Leafs Bashing Week (Day) ends with a great success!

Well, you can make it six straight games that the Canucks have defeated the Maple Leafs. it was a great, great game and a very fun night at the game. The fans of both teams were great, and it was as exciting a game as you can ask for. I did a recap of my experience at the game over at Nucks Misconduct, so please do check that out. As well, enjoy the highlight package:



Go Canucks!

Leafs Bashing Week, 2009-10 - Part II

Well it's been a while since I've posted here, but thanks to a little needling from a 'Nucks and Pucks fan (thanks Becky!) I am keeping the Leafs Bashing Week tradition alive - but the week is condensed into one day, the Game Day.

I am fortunate enough to be attending the game tonight at the ACC in Toronto. I am anticipating a huge crowd of Canucks fans. The last time I saw these teams play was in the 2007-08, when our back-up goalie (Andrew Raycroft) was the starter for the Leafs, there were 2000-3000 Canucks fans at the game. Given the Maple Leafs woeful season, it has been much easier to acquire tickets in Toronto this year - and as a result I am expecting a significant Vancouver representation at the game.

I will go out on a limb and estimate that 1/4 of the crowd will be Canucks supporters - which, if true, should inject some life into the normally quiet ACC.

Anyway, the Leafs have pretty much made Leafs bashing redundant this season. They sit third last in the NHL, and they can't even root for a great draft pick as Brian Burke traded it as part of the Phil Kessel trade. It is quite a disaster for the Leafs and their fans, and really I don't know if I can add anything to the onslaught of criticism that the team has received from the media and from fans.

I hope that the Leafs turn it around soon - it is a much more enjoyable league when there are strong Original 6 teams, including the two Canadian behemoths - Montreal Canadiens and the Maple Leafs. That being said, I am going to enjoy the fact that Vancouver is the top Canadian club right now and has been playing lights out hockey lately.

As a teaser for tonight's game, here is the highlight package from the last time these two teams met, way back in October:



I will post some pictures from the game, so check back here soon. And, as always, if you want to read more of my work look for nucksandpucks posts over at Nucks Misconduct. Or check out this link for a list of my work for the site.

Leafs Bashing Week, circa 2009-10

Hey folks! It's been a while, but remember you can also check out my random Canucks musings over at Nucks Misconduct.

On Saturday the Canucks and Maple Leafs meet for the first time this season, and I couldn't let this important occassion pass by without comment. I wrote a lengthy piece for Nucks Misconduct about my relationship as a Canucks fan to the Maple Leafs. However, I wanted to add a few jokes here to stoke the trash-talking fires. Not that the Leafs need any more jokes, as in this respect their play on the ice is doing the talking for me.

It's gotten so bad here in Leaf Land that the Toronto Star solicited its readers to provide their best TML jokes. Here are a few selections:

Two guys are camping out in the Muskokas, sitting around a fire at night and relaxing. Suddenly one of them sits bolt upright and shouts "DAMMIT! The Leafs lost!" His friend, impressed with his friends psychic ability asked "How do you know?" His friend replied, "It's after 10:00pm."

What's the difference between the Toronto Maple Leafs and a triangle?
A triangle has three points.

Why are the Maple Leafs like a bad bank?
No checking, no savings, and definitely no interest!

Well, I can see that I'm no further use. Toronto fans have clearly taken on the Leafs Bashing role formerly filled by non-Leafs such as myself. Poor Maple Leafs - they beat themselves on the ice, and their fans beat them up off of it.

Let's hope that Vancouver adds to the misery tomorrow night. GO CANUCKS!!!

Oh no, not Andrew Raycroft!

One-time Toronto Maple Leaf, and some-time butt of my jokes, Andrew Raycroft has reportedly signed with the Canucks.

Seriously?

I don't really get this move, unless there is an imminent trade involving Cory Schneider. Assuming Luongo signs a long-term extension, conventional wisdom is that Schneider backs up Luongo this year to increase his already-quite-high trade value. So why bring in a mediocre goalie to back up Bobby-Lou? Furthermore, with cap space limited, why pay a significant chunk for a back-up?

Unlike Kyle Wellwood, this is one ex-Leaf reclamation project I am not a fan of.

What makes a Canucks fan a Canucks fan?

