Conference stkhlm::hockey

    no trade yet...
    
    Leafs lost to the Blues last night, gizillion to zero...
    
    its 25 below...
    
    I want my mommy

    The battle for the Ontario Cup is on tomorrow as the Senators travel to
    Toronto for their second meeting of the season.  Sens won the first
    meeting 6 - 2.
    
    Go Sens.
    
    Bernie.
    
    P.S.  Brian,  your mom says she doesn't want you :-)

    I must say I expect the Sens to win tomorrow night.  I would say the
    same for any other team playing the Leafs these days.  They play some
    fairly solid games, but always manage to make the big key defensive 
    blunders.  And Potvin is not having a great year.  
    
    I wonder if heads will roll at MLG, and if so, whose.  Toronto should 
    have the resources and the pride to ice something better than a last 
    place team, if the ownership is better than Ballard-level.
    
    -Stephen

    Daniel Alfredsson was the post game guest after yesterday's game.  He
    was asked about the upcoming game against Toronto.  He had some
    interesting comments that I hope don't get to the Leafs dressing room.
    
    I also hope that Alfie does play tomorrow.  He's been out with an
    oblique muscle injury.
    
    Bernie.

    Leaf's fans...
    
    	 After four years of the basement, you do not know how great it feels 
    to say this. Ah Ha! your in last place and the Sens won the Ontario
    Cup. Is Harold Ballard still in charge of this team?
    
    Sean
    

    Wow! The Leafs really do suck. The Sens made 
    that a fact after Sat's HNIC.
    
    
    
    Chris

Sad-sack Leafs can't have it both ways

THIS IS WHERE the Maple Leaf franchise could dig itself    [By Damian Cox]
an even bigger hole.

Trading a 1998 third-round pick to get defenceman Craig Wolanin made little
sense at the time it was made Friday afternoon and it makes even less sense
today after the Leafs staked their strongest claim yet to being the NHL's
worst team.

It's not that Wolanin can't play.

It's just that a 29-year-old veteran defenceman of medium ability can't
change the immediate future, which is that the Leafs are going to miss the
playoffs.

Folks, they're already out.

To even catch Anaheim for the final Western Conference berth, the
mathematics are daunting. The Ducks, with games in hand, are on pace for a
75-point season, which means the Leafs would have to finish 18-11 just to
tie.

It would take a gargantuan improvement on the part of Mike Murphy's squad
just to play .500 hockey over the remaining 29 games and that would leave
the Leafs well short of the post-season.

It's over. Done. Now is not the time to be thinking about short-term
solutions.

Sure, a third-round pick might not seem a lot. But just last week, Fletcher
told this space his scouts believe the 1998 draft is deeper and better than
this year's. The next day, he trades away his third pick.

The Leaf GM likes to crow about the high number of forwards under the age of
25 his club dresses nightly, but most of those youngsters were drafted in
the third round or lower.

Last summer, Dave Gagner was traded for a third-rounder, Mike Gartner was
traded for a fourth-rounder and Fletcher talked about the depth of the Leaf
draft crop that contained 12 players taken in the third round or later.

Now, a third-round pick is being sacrificed for a player who can't
significantly alter the current predicament after Fletcher insisted he
wouldn't trade bits of the future for immediate assistance.

If a third-rounder is a small price to pay, then it can't be treated as a
valuable commodity when Fletcher is preaching about his team's talent
reserves. Conversely, if it has value, then it shouldn't be tossed away for
a journeyman.

You can't have it both ways.

The Wolanin deal looks suspiciously like a transaction aimed at trying to
ensure the Leafs don't finish dead last, the kind of swap Floyd Smith pulled
off six years ago after he traded the Leafs' first-round pick to Jersey and
then spent the rest of the season making sure that didn't turn into Eric
Lindros.

Also, to combat budgetary restraints all season and then go out and spend
$900,000 on Wolanin isn't logical. Maybe there's another move coming to even
out the salary differential, but then you're just going in a circle.

