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Toronto Maple Leafs Blogger • Fan 590 •
TORONTO (Nov. 26) – At some point in the not-too-distant future, it’s my contention that the Maple Leafs will honour Curtis Joseph as they did Wendel Clark last Saturday night.
Cujo had only a four-year run with the Leafs between 1998 and 2002, but it was a meaningful epoch in the club’s post-Stanley Cup history and it’s fair to say that Joseph provided the Leafs their best stretch of goaltending since the Johnny Bower/Terry Sawchuk tandem of 1964-67. With Curtis in net, the Leafs appeared in 60 playoff games over four springs – the same number the club played between 1988 and 1999 – and won six series; twice advancing to the Conference championship. He stands fourth in regular-season victories among Leaf goalies, trailing only Turk Broda, Bower and Felix Potvin. And, he is third in club annals, behind Broda and Bower, with 32 playoff triumphs.
This is why I believe Cujo is worthy of having his No. 31 jersey raised to the rafters of the Air Canada Centre somewhere down the line. He most certainly fits the criteria for such an honour, being one of the few players that have performed beyond the franchise standard since 1967 (more on that tomorrow). And that makes it rather sad to watch Curtis apparently hanging on at the end of his outstanding career. It’s painfully obvious that Joseph is not capable of thriving in a support role behind Vesa Toskala at age 41. And, it’s likely harmful to Toskala that he isn’t being provided any sort of push from his goaltending partner this season. Both players deserve better, as does the hockey club.
When I spoke with Cujo about his plight after last night’s ugly loss to Atlanta, he proved again why he’s been one of the top NHL puck-stoppers of the past 15 years. It’s the old adage… winners never quit and quitters never win. Curtis will likely have to be dragged, kicking and screaming, from his goal-crease before he’s willing to say “uncle”.
“It’s okay that you ask that question… I understand where it’s coming from,” he said to me. “I still enjoy playing, that’s the bottom line. I enjoy being around the young guys on this team and I really enjoy being a member of the Toronto Maple Leafs. To me, that’s what really matters. And, you know what, physically, I feel great… I really do. I’ve just got to be better and make the important stops. It’s coming, though. My confidence is unshakable.”
Whether that confidence is reciprocal after the first quarter of the season is another matter. And, it’s obvious that dealing with the Joseph dilemma will not be the task of the GM that signed him to a one-year contract last summer. Cliff Fletcher has a long-standing and tight relationship with Cujo’s agent, Don Meehan, and it was at least partly a favour that Fletcher extended Joseph’s career in the only city the netminder would have considered in free agency. Curtis has mentioned several times he’d have retired if the Maple Leafs didn’t come calling, and Fletcher probably felt the veteran could summon – on a few occasions – the effort displayed in a superb playoff performance for Calgary against San Jose last spring. But, the best-laid plans of both men have not materialized, nor are they threatening to.
As such, one has to wonder if Brian Burke – with no emotional attachment to Joseph – will make the goalie the subject of one of his early moves as GM of the Maple Leafs. Sentimentally, it would be fitting for Cujo to depart the NHL on his own terms, particularly given that his departure will occur in this city. But, Burke isn’t likely to be moved by emotion and there appears to be little strategic value at this point in keeping Joseph in a back-up role. In fact, he could prove far more useful to Toskala as a non-playing mentor/goaltending coach, as the Leafs really don’t have a full-time person in that capacity. Corey Hirsch is listed as the club’s goalie coach, but his prime investment right now involves farm-hand Justin Pogge, who the Leafs hope does not become another draft mistake.
Perhaps Burke will encourage, or insist, that Joseph hang up his blades and move into an instructional role, even if it may not be the veteran’s number-one choice. Back-up goaltenders, though undervalued, are not difficult commodities to obtain at the NHL level, and Burke wouldn’t likely have much of a problem finding a replacement for Cujo.
The spectre of an acrimonious parting is one that any person watching the Leafs in the past decade would hope to be averted. Yet, it appears Cujo has only a couple of options: To suddenly and unexpectedly regain NHL form, or to arrive at an inner-peace that his borderline Hall of Fame career has come to an end. Here’s hoping that it’s one of the two.
