Jason Allison - Second Verse Same As The First
Josh "Wolfey" Wolfe-Maxwell
August 31, 2009.
Almost every sports media outlet is reporting that Jason Allison has been granted a try-out with the Toronto Maple Leafs.
In 10 NHL seasons thus far, the 34 year old centre has only racked up more than 30 goals in a season twice, although most seasons he was producing a respectable near-point-per-game. His worst seasons came in 96-97 with the Capitals (53 games, 22 pts), and 99-00 with the Bruins (37 games, 28 pts).
Statistically, that’s not bad, but these years came before the lockout, when slow, underachieving players could still have a successful NHL career. Allison has only played one season since the lockout, and that was his only season with the buds, where in 66 games he produced 17 goals and 43 assists. Those stats remain viable in the NHL, but the post-lockout NHL has changed even more since that year, it is a place where small, speedy goal-scorers are successful, and big, slow playmakers are not. During his one season with the Leafs, the fan reception of him was awful, Leafs Nation deemed him a burden on the roster, and nothing more than a turtle on skates.
Now enough with these boring statistics proving his potential worth, which in my mind is nothing to the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Brian Burke’s Leafs needs someone who can score. Not another Matt Stajan or Jason Blake whom gets no more than 60 points a season. Allison is not the kind of guy Toronto needs. All he can do for Toronto is bump one of our budding stars out of the line-up (i.e. Tyler Bozak), causing us to look more like that JFJ team that could do nothing. Allison was signed in JFJ’s era…Burke shouldn’t even consider signing someone that shows glimmers of John Ferguson Jr’s past tenure as a failure.
On the plus side of granting Jason Allison a try-out, he can give the younger players more motivation to play harder and show stronger signs of roster eligibility. With Allison under try-out, it should be just enough push for the younger players to prove their worth, and show that they are worthy to play on our roster.
Michael Lindow
August 25, 2009.
Everythingleafs.com got a chance to sit down with Oshawa Generals Tristan Wazonek and discuss the Leafs 2009 first round draft pick Nazem Kadri.
Everythingleafs.com: Were you surprised that Kadri was selected 7th overall?
Tristan Wazonek: Not at all, Nazem Kadri is a very talented hockey player and has a ton of potential.
Everythingleafs.com: How far away is he from being a top six forward on the Leafs?
Tristan Wazonek: Not very far, if not this year, I see him making the Leafs by next season at the latest. He definitely has the potential to crack the Leafs line-up this upcoming season, but will need to bulk up a bit in order to do so. I wouldn’t be surprised to see him start the season with the Toronto Maple Leafs, but whether or not he finishes the season with them remains to be seen.
Everythingleafs.com: How do you think he will handle the spotlight in Toronto?
Tristan Wazonek: I personally think he will be fine. He was the face of one of the best well-known hockey teams in the OHL, the London Knights and handled the pressure with relative ease.
Everythingleafs.com: GM Brian Burke says Kadri “is not ready” but do you think he can step into the 2009-2010 Leafs lineup straight from junior as Luke Schenn did last year??
Tristan Wazonek: As I stated above, I wouldn’t be surprised to see Kadri on the Leafs roster come opening day, but I also wouldn’t be surprised to see Burke send him back to the London Knights if he feels that he isn’t ready just yet. He needs to bulk up a bit, and if he does this, he could very well be playing for the Maple Leafs this season.
Everythingleafs.com: Can you compare him to an NHL player??
Tristan Wazonek: I would compare Nazem Kadri to the likes of Marc Savard of the Boston Bruins. Like Savard, Kadri has incredible offense abilities, and unbelievable vision. He see’s the ice very well, and has remarkable play-making abilities.
Everythingleafs.com: What are his biggest strengths and weaknesses that you saw with the Generals??
Tristan Wazonek: Kadri’s strengths include the ability to read the ice, has a quick shot and great stick handling skills. His ability to find the open man is incredible. He is also considered to be a clutch playoff performer. Some scouts considered a weakness of his to be his toughness, but considering he only missed seventeen games after sustaining a broken jaw, he has proved some critics wrong.