It's widely believed Fletcher's laying the groundwork for a Doug Gilmour
deal, but he's got to be careful there as well. New Jersey, Florida,
Philadelphia and Chicago are thought to have various degrees of interest and
Fletcher could probably deal with the Devils right now.

Fletcher wants to stretch the process out to as close to the March 18 trade
deadline as possible. The risk is that those teams could turn to another
source to fill their needs, or decide Gilmour isn't up to the task they have
in mind.

Regardless, the Wolanin trade shouldn't be the first of several similar
moves.

Being last is bad enough. Pretending it isn't happening could prove to be
worse.

                             -------------------

Damien Cox's hockey column usually appears four times a week.

     Contents copyright � 1996, The Toronto Star.

    heard on the radio this am (CBC so it must be true...) that  McCauley is
    looking for 2M over 3 years. I guess that is the starting point for
    talks with the Leafs (who have saved a whack of salary $$$ with the
    recent trade). I just hope they trade him to Ottawa...

    Gilmour made $3M/yr, while Ellett made $850k/yr.
    
    Neither J.Smith, nor Sullivan, made over $200k/yr.
    
    Fletcher has promised though that he will be acting on the free
    agent market this summer. 
    
    Andy

    <--- That's IF Fletcher's still around...
    
    Ray.
    

    McCauly should be able to make the rookie max $850Gs
    Yes?
    
    Chris

    >>    McCauly should be able to make the rookie max $850Gs
    >>    Yes?
    
    	Yeah but!.... this 'rookie max' BS is just a cover up. They don't
    include bonuses. That's why Berard's in Long Island.
    
    
    andy

    Leafs beat the Bruins last night 4-2, new guy Sullivan got a goal and
    an assist and was 3rd star on TSN. The Leafs are 3/4 since THE TRADE,
    I hope Fletcher keeps his job.

       and I heard on the radio (CBC so it must be true) that McCauley
    signed a 3 year deal for 2.55 Million (that is the max for a rookie I
    think?) (unless your last name is Lindros and you don't like S.S. Marie...)
     

    The Ottawa Citizen reports that McCauley signed for 2.1Million and
    'lucrative bonus clauses', I just don't know who to believe these
    days.
    (This is very similar to the 21K that Mitel paid me for my first year
    of 'professional services' but the bonus clause was not lucrative,
    worked out to be about $14.00 which bought a 12 pack in those days but
    I digress...)

Leaf grit pays off in point

Warriner keys comeback from two-goal deficit

By Paul Hunter - Toronto Star Sports Reporter

A playoff berth remains dauntingly distant, but      
this was still a night for for making valuable
points.                                                    
                                                                
And that's beyond the $50,000 bonus that kicked in
for Tie Domi when he picked up a second-period      
assist for his 25th point of the season.            
                                                 
A 3-3 tie with a vastly superior Dallas squad was a chance for some lessons
to hit home in a tangible way.

Todd Warriner learned he actually can score a goal or two, as he did in the
second period, by shooting more and driving to the net.

Sergei Berezin learned floating around the ice is now a punishable offence.
He was nailed to the bench to start the second period and remained there for
the duration.

And the Leafs learned they don't have to be ``awful'' - as coach Mike Murphy
described their early play - if they simply turn in an honest effort.

The point his Maple Leafs picked up, thanks to a Darby Hendrickson goal in
the final minute of regulation, might have little meaning in the standings.
But the scrappy way they fought back may pay dividends in the long run as
Murphy tries to build his team.

The tie, Toronto's third straight, extended their unbeaten string to a
season-high five games. The last time they went on such a heady run was in
November of 1995.

``Around Christmas time, if we got two goals down, the game was over. You
could feel it on the bench,'' said Mats Sundin. ``But tonight we kept
playing. There's just a more relaxed feeling here. There's no longer all the
questions about where Dougie (Gilmour) is going. Everyone is just doing
their job and not worrying about outside things.

