LaRussa's Legacy

Tony LaRussa managed to go out on top, one of the few in pro sports over the decades who can make that claim. Jim Brown, Pete Sampras. . .the list isn't very long at all.

Had LaRussa's St. Louis Cardinals not won the World Series last week, maybe LaRussa would have come back for more. He says he had already decided several months ago, but there are doubters. Then again, his Cards were such surprise winners that even if Albert Pujols returns, and even if David Freese can be the kind of player during the season he was in the playoffs, St. Louis wouldn't be a shoe-in to even win its division. This really was a one-in-a-career moment.

But they did win, and LaRussa has retired, and all we have left to discuss is his legacy.

In one sense, it's easy to assess.

In another, it's complicated, even a little messy.

The pure numbers say the third most wins all-time of any manager and three World Series titles. Maybe he should have won more than one with Oakland, but then again, two in St. Louis were more than most anticipated. He's one of only nine managers to win three or more titles, and only he and Torre have done it in an era when you have to win three series to win it all.

He doesn't get style points, for his style rubbed many the wrong way. The common refrain was that he was always the smartest guy in the room, and if you didn't know that, he was happy to let you know. He wasn't Sparky and he wasn't genial Joe Torre, and even in St. Louis he wasn't Whitey Herzog, so he earned precious few goodwill points with the opinion makers in the baseball world.

So be it. If there was a lack of style, there was oodles of substance.

So on basic numbers, particularly for one who never had $200 million worth of ballplayers to manage in a single season, LaRussa goes down as one of the best and quite possibly, if not probably, a first ballot Hall of Famer in a strong class in 2014 that will also include candidates like Bobby Cox, Torre, Tom Glavine, Greg Maddux and Frank Thomas.

Me, I don't believe in anyone but the players for any Hall of Fame. It's just too hard to judge the differences. But Cooperstown let's 'em all in, so LaRussa will be a candidate.

For years, there was criticism of LaRussa the self-appointed genius who, despite all his brain power, only had one World Series title with Oakland and should have had at least one more, maybe two. Certainly in Toronto, where many felt Cito Gaston didn't get his just due for winning a pair of world championships with the Blue Jays, LaRussa received no end of snide remarks.

Maybe the titles in St. Louis, however, changed a few minds on that score.

Then there's the steroid issue. LaRussa was there in Oakland when the Bash Brothers, Mark McGwire and Jose Canseco, started getting big, and he was most certainly there when McGwire was part of that famous home run race with Sammy Sosa. If LaRussa knew nothing of steroid use on his teams, many would derisively suggest the smartest man in baseball couldn't possibly have been that dumb.

But even if he did know, what should he have done? Steroids and performance enhancing drugs, at that time, were not forbidden by baseball. Can he be blamed for being an onlooker who did nothing if he knew? His job, surely, was to manage, not parent, and it wasn't like he was playing Charlie Francis to a bunch of Ben Johnsons on the diamond.

Those who would not cast a Hall of Fame vote for McGwire, or Barry Bonds, or Roger Clemens, for that matter, might be inclined to shun LaRussa, as well.

But those would be the hardliners. Keeping McGwire out has been easy because his numbers are marginal. Keeping Bonds and Clemens out will be next-to-impossible, and beyond that, any campaign to block LaRussa's path would seem, at the very least, extreme.

So it seems his legacy will be safe, and going out on top in the "non-steroid" era leaves little room for debate.

 

 

Gridiron Meaning

Tough day for CFL supporters, this is.

How do they explain away the full house, or close to full house, at the Rogers Centre for the Bills and Redskins on Sunday, an enthusiastic full house, at that? Even if you accept the general wisdom that the house is papered, you still have to get the people to go, and there is no way on earth the Argonauts could ever dream of attracting an audience like that for a regular season match.

If you believe the customer is always right, and if you believe that the actual bodies in seats at Argo games have been dipping below five figures, then there's some rather direct messages being sent here.