**************************************
The saga that has been tagged “Cirque de Burke” in western Canada will shortly come to an end when the long-time NHL executive is officially named president and GM of the Maple Leafs. Exactly why several of my media colleagues have insisted on pinpointing an exact date and time in the past week escapes me, other than to be in position to claim “We told you so first” (forever important in this business). Given that Brian Burke has not yet been anointed – TWO weeks after his departure from Anaheim – implies that negotiations with Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment have bogged down several times. In fact, that may not be the case at all.
What is likely at play here is a tremendously complicated deal – far different than the type MLSE has ever granted a hockey employee. The level of authority; the term, and the compensation Burke is seeking requires that both sides be more than content over the long haul, and this sort of business arrangement doesn’t happen quickly, even in the presence of mutual interest. The amount of legal inspection, alone, is enough to prolong such an ordeal and it’s almost certain that the Leafs and Burke are merely working through an involved and complex arrangement.
But, this union has been “in the air” for more than a year and it is going to happen… be it tomorrow, Saturday, or a week from now. The time-frame is hardly a factor.
**************************************
Here’s some trivia. The NHL re-instated overtime to help decide regular-season games in the 1983-84 season, almost 41 years after the process had been scrapped. As a result of restrictions on train travel during World War II, non-playoff overtime was discontinued on Nov. 21, 1942. The league brought it back as a five-minute sudden-death format in ‘83, and it was further enhanced by a shootout competition to eliminate ties after the owners’ lockout in 2005.
The Leafs have been involved in 280 such games since the start of the ’83-84 campaign, and it was 25 years ago tonight – Nov. 26, 1983 – that the club participated in its initial five-minute extra session. The Leafs and Minnesota North Stars were tied, 6-6, after regulation time at Maple Leaf Gardens and Stars’ veteran Neal Broten won the game by scoring on Toronto goalie Mike Palmateer.
Don Beaupre was in net for Minnesota, and he would briefly play for the Leafs 13 years later.
Toronto’s first overtime victory occurred in its third attempt – on Mar. 10, 1984 – when Stewart Gavin beat Detroit goalie Corrado Micalef at the Gardens for a 4-3 triumph. Allan Bester was the winning netminder that night.
E-mail howard.berger@rci.rogers.com
Cujo had only a four-year run with the Leafs between 1998 and 2002, but it was a meaningful epoch in the club’s post-Stanley Cup history and it’s fair to say that Joseph provided the Leafs their best stretch of goaltending since the Johnny Bower/Terry Sawchuk tandem of 1964-67. With Curtis in net, the Leafs appeared in 60 playoff games over four springs – the same number the club played between 1988 and 1999 – and won six series; twice advancing to the Conference championship. He stands fourth in regular-season victories among Leaf goalies, trailing only Turk Broda, Bower and Felix Potvin. And, he is third in club annals, behind Broda and Bower, with 32 playoff triumphs.
This is why I believe Cujo is worthy of having his No. 31 jersey raised to the rafters of the Air Canada Centre somewhere down the line. He most certainly fits the criteria for such an honour, being one of the few players that have performed beyond the franchise standard since 1967 (more on that tomorrow). And that makes it rather sad to watch Curtis apparently hanging on at the end of his outstanding career. It’s painfully obvious that Joseph is not capable of thriving in a support role behind Vesa Toskala at age 41. And, it’s likely harmful to Toskala that he isn’t being provided any sort of push from his goaltending partner this season. Both players deserve better, as does the hockey club.
When I spoke with Cujo about his plight after last night’s ugly loss to Atlanta, he proved again why he’s been one of the top NHL puck-stoppers of the past 15 years. It’s the old adage… winners never quit and quitters never win. Curtis will likely have to be dragged, kicking and screaming, from his goal-crease before he’s willing to say “uncle”.
“It’s okay that you ask that question… I understand where it’s coming from,” he said to me. “I still enjoy playing, that’s the bottom line. I enjoy being around the young guys on this team and I really enjoy being a member of the Toronto Maple Leafs. To me, that’s what really matters. And, you know what, physically, I feel great… I really do. I’ve just got to be better and make the important stops. It’s coming, though. My confidence is unshakable.”
