Phil Kessel tallied his first goal as a Toronto Maple Leaf and third point in three games Saturday night in the Leafs’ 5-1 rout of the Detroit Red Wings. Kessel’s return from injury marks the true beginning of Brian Burke’s reign as the team’s general manager. The trade for Kessel was clearly Burke’s biggest splash of the summer, and a statement to Leafs’ fans that he is not willing to wait to contend.

While Burke has faced some criticism for his willingness to part with two first round draft pick, Phil Kessel is a much better (not to mention younger) player than those the Leafs have acquired under similar terms in years past (see Owen Nolan below). The Leafs hope that Kessel is the bonafide scorer that they’ve been missing since Mats Sundin’s departure, and if that’s the case – the two first round picks were well worth it.

However, with 1967 a distant memory for some and a story only heard by others, Leafs fans are growing impatient with the team’s inability to improve through the draft. Toronto’s management has clearly struggled to identify players that could translate success in the amateur ranks to success on hockey’s biggest stage.

Management couldn’t pay Raycroft to stay awake, but they were okay with giving away Tuukka Rask to get him.

Let’s have a look back at the Leafs’ first round picks from 2001 to 2007 and see what they might have been in a best-case scenario.

2001 Draft:

The Leafs selected Carlo Colaiacovo 17^th overall. Injury prone, Carlo has 65 points (33 with the Leafs) in only 183 games played in the NHL.

Who the Leafs passed on:

Derek Roy (279 points, 254 career games)

Mike Cammalleri (287 points, 364 career games, ranked #7 in points per minute in 2009)

2002 Draft

The Leafs selected Alexander Steen 24^th overall. Steen has managed only 150 points in 314 games in the NHL. He was eventually traded along with 2001 first rounder Carlo Colaiacovo for Lee Stempniak in 2008. While Lee Stempniak is an above average NHL forward, he’s hardly worth two first round draft picks.

Who the Leafs passed on:

Cam Ward (Stanley Cup MVP in 2005)

2003 Draft

In a push for the Stanley Cup, the Leafs traded their 2003 first round pick to the San Jose Sharks along with Alyn McCauley and Brad Boyes for Owen Nolan. Nolan played only 86 games with the Leafs, averaging well under a point per game. The Sharks selected Mark-Antoine Pouliot 21^st overall (passing on several impact players) and since the trade, Brad Boyes has blossomed into a point a game player.

Who the Sharks passed on (with Toronto’s pick):

Mike Richards (80 points in 79 games in 2008)

Corry Perry (19 points in 15 games this season)

Ryan Kesler (16 points in 18 games this season)

In hindsight, this may go down as one of the worst trades in franchise history. In a worst-case scenario for the Leafs, they dealt Alyn Mccauley, Brad Boyes and Mike Richards for 86 games of service from a player already well into, if not past his prime.

2004 Draft

Again in hopes of contending for the Stanley Cup, the Toronto Maple Leafs sent a first round pick to the New York Rangers (later traded to Calgary) for the expiring contract of Brian Leetch. Leetch played 23 total games with the Leafs (aided by the lockout). Even more disturbing is the 24^th overall pick that was eventually made by the Calgary Flames. The Flames selected Kris Chucko (28 goals in the AHL last season), but also passed on a number of players that have already blossomed in the NHL.

Who the Flames passed on (with Toronto’s pick):

Mike Green (144 points, 242 career games as a defenseman)

Johan Franzen (34 goals in 2008)

2005 Draft

Toronto selected Tuukka Rask 21^st overall in 2005. Before he had played a game in North America, they traded Rask to the Boston Bruins for Andrew Raycroft. Raycroft, the current backup for the Vancouver Canucks was quickly chased out of Toronto with a save percentage of well under .900 over two seasons with the club.

Tukka Rask vs. Justin Pogge:

In five games with the Boston Bruins this season, Rask is 3-1-1 with a 2.33 goals against average and a save percentage of .920.

Rask was considered expendable because the Leafs also had World Junior standout Justin Pogge waiting for his shot at the NHL. Pogge; however, was never able to duplicate the success he had in the junior ranks and was released in 2008 in favour of Jonas Gustavsson.

2006 Draft

The Maple Leafs selected Jiri Tlusty 13^th overall. Tlutsy is still young and has had success in the AHL, but critics suggest his skating may not be strong enough to be a star in the NHL. In 72 career games with the Leafs, Tlutsy has managed just 20 points.

Who the Leafs passed on:

Patrik Berglund (47 points, 21 goals in 76 career games)

Milan Lucic (69 points, 225 PIM, 149 games)

2007 Draft

The Toronto Maple Leafs pick was traded to the San Jose Sharks for Vesa Toskala. Toskala is the team’s current backup. The San Jose Sharks selected Logan Couture with the Leafs’ 9^th overall pick in the draft. Couture has tallied 10 points in 7 games to start the 2009 campaign with the Worcester Sharks of the AHL and has since been called up to the big club.

Final Results

Of course, hindsight is 20/20 and it would be unreasonable to expect that the Leafs’ upper management would make all of their draft-day decisions as suggested above.W hat if these were the decisions they had made? Here’s my projected 2009-2010 line-up if all had gone right for the Toronto Maple Leafs:

Forward Line One: Phil Kessel, Mike Richards, Jason Blake

Forward Line Two: Nik Hagman, Mike Cammalleri, Milan Lucic

Forward Line Three: Alexi Ponikarovsky, Brad Boyes, Nikolai Kulemin

Forward Line Four: Viktor Stalberg, John Mitchell, Colton Orr

Top Seven Defensemen: Mike Green, Thomas Kaberle, Mike Komisarek, Francois Beauchemin, Luke Schenn, Ian White, Jeff Finger

Goalies: Cam Ward, Jonas Gusstavson

The ugly truth is that good teams also attract better players. If the Maple Leafs were contending for a Stanley Cup, would Mats Sundin have retired as early as he did? Would the Leafs have needed to sign Jeff Finger to a salary well above his talent level? With a contending team, not only would they be attracting players to the city, they would be luring them in at a bargain.

