'd probably like to go with Bozak, Kadri, Grabovski and Hanson down the middle. But Kadri has to earn the spot, or it may go by default to John Mitchell. Or, the Leafs may have to go out and find a body, which will make the task of getting to the NHL a little tougher for Kadri.

So his chance is here. Now. Time for lift-off, son.

 

 

Misinterpretations

The lasting power of the gritty hockey movie "Slapshot" never ceases to amaze. Thirty-three years after it was made, the Hanson brothers are still well-known and popular and clips from the movie are shown over and over at hockey rinks around the world.

There's a terrific new book on the subject, "The Making of Slapshot," by author Jonathan Jackson that's about to hit the bookstores. It includes a foreward by actor Michael Ontkean (Ned Braden in the movie) and lots of minutae about the film. Heck, the guys I play organized shinny with every Monday night use the Chiefs motif as a template, from uniforms to gloves to goalie masks to the fact the main organizer goes by the handle of "Reg."

What is also amazing is how one line from the movie about "old-time hockey" continues to be misunderstood and used as a motto for fighting and goon hockey. On Wednesday at the Air Canada Centre, the Leafs ran an entire video segment splicing fight scenes from Slapshot with fight scenes involving Leafs over the years, again with the "old-time hockey" phrase as the central concept.

What people fail to understand, of course, is that when the character played by Paul Newman (Reg Dunlop) utters the phrase "old-time hockey," he's actually urging his teammates NOT to fight, NOT to goon it up, but rather to get back to the basics of the game, shooting and passing and skating.

The scene comes after Dunlop has met with the mysterious owner of the team who has told him of her intent just to fold the franchise, rather than sell it.

He comes back to his team, sees that the goon hockey that has put the Chiefs back on the map has been an exercise in futility, and urges his teammates to get back to "old-time hockey. None of the wrestling shit." He tells them to "Play it straight."

So every time an organization like the Leafs or some other teams uses the "old-time hockey" motto as an excuse to show fight videos, all they're doing, really, is showing their ignorance and lack of understanding of what the original movie actually said. It's like when Ronald Reagan mistakenly chose Bruce Springsteen's "Born in the U.S.A." as the theme song for his 1984 re-election campaign, not understanding Springsteen's song actually lamented the loss of national pride.

Then again, as H.L. Mencken wrote and said, people will believe what they want to believe.

 

 

 

 

 

The Hot Seat

There are two ways out for Carey Price.

One, he can have a strong season and make Montreal Canadiens fans forget Jaroslav Halak. Well, if not forget Halak, at least make it appear that their isn't as large a talent gap between the two young netminders as some contend.

Two, Lars Eller can be really, really good. Really, really fast.

If neither of those scenarios emerges over the next couple of months, Price could be facing animosity of rather startling dimensions, at least when he plays in front of home audiences at the Bell Centre.

In the Habs first exhibition start Wednesday night against Boston, Price allowed four goals on nine shots and was booed. Afterwards, he wasn't talking, preferring silence to a description/analysis of either his play or his feelings.

Not an ideal start, even for a meaningless exhibition. Perhaps in retrospect the Canadiens would have been better served to let Price get rolling on the road Saturday night in Ottawa. The Leafs haven't played J.S. Giguere in either of their two exhibitions, although he's expected to see action Thursday night in London against the Flyers.

That said, you don't want to be seen hiding your No. 1 this early, do you?

Eller, meanwhile, didn't play in the pre-season loss to the Bruins, and where the 21-year-old fits in the Montreal scheme of things isn't quite clear at this point. The Danish national was acquired along with junior winger Ian Schultz during the summer for Halak, not quite the obvious home run Montreal fans were hoping for when it became clear that either Price or Halak would have to be moved after Halak carried the club to the Eastern Conference final last spring.

Like his predecessor Bob Gainey, Montreal GM Pierre Gauthier seemed pre-disposed to keeping Price, no matter what Halak did. Still, it was a gutsy move to deal away a playoff hero, particularly when a big name wasn't coming back the other way.

Eller is a former first round pick, and as such he may blossom in Montreal into a top-six forward. If that happens, and quickly - ideally, he would become a surprise rookie-of-the-year candidate - it will take some of the heat off Price. At least fans could then point to the commodities received in the Halak deal to rationalize the transaction.