``Our confidence is growing and we probably have more faith in ourselves
than we've had all season.''

While no Toronto personnel move will be as big as Gilmour's trade to New
Jersey, there is a sense around the Gardens that the other shoe is about to
drop.

Philadelphia general manager Bob Clarke was on hand to take in the game. The
Flyers are playing down the QEW in Buffalo tonight and Clarke dismissed his
appearance as a ``couldn't-hurt-to-have-a-look'' visit.

However, it is believed Clarke has more than a casual interest in Kirk
Muller. He's also looking to add a veteran presence to his blue line. Jamie
Macoun has been rumored as a possibility.

Muller didn't play last night. His ankle was still swollen after blocking a
shot Saturday. X-rays taken yesterday didn't show a break but Muller likely
won't play tomorrow night when Chicago visits.

Look for Brandon Convery to suit up in his place as the Leafs take what is
probably one last look at their underachieving 1992 first-round draft pick.

Clarke undoubtedly departed last night with a favorable impression of
Macoun. The 35-year-old defenceman played one of his strongest games of the
season and was a solid force in Toronto's end.

The Leafs are believed to be interested in young Flyers centre Vaclav
Prospal. The 22-year-old Czech, drafted 71st over-all by Philly in 1993, was
recently summoned to the big leagues, possibly to be showcased. On Saturday,
in his second NHL game, he scored both Flyers goals in a 3-2 loss to
Pittsburgh.

Instead of going to Buffalo, Leaf general manager Cliff Fletcher will head
to St. John's today for one final assessment of his minor-league squad
before next Tuesday's trade deadline.

On the ice, the most intriguing development last night was Murphy's decision
to bench Berezin after the first period.

Listless Leafs throw in the towel       
Embarrassing loss ends playoff talk once            
and for all                              
                                          
By Paul Hunter - Toronto Star Sports      
Reporter                              
                                          
Appropriately, fans attending last
night's Gardens embarrassment were given crying towels on the way in.

However, Toronto management should have also issued them to its players.
That way, the Maple Leafs' outright surrender of any playoff hope could have
at least been done with a little flourish.

To say the Leafs quit against the Blackhawks is not accurate. Quitting
implies they showed up in the first place.

       
Instead, in a game the players themselves had hyped as crucial, most of the
Leafs were no-shows. They threw in the towel before they hit the ice.

That Chicago won by only a 3-2 margin was tribute to some extraordinary
goaltending from Felix Potvin and nothing else. The players in front of him
were horrid as the Blackhawks, even without injured leader Chris Chelios,
outshot Toronto 41-21.

``We weren't even close tonight. They outplayed us from beginning to end,''
said coach Mike Murphy, who seemed genuinely perplexed by his squad's
disinterest.

``If they couldn't find the motivation to play tonight's game, it's a sorry
statement. I can't even make excuses for our team. This was a very
disappointing game for me. I'll assess it, make evaluations and I won't soon
forget them.''

While any realist had long written off the chance of Toronto making a
post-season appearance, last night's game was an opportunity for the Leafs
to make a statement. They did. It was: ``We don't care.''

Instead of remaining eight points behind Calgary for eighth spot in the
Western Conference, they are 10 behind the Flames and Blackhawks with just
14 games to play.

They threw in the towel.

``That was definitely not one of our better games this year,'' said Mats
Sundin, ``and it came at a time when we really needed it. That's been
happening to us a lot. That's why we are where we are.'' Sundin scored the
first goal and was one of the few Leafs who played as if he cared.

It has indeed been a Toronto pattern this season. Whenever this team has
shown any hint of improvement, as it did with a five-game undefeated string
that just ended, a stinker follows.

``I can't figure it out. Any little hint of success and it's like we can't
handle it,'' said Tie Domi, who unlike his mates, kept plugging all night.