In a perfect world, Mats Sundin would still be a Toronto Maple Leaf and he’d still be on the hunt for a Stanley Cup ring. Who knows, in a perfect world he might even already have one.

Kessel is only one man; Hockey isn`t a one-man game
By ALISSA TSE

It was the start of something new for number 81, Phil Kessel. He was in a new city, new team and a new jersey and making his first debut game with his new team after a shoulder injury that kept him away from the start of the season for a month. The anticipation of the result of having Kessel be on the line with the Leafs caused a lot of talk. Some coming to believe that he wouldn’t make a difference and others hoping or possibly believing they will be seeing a 2nd win from the Leafs with his debut.

Kessel, no doubt, is an amazing player. He’s fast at his feet, quick with his shots and he proved to be a valuable player after scoring 36 goals during his 3rd season with the Boston Bruins. In fact, he’s starting to seem like the replacement of the missing ‘Mats Sundin’ that had left the team only one season ago. But it seems that everyone has forgotten that Kessel had only played his first game with the Leafs last night. And people have certainly forgotten that Kessel is only one man and hockey isn’t a one-man game. Unfortunately, Kessel won’t be able to save the team in one day, as a matter of fact, it may take awhile.

Of course, it can`t be said that  Brian Burke made the wrong choice of trading those 3 valuable draft picks (especially seeing the state that the Leafs are in at the moment) or that this was definitely the right move. As spectators, we can only continue to watch and see how the season progresses to really find out if this action is one that will help the team.

With no doubt, if the season was to end now, many would have said Kessel was overvalued. Complaints from fans would flutter around, the media will be talking about Burke’s choice day and night. But we got to keep in mind, the season isn’t over yet. And we have to remember that Kessel had only played one game in a Leafs jersey, he still has many opportunities with the Leafs to prove his worthiness. This is only the start of the season for young Kessel and it is unfair and unrealistic to conclude that “his contribution is of no help” because what I see in this young star is energy that can bring the team together again to find a way to move themselves from the bottom of the pit that they are in right now.

brought to you by takio.takav

So my first day in my first “mayor” tournament is over and I’m very satisfied. Came out on 11th place chip wise out of 177 players. Day 2 (today) will have a starting field of ~125 players.

It felt pretty solid the whole day except from a couple of hours when I got card dead. I was above avrage chip stack most of the day but my stack was decreasing when I got QQ on the button with 5 limpers. I 6 bettted (to 1200) and was getting reraised back from the small blind…… think…… think……call. Flop J74 rainbow. He  bets half pot and again…..  think…..  think…… fold. The next hand I played the only A-rag hand of the day, A9 clubs. I called a utg 3 bet from a tight player. Flop J74 and yes all clubs. The utg guy bets and I push, instant call, he shows AA and I doubbled up. Shaaaading!

Thn I was moved to a new table…Mats Sundin’s table. The second hand I look down at AA and I reraise a 3-bet (1200), I reriase to 3200 and Mats flat calls. Flop is J high and I push as Mats only got ~6k left. He instant calls with QQ and he is busted. Sorry Mats!

After spending a couple of weeks outside of the good ole’ US of A, I realized that my body can’t handle this much change on a continuous basis. So next week, I’m staying in NYC instead of heading to Estonia.

Did you catch that?

E-S-T-O-N-I-A.

If you read my last piece on Inside Hockey before I left the country, you would have seen that Mats Sundin’s first stop on his European tour was in Estonia. What does all of that mean for me? Well, I’m following Mats on his European tour as he takes on his new profession as a professional poker player.

Since I’m skipping the first leg of the tour, I’ll be moving onto the next portion of his tour (which I believe is Spain if he finished up the contracts while I was in Greece). Why me?

Well, it’s kind of funny…I met Mats in Las Vegas during the NHL Charity Shootout. I was the only member of the press in attendance during the 14.5 hours of poker. During that time, I was able to learn a lot from these elite hockey players (and alumni) about the importance of poker and how it can mentally shape their minds as a hockey player.

14.5 hours was like a crash course on poker and how it relates to hockey…and I was learning from the best of the best not only in poker, but in hockey as well.

I found out about Mats’ future while I was there. I relayed that on…and apparently no one believed me (or cared for that matter). Well, someone in Mats’ world was paying attention to my presence there because his publicist contacted Inside Hockey to leak that same information once again about Mats’ future…and since I’m the one who made the connection between poker and hockey…I get the assignment.

That means…I’m on Mats Sundin’s poker tour.

I found this out the day before I left for Greece. Of course, I was sitting there thinking…but I have a friend coming to visit from Lithuania (you can take a gander as to who that might be if you’ve followed my career…not HIM, but his family member is visiting…not too many hockey players from Lithuania). Then I thought I would be an idiot to not follow Mats on his tour. At the end of the day the only thing I could think of as far as making a decision on my future was let’s see how my body is doing when I return from Greece to see if I can physically do the turnaround and head to Estonia when I get back.

So…Estonia…not this time, but the second leg of the trip…I’m going.

This is a tremendous opportunity for me. It was something I never even saw coming my way, but with life…I never can understand why things happen when they happen…but it is always preparing me for something bigger. It is no coincidence that Mats’ people got in touch with Inside Hockey to offer this opportunity. After all, I was the only person in the media that was aware of the choices Mats faced over the summer.