Or Price could play brilliantly. He's been given the key to the city by the organization. He didn't earn the No. 1 job, but he's been given it, with no challengers. The scenario has been laid out for him to become the next great Montreal netminder.

But if that doesn't happen, and if Eller isn't what the Habs hope he will be in relatively short order, look out.

 

 

 

Two Sides of Brian Burke

Impetuous? Or patient? Uber-aggressive? Or willing to let the game come to him?

Twenty-two months into his reign as boss of all that is the Maple Leaf hockey empire, it's still debatable whether Brian Burke is an executive who believes in immediate action at all times or prefers to sit back and wait.

Which probably means he's a bit of both.

His detractors, naturally, will point to the Phil Kessel trade as an example of Burke being unnecessarily aggressive in terms of trying to turn the Leafs into a competitive team. There's no shortage of critics who would have preferred a slow, gradual approach, taking high draft picks rather than grabbed a proven young goal-scorer like Kessel. It's still not exactly clear why Burke felt he had to make that move at that time, rather than waiting a year or two before the Leaf rebuild was further along.

That debate will probably be going on a decade from now.

That Burke's underrated ability to be patient has paid off multiple times in recent months, however, is less discussed. The most recent example would be his decision not to pull the trigger on a deal with Boston that would have given him a bona fide front line forward in Marc Savard.

The Leafs wouldn't have had to give up much, if anything, for Savard, and the fact he's now on the shelf indefinitely suffering from post-concussion syndrome certainly suggests there were reasons why the Bruins were looking to unload him and his contract, which has seven years left to run and more than $28 million owing.

It's a tragedy, really, that a fine player like Savard was injured so badly by a hit for which Matt Cooke received no suspension. The NHL has changed the rules, but that won't help Savard, who might have come back too early in the playoffs last spring.

The Leafs could have had him at any time during the summer, despite denials from Boston GM Peter Chiarelli that Savard was being shopped, and certainly if Burke had made the deal, there would have been no shortage of people who would have applauded him for acquiring the top six forward his team so desperately needs.

But he didn't, deciding instead to wait and see how Savard played through the pre-season. Today, he's undoubtedly thankful he didn't.

He showed that similar patience last season swinging deals for goalie J.S. Giguere and defenceman Dion Phaneuf. Giguere could have been had before Christmas, but the Ducks weren't willing to take back heavy contracts. When the deal finally happened, Anaheim accepted the contracts of both Vesa Toskala and Jason Blake, two players many believed were untradeable.

On Phaneuf, the Flames went back and forth on whether they wanted to move the backliner for weeks, months really. The Leafs were persistent and stealthy in their approach, with no internal leaks, and when the deal came down it was a surprise to the industry, both in the Leafs getting Phaneuf and for what little they had to get him.

None of these deals, of course, have completely played out yet. Phaneuf and Giguere could bomb in Toronto, and Kessel could flourish, or the other way around, or all three may pan out. Savard may return healthy soon and be back to the player he was.

But it's clear Burke has more than one way of doing business. That some see him as always unnecessarily bold verging on rash doesn't jive with the record. 

 

 

No Answer Out There

There was a time during the winter when the Argonauts didn't have a single quarterback on their off-season roster.

You could argue not much has changed since. And we're 11 games into the 2010 season.

Cleo Lemon, the undisputed starter, had his worst outing of the season on Sunday against Winnipeg, but emerged the winner anyway because, as head coach Jim Barker was pointing out all week on his edgy radio spots, the Blue Bombers are drop-dead awful.

(Maybe Rogers could bring the Bombers in to play the horrific Buffalo Bills? Just a little pick-me-up for Toronto's pseudo-NFL outfit, you know?)

Lemon was missing his key weapon, running back Cory Boyd. Then again, he had veteran receiver Jeremaine Copeland back, and while he hit Copeland for a short TD pass, Lemon accumulated only 90 yards passing on the day.

A year in which the Argos had hoped to bring a little pizzazz back to the dome, then, has fizzled, at least in terms of entertainment. The club has scored only 58 points in four games and Sunday's crowd dipped below the 20,000 mark. That's not quite as bad as a Blue Jays home audience in the same building, but then again, the Argos only have nine home games.

