khandor’s sports blog

in the best interests of their franchise, from a long term perspective, is:

i. Baton down the hatches;
ii. Resist all trade overtures from other teams across the NHL;
iii. Display confidence in the ability of their current group of core players – e.g. Phil Kessel, Dion Phaneuf, Joffrey Lupul, James Reimer, Jake Gardiner and Luke Schenn – to rebound from their present 10-game slumber and qualify for the playoffs this season by playing solid hockey down the home-stretch; and,
iv. Get a win on Tuesday night, playing at home against the Florida Panthers.

OPTION 1
If the team, as is, fails to respond positively and falls short of making the playoffs … then … head coach, Ron Wilson, will be relieved of his duties in the off season.

The team’s core group of players would stay together heading into next season.

This would really be a long term “win” situation for the franchise, when one more year’s worth of draft picks are added to the current group of players who, then, would have just gone through their first legitimate battle for a playoff position together.

OPTION 2
If the team, as is, responds positively and regroups to qualify for the playoffs … then … head coach, Ron Wilson, will not be relieved of his duties in the off season.

The team’s core group of players would stay together heading into next season.

This would also be a long term “win” situation for the franchise, when one more year’s worth of draft picks are added to the current group of players who, then, would have just gone through their first legitimate battle for a playoff position together.

The simple facts are …

1. This year’s version of the Maple Leafs has better players than the previous 6 incarnations each of which missed the playoffs.

2. The only “sucker play” [i.e. OPTION 3] which the Maple Leafs can possibly make at this stage of their long term building process is to buckle under to the mostly media-induced pressure to make the playoffs this season, at all costs, by trading away one or more of their core players.

Related:

Critical 24 hours for Maple Leafs and GM Brian Burke

Brian Burke’s Maple Leafs Crumbling quickly

In stark contrast to what is currently being promoted in the heart of Leafs Nation …

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Cox: Talented Toronto Maple Leafs rookie Jake Gardiner may have to go

The issue with Jake Gardiner, as it was 12 months ago, is trying to accurately evaluate his upside.

As in how good this kid may be.

The Leafs had to do that last year when they were browsing through the prospect chart of the Anaheim Ducks and ultimately landed Gardiner along with Joffrey Lupul in exchange for Francois Beauchemin.

Now, as they eye the possibility of a deal with Columbus to try and acquire Rick Nash, again the issue of the 21-year-old blueliner’s ultimate potential is under scrutiny.

And the reality is the Leafs don’t really have an answer.

They’re not exactly sure what they have.

“He’s one of those guys who you watch and you think he’s not trying that hard,” said Leaf head coach Ron Wilson. “Then you get down to ice level and you see how fast he’s going. Then you know you have a special player with special abilities.”

Gardiner hit a rough spot partway through the season, perhaps when he was feeling for the first time the burden of the NHL season, but has taken off again, including a stellar performance Wednesday in Edmonton as the Leafs snapped a four-game losing streak.

It now appears Columbus is likely to be more interested in Gardiner as the centrepiece of a Nash deal than Luke Schenn. The problem for the Leafs, however, is that while they know what Schenn is — No. 4 or 5 on a good team’s depth chart, a physical presence but unlikely to contribute much on the attack — it’s not clear quite yet just where Gardiner is headed.

“He might be Duncan Keith,” said one insider.

If Gardiner, a brilliant skater like the outstanding Chicago blueliner, is of that calibre, is it worth sacrificing him to land the 27-year-old Nash and his massive contract?

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What the team’s GM, Brian Burke, actually needs to do, prior to the upcoming NHL trade deadline, is refrain from making any trade which involves a core player on Toronto’s present roster – i.e. James Reimer [No. 1 Goalie], Jonas Gustovson [No. 2 Goalie], Phil Kessel [No. 1 Scorer], Jake Gardiner [No. 1 Young Defenseman], Luke Schenn [No. 2 Young Defenseman] or Dion Phaneuf [Team Captain] – in hopes of ensuring that his squad qualifies for the playoffs this season.

Last year the Maple Leafs finished in 10th place in the Eastern Conference and failed to reach the post-season for the 6th consecutive year.

This year the Maple Leafs are currently in 8th place in the Eastern Conference and solidly in the hunt for a berth in the post-season tournament.

In an effort to build an elite-level franchise which is actually able to compete for the Stanley Cup each and every season, over an extended period of time – e.g. the next decade plus – it makes absolutely no difference, whatsoever, if the Maple Leafs qualify for the playoffs this year, or not … if, in the process, it also happens to cost them, one or more of the tangible assets from the above list of 6 names, especially a highly mobile, once-in-a-generation rushing defenseman with the play-making moxy of 21-year old Jake Gardiner who, this corner believes, has the ability to become a multiple-time league all-star in the not-too-distant future.