So that’s the big news…I’m going on Mats Sundin’s European Poker Tour. I am skipping the first leg of the tour, but should be there for the rest of the tour.

I will probably continue on his tour when he comes to the US.

What does this mean for Devils hockey? I will still continue to cover the Devils when I am in town. Otherwise, I will be on tour with Mats.

Speaking of poker and hockey…Pat LaFontaine recommended that I read Malcolm Gladwell’s “Outliers” to get a better understanding of poker and hockey. I started reading it the day before I left Santorini and finished it in London the next day. It was an interesting scientific study that I will say…there are a few elements that he left out.

Tomorrow, I’m going to post up how the “Outliers” effects my career.

*******
Now, as for my luxurious vacation…

I do not like Mykonos. That place is Sodom & Gomorrah and I’m just not that type of person that would like that kind of lifestyle.

Some kid tried to solicit me and I just looked at him like, “I’m old enough to be your mother, so please go away.” Well, he didn’t. He kept bugging me and bugging me thinking he could break down my barriers. I’m not playing hard to get…I just think it’s gross that some kid…ewww…anyway…

I just couldn’t believe how loose people are there. It takes less than 5 minutes for some sort of action to start between the club and the alleyway. Like I said…Sodom & Gomorrah…not my kind of place.

Our next island was Santorini. The place was absolutely beautiful. It was quiet (because it was the off-season), and the talk of the village was that there was a female hockey columnist in the village. All of the guys there thought it was really cool.

Now, the best part of Santorini…the DOGS! All of the dogs on the island belong to the island. The people of the island take care of all of the dogs.

The first night there, we encountered a couple of dogs that hang out at the distillery at one of the churches. My friend had just bought a bottle of the church’s ouzo at one of the local markets. The dogs started following us around because they recognized the scent.

They waited for us to finish eating at one of the local restaurants before escorting us around the area. They were our bodyguards for the night and they got rewarded with a piece of sausage from my dinner (trust me, if it weren’t for the dogs of Santorini, a lot of my meals would have gone to waste because I spent more time vomiting up the 2 bites of food I had then actually consuming anything beyond coffee and water).

These dogs are in territories and they will stop when their territories end. We would get picked up by another dog or two and they would be our bodyguards in the next territory. One dog acted as our tour guide. I kid you not…he showed us all of the secret places to go.

When he overstepped his boundaries, La Polizia (a German Shepherd) and his posse would come running to push that dog back into his territory. When this happened the first night, my original bodyguard was with La Polizia and the pack and all five of the dogs surrounded me and escorted me all the way back to our hotel.

Here’s the reason why…these dogs don’t do this for just anybody that come to their island. They do this for the sick and the handicapped. I didn’t figure this out until I saw my tour guide helping out a local musician who was handicapped and trying to climb the oh, so many stairs of Oia, Santorini.

Personally, I felt fine, but you can’t help but notice that the dogs aren’t doing this for everybody.

On our last night there, my friends befriended a couple of guys (complete liars…has something to do with Albanians and Greeks…I dunno, don’t care about stupid rivalries based on where you’re from). One of the guys that spoke no English was walking towards me and my friend. My friend went into the local supermarket to get a Diet Coke. The black dog that had adopted us for the night ended up staying with me outside of the market.

The dog saw the guy approaching and ran off towards him to sniff him. When the guy passed by the dog and started heading my way, the dog started barking and tried to attack the guy. The guy was a little taken aback and headed into the store where my friend was. The dog came up to me and came between me and the guy, pushing me away from the guy.

I got the message. The guy was bad news, so my friend and I started walking down the street. The dog kept looking behind us for that guy and angrily snorting as we walked towards the hotel.

That’s when we realized on the way back that the dogs are not surrounding me and my friend…they’re surrounding me. They’re protecting me. Since I saw that they only do this with people with visible ailments, it did bother me that they were sensing something from me to continuously act like they needed to protect me.

It did occur to me before I went on this trip that I should be extra cautious. These dogs were like little blessings in disguise.

After I left Santorini, I headed to London where I did some much needed shopping. I got a new pink bag with Harrod’s written across it along with a teaset to go with my tea, biscuits, and chocolates. Harrod’s has become my new favorite store.

I loved London. I loved it so much, I can’t wait to go back.

When we do the Spain portion of the tour, I’m hoping I can get an extra day in London before heading home. My kind of town.

So my nice red tan, along with lots of local ingredients from Greece and teas and treats from London rounded out the things I brought back with me from my vacation.

It will probably be a long time before I spend $5K on another vacation, but Santorini was definitely worth every penny. Pics will follow sometime next week.

Also, be on the lookout for a special ideeli.com special featuring me in my Valentino sunglasses while I was in Santorini. Ahh…you say Valentino…I say “I’m In Love.”

Vancouver Canucks
(2-3-0)
League Standing: 23rd
Western Conference Standing: 13th
Northwest Division Standing: 4th

vs

Calgary Flames
(4-2-1)
League Standing: 5th
Western Conference Standing: 4th
Northwest Division Standing: 2nd

Game Time: 7:00pm MST
Location: Pengrowth Saddledome (Calgary, AB)
Coverage: Rogers Sportsnet Pacific, Rogers Sportsnet West (TV), Fan960 (Radio)

Recent News:

The Calgary Flames, following a hot start to the regular season, have found themselves in a rut over the past three games. After a 4-0-0 start, the Flames are 0-2-1 in their last three games. In what could possibly be viewed as the lowest point so far this season for Brent Sutter’s Flames, Calgary choked up a five goal lead against Chicago on Monday night, losing 6-5 in overtime to the Blackhawks. Following a 2-1 loss in Columbus on Tuesday, Coach Sutter was prompted to shake up the lines.

