Who's Next?

Now that most of the dust has settled, it's time to focus on who's next for the Toronto Maple Leafs. With over $8.5 million left in salary cap space, the roster is yet to be finalized.

The big fish, and my dearest, Mats Sundin, is still on the market. We learned a lot about good old Mats in the last three days. We learned that it isn't, and never was, about the money.

It looks like Sundin didn't even flinch over Vancouver's two-year, $20 million offer, which would have made him the highest paid player in the league. That says a lot. That says, at least to me, that he's coming back to Toronto.

Now that Marian Hossa is a Red Wing, Detroit's out of the picture. Markus Naslund is the newest New York Ranger, so the Rangers aren't in contention for Sundin either. If we're to believe that only four teams made actual contract offers for Mats' services, that leaves Vancouver and Toronto.

Here's how to persuade Mats to make the right decision and come back home: sign Jaromir Jagr.

I mean it. Now that Naslund is heading to New York, Jagr's checking out. Just imagine #68 in the blue and white. How sweet would that be? I know, he's on the downside and had one of the worst statistical seasons of his career last year. But that only proves that he's a perfect fit for the Toronto Maple Leafs (see: Lindros, Eric).

Jagr can be brought in to provide veteran leadership. Check that, he's not much of a leader. Sulks a bit too much. He can be brought in to play sound defensive hockey. OK, he's not much of a back checker. I'll be honest, I just want the 35-year-old Jagr in Toronto to play on a line with Mats Sundin, score a boat load of goals, and make what should be one brutal season a little more interesting and exciting.

In my fantasy, we bring both of them into the mix on one-year deals at $6 million each.

Of course, my Jagr fantasy cannot become reality unless the Maple Leafs trade Bryan McCabe and his $5.75 million per year salary. Umm, good luck with that, Fletch.

Fletch also still needs to sign restricted free agents Matt Stajan and the newly acquired Mikhail Grabovski, making it even more unlikely that Jagr will be joining the Maple Leafs.

Jeez, I really should have thought this through a bit more, eh? What can I say, I'm excitable.

So, uh, how about that Brendan Morrison guy? I think he'd look good as the second-line centre behind Mats...

How'd We Do?

The eye of the storm has passed. The frenzied part of the NHL's free agency period is over. So, do I like what Grandpa Cliff Fletcher and the Toronto Maple Leafs have done? Of course I do.

Instead of writing about the Leafs' moves in an emotional, and inebriated, state on July 1st, I decided to let a couple of days pass. I was actually just really lazy, but, hey, I'm sure you feel me.

Only one player from my free agent wish list is on his way to Toronto. Curtis Joseph, welcome back, my man.

I was a huge, huge Cujo fan back in the day. Until he left for Detroit on his quest to win a Stanley Cup ring. Much to my surprise, a column I wrote entitled "Breaking Up Is Hard To Do," back in 2003 for On The Wall Magazine, is still up online.

Basically, I loved Cujo, hated him after he left, wished ill upon him and his family, fell in love with Ed Belfour, and revelled in the fact that Cujo wasn't able to get a ring. Petty and bitter, I know. What can I say, it was an emotional time.

Years have passed. I've grown up. It's all water under the bridge now. It's evident that Cujo's quest for a ring has ended, hence his signing back here in Toronto, but it's going to be fun seeing him back in the crease at the ACC. He had some phenomenal years in Toronto and is the perfect back-up for Vesa Toskala. He knows his role.

Cujo's signing also means that Justin Pogge will be the number one guy and play the majority of games, in both the regular season and - especially - the playoffs, for the Toronto Marlies, and I'm all over that.

It has taken a few days, but I've rationalized the signing of Jeff Finger to a $14 million, 4-year contract. It took a while, and some deep soul searching, but I've done it. Don't get me wrong, it was a struggle.

