I apologize, but my post-playoff celebrations have caused me to fall way behind on my blog.  In order to speed things up again, I will provide brief summaries from a number of recent events.

The NHL Awards – Las Vegas, Nevada

 

It was an ambitious undertaking to try the league’s annual trophy presentation in a market where ice is most prevalent in hotel vending machines and casino drinks.  Nonetheless, there was great fan support at the function itself, even if the majority of cab drivers and casino employees had no idea the event was even taking place.

That being said, the televised show was a travesty, with endless poor choices and terrible production values.  Nothing says NHL Entertainment like Chaka Khan and Robin Thicke (roll eyes).  I mean – who comes up with these things?  Chaka Khan?  What the heck does she have to do with hockey?  Has she even had a paying gig since 1984?  With all the talent in Las Vegas, someone in some meeting somewhere actually said, “How about Chaka Khan?”, and got the approval of dozens of others.  What were they thinking?

 

It was bad enough that they had her perform TWICE during the televised portion of the show, but those in attendance had to agonize through three additional performances during commercial breaks.  Needless to say, the washrooms filled up quickly each time she was announced.  The Super Bowl gets Paul McCartney and the Rolling Stones; we got Chaka Khan and the son of Alan Thicke.   Ugh!!!

 

There were some high points though.  The appearance of Vladimir Konstantinov as a presenter was a great treat.  Turning the event informal was also nice.  Why should people be sweating in tuxedos in the Vegas heat.  The attire ranged from three-piece suits to t-shirts and shorts.  As Daniel Negreanu said to me, “In Vegas, you are never overdressed and never underdressed.”  I would have to think that those in t-shirts were definitely underdressed.

 

Entourage’s Kevin Connelly introduced the Stanley Cup, but forgot to mention Coach Dan Bylsma, who escorted it in.  I hope he didn’t fly to Vegas just to be forgotten.  Alexander Ovechkin concluded his acceptance speech for the Pearson Trophy with, “What a life”.  Watching this guy in action both on and off the ice, he may be the happiest person on the planet.

 

What can be done about speeches from Russians at the Awards?  Ovy speaks pretty well (unlike at the MuchMusic Video Awards), but both Evgeni Malkin and Pavel Datsyuk struggled.  They both tried and were somewhat entertaining, but it did not make for good television.  Kirk Muller may as well have been speaking in Russian since you couldn’t understand a word that he said.

 

It was a nice change last year when they decided to hand out the Jennings, Ross, and Richard Trophies during the Stanley Cup playoffs.  Why bore an audience by introducing a trophy where the winner has already been pre-determined?  This year, they went back to boring us. 

 

For the majority of awards, they did not even show the nominees in the audience.  Would it not make sense to have their images on screen, a la the Oscars and Emmy’s, so you can see reactions once the winning name is announced?  I was not even aware Martin St. Louis was in the room until I saw him afterwards in the hotel.  I did see plenty of shots of Brian Burke chewing gum and Pavel Datsyuk walking past a seat-filler to accept his awards.

There were numerous Poker Stars commercials played during the broadcast, each featuring Torontonian Daniel Negreanu.  The charismatic Negreanu is well known for wearing Leafs or Team Canada jerseys when he plays poker events, and is probably better known across the U.S. than any hockey player that was in the room.  Negreanu was in the room as a spectator, but was not included in the telecast.  Why?  Michael Buble was brought on stage twice, but was not asked to sing.  Did they not want to hurt Chaka Khan’s feelings?  Connolly and Jeremy Roenick were also brought on stage two separate times.  Did they not have enough presenters?

 

Were you aware that the World Series of Poker (WSOP) commissioner, Jeffrey Pollack, is the brother of NHL commissioner Gary Bettman?  And that the Stanley Cup was part of a WSOP bracelet presentation?  Is poker not gambling, and is there not a fine line being crossed when the Cup is being used to promote a gambling event being run by the commissioner’s brother?  Somewhere, Rick Tocchet has a big smile on his face.

Tim Thomas is a true showman and made everyone laugh on a couple of occasions.  He said that over the years he’d been more concerned getting his name on a roster than on the Vezina.  It’s nice to cheer for the underdog.

 

The Bridgestone NHL Leadership Award was presented to Jarome Iginla.  I’m not sure I like that concept.  Next year, are they going to introduce the GoDaddy.com Hart Trophy and the Pillsbury Toaster Strudel Calder Award?