After opening the season in quite the opposite manner of the Flames, the Canucks have finally gotten on a roll. Following three season-opening losses, Vancouver defeated Montreal decisively by a score of 7-1. The Canucks then topped the Dallas Stars 4-3 this past Sunday. Michael Grabner was recently recalled from the Manitoba Moose of the AHL to help take the place of many Canuck regulars who currently find themselves in the sick/injury bay.

Last Meeting:

In the regular season opener for both teams, the Flames triumped 5-3 over the visiting Canucks. Miikka Kiprusoff, Mark Giordano, and Henrik Sedin were named the Three Stars for the evening. Despite outshooting Calgary by a margin of 42-23, the Canucks could not overcome the strong play of Kiprusoff.

Goaltenders:

Calgary- Following two days off, fans can expect to see Miikka Kiprusoff between the pipes again for the Flames. So far this season Kiprusoff is sporting a 4-1-1 record alongside a 0.903 SV% and 3.31 GAA. His backup, Curtis McElhinney is 0-1-0 in one start, with a 0.862 SV% and 4.00 GAA.

Vancouver- With four days of rest, Roberto Luongo is the most likely candidate to be manning the crease for the Canucks. 2-3-0 in his first five games, Luongo has a 0.879 SV% and 3.33 GAA. His backup, Andrew Raycroft, has no decisions and a 0.917 SV% paired with a 1.82 GAA.

Key Players:

Calgary- While Rene Bourque continues to tear along at a surprising pace (9 points in 7 games), Jarome Iginla and Olli Jokinen will be the players to watch on Friday evening. With only 4 points and 5 points in 7 games respectively, Iginla and Jokinen have been split up by Brent Sutter. It will be interesting to see how each player responds to the “change in scenery”. Iginla will be playing with Craig Conroy and Curtis Glencross, while Olli Jokinen will see ice time with Eric Nystrom and Fredrik Sjostrom.

A player who has yet to have a significant impact for the Flames this season is Cory Sarich. Monday night, the defenseman returned to action for the first time this season after being held out by a foot injury. With two games under his belt, Sarich will be expected to help stabilize the Calgary blueline, which has been suspect at times so far this season.

Vancouver-- With his strong play, Ryan Kesler has helped to propel the Canucks to their past two victories. With 5 points in 5 games so far this season, last year’s Selke Trophy nominee has also shown fans that he produce in the offense end as well. With Kesler scoring on 22% of his shots, expect him to make the most of his chances.

So far this season, Kyle Wellwood has been a disappointment for the Vancouver Canucks. After putting up 27 points last season, and also alongside the departure of Mats Sundin, Wellwood was expected to take on a more important offensive role this season. In 5 games, the diminutive center has zero points. Wellwood has averaged close to 14 minutes on the so far this season, but only has four shots on net.

Tough Customers:

Calgary- With three fighting majors to his name so far this season, Brandon Prust has been a character that no one wants to get involved with. His quick skating and energetic play have caused chaos in opposition ends. The 5’10 forward has yet to back down from any challenger. With the return of Brian McGrattan to the lineup this week, the Flames grit has also received a significant boost.

Vancouver- Darcy Hordichuk is the local policeman for the Canucks. While he has yet to chuck ‘em this season, it doesn’t mean that the feisty veteran still doesn’t have it in him.

Special Teams Review:

Calgary- The Flames powerplay is firing away at 41.2%. Rene Bourque and Dion Phaneuf lead the team in powerplay markers with two apiece. The Flames penalty kill, following early season struggles, has recovered to 81.8% efficiency. Miikka Kiprusoff has arguably been Calgary’s top penalty killer.

Vancouver- The Canucks powerplay sits at a solid 36.8%. Mikael Samuelsson leads the powerplay charge, with two powerplay goals to his name. As for the penalty kill, Vancouver has struggled so far this season in that department. Their penalty kill is bumbling around with a 66.7% efficiency.

Probable Lines:

Calgary-

Bouwmeester-Sarich
Regehr-Phaneuf
Pardy-Giordano

Injuries:

Calgary- David Moss (upper body) is questionable for tonight’s matchup

Vancouver- Sami Salo (knee), Daniel Sedin (foot), Mathieu Schneider (shoulder), Pavol Demitra (shoulder), and Jannik Hansen (broken hand) are all on the injured reserve.

A friend called last Wednesday afternoon to let me know that the Canucks weren’t doing well…

He wanted to make sure that I knew that the season had started…

He asked, “Philosophydoll, have you been watching the games???

The Canucks need you… remember how you got them out of their losing streak last season…”

I’m not sure that I can take all of the credit for that… I wasn’t playing hockey with the Canucks…

I was just thinking about it…

But as honesty is my only policy I came clean, immediately…

I’ve had other things on my mind…

and I’m still not over Mats not being here…

It is going to take me some time to realign my commitment to NHL hockey…

I know that this is how it works… players come and they go… you can’t get too attached… but you have to remember that when a professional hockey player visits you in your dreams before hockey is even on your radar it takes time to find interest in an updated roster… 

I’m wired up like a swan…

In case you’re a new reader and haven’t been following along I only started to watch hockey and pay attention to the Canucks when Mats came to town… prior to that I had no idea who Mats Sundin was… in fact I’d never heard of him… I don’t have a television… and I’d had a longtime boycott on professional sports… but then I had a dream about a hockey player with the same haircut as Mats… and some channels opened up… 

Luongo thinks he knew that Mats was retiring before anyone else… but last Spring in the middle of the night I found myself interviewing Mats… 

