Deep Thoughts: 5:00 am

In no particular order ...

1. Chris Chelios loves playing hockey. So much so that the 47-year-old refused to sign with an NHL team in a limited role, and chose to continue riding the bus in the minors. I used to hate Chelios. I don't really, anymore. Life is short. I like to think that if I was professional hockey player, and had a career that mirrored his, I'd be doing exactly what Chelios is doing. I hope he plays forever.

2. I have no plans to travel by air to the USA over the next little while. But I'm already looking forward to that security check. As someone with brown skin born in Kuwait City, it's going to be a hoot.

3. Fuck. Tomas. Plekanec. I traded him in my fantasy keeper league last season. For nothing. And he was one of my four keepers. After posting 69 points in 2007/2008, I figured he was ready to break out in 2008/2009. But he struggled. Put up only 39 points. And I, shockingly, showed remarkably little patience. Today he's seventh in league scoring with 44 points, and it physically hurts to see him sitting in the top-10. To add more misery to my life, a staggering 18 of his points have come on the power play - more points on the PP than Henrik Sedin, Sidney Crosby, Alex Ovechkin, Nicklas Backstrom and Dany Heatley. And you know what? I could have used those valuable power play fantasy points, instead of relying on the the Brian Rolstons, Cory Stillmans and Marco Sturms of the fantasy hockey world.

4. Speaking of my fantasy team, keeper Brad Boyes has one fewer goal than everyone's favourite Toronto Maple Leaf, and soon to be unrestricted free agent, Lee Stempniak. In his career, Boyes has registered seasons of 26, 17, 43 and 33 goals. He's on pace to finish his current campaign with 19. He needs to find his God damn equilibrium. Regardless, I'm in a pickle. Moving forward, do I keep him? As of today, my four best fantasy points performers are Sidney Crosby (1365 points), Tomas Vokoun (1031 points), Jamie Langenbrunner (855 points), and Brooks Laich (745 points). Laich's no keeper; he's been awful after getting off to a great start. I'm leaning towards keeping Matt Duchene; 24 points (630 pool points) as an 18-year-old is nothing to sneeze at. In conclusion: fuck both Boyes and Plekanec.

5. As I grow older, I care less and less about the NFL. And I'm totally at peace with this development.

6. Does Sidney Crosby still live at Mario Lemieux's place? I ask in all seriousness. Because if he does, he's not allowed to be captain of Team Canada. You must live in your own place to captain Team Canada. Enough's enough. Otherwise he'll never leave.

7. I'm sure you already noticed, but the Vernon Wells Hatred Advisory System has been lowered to GUARDED. He does yeoman's work in the community, and for those less privileged, and deserves some props for it. Look within your heart; you can learn to love Wells again. Just let him in. I have.

8. Does anyone know how much the Olympic Torch Relay costs? My attempts to find out (read: I googled it) have so far been unsuccessful. I understand the desire to unite this massive country behind the Vancouver games, but the whole production seems like a giant waste of money. And a giant waste of news time, too. I guess when the Olympics cost that much money, what's a few million more?

9. Have you seen highlights of Pat Quinn recently? He looks like he could use a scotch. A double. Coaching the Edmonton Oilers does not seem to be a lot of fun.

10. Inspired by MF37 at Bitter Leaf Fan Page, the best book I read in 2009 was, without a doubt, A Fine Balance by Rohinton Mistry. The runner-up: Imperial Life in the Emerald City; Inside Iraq's Green Zone by Rajiv Chandrasekaran.

11. The sample size (15 games, 14 starts) is about half that of most starting NHL goalies, but Tuukka Rask's save percentage is a sterling .933. Vesa Toskala can't even dream a save percentage that impressive. It's looking more and more like the team that drafted Rask 21st overall in the 2005 draft - behind guys like Benoit Pouliot (4th overall), Glibert Brule (6th overall), Brian Lee (9th overall), Marek Zagrapan (13th overall), Sasha Pokulok (14th overall), Ryan O'Marra (15th overall), Alex Bourret (16th overall), Ryan Parent (18th overall), Jakuk Kindl (19th overall), and Kenndal McArdle (20th overall) - got a steal. Hey, Pat Quinn, pass the scotch.

12. It's amazing how quickly some of my fellow Leafs fans forget that Jason Blake had the second-best season of his career in 2008/2009. His career.

13. I wonder what the money line is on whether Janet Napolitano will resign ...

14. I enjoy watching Nazem Kadri play, but Canada's first two games at the World Junior Tournament were boring to watch. It's not Team Canada's fault. What are they supposed to do, not score? This one falls on the tournament organizers.

15. The Toronto Raptors have played more games than just about every other team in the NBA, but their 15-17 record has them in playoff position. The 6th seed, to be exact. Seed number three? The Orlando Magic. Vince Carter. Perhaps it's because I'm a glutton for punishment, but I want this to happen.