 

The after-party was a lot of fun, as the giant pool area of the Palms Casino was a unique setting.  Only a handful of players stayed for an extended period, but they were each given their own catered cabana.  Getting near Ovechkin’s cabana was quite an undertaking, but I eventually was able to get in and congratulate one of my favorites.  I was given a hug in return.  Mike Green and Pavel Datsyuk were much easier to get near.

 

The next two Awards shows are in Vegas as well, as the NHL cut a three-year deal with the Vegas Travel and Tourism Bureau.  Lucky us.

 

 

 The NHL Draft

 

I got to Montreal early on Draft day morning to do an autograph session with Marc-Andre Fleury.  This was his first post-Cup autograph event and his merchandise is prevalent on our website.  I am still really happy for the kid and had no problem giving him copies of each photo that he requested for his father.

I stuck around for five hours awaiting the start of the picks and intended to stay for the entire first found.  It did not work out that way.  Not only did every team feel the need to congratulate the Penguins on winning the Cup and thank the Canadiens and the city of Montreal for their hospitality, but this year it seemed each club had to send up their token Francophone employee to speak to the crowd in French.  Then there were in-arena interviews broadcast over the scoreboard with each of the top picks.  Add in the fact that each team seemed to take their full allotted time frame to head to the stage and it really became a monotonous affair.  It was so boring it was painful.  I waited until the Leafs called out the name “Nazem Kadri” with the seventh pick, then headed for the door to drive back to Toronto.  Luckily there was endless construction near the airport in order to ensure my arrival after 2:30 a.m.

 

 

Recent Signings

Doug Gilmour was an autograph guest a few weeks ago and he is still a great guy.  He talks to everyone, writes whatever you want, and comes around the table to you for pictures.  “Killer” is still immensely popular in the Toronto, although his coaching gig in Kingston has severely limited his time for this kind of event.

Dave “The Hammer” Schultz followed Gilmour’s appearance and Schultzie is also a treat.  How many guests do we get to sign hammers?  I thought his career was cut short by injury, but Schultz said that wasn’t the case.  Scotty Bowman hated him in Pittsburgh and he was never given a chance to play.  I will have to yell at Scotty for that one.

Larry Robinson made his third appearance at “The Pond” and he is still amongst my favorite guests.  He is also amazing with everyone and does whatever is asked of him.  Larry has taught me about hunting and polo and other topics that were foreign to me.  When Larry was given the Cup for a day following New Jersey’s 2003 Stanley Cup championship, I spent several hours celebrating with him and his family.  That day will always hold a special place in my memory bank.

Finally, Bobby Hull was our in-store guest last week.  Bobby has been packing them in since we first met in the mid-90’s.  He is one of the greatest and most popular players in the history of the sport, and always takes the time to repay the fans that come see him by speaking to each and every one and regaling them with stories from his playing days.  Bobby is not healthy these days and he signs very slowly.  His body has been through a lot, but his personality continues to shine through.  All hockey fans should own a Bobby Hull autograph.

 

 

1992-93 Blue Jays World Series Reunion Dinner

I am thrilled to be involved with the planning of the 1992-93 Toronto Blue Jays reunion weekend.  I was there when Joe Carter hit his Series-winning home run and it may be the last Toronto sports championship I get to see in my lifetime. 

 

Information on the August 8 gala dinner is available on our website and I hope to see a lot of you there.  So far there are 37 members of these teams that plan to be in attendance.  Team-signed product will be available, and WAMCO (White, Alomar, Molitor, Carter, Olerud) will be making an in-store appearance at Frozen Pond.  Net profits will be directed to the Children’s Aid and Jays Care Foundations, so please come out and support some great causes.

 

 

Free Agency

 

What’s with the Blackhawks only offering Martin Havlat a one-year contract?  That’s a nice way to treat your team MVP.

I’m surprised that no one has made an offer to restricted free agent Jiri Hudler.  He has a great future and Detroit’s salary cap issues would probably prevent them from matching any reasonable offer.

I’m happy that my friend Rick Nash signed a $62 million contract, but I still have no clue why he wants to play in Columbus.  This guy has repeatedly proven that, given the proper linemates, he can be amongst the best players in the league.  Unfortunately the Blue Jackets refuse to give him anyone to play with.  Their big free agent signing this season – the offensively challenged Sami Pahlsson, coming off an 18-point season.  Nasher’s supporting cast is one of the worst in hockey.

