Montreal Escorts

The Official MERB 2011-2012 NHL Hockey Thread

Doc Holliday

Staying hard
Sep 27, 2003
19,769
1,272
113
Canada
Cherry offside blasting Burke

Who cares where players are from?

by Steve Simmons, QMI Agency

TORONTO - The greatest Maple Leaf player of my lifetime, Dave Keon, came from Rouyn-Noranda, Que., and that mattered to almost no one.

He played on Stanley Cup teams with Terry Sawchuk of Winnipeg and Johnny Bower of Prince Albert, Sask., and the only reason I know their home towns is I happened to look them up.

The most famous goal in Leaf history — scored by the limping Bob Baun: He’s from Lanigan, Saskatchewan.

The highlight overtime goals everyone remembers — scored by Lanny McDonald of Hanna, Alta., and Nikolai Borschevsky of Tomsk in Russia.

The thing is, in spite of the loud entertainment and finger-pointing of Saturday night, with Don Cherry shouting about Brian Burke and the apparent Americanization of the Maple Leafs, we don’t really care where players are from. It’s never been important in Toronto. We care what they do. We care how they perform. We care whether the team wins or loses, whether we’re being entertained, whether we believe in the product.

We care about the jersey, just not necessarily the nationality of those wearing it.

It isn’t often you get two figures, so large, so bold, so boisterous butting heads on national television the way Cherry has taken on Burke and Burke, without a similar forum, has responded in his own way. But in this individual battle, Cherry is wrong about the Leafs and Burke has acted inappropriately in his attempts to have Cherry silenced on Hockey Night In Canada.

This is win-win for publicity, lose-lose for point of view.

As commentator, Cherry has every right to be wrong so long as he believes in his opinion. He is factual when he points out there are no Ontario players on the current Maple Leafs. That can’t be argued. But he is certainly challenging credulity when he maintains it is Burke’s strategy to intentionally fill the Leafs roster with American players or players from other countries and provinces.

Do Leaf fans actually care whether Phil Kessel is from Madison, Wisc., or Joffrey Lupul was born outside Edmonton in Fort Saskatchewan? Does it matter that Dion Phaneuf was born in Edmonton and spends his summers in Prince Edward Island?

The real prize of this confounding Leaf season has been the rookie, Jake Gardiner, on defence. He happens to be an American from Deephaven, Minn. He also happened to be the Leafs’ second choice when pursuing an Anaheim defenceman in a deal last season.

The Leafs originally asked for Justin Schultz, playing alongside Gardiner at the University of Wisconsin, but were informed by the Ducks that he wasn’t available. Schultz, by the way, happens to be from Kelowna, B.C. So first choice for Burke was a Canadian playing at an American university, Second choice turned out great in the American Gardiner.

And funny, I haven’t heard a Leaf fan, including Cherry, complain yet about his place of birth.

There are elements to the way Burke has put the Leafs together that are certainly worth questioning and demand questioning. But the least of which is the birthplace of his players, especially considering two of his first-round draft picks of late have been Ontario kids. And yes, it was even worth wondering when he forced Ron Wilson to fire two assistant coaches last summer (both Canadian, by the way) and replaced with Scott Gordon and Greg Cronin, both Americans he was familiar with through USA Hockey and he would argue, in spite of their resume, that they were most qualified for the job. But at the same time Burke the American works in hockey’s highest paid front office with Dave Nonis of Burnaby, B.C., Dave Poulin of Timmins (hometown of Frank Mahovlich), Claude Loiselle of Ottawa and Rick Dudley of Toronto and has added two Ontario chaps, Randy Carlyle and Dave Farrish to his coaching staff as of the weekend.

Cherry was never better, never worse than he was this past Saturday night on Coach’s Corner, passionately and angrily grabbing your attention, bringing you closer to your television set, making you listen, even if you didn’t happen to agree. That’s Cherry at his absolute best. And never mind the holes in his argument.

On the same Hockey Night program a few weeks earlier, the Leafs honoured their all-time leading scorer, Mats Sundin of Bromma, Sweden. Everyone stood and cheered. Among those in attendance that night, the previously honoured Borje Salming of Kiruna and Wendel Clark of Kelvington, Sask.

Salming, from Sweden, remains every bit as popular as Darryl Sittler from Ontario and Clark from Saskatchewan is right there with Doug Gilmour of Kingston as the favoured Leaf of the past two decades.

Don Cherry knows all that. But for him, this is personal and convenient. He has the forum and uses it well, even when his message doesn’t hold up upon deeper examination.

http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Hockey/NHL/Toronto/2012/03/05/19462481.html
 

lgna69xxx

New Member
Oct 3, 2008
10,414
11
0
Grabo the Great!

