For fans who had grandiose dreams of Billy Sweatt being an integral part of future Maple Leafs Stanley Cup Championship teams, you will have to let go of those thoughts. According to Dave Fuller’s recent column in the Toronto Sun (http://www.torontosun.com/sports/hockey/2010/07/16/14742746.html ), the Leafs have already moved on:

We heard Billy Sweatt was lightning quick and now he’s gone in a flash. The Colorado College speedster’s career as a Maple Leafs is over before it ever started.
Frustrated by the Leafs inability to sign the former Blackhawks prospect, general manager Brian Burke told Sweatt and his Chicago-based on Friday — nicely we’re sure — to take a hike.

“In light of the signing of Marcel Mueller, we are withdrawing all offers to Bill Sweatt,” Burke said in an e-mail to the Sun on Friday.

Mueller is the rugged, 6-foot-3, 220-pound winger from the German Olympic team to whom the Leafs awarded a two-year, entry-level contract on Wednesday.

Burke thinks some day the 22-year-old could be a top-six forward with the team and he didn’t cost the club a single body or prospect.

Sweatt, a 6-foot, 180-pound winger who spent the past four seasons at Colorado College, was, as it turns out, a wasted throw-in in the recent Kris Versteeg deal.

Toronto traded winger Viktor Stalberg and prospects Chris DiDomenico and Philippe Paradis to the Hawks for Versteeg and Sweatt, knowing that if Sweatt didn’t sign a contract with the Leafs by Aug. 15, he would become an unrestricted free agent.

The Hawks selected Sweatt in the second round (32nd over-all) of the 2007 draft, but were never able to come to terms with the Illinois native. After three years without a contract, Sweat was eligible for free agency.

Burke, meanwhile, has decided to move on.

“We liked his (Sweatt’s) foot speed, he has a chance, that’s all,” he wrote. “(But) we are allowed a max of 50 contracts. We would rather save the spot (than continue negotiating a deal with his agent).”

Sweatt scored 15 goals and 18 assists in 39 games with Colorado as a senior.
The Hawks selected Sweatt six spots ahead of future Montreal Canadiens defenceman P.K. Subban in 2007, a year the Leafs didn’t have a pick until the third round, selecting Dale Mitchell.

The signs were there early last week when Sweatt’s agent indicated his client was weighing his options even though the Leafs offer had made a generous contract offer. The Colorado College product was counting on his ability to shop his wares on the open market after August 15th, because the cap-strapped Black Hawks were unlikely to make any offer to retain his services. The Leafs thought they could offer Sweatt an opportunity for significant playing time, but his want for total freedom won out.

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In his column in today’s Toronto Sun, Steve Simmons (http://www.torontosun.com/sports/columnists/steve_simmons/2010/07/17/14747431.html ) pontificates on a few issues in Leaf Land:

The very available Simon Gagne is a poor fit for the Maple Leafs for a number of reasons: 1) His salary is too high; 2) He’s not a centre; 3) The Flyers are looking for prospects or draft picks and the Leafs can’t afford to give away either; 4) He’s the wrong age at 30

There is no doubt that there are questions in acquiring Gagne. His $5.25 Million contract is hefty, but only has one year remaining. His acquisition might cost any decent prospect or draft pick, but that could easily be recouped by Burke at the trade deadline next March.

Simmons apparently has not read the memo from Burke that Toronto is not looking for a center, even though most people think it is their major weakness. The one aspect that Simmons overlooked is the main reason why trading for Gagne is a big risk. He is a ticking injury time bomb, waiting to explode. If there was a guarantee that he could stay injury free, then he would be a good acquisition, but there are no such guarantees.

The strange summer of Ilya Kovalchuk continues, with the supposed hottest of hockey free agents getting lukewarm interest from all but two NHL teams. It is believed the Los Angeles Kings and New Jersey Devils are still players in the Kovalchuk dance and that the team that comes up empty will turn its attention to the available Leafs defenseman Tomas Kaberle. The Leafs are up against it deadline-wise on Kaberle, with less than a month left on his contractual ability to be dealt. There is also a belief from some that once Kovalchuk lands, the action on Kaberle will increase. The Leafs certainly hope so. They can talk all they want about multiple offers for the defenseman. If one of them were good enough, a trade would have been made by now.

At this point, it is likely that teams interested in Kaberle have submitted their best offer but that it is contingent on whether they get Kovalchuk or not. Simmons assertion that the deal would have already been made if it was good enough is nonsensical. There are likely offers that Burke can live with but he is holding out for the best deal possible. A bidding war can only begin when all the interested parties are focused on the prize.

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