Thank you, sir! May I have another?

TOR vs OTT 10/26/06

Leafs Lines
Kilger-Peca-Tucker
Steen-Sundin-Wellwood
Poni-Stajan-O'Neill
Sugar-Bates-Ondrus

Leaf Pairs
Kaberle-McCabe
Gill-White
Belak-Bell

Raycroft

What can I say? I'm a glutton for punishment, or a masochist as one ever-so-obliging ex once noted. And in this regard, this Maple Leafs team sure doesn't disappoint. I'll spare you the nightmarish stats, because I expect a certain level of sophistication of my readership when it comes to all things Leafs. But I will say the worst part of taking up residence in the red light district is that Raycroft is playing quite well. You can't fault the guy when he is being screened or hung out to dry on almost every goal. And at a certain point you have to give credit to the shooter (hat tip to Mr. Corvo and Mr. Spezza). But when Bryan "pay me like the leader I'm not" McCabe is fumbling along the boards for the puck with ZERO pressure and ends up hooking a forechecker to start the game, it doesn't bode well.

And to digress for a moment, if JFJ gives out one more 'no-movement' contract I'll shit myself. On his desk. Do you see another competent GM in the league handing these candy clauses out like it is Halloween? It can be good to think outside the box, but I would think when you give a clause like that, you get to pay the player less. It is called negotiating. ne·go·ti·at·ing. Because honestly, does McCabe look like he is worth his contract, even with his offensive output of last season, when his decisions are so awful? But enough dwelling on mistakes already made.

One positive to take from last night was my girlfriend noting that Leaf-killer Dany Heatley resembles the one and only Alfred E. Nice hat-trick, bub. Why not try it against an entire NHL squad. You call scoring while Belak is back on a two-on-one a real goal. Ha! Go drive Spezza home from the rink.

As for blue and white positives, Bates and Poni played great games, creating chances with hustle and persistence. Maybe Sundin should be playing with these two. Along the same line, Wellwood's game is starting to deteriorate on the wing. Perhaps he needs to be more involved on the other side of the puck to spark his offensive creativity, which has been very predictable since Mats night against the Flames.

So, it's off to Montreal on Saturday, followed by a Monday, Wednesday, Thursday swing through the South East, and finishing up in Buffalo next Saturday. My optimism is limited to hoping for 4 points through those five games.