Unbeaten Leafs stun powerful Pens
http://www.thestar.com/sports/hocke...leafs-stay-unbeaten-by-stunning-powerful-pens
http://www.thestar.com/sports/hocke...leafs-stay-unbeaten-by-stunning-powerful-pens
The Official LEAFS NATION Hockey thread
- Thread starter Doc Holliday
- Start date
thats why Burke is a great gm, he listens to others who have been there, and like he said, takes something good from each of them.
First, i do agree that Brian Burke is a great GM. Compared to John Ferguson Jr, he's God!
Second, there are more bad GM's in the league than they are good ones. I can pick the good ones on one hand, maybe two. I can easily pick the bad ones on at least two hands.
Finally, a good GM will be one who has learned from his past mistakes & has tweaked his GM skills by learning from the best. Burke easily falls in this category. However, someone like Lou Lamoriello may fall in the category of GM's whose stock as taken a considerable nose dive. Considering how he handled the Kovalchuk mess & how he's being incompetent with the current cap situation of the Devils, he's leaving many to scratch their heads in attempting to justify his recent moves. But one thing in regards to what his critics have been saying all along: Lou Lamoriello has never been able to grasp & how to manage a salary cap. He's dropped the ball several times (e.g. Alex Mogilny, Richard Matvichuk, Vladimir Malakhov, etc) since the cap was first implemented. The only thing that's saving him now is the fact he's been able to put three of his players on IR. But because of his incompetence in managing a cap, he's only been able to field a lineup with only 15 skaters (plus two goalies) in the games his team has been involved in so far. Many are surprised the league hasn't forced him to resolve this situation, but i'll give the league some slack in the fact this current situation might have caught them off-guard. \
All of this is giving Donald Fehr & the NHLPA some ammunition in their upcoming collective bargaining talks. They could & likely will argue that the cap isn't working & the recent mess in New Jersey is costing players jobs. Quality players are being sent to the minors or Europe for the simple fact their GM's are incapable of managing in a cap world. Some GM's are spending money like it grows on trees & the resulting financial problems it causes to their respective teams' budgets will likely result in the players having to contribute more money to the escrow account, something the top paid players absolutely despise. I can't blame them: "why should they be the ones bailing out teams for the GM's incompetence in handling financial matters?"
The bottom line is that the cap has not worked like it was supposed to. There are still teams that are struggling financially & the numbers are climbing. Other teams that are barely surviving only spend the minimum of the cap space allowed. Sure, there's parity in the league, but it has nothing to do with the cap. It has more to do with the players they have & the quality of the organization. But you still have the same doormats of the league (e.g. NY Islanders) & the class of the league (e.g. Detroit Red Wings) year after year, no matter how much money those teams are putting into salaries. The end of result of a cap system is that players that are of NHL calibre have to go play in the KHL since there's no more money left for them in the NHL. Who suffers? Of course, the players. But the NHL also suffers deeply since its' basically giving away talent to its rival league.
Donald Fehr might be the best union representative ever in pro sports. He, along with his predecessor Marvin Miller, made the MLB players union the best there is, and the best there was in pro sports. He's made his mistakes, but he's learned from them. But in a year or so, don't be surprised to see that Gary Bettman has finally met his match. Bob Goodnow did a great job for the NHLPA, but his downfall was that many players with influence didn't see eye-to-eye with him. Since his departure, the NHLPA's situation has been chaotic. I believe that the players finally got it & hired the best man available in Mr. Fehr. The fact more & more owners are fed up with Gary Bettman (e.g. how he's handled the Phoenix Coyotes situation so far) indicates to me that the expected impasse at negotiations between the league & the players might not last as long as people expect it to be. A lock-out appears imminent, but we could be in for quite a surprise. Personally, i might not be entirely surprised if we see an end to the current salary cap system. Word is that the owners want to put an end to guaranteed contracts. If Donald Fehr has his way, the status quo with player contracts will remain & he'll likely try to rid the league of the cap system since it's proven to be a tremendous failure so far. The only ones benefiting from this current cap system are the wealthiest organizations in hockey (e.g. Toronto Maple Leafs, NY Rangers, etc) whose bank accounts keeps increasing by millions year after year, yet their salary structure & expenses remain the same due to the salary cap in place. No wonder those teams voted to implement the cap a few years ago!
