The Big Fish. . .Er, Duck

We're waiting for the first big move by Dave Nonis as GM of the Maple Leafs.

It might have to be a really big one.

See, if it turns out, as is being widely speculated, that the Anaheim Ducks can afford to keep only one their dynamic duo, Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry, and that Getzlaf is the one most likely to get the new long-term deal from the Ducks, then Perry could be available before the April 3rd trade deadline.

If that's the case and Perry hits the trade market, it's a competition the Leafs must be in.

Perry - who registered a nice three-assist effort in an Anaheim win over Nashville last night - isn't a perfect fit for the Leafs, a team desperate for a No. 1 centre. But he competes like hell, is a former Hart Trophy winner and the proud owner of a Stanley Cup ring. He'll be 28 in May, not too old to still be a dominant player for years to come.

He's the kind of player who could transform the Leafs in a way it was once believed Phil Kessel could, but clearly never will.

It will be an expensive deal to make, both in terms of players, and in terms of a contract. Perry deserves a sizeable increase on his current $4.875 million salary, and depending how high he wants to drive the price, he could be headed north of $8 million.

The Leafs can pay that. They'll have the room. They surely have the need to bring in a player who has actually accomplished something big in this league. And he's accomplished a few big things.

Assuming the Leafs would be very interested, here's where it gets really interesting. Ex-GM Brian Burke, as we know, is now a part-time scout with the Ducks. He can supply Anaheim with the inside dope on every single Leaf player and prospect, plus he knows how Nonis feels and thinks about every single Leaf player and prospect, and how he values them.

Leaf head coach Randy Carlyle, on the other hand, has intimate knowledge of the Anaheim roster. So that factor is somewhat counter-balanced.

Would Burke, who brought Kessel to Toronto and still believes in him, recommend the Ducks look at acquiring Silent Phil as part of a package for Perry? Would Nonis need to be able to have a contract in place with Perry before a trade could be consumated?

Lots of moving parts here, and lots of speculation. Heck, Anaheim could sign both Getzlaf and Perry - that seems unlikely - or keep both beyond the trade deadline even if unsigned.

That also seems unlikely. They already tried and lost that gambit with Justin Schultz.

So this is going to be a hot story to watch. Starting. . .now.

 

Quick Leaf Considerations

Some bits and bites on the Leafs for a Tuesday morning:

--Tom Brady's new contract with the New England Patriots, one that pays him half the going rate for star NFL quarterbacks, will have many NFL teams thinking about getting their players to think less about maxing their salaries and more about finding ways to give teams flexibility under the cap. Problem is, of course, that few players have the trust in ownership and management that Brady enjoys with the Patriots.

So what's this got to do with the Leafs? Well, to this point, the Leafs have been one of the better NHL clubs when it comes to managing the cap. They have no forwards north of $5.5 million, and only Dion Phaneuf on the back end ($6.5 million cap hit) comes in above $4.5 million. The cap drops to $64.3 million next season, and right now the Leafs are in a solid position with about $47.1 million committed to 13 players.

The trick will be to successfully maintain cap flexibility as the team improves, assuming it does. Young players will want more, with Nazem Kadri (restricted free agent this summer) at the top of the list. The key will be finding ways to satisfy Phaneuf and winger Phil Kessel (assuming both remain Leafs) after their deals expire after next season. Joffrey Lupul has already signed a five-year cap friendly arrangment, so the tone has been set.

Detroit and New Jersey are two teams that have successfully convinced players to take a little less to stay in successful organizations. Can the Leafs become one of those teams?

--Ben Scrivens hasn't established himself as an NHL starting goalie. Not yet. The sample size is too small.

But Scrivens, at 26, has established himself as an NHL-calibre goaltender, a remarkable story given that it was only 2 1/2 years ago he signed for a $67,500 AHL salary and $90,000 salary bonus as a free agent out of Cornell University. Remember, the Leafs has signed Jonas (The Monster) Gustavsson the summer before, in the summer of 2010, were more focussed on getting Jussi Rynnas under contract. Scrivens was an afterthought, and even though he started out a distant fifth on the team's depth chart and far from the NHL on the roster of the ECHL team in Reading, here he is, having outlasted all those who once stood above him in the organization. Impressive.

--Just the Leafs luck. They finally have their act together, it would seem, and now they emerge from years of struggling to find themselves playing in what is currently the NHL's best division, the Northeast. The Leafs, Habs, Bruins and Senators all reside in the top nine of the NHL's overall standings this morning.