Everythingleafs.com: How important was it to have Dale Hunter and Pete Deboer as coaches in junior in turning him into a NHL player??
Tristan Wazonek: Having Dale Hunter and Pete Deboer as coaches in junior can never be a bad thing. Both guys are well known and well liked amongst players in the Ontario Hockey League. They don’t put up with any garbage, which definitely helped prepare him for the jump to the NHL.
Everythingleafs.com: Kadri bounced back from the broken jaw last year which many people thought cost him a spot on the National Junior Team. Do you think is he does not stick with Toronto he will be on this year’s squad?
Tristan Wazonek: There’s no question in my mind that if Kadri does not stick with the Leafs this year, he will be on this years squad, helping Canada capture their seventh consecutive gold medal.
Everythingleafs.com: There have been questions regarding Kadri’s attitude, is this a concern??
Tristan Wazonek: There have been concerns about Kadri having a poor attitude, but I personally believe that the media hyped it up. He’s young, and he’s talented. He has stated that he will be on the Leafs roster this season, which to me is a good attitude. He has shown he is committed to making the team this year as he has been hitting the gym on a regular basis and has bulked up a bit.
Everythingleafs.com: The media seemed to jump all over his religious beliefs when he went without a hat when on the stage after being drafted (it is Burkes policy not to have any of his players wear hats) this brings up an interesting subject. Being of a Muslim religious background is this going to have any effect on his game play (fasting, conflict in the dressing room, etc.)?
Tristan Wazonek: I don’t think his religious background is going to have any effect on his game play. This is a kid who has played at the highest level a kid can play at in Canada for the last three years and has proven that he is a talented player. If it hasn’t affected his game in the OHL, it shouldn’t affect his game in the NHL.
About Tristan Wazonek
Attended Durham College in Oshawa, Ontario, taking Sports Management.
He first started working for the Oshawa Generals during the 2006/2007 season in their Game Day Operations department as a volunteer. He is currently not listed as a scout by the team however he have accompanied a few of the team scouts at numerous games, including other OHL games and minor league games and was asked to help out.
He just returned from the Ottawa/Gatineau area scouting for the Generals.
He first started working for the Oshawa Generals during the 2006/2007 season in their Game Day Operations department as a volunteer. He is currently not listed as a scout by the team however he have accompanied a few of the team scouts at numerous games, including other OHL games and minor league games and was asked to help out.
He just returned from the Ottawa/Gatineau area scouting for the Generals.
Michael Lindow
August 12, 2009.
Being a Leaf fan it is impossible not to get emotionally attached to players wearing the blue and white. Jerseys with Palmateer and Roberts names on the back still hang in my closet with Gustavsson about to join the ranks. Salming, Markov, Sittler and Zezel all stir up emotion when their names are mentioned but for the life of me I will never understand the love for Wendel Clark.
In a weak 1985 NHL Entry Draft the Toronto Maple Leafs would hold the first overall selection for the first and only time in team history. Teams build around these draft picks they are hall of famers, 50 goal – 100 point players, international superstars, NHL trophy winners, franchise goaltenders and Stanley Cup winners. They are Mario Lemieux, Guy Lafleur, Gilbert Perreault, Denis Potvin, Sidney Crosby, Alexander Ovechkin and Marc-Andre Fleury. In the '85 draft, a year removed from Lemieux being the first overall pick expectations were high for Leaf Nation plugging along in the Ballard Era missing the playoffs in three out of the past four seasons. The first selection in a draft could this be true??
Having the honor of hosting the draft in their own city, Toronto had their selection down to two choices Clark and winger Craig Simpson who had just scored 45 goals and 141 points in just 88 games with the Spartans. The Leafs were highly interested in the London, Ontario native, but the feeling was not mutual. Craig made it known publicly that he would never play for them so the choice was obvious. Wendel Clark would become the only good thing to happen in the hockey Mecca until the early 90s.