Mats and I were talking about relationships and the challenges of staying connected with such physical distance in-between… and that after twenty years in Canada he was ready to go back to Sweden and start a family… I saw it coming… but I also held out for hope that he and his lovely Josephine would settle in Vancouver… until I heard about the lakeside house…

I’d leave Vancouver for a lakeside house in a second, with no doubt…

In fact I’m gettin’ in the car right now…

Wednesday evening is bata de cola night… last week I got an ole from teacher so there is no way that I am going to miss a class to watch a hockey game… bata is, at the very least, a four-to-five year commitment… if you show up for practice willy-nilly you won’t see your vision hit the ground… and my underskirt has blue ruffles for a reason…

I’m glad that, with four freaky goals out of seven, that the Canucks were able to turn things around in their last game… although three losses in a row really does not constitute a losing streak, or a rough start to the season… it is part of the ebb and flow of hockey… 

How do we know we’re winning if we don’t lose sometimes???

And what would sport radio have to talk about if the Canucks always played a perfect game???

Where would fans direct their emotion??? 

Canucks fans might have to do some reflecting if they found they were still anxious and unhappy even after their home team pulled off a Stanley Cup victory… not everyone is up for looking inward…

In aboriginal cultures around the world there is no word for mistake…

Anything tried is an attempt… and struggle is always an opportunity to learn and grow…

And when you’re really doing it, way down deep, growing hurts…

Everyday is a winding road...

Made this Sundin edit over a year ago, because he was taking forever to decide on retirement:

The ’soft stance’ is in reference to his agent making the statement that Sundin would give himself a ’soft deadline’ over the summer to decide.

We’ve graduated from a wordpress.com hosted site to our very own.

Click here to be redirected.

Hjärnan bakom helikopter-ligan avslöjad. Här mannen som gav “helikoptern” ett ansikte.

Leif

Hur löd fotografens samtal hem till redaktionen?

“Stockholm, we´ve got a problem”

Leif

Kul att gamla hockeyhjältar ger sig in i spågubbe-branschen.

Leif

Anna Ankas okända mamma köper Volvo.

Leif

Triangeldrama i kungahuset. Det är tydligen transvestiten Jan-Olof som får
den heta Madeleine och inte fästmannen Jonas.

Leif

It’s a slightly abbreviated version of The Humanoids today. I blame it largely on catching swine flu or something like that. Yeah, getting swine flu and blogging sounds reasonably tough for the internet. Let’s go with that. So as my time on earth apparently fades to black, so do many of our subjects today. Some have seen their careers come to an apparent end. Others are still going for the time being but you would have to imagine they’re in bad shape or are going to close up shop soon.

Speaking of things closing up shop soon, the radio show will be taping tonight. Why would the radio show be closing up shop soon? Well, there might be a change in plans/location for a host which could throw a wrench in the usual operations. We’ll cross that bridge when we get to it. We always manage to solve things at the last second. Anyway, on with the show.

Kimbo Slice
Well that was a let down, wasn’t it? After all of three weeks, Kimbo Slice fought on The Ultimate Fighter 10. He looked impressive on his feet but when he was taken down, he was very out of his element. Clearly, Roy Nelson wasn’t doing any damage to Kimbo. The fact is that Kimbo wasn’t defending himself so Herb Dean had to stop the fight. I like that Dana White decided to sign Slice to a contract though. Even though White himself said that Kimbo wasn’t going to be in the UFC unless he fought his way in through the reality TV show, he signed the internet sensation. Sometimes pride has to take a backseat to business sense. Sure names like Liddell, Couture, Rampage, and Fedor appeal more to the hardcore MMA fan who likes good fighting. However, the name Slice means a lot more on the income statement than the name Fedor. That’s just good marketing.

Phoenix Coyotes
Are we done with this yet? Can we finally call it a day? On Wednesday, Judge Redfield T. Baum announced that neither the NHL nor Jim Balsillie was getting the Coyotes. Balsillie was denied because the judge wasn’t about to set a massive precedent by saying that a sports league didn’t have exclusive control over the ownership and location of its franchises. However, the NHL lost out because they were trying to cut out Jerry Moyes and Wayne Gretzky from bankruptcy proceedings. In other words, the NHL can’t pick and choose the creditors they want to give money to, even if they feel like Moyes tried to hose them. The NHL can come back with another bid if they give money to all the creditors. Balsillie has backed out but says that he’ll be first in line for tickets to the home opener of the 7th Canadian team… assuming he’s not too bitter about how this turned out.

Ben Roethlisberger
This season, the Pittsburgh Steelers went from Super Bowl champions to struggling to be in the playoff picture. Sure, that’s a bit of a stretch after 3 weeks but they have no offensive line and their defence is porous without Troy Polamalu. So after winning the Super Bowl, what was Big Ben up to? He was fooling around with Shaq. Not a big deal, right? It got him a little bit of off-season training and kept him relatively sharp. That’s what he would be doing anyway. This coming Monday, he’ll be fooling around with the stars of the WWE on Monday Night Raw. He will be the guest host which, from watching a couple of past episodes, will involve talking to the audience, acting in a couple of backstage skits, and maybe foiling the evil villain at the end of the day. The Pittsburgh sports media are all over Big Ben, saying that he should be focusing on playing football. However, what else would he be doing on a Monday night? He has a meeting on Monday and a day off on Tuesday. He’d be at Raw anyway, what’s wrong with reciting a script.