One, the public doesn't like what the Argos are selling (who would?). Two, they will buy (at astronomical prices) tickets for a non-Toronto NFL team. Three, there's a larger football appetite in the city ready to be serviced if somebody - the CFL, the NFL, the Argos, the Bills - can figure a way to service it.

The Argos, ever since David Braley bought the team, have faded into near irrelevance. It's almost as if once it appeared the Bills in Toronto Series was unlikely to be a direct and damaging threat to the CFL in southern Ontario, the Argos stopped trying, or at least trying as hard as they had during the David Cynamon/Howard Sokolowski/Keith Pelley years.

That doesn't mean there isn't an appetite for the Argos out there., however. It was interesting that my 13-year-old son went with his friend to the game and had a blast. They found the whole NFL atmosphere in a packed stadium thrilling. But what souvenir did they buy and bring home? Argo caps. I'm not precisely sure what that means, other than predicting the consumer habits of 13-year-old boys is pointless, but it suggests they haven't ruled out in their minds the possibility that the Argos and CFL might be a product that interests them.

So again, there's an appetite for football out there in the GTA. On Sunday, it was fed by the NFL and the Bills. Theoretically, the Argos could do the same, or something similar, but they would have to work a lot harder to make it happen, certainly a lot harder than they're working now.

A great deal of faith seems to have been placed in the notion that the 100th Grey Cup game in Toronto next season will heal all wounds, or at least make Toronto CFL-centric long enough for Braley to cash in on the big game for a second straight year. And maybe the 2012 Grey Cup will be a huge success. 

Next year, however, it will be juxtaposed more directly with the final game of the Bills in Toronto Series. That's a comparison the CFL will want to ensure shines a favourable light on its product or the football market in these parts could change for good.

 

 

 

Friday Mailbag

Maybe Phil Kessel can go for the double.

Or, with the way the Maple Leafs are going these days, maybe he'll have a teammate to take his place.

Either way, the NHL All-Star game in Ottawa this winter will again include a player draft, and that draft will again include having one player assigned the distinction of one player being drafted last, as was the case with Kessel last year.

"The feedback I've received from the NHLPA is that the players like it," said NHL vice-president Brendan Shanahan, who devised the all-star draft format last year in Raleigh.

"We're still talking, and we'd like to clear up a few things. But the players got a big kick out of it."

Two of the changes that might be installed will be alternating the selection process so that one year a forward is picked last, and one year a defenceman. This year's draft might also have the final two players brought up on stage together, with more of a light-hearted approach to giving a car and a cheque for charity for the final selection.

SUBMIT YOU QUESTION VIA EMAIL

Now on to this week's mail bag:

Q: Thank you for pointing out the obvious and setting the record straight in your recent blog, "Monstrous."  I am also tired with the excuses for Jonas Gustavsson. I know the season is young, but there are a lot of young goalies out there with extremely high save percentages. The question is now, what do you do with the Monster? At 27, he isn't the goaltender of the future and I really don't think the Leafs can pot five goals every fourth game to get the kid a win. Does Gustavsson have any trade value at all? How do the Leafs make this guy someone else's problem?

David Bachusky, Toronto

A: I don't think a trade is necessary. I think they have to find a way to develop Gustavsson and find him regular work so he can find confidence in his game. Right now, that appears to be with the Leafs as long as James Reimer is sidelined. Indeed, Reimer's injury could turn out to be a blessing in disguise if Gustavsson is able to get on a roll. Team defence won the game in Manhattan Thursday night, but at the same time, Gustavsson has won two of his last three starts and allowed less than four goals in a game for the first time in a while. Baby steps.

Q: Liked your article about the Monster - what many people fail to understand is that Brian Burke went to Sweden primarily to sign the Sedin twins not knowing tht the twins were already signed by Vancouver - in his haste to make the trip look successful he signed Jonas Gustavsson and introduced the Monster to the NHL. Giving players names like "Monster" or "The Real deal" did not exist in the past, Players had to earn their new names like the Rocket, the Golden jet, Jake the Snake or Mr. Hockey. Hero worship should not take place before a player has established himself in the NHL, it is not the right way to go, Very American thing to do I must admit.

