Free Agent Madness: Attack of the '08 Leafs

Welcome to the newest Outsider Feature: Free Agent Madness. It'll run as long as it keeps me entertained. Then, most likely, it'll be back to shiny, jingly things like key rings & pocket change - but for now, enjoy & comment.

Hey I'm nothing if not committed – even if it's just to seeing a joke through to the bitter end.

Figured it was a good time to go over the moves made so far.

The Big Trade: Kubina & Stapleton for Exelby & Stuart – I don't exactly have much to add to all of the analysis that has been tossed around, except for this: Stapleton could be a pleasant surprise for the Thrashers. Thanks to the ultra-obsessive TML fanbase (and I mean that in the nicest way possible) (Seriously.), we actually have some info on Stapleton floating around out there:

• Undrafted thru college, but played at the University of Minnesota-Duluth on scolarship.
• Signed with Portland Pirates (AHL) in '05
• Played in Finland for Jokerit Helsinki (SM-Liiga) from 2006-2008, pacing a point per game.
• Signed w/ Toronto for 08-09 season (one year, one way), and kept up a pace of over a point per game for the Marlies.

Seems the knock on Stapleton is his size and lack of a physical dimension to his game. “Perimeter Player” was a phrase that kept popping up in my reading. But still, a point per game in the AHL is pretty respectable hockey. What if Stapleton had a little more freedom to use his strong skating and his ability to be creative in open spaces? Is Stapleton the new Peverley? Or is he just a solid depth guy, bound for Chicago? Keep in mind too that we only have his rights; who knows if WadDudley plans on signing him?


Oh, and Kubina? Big D-man who was too € for Brian Burke. Oh, and about $2 million too expensive. I think everyone else has got plenty on Big PK, so I'll spare you my ramblings.


The Big Signing: Nik Antropov – Honestly, I'm OK with this deal. He's a top six guy at $4 million/year for 4 years. A little higher than, say, Boston might pay for a guy like that, but that's what you get when your ownership takes it's collective hand off the wheel. And lets your team run off the road, across the median, through the opposing lanes, over the sidewalk, through the yard and into the living room of some sweet old lady's house. Antro doesn't have to be a superstar, he just has to be pretty good.


(EDIT: As I type this, the Falconer over at BWA drops his Antro-knowledge on us.)


Chris Thorburn Re-signs: So... what would you say..... you DO here?

But ya know what? I like yer face, so we'll give you a raise! C'mere ya big lug!


Player I Will Miss, If only for the Pure Joy of Yelling “Matzoh Ball!” - Joe Motzko. I still hold out hope that the lack of a qualifying offer is a negotiating tactic, and young Joseph isn't a sacrifice to the WadDudley. For certainly a player of his stature could... command...

A slim hope it is.

Love you, Motz.




OK, clearly we're done for right now – after all, I do have one more title to make use of; gotta save some for later.

Have a safe & happy holiday weekend, everyone.

Should I Stay or Should I Go? Part.... Something.

Just 'cause I can't stand leaving things unfinished, the short, short version of SISOSIG?


The Greek God Line

(Jim Slater/Chris Thorburn/Eric Boulton)

I'm gonna review these guys as a unit, because they've been together since what seems like the Carter administration.

Interesting stat:
07-08 Point Total: 40
08-09 Point Total (Thus Far): 34

That's exciting.

Excluding his fighting majors, Boults has racked up about 32 min in minors - That number could stand to come down. Slates & Thor are both big bodies with decent hands, and all three seem to be taking pretty well to head coach Johnny A's system.

Verdict: Stay.

The D

Ron Hainsey - Love him. Solid human being. Stay.

Nic Havelid - UFA this summer; getting older; lost a step or two; PIMs starting to climb; Toby seems to be doing pretty well, let him Go. The Isles always like picking up our slop.... wait, nevermind.

Mathieu Schnieder - No one is a bigger Schnieder fan than me (a good hockey-playing jewish boy from New York, what's not to love?). But, man, those PIMs are killing us. I'd like to keep him around to assist Hainsey at the kid's table, but his real value is in what he can fetch us at the deadline from a desparate bubble team. Go. Sad face.

Tobias Enstrom - AKA "The Future, Chpt. 1". Stay.

Zach Bogosian - "The Future, Chpt. 2" Stay.

As a matter of fact, the only other D-man that really needs to go....

Garnet Exelby. Yes, he's fun. Yes, ladies love him. Yes, he's an all-around fan favorite. But he hasn't been the same since the concussions. And his positioning... um, less than stellar. We need to ship him while he's got some value.