In fact … it says here:

Anyone who advocates that the Maple Leafs should be willing to pull the trigger on a deal with the Columbus Blue Jackets that involves trading Jake Gardiner [i.e. a blossoming rear-guard who can easily generate offense for his line-mates] in return for Rick Nash [i.e. an aging forward who is fairly proficient at scoring goals] simply has ZERO FIRST-HAND EXPERIENCE when it comes to the building of a championship-winning sports team.

Instead of trying to acquire Rick Nash in a short-term focused trade deadline deal, what Brian Burke needs to do is continue adding good, young, long term pieces to his team, via [i] the NHL Draft and [ii] Unrestricted Free Agency, in the off-season.

Burke rips into Heatley, agents
“For a player to quietly and professionally ask for a trade, that’s fair ball for me. For a player to pop off and say he wants out or leak it, in my mind you are now no longer interested in your team. If you’ve done that you’ve handicapped them, you’ve handcuffed the GM,” said Burke.

“As long as you are on that team, you owe them to maximize the asset, and once you’ve taken that step, sorry I don’t accept that.”

Burke said he would not deal a player who went public with a trade request.

“I’m not blaming Dany, this could be the agent,” said Burke. “When you have players come ask you for a trade, I tell the players, `Don’t finish that sentence, because once you ask, I’m going to move you.’ If a player says `I want out,’ you’re darn right you’re going. I’m not kissing anyone’s ass to play in my town, so to hell with you, don’t finish the sentence. My second rule is: If I hear about this, then you’re not going anywhere.”

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There’s a good reason Brian Burke failed to take the Vancouver Canucks to the Stanley Cup Finals.

There’s a good reason Brian Burke ran away from the Anaheim Ducks lickady-split in the aftermath of winning just 1 Stanley Cup … built largely on the backs of players who were mostly acquired by his predecessor.

Talk like what you see above, concerning this … i.e. “Don’t finish that sentence …” and, antiquated Rules of Engagement which read like, i.e. i.e. “If I hear about this, then you’re not going anywhere.” … are the characteristics of an ‘old school’ GM who is never going to succeed in a MAJOR WAY in the modern-day world of sport which exists today.

You can WRITE that call down in STONE.

Do you see Ken Holland making statements like THAT? How about Jimmy Devellano? Or, Lou Lamoriello? Or, Jim Rutherford?

Unfortunately, the Toronto Maple Leafs will repeatedly fail to re-build their once proud franchise under the mis-guided blustery Leadership Style of Brian Burke, unable to capture multiple Stanley Cups along the way … which they most assuredly have the resources to do … even though yours truly sincere hopes that that specific call is one that comes up nothing but snake eyes in the immediate years ahead.

Making a loud to-do over NOT having ANY interest in the acquisition of a player in the situation of a Danny Heatley, who is currently employed by ANOTHER team in the NHL?

Please.

Mr. Burke needs to give his own head a good shake and get down to the nitty-gritty business of actually building the Toronto Maple Leafs.

A-Rod allegations: This is baseball’s worst nightmare
[Part I: On telling fibs to Agents of the US Federal Gov't]
It’s not surprising the game’s highest-paid player would try to skirt the system in 2003. What was more surprising out of the SI report was the suggestion that Gene Orza, the players unions No. 2 man, may have tipped off Rodriguez about tests. If it was done once, why not twice? The Major League Baseball Players Association should never be in the position to play sheriff, but it damned straight ought not to be an abettor, either.

“That’s the kind I’d like to buy,” Rush said. “It’s way, way fast. I tested it in Germany and it’s automatically five-tenths of a second faster. What I have is a standard sled. There’s a company in Germany called Dresden and they cookie-cut sleds. You’ll see guys buy those, and then start doing things to them. They know how to do little tricks and stuff. Me? I’m clueless. After four years I know how to do little things to make the sled how I like it, but I don’t know how to make it fast. There’s after-market companies that take your sled and supe it up. But that custom kind of work is expensive. What I have is a stock sled. I want a suped up sled.”

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The need to be suped up in some way is one of the problems plaguing our society today … whether it be in Major League Baseball, the NHL, the NBA, the NFL, Formula One, NASCAR, Bobsled Racing, or just everyday life … rather than having earned one’s own way to the top of the podium, gradually, over time, with authentic blood, sweat & tears.

This corner, on the other hand, much prefers a different course of action … which builds [a home, or business, or otherwise] brick by brick, board by board.

If this most recent bit of news is, indeed, accurate …

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Time running out on MLSE’s Peddie

The winds of change are blowing at Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment Ltd., and Richard Peddie soon may be swept out the door.

The change involving Peddie may not necessarily have anything to do with the impending hiring of Brian Burke as president and general manager of the Leafs — maybe as soon as late this week — but it’s likely. And Peddie likely is on his way out at the end of the season.

Peddie has been under fire for failed sporting decisions — primarily the hiring of Rob Babcock and John Ferguson as inexpensive and inexperienced general managers for the Raptors and the Maple Leafs — and has been put on notice with a changing and more aggressive board of directors. And while he has clung to the job on the basis of the financial strength of the company, there are those who look at failed television networks and other problems within MLSEL and figure the time is right for change.