Not a particularly strong draft Toronto still ended up taking a pass on hall of famer Igor Larionov, All-Stars and Stanley Cup winners Joe Nieuwendyk, Bill Ranford, Sean Burke and Mike Richter, 40 goal scorer Derek King and international and NHL stud blueliners Calle Johansson and Fredrik Olausson.
Granted Clark brought a ton of intangibles to the Leafs with his bruising hits and “lead by example” play he managed to only play a full season once in the 86-87 season and topped the 40-goal mark a single time finishing his career with 564 points in 793 games played with six NHL teams.
Not the worst first overall draft selection Clark can certainly be grouped with the likes of Joe Murphy, Alexander Daigle, Greg Joly and Patrick Stefan, players selected first overall who went on to decent careers but were a far cry from the franchise player tag that comes with being a top pick. Clark was a fan favorite there is no disputing that but a player embraced in Leaf land the same way Dave “Tiger” Williams and Eddie Shack were loved by Toronto fans.
A franchise player?? Absolutely not.
Hall of famer?? Far far from it.
Stanley Cup winner?? Close, made it to the final four.
NHL trophy winner?? Another close one but again no cigar, second in the Calder trophy voting.
Number honored by the Leafs?? Ridiculous but done to appease fans and bring some excitement to a hockey city that was starved for anything positive with a string of fours years and counting without a post season berth.
Good player without a doubt but Wendel does not deserve the legendary status he has been given in Toronto, any other NHL team he would have been remembered as a tough, gritty third line player who never reached his draft potential.
Tomas Kaberle: Last Of The Muskoka Five
Michael Lindow
July 15, 2009.
With Tomas Kaberle being the last of the “Muskoka Five” to remain with the Toronto it is time to turn the chapter and move him and put the past Leaf horrors behind us. Mats Sundin, Darcy Tucker, Bryan McCabe and now Pavel Kubina are all but a distant memory leaving us with just Garnet Exelby, Colin Stuart and Mike Van Ryn to show for what, just a few seasons ago, was the heart and soul of the Maple Leaf squad.
Kaberle, as rumor has it, was all but gone at the 2008 NHL trade deadline to Philadelphia for 46 goal scorer Jeff Carter and the Flyers first round pick in the 2008 entry draft (later dealt to Washington who selected defenseman John Carlson). Then at the 2009 draft Kaberle was rumored to be almost gone again this team in a deal with the rival Bruins that would bring in the fifth overall pick in the 2006 draft and last years 36 goal scorer Phil Kessel who at the moment is at odds with Boston on a new contract. Other teams have been whispered to be talking to Leafs General Manager Brian Burke for the services of Kaberle including the likes of St. Louis, Los Angeles and Chicago.
At only thirty-one years of age Kaberle still has many productive years ahead of him and has been one of the most consistent Leaf players over the past decade. With Burke bringing adding free agents Mike Komisarek, Francois Beauchemin and trading for Exelby to go along with last years rookie sensation Luke Schenn, Ian White, Jeff Finger, Anton Stralman and Van Ryn Toronto can now deal a defenseman the caliber of Kaberle without leaving themselves with a huge hole on the backend.
Former GM John Ferguson Jr. can take most of the blame signing these players to their “no trade” and “no movement” contracts but these five players could have made things a lot easier for Burke’s retooling plan if they had of seen the writing on the wall and agreed to be moved at the deadline. The writing was on the wall when interim GM Cliff Fletcher asked each player to be dealt, now former Leaf star players have left the organization on a sour note that all Leafs fans have seen before with legends such as Darryl Sittler and Dave Keon. Mats Sundin finally chose to return to the NHL with the Vancouver Canucks but could not shake off the rust in time to provide the ‘Nucks with enough to get them to the cup final. Bryan McCabe, who had been booed mercilessly in his last season in a Leaf uniform, had an okay season with the Florida Panthers but was far from the 50+ points he registered in three straight seasons with the Buds. Darcy Tucker was just a disaster for the Colorado Avalanche scoring his lowest point total in more than a decade.
