John Ferguson Jr. has a huge problem on his hands: his Leafs have fallen and they can't get up! They just lost their seventh straight, 8-4 to Buffalo.
Toronto is a mess! Their best players from the 03/04 season, Belfour and Sundin, are now their worst players. Buffalo bombed Belfour for four goals in a period and change, and he was replaced by Mikael Tellqvist early in the second. If I were Belfour, I would return every penny that the Leafs have paid him this season because he has been terrible in goal. Belfour is 40 years old and his east/west game is gone. His lower back has always been a problem, however, his feet have turned to stone and he cannot go post to post. Belfour is a shot fighter, and its time for Pat Quinn to throw in the proverbial towel. Sundin hasn't been the same player since he came back from his eye socket injury earlier in the year. He appears to be watching the game, instead of competing for loose pucks every shift. Leafs Nation knew they lost their leaders when JFJ allowed Gary Roberts and Joe Niewendyk to exit for what amounted to $250,000 in August. Mats may wear the " C " , however, there's no question that Roberts was the defacto leader in the room and on the ice for the Leafs. Roberst heldthese dogs accountable and they responded to him on the ice. Sundin is not a leader of men- he's a follower. This present collection Jakes needs a leader, and their 6 million dollar Captain has been missing in action since October.Het=y Mats, you can bitch all you want that you have plumbers on your wings every night. The fact is, sundin doesn't deserve the dollars he being paid, and the Leafs would be better off without him.
Ponder this: combined, Belfour and Sundin account for $10 million dollars of the Leafs $39 million cap. Factor in stiffs like Domi at a million. Allsion at four million.... JFJ committed the bulk of his budget to a bunch of shiftless old dogs, now the dogsare scratching fleas in the corner. The Leafs have raided and traded its kidsSt. John's for years. They've loaded up on bloated retreads like: Corson, Hoglund, Lumme, Berg, et al. Teams like Buffalo, Ottawa, Tampa, and Carolina have had to work with fixed budgets and they've had to rely on scouting, drafting, and cultivatingtheir present rosters.Toronto has overpaid for washed up losers for years, and now they've mortgaged their future. The rare Laf exceptions are Steen and Colaoccovo.
Quinn's loyalty to Leafs vets like Belfour, Domi, and Sundin is noble, however, these old vets have been the major reason why the Leafs have struggled repeatedly this season. Quinn has always loved his vets, and they've love him. Too bad he's hitched his wagons to a bunch oflosers in Toronto.
Oh, how the mighty have fallen! It wasn't long ago that The Leafs were at the top of the Eastern Conference. They had it all: excellent goaltending, snipers spread across three lines, and a ton of team toughness. All that has changed. JFJ is a farce, and Pat quinnis counting the days until the Olympics begin. The next two months will belike watching a car wreckin Toronto. Fasten your seats belts!
Montreal will try to make it eight straight Leaf losses this Saturday night.
*************
Once again, Ryan Miller made the key saves at key points in the game to secure a victory for his Sabres. He's got his mojo workin and look forLindy Ruff to give Miller the greenlight til further notice. He's Buffalo #1 goalie, and Marty will be dealt in the next 10 days.
Edmonton is reluctant to part with Jarret Stoll for Biron straight up. The Sabres will add Taylor Pyatt to close the deal.
Vancouveris chewingon Salo and Morrison for Biron and Afinogenov.
My sources tell me that Vancouver will make the deal. They were shutout by St. Louis this week and they lost 6-5 as well. They need a goalie like Leafs fans need Prilosec OTC for their chronic acid reflux.
Let me know what you think at <mailto:
[email protected]>
[email protected]
That's my story and I'm stickin to it.....
Garth
