Rigamarole - A Foot In The Crease - Episode 3.3

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Five preseason games down, still three to go, the start of the regular season still a week away. Every year it seems the preseason takes less and less time to become monotonous as fans all over North America fain enthusiasm during exhibition “friendlys” while they desperately count down the days until meaningful hockey. Playing eight or nine preseason games is simply unnecessary. All it does is give owners a license to print money, as most teams force their season ticket holders to purchase the preseason package by including those games in the overall price.

In the first half of the preseason, the majority of veteran roster players are used sparingly as teams dress what will in a few weeks resemble a predominantly AHL lineup. When established players do get in the lineup, their pace and interest is hardly at the level expected of them during the regular season but honestly, how can you blame them? What is the purpose of going all out in exhibition game one taking risks that could lead to a prolonged injury, all the while having to watch out for some hot shot youngster looking to get noticed by taking a run at you. The quality of play in these games suffers accordingly.

Cutting the number of meaningless games down to, say five, would still give coaching staffs three games to get a look at young players and to fine tune their lineup in the final two contests. Veteran players, if they show up to camp in shape, should not need more than two or three games to get back in their groove. Also spending a few extra days at the beginning of camp practicing and getting back to NHL speed and used to the day to day wear and tear on the body would likely help to mitigate injuries that we see so frequently during the preseason. Why do you think so many players have groin injuries? Too many games too fast. October 3rd can’t come soon enough! But hey, all that was just rigamarole.

Rigamarole - A Foot In The Crease - Episode 3.2

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The Maple Leafs’ on again off again courtship of Scotty Bowman to have him assume a vague job title and an even more unclear set of responsibilities appears to be off again, and this time for good. Because the saga stretched on for so long, there was likely some interested on Bowman’s part but it was likely the Maple Leafs convoluted change of command that inevitably scared him off. It’s not inconceivable that Bowman asked for Bryan Colangelo-esque carte blanche in running the team as a condition of accepting the Leafs offer and why wouldn’t he? A man of his stature and reputation in the league, Bowman is past playing the political games that go on in many front offices throughout major league sports.

But don’t think JFJ is resting easy now that the search to replace him before he is even gone is allegedly over. Ferguson’s contract expires at the end of this coming season and it’s quite likely the first half of this season will determine whether Ferguson will still have an office at 40 Bay Street come next season.

Now well into his tenure as GM, Ferguson has put his stamp on this team. Nobody can say he is just a victim of his predecessor’s mistakes. He has brought in numerous players since the departure of Pat Quinn and has had a long enough time to rid the team of inherited players from Quinn’s regime he did not think would lead the team to success. The significant moves made last off season in acquiring Raycroft, Kubina, and Gill were largely ineffective. This summer: three more major acquisitions in Toskala, Blake and Bell. Should this team again fail to deliver the license to print money known as home playoff games for a third consecutive season, don’t think the leniency of Richard Peddie et al will continue much further.

JFJ has come to the crossroad in his tenure as Maple Leaf general manager and team’s success or lack there of this season will tell us whether the decisions he has made were the right path to take. But hey, all that was just rigamarole.

Rigamarole - A Foot In The Crease - Episode 3.1

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John Tavares is getting upset and he and his agent Brian Deasley are wondering why nobody seems to care. After coming off a tremendous season with the Oshawa Generals in which he was named the CHL’s most valuable player and broke Wayne Gretzky’s goal scoring mark as a 16 year old with 72 goals, Tavares wants to be deemed eligible for the 2008 NHL Entry Draft despite missing the cut off day by five days. See ever since he became the first 15 year old to be allowed into the CHL via an exceptional player clause, Tavares seems to have caught the “I’m better than everyone else” syndrome and thinks the rules should be different for him.

Recently while competing for Team Canada at the Canada-Russia eight game super series, Tavares decided to turn the talk away from “team” and focus it on himself, something that I’m sure left coach Brent Sutter less than amused. ''Being drafted with a lot of these guys into the CHL and seeing them moving on, learning and growing and getting experience with NHL teams and pro teams, it's tough on me sometimes to watch and wait,” Tavares said. Well there’s a life lesson most kids his age learn through one way or another: sometimes life is tough and doesn’t go your way. I guess he didn’t think ahead to this scenario when he was so eager to play in the OHL two years ago. Either that or he was sure the NHL would cave on their stance as well.

His play at the Super Series certainly has not been at the level that would force the NHL to consider this request more seriously. In fact, he’s looked rather ordinary scoring only once in seven games. Alex Ovechkin missed being eligible for the 2003 draft by only two days but things seem to have worked out alright for him. Stop whining and expecting special treatment Mr. Tavares. Wait your turn just like everybody else before you has done and set yourself apart once you reach the big leagues. But hey, all that was just rigamarole.