With the focus of the Leafs' season now clearly on next season, general
manager Cliff Fletcher can now forge ahead with his youth movement with no
concern for the duration of this campaign.

Fletcher is expected to move a veteran or two before Tuesday's trade
deadline.

In defeat last night - in lieu of veterans playing hard - the spotlight fell
on the future and rookies Brandon Convery and Sergei Berezin.

Convery was playing the first game in his last-chance look as a Leaf and
didn't record a shot on net. He was also on the ice for both Denis Savard
goals in the third as Toronto blew a 2-1 lead.

However, Murphy praised Convery's early work afterwards and said he'll
continue to get lots of ice time as he and management assess whether he has
a future in Toronto. The suspicion is the Leafs are showcasing their former
No. 1 draft pick. His contract expires after this season.

Berezin was back in the lineup after being benched for the final 45 minutes
Monday. He showed spurts of offensive creativity and chipped in Toronto's
other goal.

Nathan Dempsey, another Leaf rookie, was a healthy scratch and was returned
to St. John's after the game.

The Leafs depart this morning for Miami where they will play the struggling
Panthers Saturday night. They then visit Tampa Bay Sunday on the abbreviated
southern swing.

Of the Leafs' 14 remaining contests, nine are on the road and eight of the
games are against squads with records of .500 or better.

But it doesn't matter. They've already thrown in the towel.

       

Market favors Leafs

GM WITH A FAR worse team, Cliff Fletcher is in a much      [By Damien Cox]
better trade position heading into next Tuesday's league
deadline than he has been in years.

That would be, apparently, the silver lining in this forgettable Maple Leaf
campaign.

Fortunately, while two wins and three ties had some of Fletcher's most
ardent admirers/apologists raving about his reborn genius, head coach Mike
Murphy had a realistic view of his team's most recent efforts after last
night's 3-2 loss to Chicago.

Some encouraging moments, Murphy noted, like a gritty comeback against
Dallas two nights earlier, but nothing that should change anyone's mind.

``What hurts is we've gone four games without a win at the most critical
stage of our season when we've been at home, with a fresh team and when our
goalie's been pretty good,'' said the Leaf coach.

Murphy won't give up the playoff ghost, but he talked of the need for only
``long-term'' moves. As luck would have it, Fletcher has leverage coming out
of his ears at the moment.

In a year in which there are few solid athletes available, Fletcher has
bodies to sell.

At the same time, he doesn't have to make a deal.

That's like having the only wide-brimmed hat at poolside on receding
hairline day.

Look at the teams in a similar position in the standings as Fletcher's
Leafs.

Boston. The Islanders. Ottawa. Los Angeles. San Jose.

Nothing there.

On the other hand, many of the clubs with post-season aspirations want to
make a move.

The Leafs have a wide menu of available veterans, a list that includes Kirk
Muller, Jamie Macoun, Wendel Clark, Larry Murphy, Dimitri Yushkevich, Tie
Domi and yes, Felix Potvin.

Not all are equally available.

Any Potvin deal would have to bring enormous gains. Barring outlandish
offers, Murphy wants to keep Muller, Macoun and probably Domi.

From a political point of view, dealing Clark for a draft pick or just to
dump his $2 million salary would be unpopular. They'd have to get something
with public relations impact.

Murphy, by contrast, would go to anyone willing to swallow the contract.

Outside of the Leafs, there is apparently little available.

Calgary is looking to deal unrestricted free-agent-in-waiting Dave Gagner,
who just happens to be the best Flame player these days. Chicago is
interested, but the Hawks are the team the Flames are battling with for a
playoff berth.

In Edmonton, hard-nosed blueliner Luke Richardson will also be an unfettered
free agent this summer. The playoff-bound Oilers are trying to arrange a
trade, but Richardson wants to finish the season in Edmonton and has made
his contract demands astronomical, thus scaring off potential suitors.

