So, how much fun was it for me the other night to watch the Leafs self-destruct yet again in the 3rd period while holding a multi-goal lead against their nemesis, the Buffalo Sabres? Pretty damn fun.
To cap off a game which answered some questions about which Sabres would step up and be the 'difference makers' that Drury and Briere were (the answer is, "most of them"), it was no one other than Bryan "I'll Retire if There's a Salary Cap" McCabe converting an Ales Kotalik slapper off both posts with less than 4 seconds remaining in OT that won the game for Buffalo.
The moral of this story though is that it's only now that the delusional fans in Toronto have woken up to the fact that Bryan McCabe is a bad defense man. We've known it for years, and laughed amongst ourselves in message boards and around water coolers at the thought of this guy making that kind of money. We knew that that contract (and the one for Pavel Kubina) would come back to bite the Buds in the behind. The booing of McCabe at home started during camp and with his gaffe on Monday it's beginning to reach a fever pitch. A quick perusal of the headlines from yesterday create a pretty vivid picture of what's happening in Budville.
It would have been better if he'd just struck out.
Damien Cox thinks we've veered into the Larry Murphy Zone, while the Toronto Star just makes it plain that McCabe won the game for Buffalo. The YouTube of McCabe's Keystone Moments that The Mirtle found for yesterday's Ice Sheet should be enough evidence of for anyone to realize just how big a blunder JFJ made in signing this guy to the contract that he did. Of course, if McCabe had any sense of shame or decency, he'd decline his paycheck until he became a plus-player. Failing that he could just retire to give the Leafs some cap relief, what with that pesky salary cap and all.
I know that it's fashionable in Toronto to find a scapegoat and boo him until he cries, talk to me about Dmitri Kalinin sometime, but at some point Leaf fans have to look at themselves as part of the problem. Supporting a team with the kind of money that they do offers no clear incentive for management to truly do things differently. The demand for the Leafs is so strong that the Sabres can bilk their fans unmercifully when they come to Buffalo. Even without selling the building out Monday night, the word is the Sabres brought in an extra $400k from that game because of their variable pricing structure.
I see JFJ as trying to do the right thing within an untenable framework of having the expectation of winning while rebuilding. Then again, he could just be incompetent. Just like Bryan McCabe.
Ta,
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
10-17-2007 @ 9:53AM
PPP said...
So you'd recommend not going to games as a way to get a better team? Didn't that almost result in the slugs going bankrupt? Of course, now there is no problem selling tickets ;)
Say what you will about Leafs fans but at least we aren't bandwagoners which is basically the lowest level of fans.
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10-17-2007 @ 2:18PM
double d said...
Tom,
Added to the untenable framework that you mentioned is an ownership group(board?) that doesn't appear to be united behind JFJ and seems to be more concerned with their own little power struggles. The idea of adding an advisor like Scotty or Muckler only feeds the problem. They should get the hell out the way and let JFJ do his job. Only then will we truly be able to gauge his level of competence.
Puppet,
It was the other way around. We slugs were bankrupt due to some very creative accounting amongst our ownership. That was what started the downward spiral in attendance as many assumed that Lord Betteman would find a way to reward one of his friends and ship the Sabres out of town.
Aside from the $400k the Sabres made, I like it when the Canadian teams come to town. It only adds to the atmosphere in the arena. Now if we could only get the knobs that have to turn around and show their Leafs sweaters every time the action is in their corner to sit the eff down.
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10-17-2007 @ 2:18PM
Tom Luongo said...
Dave,
Excellent points all. To which I would like to add just how much cheaper the Sabres games have become as the Canadian Dollar has appreciated. Don't forget to factor that in. Golisano was smart in marketing the team into southern Ontario as both the pent up demand for NHL hockey was untapped and every year the games south of the border got cheaper due to exchange rate fluctuations. It's been a stabilizing force in the Sabres financials, and has helped them to maintain historically high payrolls now 2 years running and commit to those levels going forward.