It is hard for Leaf Nation to look at what might have been. Sundin was rumored to be dealt to the Habs for Chris Higgins, and a first, second, and third round draft picks (Greg Nemisz, Danny Kristo and Steve Quailer). Carter, Higgins, 2009 first round draftee Nazem Kadri, along with Euro young studs Mikhail Grabovski, Jiri Tlusty and Nikolai Kulemin to make up a potentially explosive top six forwards up front.
Does Kaberle really want to leave Toronto the way his buddies did?? Toronto fans are starved for a Stanley Cup parade down Yonge Street and while we do appreciate Kabs’ time as a Leaf the new truculent and tougher TO squad would be better served moving forward without him; before the ghosts of Larry Murphy return and the boo birds hone in on a new target in the Czech defender.
Brian Burke: Optimism In Leafs Nation
Michael Lindow
July 8, 2009.
It has been less that a year since Brian Burke took the reigns as the Toronto Maple Leafs President and General Manager but already the team has a new look and some much needed optimism in a city that was starved for it. Having to clean up the mess left behind by the previous GMs John Ferguson Jr. and Cliff Fletcher Burke still has some work ahead him but the wheels are already in motion.
Stating all along that he wanted this team to be more “truculent and tougher” Burkes first move when taking over was to bring in an old friend in winger Brad May from nothing in terms of any type of return; May was instrumental in helping rookie Luke Schenn in his development even moving in with the young star during the season. Not expected to return this season May was a great pickup for nothing.
At the end of the regular season Burke worked his magic and signed a couple of overage college players in Christian Hanson and Tyler Bozak. While Hanson isn’t expected to be more than a third line player Bozak has the potential to be a top six forward and will get every opportunity to ply his trade with a ton of ice time this season.
The trade deadline brought high expectations with names such as Nik Antropov, Alexei Ponikarovsky, Vesa Toskala, Dominic Moore and Jason Blake being thrown around Antropov and Moore ended up being the only roster players moved for some valuable second round draft picks. Burke showed his genius with an inventive deal with the Tampa Bay Lightning literally buying a fourth round draft pick in exchange for some garbage contracts causing a stir among fellow GMs around the league Burke showed off his Harvard law degree with this move.
Vowing to try to trade up in the entry draft to land coveted prospect John Tavares or even within the top five draft choices to get a shot at Luke’s brother Brayden Schenn Burke could not find a dance partner and wound up where they started selecting with their own pick in the number seven spot taking Nazem Kadri. The Kadri pick combined with all the trade talk that seemed to fall through Leaf fans, not exactly known for their patience, were starting to vent expecting Swedish stud Magnus Paajarvi-Svensson or defenseman Jared Cowen to be selected. Topping off the day in Leaf nation was the talk of a potential blockbuster deal that would send longtime Maple Leaf blueliner Tomas Kaberle to the rival Bruins in exchange for potential 40-goal sniper Phil Kessel and a draft pick. Miscommunication between the two clubs nixed the trade that many NHL experts expected to be a “sure thing.” Toronto fans were not pleased with many jumping off the bandwagon.
If draft day was a letdown the off season was anything but; free agent signings Mike Komisarek, Francois Beauchemin and the gem of the UFA season, netminder Jonas Gustavsson, “the best goalie outside the NHL” has been said numerous times were all signed. Pavel Kubina was dealt to the Atlanta Thrashers for another heavy hitting defenseman Garnet Exelby and potential third line agitator Colin Stuart. With the logjam of Leaf blueliners now at ten something has to give. Rumors are swirling of Kaberle being traded to either St. Louis, who are in dire need of a veteran puck moving defenseman, or to the Bruins for Kessel in a reworked draft day deal that went sour. Kessel would fill the Leafs biggest need right now, a slick top line goal scorer.
Burke may not be finished signing free agents; Anthony Stewart and Travis Moen have both been linked to Toronto and both seem to fit Burke statements of getting bigger and tougher up front.
Retooling rather than rebuilding Burke fully expects this team to make the playoffs from now on under his watchful eye. Judging by his first year on the job the Leafs bandwagon might not have enough room to seat everybody with each move he makes more and more people are buying into what Burke is selling. For the first time in a long time there is optimism in Leaf nation.
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