There are other quarterbacks on the Toronto roster, although you almost never see them. There's Dalton Bell, who has thrown six passes this season and completed three, and somewhere's there's Ken Dorsey, as well. Buried deep on the practice roster is Queen's grad Danny Branagan, and it's unclear whether Branagan will ever get a chance to face live bullets in a CFL game.

So it's Lemon, who has 10 TD passes this season and 10 interceptions. He's completed 62 per cent of his passes and has a quarterback rating of 83.2. Nobody understands that stat, but remarkably, among CFL quarterbacks he's not last. Saskatchewan's Darian Durant has a lower QB rating, which might tell you that stat isn't all it's cracked up to be.

Edmonton's Ricky Ray, interestingly, is worse in every single major category to Lemon, which sort of destroys the notion that the Edmonton Eskimos might wake up tomorrow and trade Ray to the Argos for a major quarterback upgrade. Don't forget now, Erik Tillman is running the Esks as of last week, and this is the same canny CFL exec who sold the Argos on Kerry Joseph a few seasons back. That didn't turn out very well for the double blue.

Maybe the Argos and Esks could do a deal. Edmonton is known for making unusual trades at this time of year - remember that one with Hamilton a few years ago in which the unspoken barter item was quarterback Jason Maas? - and Tillman won't sit on his hands long.

But the likeliehood for the Argos is that it's going to have to be Lemon. There is no other answer in a league in which, really, only Anthony Calvillo, Henry Burris and Kevin Glenn could be said to be having good statistical years or better. Well Buck Pierce, too, but he's almost never available for duty.

Andre Durie, if you can believe it, leads the Argos in receptions with only 34, while league-leader Arland Bruce III has 65. Fourteen other receivers across the league have at least 45 catches, so there's so reason to suggest part of Lemon's struggles could also be traced to a receiving corps that, quite frankly, doesn't scare anybody.

Maybe there's a receiver out there who can help the Argos, either a possession type (Dave Stala has sure been a blessing for Glenn) or somebody to stretch the defence.

But it's sink or swim with Lemon. At least the Argos can try to make this offence better without the cloud of possibly missing the playoffs altogether hanging over their heads.

 

 

An Honest Mistake

Given that there are already incorrect reports spreading on how the misinformation about Pat Burns' death spread this morning, here's exactly how it happened.

Star colleague Kevin McGran and I were standing outside the Leaf dressing room at the Mastercard Centre For Excellence when Cliff Fletcher walked out. He came over to say hello, shook hands, and then told us that Burns had passed away. He was obviously distraught, as he and Pat had been friends ever since he hired him to coach the Leafs.

Fletcher and I have had our ups and downs over the years, but he is still a senior executive with the Leafs and one of the most respected people in the game. It wasn't like someone whispered a rumour. It wasn't an off-the-cuff or off-the-record comment. He believed he was passing on sad news that the hockey world would want to know about. He didn't say what the source was of the information.

It's been suggested that Fletcher was approached by The Star and asked to comment on the news of Burns' death. That's not true. He told us the news.

Within seconds, a larger media group descended, and Fletcher agreed to comment at length about what he believed was the death of his friend. I stepped away and proceeded to report Fletcher's news on my Twitter account. This was no rush to "break" news, as some have tut-tutted. Fletcher had told a large group, which meant there was no news to "break." He wasn't a "source," per se that required corroboration; he was a public figure making a statement at a hastily called press gathering. Within moments, I had a call from a Montreal television station asking my source on the news. I cited Fletcher's comments.

As soon as it became clear the news was incorrect, I deleted the information from my Twitter account because I didn't want it to spread more by my doing. Clearly, however, there was nothing mischievous or malicious intended by Fletcher. Unfortunately, he soon after felt it necessary to release a statement apologizing for erroneously telling reporters that Burns had died.

I'm sure he feels terrible, but he shouldn't. He believed he was mourning a friend, and sharing sad news with people that know Burns well in a town where to many he is still beloved.

In the end, it was a great thing to be wrong about, as Pat is still with us. Probably having as big a belly laugh as he can manage.

Related:

Burns returns home, laughs off death reports

 

Pushing Back

Game on.

Tired of watching CHL teams pursue players under scholarship at NCAA schools, the NCAA has started to push back. This weekend, they're bringing the fight for hockey talent right into the GTA's backyard for the first time ever.