Jim McDonagh, St.Catharines

A: I'm not sure what some of this means. But I can tell you that you're dead wrong on how Gustavsson was signed. The Leafs were already in hot pursuit of him long before Burke flew to Sweden on July 1st to try and sign the Sedin twins. In fact, he'd met with Gustavsson at least twice, including at the world championships. If he had signed the twins, he still would have tried to sign Gustavsson. But Mike Gillis beat him to the punch. Burke was in the air en route to Europe when the Vancouver GM closed the deal.

Q: Damien. You know nothing about goaltending. In order to play well, a goalie has to play often. Most great goalies have solid teams in front of them. Gustavsson has had neither. If you put Gustavsson in Vancouver. They will win the cup hands down.

Gustavsson was the sacrificial lamb in Boston. The Leafs were due for a loss and they shielded Reimer to protect him from a confidence breaker going into Montreal. Yep. Give Gustavsson Boston in Boston. If he wins it's a bonus. If he gets shelled.. we've saved Reimer. Save percentages mean NOTHING. Where are the shots from is what counts. You wait and see. Gustavsson will get run out of town and be a star elsewhere ... and Reimer will end up being another average goalie. Take that to the bank.

Stephen Smith, Newmarket

A: Two bizarre thoughts in one question. First, that with Gustavsson in net the Canucks would win the Cup easily. Second, that save percentages mean nothing. I look forward to your follow-up email when your predictions all come true.

As far as me knowing nothing about goaltending, I know just enough to cheer on my 13-year-old son every week when he takes the crease.

Q: Why isn't Cody Franson playing instead of Komisarek or Gardiner. Enough with Komisarek. He's not good. Wilson and Burke know it. Stop covering for the bad signing and the fact that he's American and get Franson in. Also, stop the line juggling. Let Bozak play and take the faceoffs on Kessel’s line. Finally give Kadri the chance to play. This "one bad night" and you’re out policy by Wilson has everyone afraid to just play and maybe make a mistake. Let the right guys play and gel. Address this stuff Damien!

Quinn McCabe, Ottawa

A: Okay, one by one. First, I don't think Komisarek is nearly as bad as some believe. He's just overpaid. But that doesn't make him worse than he is. Franson just hasn't played well enough to take somebody's job, and the same goes for Kadri. Bozak, meanwhile, has already played himself out of a regular spot beside Kessel. He had his shot. I think Wilson has to manage the balance between letting some guys stay together - the Grabovski line, Dion Phaneuf and Carl Gunnarson - and searching for combinations that work on the best on any given night.

Q: Does Burke have a penchant for American-born players? Looking down the Leafs roster I cannot remember a team with such a high percentage of U.S. players. I am wondering if this is a result of Burke's influence or just a matter of coincidence. I don't have a problem with this current Leafs roster, just something interesting I noticed. Your thoughts?

Thanks for your opinion as always.

Nick Bloomfield, Dartmouth, N.S.

A: Nope, I don't think he does. His team in Anaheim was predominantly Canadian. He's drafted any number of Canadian players in recent years. I don't think any responsible GM can afford to favour one nationality over another these days. Just gotta find the best.

Q: So far this season, Ron Wilson has avoided dressing Jay Rosehill or Colton Orr.  A move I actually applaud. I believe the team is winning, in part, because it's dressing players who are more two-way hockey oriented than, say, bludgeon ready. Even with the injury to Colby Armstrong, the team is still plenty tough (see Brown, Schenn, Phaneuf, Komisarek). However, Armstrong and Clarke MacArthur both look to be out of the lineup, which makes adding one of the hired goons all but inevitable.

My question is:  With a plethora of NHL calibre defencemen hungry for ice time, and a winning team seemingly focused on puck movement from its rearguards, wouldn't a logical choice be to dress 7 D-men, as opposed to one of the tough guys?

Curious to know your thoughts. Thanks!