There. That's the end of that. I learned a bunch. Another shutdown D-man would be nice. Should Pev's not be the answer long-term, Andy McDonald is a UFA. Let's throw some of that unused Campbell money at him....

Then again, ask me next week, and this all could change.


I love hockey.

Gameday vs Leafs

Both these teams have dropped 3 straight (and are coming off stinging losses), so something's gotta give.

Bad news: The Leafs lead the East in both shots for (34.3) and fewest shots against (27.1). Moose has 3.01 GAA and .891 SV% v. the Buds. Those Leafs are pretty decent at blocking shots (team total: 386, Atlanta has 256). Matt Stajan is running a point-per-game. Statistically, our boys don't have a shot...

Good News: Toskala is in goal... let's hope he brings his 3.33 GAA & .876 SV%. But that will only matter if the Thrash actually SHOOT (yes, I am ignoring his career 5-0-1 dominance of Atlanta. thankyouverymuch). The more you shoot, the more likely you are to find the back of the net. The other bit of good news? Ex was ready to give his game summary after Saturday's loss. The last time Ex brought the heat, our boys took the next 5 straight games. Maybe the correlation will continue.

Seeing as how the other moongoose(s?) haven't gotten the job done, I give you a much fiercer Gameday Mongoose. He's hungry.

Go Thrashers.

Bleated games thoughts, miscellany

Couldn't get to a computer this weekend - hooray for winterizing.

The best game summary came after Hamburglar potted his empty netter and my cat proceeded to vomit right in front of me.

But here are some thoughts:

Gamers (Rose-Colored Glasses Edition):
Ex - Trying to light a fire by dancing with Jared Boll in the second. You may call his offensive (and sometimes defensive) skills into question, but you can never question his heart. Once the team finds an identity (more on that in a second), that heart will serve us well.

Kozlov - A couple of roughing penalties late in the game say to me that he's frustrated. Frustrated is better than apathetic, which has been an issue team-wide for stretches (see: 2007-2008 season).

Todd White - The word "Charmin" shall be uttered no longer around here. Good to see him back & skating.

Other than that, the Jackets remind me of those 07-08 Thrashers, with a couple of key differences. They have attendance issues, a superstar in Rick Nash, cagey veterans (proved by a couple of non-calls on Friday), a couple of players that step up sometimes, and Leclaire, who shows flashes of being a pretty solid netminder. The differences? Work ethic and the trap, aka Ken Hitchcock.

Re: Terrence Moore's surprisingly insightful column from Sunday's AJC. This is the kind of piece we need to copy and mail 100,000 times to the ASG until they get the message. I think Terrance was fair and honest, and this is the kind of thing you see in "real" NHL towns as a calling-out of the powers that be. Hopefully the ASG will learn firsthand with the Hawks that, once you start winning, butts fill the seats. Yea, sure, it's probably easier to build a winning team in the NBA and easier to sell said team to a large group of fairweather sports fans, but with an average ticket price that is $10 higher than the Hawks (for a comparable product, in terms of win pct.), you'd think they'd follow the money. Anyway, back to the article. The only thing that concerns me is the Anderson quote at the end:

“We’re dealt a hand here a little bit... We can’t just say, ‘OK, this is what I want us to be.’ You look [at the Thrashers’ roster], and that’s not what it is. You have to adjust a little bit, and that’s what we’re doing.”

A little bit of "you go to war with the army you have"? Let's hope our fearless leader is not losing the drive & desire that motivates the guys on a good night. But is it true that the Thrashers are "talent-challenged"? I may have to think on that a bit...

Re: The Leafs on Tuesday. If any team has been as schizophrenic as the Thrash, it's been the Buds. Seems to me a major difference between the two teams has been Toronto's ability to pick up the charity point. Maybe we'll have a Burke sighting in Phillips. Maybe the ASG will have a moment of clarity and throw large piles of cash at him and put Don Waddell in charge of... I don't know... something else. Maybe Burke will sign a 52 & 1/2 year contract, make some shrewd deals (further enraging one Kevin Lowe in the process) and Atlanta becomes the 6th "sunbelt" team in 7 years to reach the SCFs.

Or maybe we get to see a shootout showdown between their Poni and our Pony.

Yea... cause that's the same...

Re: Dan Kamal on HTM/XM204 with Dulcet Tones & Big Country. Sounds like fun.

Re: Off-Topic

- It's amazing how much better NHL2k9 looks when you set your screen resolution to match your TV.

- Saw the new James Bond. +1

- Had personal rediscovery of Mitch Hedberg this weekend, and was thusly saved by the bouyancy of citrus. Hockey Luv.

Now I'm off to catch up on what everyone else has to say...