Leafs remain unbeaten in winning their 4th straight against the NY Rangers
The Leafs dominated for two periods & if wasn't for the incredible goaltending of Henrik Lundquist, the Leafs easily could have scored 7 or 8 goals. Needless to say, Canada's favorite team beat the Rangers in overtime on a great shot from the circle by star forward Phil Kessel. Clark MacArthur tied a Leaf record by scoring his 5th goal in 4 games & a shaky J-S Giguere made some key saves late in the third period to send the Leafs in overtime.
It's great to be a Leafs fan!
Go Leafs Go!!
The Leafs dominated for two periods & if wasn't for the incredible goaltending of Henrik Lundquist, the Leafs easily could have scored 7 or 8 goals. Needless to say, Canada's favorite team beat the Rangers in overtime on a great shot from the circle by star forward Phil Kessel. Clark MacArthur tied a Leaf record by scoring his 5th goal in 4 games & a shaky J-S Giguere made some key saves late in the third period to send the Leafs in overtime.
It's great to be a Leafs fan!
Go Leafs Go!!
seems like this could possibly be a very special season in the BEAUTIFUL City of Toronto, but a long ways to go,,,, one game at a time,.. but can i ad, TY Calgary!
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Leafs remain unbeaten in winning their 4th straight against the NY Rangers
The Leafs dominated for two periods & if wasn't for the incredible goaltending of Henrik Lundquist, the Leafs easily could have scored 7 or 8 goals. Needless to say, Canada's favorite team beat the Rangers in overtime on a great shot from the circle by star forward Phil Kessel. Clark MacArthur tied a Leaf record by scoring his 5th goal in 4 games & a shaky J-S Giguere made some key saves late in the third period to send the Leafs in overtime.
It's great to be a Leafs fan!
Go Leafs Go!!
kinda hard to believe this has never happened before in the storied Leafs History but Great for Clarkie! can he make it 5 straight? whatever happens this season, it is a great start and these points early on could mean the difference in getting a playoff spot or higher position at the end of the season... GLG!
Leafs remain unbeaten in winning their 4th straight against the NY Rangers
The Leafs dominated for two periods & if wasn't for the incredible goaltending of Henrik Lundquist, the Leafs easily could have scored 7 or 8 goals. Needless to say, Canada's favorite team beat the Rangers in overtime on a great shot from the circle by star forward Phil Kessel. Clark MacArthur tied a Leaf record by scoring his 5th goal in 4 games & a shaky J-S Giguere made some key saves late in the third period to send the Leafs in overtime.
It's great to be a Leafs fan!
Go Leafs Go!!
I made a mistake in yesterday's post. MacArthur didn't TIE the record, he actually HAS the record for the most goals in consecutive games. He could very well make it five straight, but i hope that this won't cause him to put unnecessary pressure on himself.
Phil Kessel for the Hart Memorial Trophy?.
I doubt Kess will ever win a Hart trophy, since he's mostly a goal scorer. The Rocket Richard trophy maybe?
If the Leafs keep playing the way they are playing they just might end the drought(Stanley Cup).
Joe.t's top 5 NHL Heavyweight rankings-
1. Steve Macintosh
2. Colton Orr
3. Brian Mcgrattan
4. Andrew Peters
5. George Parros
Joe.t's top 5 NHL Heavyweight rankings-
1. Steve Macintosh
2. Colton Orr
3. Brian Mcgrattan
4. Andrew Peters
5. George Parros
Look who's on top:
http://espn.go.com/nhl/standings/_/group/1
I'd like to say "i told you so", by i'd be exaggerating.....
http://espn.go.com/nhl/standings/_/group/1
I'd like to say "i told you so", by i'd be exaggerating.....
It is a long season, but a much better start than last year for sure..... still this is a building year, we are a few players away from a contender but it is nice to see the improvements that have been put in place in this the first real season as Burke's team....this team can make the playoffs if they play the style Burke and Wilson have wanted since they took over. GLG!