Mats Sundin
To paraphrase Mike Goldberg “IT IS ALL OVER!” MAYBE! Mats Sundin announced his retirement on Wednesday. Not many of hockey fans or Canadians would have noticed because everyone was talking about Judge Baum’s non-decision decision on the Phoenix Coyotes. So after years of the will he or won’t he retire discussion, he’s finally decided to hang up his skates. Of course, we can liken Mats’ saga to America’s favourite will he or won’t he retire man Brett Favre. Although, while Favre has retired twice and comeback, he’s done it before the start of the season both times. Still, it’s a pretty amateur move on his part. Anyway, last season, he took half the year off to see if he was mentally capable of handling a full season of hockey. In reality, he was looking to play for a contender and took his time to see who could make a run at the Cup. Sure, both Favre and Sundin were very good players back in the day and can still make an impact now. But if you want a guy that can’t make a decision, Mats Sundin was far worse than Favre. If Canadians weren’t such annoyingly polite folks, they would have been more pissed at Mats than Brett.

NHL
Oh yeah! I almost forgot to mention that hockey’s back. It’s a little early this year because they’re trying to cram in a two-week Olympic break so they can send their stars off to get exposure on a bigger stage. Or at least some exposure on Direct TV which isn’t carrying the NHL’s main cable partner, Versus. I’m not going to talk about that. Really, the NHL is only here because I wanted a chance to plug the NHL Season Preview again. It seems to be everyone’s favourite Lowdown Blog post of all time. So while you’re here, give it a read. And don’t listen to EA Sports’ predicted standings. They never give the Red Wings any credit. If you don’t play as the Wings, they’ll just scrape into the playoffs. It never fails.

Terrell Owens
Well, he’s back in the news. Not a surprise when it comes to TO. After getting shutdown for the first time in 185 games last Sunday against the New Orleans Saints. Now, TO is known for creating controversy wherever he goes, often times it’s him throwing his quarterback under the bus for not getting the ball to him. However, after Sunday’s game, TO wasn’t taking the bait from the reporters at his locker who were looking for him to get on QB Trent Edwards’ case. Instead, he’s in the headline for his war of words with New England Patriot-turned-broadcaster Rodney Harrison. Harrison called TO a clown (for no apparent reason) so TO fired back with tweets about Harrison’s drug suspension. Harrison said he’s a champ and TO will never be one. The guy moves out of the biggest spotlight in the NFL to one of the NFL’s sleepiest homes and he’s still a target for the media. He may be one of the all-time great receivers but he’ll never be able to win with the fans and media.

Swine Flu
People are coming up with all sorts of things to prevent the spread of swine flu… Well, everything except quarantine. That worked but I guess that’s considered very draconian by modern standards. If it ain’t broke… Anywho, the NBA has issued a moratorium on handshakes over swine flu fears. Instead they’re suggesting that players replace them with fist bumps and chest bumps. Churches are talking about removing holy water because it’s apparently not holy enough to combat swine flu. Then again, neither is Tim Tebow so maybe we’re all doomed. Also, everywhere you go will have hand sanitizer on just about every free inch of wall space. I think that’s probably the worst thing to do. In order to combat something that might be a pandemic, we’re going to create a superbug through the overuse of anti-bacterial hand sanitizers. So what are we going to do when we create our own pandemic that we can’t just avoid by changing some habits?

Seinfeld
Everybody’s favourite show about nothing is getting its long-awaited reunion this weekend… Sort of. The cast is supposed to be making a brief appearance on this Sunday’s episode of Curb Your Enthusiasm. This season of Curb is all about Larry David finally giving into the pressure of doing a Seinfeld reunion. The first episode of the reunion arc is supposed to be really good. The only question left for me is do I want to start watching the show from this episode or should I pick up from the start? On the plus side, Super Dave is on the show as Larry’s neighbour. Unfortunately, he’s not everybody’s favourite daredevil superstar entertainer. Still, this should be worth a watch.

There will be no “where will he sign?” commotion this time around as Mats Sundin, after 20 professional seasons in the books, hung up the skates for good on Wednesday morning, announcing his retirement from his native Stockholm, Sweden.

That’s just the headline, the real meat is in the debate that now ensues… is Sundin Hall of Fame worthy?

But is there really a debate here though or have we just lost sight of what true HOF credentials look like? Sure, Sundin’s “holdout” last season may have left a bad taste in some of the mouths that talk about his legacy, but so damaging to not include his amazing accomplishments in the Hall?

Keep in mind that it’s called the “Hockey Hall of Fame,” not the “NHL Hall of Fame,” so that should stretch out to International play as well, not just exclusively the NHL. A debate about Sundin’s worthiness is completely bogus. Based on numbers alone, Sundin is a Hall of Famer, no question.

Here’s some significant career highlights… hard to argue this stack of proof:

* First European player to be selected first in the NHL Draft.
* 8-time NHL All-Star.
* Ranks 25th all time in NHL points.
* Toronto Maple Leafs all-time career scoring leader.
* 564 goals, 785 assists, 1,349 points (first all-time among Swedish players).
* IIHF World Championship titles: 1991, 1992, 1998.
* 2006 Olympic Gold-medalist (Turin 2006).

Yes, he’ll be recognized as one of the best players to never win a Stanley Cup, or even reach the Finals for that matter. But keep in mind, he spent 13 of his 20 years in Toronto, playing on some pretty awful teams and lingering in constant “rebuilding” modes. Obviously voters will factor this in, but they should not to the tune of letting that determine whether be belongs or not.

Have a look at where hockey stands now in terms of the European market. Could we not say that Sundin played a huge role in that? He deserves some credit for being that Swedish breakout player that influenced and helped open the door to the NHL for the Nicklas Lidstroms, Peter Forsbergs, Daniel Alfredssons and Markus Naslunds of the hockey world.