Just when I thought I was happy about it, I went and read this. It was, needless to say, extremely disheartening. Could the Maple Leafs have actually confused Jeff Finger with Kurt Sauer? Like Kevin Garnett said a few weeks ago, "anything is possible." I mean, we're talking about the Toronto Maple Leafs here. If DeVry's motto is "We're serious about success," then the Toronto Maple Leafs' motto is "We're serious about incompetence." Being a Leafs fan has taught me that I can never, ever, ever, put anything past the clowns that run this franchise. They are capable of worldly acts of idiocy, including mistaking Jeff Finger for Kurt Sauer, and if it's true, Fletcher is every bit as old as he looks.

Anyway, after I learned of the actual terms of Finger's contract (originally I thought the deal was 4-years, $3.75 million total, not per year), saw that he's rated only 68 in NHL 2008 on my XBOX 360, I curled up in the corner of my bedroom and had a good cry. I then sat around trying to justify his presence on the Maple Leafs blue line.

Firstly, let's throw the terms of his contract out the window. It's a fucked up contract. Let's not pull any punches here. You know it. I know it. We all know it. Before Tuesday afternoon, none of us knew who this cat was - OK, except MF37 - and come Tuesday night, none of us could believe the terms of the deal. But such is the beast known as free agency. Everyone overpays. There is nothing free about free agency.

Before I go on, I've got to get something off my chest. It's really bothering me. In all seriousness, how is it possible that Andrew Raycroft was signed by the Colorado Avalanche? How!? Am I dreaming? How could they give him a contract? How could they agree to pay him $800,000? Did they not see him in action last year? Did they not see any videotape? Did they not check out YouTube? Do the Colorado Avalanche have scouts? No, really, does Colorado have scouts? Unbelievable. All I know is that whatever they are smoking down in Colorado, I want a sample. Please. It has got to be some unbelievable, "holy-shit-let's-sign-Andrew-fucking-Raycroft" type shit.

Back to Finger. Like I said, forget about the terms of the deal. Block it out of your mind. Forever. It's easier that way. Finger is a good signing because a defensive defenceman cannot, in any way, shape, or form, hurt the Toronto Maple Leafs. Think about it. A shutdown guy who loves to take the body and block shots. How can that be a bad thing?

The Leafs currently employ two defencemen who are allergic to playing the body, sort of like how seven-foot tall Andrea Bargnani is allergic to rebounding. They could do it. They just don't want to. I'm not going to name names, but playing the body is simply not part of Tomas Kaberle and Anton Stralman's game. Not that there's anything wrong with that. They're great defencemen, and huge parts of the team going forward.

The Leafs also currently employ a defenceman who loves playing the body, but who when he does so, costs himself about half or two-thirds of his season. Again, I'm not going to name names, but if Carlo Colaiacovo injures himself trying to body check an opponent this season, I'm not going to be pleased.

If you're counting, that's two defencemen who don't take the body, and one who injures himself in the process. Three out of six. That's why Jeff Finger cannot hurt being on the Leafs' blue line. Sure, we overpaid, but look at the coin Brook Orpiks got, and he's a shutdown guy who's -29 over his career. I know, he's got more experience, but, well, that -29 isn't exactly a good "shutting down" track record.

And don't tell me about Hal Gill, either. He's gone. I know, he was a shut down defenceman too, and now we're paying Finger more than Gill, but he's gone. We must turn the page. Like I said, I've justified Finger's presence on our blue line, and I'm at peace with my decision.

Niklas Hagman was Grandpa's other signing on July 1st. The money - $12 million over four years - is fair, and he brings speed, decent finish, and solid penalty killing ability to the squad. Welcome to hell, Hagman. Enjoy your stay. We expect nothing less than 27 goals you scored for the Dallas Stars last season.

Grandpa Fletcher also made a trade yesterday with the Montreal Canadiens, sending some dude we just drafted and a second-round pick in 2010 the Habs' way. In return, the Leafs get Mikhail Grabovski, a flashy, 24-year-old centre with tons of potential and who's been successful in the AHL. Grabovski's a free agent and the next order of business will be for Fletcher to get his name on a contract. All signs point to Grabovski being a big part of next year's Leafs squad. He'll get every opportunity to play a big role, and here's calling him pushing Matt Stajan further down the depth chart, where he belongs (Stajan will never be more than a third-line player).