--It's popular to say Phaneuf isn't worth the $6.5 million cap hit off a contract he actually signed in Calgary. And maybe that's true. But only four NHL defencemen - Drew Doughty, Erik Karlsson, Mike Green and Ryan Suter - are logging more ice time this season than Phaneuf's average of 26:27. Phaneuf has the sixth highest cap hit among NHL blueliners and nine defencemen will earn more in salary this season. Across the league, 37 players will make more in salary this season, and 32 come with a higher cap hit. 

So is Phaneuf overpaid? Maybe. But the comparisons would say not wildly so, particularly given the extra burden he carries as captain, and given what he does for the Leafs on a deal that was signed with another team, they can't be unhappy.

--Mark Fraser is back on top of the NHL plus-minus chart at plus-13 for the season. Most impressively, Fraser is plus-11 on the road. It will be one year tomorrow that the Leafs acquired Fraser from the Anaheim Ducks for forward Dale Mitchell, a deal that at this moment looks very good from a Leaf perspective as Mitchell has left North America and gone to Austria to ply his trade. Why did Anaheim move him? They wanted to dump his small, one-way contract, worth $600,000 this season.

In fact, the Fraser acquisition was barely mentioned at all when it happened. The big news that day for Leafs was trading defenceman Keith Aulie to Tampa for winger Carter Ashton.

 

Malkin and Head Games

This time, there's no getting right back out on the ice.

The Pittsburgh Penguins are a franchise that has learned the hard way that being anything but extra-cautious with concussions is a dangerous business.

So while most of the teams in hockey wouldn't even admit it if one of their top players was concussed, the Pens officially acknowledged Sunday night that reigning NHL scoring champ and MVP Evgeny Malkin had indeed suffered a head injury and won't be available for a few games at least. Malkin crashed into the boards after a collision with Florida defenceman Erik Gudbranson, missed Sunday night's game against Tampa Bay and isn't heading out on the road with the team.

After that, who knows? Sidney Crosby missed much of a year-and-a-half battling a concussion he suffered in January. The good news is that Crosby appears most of the way back, finally, and sits second in NHL scoring this morning.

The less positive part of the story, of course, is that there were plenty of stops and starts along the way. Interestingly, Crosby's start against Tampa Bay on Sunday night was his first meeting with the Lightning and Victor Hedman since that infamous game back in Jan., 2011 that he shouldn't have been allowed to play after being injured in the Winter Classic several days before.

Beyond that, an NHL season defined mostly by injuries is continuing with that theme. Jamming this many games into this short of a period of time was always an iffy proposition, and the players are the ones paying the price.

Beyond Malkin and his head, other hockey notes:

--Any realignment plan that brings Detroit to the same conference as Toronto, Boston and Montreal gets a thumbs up here. That said, the NHLPA has yet to begin obstructing the process, so don't get too excited yet.

--Given the start they've had, the Blackhawks might reasonably expect to have a huge lead in the Western Conference. Instead, there's Anaheim just six points back with a record that would have them first in the Eastern Conference. One of the great stories for the Ducks is defenceman Francois Beauchemin, still decried by folks who don't understand the game as a poor free agent signing by the Maple Leafs several years back.

Beauchemin leads the NHL with a plus-15 rating while skating almost 24 minutes a night. He's certainly playing better back in Orange County than he did in Toronto, but then again, he's playing on a much better team.

Unrestricted free agents signed by the Leafs during the Brian Burke years, meanwhile, make up a significant part of the team's current lineup. The list includes Ben Scrivens, Colton Orr, Tyler Bozak, Clarke MacArthur, Jay McClement and Mike Kostka. None are stars, but only MacArthur comes with a cap hit of more than $1.5 million per season.

--Bozak, by the way, has more than his fair share of critics, and he's no No. 1 centre. But he is very good on faceoffs - among centres with more than 150 draws, only Jonathan Toews is better - and sits higher on the NHL scoring parade this season than a long list of centres. That list includes Brad Richards, Mike Richards, Patrice Bergeron, Tyler Seguin, David Desharnais, Paul Stastny, Val Filpulla, Jiri Hudler, Derek Stepan, Derek Roy, Adam Henrique, Mike Fisher, Sean Couturier, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Travis Zajac and David Legwand.