Puck the Media has posted a quite hilarious NHL Fan Glossary (H/T Puck Daddy for the link). Here is what they have to say about Canucks fans:

"Canucks, Vancouver. Is kind of embarrassed that the team is basically a different way of saying Canadiens. Thinks Steve Moore had it coming. Owns every one of the teams 27 different jerseys."

Okay, "had it coming" might be a tad strong, though I was quite upset by Moore's previous hit on Naslund. And, personally, I'm not at all embarrassed that Canuck means Canadian! It means we don't have to resort to putting the Canada flag on our jerseys like a certain Alberta team I can think of (anyone else think the Flames come off as a bunch of college kids travelling around Europe who try to be "cool" by rocking the maple leaf on their backpacks?).

And yeah, the team has had a veritable colour prism of jerseys over the years. All of which make appearances in the stands at games. Bonus points if you own the salmon-red third jersey from the mid-90s. Extra bonus points if you actually wear it outside the house.

Unfortunately the entry on the Canucks appears to be the second smallest after the Maple Leafs ("Cherishes the team’s most recent Stanley Cup win in “The Love Guru”"). Surely there is more that makes up the identity of Canucks fans? Here are my suggestions for further entries (some serious, some humorous):

• Still has mixed feelings about the Orca.

• Still talks about the '94 Stanley Cup run like we actually won the Cup.

• Will always hate Mike Keenan for coaching the Rangers in '94, for the way he treated Trevor Linden, and for recently coaching the Calgary Flames. And for just being Mike Keenan.
  

• Conveniently forgets that Linden is actually from Alberta and grew up a Flames fan.

• When speaking with Leafs fans will counter the "Well the Canucks have never won a Stanley Cup" argument by noting that Toronto has not won one since before the Canucks existed as an NHL franchise.

• Has thought "we have a chance this year!" every season since 2001, only to be bitterly disappointed come April/May.

• Loves Stan Smyl even if he/she never saw him play.

• Regularly contemplates what could have been in the 2003-04 season if Todd Bertuzzi hadn't, well, you know...
  

• Knows that the 7th Man banner at GM Place was really, really lame and avoids talking about it all costs.

• Is happy that Matt Cooke won a Cup, even if it wasn't with the Canucks.
  

• When complaining about Roberto Luongo having an off game, forgets that his predecessors included Felix Potvin, Dan Cloutier, Bob Essensa, Peter Skudra, Garth Snow, Arturs Irbe and Alex Auld. Upon remembering this fact, kisses the ground and thanks his/her lucky stars.

Do you have suggestions for the list? Any defining Canucks' fan characteristics you care to share? use the comments section to add suggestions to the list.

The "Toronto Maple Leafs Facebook page"

As regular readers will know, 'Nucks and Pucks has made a habit of mocking the Toronto Maple Leafs again and again. And again and again and again and again and again and again. So I highly entertained when I saw this "official" Maple Leafs Facebook page at the Leafs blog Down Goes Brown.

Do check it out, this is brilliant stuff. Many of the feeds are lough-out-loud funny. I especially enjoyed:

• June 27, 2008: Bryan McCabe writing "That sucks! Won't be the same around here without you!" in response to the news that "Darcy Tucker has left the group The Muskoka Five."

• Bob Gainey poking Mats Sundin multiple times before getting blocked by Mats in September.

• December 18, 2008: "Mats Sundin and Leafs Nation changed their relationship status to "It's Complicated."

• "Curtis Joseph completed the quiz "Which 1990s Maple Leaf are you?" with the result "You are Curtis Joseph."

• April 13, 2009: Ian White, Luke Schenn, Jason Blake, Niklas Hagman, Mikhail Grabovski, Martin Gerber and Ron Wilson added Switzerland to the Places I've Been application.

Sorry, no original content in this post. But I had to spread the word on the Leafs hilarity. Enjoy!

Okay, let's lay off Toronto already

This posting only loosely relates to hockey, and has zero real connection to the Canucks. Regardless, I felt like weighing in anyway.

As regular readers know, I am more than happy to take the occasional potshot at Toronto, and in particular the Maple Leafs. Or spend a week doing so. This Toronto-bashing is largely in jest and is intended to be good-natured. It is definitely done with the hopes of encouraging friendly banter, such as that which appeared in the comments section of some of my blog postings about the Canucks/Leafs rivalry. I don't really bear more than a weak West Coast grudge towards Toronto - I did, after all, choose to live in the city for seven years.