Expect Damiex Cox, among others I'm sure, to be bitching about how the Leafs gave up yet another prospect and draft choice in a trade, but we're not getting a veteran in return here. We're getting a young player who's already had a taste of the NHL and who knows what it's going to take in order to belong. There's a big, big difference between trading a second-round draft choice for an aging Yanic Perreault and trading a second-round draft choice for a guy like Grabovski. Keep that in mind when you read your regular dose of Leafs/Fletcher bashage today, tomorrow, and in the days to come.

Drunk On Hope

You know, I've been thinking. If Mats Sundin returns, and the Maple Leafs dip into the free agent market and get him some help, perhaps the Leafs can contend in the Eastern Conference as early as next season.

I'm thinking playoffs. Yes, I'm serious. No, really. Hear me out. But remember, it all depends on what Sundin decides to do. If he doesn't return, all bets are off.

I love July 1st. Not only is it a holiday thanks to Canada Day, it's also the day the NHL's free agency period opens up. July 1st is capitalism at its finest, man. Supply is always low, and demand is always high.

The big day is finally upon us, and here's my wish list:

1) Mats Sundin

You all know where I stand on the big Swede. I won't be mad if he leaves, but first and foremost I want him to stay a Maple Leaf.

2) Curtis Joseph

Cujo has been rumoured for the vacant backup goalie job, and I'm all over that. By helping Canada win the Spengler Cup and playing some solid hockey for the Calgary Flames in the playoffs, Cujo proved he's still got some hockey left in his 42-year-old body. While I was pissed that he bolted for Detroit a few years ago, I'd love nothing more than for him to come and finish his career in Toronto.

An actual NHL-calibre backup goalie - none of this Andrew Raycroft garbage of the last two years - will do wonders for the Maple Leafs. Think about it: the Leafs totalled 83 points last season and Raycroft won only two of the 16 games he started in goal. If Raycroft won six more games and finished with eight wins, the Leafs would have finished tied with the Philadelphia Flyers with 95 points. I know, Raycroft sucks. That's why he's gone. I have no doubt Curtis Joseph can eclipse Raycroft's stellar .125 winning percentage.

3) Sean Avery

With Darcy Tucker no longer part of the team, I think it makes all the more sense to try and land the 28-year-old Sean Avery. He's proved his worth as a hockey player, and a douchebag, over the last two years with the New York Rangers, and would go a long way in making the Maple Leafs a tougher team to play against. I don't care if you don't like him. I was never a big fan of Darcy Tucker. Until he became a Maple Leaf.

Make it happen, Uncle Cliff. Show Avery the money. I have no problem paying Avery $4 or $4.5 million a season. That seems to be the going rate for a guy who can score 20 goals and put up 45 to 50 points.

4) Kristian Huselius

Huselius really came into his own over the last two seasons in Calgary. He put up 77 points in 2006/2007 and put up 66 points last season while finding himself constantly in Mike Keenan's doghouse. He's moving on from the Flames and why not Toronto? The Swede will be 30 in November and I'm picturing him playing on the top line with Sundin and Nik Antropov.

I suspect he'll command over $5 million. I think he'd be overpaid at that salary, but such is the reality of free agency (hello, Jason Blake). You've got to overpay to get what you want. At the end of the day Huselius has decent finish and decent playmaking abilities, and could be a solid addition to a Leafs team in need of scoring help.

5) Brad Stuart

While it would be pretty sweet to add a defender like Brian Campbell, I think the Leafs need to be thinking more along the lines of the unassuming Brad Stuart, who will turn 29 in early November.

I've heard he wants to head back to California but I'm hoping Fletcher gives his people a call. Stuart was a rock for the Detroit Red Wings after they picked him up at the trade deadline, and finished the playoffs with a +15 rating.

I'm not sure what the hell is going to happen with Bryan McCabe, but a Leafs defence core with both McCabe and Stuart could look something like this:

Pavel Kubina & Tomas Kaberle
Bryan McCabe & Carlo Colaiacovo
Brad Stuart & Anton Stralman

Ian White would be the odd man out, but you've got to admit the above defence core looks good. Bringing in Stuart would also mean that the recently drafted Luke Schenn isn't rushed in his development.