--Not surprisingly, Alex Ovechkin's first hat trick in almost two years on Saturday was huge news in Washington. Head coach Adam Oates, while an assistant in New Jersey, pushed for Ilya Kovalchuk to move from left wing to right wing, and while Kovalchuk fought it, the move eventually paid off.

Now perhaps the same process is starting to work for Ovechkin. Part of the reason for his drop in production has been how predictable he had become as an attacker from the left side.

“You’ve got to be a complete player and you’ve got to grow as a player and you’ve got to get better and he’s no different than everybody,” Oates told The Washington Post. “The good thing is that he wants to.”

The Caps need to start making a move soon if they want to be in the post-season. Otherwise, don't forget that it was GM George McPhee back in the 2003-04 who gutted the team for a shot at Ovechkin and was rewarded with the first overall pick.

Would the Caps do it again to get Seth Jones or Nathan MacKinnon if the playoffs look out of reach? Won't be nearly as easy this time around with players like Ovechkin, Nicklas Backstrom and Mike Green on the roster.

--"I was just finishing my check" has become the catch-all phrase for any NHL player who makes an illegal hit. Of course, given how much contact there is these days on players who don't have the puck, what is legal and illegal has become seriously blurred.

--What will the reaction be if the Leafs make the playoffs and Phil Kessel doesn't score 10 goals?

Second question: What will the reaction be if the Leafs are in the playoff hunt and trade Kessel? The market for his services is likely never going to be as good as it will be by the April 3rd trade deadline.

--One of the oddities about this year's Leafs is that Scrivens, Mark Fraser and Korbinian Holzer look better as NHLers than as AHLers. There's a suspicion the same might be the case for Joe Colborne, who isn't have a boffo season with the Marlies but seems certain to get a serious look at the NHL level this season.

--Jordan Eberle hasn't been in the AHL for six weeks and he's still just a point off that league's scoring lead.

--There's been lots of talk about Kessel's scoring troubles, and Jarome Iginla's problems around the net. Well, in New York, there's lot of chatter surrounding the miserable start of Brad Richards, who has two goals and 11 points and has seven more seasons on his contract left at a $6.66 million cap hit.

Columnist Larry Brooks speculated in the New York Post on the weekend that the Rangers might even look at a compliance buyout this summer should Richards not snap out of his funk. It was never a good contract - no wonder only a couple of teams wanted any part of that type of long-term arrangement with Richards.

--The Buffalo Sabres are moving into contention in the race for the No. 1 pick in next summer's draft. Meanwhile, keeping last June's first rounder, Mikhail Grigorenko, in the NHL this season is looking less and less like a good idea every game. Grigorenko has one goal this season, has been scratched four times and played only six minutes for new head coach Ron Rolston in Saturday's dismal 4-0 loss to the Islanders.

He is the only 18-year-old left in the NHL. Buffalo might like to send him to Rochester but he can only go to the Quebec Remparts.

--There's never an end to the teams who believe it will be different with Olli Jokinen. Well, add Winnipeg to the list. Jokinen has five points this season to go with a league worst minus-11 rating.

Tied with Jokinen for last place in plus-minus is Florida centre Stephen Weiss, who has one goal and was benched for most of the third period against Boston on Sunday night. Weiss, 29, is a UFA this summer and probably gets moved by the trade deadline, but his poor play is only going to make it harder for GM Dale Tallon.

--Jokinen was one of two players clipped in the face by skates on the weekend. The difference between Jokinen and Oliver Ekman-Larsson of Phoenix, however, is that Ekman-Larson was protected by his visor. Jokinen doesn't wear one - why are shields not mandatory again? - and escaped with only a cut by sheer good fortune.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A Young Star in Hot Water

It's easy to suspend the likes of Jannik Hansen, banned for one game this week by Brendan Shanahan for a sneaky elbow/forearm on Marian Hossa.

It's quite another, as we've seen over the years, when it's a star who delivers a controversial hit.

After an incident in Edmonton Thursday night, Shanahan will have one of those cases on his docket Friday morning when he begins to sift through the evidence following a controversial bodycheck by Oiler youngster Taylor Hall on Cal Clutterbuck of the Minnesota Wild.

Hall isn't an established star yet, and in fact with only three goals so far this season, he's struggling to do what he does best, and that's score.  But he is a former first overall draft pick and many anticipate that as such he'll ultimately evolve into a franchise-type player.

