This One's Not Over

BOCA RATON, Fla.--So, as it turns out, Brian Burke didn't try to get Don Cherry fired as Cherry alleged on Coach's Corner two weeks ago.

And, as it turns out, Cherry's accusation that the Leafs ignore Ontario talent is also dead wrong, given that two of the last three first round picks made under the Burke regime were from Ontario, and eight of 23 draft picks made by the Leafs over the past three years were Ontario-born kids.

So wrong and wrong for Grapes. Oops. Wonder if the CBC will be issuing a correction?

But don't think for a minute this scrap is over.

Burke may (should) have bigger fish to fry these days with his plummeting hockey club, but he believes he's speaking for all the Canadian-based NHL clubs in that he wants either the CBC to exert greater editorial control over Cherry, or he says the next national TV deal, should it involve the CBC, must include editorial input from the NHL.

This is tricky, tricky ground, especially with MLSE about to be taken over by the peculiar partnership of Rogers and Bell. Burke, as he has shown all year, isn't afraid to take on newspapers, radio outlets or national broadcasters when he feels he has been wronged.

In this case, Burke is annoyed that he has had to deal with the accusations that the Leafs are anti-Ontario when it comes to players just because of the stir created by Cherry's segment.

"I don't think you should be able to try and settle personal vendettas on the air," said Burke about Cherry's mistake-filled tirade. "But that's not just me. Its the view of the Canadian teams. Its a source of contention with Canadian teams that this can't happen again."

Burke, by the way, insists he didn't try to get Cherry canned, which has been confirmed by CBC officials.

"I don't want him fired, and I didn't do anything behind his back," said Burke.

 

Panic. . .Or Not

The recent signing of Mikhail Grabovski by the Leafs to a five-year, $27.5 million deal has created a firestorm of debate over whether it was a good deal.

On the side of those who believe its a bad deal, there was the accusation that GM Brian Burke panicked after the trade deadline because of the performance of his team and tried to make a splash with the signing.

Interesting theory. Just wrong.

Remember the visit of Burke to the Leaf practice facility in the hours before the deadline that caused a stir after it was caught by Sportsnet cameras? Well, as it turns out, the purpose of that visit was to meet with Grabovski.

The night before, the Leafs had closed the deal on the new contract with Grabovski's agent, but then got the feeling that there was some waffling at the other end. Unwilling to keep Grabovski without the new contract, Burke went to the Mastercard Centre to meet the German-born centre and to find out whether they had a deal or not.

Grabovski said they did. The two men shook on the deal, and Grabovski stayed a Leaf.

So the deal was done before the deadline, not after.

Sort of impacts the theory that it was all about post-deadline panic.

The Leading Man

KISSIMMEE, Fla.--Now that was a line drive that would have made headlines.

Brett Lawrie, with his back to the plate, ducked at the last moment during batting practice today as a line drive from minor-league shortstop prospect Jonathan Diaz skimmed the top of his skull.

"Don't turn your back out there," barked batting coach Dwayne Murphy.

Of course, a bigger headline would have been if the Jays had decided to move Lawrie when, sources suggest the Seattle Mariners demanded him plus other assets in exchanged for starting pitcher Michael Pineda, who ultimately went to the New York Yankees.

But GM Alex Anthopoulos wasn't inclined to even consider such a move after only acquiring Lawrie last year in the same way Leafs GM Brian Burke was so reluctant to consider moving defenceman Jake Gardiner after only having him in that organization for a year following a trade from Anaheim.

Now, Lawrie isn't just a key component in the Jays attack, shown again today against Houston with an opposite field, first inning double that plated Eric Thames, and then a follow-up clean steal of third. In the third inning, Lawrie got even more aggressive, tagging up and taking second base on a fly ball to centre that fell short of the warning track. He then scored when the next hitter, David Cooper, singled to right.

That's the kind of aggression that can be contagious.

