Rigamarole - A Foot In The Crease - Episode 5.19

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Thanks to the Olympic break in the middle of February, we are likely to have an extra period of trade activity in 2010 in addition to the trade deadline on March 3rd. An Olympic roster freeze between February 12th and February 28th prevents any trade activity during that time frame and leaves just two and a half days for movement once the roster freeze is lifted. Undoubtedly there will be a flurry of deals in that short time but do not be surprised to see some general managers make their moves in early February as well.

That being said, the Maple Leafs will be sellers but once again, do not seem to be dealing from a position of power. The trading chips for Brian Burke to play will be limited putting more emphasis on his ability to get more for less. The number one asset that could reap the most return – Tomas Kaberle – has a no-trade clause and seems intent on staying.

Any other player potentially on the block – Alexei Ponikarovsky, Lee Stempniak, Jason Blake, Nik Hagman, Wayne Primeau, Matt Stajan, or Vesa Toskala – let’s be honest, will not yield much in terms of difference making draft picks or prospects. At most there will be some second and third round picks and mid level prospects to be had from that group but nothing to dramatically shift the short term fortunes of the franchise.

Perhaps somewhat off the radar screen but don’t be surprised if Nik Kulemin attracts some offers that the Leafs ultimately bite on. Due for a raise as a restricted free agent at year’s end, if the Leafs don’t pay him what he wants, the possibility is very real that Kulemin jets to the KHL in Russia for next season. In that scenario, a young developing asset would be lost for nothing, not something the Leafs would want to see happen.

It would have to be a trade and sign type deal for the Leafs’ trading partner to have some certainty that they too wouldn’t lose Kulemin for nothing but if that’s the case, he might bring something decent in return. But hey, all that was just rigmarole.

Rigmarole - A Foot In The Crease - Episode 5.18

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Well time to weigh in on the Alex Burrows, Stephan Auger incident from earlier in the week. I won’t go through all the details again as they’ve been well documented but it’s safe to say if the NHL had to chose a particular kind of publicity, one of its players claiming in the media that a referee purposefully officiated in a way to get back at a player, willfully altering the outcome of the game if need be, would not be at the top of the league’s list.

What had the potential to become a very ugly situation for the NHL seems to have calmed down and died off without too much damage to anybody’s reputation. Burrows was the only party to be officially reprimanded, incurring a $2500 fine for publically questioning the integrity of Auger’s officiating. Not surprised really. Had the NHL avoided delivering any kind of punishment to Burrows, it would set a standard and it would become open season for the criticism of officials.

Also, no fine for Burrows would imply the NHL supported his claim of corruption and no league will hang one of its official out to dry, at least not until a thorough investigation has been conducted. While the evidence available certainly could lend credence to Burrows’ story, especially the discussion between Burrows and Auger prior to the puck drop, Auger just as easily could have simply said, “Hey, stop embellishing injuries, it makes you look foolish.”

And therein is where the problem lies. Without a third party witness, and it seems at this point like there is none, we may never know the exact details of that infamous pregame conversation as it is Burrows’ word against Auger’s. While both Burrows and Auger now continue to go about their work without much of an affect from the incident, one thing is clear: if anything came of this at all, the spotlight will be focused on both parties involved for the remainder of the season so they ought to be on their best behavior. But hey, all that was just rigamarole.

Rigamarole - A Foot In The Crease - Episode 5.17

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After going on a bit of a good run through the end of November and into December where the Toronto Maple Leafs actually clawed their way back, at least, to the periphery of a playoff race, it’s starting to appear now that it was all just a mirage. And really, it does make sense. Every team, even the very worst in the league, will go through at least one stretch of ten or twelve games throughout the course of the season where you know what, they actually don’t look that bad.

It’s what that team does in the other seventy plus games of the season that really makes the difference and clearly, that is an area where the Maple Leafs having been nothing but an epic failure all year long. Constantly getting off to horrendous starts in games, giving up the first and now, far too frequently, the second goals of the game, is simply not a recipe for success. The team is just not talented enough to continue to try to fight back from behind all the time.

What’s more concerning is the fact that over the last week or two, the Maple Leafs seem to be falling back into their culture of complacency where nobody really seems to care about the way things are unfolding. If there was one thing they could rest on early in the season, it was that they showed a willingness to play tough. However since the beginning of December, that too has disappeared with only six fights in nineteen games, the four fights against Philadelphia earlier this week notwithstanding.

Where has the accountability gone? Where has the intensity gone? It’s almost like now that they are once again quite a distance from the playoffs – nine points to be exact – they have accepted their fate and given up. Undoubtedly, the Maple Leafs will get hot again at some point this season and win say four of six games. But as the legendary rock band, “The Who” once said, “we won’t get fooled again.” Hate to say it but the jig is up on this season. But hey, all that was just rigamarole.

Rigamarole - A Foot In The Crease - Episode 5.16

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Winter Classic number three in the books now and from the “House that Ted Williams Built” – Fenway Park – on New Year’s Day, from an atmosphere perspective and from a hockey perspective, it was arguably the best yet. Over forty thousand people witnessed an outstanding hockey game between the Boston Bruins and the Philadelphia Flyers, one that featured many of the true elements of an authentic hockey game that had been absent in years past because of ideal weather conditions and tremendous ice.

No disrespect at all toward NHL Ice Guru Dan Craig but for the first time in three Classics, the players actually got more ice time and that, to Craig, is a testament to the quality of his work. The perfect conditions led to a physical style with banging and crashing along the boards, players willingly blocking shots, a fight and the ability to effectively move the puck with a hockey stick instead of a snow shovel. It’s tough to convince anybody to do any of those things when there is forty mile an hour winds, a temperature of -15 degrees Celsius and drifting snow.

Obviously the conditions are somewhat uncontrollable but for those few hours, the NHL couldn’t have asked for anything better. Of course now though, the talk comes about how successful the Winter Classic was and how the league can capitalize even further off of its popularity. Rumors of more than one game per season, even holding a Winter Classic in a west coast location or in Dallas have been tossed about. Only one problem with that, it’s hard to hold a “Winter” Classic surrounded by palm trees and deserts.

The strength of the Winter Classic rests as much in the atmosphere though as it does in the quality of the caliber of hockey game it produces. Bringing players and fans back to a more simple grassroots level when the game was played more for the love than the potential amount of dollars it might earn you is what it’s all about. Start using it too much as a pawn to sweeten other deals and the magic that exists will be lost. But hey, all that was just rigamarole.