Leafs Buyout Tucker

[Reilly 24]

Might be a good Drake replacement, but to suggest he can play on the second line is laughable. I'm sure he'll get a ton of offers, though, and the Wings aren't overpaying for him.

[YoungGuns1340 1]

The Leafs total rebuild is crazy. I feel so bad for all the good fans they've had over the years (Not the crazy ones, but the good hockey ones.) They've endured so much, and there is only more to come.

But thats just it. This should put an end to all the misery. Likely Leafs fans WILL have something to look forward to because they know what to expect. Now at least they get to watch young future stars develop before their eyes while doing it.

And the best part is, if they bomb, they'll get a strong chance at Tavares. Not to mention, Kubina is going to be a hot trade item as there are a TON of teams looking for a top pairing puck mover, and only so many to go around. Not to mention, once we see how Dman like Orpik - who are realistically no better than a #5 or a weak #4 - getting paid 4M per, Kubinas contract is going to look REALLY good to a LOT of teams.

And if they really wanted to, they could get a boatload for Kaberle.

[YoungGuns1340 1]

Theres nothing i can say to change your mind.. No point in trying..

I like physical hockey alot more then this puck possesion, If we get into a scrum around the net, I'd like to see a little push back.. I'd like to see us not being the bottom feeders at the fight totals every year.. Being the worst enforcing team is embarassing..

Ha. No. Whats embarassing is having a measly 15,000 people show up to your Stanley Cup "event".

The Ducks aren't even a real hockey team.

[imisssergei 0]

I hope they pick as far from #1 as the lottery will allow in next years draft; nobody should benefit from intentionally tanking their season to secure a top draft pick. Of course we'll have to listen to "they're trying as hard as they can" all year long but the upside is at least we won't have to put with the same bulls*** in the playoffs as Toronto should be a no-show there for at least 4 or 5 more years. Maybe this will finally push Harry Neale over the edge and he'll hang himself or something though so there could be a positive to come out of it yet.

That's such a ridiculous point of view. There is no way any team would totally tank a season for a shot at a number one overall pick. Especially in a draft that doesn't have a Crosby/Ovechkin leading the pack, no can't miss guy.

The Leafs are just doing what should have been done 2-4 years ago, and getting rid of bad contracts, and trying to get a fresh start. JFJ really screwed up the Leafs, and they will be feeling it for a few more years.

[Guest Crymson]

Theres nothing i can say to change your mind.. No point in trying..

I like physical hockey alot more then this puck possesion, If we get into a scrum around the net, I'd like to see a little push back.. I'd like to see us not being the bottom feeders at the fight totals every year.. Being the worst enforcing team is embarassing..

I'm with you all the way---this team sucks! It needs a change in playing philosophy if we want to compete for the Cup!

*scoffs*

[Hiei 192]

Tucker - Avery - Maltby:D :D :D

Team Agitation

That's enough agitation to spin everybody in Michigan's laundry for the next 5 years.

[DaKineMaui 8]

Wendy Clark II aquisition.

[Reds4Life 51]

I hope he stays away from Detroit.

[marcaractac 3,963]

Having Tucker on our team would be great, but if we got him he'd be the only guy we get really. Personally, I'd rather see Holland sign Sundin to a one year deal. It would be a perfect fit. 1 year is all he wants, one year is all the Wings have an ass load of extra money to spend. Kopecky is gonna take Drakes spot anyway. After his play towards the end of the season, I really look forward to how much better he can get.

[MacK_Attack 108]

And if they really wanted to, they could get a boatload for Kaberle.

They had a deal to get Jeff Carter & 1st round pick at the deadline last year, but Kaberle wouldn't waive his NTC.

However, if (when) the Leafs miss the playoffs this season, Kaberle's got the same stipulation in his contract that he loses his NTC for the summer of 2009.

That's when he'll get shipped off. 29 teams will be lined up to get a crack at Kaberle at $4.25 million.

[12Newf 0]

Ha. No. Whats embarassing is having a measly 15,000 people show up to your Stanley Cup "event".

The Ducks aren't even a real hockey team.

they dont have any young talent. luke schenn and stralman obviously but who's next? tlusty is decent but wont be on a top line with sundin anymore. williams? harrison (if and when he ever gets to play), the younger, crappier kronwall? robbie earl is decent and probably one of their best prospects at this point. its going to be a dismal season and here's looking at missing the playoffs for a 4th year.

gotta wonder who theyre going to sign though because their roster has a lot of holes.

blake-antropov-ponikarovsky

tlusty-stajan-steen

bell-newbury-mayers (this actually sounds like a fun line to watch!)

earl- undetermined -williams

kaberle- mccabe

kubina-stralman

colaicovo-schenn (kronwall or white)

Edited June 25, 2008 by 12Newf

[12Newf 0]

They had a deal to get Jeff Carter & 1st round pick at the deadline last year, but Kaberle wouldn't waive his NTC.

However, if (when) the Leafs miss the playoffs this season, Kaberle's got the same stipulation in his contract that he loses his NTC for the summer of 2009.

That's when he'll get shipped off. 29 teams will be lined up to get a crack at Kaberle at $4.25 million.

there's a reason he is an all-star every year. kaberle is as good a puck moving defenseman as there is and like you mentioned his contract is awesome (i cant believe im saying this about a JFJ contract...okay antropov's is looking good but it took him 7 years to develop so maybe not so great).