This won’t happen quickly. Peddie has been a marvellous survivor, but time is running out.

THIS AND THAT

Name to know: Erol Uzermeri, the newest board member of MLSEL, and unlike his fellow Teachers’ Pension Plan flag wavers, isn’t happy just to get a parking pass and dinner at the directors’ lounge. He, not chairman Larry Tanenbaum or Peddie, is considered the power broker on the board and not interested in the status quo …

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then it’s a godsend for the dedicated and beleaguered fanbase of the Maple Leafs and the Raptors.

An unequivical Halleluiah! … should be the Word of the Day, in Raptorville & Leafs’ Nation, if this specific action ever comes to pass, and a coronation ceremony planned for Erol Uzermeri, should he truly be able to clean house at the very top of MLSE.  

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Oh, when will THEY … ever learn?

Let me ask you these two questions:

If you flipped TJ Ford for Steve Nash (let’s say in a fantasy world) … do you think the Suns would stand a snowball’s chance in h*ll of getting past the Spurs this year?

How about the Raptors vs the Magic?

If your answers to those two queries are a resounding,

No Way, Jose!

and

Like, for sure, dude!

then you’re beginning to see that the major problem with this team is that … unlike what happened in Phoenix when Colangelo, Jr. COMPLETELY LUCKED OUT that Steve Nash WANTED to return to the Suns when Mark Cuban cut him loose BECAUSE NASH’S WIFE & KIDS ALREADY LIVED IN THE PHOENIX AREA (not because BC is a top notch GM who knows what he’s doing) … THERE IS ONLY ONE STEVE NASH AND HE ISN’T PLAYING FOR THE RAPTORS, JUST YET.

Steve Nash is/was the architect of Phoenix’s rise from the ashes … which Bryan Colangelo orchestrated with their once-proud team … no one else.

Because Steve Nash wanted to live in Phoenix, he signed with the Suns when Cuban said, “Thanks but no thanks, Stevie boy, I don’t think you’ve got what it will take to Win a Championship for me with the Mavs, at the price you’re asking.” FULL STOP.

Because Steve Nash is the best ‘Pick & Roll/Pop’ PG in the History of the NBA (so sayeth an authority like Mark Jackson, during the Suns/Spurs Game 2 match-up) … when Colangelo fired Frank Johnson (who he had previously picked to run the Suns) and appointed Mike D’Antoni … IT WAS D’ANTONI WHO INSTALLED THE SUNS’ 4 OUT/1 IN OFFENSIVE SYSTEM, tailored specifically for Steve & Amare (who is the perfect under-sized but super athletic Center to run that system) and deserves 2nd billing on the Suns credit roll for their resurgence as a first-tier franchise in the NBA.

If not for Colangelo’s decision NOT to re-sign Joe Johnson … Phoenix might well have its 1st NBA title already.

Then … “when the going actually got tough” in Phoenix and daddy was out as the principal owner … that’s when the ‘Golden Boy’ decided to ‘Bolt the Ship’ and head for greener pastures … in mid-season 2006 (think about THAT for a second or two) … for the comfy ‘international’ confines in The Great White North, with free reign to call the shots AND a Big Ticket contract.

Want to know THE reason this version of the Raptors isn’t quite ‘tough enough’ to get the job done in the post-season?

When a fight breaks out (like it did in Phoenix) … what does a really tough ‘hombre’ decide to do … FIGHT or RUN?

(what did Colangelo, Jr. do in the Valley of the Sun?)

7 Seconds or Less … is the Coward’s way to play NBA hoops … and will never ever be rewarded with the championship.

The old Boston Celtics … with my MAN, Bill Russell at the CORE … and the ShowTime LAKESHOW … with my MAN, Earvin at the CORE … both shot it plenty quick enough to rack up devastatingly Big scoring numbers but neither operation would EVER have been referred to as TOO SOFT to get it done in the playoffs … cause their success was built upon a BALANCE between

OFFENSE … DEFENSE … and, most important of all … REBOUNDING,

not an “offensive philosophy of 100 shots per game”.

MLSE does not know what it’s doing AND should not be in the business of running ‘pro sports teams’ in Toronto … cause they KEEP HIRING THE WRONG PEOPLE to head up their basketball & hockey operations (e.g. see the current debacle with Anaheim’s GM, Brian Burke).

As the old Chinese Warlord could tell you from his personal experience … the strategy that works best when training an army of men … is decapitating the heads of the two most favoured concubines appointed to lead the masses in the first place.

(know who the concubines are in this case?)

It ain’t rocket science, to be sure … but, dem Chinese Warlords sure did know what they were doing … when it came to BUILDING & MAINTAINING their Dynasty.

Food For Thought … as always.

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In Peace, Victory & Excellence.