All this, of course, strengthens Fletcher's hand. A team that can't land
Richardson, say Philly, might settle for Macoun. A team like Florida might
cherish Gagner, but Muller would be a reasonable facsimile.

There are new faces coming, and it won't just be trades. Juniors like Alyn
McCauley, Jeff Ware, Ryan Pepperall and D. J. Smith could all make cameo
appearances if their clubs are knocked out early.

Bowling Green senior Mike Johnson, a 6-foot-3 right winger, is expected to
be signed as a free agent for crazy money by the Leafs once his school is
eliminated.

But it's trade watch time now, and until Tuesday, Fletcher's phone should be
ringing off the hook. This March, the anxious voice should be at the other
end of the line.

                             -------------------

Damien Cox's hockey column usually appears four times a week.

    It seems Muller has been traded to Florida for 21-year-old centre Jason
    Podollan. Leafs also go Kelly Chase from Hartfoed for "an undisclosed
    player."
    
    This info from 
    
    http://www.canoe.com/Hockey/home.html
    
    which also reports some trades involving other teams...

    Podollan played junior for Spokane, was on the World Champion junior
    team that won in Boston, and was the Panthers 3rd pick, after
    Jovanovski and Warrener, in the '94 draft (31st overall.)

    Question to any Leafs fans out there...
    
    
    Why are Macoun and Clarke still playing for the Leafs?
    
    
    Sean 

    Macoun - nobody else wants him!
    
    Clarke - the Leafs made the big mistake of trading him once before,
    they won't do it again given his popularity.  Regardless of his skills,
    he's the new "heart & soul" of the Leafs and has to lead until Sundin,
    Potvin, ?? become the new leadership.
    

    Clark is also about the only proven scorer left on the team, besides
    Sundin.  He seems to have a lot of games in which he's nearly
    invisible, but he still has the shot and he can still dominate an
    occasional game.  And the Leafs gave up a heck of a lot to get hjim
    back last year.  Fletcher has let it be known that he turned down abn
    offer of a 1st-round pick in this year's draft for Clark (albeit
    probably a late one..)

    30 years ago today, the Leafs won their last Stanley Cup!  8^/

    Cliff Fletcher is history.  Apparently Stavro offered to kick him
    upstairs to the President's job, out of hockey operations, but Fletcher
    said "no."  His assistant  Bill Watters, whose contract will expire in
    a couple of months, is acting GM for now.  The Leafs say they won't
    necessarily hire a new man before next month's draft.
    
    It seems odd that they let Fletcher take the 1st big rebuilding steps
    -- the Gilmour and Muller trades -- if they didn't plan to let him
    finish the job.  Al Strachan on "After 40 Minutes" Saturday night
    implied that the Leafs' free-spending days are over for good.  I hope
    Stavro isn't too much of a tightwad.  Fletcher did go overboard with
    some of the contracts he signed & took on, & also displayed
    questionable judgment of talent in some of his trades.  I hope the new
    man is given a reasonable budget and a free hand, with minimal
    ownership interference.  Strachen also suggested that some of the
    old-timers in the organization, the likes of Floyd Smith, etc. might be
    on the way out.  Maybe a new broom is needed.  IT will be very
    interesting to see what happens.
    
    -Stephen

    Ken Dryden has been named the new President of the Toronto Maple Leafs.
    At a 10:00 press conference, he indicated that he only took the job
    because he had assurances that he would be given the "resources" to
    build a Stanley Cup Winning Team.   He wouldn't give a timeline for how
    fast he thought that  might happen.   A new GM is his top priority and
    while he thinks it would be preferable to have one named before the
    draft, he said it isn't crucial.

    
    I also heard that Dryden's old boss, Scotty Bowman, may be a candidate
    for the GM job. Has Dryden every held a position anything close to upper
    management before? At least he won't need Stan Fishler to help him
    write the book when its all done...