Grabo got fair market value and anyone with even half a brain who follows hockey understand this. Supply and demand boys and girls, go look at the Ufa centres that will be available July 1. Grabo was at the top of the list and would of EASILY got 5.5 mil per from someone, likely more. He is the heart and soul of the team, easily a top #2 on most teams in the entire NHL and could be a #1 on many teams and it is a shame Mtl gave up on him, but thanks habbies!

Well done Burke, well done indeed :thumb:

PS. If we based Grabos worth by what scotty gomez makes and production, Grabo would be worth roughly $25mil per season or $125 mil over the term of the contract, just saying.....;)

13a5c27341d6b4a3100e35103df6.jpg
 

Doc Holliday

Staying hard
Sep 27, 2003
19,769
1,272
113
Canada
I'm sure if you ask all 30 GMs who did would pick between Kessel and Seguin 29 of them would pick Seguin.

Yes, genius....of course, ALL of those 29 GMs would pick Seguin over a 24-year old player on an average team who's 3rd in overall goal scoring & 5th in overall points scoring, who has averaged at least 30 goals over the past four seasons. Yep, it's a no-brainer, they'd have to go with Seguin over Kessel. :lol:

Yep, you sure know your hockey! LOL!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :lol:]

No wonder you cheer for a last-place team!!! LOL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :amen:
 

lgna69xxx

New Member
Oct 3, 2008
10,414
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Army has turned out to be a major disappointment but i agree with Burke when he was signed, and at the time it was a great move, but players change, players get hurt and since his concussion he never played like "ARMY" of the past. mErlot, did you see Rosie take care of thorton? (no, not joe thorton merlot, btw he was a great player who boston foolishly traded several years ago and had they not most likely they would of had a cup 4-5 years ago.) Lol.
 

Doc Holliday

Staying hard
Sep 27, 2003
19,769
1,272
113
Canada
Grabo the great. 1 goal in his last 18 games. At this pace he might break Gomez's record.

Didn't he score two goals against Montreal last Saturday? He also scored a goal in the following game. Looks like he'll love playing for Randy Carlyle. :nod:
 

luv2kayak

Member
Jul 29, 2011
161
0
16
Pittsburgh Penguins win again today to make it 9 wins in a row! They look like they are getting hot just as the playoffs approach, and with Crosby soon to return. If the Penguins can keep it up, and stay healthy, they'll be a strong contender for the cup. Go Pittsburgh! :nod:
 

Techman

The Grim Reaper
Dec 23, 2004
4,195
0
0
I'm pulling for St-Louis. They have the best goalie tandem in the league and I'd love to see Halak get his name on the cup.
 

Doc Holliday

Staying hard
Sep 27, 2003
19,769
1,272
113
Canada
I'm pulling for St-Louis. They have the best goalie tandem in the league and I'd love to see Halak get his name on the cup.

I totally agree! The team that came from nowhere with no big-name players on the roster........Ken Hitchcock for the Jack Adams!
 

lgna69xxx

New Member
Oct 3, 2008
10,414
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Nail gets NAILED

I wonder how he is after this and how it effects his draft status.

[video=youtube;xXkI9lwjiOg]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xXkI9lwjiOg[/video]
 

Merlot

Banned
Nov 13, 2008
4,111
0
0
Visiting Planet Earth
Reality from Real Leafs Fans of TORONTO.

Leafs are a disaster

http://www.torontosun.com/2012/03/14/leafs-are-a-monumental-disaster

By Steve Simmons ,Toronto Sun

First posted: Wednesday, March 14, 2012 04:31 PM EDT | Updated: Wednesday, March 14, 2012 05:39 PM EDT


Simmons was born in Toronto, and attended the University of Western Ontario.[2] He has co-written or contributed to several books on hockey. He has also been involved in broadcast media, including being a Day-one host on The Fan 590 in Toronto and a Day-one studio contributor on what was then Headline Sports and later became The Score television network. Simmons is also seen every Sunday on TSN's The Reporters with Dave Hodge.

The highest paid front office in hockey history must determine quickly how it is that their hand-picked roster has failed so miserably in the most disappointing Maple Leaf season in memory.


This isn’t just the year that got away. For the more than $6 million that Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment doles out to its bloated management team — Brian Burke, Dave Nonis, Dave Poulin, Claude Loiselle, Rick Dudley, Cliff Fletcher — one a general manager, three former general managers, and two assistants — it has every reason to expect something resembling progress. The same way the fans, paying the freight of these overpaid and under-producing executives, have every reason to expect more than they have gotten in this diminishing season of Leaf collapse.

