Press Row

The Toronto Maple Leafs don't have first-round draft picks in 2010 and 2011. You know what else they don't have? Internet access on press row. Apologies about the #LiveBlogFail. It happens, yo.

Three years after writing my first blog post here at Sports And The City, I'd made "the show." For one night, I was out of the basement, and on the biggest stage. Without you, three readers, it wouldn't have been possible. Thank you.

While I hate to inundate you with another list of thoughts, Elliotte Friedman style, I'm left with no choice. Without access to the magical world wide web, I was forced to actually use a pen, and write. I know; the humanity. In all seriousness, thanks to Jonathan Sinden, interactive media guru at MLSE, and operator of the Leafs' twitter account, who invited me to The Foster Hewitt Media Gondola last night. It was a fantastic experience, and an honour to be up there.

Without further ado:

• All you really need to know is that before puck drop I met LeafspaceMonika. She put her arm around me, and it was a dream come true. I may have told her that I'm in love with her, I don't really remember. The rest of the night really doesn't matter, because I'd already won.
• I hate Ryan Miller.
• The Leafs actually came out strong to start the game. They were the better team in the first half of the first period. It might have been the drugs, but I'm pretty sure Toronto came out flying. If it wasn't for Ryan Miller, it's 2-0 Toronto 10 minutes into the game.
• Fuck Ryan Miller.
• I had to make an actual conscious effort not to cheer while in the press box. It was more difficult than I thought.
• Buffalo came alive to close out the first, but Jonas Gustavsson was there to match Miller. The Monster is great in tight, and moves graciously across the crease. (That's what she said.)
• The highlight of the first period was Wayne Primeau slamming Derek Roy into the boards in the Leafs' zone. I love watching Derek Roy get slammed into the boards.
• As I tweeted in the first period, watching Phil Kessel turned me on. I'm quite certain I was making Jonathan uncomfortable, but the situation was beyond my control.
• The pretzels flow freely up in press row. The pretzels were making me thirsty.
• No sign of Howard Berger. Remember, he's paid to write about the games, not watch them.
• According to my man Jonathan, it was Brian Burke who said the Leafs have to reach out to bloggers. Forget about the team's record, and forget about how they do the rest of the way while he's managing the team; the Brian Burke era has been an unmitigated success.
• The best part about being on press row might be the stats sheet you're handed at the end of each period. Your homework, it's done for you. You know exactly how many minutes too long Jason Blake has been on the ice, and just how poorly the Leafs are doing in the faceoff circle. I certainly appreciated it.
• The Leafs came out strong, again, to start the second period. And I'm quite certain the drugs had worn off by this point.
• Matt Stajan and Phil Kessel botched a 2-on-0 early in the period. Kessel would probably have been better off on his own.
• More Leafs fans need to own Niklas Hagman jerseys. Do you own one? Let me know, so I can give you the props you deserve.
• I hope last night is the last time Ian White and Luke Schenn play together. Awful.
• Seriously, fuck Ryan Miller. He is the truth. He made tremendous saves on the penalty kill against both Hagman and Mikhail Grabovski. Buffalo is lucky to have him.
• I thought Mike Komisarek played a strong game. He kept his shit simple, which is what he wasn't doing prior to his stint on the disabled list.
• Phil Kessel is an underrated passer. Marc Savard didn't make Phil Kessel. Phil Kessel made Marc Savard.
• I could hear Dennis Bayak calling the game on AM 640 from my seat. I found this rather exciting.
• Jason Blake: enter the zone, circle the net, put a useless shot on goal. Rinse. Repeat.
• I'm sorry to say, but the crowds at the Air Canada Centre are nothing short of brutal. I thought about starting a "Go Leafs Go!!!!1" chant, but that type of thing is frowned upon in the press box.
• Did I mention I hate Ryan Miller?
• The Leafs surrendered a goal 20 seconds into the third period. I blame Ron Wilson. Face it: it's convenient, and easy. Fire him. And hire Wayne Gretzky. Don't deny it, it'd be fun.
• Is there any possible way Jason Blake makes the U.S. Olympic team? I'm thinking not, as Wilson probably wants to get away from him for a couple of weeks.
• Carl Gunnarsson didn't return for third period action after suffering a shoulder injury. The irony of Komisarek returning and Gunnarsson getting injured is delicious. We gain one, and lose another. Almost as delicious as the sushi platinum seat holders like Daoust love to eat.
• Ryan Miller is always at the top of his crease. He cuts his angles like nobody's business. I fucking hate Ryan Miller.
• I'm quite certain I saw Luke Schenn on the point on the power play in the third period. I'd like to see more of this. It can only help his development. Also: mad respect for "Luke's Troops." Canadian serviceman and servicewoman deserve all the standing ovations they can get.
• It was a listless third period from the Maple Leafs. Outshooting your opponents with absolutely nothing to show for it, night in and night out, has to take its toll.
• There's no way Lee Stempniak is a Maple Leaf next season after his contract expires.
• The cat-calls on Jonas Gustavsson late in the third period were completely uncalled for. When did Toronto fans become the epitome of douchebaggery? What are we, Boston?
• Lindy Ruff calling a timeout in a 3-0 game with 2:54 left on the clock was straight rude. He purposely did it to prolong our misery for an extra 30 seconds, that bastard.
• Ryan Miller finished with a shutout. The silver lining: I didn't pay a penny to take in the game.
• I'll be honest, when Jonathan took off for a few minutes during the game, I hollered "67!!!!1" a couple of times, at the top of my lungs. Yet no sign of Damien Cox. Clearly, he wasn't on press row, or even in the building.

