Mind Boggling

The big news around the NHL is that Balsillie will not be sold the Nashville Predators. Instead, Leipold will be selling to "Boots" DelBiaggio (who has absolutely no connections to the mob) so that he can move the club to Kansas City and their brand new arena. Will no one rid me of this meddlesome commissioner? Seriously, why does he hate hockey and Canada? I guess Jimmy can buy the team from Boots in about 5 years once it's losing money hand over fist in yet another non-hockey market.

The bright side is that all of the apostate Leaf fans that declared their allegiance to the team that never was are left with nothing to do but wait for their ticket deposits to be returned. If you are one of those don't pretend to cheer for the Leafs. Slink over to the sens and join that bandwagon.

In other insane news, I haven't found written confirmation but word on the Sportsnet ticker last night was that the result of the MLSE board meeting today will be that JFJ will NOT be offered a contract extension until next year when they see how the team is doing. This is why the Leafs have not won a cup in 40 years. If they weren't sure that Ferguson was the man then why let him run TWO drafts, TWO trade deadlines, and TWO free agency periods? And why tell him that his third time around better be the charm or he'll get fired? Why not fire him when you first had doubts?

I pray for the day of a single owner. Peddie and Tanenbaum and the rest of the board are absolute idiots. The Leafs could have had Scotty Bowman running the hockey operation but Peddie would not let him fire Junior. Why were they able to admit that they were clueless about basketball but they can't make the same admission about hockey? You guys are great at business but stay the hell away from the sports franchises. Look at how you guys let Mo Johnston run Toronto FC without interference. Please stop meddling!

A Wild And Crazy Ride

When I last posted the Leafs had just won their first game in a run of five straight road games with a solid performance against the Carolina Hurricanes. Since then the Leafs have returned home the proud owners of a 4-1 record on their travels. The key to their success was the continued great goaltending of Andrew Raycroft (he won the Battle of Ontario 'Name' Game) and a new dedication to discipline. It is no surprise that in their four wins the Leafs gave up four, two, three, and three powerplays while giving up eleven powerplays in their only loss.

While getting ready for tonight's rematch with the rampant Penguins let's take a stroll down memory lane and check out just how the Leafs vaulted themselves back into playoff contention.

Leafs 2 v. Rangers 1: Razor Sharp

Razor put together a 37 save performance to keep the Rangers off the board. Aaron Ward laid a dirty, late headshot on Alexei Ponikarovsky but he replied by opening the scoring for the Leafs. Mats Sundin scored the winner on a brilliant Ian White long pass.

Leafs 3 v. sens 2 (SO): 'Name' Game

This game pitted Razor against his jumped-up opposition Ray Emery for the right to the sharp nickname. Both goalies had outstanding games but in the end the Leafs' tender emerged victorious thanks to his brilliant performance in the shootout. Leafs Nation invaded the Bank (including yours truly) and proceeded to outcheer and outjeer the hometown's fans as they shrank back in the face of our deafening roar. O'Neill and Sundin gave the Leafs a 2-0 lead heading into the third but the Leafs wanted to provide some drama. They allowed the sens to send the game to a shootout befor John Pohl beat the goalie formerly known as Razor with a nice backhand.

Leafs 2 v. Blues 1: Defence First

By all accounts the Leafs won this game with solid defence, clutch goaltending, and just enough offence. This gave the Leafs a chance to clinch their first 5-0 road trip in franchise history. It was not to be but this 4th straight road win and 5th straight overall put the Leafs not only within two points of 8th place but within striking distance of 4th in the Eastern Conference.

Leafs 2 v. Predators 4: Missed Opportunity

The Leafs missed a great chance to topple one of the West's top teams as a lack of discipline and shoddy refereeing torpedoed their chances at victory. The Predators are faster than greased lightning but the Leafs were generally able to hold their own. The line of The Soviet Bloc and the Captain were dominant. They held onto the puck at will and only some timely pokechecks, saves, and blocked shots kept them from putting up more than one goal.