Burke ended last season by saying “from the all-star break on, we were fourth in the East.”

As recently as the firing of coach Ron Wilson he talked about “playing at a 100-point pace.”

But as Bill Parcells would often say, you are what the standings say you are. The Leafs are 24th in the NHL and slipping fast. This season of promise, opportunity and management misread has been left behind. Now the challenge is for the tall foreheads of the front office to determine how and where the Leafs go from here. But first, before anything else, they need to stop deluding themselves that this collection of overpaid talent is good enough to go forward with.

When last season ended Burke said without hesitation that “our No. 1 priority is a centre.” When he couldn’t come up with his No. 1 priority, he settled instead on the forever disappointing Tim Connolly.

He paid him just under $10 million to spend two years with the Leafs and when one of Connolly’s former bosses was critical of the signing — as were most people familiar with Connolly’s game — Burke called the critic and blasted him. On the phone, Burke was told: “I wish you called me before you signed him. I could have warned you.”

At last glance, Connolly was centring the Leafs’ third line before being moved to left wing to try and take the place of the injured Joffrey Lupul, which he is clearly incapable of doing.

The Connolly signing was not the reason the Leafs collapsed this year, but it is symptomatic of a consistent organizational misread the Leafs have found themselves in during the Burke years.

For all the supposed front office talent the Leafs have, they have misidentified and overpaid players time and time again, putting the overall structure in a salary capped league in difficulty.

The financial commitments to Connolly, to defenceman Mike Komisarek, to winger Colby Armstrong, to defencemen Luke Schenn and John Michael-Liles, and earlier to defenceman Francois Beaucheim — was a whopping $70.7 million in long term contracts. Almost all of it was misspent, although no one could have predicted Armstrong’s run of injuries which has rendered him marginal, and has put the Leafs in cap constraints going forward.

Komisarek was paid $22.5 million and has two years remaining.

Schenn, getting sixth defenceman minutes under both Ron Wilson and Randy Carlyle, is in the first year of a $14.6 million deal.

Liles played well in the first half, signed a new deal, and hasn’t matched it since: He has three years and $12.7 million to go.

Armstrong was a $9 million investment: He’s contributed nine goals to date.

And the Leafs also did Nashville a favour by taking on the final $7 million of Matthew Lombardi’s contract. Burke has the highest paid third liners in the game.

The number of contractual mistakes on the Leafs is troubling and astounding. And all this happened before playoff teams in Buffalo, Montreal and Tampa collapsed, before contending Washington grew disinterested, before teams below the Leafs a year ago, New Jersey, Winnipeg, Ottawa and Florida (13 points behind them) all skated by them.

They still don’t have the first line centre and one won’t be available in free agency. They still don’t have a first string goalie and don’t expect one available in free agency.

And what the high priced front office must determine is where the internal and external leadership comes from on this team. Why hasn’t someone stepped up and made a difference in this decline? Where, for all that money, is this team’s leadership? There is enough responsibility here to go around.

But it starts at the top. All this money doled out for that front office, for this roster, for 24th place and dropping.

Larry Tanenbaum, and the incoming duo of Nadir Mohamed and George Cope need to ask questions. They are paying top dollar for management, for coaches, for players. And for what?

They now have the distinction of owning the only franchise in hockey to miss the playoffs every year since the lockout.

If they ran their businesses with as little accountability as they operate the Leafs, they’d all be out of work.


That is from the real LEAFS experts BOYZ. I wonder what the locals have to say...here?

Cheers,

Merlot
 
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Techman

The Grim Reaper
Dec 23, 2004
4,195
0
0
A lot of what you've highlited applies to the Habs too. Contractual mistakes and overpaid and misidentified players really hits home here too. Hopefully in the off season some of the mistakes here will be corrected and the first place I'd start would be by getting rid of Bob Gainey and his background influence on team decisions. Then dump the GM, buy out Gomez's contract and get a half way decent backup for Price so that he doesn't have to play 90% of the games and can take a break every now and then. They also have to take a good look at their scouting staff because a lot of the deals that've been made are just horrendous.

But there are a lot of bright spots late in the season to look forward to for next year. Desharnais is doing much better than I would have expected, seeing Markov come back is great news, Price is still a decent goalie and finally we have a half way decent tough guy in Staubitz. Cole was a great addition and what more can anyone ask from Max? A 30 goal season after getting his neck broken is more than anyone could have expected. And even with the lousy season they've had, they haven't lost their pride and are playing hard right to the end.