If last night was any indication, the Toronto Maple Leafs get it. No, not the hockey part, asshole, the social and new media part. They reached out to me, in the depths of my mother's basement, and treated me to a game, and all the pretzels my heart could desire. And I appreciated it. During the intermissions, I made tremendous progress on the Stanley Cup parade route the Leafs will be taking in 2010. Yes, 2010. It's those moments in The Foster Hewitt Media Gondola, when you're most inspired, and when you use your crayons to draw the heart of the parade through the streets of downtown Ottawa, and downtown Vancouver, that matter more than anything. Cross-country, baby. Like the Olympic torch relay.

Playoffs!!!1

The Leafs Suck At Everything

As much I hate Andrew Raycroft - and those of you who read this corner regularly know I really, really don’t like the guy – I hate the Buffalo Sabres even more. With a chance to kill Buffalo’s season the Leafs, and Raycroft, did what they always do: fail.

Credit’s due where it’s due, and Raycroft was certainly not Raycrap last night. He was on point in the first two periods for the Leafs, shocking for a guy who hasn’t played in an NHL game since January. While his rebound control was once again atrocious, he just didn’t get burned by it last night.

The Leafs jumped out to a two-nothing lead after twenty minutes. You know, the dreaded “worst lead in hockey.” I would argue that any lead held by the Toronto Maple Leafs is the worst lead in hockey, because you know it’s not going to last.

It didn’t last night. Up 2-1 going into the third, Buffalo tied the game on a phantom goal. The Leafs responded, though, and went up 3-2 thanks to a nifty goal by Alex Steen. Props out to Anton Stralman and The Poni, who both made great passes on the play.

There I was, pissed off about the Blue Jays’ opening night loss, but hoping the Leafs could rescue the night and dash the playoff hopes of those losers down in Buffalo.

Cue the standard bonehead penalty by Bryan McCabe and power play goal that I knew was coming. Tie game, three apiece, and the Sabres are still alive in the hunt for eighth.

In overtime, after Tomas Kaberle rang one off the cross bar, Pavel Kubina was called for the most unbelievable cross-checking penalty I have ever seen in my life. He barely touched the Buffalo player, who didn’t even go down on the play, and the Sabres were given a gift in the form of a man advantage.

They couldn’t capitalize. A shootout ensued, and the Leafs were unable to get ‘er done. Ryan Miller was solid in net for the Sabres in the one-on-one challenge, while Andrew Raycroft continued to show why he is one of the worst goalies in the shootout, ever.

I think Raycroft made two saves, and one of them was by accident. The Sabres either missed the net or rang pucks off the post.

I figured the Sabres, who always get screwed in every sport and on every call, didn’t have destiny on their side. But, in the end, they did have something going for them: Raycroft was in net.

Sure, he played a good game, but in the end, Raycroft was the losing goalie last night, as he always is. It was a fitting end to a game in which the Leafs had two leads in the third period.

The Leafs can’t do anything right. They win when they should lose, and lose when they should win. They’re about as good at playing the spoiler as they are at playing the playoff team.

They better get their act together quickly, though, because they’ve got a chance to drive a stake through the hearts of the Ottawa Senators and their freaking-out fans on Thursday night, in what should be a doozy at the Air Canada Centre.