Lawrie is part of a young leadership group that is emerging to supplement Jose Bautista and pitcher Ricky Romero, a group that includes Lawrie and catcher J.P. Arencibia

"We're still in that phase where our core group of young players is expanding, and its not fully established yet," said manager John Farrell today before an exhibition game against Houston. "Hopefully at the end of this coming year that foundation, that base, will be that much more developed and formed, and that becomes the culture of the clubhouse. 

"When this young group really gets to the point of molding together, then if there's an acquisition, you have less influence (from that player) because this young core has really taken hold of this team. A guy coming in from the outside has to fit with what is already here. There's a lot of thought that goes into building that group and what the clubhouse is like."

A year ago, the Jays were waiting to see if Adam Lind could play first, trying to identify a closer, figuring out who could hit leadoff and wondering if Aaron Hill could have a bounce back season. There were also players like Jon Rauch and Octavio Dotel who didn't necessarily provide the clubhouse leadership the team was looking for.

Now, by comparison, its a lot more settled this spring despite the fact its a team of either inexperienced young players or newly established players, while the veterans added, from Sergio Santos to Darren Oliver, are considered to be more of the type of influences Farrell and Anthopoulos want.

"There were a lot more questions a year ago," said Farrell. "There were a lot more prominent

"Last year we were starting at ground level, this year I feel like we're starting at the second or third rung on the ladder. This is a talented group that feels its capable of accomplishing a lot," said Farrell. "That growth and that momentum is clearly headed in the right direction."

Just bring up Lawrie's name, meanwhile, and Farrell oozes enthusiasm.

"He's an exciting young player, one who believes in himself. . .He's the heartbeat of this team, even at an early age," said Farrell. "To me, leadership doesn't have an age attached to it. He can be vocal in the clubhouse. He's respectful for his teammates and respectful to the game. He's one heckuva player."

Farrell's waiting to see how Lawrie adjusts in his second year.

"Guess that remains to be seen. The one thing we saw in his 150 at-bats with us last year was his pitch recognition. When he stays with his strike zone and doesn't chase pitches, he can be a hitter with some impact on the game.

"He believes he's going to hit. He believes he's going to play well."

 

 

 

Grabo Money

Terrific for Mikhail Grabovski that on the day he signed a gigantic new contract he scored a spectacular third period goal.

It almost, but not quite, made up for his wanderings a little while earlier when Tyler Seguin scored the fifth goal of the night for the Boston Bruins.

Which was the winning goal.

And that, folks, is what Grabovski is going to learn in the coming months and years. Yes, he got the money ($27.5 million), and good for him. No man who works for another man is ever overpaid, the saying goes, and Grabovski, it can be argued, simply got market value.

What he's going to find, however, is that there was great anonymity and not much scrutiny in being a second line centre earning $2.9 million per season. He wasn't close to the highest paid Leafs, he didn't have prime time responsibility, almost never spoke to the media, he rarely had to play against the top defenders of the other team and generally speaking he was a non-core player who was seen as an over-achiever when he almost hit the 60-point mark.

Well, don't expect him to be described as an over-achiever again. Ever again.

Next season, he'll be the team's second highest paid player behind Dion Phaneuf - and ahead of Phil Kessel - and still won't be the No. 1 centre the team desperately needs. As the second-highest paid player on the club he'll be looked to for more than what he has been delivering, and when he fails to deliver that, look for the talk shows to start chattering about him being overpaid and the fingers to start being pointed.

See, Grabovski doesn't see that coming. He just sees the money. But don't be surprised if the money and the expectations get to him. Seen that one a million times.

He's nowhere near the second most important player on the team. But he now gets the distinction of being paid more than all his teammates save one.

It's not really a question of whether he deserved the money or whether it was market value.

It will now be a question of whether he can handle the money.

 

 

 

Silliness

No chance I'm getting in the middle of this Don Cherry-Brian Burke spat. Got my own wars to wage.

But let's get off this silliness about the Leafs not having enough players from Ontario. I mean seriously, people, how small do we want to get. Should Willowdale be outraged until a boy from that GTA quadrant is on the Leaf roster?

I suppose you could, if you were so inclined, be bothered if the Leafs had no Canadian player. But is Luke Schenn not Canadian enough, not homegrown as much as a kind from Haliburton would be? This is just the old xenophobia heard weekly on Saturday night squeezed a little tighter.