In today's Globe and Mail Jeff Blair manages to slam every Toronto sports franchise, as well as the NFL's Buffalo Bills, in an article about the Bills first regular season game in Toronto - a 16-3 loss to the Miami Dolphins.

The headline of Blair's article is "Another losing team calls Toronto home," and the first paragraph reads:

"Note to NFL commissioner Roger Goodell: Can we please pick another team? Seriously. As it is, we're chock full of teams that don't make the playoffs."

Okay, I can see how this is kinda funny. But if I was a Toronto sports fan (I guess I sort of am, as I cheer for the Blue Jays and the Rock, and tacitly support the Raptors) I would be pretty pissed off.

Sure TO had a rough 2007-08: the Leafs missed the playoffs again; the Blue Jays did well, but not well enough to make the playoffs on baseball's toughest division; the Rock missed the playoffs for the first time in franchise history; the Argos had an abysmal 4-14 season, despite the presence of a number of ex-NFLers; the Raptors flamed out in the first round of the playoffs; and Toronto FC miss the post-season for the second straight season.

But I sure can't criticize. I mean the Canucks missed the playoffs too, and the BC Lions folded to the Stamps in the Western Division Final. So where does Blair get his smugness from? Why does he feel the need to kick Toronto sport while it's down? Maybe he's a Bostonian, and thus can trash talk about other cities based on the recent success of the Celtics, Patriots and Red Sox. But somehow I doubt it.

I guess I'm bothered by the fact that what should be celebrated as a significant moment in Toronto sports history - after all, this was the first NFL regular season game held in Canada, as well as a chance for the many Bills fans in Ontario to see their team play in their own backyard - gets the shaft because Blair decided that he wanted to use it as a vehicle to diss Toronto.

And c'mon, we all know that Toronto bashing is only really fun when it involves the Canucks whooping the Leafs. Which, by the way, will be going down for the second time this season on February 21. Stay tuned for the trash talk - but in the meantime, lay off Toronto for a bit, kay?

Maple Laughs

Get your snare drum and cymbal ready, because it's time for the "Top 5 Toronto Maple Leafs Jokes!"

Number 5

Q: How are the Maple Leafs and the Titanic similar?
A: They both look good 'til they hit the ice.

Number 4

Q: What does Toronto have that Montreal doesn't?
A: Black and white photographs of their last Stanley Cup.

Number 3

Q: Where's the red light district in Toronto?
A: Behind the Maple Leafs net.

Number 2



AAAAAAAAND... Number 1

Q: Why can’t Hamilton get an NHL franchise?
A: Because then Toronto will want one!

Thank you folks, you've been a great audience! Remember to try the house special and always tip your waitress. Good night!

Handing Out Some Awards on Day 1 of Free Agency

The “Say What?!” Award: Colorado Avalanche

Andrew Raycroft? Really? The man who was 2-9-5 with a 3.92 GAA last season and who was booed out of Toronto will be going to toe-to-toe for the starting job with Peter Budaj, who was inconsistent enough during the season to give Jose Theodore one more chance to resurrect his career. Which, by the way, paid off fairly handsomely for Theodore today. This signing baffles me. Colorado needs a bona fide keeper to compete in the tough Northwest Division, and unless Raycroft or Budaj steps up in a big way the Avs could be in serious trouble next season. No wonder Joe Sakic is contemplating retirement.

The Shrewd Move Award: New Jersey Devils

Bringing Brian Rolston back to the fold for reasonable money ($20.25 million over 4 years) significantly upgrades the New Jersey forward corps heading into next season. Rolston was one of the most highly-touted UFAs this year: he had his credentials pimped by The Hockey News and was aggressively courted by the Tampa Bay Lightning who traded for exclusive negotiation rights but failed to sign him. With Bobby Holik also returning to the Devils after a lengthy absence, Devils’ fans are likely having visions of a ‘90s renaissance.

The “‘Til Death Do Us Part” Award: Chicago Blackhawks

Brian Campbell is on the books for an average of $7.1 million for the next eight years (ie. 2016 – even the International Olympic Committee doesn’t plan that far ahead). Better hope Campbell works out in the Windy City, and that he’s not a liability at age 37 when his contract finally expires. Then again it looks like the Hawks will be jettisoning Nikolai Khabibulin and his $6.75 million annual salary, assuming they can find a buyer, so perhaps they will look to shop Campbell and his monster contract when he becomes an inconvenience. The question is: by that point, will anyone take him?