Jordan Kern, Toronto

A: Dressing seven defenceman is an option, but few NHL coaches like it. It's just too hard to even out the rotation. Moreover, the idea forward rotation is four lines at least for half of the game, and dressing seven blueliners takes that option away unless one can take shifts at forward. I'm not saying its a bad idea. It's just tricky to manage, and most coaches prefer six.

Q: Everyone who follows your column knows full well that there is no love lost between you and "General Wilson". For his part Wilson has difficulty communicating with the media but more so with his own players. There are players in the league who have come right out and stated that they would not play for Wilson for various reasons. Can Brian Burke not see what is happening in Leaf Land? With eight D-men on the roster this situation is going to arise each and every game unless Burke steps in and puts an end to it?

Gil Martel, Barrie

A: I don't think there's an issue of "any love lost" between Wilson and I. I respect his pro record. I don't particularly have trouble with his strategies. But his win-loss record in Toronto is what it is, and I struggle sometimes with his ascerbic, sarcastic style. But there are definitely head coaches in Toronto I've liked a lot less. I've really got no problem with Wilson.

As far as juggling D-men, this is what happens when you start adding depth. There's going to be competition for jobs, and that's a good thing.

Q: I am turning off the NHL. I do not want to send that violence message to my four grandsons. I will watch the CFL instead. I hope that Stephen Harper takes charge of this because obviously the old boys club in the NHL could care less about the message it sends of children. Fighting can be easily eliminated. Ten games first offence, then 20, then a season. Let’s get the goons out of the game and put some talent in there. I would rather watch Sidney Crosby than some goon.

Randy Hamel, Red Lake

A: Well, my preference is to keep watching and keep fighting the good fight, which is to get the goon element out of the game. But to each his own.

Crosby and Poppies

PITTSBURGH--Talk to Sidney Crosby and the answer is the same.

"There's really nothing new," he said today.

But speculation about the possible return of the NHL's best player is starting to heat up if only because the Pittsburgh Penguins, after being the busiest team in the league for the first month with 13 games, are about to get a bit of a break in the schedule.

Local observers have circled Nov. 11, Remembrance Day in Canada, as a possible return date, and here's why.

First, Crosby is practicing full-out with his teammates. This morning during the skate before tonight's game against the New York Islanders, you would not have noticed Crosby as being any different from his teammates. Same gear, same special purplish practice garb the club will wear in warmup tonight in honor of the Hockey Fights Cancer campaign.

"It has been good for us because on days where we have a game the night before and get in a 1:30 and then practice the next day at 11, Sid's the one who pushes the pace," said GM Ray Shero. "That's beneficial for our team."

After Saturday's game in Toronto, the Penguins will have four days off before playing Thursday and Saturday, and then another five days off before a game on Friday, Nov. 11th at home against the Dallas Stars. The thinking among many is that those days off will allow Crosby to get in the full-contact practices he needs to determine if his post-concussion issues have subsided enough to let him return to action.

The team won't speculate on any deadlines or possible return dates. But it's worth keeping an eye on Nov. 11th.

The Penguins sit atop the Eastern Conference with a 7-2-2 record, but Shero says the good start hasn't made it any easier to let Crosby take his time on his rehab.

""When he's going to be ready, he's going to be ready. It wouldn't change anything. It can't. You can't rush a player back whether you're 2-7 or 7-2," said Shero. "It's got to be about the bigger picture."

 

 

 

 

 

 

Monstrous

At some point, the Maple Leafs are going to have to start dealing in facts when it comes to The Monster, goalie Jonas Gustavsson.

Pretty much every game Gustavsson plays, he gives up a whack of goals, almost always three or more. Every game Ron Wilson and Brian Burke and many Leaf fans go out of their way to say it wasn't his fault, that he could have sued his defence for non-support, that you can't pin this one on him.