I really should do a post on the effects of US monetary policy and the NHL.
Ta,
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10-17-2007 @ 2:17PM
Jaybo said...
Ouch. I can see how sweet this whole sequence of events must be from your side of Lake Ontario.
For the record, I don't think we Leaf fans are just waking up to the realities of McCabe's performance - we've known it for years, too. There's a whole lotta clenchin' goin' on, whenever McCabe is on the ice without a man advantage. Some (contract) years, though, all those power-play goals helped the defensive bad medicine go down.
As for encouraging better moves from ownership, we have a market size problem. For every fan that takes a principled stand and stays home, there are ten to take their place. The message kind of gets lost.
A franchise in Hamilton would do more to encourage Leaf's owners.
Apologies to Nashville re: Hamilton. And for complaining that our fanbase is too large.
Jaybo
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10-17-2007 @ 2:18PM
desdemona said...
Please don't include me as one of those Leaf fans who always thought that McCabe was great. I didnt' think that he deserved his contract then and (obviously) I don't now. I didn't think that he deserved to be chosen to go to the Olympics and was shocked to hear that he was nominated for the Norris trophy.
There's always going to be one or two (or more) players on any team whose contracts I don't necessarily agree with. To give up on the Leafs because I don't agree with some of the moves that management has made doesn't make sense to me, it's just going to be the same story elsewhere, just less under a microscope perhaps.
Most Leaf fans know that McCabe isn't the only problem that the Leafs have right now. He is, however, the perfect representation of all things wrong with the Leafs organization, which makes him the scapegoat.
I will say, that despite that horrific ending, that was one of the best games I've seen in a while. Best in terms of entertainment, not skill. The worst part about that loss (to me) was that Raycroft had his best game of the season. Only one (if that many) goals was actually his fault, and McCabe (and all other defense) mucked it up for him.
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10-17-2007 @ 2:18PM
Tom Luongo said...
I second the motion that the NHL needs another franchise in the Southern Ontario area. If it's Hamilton, Etiobicoke or Guleph, I don't care. Just pick one and make it happen.
I didn't mean to be too tough on y'all but, I understand your problem all too well. I grew up a NY Giants fan in the 70's. If any team ever abused its fans and whose fans let them do so, it was the Mara family during that 23 year playoff drought.
Ta,
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10-17-2007 @ 3:25PM
Markus said...
Even though McCabe has always been one of my least favourite Leafs (the more than just occasional brain cramp and bad decisions on his part being a major reason for this...), I'll find it difficult not to come to his defense this time. As proven by the myriads of people enjoying to humiliate him in stands, message boards, blogs and newspapers, it has never been easier to pounce on McCabe and the money he makes than after what happened Monday night. What people fail to see however is that there is more to a contract than just the player. Rarely (or should I say never) we see a professional athlete declining a contract offer on the grounds that he is not worth what has been offered. And why should he? The booing fans and critics in desperate need for a scapegoat for this mess should rather look at JFJ, who offered the contract in the first place. However, McCabe has scored no less than 15 goals in four of his six seasons with the Leafs and is a respectable +65 with only one year in the minuses during that span. That tells me that he can be a valuable asset to any hockey club and I dare say there would have been quite a few GMs around the league offering similar contracts to him as well, had he became a free agent two years ago. Even with his defensive shortcomings in mind. (The ridicolous no-movement clause is another thing...)
Another thing: I really can't see the motivation for blaming Leaf fans for being so numerous and passionate, when this is exactly something that makes this club so special. With more people naturally come more people that have questionable hockey knowledge, are delusional about anything blue and white or simply rude. And these - I don't think that's a coincidence - are the ones that dominate the call-in shows and message boards and therefore the common impression of Leaf fans. Being a fan in Europe, I have never spent more on the team than lots of nerves and numerous good nights of sleep... and another team in Southern Ontario wouldn't keep me from cheering for the Leafs. At least that's what I think right now...
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