I don’t understand the argument. How do you keep the NHL’s 25th all time leading scorer out of the Hall of Fame?!? The answer is simple… you don’t. Just like Mats Sundin’s Hall of Fame credentials, this story isn’t worthy of a debate. +

10. Mike Komisarek becomes Captain. After getting the snuff, Kaberle gives up Dmitri Mironov’s #15 and changes to #1 to sleep better at night.Tim Hunter fights Komisarek in practice and the team opts to give Hunter the C making the first time in NHL history that an Assistant Coach has worn it.

9. Vesa Toskala actually has a good start to the season but gets injured. The Monster and Joseph MacDonald take over and finish the job. Toskala stays in touch with fans during his rehab and gets a job on the ACC grounds. According to the sign, things are “Nipperlicious”.

8. Stalberg  starts off strong but finishes his rookie year with under 20 goals. Wendel Clark’s leaf rookie record of 34 goals remains in tact and untouchable.

7. Lee Stempniak, and Jamal Mayers get traded for draft picks to help make up for what was lost for Kessel. Mayers and Stempniak both go back to St. Louis.

6. Brian Burkie opts to remove his name from Burkie’s Dog House and in an odd twist, Martha Stewart steps in and offers the first hot dog that feeds an entire row at the ACC.

5. Maple Leafs set a new record for the number of opposing players hospitalized throughout the season. Most teams begin to carry defibrillators on the bench when visiting the ACC.

4. The Monster plays in +40 games and proves to be the real deal and only occasionally using the aforementioned defibrillators to keep it real. His second heart surgery of the season administered through his urethra is deemed a success.

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3. Hagman has a career year and scores +30 goals. Also begins a promising career in his spare time as a tuxedo catalogue model for Tip Top Taylors.

2. Mats Sundin trains all season, plays in the Olympics and signs with the Leafs for one final shot at the cup. After realizing that he’s still got love for the leafs and things outside the rink didn’t really turn out, he makes his bid to become a part of leafs history, returning to the buds to drive them to a second round exit from the playoffs.

1. Jason Blake gets some sleep.

Mats Sundin announced his retirement from the NHL after 18 seasons of playing. His NHL career includes 1,346 games and 1,349 points.

He has played with Quebec Nordiques, Toronto Maple Leafs and the Vancouver Canucks.

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Theo Fleury announced his retirement after playing in the NHL for 15 seasons. His career accomplishments include 1,084 games and 1,088 points.

His career included playing with Calgary Flames, Colorado Avalanche, New York Rangers and the Chicago Blackhawks.

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Other NHL News includes:
* Cam Ward signed 6 year contract with Carolina Hurricanes valued at $38.7 million.
* Ryan Hollweg has signed a one-year contract with the Phoenix Coyotes.
* Ryan Bayda signed a one-year contract with the defending Stanley Cup Champions Pittsburgh Penguins.

* Manny Legace has been released by the Atlanta Thrashers from try outs.
* Randy Jones has been put on waivers by the Philadelphia Flyers.
* Adam Hall and Ryan Craig have been put on waivers by the Tampa Bay Lightning.
* Rob Schremp, formerly of Edmonton Oilers, has been signed by the New York Islanders.
* Dan Hinote and Matthew Dandenault are released from try outs by the San Jose Sharks.

Info provided by the NHL Network and NHL Live!

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Yes, Mats Sundin officially retired today. As most are saying, about a year overdue, but as the rest of Leaf world reflects on his past, I wanted to take a look at the place where his career as a leaf started, Maple Leaf Gardens.

I attended my first NHL hockey game at the Gardens (Leafs vs. Blackhawks) when I was about 8 years old. I got autographs from my favorite players at that very same game in a side corridor where most of the players came to the rink through (Clark, Leeman, and a few others that I can’t recall). I remember going to the last game between the Leafs and Canadiens that was ever played at MLG too. Rocket Richard dropped the puck. Mats was on a line with Steve Thomas, Cujo was on his game, and no disrespect to Burkie’s Dog House, but the dogs were second to none. I was at an age where I was very embarrassed when my dad sang the anthem out loud but back then it seemed like there was still an air of respect and history in attending a leaf game. It was old school.

Inspired by an article that my sister sent me today from the Toronto Star showcasing some old pictures of Maple Leaf Gardens, I did some digging. Here is a limited MOLSTAR communications video called “The Passion Returns” featuring the 92-93 Leafs. Very epic. Even has credits at the beginning, “Starring: Cliff Fletcher, Pat Burns, Doug Gilmour, Wendel Clark (the beard of a god), Felix Potvin, and the ‘rest of the Leafs’”. As well, I found some pics from the past, present and future.

Great shots of MLG at the start and end of this clip

Built in 1931 – Notice the lack of downtown…..

Andre the Giant at MLG

Wendel Clark killing people (Notice Marty McSorely getting beaten as an Oiler. Wendel went on to beat Marty mercilessly on every team that Marty ever played for. Marty had nowhere to run.)

After the last game was played but before they ripped out the seats

Present

MLG Escalator

Harrold Ballard's Box

Lights that used to illuminate the rink

More from the Toronto Star

The Future – Loblaws planning to build a facility with Ryerson University that is part sports complex and part grocery store….classy.

This tidbit from his goodbye presser in Stockholm.

“…especially the Toronto Maple Leafs where I spent 13 years, I had the honour to be the captain of the most historic and greatest franchise in hockey history.”

- Mats Sundin

Wish he would’ve said ’so long’ in Toronto.

Hey, the Leafs need a quality centre. Mats? They’ve also got cap issues, so nevermind. Anyway Big Swede, enjoy retirement. See you back here when the Leafs finally figure out the most appropriate way of honouring you.