I think Stuart will command $3 to $3.5 million on the market, and is well worth that type of dough.

Remember, the Leafs put up 83 points last season with: a beer league backup goalie, an injured and therefore mostly ineffective Darcy Tucker, Jason Blake scoring only 15 goals on a .045 shooting percentage, a useless Kyle Wellwood, a useless Bryan McCabe, a Jekyll and Hyde Pavel Kubina, and a number one goalie in Vesa Toskala who didn't get truly comfortable until December.

If the Leafs are active on the market today and can add a few of the names I've mentioned above - most importantly Mats Sundin - I think the roster will be in decent shape. With a new coach in Ron Wilson who is more focused on defence and penalty killing, you're damn right I'm thinking playoffs. Anything else would be uncivilized.

Now general manager extraordinaire Cliff Fletcher has just got to make it all happen.

I love July 1st.

Go Leafs Go.

The Good Doctor

Roy Halladay is a fucking machine. When Doc's on his game there is no better pitcher in baseball, and he was on last night. Was he ever.

Halladay made sure the Toronto Blue Jays' six game road trip got off on the right foot by shutting out the Seattle Mariners 2-0. It was Doc's league-leading sixth complete game of the year, and he was downright rude to the Seattle hitters last night, holding them to only four singles over nine innings.

What I find amazing is Halladay's ability to go deep into games, strike out batters, but still keep his pitch count low. I guess it helps when you don't walk anybody, and Doc didn't allow a single free pass yesterday. He struck out six and threw only 115 pitches. He makes it look so god damn easy out there.

Doc's among the league leaders in almost every major American League pitching category. You name it: ERA, WHIP, strikeouts, wins. Most impressively, he leads the AL in innings pitched, and has only walked 19 batters in 130 innings. Unreal. He spoils us, he really does.

For those of you keeping score at home, that's back-to-back shutouts by the local nine.

As for Cito Gaston, he continues to impress after making a couple of key decisions late in yesterday's ball game.

Replacing David Eckstein with John McDonald, the Prime Minister of Defence, in the bottom half of the eighth inning was absolutely the right move. Eckstein had already made an error earlier in the game, and McDonald got involved right away, making two outs in the eighth. Johnny Mac might be the best fielding shortstop in the game and since we've got him, we might as well use him.

I've also got to give Cito some props for sending Halladay back to the mind to finish the Mariners off in the ninth. It was definitely a B.J. Ryan save situation, but Halladay's pitch count wasn't too high, and I thought he deserved to finish what he started.

I must say, I am rather enamored by Gaston's reluctance to obsess over the hallowed pitch count. He won't live and die by it, and that's how it should be. The pitch count is overrated.

And speaking of props, Marco Scutaro deserves to have some sent his way. He drove in the first, and winning, run of the game yesterday, and also made one hell of a play with his glove in the bottom of the eighth inning to keep that speedy mother fucker, Ichiro, off the bases.

Scutaro has been tremendous for the Jays all year, filling in at third base, shortstop and second base. The super-sub has played in 72 games because, well, he can play almost every position. Great acquisition by J.P. Ricciardi.

Don't look now, but the Jays are only two games below the elusive .500 mark, with 11 contests left before the All-Star break.

If Sundin Leaves...

Still no word from Mats Sundin. If he leaves, I think I'm ready. I'm holding out hope, though, that he'll return for another season in the blue and white. I'm holding out hope that, at the end of the day, he can't put another jersey over his shoulders.

At the same time, I'm not upset that he hasn't yet come to a decision when it comes to his future. He'd be a fool not to test the free agent market, set to open at high noon on Tuesday, July 1st. You'd do the same if you were in his position. He's got to see what's out there.

If Sundin does leave, I wish him nothing but success. He owes the Maple Leafs nothing. I'm sick and tired of hearing and reading that he does. Last week someone came at me with this gem: "Sundin should have done the honourable thing and let Toronto trade him, like Wendel Clark did." Riiiiiiiight. Wendel had no say in the matter when he was dealt back in 1994. Wendel didn't "let" the Leafs do anything. Because Wendel didn't have a no-trade clause, mutually agreed upon by both player and team, negotiated into his contract.