Late in the third period against the Wild, just after Minny had potted its third goal of the night in what would be a 3-1 victory, Hall laid out an unsuspecting Clutterbuck with what may have been intended as a hip check but became an unnecessary cheap shot and should get Hall suspended.

Clutterbuck, for starters, never at any point had possession of the puck. At best, the bouncing rubber glanced off his skate. Hall saw the chance for a big hit as Clutterbuck turned towards the middle of the ice, lowered his shoulder but then appeared to make contact with his knee on Clutterbuck's knee/hip area.

Clutterback collapsed in obvious pain, and ultimately had to be helped off the ice with an undisclosed injury. Hall received a five-minute major for kneeing and a game misconduct.

"I really didn't feel like it was knee-on-knee at all," said Hall afterwards. "It was just a weird play. . .I thought the puck was going to bounce right to him. . .it hit his skate. . .it might have been a bit late.

"I felt I got a good chunk of him with my hip. It sucks to see him down but I don't really think it was that dirty. . .I could have hit him in the head. That thought crossed my mind. I didn't really want to bury him too bad. I just thought the puck was right there. I thought that for that instant he was a little vulnerable but I didn't want to catch him with his head down or hit him in the head. I just wanted to get a piece of him and hopefully get the puck back."

Minnesota coach Mike Yeo seemed stunned by the play.

"(Hall) looked like he was trying to hurt a guy," said Yeo. "The thing I would say about this is how would it be if it was reversed, if it was (Clutterbuck) hitting Taylor Hall?"

Hall will, one imagines, receive at least a phone hearing with Shanahan, and it's hard to believe he won't get more than a game suspension. Complicating matters is that the two teams will meet in St. Paul on Tuesday, setting the stage for trouble if the league chooses not to act.

Hall has been indentified as a reckless player before, but that's mostly for endangering himself and hurling his body into harm's way.

This, however, is different. There was no need for that kind of hit, which seemed mostly the product of a frustrated player on a team struggling to win hockey games.

We'll see what the sheriff has to say.

 

 

 

Burke On The Move

Can't imagine a single person should be surprised.

Brian Burke wants to work, not sit around and collect a paycheque. The Anaheim Ducks used to employ him and he left there on good terms. The Ducks are a serious contender in the Western Conference and teams in those positions tend to like to gather as many quality hockey people as possible - particularly those with championship pedigree - to deal with the tricky personnel decisions ahead.

And Burke's a highly regarded hockey person. Indeed, it's looking like he put together a pretty decent squad here in Toronto before he had the rug pulled out from under him by corporate meddlers right after the NHL lockout ended.

So surprised? Not a chance.

We can argue all day long about the decisions Burke made in Toronto, the good and the bad, and the development arc of the team. But it's pretty clear those who contended that the Leafs had nothing - many of them lazy media types who never bothered to take in a Marlie game or check out the team's prospects - and that Burke had created nothing were about as far from the truth as one could imagine.

There's going to be some serious back-peddling by some if this team turns out to be as good as it seems right now. (Not to mention by those who contended, and in some cases have actually written, that there's some dirty, nasty story that's yet to be told. But such people never correct the record, do they?)

Anaheim, and GM Bob Murray, already knew that Burke knows something about the sport, of course, and Murray and Burke are thick as thieves. This is a reunion, not an experiment. So the Ducks will use Burke as long as they can until he gets that next GM job.

Meanwhile, this brings to a close the awkward situation created in the wake of Burke's dismissal in Toronto. He believed the day he was fired that he had agreed to be retained as a consultant to GM Dave Nonis and the hockey departement, and declared he was more than willing to travel and scout and do whatever was needed.

Within 24 hours, however, it was clear that wasn't MLSE's intention at all, and the "consultant" tag hung on Burke was simply window dressing. Leaf ownership, notably Bell boss George Cope, wanted Burke gone, and that didn't include hanging around the team or the press box and giving advice to Nonis.

The uncomfortableness of the situation became clear recently when Burke returned to the ACC scouting for U.S.A. Hockey and had a press box seat with that designation. But wasn't he still working for the Leafs? If so, why would he require a special press box seat?

The whole thing was a bit of a sham, and this part-time gig with Anaheim rescues everyone from having to pretend any longer. Burke is history as a Leaf executive, and no connections are left. None, that is, except for the executive, coaching and playing talent he put together that has produced solid results in the early part of this season.

 

 

 

 

End of an Era in Buffalo

For 16 years, Lindy Ruff steered the Buffalo Sabres from behind the bench. Coach after coach was fired, some more than once, and Ruff stayed in place, through bankruptcy and multiple ownership changes and the departure of major stars.

