Blue Indian Dogma

Leafs Roll of Pens while the Hawks beat Sundinless Canucks

BlueIndian — Mon, 22 Dec 2008 17:38:41 +0000

Nice weekend for hockey fans like myself. The Toronto Maple Leafs recovered nicely from the ass kicking they recieved at the hands of Boston early in the week. They played a total team game according to head coach Ron Wilson. Contrary to what Don Cherry said on Coach’s Corner, I think the fact that the tough guys from the Leafs didn’t fight at key times was a good thing. The Leafs were on the road leading 4-1 when the Pens’ Goodard invited Andre Deveraux to fight. He event dropped the gloves and hit Deveraux a few times. Cherry calls this a disgrace, saying he should stand up like a man and fight. Then Cherry said he is pathetic when he fights a Russian winger at the end of the game. See Don you fail to realize that when your winning on the road against one of the better teams in the Eastern Conference there is no need to give them any sort of momentum. Deveraux drew a penalty (should have been a 5 min major) and then the Leafs scored to put the game away at 5-1. And at the end of the game, some Pen winger jumps Deveraux who initially let him get in a few shots and then he lets him have it. Hard to walk away from a fight when a guy hits you in the face with a bare hand. I say good job fighting when it means something. And a great team win on Saturday.

Now the last bit of a good weekend was the Chicago Blackhawks’ win over a Vancover team that has a real need for the offense that newly signed Matts Sundin will bring. However I doubt the Canucks will win the cup even with Matts. It was just nice to see the young Hawks rebound from a first period goal to win 3-1. I also find it ironic that the man who said he didn’t want to be a rent a player is now playing hockey for the first time in late December or early January. Hmmm Hey Matts doesn’t it look like your a rent-a-player now?

Last note they moved the Dolphins @ Jets game to 4:15 est on Sunday. Means I have a long day ahead of me. Have to go to DC early to watch that Game in the bar then stumble across the street to see the Leafs play the Caps.

Is Brian Burke Jumping Coasts?

BlueIndian — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 06:45:12 +0000

From ESPN:

Brian Burke won’t have to wait long to take calls from other NHL teams now that he has stepped down as Anaheim Ducks general manager.

“After he helps us with the transition, he’ll be free to talk to other teams about employment,” Ducks CEO Michael Schulman announced at a news conference Wednesday. “That will probably be a week or two.” Bob Murray, who has been the Ducks’ senior vice president of hockey operations since 2005, replaced his good friend Burke, who has been Anaheim’s GM since June 2005 and watched the team win the Stanley Cup in 2007. “There’s only 30 of these jobs available and it’s an honor and a privilege and it’s exciting for me take over,” Murray said. “I can’t wait to take over. I’ve been taught properly by Brian and we will go on the same way that we have since the beginning. “People are worried about transition when these things happen. Well, from day one, from when Brian and I took over this organization, he has included me in everything he’s done. All of our hirings, all of our trades.” The Ducks will inform the NHL’s front office that they are giving the rest of the league access to Burke, who has long been linked to the Toronto GM job. Cliff Fletcher is filling the role on an interim basis.

Tlusty to Take John Mitchell’s spot

BlueIndian — Sat, 08 Nov 2008 08:15:23 +0000

The Toronto Maple Leafs announced that forward Jiri Tlusty has been recalled from the Toronto Marlies of the American Hockey League.

In five AHL games this season, Tlusty has registered two assists and four penalty minutes. The 6-0, 209-pound native of Slany, Czech Republic appeared in seven games with the Maple Leafs earlier this season and was held scoreless while averaging 12:19 of ice time per game and registering 13 shots. Mitchell expects to be out at least a week after sustaining a shoulder injury against Boston … The Maple Leafs head out for a Western swing next week that will take them to Calgary, Edmonton and Vancouver.

RIP- Richard Wright

BlueIndian — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 01:28:53 +0000

I am at lost for words. I am saddened by the passing of founding member of Pink Floyd, Richard Wright. Instead of my own words I have to offer you the band’s take. Below is what is posted on both websites:

PinkFloyd.com :The family of Richard Wright, founder member of Pink Floyd, announce with great sadness, that Richard died today after a short struggle with cancer.

DavidGilmour.com: No one can replace Richard Wright. He was my musical partner and my friend. In the welter of arguments about who or what was Pink Floyd, Rick’s enormous input was frequently forgotten.

He was gentle, unassuming and private but his soulful voice and playing were vital, magical components of our most recognised Pink Floyd sound. I have never played with anyone quite like him. The blend of his and my voices and our musical telepathy reached their first major flowering in 1971 on ‘Echoes’. In my view all the greatest PF moments are the ones where he is in full flow. After all, without ‘Us and Them’ and ‘The Great Gig In The Sky’, both of which he wrote, what would ‘The Dark Side Of The Moon’ have been? Without his quiet touch the Album ‘Wish You Were Here’ would not quite have worked.

In our middle years, for many reasons he lost his way for a while, but in the early Nineties, with ‘The Division Bell’, his vitality, spark and humour returned to him and then the audience reaction to his appearances on my tour in 2006 was hugely uplifting and it’s a mark of his modesty that those standing ovations came as a huge surprise to him, (though not to the rest of us).