 

An idea for Jim Balsillie.  Why not start up your own team by signing a pile of the remaining free agents to “personal services” contracts.  Then the NHL will have to pay attention to you.  Think about it – he could put together a pretty good team for under $40 million:

 

G – Biron, Nittymaki

D – Beauchemin, Boucher, Schneider, Sydor, Zubov

F -   Afinogenov, Comrie, Koivu, Kovalev, Kozlov, Lang, Marchant, D. Moore, B. Morrison, Peca, Satan, Sundin, Sykora, Tanguay, Zednik

  

 

Sure they would be old and slow, but just look at how many All-Stars and Stanley Cups are on this roster.  And they would still finish ahead of the Leafs.

 

 

Roger Federer

The guy wasn’t even sweating.  Is he superhuman or something?

As the trade deadline approaches, I thought I would share my 5-year plan to make the Toronto Maple Leafs into Stanley Cup champions.  Now I haven’t scouted out the parade route just yet, but I have started shopping for quantity discounts on streamers and confetti.

 

As a long-suffering fan of the Blue and White, I am sick of always being on the buying end of one-sided trade deadline deals.  I hated giving up Alyn McCauley, Brad Boyes and a 1^st rounder for Owen Nolan in 2003.  I have no clue why we gave up two prospects and a 1^st and 2^nd rounder for an aging Brian Leetch in 2004, especially since Leetch’s Leaf career lasted a grand total of fifteen regular-season games.  I am also sick of the team throwing away draft picks for washed-up players.  How many years in a row are we going to trade away 1^st-3rd round picks?

 

Yet when the Leafs are sellers, we don’t seem to get anything in return.  Does the team have anything at all to show for missing the playoffs the past 3 seasons?  Nada, and when we do trade a player of quality (McCabe), we are forced to take a large salary in return (Mike Van Ryn).  I for one have had enough.

 

Here is what we have to do:

- STOP WINNING.  The team is not going to make the playoffs, so the goal right now should be to finish as low in the standings as possible in order to get a high lottery pick and a better chance at John Tavares. 

 

Since no professional player (with the exception of Vince Carter) plays to lose, Brian Burke will have to get creative.  This will entail playing Justin Pogge more.  While the kid may turn out to be a solid NHL goalie, he is not there yet.  The more Pogge plays, the better chance the Leafs lose.  Same with Curtis Joseph for that matter.

 

- Trade Tomas Kaberle.  Yes, he’s a solid, puck-moving defenseman and the best player on the team.  But he’s affordable, and look what Tampa Bay got in trade for Dan Boyle this past July; an NHL defenseman (Matt Carle), a top prospect (Ty Wishart), and 1^st and 4^th round draft picks.  If the Leafs can make a similar trade, they should jump at the opportunity.  This is how you rebuild.

 

- Trade Pavel Kubina.  Please see above.  Besides, if the Leafs defensive core is so strong that they have a player in the minors (Staffan Kronwall) that gets claimed at the first available opportunity by a much better club (Washington), obviously they are dealing from a position of strength.  Kubina is marketable and we should be able to get something useful for him.

- Trade Jason Blake.  He’s hot and he makes a ton of money.  Get what you can for him, since he is not going to contribute to the long-term success of the club.  A 2^nd rounder would suffice.  We have to re-stock the cupboards somehow, and I would rather see the money saved on his salary going towards someone much younger.

 

- Trade Nik Antropov.  This one is a no-brainer.  He is a free agent and I have never been a fan.  He should be worthy of a top-prospect or a first-rounder.

 

- Trade Dominic Moore.  He wasn’t interested in doing an autograph session for us, so get rid of the bum.    Besides, he was a waiver claim, so anything we get for him would be gravy.

 

- Trade for some salary – right now.  We are well under the cap and should be using that to our advantage.  There are several teams looking for deadline help that are on the cusp of the salary cap, and the Leafs should be able to take advantage of that situation.

 

The Flyers need to shed some salary to activate Briere.  Sure, we’ll take Randy Jones and his $2.75 million salary, but you also have to throw in Ryan Parent or Luca Sbisa.  Or Claude Giroux or a draft pick.  The same with the Blackhawks.  If you want us to take Dustin Byfuglien’s $3 million salary off your hands, it will cost you Kyle Beach.  The Leafs have money, so why not buy some players?

 

- Stop trading away youth and draft picks.  Maybe Alex Steen and Carlo Colaiacovo didn’t have a future with the team, but is Lee Stempniak really the best they could get for them?  Colaiacovo is already on the power play in St. Louis, while Stempniak has not lived up to expectations.