[VM1138 1,921]

Puck possession hockey is more fun to watch, I think. I love a good fight and scrum, but I much rather have myt eam scoring goals than losing games.

[mark the red 0]

They're blowing up a core that hasn't worked for a long time. They aren't going to lose for the sake of getting the 1st overall pick, they're going to lose because it takes little while to overhaul a roster and make it competitive again.

...Harry Neale is no longer associated with the Leafs and is barely associated with Hockey Night in Canada.

I want to ask this question of our leaf followers on the board: Why are all the Leaf fans all excited about Fletcher? Maybe I am way off but the last time Fletcher was GM in Toronto, it didn't seem like he did anything that great. Please brrig me up to date. Thanks.

[joshy207 156]

That's such a ridiculous point of view. There is no way any team would totally tank a season for a shot at a number one overall pick. Especially in a draft that doesn't have a Crosby/Ovechkin leading the pack, no can't miss guy.

While I agree with your first point, they're not tanking the season before it begins--especially because of the draft lottery, there's no guarantee for the #1 pick--apparently you haven't heard of John Tavares. He IS the next Ovechkin/Crosby. The OHL amended their rules to allow him to play in their league a year early (age 15) and he was a star. 2nd on his team in scoring and 9th in the league in goals. At 16, led his team in scoring (2nd in the league behind Kane), led the league in goals and was 7th in assists. Last year, he was 3rd in the league in points and 2nd in assists. He would have been the #1 pick this year had he not been born 5 days after the deadline. I think the only reason there hasn't been more hype about him is that everyone's busy watching Crosby, Ovechkin, Malkin, Kane, Toews, Jordan Stall, and all the other under-21 guys already starring in the NHL.

Now, if it was January, the Leafs were languishing at the bottom of the standings, and decided to dump a bunch of players... you could say they might be throwing in the towel. But now, 14 weeks before the season even starts... you're right, they're not.

[Guest Dump-N-Thump]

Puck possession hockey is more fun to watch, I think. I love a good fight and scrum, but I much rather have myt eam scoring goals than losing games.

I admit, PP is fun to watch, Alot better then dumping and chasing ALL THE TIME and cluster f'ing around the net and getting weak goals.. and im not being sarcastic one bit btw..

But i would really just love to see a little more push back.. If our 3-4 lines would create the type of energy they provided during the playoffs, in the regular season and maybe lift the fight totals from 20 to 30/35.. You would never hear a complaint from me..

[VM1138 1,921]

I admit, PP is fun to watch, Alot better then dumping and chasing ALL THE TIME and cluster f'ing around the net and getting weak goals.. and im not being sarcastic one bit btw..

But i would really just love to see a little more push back.. If our 3-4 lines would create the type of energy they provided during the playoffs, in the regular season and maybe lift the fight totals from 20 to 30/35.. You would never hear a complaint from me..

Maybe it's the lack of intensity that allows them to be so intense in the off season.

[eva unit zero 271]

Yawn....

No reason to even reply to your statement, your just trying to bait me..

The fact that i can actually make an well articulated sentence, Backing up my position and all you can do is the over used one liners..

Funny how winning the cup makes you all of a sudden better then everyone else.

Winning the Cup doesn't make you suddenly better than everyone else. Winning the Cup is, on the other hand, evidence of that status for a particular season.

Furthermore...having the least fights is NOT the same as being the worst enforcing team. An enforcer's job is to protect his teammates through fighting if necessary, and generally being a scrappy and intimidating individual. The 'perfect' enforcer would have zero fights, because there would never be a need for him to actually fight as his presence would be enough deterrent. The goal of enforcing is to ensure that a team's top players are healthy when it counts. As the Wings won the Cup and suffered only one notable injury in the postseason, one that was not a result of any kind of cheap shot, then I would argue that the Wings were certainly not the worst enforcing team. Far from it. If the goal of enforcing is quantity of fights, then yes, they are the worst enforcing team. But if that is your goal for 'enforcing' then you can no longer ever argue that the Wings need to have an enforcer because of the deterrent/protection factor, because "protection" has ZERO relation to "quantity" when it comes to fights.

[Detroit # 1 Fan 2,204]

Interesting thing on Darcy, he's gonna make 9 million next year. All from the buyout, I wonder if he'd take a smaller amount of money in 08-09, to have a better chance to win a cup since he already has Crosby income for next year. I doubt it would happen, but a guy like Tucker might.

[MacK_Attack 108]

they dont have any young talent. luke schenn and stralman obviously but who's next? tlusty is decent but wont be on a top line with sundin anymore. williams? harrison (if and when he ever gets to play), the younger, crappier kronwall? robbie earl is decent and probably one of their best prospects at this point. its going to be a dismal season and here's looking at missing the playoffs for a 4th year.

Watch out for Nikolai Kulemin next year.

I want to ask this question of our leaf followers on the board: Why are all the Leaf fans all excited about Fletcher? Maybe I am way off but the last time Fletcher was GM in Toronto, it didn't seem like he did anything that great. Please brrig me up to date. Thanks.

Does Doug Gilmour ring a bell?

[DaKineMaui 8]

Winning the Cup doesn't make you suddenly better than everyone else.

Yes.....yes it does. It makes you better than every other team. It does.