The latest episode in this exercise came Monday night in Philly when the Leafs lost 4-2. Gustavsson gave up the four goals on 30 shots, not considered a terribly onerous burden for an NHL goalie to bear. He was busy, sure. He made two or three very good saves. He stopped Jaromir Jagr on one of three breakaways. And he allowed four goals, which means the Leafs had very little chance of winning the game because it's very difficult to score five in most NHL matches.

At the other end, Sergei (Bob) Bobrovsky faced 28 shots, let in two. He did the job a backup goalie is supposed to do. He made as many good saves as Gustavsson, and gave up no easy ones.

The best job of a backup in the NHL on the night was delivered by 21-year-old Jacob Markstrom of Florida, a 6-foot-6 giant who won his second game in three starts with a spiffy 40-save performance against the Montreal Canadiens in which he allowed just one goal.

Now that's a monster of a kid delivering the kind of performance worthy of a good nickname.

The Leafs have paid Gustavsson well, they've taken care of his medical needs, they've coddled him, they've kept him in the NHL when should have been in the minors. It was generally acknowledged Ben Scrivens was better in the pre-season, but he went to the AHL Marlies and Gustavsson stayed up.

As a free agent, the Leafs pursued The Monster with vigour, and won the race. But that's meaningless now. Fabian Brunnstrom had a lot of teams believing in his talent once, too.

Fine. The Leafs apparently believe Gustavsson, although at 27, he's not so young any more. In his last seven appearances, a reasonable sample size, he has allowed 31 goals. In his last 17 appearances, only twice has his save percentage in a game been above .900, which is sort of the bare minimum these days to be regarded as a bona fide NHL goalie. The argument has been that the team plays badly in front of him every time out. Well, the numbers show that in his last 26 appearances, Gustavsson has faced more than 30 shots on only eight occasions.

The part that's truly mystifying is that while Gustavsson has played 68 NHL games, he has only played five in the AHL where he might have been able to build up the kind of professional confidence and momentum that could be converted into quality NHL play.

The Leafs could have gone after a veteran NHL backup last summer. Tomas Vokoun was there if they wanted him. They chose to believe in Gustavsson, and while he's capable of making good to excellent saves in any game, he just doesn't stop enough pucks to give the team a chance to win on most nights. The stats don't lie.

The excuse-making surrounding this netminder, meanwhile, is remiscent about how excuses were once made for Andrew Raycroft. And Vesa Toskala. In both cases the Leafs tried to convince you that what you thought you were seeing wasn't really what you were seeing.

Well it was. In Gustavsson's case, the only one who can really change the perception is him. Stop more pucks. Allow fewer goals. Put up the numbers.

Otherwise, there's really not much to talk about here.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Into The Fray

Every once in a while you've got to step outside your comfort zone. Or, in this case, try to grapple with a sport with which you have little or no familiarity.

So while the CFL game might have it's roots in rugby, that sure didn't help at all when I confronted the World Cup final match on Sunday between New Zealand's All Blacks and the underdogs from France.

What's with all the markings on the field? What dictates possession? When's a good time to kick, and when's a good time to advance the ball? Why do some wear the tight-fitting protective toques and some don't? And of course, what in the world is legal when it comes to tackling, and what isn't?

Answers to all these questions weren't available on the broadcast, needless to say. To demand that they should be would be like turning on an Olympic gold medal hockey game and expecting the announcers to explain the rules. Not gonna happen.

So you figure it out, bit by bit, as best you can over 80 minutes of competition. It helps to some degree that they mike the officials, so you hear the explanations to the players when a rule has been broken. Of course, in a sport that seemingly has no rules, this is particularly useful.

Knowing that the All Blacks were heavily favoured after thrashing the French earlier in the tournament, it wasn't hard to figure out as the match progressed and the score remained both low and close that a possible upset was brewing. To a North American used to sports in which possession is everything, it was confusing to understand the strategy of gaining possession and then immediately booting the ball, usually out of play.