With his negotiating rights transferred to Montreal, Sundin's already got an offer from le bleu, blanc et rouge. If he wanted to sign with Montreal, I think he would have done it by now. On Tuesday, he'll receive an offer from the Leafs (one-year, $7 million, and a no-movement clause), and likely ones from Detroit and the Rangers of New York.

I can't help but be a bit tickled by the thought of Mats playing in Montreal. Sure, the Habs are our historic rivals, but we haven't played them in the playoffs since we moved to the Eastern Conference and until that happens, the "rivalry" will always be a little dry. And just imagine Sundin in that lineup, in that building. It would be electric, playing with Alex Kovalev, Tomas Plekanec, the Kostitsyn brothers, Saku Koivu, and Chris Higgins. Montreal, with Sundin on board, would be quite the offensive juggernaut.

Don't get me wrong, seeing Mats trade in his Leafs uniform for a Habs one would be intensely awkward. Sort of like going to Canada's Wonderland as a young lad on "Gay Day" (not that there's anything wrong with that), but not knowing it was "Gay Day." Yes, awkward like that. Umm, not that that's ever happened to me before.

Detroit would also be a great match for Sundin. He can join the Swedish posse down there, and give himself the best chance to get his name engraved on the Stanley Cup.

As for New York, I see it as the least likely place Sundin ends up. Sure, it would be great to see Sundin play with talent the likes of Jaromir Jagr, Chris Drury and Scott Gomez, but I just don't see it happening for some reason. Chalk it up to gut feeling. And for the record, my gut feeling is in mired in a serious slump at the plate right now.

A lot of people I speak to are bitching and moaning that Mats hasn't yet made up his mind about whether he's coming back to Toronto or not. They say he either knows or he doesn't. I say that simply is not true. Sundin, as loyal and dedicated a Maple Leaf as there has ever been, has earned the right to make his decision on his own schedule. In a perfect world, Cliff Fletcher would know whether that $7 million allocated to Sundin can be spelt elsewhere tomorrow. But it ain't a perfect world. Sundin can't be faulted for taking the time he needs to make this critical decision.

Lately I've been feeling like Sundin should bolt for greener pastures, and that this city doesn't deserve him anymore. It saddens me to know that people are getting ready to burn his jersey and deny his tremendous legacy here in Toronto if he decides that, at this stage in his career, with the window quickly closing, he goes down another path. And all because we didn't get Chris Higgins, or a draft pick or two in return. It seems all those years of diligent service - the goals, the points, the scars, the playoff battles, the victories - don't count for anything.

Sundin goes into Tuesday afternoon with a lot of options. He will likely have, at one point or another, offers on the table from four of the NHL's Original Six franchises. That is incredible. Which ever team he chooses, in my mind he'll have made the right decision. I hope it's Toronto. I hope he continues to lead this team as it heads, finally, in a new direction.

If Sundin leaves, I'll be rooting for him and his new team. Loudly. Unapologetically. I will let the haters do the hating. Those who don't like Sundin will always have their reasons to not like him. I think, actually, I've heard them all. Those who choose not to like him if he leaves via free agency on Tuesday (or later), with the Leafs netting nothing in return, are, well, simply bitter and petty.

Just remember that another former Captain of the Toronto Maple Leafs, one Doug Gilmour, when he was a free agent in 2001, chose between two teams: the Montreal Canadiens and Ottawa Senators.

If Sundin leaves, I'll be disappointed, of course. But I will harbour no ill will towards him. If he leaves, it will mark the end of one tremendous ride. Even after everything that went down these last few months - the trade deadline and the calls for Sundin to accept a trade and "help the Leafs" - let it never be said that Mats Sundin let down the Toronto Maple Leafs. It simply isn't true. By never surrounding Sundin with the talent he deserved to play with - ironically, the same talent he can now go and find on another team - the Toronto Maple Leafs let Sundin down.

You're free to leave the nest, Mats. Fly away, if that's what your heart desires. I'll never hold it against you.

But I'm still hoping he stays...