16. Who's your starter - Jose Calderon or Jarrett Jack? I still have faith in Jose. Although the Jack signing, with Calderon injured again, might be more important, at this point, than the Hedo Turkoglu signing.

17. Cheers, and Happy New Year. Thanks for reading in 2009. You'll never fully understand my gratitude. Here's to 2010 ...

Good Riddance

Another thrilling episode of "Survivor: Toronto Maple Leafs" edition took place on Friday. The tribe (read: Cliff Fletcher) has once again spoken. Thankfully - no, mercifully - Andrew Raycroft has been voted off the island.

It's a joyous occasion, my friends. In making arguably the easiest decision in the history of mankind, the man known as "Raycrap" has been bought out of the final year of his contract by the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Scheduled to earn $2.2 million next season, the Leafs will take a salary cap hit for the next two years of...you know what, I don't even know. And it doesn't even matter. It's worth it. I don't care how much we're on the hook for, it's worth it.

Andrew Raycroft will never again play goal for the Toronto Maple Leafs. Say it with me. Say it out loud. Believe it, man, because it's true.

"Andrew Raycroft will never again play goal for the Toronto Maple Leafs!"

Oh man, it feels great. It's a great day. Oh yes, forget the dollars and cents, it's worth it. A buyout worth every last fucking penny.

You know, I'm sure Raycroft is actually a swell guy. I'm sure he's someone who takes pride in what he does and who wants to succeed. But, man, his tenure in Toronto was so bloody awful that I can't help but feel happy now that he's heading towards the exit. I wish him well, I truly do. It's clear that he simply didn't possess the mental toughness to play goal in Toronto, one of the most difficult places to play. While I doubt he'll get another job in the NHL, I hope he can get a job in the minors and work on his game because, well, his game needs a lot of work. Here's hoping the dude lands back on his feet. For an Ontario boy who fulfilled a dream by lacing 'em up for the Toronto Maple Leafs, how it all played out has got to leave a bad taste in his mouth.

Sort of like the foul taste in the mouth of all the Leafs fans who watched him play these last two years.

In my mind, Raycroft will forever be tied to the John Ferguson Jr. era here in Toronto. JFJ made some incredibly stupid moves as general manager of the Leafs - such as, oh, I don't know, handing out no-trade clauses like fucking Halloween candy - but the Raycroft for Tuukka Rask trade might go down as his worst.

It was one thing to take a chance on Raycroft two summers ago. He had a phenomenal season in 2003/2004 and won the rookie of the year award. In the post-lockout season he was hampered by injury. When it was evident here in T.O. that Ed Belfour had reached the end of the line, the Leafs needed a goalie, and Raycroft became the man. When I heard we had landed Raycroft for Rask, I supported the move. With two blue-chip goaltending prospects in our system (Justin Pogge and Rask), one of them was obviously expendable, and I had high hopes for Raycroft to return to form.

What I'll never understand is why JFJ handed Raycroft a new contract - a 3-year, $6 million pact - before he even played a game in the blue and white. Instead of letting Raycroft go out and prove himself and earn the number one job, JFJ handed him the keys to the car. It was the worst decision he could have made. Even though he won 37 games two seasons ago (I still can't grasp my head around this fact), Raycroft stank. He let in soft goal after soft goal and was yanked from the crease in the biggest game of the year with a playoff spot on the line. Only one year after he was acquired for an incredibly high price, it was obvious Raycroft wasn't up to the task of manning the crease in Toronto and JFJ had to go out and get another goalie, and deal another first-round pick in the process.

I'm not even going to bother getting into Raycrap's most recent season. I've blocked most of it out of my memory. All you need to know is that he won two of the 19 games he played. With an NHL-calibre backup goalie, the Leafs might have made the playoffs.

Vesa Toskala has, thank God, worked out for Toronto (and JFJ, that moron, handed him a contract extension before he played a game for the Leafs, too), but JFJ really deserves a bitch slap for giving Raycroft that extension. In the end, it doesn't even matter whether Rask turns into a solid NHL goalie, even though all signs are pointing towards him doing just that. Raycroft was a monumental, colossal, epic, mammoth, mistake. Raycrap's shitty legacy in Toronto will forever be tied to JFJ's even shittier legacy.

Alas, what's done is done. What matters is that Raycroft, say it with me one more time, will never play goal for the Toronto Maple Leafs again. Another one of JFJ's wrongs has been righted.

Thank you, Cliff Fletcher. Thank you so much.

Redemption for Rask

June 24, 2006 - a day that will live on in infamy for Toronto Maple Leafs fans. It was the day the Leafs traded goaltending prospect Tuukka Rask to the Boston Bruins for Andrew Raycroft. Hey, John Ferguson, good call.