The Leafs aren’t going to the dance, but if they can do their part and keep the Senators on the sidelines with them, man, that would almost single-handedly salvage this bullshit season.

The End Is Near

The Leafs had a day off today. I wouldn't be surprised to find out that a few of the boys hit up Golf Town, to get an early start on some shopping. Golf season is just about upon us, and once again, the Leafs are going to be the first guys out on the links.

Talk about stinking up the joint in a couple of huge games. It's been an interesting few days, to say the least. Two huge losses to the Habs and Sabres have dealt the Leafs' playoff aspirations a huge blow. Not to mention all the drama from Tuesday's trading deadline.

John Ferguson Jr., in an absolutely shocking move, acquired a former Leaf before the 3 pm deadline. "No Panic" Yanic Perreault is returning to the blue and white, for his third tour of duty. See ya later, Brendan Bell. This guy fell so far off the defensive depth chart, he was playing left wing. When you get jumped on the depth chart by Wozniewski, you've got some problems.

Finally, by dealing for Perreault, the Leafs have seen the light and realized that Matt Stajan is no second line centre. Toronto has nothing that resembles secondary scoring, and this is a good trade, although it doesn't matter in the grand scheme of things. Perreault will help because he's such a great faceoff man, and he's got 19 goals, which puts him third on the Leafs. He's unrestricted at the end of the year, and likely won't be back. I think it's a good trade, but I wonder why Ferguson didn't make it happen two months ago, right after Peca went down with his injury. It's simply too late.

Perreault wasn't in the lineup Tuesday night, and unless he knows how to play goalie, it didn't really matter. I was shocked to see Raycroft back in net Tuesday night, after his pathetic performance in arguably the biggest game of the year on Monday in Montreal. He let in five goals on 15 shots in Montreal, and four goals on 11 shots against Buffalo. Atrocious goaltending.
Paul Maurice has done a great job this season, but he totally dropped the ball in going back to Raycroft Tuesday night. Razor did not deserve to start. You don't put in a performance like he did and just be handed the reigns once again the night after.

What angers me most is that there is just no accountability on this Leafs team. Why wasn't Raycroft held accountable for his performance? Why was he allowed to just go back in there? He clearly doesn't have the intensity or desire that is required to play goalie for the Toronto Maple Leafs. He just doesn't have it. He's not a number one goalie.

The Andrew Raycroft experiment has been a failure. He isn't the right man for the job. It's inconceivable to me why he was in the net on Tuesday night against the Sabres, and it goes back to the start of the season, when he was handed the number one job while not being deserving of it. Raycroft has been the goalie of choice, yet he hasn't had to even work for the job. It's bullshit, and the Leafs season is lost because of Razor's poor play.

The Leafs have their best defense, on paper, in years. Yet Raycroft has given them AHL-calibre goaltending. He let three soft goals against the Habs. Granted, three out of the five were scored on the power play, and one came off the stick of Sheldon Souray. That guy's slapshot can kill you, so I'll give any goalie props for standing in front of it - I'd have been running away screaming like a schoolgirl. But at the end of the night, he just wasn't good enough.

It's sad, because against the Habs, Aebischer was terrible. Yet Raycroft still wasn't as good. He is constantly outgoaltendered, yet it doesn't seem to faze anyone on the Leafs.

I hope once Razor got yanked from the Sabres game, he was watching Ryan Miller and taking notes. Miller is a number one goalie, and a playoff goalie. He kept the Sabres, who were missing eight regulars from their lineup, alive in the first period, making great save after great save, until the Sabres were able to score a softy on Raycroft. There's your difference, right there.

There's no point in bitching about the Leafs anymore. To be a playoff team, you've got to have the stats to back it up. The Leafs are done. Raycroft's save percentage is a mediocre .895. Toronto has let in 72 goals on the power play, second last in the league. Their penalty killing, at 78.8%, is 26th in the league. They have the second-worst home record in the Eastern Conference.

Really, how good can the Leafs be when their last line of defense is Andrew Raycroft. That's not even a "last line", Raycroft is hardly a scribble.

And I'm just so sick and tired of the fans getting on Bryan McCabe. This guy plays upwards of 26 minutes a night, has almost 50 points and is a plus player. Yes, he makes a lot of money, but that's not his fault. I think we all would have signed that contract had it been passed across the table to us. Get over it. He is not the problem. Raycroft is the problem. The thought process that goes into believing Matt Stajan is a second line centre is the problem. Not McCabe. Save your boos. Use them on Raycroft.