The Feel Good Nostalgia Award: Toronto Maple Leafs

Bringing back Curtis Joseph to back up Vesa Toskola, even as the franchise prepares to bid adieu to Mats Sundin, is more than a solid roster move at a reasonable price ($700,000 on a one-year deal) – it is also a great PR move for a Leafs organization that is losing its captain and best player, and has egg on its face after bungling the Bryan McCabe situation. Joseph was one of the most popular Leafs of the last 25 years, and twice led the team into the Eastern Conference Finals. His return is sure to please Leafs fans at least on a nostalgic level, and he should be a valuable veteran presence on a rebuilding Toronto team.

Kyle Wellwood – The Next Steve Sullivan or the Next Steve Kariya?

In a move to bolster its forward corps, the Canucks today plucked Kyle Wellwood, formerly of the Toronto Maple Leafs, from waivers. Overall this represents a sound, low-risk move for the Canucks, as Wellwood still has a lot of offensive upside despite being thrown to the scrapheap by the Buds after a disappointing third season in the league. There is no doubting Wellwood’s skill or speed, and he is only 25 years old, so he is a good gamble for a Vancouver squad that is looking to add some punch to its lacklustre offence.

After a solid 45-point (11G, 34A) rookie campaign in 2005-06, Wellwood recorded an impressive 42 points (12G, 30A) in 48 games the following year. However he was plagued by injuries during the past season, when a sport hernia kept him out of action to start the year and his production dropped to just 21 points (8G, 13A) in 59 games. Wellwood presumably did not fit into the Leafs rebuilding plans, although giving up on his talent after only three NHL seasons seems rather risky.

Wellwood’s departure from the Leafs is bound to draw comparisons to Steve Sullivan, another diminutive ex-Leaf who left Toronto via the waiver-wire. Both players have been criticized for a lack of size (Wellwood is 5’10”, 180 lbs.; Sullivan is 5’8”, 155 lbs.), and both failed to realize their potential in the fishbowl that is the Southern Ontario hockey market.

Sullivan was picked up by the Chicago Blackhawks during the 1999-00 season and immediately took off, registering 64 points (22G, 42A) in 73 games during his first season with the Hawks. The next year he improved to 75 points, which still stands as his career high, and in total he enjoyed five solid seasons in the Windy City before he was shipped to Nashville during the 2003-04 season. Sullivan continued his strong play with the Predators, and has averaged slightly over a point-per-game in three seasons with the team.

Needless to say, Sullivan’s success after leaving Toronto is a sore point for the many Maple Leafs fans who are waiting for the franchise’s first Stanley Cup since the end of the Original 6 Era. Will Wellwood become the next Steve Sullivan, the man hardened Torontonians curse when they see a highlight reel goal on SportsCentre or peruse the stats page at the end of the season? Or will he go the way of Steve Kariya, who lasted just 65 games with the Canucks before sinking into AHL and Scandinavian hockey anonymity?

Much of the expectations around Steve Kariya likely sprung from his superstar brother Paul, who has enjoyed a fine NHL career. Unfair as it may be, the Kariya name carried considerable cache in the family’s home city (the Kariya brothers hail from North Vancouver) and so expectations were high. Despite his small size (5”8’, 170 lbs.), Kariya showed flashes of brilliance in training camp and began the season on a line with Alexander Mogilny and Andrew Cassels. However, he finished the year having played only 45 games and registering 19 points (8G, 11A), and would play only 20 more games for the Canucks over the next two seasons before disappearing from the NHL forever. Kariya played two seasons in the AHL, posting respectable numbers, and then left for Europe where he played two seasons in Finland and currently skates for Frölunda HC in the Swedish Elite League. Apparently he has not lost his scorer’s touch, and presumably the larger ice surfaces and less-physical style of the European game better suits his skill-set and stature. By NHL standards, however, he was somewhat of a bust.

So, what is Kyle Wellwood’s fate? Much of that depends on how he bounces back from his injuries, how he adjusts to a new (though no less rabid) hockey market and if he can overcome the criticisms of his size and perform consistently well at the NHL-level. Canucks fans are hoping that Wellwood is the new Steve Sullivan, and should be pleased with Mike Gillis’ gamble. Leafs fans, however, will be spared years of bitterness if he turns out to be the next Steve Kariya.