- Sign some GOOD free agents.  Enough of this Niklas Hagman and Jeff Finger and Jason Blake stuff.  Shell out the bucks for the best available players, not the second tier.  The Sedins would look great in Toronto uniforms.  The team already has a relationship with their agent (Claes Elefalk, same representation as Sundin) and the twins would be enormously popular in Toronto.  I’m sure they would love to be reunited with Brian Burke as well.  If the Sedins fall through, than any of Marian Gaborik, Mike Cammalleri, Jay Bouwmeester, Brian Gionta (maybe), and Mike Komisarek would work as well.  You know that Marian Hossa isn’t coming here.

- Get Rick Nash into a Leafs jersey.  He is unrestricted after next season.  He is local and grew up a Leafs fan.  He is exactly what the team needs and should be delivering to their fans – a home grown superstar that is one of the top players in the world today.  This city really needs a player they can cheer for, someone akin to Curtis Joseph or Doug Gilmour.  The only problem is, Nash is an extremely introverted individual and sincerely enjoys the privacy he gets in small-town Columbus.  It would be tough for him to come play in a fishbowl, but if there’s a place he’ll do it, it’s where all his family and buddies are.

 

When all is said and done, the team will have a solid young lineup of Nash, the Sedins, Ponikarovsky, Grabovski, Kulemin, Mitchell, maybe Stempniak, Stajan, Frogren, Tlusty, Pogge, Schenn, Jeremy Williams, Dale Mitchell, Jimmy Hayes, Chris DiDomenico, some young talent from the above trades, a few other free agent signings, and a big whack of draft picks.  It’s not exactly the 2008-09 Red Wings, but it sure as heck is a lot better than what they have going for them now.

 

Go Leafs Go!!!

I heard an interesting trade rumor the other day that everyone shouldn’t be so quick to pass off. 

 

The Leafs #1 pick in 2009 and Luke Schenn to the Islanders for the Isles #1 pick in 2009 and Rick DiPietro.

 

The Islanders pick will probably turn out to be John Tavares who would be perfect in Toronto as a local boy everyone can cheer for.  The Leafs would also be able to afford DiPietro’s ridiculous salary and get a quality starting goalie in exchange.  The Islanders would be able to shed a contract they will never admit was a mistake in the first place and would get two quality players in return.

 

As a Leafs fan, I would do it in a second, conditional on the Leafs keeping their own draft pick if they win the lottery.  I don’t know if Islanders fans would be as excited though.

 

Curtis Joseph did admit to some of his teammates that he did have a tryst over the summer with the future Mrs. Borenstein – Shania Twain.  CuJo is my new favorite player.

What are the chances this conversation preceded the Rangers waiver claim for Mark Bell earlier this week?

 

(ring, ring)

 

Brian Burke – “Hello”

 

Glen Sather – “Burkie – Slats here.  If you put Bell on recallable waivers, we will claim him and pay half his remaining salary.  Sound fair?”

 

(THUD)

 

Sather – “What was that?”

 

Burke – “Sorry – just me fainting.  Why yes that sounds fa…  Errrr – I dunno Slats.  Bell is a big part of our future and I’d hate to give him away for nothing.”

 

Sather – “What are you talking about?  He’s buried in the minors and I just offered to save you half a million dollars.”

 

Burke – “You know this franchise doesn’t care about the money.  We’ll just raise ticket prices some more.”

 

Sather – “You know - Kevin Lowe is right about you.  You’re a real @#%&$.  Think about it and get back to me.  (slam phone)

 

(ring, ring)

 

Burke – “Gretz – Burkie here.  How’s Janet?  Good to hear.  Of course I miss the weather, but my wife needed the work.  Hey – I think I have the missing piece to your playoff puzzle.  Mark Bell – great young kid.  A future superstar.  Yeah – he’s put all that behind him.  I don’t really want to move him but I think he deserves a shot at the playoffs.  I’m only concerned about his well being.  You know – I think if you give me Turris and a first-rounder, we can make it work.  I just have to run it by Peddie, Tanenbaum, Colangelo, and Carlton the Bear.  Hello?  Hello?  (grumble)

 

(ring, ring)

 

Burke – “Hey Slats – is that offer still good?” 

I had never spent time with Roberto Luongo before we conducted an autograph session at a Toronto hotel last Friday evening.  The Canucks goaltender is one of the top players in the game today and one of the most desirable (nee - expensive) autographs in the hobby.  In fact, a weekend poll on Rogers Sportsnet ranked him second behind Alexander Ovechkin as the player viewers would most want to build a team around. 

 

Vancouver must be a very difficult team for the autograph hounds, since they are an extremely unrecognizable bunch.  What exactly do Bieksa, Burrows, Raymond, O’Brien, Mitchell, Kesler, Pyatt, and Bernier look like, especially when they’re wearing toques?  Luckily, I was able to pick Luongo out of the crowd and he started signing for us almost immediately.