What was easily communicated, of course, was the raw sense of competition, the intensity, the bone-rattling violence of bodies crashing into one another, the different sizes and shapes that produced different speciality skills on the field. It wasn't too hard to figure out that Piru Weepu wasn't having a very good day for New Zealand, and the commotion over Stephen Donald's entrance into the game as a substitute made me look for more info on the web as to what the big deal was. Didn't know France's Thierry Dusautoir had been voted the best player on the planet until today, but he was a compelling figure even without that information.

There's a gladitorial aspect to rugby at that level that makes hockey look like cricket; players are literally tended to by medics on the field while play goes on and other players try not to stomp on the fallen. If there was a sport seemingly in need of an outlet like fighting to stop "liberties" being taken, it would be rugby, yet no scraps occurred. At least not in this match.

It's a sport made for TV, with the unbridled emotion of the players enhanced by technology, something most possible in sports that don't require a great deal of equipment. Baseball benefits from this as well, but Game 4 of the World Series, a bit of a yawner anyway, was no match for the rugby title game in terms of communicating a desperate sense of competition.

So New Zealand-France turned out to be a helluva match, and great entertainment despite the lack of offence, although I have no idea what purists and experts may have perceived. Maybe that's a good thing. Being unable to understand the officiating calls was an obstacle, and it was disappointing in the final two minutes to see New Zealand able to kill the clock (like the NFL) as opposed to having to play through to the final whistle (like the CFL). But that's nitpicking.

Don't know if a regular league match, or something less than a World Cup final, would have the same pull. But I'd watch again. Can't say I'm hooked, but certainly intrigued.

 

 

 

 

 

Stockholm Setback

Disappointment, for sure. Milos Raonic had what might have been the biggest victory of his career in his hip pocket.

That said, the fact Raonic had the world's 10th ranked player, Gael Monfils of France, on the ropes in the semifinals of the Stockholm Open today before being unable to complete the deal will be, without question, of great encouragement to the young Canadian as he works through his comeback on the ATP tour.

The 20-year-old Raonic won the first set in a close tiebreak, then not only jumped ahead a break in the second set 4-2, but had a chance to move ahead by two breaks and all but clinch the match when he then won the first two points on Monfils' serve.

But the Frenchmen battled back, Raonic missed two glorious and relatively easy chances, and ultimately Monfils held serve then reeled off three more games to win the second set, 6-4.

Monfils then finished the two-hour, 9-minute match by holding serve to win 6-7 (6), 6-4, 6-3 to move into Sunday's final against Jarkko Nieminen of Finland.

It was Raonic's best showing since going down to a hip injury in Wimbledon last June, an injury that ultimately required surgery. He came back quickly, but had a poor showing in the single match he played for Canada in the Davis Cup tie against Israel in September.

After taking a few more weeks off to practice in Barcelona with coach Galo Blanco, Raonic returned to the tour full-time for tournaments in Tokyo and Shanghai, winning two matches and losing two, before arriving in Stockholm and racking up a trio of good wins over Marcus Baghdatis, Philip Petzschner and Grigor Dimitrov.

He plays in an exhibition match Nov. 17 at the Air Canada Centre against Pete Sampras, and then will begin preparations for the next Grand Slam event in Melbourne, Australia in January.

Raonic returned serve more effectively today, was authoritative at the net and showed some better defence against Monfils. What let him down, really, was his big serve. He had nine aces on the day, but his first serve percentage dropped as the match wore on and particularly at some crucial moments. He only won 45 per cent of the points on his second serve.

The match was also interesting because it may have been a preview of the Canada-France Davis Cup tie scheduled for February, almost certainly in Vancouver at one of several possible locations. Monfils is part of a talent-loaded French team, while Raonic, after being unable to play his second singles match in Israel, should be back at full fitness by then.

 

 

 

Brewskies and Smokescreens

BOSTON--Now is just about the best possible time the Bruins could have chosen to have a Stanley Cup hangover.

After all, beer is the talk of the town. Beer in the Red Sox clubhouse, that is, a debate that has gripped the city for several weeks. The Boston Globe and both an editorial and an editorial cartoon on the subject of allegations suggesting pitchers Jon Lester, John Lackey and Josh Beckett enjoyed their off days a little too much this season by imbibing in the clubhouse during games while their teammates worked.