That ended this afternoon, and now, for the first time since July 21st, 1997, the Sabres will have somebody else behind the bench for their next game, which just happens to be tomorrow night here in Toronto against the Maple Leafs.

The writing was on the wall when the Sabres got off to a slow start this season, and fingers immediately were pointed at the tandem of Ruff and GM Darcy Regier. A home ice loss to Winnipeg on Tuesday night sealed Ruff's fate after 1,065 regular season games.

The Sabres did not immediately name a replacement. Ruff's assistant coaches are James Patrick, Kevyn Adams and Teppo Numminen. Buffalo is 6-10-1 and sits 13th in the Eastern Conference.

The strange part for Ruff is that when owner Terry Pegula took over the club in Feb., 2011, it appeared that the Sabres would finally be able to access the kind of talent that had often not be available for Ruff's use. The team went out and spent heavily on free agents like Ville Leino and Christian Ehrhoff, but has fared worse in the Pegula era than in the days when cash was tight.

Ruff turned 53 earlier this week. His best accomplishment was getting the Sabres to the 1999 Stanley Cup final, losing to Dallas. He was the NHL's longest serving coach and one of only four coaches to coach 1,000 games with the same team. 

There were 170 coaches fired while Ruff coached Buffalo. Barry Trotz with Nashville is now the NHL's longest serving coach.

 

Hawks Hitting the Heights

It's what Detroit-Colorado used to be; at the very least the best NHL rivalry in the west.

Maybe the best, period.

When the Chicago Blackhawks and Vancouver Canucks play, everyone watches, and such was the case Tuesday in the Windy City in a much anticipated battle.

On the line was Chicago's spectacular start to the 2012-13 season, one in which they needed one more point to tie the league record for most games to start the season without a single regulation loss (16).

The Hawks got it. But not without a heckuva fight and some controversy.

In the end, Ray Emery outdueled Cory Schneider in a shootout for a 4-3 victory that moved the Hawks to 13-0-3 on the season, tying Anaheim's 2006-07 record.

The Hawks can break the record Friday night at home with at least a point against the San Jose Sharks.

Chicago looked headed for an impressive regulation victory against the Vancouver, cradling a 3-1 lead into the second half of the third period after scoring three in the middle frame. But with Schneider refusing to give up a fourth goal and the visiting Canucks scored twice to tie the game, including the equalizer with 61 seconds to play.

In the shootout, however, Andrew Shaw sped in on Schneider and beat the Vancouver goalie with a nifty backhand high to give the Hawks the win. Kesler, given a chance to extend the shootout, couldn't beat Emery.

It was a fast, hard game, and as usual, with a bit of bad blood. In this case, it came from an unlikely candidate, with Vancouver's Jannik Hansen knocking Marian Hossa out of the game with a sneaky, punishing elbow to the back of Hossa's head as both players went to play a puck high in the air.

Hossa had played brilliantly to that point, scoring twice in the second period. Hansen will have a phone hearing today with NHL hanging judge Brendan Shanahan about the incident. Since it's over the phone, he can receive up to a maximum of five games.

"We are both kind of jumping for it and he grabs the puck first and I'm coming down and I kind of land on him a little bit and apparently I hit him in the back of the head is what the ref is telling me," Hansen told reporters. "It's hard for me to tell what really happened.

"It's a hockey play and we bumped together a little hard and he goes down. I can't really do anything about that. We both go for the puck and we ran into each other."

"Obviously we know he got hit last year I think everybody in the hockey world knows that," Hansen said. "But it's a hockey play and when you go for a puck, you go for a puck."

Vancouver coach Alain Vigneault didn't even believe a minor penalty was warranted on the play. Chicago, naturally, differed.

"It was tough to see," said Chicago forward Patrick Sharp. "I thought it was a questionable hit. I’d have to see the replay a few more times, but I didn’t like the hit when I saw it. You like it even less when you see a guy like Hoss on the ice who’s been through something like that before. Hopefully he’s doing okay."

Vancouver welcomed David Booth back to the lineup for his first game of the season, putting the club at full strength after Ryan Kesler returned last week.

But the Hawks were the better team for most of the night, pounding Schneider with 43 shots, including three breakaways in the first period alone, as the Canuck defensive shield was uncharacteristically leaky on the night.