Så kom då beskedet. Mats Sundin lägger av. Efter en sagolik karriär är det dags att lägga skridskorna på hyllan. “Sudden” är en av Sveriges bästa hockeyspelare genom tiderna. Tillsammans med Peter “Foppa” Forsberg har de skapat svensk idrottshistoria genom att vinna både OS och VM.

Stort tack för många års kämpande och slitande. Saknaden av en riktig hockeyhjälte kommer att bli stor. Men allt har sin tid. Det är en bedrift att lägga av i tid också. Det gör “sudden”. En säsong till och det hade kunnat blivit mer av ett fiasko än en succé.

Mats Sundin has announced his retirement from hockey.

According a media reports from Sweden the former Maple Leafs captain made the announcement today at a Stockholm hotel.

“It feels good, it comes from the heart,” Sundin told reporters.

“I’ve had a long career and have played since I was a child. It’s hard to summarize everything but it’s been a great journey… I couldn’t have had a better life than the one I’ve had.”

Sundin played 18 NHL seasons, 13 with the Maple Leafs. He is Toronto’s all-time leader in goals and points.

“Toronto is and will always be my second home,” Sundin said.

He played 1,346 games with Toronto, the Quebec Nordiques and Vancouver Canucks, scoring 564 goals and 785 assists for 1349 points.

Personally I think he should have retired last season while he was with the Leafs. It would have been a much better scenario calling it quits with the team he loves, the Maple Leafs. This future hall of famer is one of our best selling figure in our store:

Nu lägger han av, allas vår evighetsmaskin tillika NHL titan, Matte Sundin. Lycka till och hoppas få se dig i Elitserien nån gång framöver.

mats sundin

Nu lägger så även Mats Sundin ner NHL karriären. Är imponerad över att han hållt i så pass länge ändå helt klart. Vore kul att se han i Djurgården igen, vågar vi hoppas på det. Oavsett så tackar jag för en grym insats genom åren, både i NHL och för landslaget

SVD, DN, AB

This weekend worked out pretty well for Good Hustle in trying to get some fresh Leafs content rather than re-hashing the previous nights game or joining the debate on which Leaf rookies should make the team (ahem…Stalberg).

Instead, I kept my ear to the ground and learned that Brian Burke would be hosting a Meet n Greet at Future Shop and that there was also an online interactive webcast component to it. Props to Future Shop.

Was very cool to be watching by video stream and then have the moderator ask Burke some questions and callout Good Hustle. I knew the hot dog topic would get some traction as most people would be asking about Kadri etc. but I also was pretty skeptical that any of my questions would get used (hence the ridiculousness and trying to break through the clutter). Glad I was wrong. Here were my questions:

(All Brian Burke quotes summarized)

Q: Hi Brian, what’s the deal with your players and Twitter. Are you cool with them using it?

BB: Basically doesn’t use Twitter. Says that’s for his kids to use. Does acknowledge that it’s the wave of the future and is working with MLSE to develop a policy for the players (Leafs and Raptors) to abide by. He does admit to being addicted to his handheld device and even using it on the subway where there is no service. 

Q: Hi Brian, if “Dancing with the Stars” gave you the callup, would you report to camp?

BB: Not answered. Dancing and pugnacity don’t mix well. 

Q: Hi Brian, good hustle in revamping the Leafs <manly bum tap>. What’s your favorite hot dog at Burkie’s Hot Dog House?

BB: After a long winded answer, BB concedes that he wishes he was never a part of the Burkie’s Dog House hot dog stand at the ACC. Says other GM’s make fun of him. Finally admits that his favorite is the bacon wrapped , cheddar doggie. He concedes that this may not be a healthy choice and I’d have to agree.  

Q: Hi Brian, what’s the difference between plasma & LCD? Should I stick with a veteran brand or go no-name?

BB: Despite being at Future Shop, BB did not answer this question. I thought this was a clever tongue-in-cheek poke at how veterans and rookies might fare at Leaf camp but alas, no love. 

Q: Hi Brian, great game last night. Can you please comment on the rumors of inviting Wendel Clark to camp?

BB: Not answered. It was mentioned that Wendel and Ian White were at the store previously promoting NHL 10 and the Magnum P.I dvd series. Some guy in the crowd asks about Felix Potvin at one point and there is a strange awkward silence from everyone. Burke goes on to explain his respect for Potvin but holds his cards close and does not address the Clark rumors. Wise. 

Q: Hi Brian, Just finished watching seasons 1 – 5 of Felicity. Straight. I recommend picking them up in FS today if u have time.

BB: No answer from BB here. A little surprised that this was not acknowledged as I would’ve been curious to know whom he liked better, Noel or Ben? (Damn you Ben, stop playing with Felicity’s emotions!)

Q: Bacon cheddar wrap sounds good. Out west I haven’t heard much about Allison. How’s he look?

BB: Not answered and not surprised. Saying Allison has no chance in hell and is slow as shit probably wouldn’t have gone over well. 

Q: We hear the term “depth chart” in camp, what factors make up a persons ranking?

BB: After a long winded answer BB equated a gorgeous female singer in concert getting all the attention from the audience but said that the show can never start until the tuba player in the back takes his seat. Epic. In all seriousness, I was actually keen to hear how a player is ranked on the depth chart but I didn’t quite get the details I was looking for. I think Ian White is our tuba player though. The music just wouldn’t be the same without him. 

Q: Will you be involved in the team building experience up to Huntsville?

BB: Not answered. BB doesn’t go to parties because he is the party. 

Q; If Sundin trained all year, would u consider looking at him as a playoff booster?

BB: Not answered. I think Burke may have enough Swedes to worry about at this point although I’ll stick to my prediction that Mats will play this year for Toronto in the playoffs. You laugh now, but just wait.