Owner John Henry and president Larry Lucchino have said the entire issued is being blown out of proportion, but Lucchino has vowed to review the team's alcohol policies.

A Globe survery showed only 12 of 30 Major League clubs allow beer in the clubhouse, with the Blue Jays one of those teams that do.

Throw in the unresolved issue of deciding what compensation the Chicago Cubs will cough up in exchange for being able to hire Theo Epstein away from the Bosox, and you have a baseball city that's doing everything but watch the World Series and wonder why the city's NHL club is off to a 2-4 start after winning the Cup last June.

The absence of centre David Krejci and defenceman Adam McQuaid due to injury hasn't helped, although Krejci said to be a game-time decision for tonight's game against the Maple Leafs. A few B's, meanwhile, have suggested they weren't quite mentally prepared for coming back and defending their title this spring.

"I'm certainly not going to make any moves," GM Peter Chiarelli told the Boston Herald. "This is a good team. We won with this team. We've got to figure it out."

It's expected the Leafs will make some lineup changes from their victory on Wednesday night over Winnipeg. One of tough guys Colton Orr or Jay Rosehill may dress, while Nazem Kadri was on a plane to Boston early today after being recalled from the AHL Marlies less than 24 hours after being sent down.

Colby Armstrong can't play because of an ankle injury that will keep him out for some time. Clarke MacArthur is iffy as well.

It's likely the Boston fans will as usual serenade Leaf winger Phil Kessel with chants of "Thank You Kessel" for demanding a trade out of the Bruins organization, resulting in a trade with Toronto that delivered two high first round picks to the Bruins. But that deal is now completed, with the B's owed no more draft selections, and Kessel arrives as the NHL's leading scorer at the same time the Bruins are averaging less than two goals a game.

Boston head coach Claude Julien, ejected from his team's last game against Carolina on Tuesday, may fiddle with his lines, possibly moving Nathan Horton to a line with Patrice Bergeron and Brad Marchand.

Tyler Seguin, the top young player harvested by the Bruins in the Kessel deal, has one goa and four assists so far in six games and has played more than 20 minutes for Julien in two of the past three games.

Defenceman Dougie Hamilton, taken ninth overall with the second of the two Kessel lottery picks, is back with the OHL Niagara Ice Dogs this season.

 

 

 

 

The Difference Between Leagues

In the CFL, it happens with regularity. Quarterbacks move before their prime, in their prime, after being named as all-stars, whenever. The exception is the quarterback that plays in one place his entire career, like Ricky Ray might end up doing with Edmonton.

Contrast that with the NFL. The deal today that sent Carson Palmer from Cinncinnati to Oakland for two first round picks is doubly rare in that it involves a top QB changing teams in his prime, and in the middle of the season.

Those two elements alone make this an eye-catcher of a deal.

It's not like big name quarterbacks all play their careers for one team. The likes of Johnny Unitas, Joe Namath, Roman Gabriel, Joe Montana and, of course, Brett Favre have moved, but almost always in the fading years of their careers.

Now, good signal callers do occasionally change teams when they are still at the top, but it's rare, and it usually involves unusual circumstances. Like Drew Brees going from San Diego to New Orleans. Or Mike Vick ending up in Philly.

Brees had shoulder problems, Vick had all kinds of problems. Palmer, on the other hand, simply didn't want to play in Cincy any more, and after making him wait, the 4-2 Bengals, who have played well with Andy Dalton under centre, took a very good offer from a Raiders team that obviously believes the playoffs and more are possible with Palmer.

Jason Campbell's injury made the Oakland's quarterback needs urgent. But with the franchise in limbo after the recent death of owner Al Davis, and with the Raiders still not a team with a ton of depth, this is a very aggressive (risky?) transaction, particularly if Palmer doesn't return to his form of several seasons ago.