 

Louie, as his teammates call him, was personable but far from outgoing.  He is extremely intense and wanted to finish up as soon as he could.  His game day preparation actually starts the night before, and he was anxious to get into his regular routine.  This includes ordering room service, as he hates to leave his hotel.  He knew how to conduct an autograph session though.  He signed everything in its proper place and knew when to switch pens.  He knew not to write on the dark part of the photo and to allow items time to dry before stacking them. 

 

His autograph may be one of the worst ones in hockey, even by today’s standards.  He told me that his original signature used to contain every letter of his name, but those days have long since passed.  I wonder if his older signatures would command a premium?!? 

I learned that his favorite television show is Entourage (he liked my ring tone), and I learned that the Captain’s “C” on the chin of his mask is nothing more than a sticker.  He told me that his Captain’s duties do not at all affect his on-ice performance and instead come into play when planning team functions or speaking at meetings and the like.

 

He chuckled when I asked if he would rent me a room during the 2010 Olympics, but I never actually heard him say no.  Maybe I will just show up at his place in a year and hope for the best.   He told me he has not been contacted as of yet by anyone with Team Canada, but expects to attend their orientation camp this summer.

 

Luongo was a good guy and it was a fun signing and everyone’s orders hopefully will ship this week.

 

I still don’t understand the NHL’s point system.  Some games are worth 3 points and some are worth 2.  Is there another sport that has such a discrepancy? 

 

I say all games should be worth 2 points.  In the event of a tie, both teams split the first point, and the overtime or shootout winner gets the bonus point.  Does it really matter if half-points start being used? 

 

While we are at it, I still think the shootout should be 5 shots per team (instead of 3) and players should take their helmets off to participate.

 

Even in a depressed economy, some things never change. 

 

I received my Toronto Maple Leafs season ticket renewal form, and the prices have gone up 5%.  Wouldn’t it have been nice if they respected their fans and supporters the teensiest bit and maybe lowered prices for once, or at least kept them the same?  This will be the fourth consecutive season the team has missed the post-season, and they played the year $7 million under the salary cap.  Exactly how much money does this organization need to make, and why do they consistently feel the need to gouge the most dedicated fans in professional sports? 

Oh well, I guess they have to pay Jeff Finger’s contract somehow.

While we are at it, have you ever seen a team change a rink board advertisement in the middle of a game?  During the first intermission of the Leafs/Penguins tilt last week, several of us noticed a crew putting up a new ad just inside the blueline.  We thought the original ad may have started to peel off, but the crew then proceeded to change the same advertisement on the other side of the ice.

 

I have not called the Leafs for a comment, but do you think it’s possible that they are now selling rink board advertising by the period?  If there was extra revenue in it, that wouldn’t surprise me one bit.  But it’s more likely that the incorrect ad was up in the first place (how does that happen?).

I noticed that the Foreword in Dave Hanson’s (Hanson Brother #16) new book was written by Gordie Howe.  Now, not only do I know that Gordie Howe and Dave Hanson are far from good friends, but I am also aware that Gordie is getting up there in years and no longer has the ability to convey his thoughts in an articulate, well-written manner. 

 

I did a little research into the matter and found out that book forewords are rarely written by the person stated.  Either the named subject is so busy or has such poor writing skills that the task is often delegated and then just sent to them for approval.  Often the author will write his own foreword and just get permission from a celebrity to attach their name to it.  I know Wayne Gretzky has at least one book foreword that was not written by him and I am told this may be the case in up to 90% of the sports books on the market.

 

You learn something new every day.

With all the Calder Trophy discussions going on, I had wondered why Predators goaltender Pekka Rinne never had his name mentioned.  After all, his statistics are more than worthy (17-10-1, 2.23 GAA, .923 Save Percentage, 5 Shutouts), and everyone loves it when a goalie comes out of nowhere and shines. 

 

I thought maybe he was too old, as in 1990 the rules for awarding the Calder were amended so that players could only be eligible if they were 26 years old or younger by September 15 of their rookie season.  But Rinne didn’t turn 26 until last November 3^rd, so he has as much claim to the trophy as anyone else.  It’s too bad he is not even being considered.  Is it because he plays in Nashville?

Is Rick Nash being considered as a Hart Trophy candidate?  The guy is averaging more than a point a game on a team that has only two other players with more than 30 points this season.  He plays on the power play, he kills penalties, and he’s on the verge of captaining the team to the first playoff birth in the franchise’s history.  I wouldn’t be surprised if he got a few votes as League MVP.