Leafs down the Stretch

The Toronto Maple Leafs made a couple of trades at the deadline.

Bringing in Boyle will only help the team down the stretch. The rookies will look to him for leadership. He should be able to help the kids relax and keep level-headed. His leadership will help the young guns nerves. I know mistakes will happen, but Boyle will try to keep those to a minimum.

Eric Fehr was merely doing the Pens a favour of freeing up some cap space. But Eric can do some good here. He is a  solid fourth-liner who can be useful down the stretch. He is a solid penalty killer and is a good spark plug who can help the Leafs' spirits. He will help the team with his hustle and example. He will do whatever it takes for his team, which will only motivate the rookies to higher heights.

As the Leafs continue to stay in the playoff hunt, this will only help the young players' development. The big three: Mitchell Marner,  Auston Matthews, and last but not least, William Nylander, will become better players for being in the playoff hunt. They will learn how to deal with high pressure situations and will learn to do what it takes to win.

Regardless of whether the Leafs make the playoffs, they will be a better team in the future.

State of the Union - General Manager Review

The other day, Eklund discussed a topic which I found very fascinating. I normally do not do general NHL blogs, but bear with me, because this topic intrigues me.

Who are the cream of the crop of the General Managers? What criteria should we base it on?

Who is to say who is good and who is bad? This is based on my own gut feelings, so blast if you will.

The Toast to the Best

Tampa Bay Steve Yzerman

Steve is a class by himself for a few reasons. The first one is from the past for Jonathan Drouin incident. He did not let the player control the situation; he didn't trade him for the sake of trading him.  He stuck to his guns, and Jonathan has been a force in the team's success because of it. The second is for using the trade deadline to find a way to get rid of an eyesore contract. Convincing Ron Hextall to take Valtteri Filppula off of his hands was a miracle in itself.  And then recognizing the state of the injury woes of the Pens' defense and shipping Mark Streit out to Pittsburg was pure genius. This had a twofold effect; getting rid of the Filppula cap space and, far more important, freeing up the team to protect another player in the expansion draft.

Chicago  Stan Bowman

I chose Stan simply because of his ability to keep the Hawks competitive year after year. He manages to find players who are coal and turn them into diamonds. And then to fit them into the cap. It is mind boggling. How he does it year after year, I will never know.

The Pass

Calgary Flames Brad Treliving 

The trade that went mostly unnoticed was bringing in Michael Stone from the Coyotes. This move, along with the signing of Matt Bartkowski, has solidified the defense. The jury is still out on the acquisition of Curtis Lazar.

What were you thinking?

Los Angeles Dean Lombardi

The Kings must be grasping at straws at the deadline. The trade of Ben Bishop reeks of trading just to show people you mean business. But the main reason for "what you were thinking" is all the bad contracts Kings have done. Kings have a lot of bad contracts to get rid of. The worst one being  Marian Gaborik.

New York Islanders Garth Snow

Putting all his eggs in one basket on Matt Duchene and backing out on a trade with the Oilers, the Isles desperately needed a top-six forward, and they came up with bupkiss. Convincing JT to stay was victory in itself.

Flame trade deadline

Reblogged from Flames Scratch Pad.

I understand how everyone looks at the deadline as insignificant.  I can completely understand that it was, well, pretty boring.  But dare I say that if we take a deeper look, it was significant for the Calgary Flames players. What I am getting at is the message it gives the players: "We believe in you."

Most people seem to think that if you don't bring in a stud, you are sending the wrong message. But I think if it's not broke, why fix it? The Flames management believes in this team and its chemistry.   Chemistry is vital to a team's success.

So what do we get in Lazar? We get a young forward with tons of potential. What I like most about Curtis is his speed. He will fit right in. Curtis has a quick release and is an excellent passer. His weakness is in the faceoff circle. For that reason, I think he will be on the wing.   He is worth the gamble. A second rounder plus a dman who never plays is not too steep of a price. This year's draft is pretty weak.

The other thing I am pleased with is the acquisition of Stone to fill a weak spot in the line-up. Before the Stone trade, the Flames were extremely weak on number 4-6.  Think I am overestimating him? Look at their record since he was acquired!  Bringing in Stone to solidify the defense might just have saved their season.

World Book Day - Grab a copy of EDS, by P.D. Workman

Today is World Book Day, and as I've done a couple of times, I thought I would post a review of one of my wife's recent books, EDS, Medical Kidnap Files #2. You can find a review of book #1 of the series here.

Once you meet Katt, you'll never forget her. She has a way about her. That is because the only people who seem to meet her are in the medical field. And they appear to get to know her too well.  

Katt is a  clumsy, awkward teenager. She has awful time fitting in with her classmates. She spends more time with the school nurse than in her classes. She lands in the emergency room a little too often. While the world sees her as a clumsy, awkward teenager, the medical world sees her as a typical abused child. Either way, Katt's life is no picnic. And just when it seems like it cannot get any worse, she is told her mother is unfit to raise her.

Her only hope is Gabriel and his Merry Band of Misfits.  Who, as luck would have it, have had their share of misdiagnosed bloopers. As Katt fears the worst, can Gabriel and his helpers bring tranquility into her life?  All Katt wants is the life of a normal teenager. But there is nothing normal about this remarkable young woman.

P.D. Workman brings you an all-too-familiar torn-from-the-headlines drama. As you dive into this novel, you will forget it is a fiction story and not a biography. You will not be able to put it down. Do yourself a favour; pick up your copy today.

You can find free samples, descriptions, and buy links for P.D. Workman's other books at pdworkman.com.