This sizzling Chicago team, it should be noted, is different than the big, pounding club that won the 2010 Stanley Cup. While some of the faces are the same - Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane, Duncan Keith - the Hawks have built a faster team with the likes of youngsters like Shaw and Brandon Saad.

The Hawks were without No. 1 goalie Corey Crawford and key blueliner Brent Seabrook for the game, but still had enough to win. The game was much more entertaining than the previous encounter, a 2-1 Canucks shootout win on Feb. 1 in British Columbia.

Right now, only Boston-Montreal and Pittsburgh-Philadelphia in the Eastern Conference can compare to the intense Vancouver-Chicago rivalry. The two clubs next meet on April 22nd in Vancouver.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hawks three breakaways in the first, didn't score

 

 

exploded in second for three goals to take a 3-1 lead

overwhelmed Schneider

 

 

Hawks different from big, punishing squad that won the Cup

 

 

 

Different than it Used To Be

Mike Komisarek and John-Michael Liles, to meet, are both friendly and courteous fellows. In this age of Oscar Pistorius and beyond, we dare not go further than that, although if requested testimonials would be easily acquired on behalf of both men.

Liles, since coming to Toronto, has endeavoured to be part of several charitable efforts, including Liles' Buds, partnering with the Canadian Safe School Network to recognize young people who show community awareness and perform acts of kindness.

Both Komisarek and Liles are also respected, long-time pros who have played well, sometimes very well, at times in the NHL.

All of this is written to make one clear point; there should be no joy in Leaf-ville that both men were in the press box in Sunrise, Fla. on Monday night, putting $8.35 million of blueline talent off the active roster. There should not be any rejoicing simply because two proud NHLers are suddenly on the outside looking in.

Komisarek, the whipping post of seasons past, has played only four games and simply can't bust his way into the lineup. Liles was scratched Monday against the Panthers to make room for Carl Gunnarson, back from hip problems. The former Colorado defenceman played fairly well early in the season, but his prowess in the offensive zone generally isn't matched in the defensive zone, something that may not fit easily with defensive-minded head coach Randy Carlyle.

Komisarek has one more year left at $4.5 million. He may be bought out this summer. Liles has three more years left at $3.875 million, not an onerous salary but one not moved easily, either.

Both could return to active duty at some point, even soon, so this is not necessarily the conclusion to their careers as valued Leafs.

But while there should be no joy simply because Komisarek and Liles are having to deal with the embarrassment of not being used, Leaf fans may wish to look at this as a positive in this way; no longer do contracts decide who plays in Toronto.

And don't think this doesn't matter.

If you want to know why the Leafs, winners of six of their past seven, look a little hungrier this season, part of it may be because players are being pushed at every position, and few have the luxury of feeling safe.

That Mark Fraser, Korbinian Holzer and Mike Kostka - all making less than $600,000 per season - are playing while Liles and Komisarek are not tells you Carlyle has free rein to play his best lineup, regardless of who is owed what and for how many years.

In all, 17 Leafs are making less than the NHL average salary, including all the goaltenders. Tim Connolly ($4.75 million) is buried in the minors, which means, including buyouts and salary retained in the Matthew Lombardi trade, the Leafs are paying $16.675 million this season to players who weren't in the lineup Monday night.

That's a lot, and certainly a sign of personnel decisions that went wrong. 

This, however, is where the financial muscle of a team can work in the salary cap era.

Many teams can't afford to not use players making that kind of money. They'd have to play them. Florida, for example, spent a lot of money last season on free agents just to get up to the salary floor, and whether those players are playing well or not, they must play.

That can create a corrosive atmosphere. Playing the best regardless of salary, on the other hand, creates a positive atmosphere. Those who are playing know they won't be displaced simply because another player has a bigger deal, and those with bigger deals, aside from the very top-end players, know they must perform to stay in the lineup. Or have to scratch and claw their way back in.

Look, it's no act of genius that the Leafs own some bad contracts. But every team does. Its what can be done with those players that matters. 

 

 

 

 

RALEIGH--Jay McClement wasn't brought to Toronto to score. So it is a little odd that he'll be taking a scorer's spot tonight.

But that's the way it will work against Carolina tonight when the 29-year-old veteran centre moves into Matt Frattin's position on a line with centre Nazem Kadri and winger Clarke MacArthur. McClement is a jack-of-all-trades on this Leaf team, but right wing for him is a new one.