Whether that confidence is reciprocal after the first quarter of the season is another matter. And, it’s obvious that dealing with the Joseph dilemma will not be the task of the GM that signed him to a one-year contract last summer. Cliff Fletcher has a long-standing and tight relationship with Cujo’s agent, Don Meehan, and it was at least partly a favour that Fletcher extended Joseph’s career in the only city the netminder would have considered in free agency. Curtis has mentioned several times he’d have retired if the Maple Leafs didn’t come calling, and Fletcher probably felt the veteran could summon – on a few occasions – the effort displayed in a superb playoff performance for Calgary against San Jose last spring. But, the best-laid plans of both men have not materialized, nor are they threatening to.
As such, one has to wonder if Brian Burke – with no emotional attachment to Joseph – will make the goalie the subject of one of his early moves as GM of the Maple Leafs. Sentimentally, it would be fitting for Cujo to depart the NHL on his own terms, particularly given that his departure will occur in this city. But, Burke isn’t likely to be moved by emotion and there appears to be little strategic value at this point in keeping Joseph in a back-up role. In fact, he could prove far more useful to Toskala as a non-playing mentor/goaltending coach, as the Leafs really don’t have a full-time person in that capacity. Corey Hirsch is listed as the club’s goalie coach, but his prime investment right now involves farm-hand Justin Pogge, who the Leafs hope does not become another draft mistake.
Perhaps Burke will encourage, or insist, that Joseph hang up his blades and move into an instructional role, even if it may not be the veteran’s number-one choice. Back-up goaltenders, though undervalued, are not difficult commodities to obtain at the NHL level, and Burke wouldn’t likely have much of a problem finding a replacement for Cujo.
The spectre of an acrimonious parting is one that any person watching the Leafs in the past decade would hope to be averted. Yet, it appears Cujo has only a couple of options: To suddenly and unexpectedly regain NHL form, or to arrive at an inner-peace that his borderline Hall of Fame career has come to an end. Here’s hoping that it’s one of the two.
**************************************
The saga that has been tagged “Cirque de Burke” in western Canada will shortly come to an end when the long-time NHL executive is officially named president and GM of the Maple Leafs. Exactly why several of my media colleagues have insisted on pinpointing an exact date and time in the past week escapes me, other than to be in position to claim “We told you so first” (forever important in this business). Given that Brian Burke has not yet been anointed – TWO weeks after his departure from Anaheim – implies that negotiations with Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment have bogged down several times. In fact, that may not be the case at all.
What is likely at play here is a tremendously complicated deal – far different than the type MLSE has ever granted a hockey employee. The level of authority; the term, and the compensation Burke is seeking requires that both sides be more than content over the long haul, and this sort of business arrangement doesn’t happen quickly, even in the presence of mutual interest. The amount of legal inspection, alone, is enough to prolong such an ordeal and it’s almost certain that the Leafs and Burke are merely working through an involved and complex arrangement.
But, this union has been “in the air” for more than a year and it is going to happen… be it tomorrow, Saturday, or a week from now. The time-frame is hardly a factor.
**************************************
Here’s some trivia. The NHL re-instated overtime to help decide regular-season games in the 1983-84 season, almost 41 years after the process had been scrapped. As a result of restrictions on train travel during World War II, non-playoff overtime was discontinued on Nov. 21, 1942. The league brought it back as a five-minute sudden-death format in ‘83, and it was further enhanced by a shootout competition to eliminate ties after the owners’ lockout in 2005.
The Leafs have been involved in 280 such games since the start of the ’83-84 campaign, and it was 25 years ago tonight – Nov. 26, 1983 – that the club participated in its initial five-minute extra session. The Leafs and Minnesota North Stars were tied, 6-6, after regulation time at Maple Leaf Gardens and Stars’ veteran Neal Broten won the game by scoring on Toronto goalie Mike Palmateer.
Don Beaupre was in net for Minnesota, and he would briefly play for the Leafs 13 years later.
Toronto’s first overtime victory occurred in its third attempt – on Mar. 10, 1984 – when Stewart Gavin beat Detroit goalie Corrado Micalef at the Gardens for a 4-3 triumph. Allan Bester was the winning netminder that night.
E-mail howard.berger@rci.rogers.com
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