And coming up? Friday a date with Brodeur and the Devils and Saturday another visit from the Sabres. That will be four losses in a row, and then the Leafs can officially say goodnight. Hopefully J.S. Aubin will be in goal, and Jeremy Williams in the Leafs lineup.

Another disturbing tidbit: The game with the Sabres ended with Sundin playing on a line with

Bates Battaglia and Boyd Devereaux. Wow. You sure you want to stick around, Mats?

Get those golf clubs ready, boys. As the old saying goes: Golf Leafs Golf!

--------------------------------------

How about the trading deadline. I just love trade deadline day. It's intense. I find it amazing that all three major sports networks devote a whole day's worth of programming to the event. That's really what it's become - an event.

It was an eventful day and a lot of names changed teams, but the shocker of all came down at 3 pm, with the announcement that the Oilers had traded Captain Canada Ryan Smyth, to the Islanders, of all teams.

Nobody, especially Ryan Smyth, saw this one coming.

It happened on Mark Messier Day in Edmonton no less, as his jersey was raised to the rafters Tuesday night.

Smyth had a going-away press conference at Edmonton International Airport today. Yeah, pretty strange. He was extremely emotional, to say the least. He was balling like a little baby. News dropped today that the two sides were only $200 thousand dollars a year apart on a deal. Smyth was asking for $5.7 while Edmonton countered at $5.4. Not exactly a huge difference. Not a huge difference when it comes to the face of the Oilers franchice, and their heart and soul. If that really is the case, it's extremely shocking a deal didn't get done.

I think Smyth must have thought Kevin Lowe was bluffing. He did not seem like a guy who truly believed that there was any chance he could be traded. I just can't believe they didn't meet in the middle. A guy like Darcy Tucker, who isn't even from Toronto, gave the Leafs a discount in order to make sure he could stay here. Gotta love Darcy - thank you, Tucks! I'm surprised Alberta boy and cowboy extraordinaire Ryan Smyth didn't just give the Oilers a discount and get the deal done.

Smyth's farewell press conference was weak. He was clearly in way too emotional a state to be addressing the media, but it had to be done. He said something along the lines of "I want to win a Stanley Cup with New York, and then bring it back to Edmonton, because this is where my heart is." Who says that? I found that extremely odd. I mean, what would his new teammates think?

As for the trade, I think the Oilers got a great return for a rental player. Three first round draft picks is a steep price to pay for a rental. I guess the Islanders are desperately seeking credibility and a trip to the post-season, and it's a good deal for them in those regards. Smyth should be a great acquisition and get them into the playoffs. It's just going to be weird seeing him in the ugly Islanders uniform.

As for his future, I can see him going back to Edmonton. I think the chances of him stayin on the Island are slim to none.

I've got to give Kevin Lowe some credit. He doesn't put any player above the franchise. He made a ruthless decision to trade Smyth, and knew the backlash it would cause. But he's a man of principal, and he truly believes in what he's doing. He's got a couple of huge balls to pull a deal like that off.

It's just got to be rough to be an Oilers fan, eh? I thought us Leafs fans had it bad. First, you lose game 7 of the Stanley Cup final. Then you watch as the team trades all-world defenseman Chris Pronger. And now Ryan Smyth. Ouch. Must be rough!

But I say screw the Oilers. I don't care about their problems. Ryan Smyth would look great in a Maple Leafs jersey. The Leafs should have a contract printed out for him by now, ready to hand to him at the stroke of midnight on July 1st.

-----------------------------------

Big win by the Raptors tonight against T-Mac and the Rockets in Houston. The Raps shot 60% in the first half and dominated the best defensive team in the NBA. The scoring was extremely balanced, and Kris Humphries finished with 16 points, on 7 of 7 shooting, with 6 boards and 2 dimes. The Hump brought it tonight.

Bargnani led the Raptors with 20 points and just keeps getting better and better.
I thank the Lord above each and every night for the Raptors. They make the Leafs struggles easier to swallow.

Like I said, I'm done bitching about the Leafs. I've got the Raptors and Jays to worry about. I'm at peace with the Leafs' season, and the fact that it will come to an end without a trip to the playoffs. The dream is dead, until next September, when I'll go through it all over again.

Goodnight, Toronto...