"It's a challenge and an opportunity that I've got to take advantage of," he said today after the morning skates. "It's fun to play in different situations and different roles, and I think it's helped me get on the ice more.

"Hopefully I can be successful on the right wing too."

McClement had his most regular NHL work as the centre on Andy Murray's checking line in St. Louis for two years. In Colorado, he was stuck behind centres Paul Stastny, Ryan O'Reilly and Matt Duchene, which meant an expanded role was almost impossible.

Leaf head coach Randy Carlyle, however, clearly likes the energy and defensive responsiblity he brings, and hopes Kadri and MacArthur will at least maintain their level of play without Frattin. McClement has one goal and two assists this season.

Carlyle said defenceman Carl Gunnerson, who has missed the last six games with a hip injury, did not accompany the team to North Carolina in order to get extra massage work done. The backliner could be back as early as Saturday against Ottawa, which would mean one of the current six-pack would have to come out.

"A good problem," smiled Carlyle.

Jussi Rynnas, as expected, will back up Ben Scrivens in the Leaf net.

 

 

Accident or Recklessness

Ottawa hockey fans want Matt Cooke's head on a pike, and you can understand why.

Already down Jason Spezza with a long-term injury, the Senators watched in horror on Wednesday as the left skate of Pittsburgh forward Matt Cooke dug into the back of Norris Trophy winning defenceman Erik Karlsson's ankle as the two went into the boards together, partially severing Karlsson's left Achilles tendon.

To Sens fans, it was Cooke, therefore there was intent, and they want justice.

Brendan Shanahan, however, didn't see it that way, and after reviewing the incident, informed both teams this morning there will be no further action by the league.

For starters, you'd have to have the worst possible opinion of Cooke to imagine he'd do that on purpose. You'd have to look at him as the same as Chris Simon, who received a 30-game ban in December, 2007, for using his skate to stomp Jarkko Ruutu. Ruutu was then of the Pittsburgh Penguins for those who believe the only bad things that ever happen in hockey happen to Senators playing against Penguins (last three years Daniel Alfredsson, Spezza and now Karlsson have all been injured in games against Pittsburgh).

"Tough loss. The game. The best defensemen in the league. Freak accident?", tweeted Ottawa netminder Craig Anderson.

Cooke has done terrible things over the course of his career, with ending Marc Savard's career (essentially) at the top of the list. That said, this is also a player who has committed himself to rehabilitating his image and his game. Last year he had just 44 penalty minutes in 82 games. This year, he has 18 pims in 14 games.

For Pittsburgh supportors, and neutral folks, it didn't look nearly as intentional when Cooke's skate lifted and cut Karlsson. These are razor sharp blades that are flashing every night on NHL rinks, folks, and it's a wonder it doesn't happen on a more regular basis. 

But it does happen. On Nov. 2, 2010, Peter Regin of the Senators accidentally cut Dion Phaneuf of the Leafs with his skate after the two were tangled up. The laceration was to the inside of Phaneuf's leg. He had surgery that same night and missed five weeks.

The most nightmarish skate cut incident came on March 22, 1989, when the skate of St. Louis forward Steve Tuttle accidentally slashed the jugular vein of Buffalo goaltender Clint Malarchuk. Only the fast-thinking work of a trainer saved Malarchuk's life, and the cut required 300 stitches to close.

These have always, except for the Simon incident, been regarded as accidents, not deliberate or even reckless. 

That's the way this one looks too. Cooke's skate shouldn't have been lifted as it was, but frankly, that kind of thing happens multiple times in an NHL game. Players often kick at the puck as they joust for position; is that reckless?

Nothing will adequately compensate the Sens for the loss of Karlsson, and certainly not a suspension to Cooke. Ottawa's season is now on the line, and it's going to take a combination of brilliant coaching by Paul MacLean, superb goaltending by Anderson and others raising their game for the Sens to get past this.

That said, the injuries surely are piling up around the league. Calgary is living without Mikka Kiprusoff. The Leafs are missing James Reimer, Matt Frattin and Joffrey Lupul. Edmonton's missing Shawn Horcoff, Gabriel Landeskog has been out in Denver, L.A. lost Matt Greene, Dainius Zubrus is hurt in New Jersey, Tampa is without Ryan Malone, St. Louis has lost Jaroslav Halak again and the list just goes on and on.

The NHL season is turning into the Survivor Series. That said, there's only one reigning Norris Trophy winner, and in a 30-team league, there's just no replacing that.