MacK_Attack

I like Ronnie Francis. Just seems like a brilliant hockey mind.

http://www.sportsnet.ca/hockey/2007/11/13/armstrong_stars/

Oh yes, the theory that because Mats Sundin has a no-trade clause, he'll only waive to go to like 3 different teams, therby lowering his trade value. Wrong. Mats isn't the kind of guy to put a gun to management's head with demands like a list of teams that he'll go to. I know what Mats will do/say. He'll allow the Leafs to go out and negotiate his trade and then he'll pick which one he wants. The Leafs aren't going to go soft on this trade, if it happens. Mats Sundin is the heart and soul of his team, he's the highest scoring Maple Leaf in franchise history and he's been the captain for over 10 years. He's also still one of the best players in the world. He has immense trade value and the Leafs will look to get every last bit of value out of him that they can. Mats is an extremely loyal guy. He would probably go to whichever team he felt was giving the Leafs the best deal for his services. That's just the kind of guy he is. He also has a lot of pride and would want to be traded for his true value. This isn't like adding a broken down old has-been at the deadline who's on his last legs, or a guy who is coming off a serious injury. This is a guy, that despite being 37, can still get the job done with the best of them. He's not a complementary part, or a 2nd liner, he's a #1 center, a top-scoring forward. You aren't going to get a sweetheart deal for him. No Bertuzzi-like conditions (except perhaps a condtional pick based on if he re-signs, which is highly unlikely), no sluffing off underperforming prospects with some potential left in them. It's going to cost top-level prospects and top picks. There's no way around it. I'll keep saying this: If Detroit won't ante up, somebody else will.

I would say Kindl, Filppula, 1st in '08, 1st in '09 (possibly conditional based on Mats re-signing) and a 2nd in '09 is the bare minimum of what it would take to get Mats Sundin. If a bidding war starts, it may take more than that.

Apparently Tucker had been mic'ed up by CBC, so there's a belief that the whole thing was recorded, but nobody seems to want to comfirm that.

http://slam.canoe.ca/Slam/Hockey/News/2007...4650368-cp.html

Mats Sundin is currently what, top-5 in NHL scoring? If he even stays in the top-10, there's no way he'll get traded for a potential second-liner and a couple of "might be" prospects. The Leafs will demand guaranteed return for Mats.

I'll guarantee you something....the next time the Leafs play the Rangers (Dec. 6th), Wade Belak will play and Avery's going to be a marked man. Someone will "kill" Avery

FAN 590 this morning...."unnamed Ranger player" told a couple reporters after the game. They asked Blake about it, he nodded his head and said that he wasn't going to get into it.

That's because Avery was lipping Blake about having cancer.

The comparable for the Leafs management in terms of Sundin's trade value at the deadline is Peter Forsberg, not Ryan Smyth. I'm almost certain that the Leafs would want Kindl in a trade for Sundin. He is the heart and soul of the Leafs, they HAVE to get a king's ransom for him or else they will get absolutely grilled for it. For the record, I think Dreger was just throwing a tease out there for fans of both teams. The bidding war for Sundin is definitely going to be intense. Mats is going to want to go to a top contender, but at the same time, he's loyal to the Leafs to the point of probably feeling obligated to go to the highest bidder.

I would imagine he'd either re-sign with the Leafs or retire. You won't get Sundin without giving up a pretty good prospect. If Detroit won't do it, somebody else will, particularily a team that's scratching and clawing to make the playoffs. While Sundin would probably prefer to go to a team that's at the top of the standings, I think he'd also go if he realized that the return the Leafs were getting for him was very good. Mats is a loyal guy, he's definitely going to take trade return into consideration when deciding whether or not to waive his no-movement clause. The general model for a Sundin trade would be similar to Forsberg, that being a top prospect, a young roster player with decent upside, a 1st round pick and either a secondary pick or a conditional 1st rounder.

That's kind of the big question. Sundin would be this year's Forsberg. He'd command huge return on the trade market. I doubt the Leafs would do a deal with Detroit that did not include Kindl.

Here's the "other" Lindros trade with Quebec and the Rangers: To Rangers: Eric Lindros To Quebec: Alexei Kovalev Doug Weight Tony Amonte John Vanbiesbrock + Cash

Other waiver players out there today are Maxim Kondratiev (ANA) and Danny Richmond (CHI)

Well known that Florida is in the market for a "tough guy"

If a player clears waivers, they have 10 days to be assigned to the minors or else they'd have to clear waivers again to be assigned. If a player clears waivers and is assigned to the minors and then later recalled, that player can be sent back to the minors without waivers until the player plays his 10th game since being recalled. Once that point is passed, waivers are required again.

Who was a floundering 2nd/3rd line scorer until he started riding Eric's coattails.

I don't think too many busts won Hart Trophies. A bust, to me, is a player who comes in with great hype and never reaches it, and struggles to even come close to his potential. Eric Lindros achieved his potential, albeit not for long. He won a Hart Trophy, he was the most dominating player in the world for about five years or so. That's nothing to scoff at. Perhaps with ten years removed from that time, people have forgotten what kind of a force Lindros was. Eric Lindros averaged 0.6 goals per game. The ONLY players who averaged more are named Wayne Gretzky, Mario Lemieux and Brett Hull. When you are in that kind of company, a bust you are not. Eric Lindros lived up to every word of the hype. He was like nobody had seen before. However, because he couldn't keep his head up, he couldn't maintain it.

Cam Neely's in the Hall of Fame and Eric Lindros will be, too.

Quite the night for shutouts....Turco, Sabourin, Ward, Lundqvist & Huet.

Well, if this does anything, it ups the value of Mats Sundin on the trade market. (Do I think it will happen, no, but stranger things have happened and bigger names have been traded in the past)

They don't care about Canadian viewers for this one. It's all about drumming up some interest in the U.S. and trotting Crosby out on a big stage on a major network. Canadians will watch because very, very few Canadians would pick a college football game over a hockey game, especially one with the kind of circumstances that this one carries.

Yeah, Rogers Centre roof is sealed shut for the winter. I think the Leafs proposed a BMO Field game against Ottawa or Montreal for this year, but the league would only do it if they played Pittsburgh and on a date and time targeted at U.S. viewers, and the Leafs backed out of it. They still want to do one, but they want it to be a Hockey Day in Canada game, preferably.

It happens more often than you'd think....this one just happened to be on camera.