The point is, be upset if you wish about the quality of Burke's team. You have reason to be. But discussing the nationality of the players or coaches or executives is so irrelevant as to only be necessary for use as a straw man in an absurd debate.

Burke and Cherry are squabbling, and perhaps each man has a reasonable grievance. But to suggest this is seriously about whether the Leafs have Ontario-born players is to completely misunderstand that which is going on.

By the way, the Leafs took a player from the GTA in the first round of the NHL draft last summer. And when Burke won the Cup in Anaheim, the vast majority of players were from Canada.

You may dislike the guy or his managerial style. But he's not out to make the Leafs into Team America. He's just trying to win.

I'm pretty sure if the Leafs had no Ontarians and were in first place nothing would be said. That said, just saying the team would be better now if it had more Ontarians is as ridiculous as claiming Phil Kessel would be more successful if he just shot left-handed.

You know, like Bobby Orr did.

 

Wilson Fired

Strange timing on a Friday night, but inevitable.

Ron Wilson's 3 1/2 season reign as head coach of the Maple Leafs ended tonight when he was dismissed by GM Brian Burke. The Leafs have lost 10 of 11 games and fallen to 11th place in the conference after sitting in the eighth and final playoff position in the Eastern Conference as late as Feb. 23.

The Leafs haven't made the playoffs since 2004. Randy Carlyle, fired as coach of the Anaheim Ducks this season, may be the replacement.

Hired by then interim GM Cliff Fletcher just months before Burke took over the Leafs, Wilson missed the playoffs the first three seasons he was behind the Leaf bench, and the club is likely headed for another non-playoff spring.

Wilson signed a contract extension before Christmas, which makes him unusual in being a coach who signed an extension and was fired in the same season.

Carlyle is expected to be behind the Leaf bench in Montreal tomorrow night. Wilson's latest loss came Wednesday night in Chicago, and its not clear why Burke waited two days to announce his firing.

When the Leafs lost their last home game on Tuesday to Florida, fans chanted "Fire Wilson" loudly and frequently.

 

 

 

 

The Un-Five-Million-Dollar Man

Cudda. Wudda. Shudda.

Two more losses have piled up since Leafs GM Brian Burke proclaimed that on trade deadline day he could have added four first round draft picks for players on his current roster.

In addition to the club's own first rounder, that would have made it five picks in the top 30 this June, a position of terrific possibility and flexibility.

Burke declined all of those offers, choosing the now over the future. For those who hope to see the Leafs return to post-season play sometime before global warming turns Toronto into Tahiti, perhaps it was the correct choice.

One of those first rounders, its quite clear, could have been had for centre Mikhail Grabovski, who is in the midst of one hockey's most inept salary drives at the moment. He's 27 years old, has never managed more than 29 goals or 58 points in a single NHL season (both were last year) and is unlikely to hit either total this season.

Always a streaky sort, Grabovski has gone colder than his team, and has now failed to score a goal in 14 games after missing out again in Chicago on Wednesday.

Oh yes, and he wants $5 million a year on a multi-year contract.

Well, if someone else wants to pay, let 'em pay. But it shouldn't be the Leafs. 

The team that is probably already wondering whether it gave John-Michael Liles too much salary and too much term by signing him in-season to a new contract must, surely, be getting the heebie-geebies over awarding Grabovski the kind of contract he's looking for either now or as a UFA this summer.

Maybe that's what the marketplace demands. But as the second-line centre on a losing hockey team, it would be difficult to make the case that Grabovski deserves this kind of payday on anything but a pure statistical basis, i.e., other teams are dumb enough to be paying Player X and Player Y this amount, therefore the Leafs should do the same with Grabovski, who currently makes $2.9 million per season.

So much attention has been paid to Ron Wilson, and the goalies, and Luke Schenn, that guys like Grabovski, Clarke MacArthur, Nik Kulemin, Matthew Lombardi and others have been able to quietly post sub-par seasons and slip under the radar.

That happens. But you don't give them a raise for it.