I even have a new profession for the future out of work management team...they would make great politicians. That's the only other job where you can get away with such lousy performance year after year and still be employed. :lol:
 

Gentle

New Member
Dec 1, 2011
986
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Montreal & Toronto
The Canadiens: yes, after just missing beating the Bruins last year it's shocking to see their place in the standings. One would have to say on the face of it that any team falling off so badly must have multiple issues to deal with and correct. No doubt Canadiens fans know much more about this than I do, but I wonder if they aren't being a little hard on a team that has 21 players listed on injured reserve according to this, so I have to wonder if the issues are as broad and deep as asserted.

I don't see how any team could overcome so much. But at least they are playing with heart...and the honesty from Montreal fans is refreshing. .

Cheers,

Merlot

BTW

It's incredible that so-called "real hockey fans" don't post much in the only real hockey discussion thread...instead of pissing.

Habs playing ok now simply because there is no tension anymore. They are just playing to have fun.

As for not posting in this thread... I didn't post until very recently simply because I knew deep down even before the season that somehow our GM would find a way to f*ck up once again. Even if there was some good moves, the overall is a total mess from the fan's standing point.

It has to do more about how to handle a team, than the players, the injuries, etc... Frankly it felt from the day he got rid of Halak that we ended up with yet another Burkie who thinks he's a genius ! While his place is at the same casino table with Burkie and Don Cherry.

So I let it all up to you guys (on this board)... and it's a shame that the 2 merb comedians didn't start being mature a bit... but hey ! They seem so much to know their stuff more than you and I :rolleyes:
 

Gentle

New Member
Dec 1, 2011
986
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Montreal & Toronto
I even have a new profession for the future out of work management team...they would make great politicians. That's the only other job where you can get away with such lousy performance year after year and still be employed. :lol:

Plus... I would assume that they know 'c'est quoi passer sa vie a patiner !'

Bon ! 7 posts on hockey out here... I'm thru and signing out !
Sure don't want to be 10 years older and 4000 posts later... more on the same patern over and over again :)

See ya !
 

lgna69xxx

New Member
Oct 3, 2008
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bruins FALL to 7th in east

For the first time since November, the Bruins will wake up Saturday morning looking up at another team in the Northeast Division standings.

The Ottawa Senators took over the division lead when Filip Kuba scored 3:07 into overtime to beat Montreal Friday night. The Senators now have 84 points with a 37-25-10 record, one more than the Bruins (40-27-3, 83 points).

The Bruins fall all the way to seventh in the Eastern Conference, as Atlantic Division powers Pittsburgh, Philadelphia and New Jersey all have more points than Boston, which also slots in behind the top-seeded Rangers and Southeast Division-leading Florida.

The Bruins still have some advantages in the race with Ottawa. Boston has two games in hand on the Senators. The Bruins also have the edge in the tiebreakers, with 33 non-shootout wins to Ottawa’s 32, as well as a 4-1-0 record in head-to-head matchups this season.

That doesn’t provide a lot of solace for the Bruins though. Not with the club already struggling with its confidence after being outscored 21-8 during a season-high four-game losing streak.

"I don’t think it takes a genius to understand it’s a little rattled right now," Bruins coach Claude Julien said when asked about the club’s confidence after Friday’s practice. "But at the same time, this is the majority of the group that showed resilience last year when we went through some tough times and we did get ourselves out of it. And I have no doubt that we will [this time] also. This is our battle to fight, nobody else’s. You have to have confidence in your group, and we do. Experience and the past certainly shows that this is the group to do it."

The Bruins are hoping to call upon their past experiences of overcoming adversity to pull out of this latest skid. The bulk of the current team was part of last year’s run to the Cup, when the Bruins rallied from losing the first two games of both the opening round against Montreal and the Final against Vancouver. They became the first team to win three Game 7s in one postseason and showed some of that same resiliency earlier this year when they shook off their Cup hangover and a 3-7-0 start with a 25-4-1 run from November through mid-January.

"You always want to learn from mistakes and build on past experiences," Bruins center Chris Kelly said. "A lot of us have been through a lot in our careers and this year, and we’re hoping we can build from that."

The Bruins were last out of first in the Northeast back on Nov. 30. They trailed Toronto by one point that day, and had two games in hand on the Leafs at that point as well. The Bruins took advantage of those extra games and quickly soared past the Leafs.

Now they have to make the most of the limited time and opportunities they have left to overcome Ottawa and earn home ice for the start of the postseason. That starts Saturday when the Bruins host a Flyers squad that has won seven of its last eight in a St. Patrick’s Day matinee at the Garden.
 

smuler

Active Member
Mar 18, 2005
2,864
18
38
Quite an impressive turnaround for Ottawa, with only 74 points last season..

Now, can you take Wade Redden back ??:nod:

we were only kidding...


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