Like Rick, I don’t find it easy to express my feelings in words, but I loved him and will miss him enormously.

David Gilmour
Monday 15th September 2008

Hawks Dump Salary, Age & Scoring?

BlueIndian — Sat, 13 Sep 2008 06:56:53 +0000

From the Chicago Tribune:

The Blackhawks solved their salary cap issues and shifted focus onto younger players Friday when they traded veteran center Robert Lang. The 37-year-old, entering the final season of his contract, had 21 goals and 33 assists in 76 games last season. The Hawks sent Lang and his $4 million salary to the Montreal Canadiens for a second-round draft pick in 2010.

“We’re very happy with the direction we’re headed,” Hawks general manager Dale Tallon said. “Our young guys have taken great steps this off-season conditioning-wise. We have so many young players that sooner or later we have to open the door for them.”

The Hawks had been above the salary cap by more than $2 million after the July free agent signings of defenseman Brian Campbell and goaltender Cristobal Huet. The team is now about $1.5 million below the cap and is likely to use that money to sign a veteran forward. The complete article is here.

Does Leaf’s Nation Say Goodbye McCabe on Tuesday?

BlueIndian — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 02:28:56 +0000

This is from Sportsnet.ca:

A trade to send Leafs defenceman Bryan McCabe to Florida, first reported by Sportsnet, should be announced on Tuesday. The Leafs are expected to get defenceman Mike Van Ryn from the Panthers in return.

McCabe, who has a no-movement clause in his contract, has agreed to waive the condition in order for the trade to be completed. The deal is a major step in Leafs GM Cliff Fletcher’s wish to remake the under-performing team’s roster.

Fletcher originally tried to deal McCabe, along with several other Leafs veterans, at the February trade deadline shortly after Fletcher was hired to replace the fired John Ferguson Jr. But McCabe, along with captain Mats Sundin, Darcy Tucker, Thomas Kaberle and Pavel Kubina, all refused to waive their no-trade clauses.

Tucker was bought out by the club in June and subsequently signed with Colorado while Sundin opted for free agency once his contract runs out and remains undecided on whether he will even play this season. Kaberle and Kubina remain with the Leafs. The Leafs missed the playoffs for the third consecutive season in 2007-08.

McCabe spent seven seasons with the Leafs, scoring 83 goals and 214 assists. In June 2006 he signed a five-year, $28.5 million deal that also included the no-movement clause.

Van Ryn, 29, was a first-round pick of the New Jersey Devils in 1998 and has played the past four seasons with the Panthers.

Leafs Summer Updates

BlueIndian — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 13:25:12 +0000

So we are a month or so away from the start of the 2008-2009 NHL season. Training camp will open with, as promised, a lot of new faces in Maple Leaf land. The questions still loom though: Will Mats Sundin be there? Will Brian McCabe be there? Who will be the Captain? As far as Mats is concerned, I am done caring. I was hoping he would come back but then I realized that even though he is a good and likeable captain, he has provided the city of Toronto zero in the form of success. No Cups, No conference finals, squat! So if he decides to come back, great. If he doesn’t or goes to play for another team? Who cares.

Brian McCabe on the other hand seems to be on his way out. All the published reports have him going to Florida in exchange for Sean Van Ryan. I used to like McCabe, but like everyone else turned on him. He signed a huge deal and his play went to crap. Maybe he will get a fresh start in the Panthers organization.

Who’s going to be the Leafs captain? Who knows. I think it should be Thomas Kaberle. But then again it could be any of them. Hopefully new coach Ron Wilson has a better idea than the rest of us. Let the countdown to traing camp begin.

Viagra is 10 years old

BlueIndian — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 03:22:59 +0000

Holy Crap! Remember when gas in America was about $11 a barrel instead of the $144 it is now? Remember when Titanic was the movie of the year at the Oscars? Remember when George Michael got caught going down on a cop in a public bathroom? Remember everyone was afraid of computers turning off with Y2K? Remember when Google was in Beta?

Well all those things happened in 1998 as well as……. Remember when old guys didn’t get nearly as much young tail as they do now? That’s right 10 years ago Viagra was given the go ahead by the FDA. Now try and remember what spam was like in 1998. I know I can’t

Before the Weekend Starts Remember Bert is Evil

BlueIndian — Fri, 11 Jul 2008 17:46:08 +0000

I know that many have forgotten the sheer terror that one muppet can inflict. I wanted to remind the kind folks out in the land of the internet that true fear is all around us. This story broke many years ago and just like most headlines was swept away to the back of most people’s minds. But before you sit your children down in front of the “virtual babysitter,” remember that Seasame Street’s Bert is EVIL!

So What Did the Leafs Get on July 1st? The Finger.

BlueIndian — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 16:09:32 +0000

With Bryan McCabe about to get the boot, Cliff Fletcher paid dearly to give the Maple Leafs defence the Finger.

But the general manager is convinced free agent Jeff Finger is part of the answer for his blue line, at $14 million US for four years, with at least one more defenceman and forward to be added by free agency or trade.

Finger and Finnish-born left winger Niklas Hagman (four years, $12 million) topped yesterday’s opening of shopping for the Leafs, who also brought home Curtis Joseph to play out his last days as a backup goalie for $700,000.

Read the rest of the article from the Toronto Sun’s Lance Hornby