Friday, May 30, 1997

Dryden hired as new Leafs president

                       By JIM O'LEARY -- SLAM! Sports
  The NHL has seen few better puck stoppers than Ken Dryden. Now the league
will discover if he can stop the bleeding at Maple Leaf Gardens.
  The Leafs have replaced Cliff Fletcher's 25 years of respected NHL
experience by hiring Dryden, a hall-of-famer man who has been out of hockey
since 1979.
  Dryden, 49, who retired from the Montreal Canadiens 18 years ago, was
appointed Friday as the new president of the Toronto Maple Leafs. He
confesses to seeing the Leafs play a grand total of four games last season.
   "I believe I can do this job,'' said Dryden. "From this point forward, my
job is to ensure that this organization is relentless in its pursuit of the
Stanley Cup.''
Dryden won six Cups with the Canadiens, but has filled his time since
retiring by authoring books, doing some TV commentary and writing various
sport and government reports.  He said his first task will be to hire a
general manager. He met with acting GM Bill Watters and coach Mike Murphy
this morning, but didn't give either man an endorsement.
  Dryden, a buddy of Stavro's first lieutenant, Brian Bellmore, also said he
has the green light to spend some of Stavro's millions to bring some proven
free agents to Toronto. A year ago, Stavro forced Fletcher to cut the
payroll. But now Stavro promises that Dryden will have "all the necessary
resources to build a Stanley Cup winner.''
  Dryden said he would not have accepted the job without that assurance.
  "We'll have what we need,'' he said. There will be no excuses, no
crutches.''
  Dryden dismisses suggestions that the game might have passed him by. He
contends that the central elements of success for a hockey team are the same
today as they were when the Canadiens were the NHL's dominant force in the
1970s.
  His objective, he said, was to create in Toronto a franchise that has the
same rock-solid structure, from top to bottom in the organization, as those
great Habs clubs. It is imperative, Dryden said, that the players know that
the team owners are dedicated to the single goal of winning the Stanley Cup.
From there, it is responsible for the management and coaches to create the
infrastructure and foster an atmosphere conducive to winning.
  "I was surrounded by some great people in Montreal," he said. "What made
the Canadiens work was that there were no weak links. "The players had no
where to point fingers at. They were, in effect, put in a corner because
they had no excuses. We all knew our destiny was in our own hands."
  The first impression of Dryden the President is that the NHL may never
have seen a more eloquent or articulate executive. He talks a great game.
But can he deliver? The NHL has changed radically in the past generation.
Dryden, the object of some ridicule as the team tightwad in his playing
days, will now be expected to compete in an NHL that has never been more
business-like or cut-throat.
  "I don't know how long it will take (to rebuild the Leafs)," Dryden said.
"No one can promise a timetable. I want to get to the top as fast as
possible, but it's important to get their fast and deep. The challenge is to
get to the top and sustain it. The cruel trick is when you get there for a
short time and crash again."
  Dryden also said he had no timetable for hiring a GM, although he'd like
to have the right person in place before the NHL draft on June 21, or, at
the latest, before NHL free agents become available on July 1. But he was
firm on his intention to spend some of Stavro's cash on free agents.
  "Yes, we are going to find some players to make this team better," he
said. "Twenty-third place is not good enough. We'll use every tool at our
disposal. Free agency is a tool that needs to be used -- and it will be
used."

    My initial reaction to Dryden's hiring was generally positive, but
    having thought about it a bit, I have a lot of questions.  Presumably
    the GM, once he is hired, will be the person in charge of the hockey 
    operation, and there will be a business person in charge of the new
    arena etc.  So what exactly will Dryden's role be?  The shape of things
    to come is still far from clear.

    rumour reported in this morning's Ottawa Citizen that Dryden will hire
    Doug Risebrough as GM.  Based on Risebrough's record in Calgary, I hope
    the rumour is wrong.

    Sergei Berezin named to NHL "all-rookie" team, along with Patrick
    Lalime, Bryan Berard, Janne Niinimaa, Jarome Iginla and Jim Campbell.