Look who's on top:
http://espn.go.com/nhl/standings/_/group/1
I'd like to say "i told you so", by i'd be exaggerating.....
Thanks Joe T. I've thanked you many times in the past because as you are well aware your remarkable predictions have made me a wealthy man. That's why I am very happy to see what your crystal ball has told you about the Leafs. Keep it up Joe T. - as always, you da man!
Look who's on top:
http://espn.go.com/nhl/standings/_/group/1
I'd like to say "i told you so", by i'd be exaggerating.....
Where I'm from the only time I get to see ice is when I open the fridge,however I love ice hockey .
Leafs Fans should remain cautious, after all there is 78 games left to be played but a little exuberance
and enthusiasm is clearly understood and I think Leafs Fans will have reasons to be proud this season.
Welcome Aya,
Die hard Leafs fans such as Doc and Myself are fully aware there are 78 games left, but for once in a LONG LONG TIME, we finally have excellent management running the team which will lead to a contender on the ice, we dont expect a Cup this year but playoffs are a start and hopefully the team they have put together can stay healthy and contend.
The problem we die hards have is the bandwagon fans and the bandwagon media who make more out of things than need be but that will never change, much like it is in Montreal, but when your the 2 most Hockey crazed cities in the world, then there is no changing that. In a way, we should embrace it, it is so great living so close to what most people will never have a chance to experience, have you ever been to a game between the Leafs and habs ? it is a FANTASTIC atmosphere.
Anyways, Real Leafs fans are aware we wont go 82-0 lol, and heck, in this first real year of Burkes team, i would settle for 8th place and getting there on the last day of the season with a OT loss against the habs like they did last year against the Leafs. Once your in the dance, anything can happen GLG!
Die hard Leafs fans such as Doc and Myself are fully aware there are 78 games left, but for once in a LONG LONG TIME, we finally have excellent management running the team which will lead to a contender on the ice, we dont expect a Cup this year but playoffs are a start and hopefully the team they have put together can stay healthy and contend.
The problem we die hards have is the bandwagon fans and the bandwagon media who make more out of things than need be but that will never change, much like it is in Montreal, but when your the 2 most Hockey crazed cities in the world, then there is no changing that. In a way, we should embrace it, it is so great living so close to what most people will never have a chance to experience, have you ever been to a game between the Leafs and habs ? it is a FANTASTIC atmosphere.
Anyways, Real Leafs fans are aware we wont go 82-0 lol, and heck, in this first real year of Burkes team, i would settle for 8th place and getting there on the last day of the season with a OT loss against the habs like they did last year against the Leafs. Once your in the dance, anything can happen GLG!
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Well said, my fellow hockey fan. However, one slight correction: Iggy's words should not be taken out of context. What he meant to say is that both Toronto & Montreal are hockey-mad cities......they bleed hockey & no other professional sport in their respective cities matches the passion the fans in those two cities have for their teams. I do agree that there is a fringe among the habs fans that sometimes tend to give the rest a black eye, but those violent & crazed fans are a very small percentage & it's unfortunate that the other fans get blamed by the actions of a small percentage of them.
God loves the Leafs!!
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Brian B !
Darling you're absolutly right on all points ! I did say it before the most
important franchise in Hockey is :
The Toronto Maple Leafs Organization !
Sweetie and correct me if I'm wrong but I think in Boston both NCAA
Basketball and Football are also bigger draw's then the Bruins.
Special K or Merlot could provide us with an answer to this one.
We're all entitled to our opinions. However, Detroit's arena has been half empty for the past couple of years. When i think of Detroit, i think of the Tigers & the Pistons. Hockey is at the same level as the Lions when i think of Detroit.
As for Boston, i think the Red Sox, then the Celtics, and then the Patriots. For me, the Bruins come after those three legendary teams.
There are only two cities on the planet that can be considered 'hockey crazed'. Montreal & Toronto. Period.
Leafs passion unites us all!
Darling you're absolutly right on all points ! I did say it before the most
important franchise in Hockey is :
The Toronto Maple Leafs Organization !
Sweetie and correct me if I'm wrong but I think in Boston both NCAA
Basketball and Football are also bigger draw's then the Bruins.
Special K or Merlot could provide us with an answer to this one.
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