In the CFL, of course, even the best QBs - Ron Lancaster, Doug Flutie, Matt Dunigan, Damon Allen, Anthony Calvillo - played for more than one team, and were moved early in their careers or when they were at their peak.

These days, Calgary's benching of Henry Burris - who has already played for another CFL team - naturally has tongues wagging that Burris may be on the move. If Drew Tate can prove himself worthy of being a starter over the remainder of the season, than simply the size of Burris' contract - likely north of $350,000 - will make it unlikely he would stay a Stampeder. We can argue whether the 36-year-old Burris is in his prime or past it, but he's regarded as one of the better QBs in the league, at least until now.

Naturally, the Argonauts would be the likeliest destination, because, well, they always are when it comes to quarterbacks in these kind of situations. Toronto has never done well with discovering their own, so over the decades they've often been a team that has sought an established arm elsewhere, whether it was Condredge Holloway or Dunigan or Flutie or Allen or - yikes - Kerry Joseph.

Jim Barker, of course, knows Burris from his days in Calgary, but this could be a tricky one for Barker even if Smilin' Hank becomes available. He has made a major committment to Steven Jyles in the trade with Winnipeg, and making a sharp left turn now and acquiring Burris would be a signal to the rest of the league that he has already changed his mind about Jyles.

Then again, the Argos will miss the playoffs this year, and next year is an important year as the franchise hosts the 100th Grey Cup party. Quite simply, the Argos cannot afford to have a lousy offence and a poor win-loss record again next season.

So the Burris rumours have already started. It's the CFL way.

 

Extending the Streak

We'll see if all the words mean anything.

The message from the Maple Leaf camp this morning was that everyone, from players to coaches to training staff to management, has learned from last year's hot start.

The club began last season 4-0, received huge headlines for their team speed and improved depth and started believing it was was a good team. By December, the Leafs were buried in the Eastern Conference standings.

"We probably got carried away," noted head coach Ron Wilson today, referring to last year's start and subsequent tumble.

Tonight will be an indication of whether the team, going with the same lineup that knocked off Calgary on Saturday, really understands that.

The opponent is the Colorado Avalanche, another non-playoff squad from a year ago, and one off to a hot start. The Avs won a wild one in Montreal on Saturday night, 6-5, a game in which the improved goaltending and defensive play that had head coach Joe Sacco so pleased went out the window.

Still, the Avs persevered, winning on Matt Duchene's pretty shootout goal. They may have been a tired team against the Habs, playing in their fourth game in six nights, which means a fifth game in eight nights against the Leafs should, theoretically, give an advantage to the home side.

Colorado has lots of kids everywhere, but particularly up front. This is the kind of game in which a quick, hard start by the Leafs could pay huge dividends, get the crowd going and persuade the Avs they'd accomplished enough on this road trip and could head home to face Chicago on Thursday with heads held high.

That said, the maturity of young Avalanche players like Duchene and No. 2 overall pick Gabriel Landeskog is phenomenal. They won't discourage easily, and the key for Toronto is to get on the Colorado defence which, lead by former No. 1 overall pick Erik Johnson, is still very much a work in progress. NHL player-of-the-week Phil Kessel will be a huge key to putting pressure on the Avs back end, assuming he stays hot and doesn't veer off into one of his cold streaks.

The youthful Avs ran around a fair bit in Montreal on Saturday, with the tandem of David Desharnais and Max Pacioretty in particular causing headaches for the Colorado line of Landeskog, Ryan O'Reilly and Daniel Winnik, all of whom were minus-2 on the night.

From a Leaf point-of-view, keep an eye on Luke Schenn. Handed a big new contract at the start of training camp, Schenn has been only okay so far, and against Calgary found himself with just over 10 minutes of ice time, the least of any Toronto defender including Cody Franson, who was playing his first game after sitting the first two. Let's see how Schenn responds.

If the Leafs in general, meanwhile, are going to demonstrate they have learned the lessons of last year and can actually turn this 3-0 start into a strong two months of play to open the 2011-12, you'll see that focus and intent on the ice tonight.