The Bruins were in town last night to face Toronto and guess who was manning the pipes for Boston? Tuukka Rask, the bright-eyed 20-year-old rookie, making his first start in the NHL against the Maple Leafs, the team that drafted him in the first round, 21st overall in the 2005 entry draft.

Last year, Rask was said to be the best goalie outside the NHL, and although one game does not a career make, I think it's safe to say Rask has a bright future in hockey.

Oh boy, did the Leafs ever get ripped off on this trade. Rask for Raycroft! It's going to go down as one of the worst trades in Leafs history. It's already a bust. If the Leafs had any confidence in Raycroft, they wouldn't have given up more draft picks to acquire Vesa Toskala.

John Ferguson, the soon-to-be fired general manager (I hope) of the Maple Laughs, had a great look at Rask last night, who shone against the Leafs, making 30 saves on 32 shots and earning first-star honours. The kid looked great out there. Very composed and full of poise. He made several great saves in close and didn't let a Mats Sundin knuckleball goal from the blue line faze him. At six-foot three Rask is a big boy, but boy is he quick.

The Leafs ended up losing the game 4-2. This time, they blew a 2-0 lead. It's like a broken record with this club, eh? They played about 50 minutes of good hockey last night, but broke down in their own end late in the third period, as usual. I always say it when Raycroft doesn't come up with a big save for his team, so to be fair, I'll say it about Toskala. The third goal was a stinker. Toskala should have had it, plain and simple.

It seems Toronto's 3-0 shutout over the high-flying Ottawa Senators on Saturday night was a fluke, and had more to do with Ottawa not showing up than Toronto dominating their provincial rivals. In all honesty, it's not the result of last night's tilt that bothers me - I'm used to the inconsistent Leafs and their penchant for blowing leads on home ice.

It's Rask. How could the Leafs have traded this stud prospect for the pathetic Andrew Raycroft? It makes my insides churn.

I know everyone already knows this but, just for the record, John Ferguson is a complete idiot. Tuukka Rask proved it last night. Rask, it seems, is ready to play in the NHL. Only two years after being drafted. The Leafs knew they had a can't miss prospect in Rask, and goaltender Justin Pogge, so why was there a need to trade Rask two summers ago, especially for RaySOFT, who was coming off a horrendous season.

Two summers ago, Martin Gerber and Manny Legace were both free agent goalies, available to the highest bidder. The Leafs, with Rask and Pogge waiting in the wings, should have signed one of them, and let their two young goaltending prospects develop. Both Legace and Gerber got contracts in the $4 million dollar range, well within the Leafs budget.

Instead, Ferguson, who has always talked the talk about drafting and developing talent, traded a first-round draft pick (Rask) for Raycroft, automatically pegging Justin Pogge as the Leafs' goalie of the future. Pogge struggled last year in the AHL. His statistics were not great and the Toronto Marlies missed the playoffs. It looks like he's going to need more time to develop, and there's nothing wrong with that.

Ferguson, not wanting to rush Pogge, and knowing that Raycroft was not the answer, went and traded another first-round draft pick (and a second-round pick) this past summer to acquire Vesa Toskala. The insanity continues. How this team continues to trade away draft picks just blows the mind.

Watching Rask in goal for Boston last night made it all hit home. Hard. Ferguson is a no-good general manager and he won't be around long enough to see if Justin Pogge is the real deal and the goaltender of the future. The whole situation puts more pressure on young Pogge's shoulders. Pogge's not stupid, he knows that the Leafs are the worst defensive team in the NHL. He also knows that by trading Rask, the Leafs made him the chosen one. Instead of letting both goalies develop, Ferguson and the Leafs put all their eggs in one basket - the Pogge basket. If Pogge turns out to be a bust, then what? The Leafs will be right back in the same boat, and if history is any indication, they'll trade more assets for a "quick-fix." If the Leafs had kept both Rask and Pogge, they could have traded one of them in the future, even today, to get them the defensive help they so desperately need.

The constant trading of assets - it's sheer lunacy! John Ferguson, based on the Rask for Raycroft trade alone, should be fired. Straight up. Sure, hindsight is always twenty-twenty, but all I have to say is that Raycroft sucks. That's the bottom line. It doesn't even matter how good Rask turns out to be. Raycroft simply stinks. He's a $2 million dollar a year back-up goalie. And he makes me sick.

Although it pains me to agree with The Star's Damien Cox, he's right - the Leafs are a dysfunctional franchise. It's true, and watching Tuukka Rask tend goal for the Boston Bruins last night showcased Toronto's, and Ferguson's, incompetence. It's tough to be a Maple Leafs fan right now, and I mean that from the bottom of my blue and white heart. This team is not headed in the right direction, and has been going down the wrong path for some time now.

*Sigh*

Something has got to give. Someone has got to go. Enough is enough, and it's time for a change. For a boat load of changes, actually. John Ferguson Jr., I'm looking at you...