U.S. schools have long recruited in these parts, of course. But because of restrictions on the age at which individual coaches can actively visit and speak to prospective recruits, the NCAA has often found the best of the best are snapped up by CHL clubs before they get a chance to compete.

On Saturday at Chesswood Arena in North York, College Hockey Inc. will hold it's first ever NCAA Collegiate Hockey Summit in the GTA, inviting 70 of the top local prospects born in 1994 or 1995 to a forum at which representatives of schools like Boston College, Michigan, Michigan State, Minnesota, North Dakota, RPI, Wisconsin and Notre Dame will have a chance to make their pitch for these youngsters to look hard at the NCAA option at the same time they're being approached by CHL teams.

It's all the initiative of former NHLPA head Paul Kelly, who now runs College Hockey Inc., and is the latest in several similar gatherings held across Canada as the NCAA looks to compete harder for players, particularly high-end Canadian prospects.

To some degree, it's the NCAA's response to what Kelly has called the "relentless" recruitment of players on scholarship by CHL teams. Just this summer, top NCAA players like Louis Leblanc, Jerry D'Amigo and Jarred Tinordi have bolted their schools, Tinordi after committing to Notre Dame but never actually playing for the school.

Undoubtedly, the OHL, in particular, won't be happy about the NCAA holding this weekend forum in Toronto for young players who likely haven't yet been approached by NCAA schools. Kelly, in fact, believes it was the CHL that blocked him from attending last month's World Hockey Summit in Toronto after he was initially invited.

It's likely to intensify the struggle between the CHL and NCAA, which has heated up considerably over the past few years and is likely to continue to do so as the movement to get more Division I schools to ice varsity hockey teams gathers steam. Powerful Penn St. is expected to announce as early as today that it will convert its club program into a varsity program, and many are already projecting that soon there will be enough Big Ten schools to form a varsity hockey conference for the first time.

 

One By One

That's one thing about the New York Rangers - they're never, ever afraid to overpay.

They overpaid for Chris Drury and Scott Gomez, and wildly overpaid for Wade Redden to the tune of $6.5 million per season. The Rangers paid Michal Rozsival $6 million and $7 million the last two years, although, to be fair, his cap hit is somewhat less at $5 million per campaign because he gets $7 million in total the next two seasons. Still, fabulous numbers for a stay-at-home blueliner who has never topped 40 points in an NHL season and had three goals and 20 assists a year ago.

Now comes the news that restricted free agent Marc Staal has agreed to terms on a five-year, $19.875 million deal, one that will take him one year into unrestricted free agency before he can negotiate again.

Too much for your basic stay-at-home defenceman? A smart deal to lock up a 23-year-old core asset? A deal that should scare the heck out of the Maple Leafs, with Luke Schenn likely to be comparing himself to Staal when his contract expires in July?

With the NHL, it's always difficult trying to compare apples and apples, let alone apples and oranges. Anaheim signs Bobby Ryan to a deal that's roughly 25 per cent more than Staal's, but Ryan is a 30-goal scorer with potential to score 50. There are so few of those kinds of scorers that its hard not to imagine that the price differential between the players should be greater.

Moreover, Staal had no real leverage with the Rangers. No offer sheet or a realistic expectation of one. No rival league. No arbitration rights.

But they paid up anyway, ostensibly to lock Staal up and obviously believing there's greater upside to his game, particularly his offensive game, than has been demonstrated so far.

Hey, he may have Rozsival-like potential.

Out of all the restricted types that were still unsigned into late August, you could argue that Staal made out the best based on his numbers and game. One by one, almost all have trickled in. Sam Gagner. Andrew Cogliano, Peter Mueller. Chris Stewart. Carey Price. Niclas Bergfors.

Only James Neal and Matt Niskanen of the Dallas Stars are left, and while GM Joe Nieuwendyk says deals are "close" with both players, its possible neither will be on the ice when the Stars open camp in Prince Edward Island on Saturday. Both made less than $900,000 last season, and if the Stars were inclined, they could play hardball with the twosome just as Edmonton did with Cogliano in giving him only a $1 million deal.and Atlanta did with Bergfors, who will make $900,000 on a one-year deal.

Or the Stars could go the other way and demonstrate the largesse (optimism?) of the Rangers.  (Ed. Note: Thursday evening the Stars signed both Neal and Niskanen to two-year-deals.)