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The Toronto Maple Leafs are stuck in a snow bank right now. Literally. On Wednesday, their GM Dave Nonis told the Toronto Sun that his players can get out and push the team bus out of the deep snow. Nonis also debunked the rumors are contemplating firing head coach Randy Carlyle.
The Leafs have only 3 wins in their last 13 games. They have won only one game in regulation since November 19. The Leafs were spanked by the Florida Panthers on Tuesday night. Leafs fans are voicing their displeasure on talk radio and on message boards. Nonis isn't taking the cheese that's been set in the mousetrap. He's not going to make a knee-jerk trade, nor is he going to can Carlyle.
“It’s not happening,… Nonis told the Toronto Sun. “We’re not making a move (coach or player) for the sake of making a move. We’re not trading a young player away that will erode our depth or take youth out of our lineup. We don’t do that.…
The solution to the problem is simple. Kessel, JVR, Kadri,Bozak, Clarkson and the offensive players have to start scoring. The Leafs are not getting scoring from their high dollar players.
Nonis isn't going to mortgage his future by trading away his young players.
“I’m getting a lot of offers on players, but the offers are all a joke,… he said. “I’m not about to trade a quality player for someone who can’t help us. That’s what’s being presented our way.…
On Wednesday, the players were given the day off. Nonis met with his executive braintrust and the coaching staff. Nonis wants solutions not excuses.
“I hear it all the time, people say you have to dots something,… said Nonis. “If I make one of the deals that I’m being offered these days, it would only damage the team. I’ll continue to look at ways to alter the lineup, but it has to be the right circumstances.…
Nonis will not be duped into trading his young players like JVR. Kadri, Jake Gardiner or Morgan Rielly just for the sake of making a trade(s).
“It’s our job to find a way out of this,… said Nonis. “It’s up to the players, it’s up to management, it’s up to the coaches, everybody has to be better. This is the worst stretch (since I’ve been GM). But I reiterate: There’s no move for us to make that’s going to change things. We have to change them.…
I can't wait to watch episode two of HBO's "24/7" on Sunday night. The Leafs and their desperation will be on center stage.
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Updated 6:45pm:
Goaltending news to report from the State Of Hockey.
The Wild have placed goaltender Josh Harding on injured reserve. Harding suffers from multiple sclerosis. The Wild have recalled Johan Gustafsson.
Harding will miss the next three games, perhaps more.
Wild GM Chuck Fletcher said in a statement:
“Over the next week, Josh will make a minor adjustment to his treatment protocol. Josh feels great and he looks forward to rejoining our team for our game in Winnipeg on Dec. 27.…
Harding is 18-5-3 in 27 games played this season. He ranks first in the NHL with a GAA and .939 save percentage. His wins rank him second in the NHL. Harding's name has been mentioned as a candidate for Team Canada's men's hockey club for the Sochi Olympic games.
Last season, Harding missed two months due to complications with his M.S. medication.
Nik Backstrom will be pressed back into a starters role. Gustafsson will serve as his backup. Backstrom is 2-5-2 this season with a 2.93 GAA and .900 save %.
With 45 points, the Wild are tied with Colorado for eighth place in the Western standings, four points ahead of ninth place Phoenix.
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If I were a betting man, I’d say that Winnipeg Jets head coach Claude Noel’s job is safe right now despite the many up and down performances of his team this season. On Monday night, the Jets welcomed back Evander Kane to their starting lineup for the first time after the 22-year-old power forward missed 6 games with a lower body injury that he suffered in Philly on 11/29. The Jets dispatched the Blue Jax in convincing fashion then turned their attention to beating the Buffalo Sabres. On Tuesday night, Noel’s mercurial squadron started slowly, then, were promptly out-shot 19-7 in the first period by the rested Sabres. Made sense given the Jets were road-weary from having played a heavy game the night before and the Sabres hadn’t played a game since Saturday afternoon’s 2-1 OT loss to Calgary. Tired team vs. Rested team. Happens all the time, especially in the compressed pre-Sochi Olympics NHL schedule. The Jets survived the blitz and were able to hang on until intermission. They skated into their room with a zip-zip tie. A blessing considering the heavy pressure created by Buffalo’s +21 Corsi rating for the first twenty minutes. Then, Mark Scheifele sniped Ryan Miller twice in a 36 second span at the beginning of the second period and continued to dominate Buffalo for the first ten minutes of the second period. The Jets found their swagger and put their pedal to the medal. The Sabres entered Tuesday’s game with an NHL-low 1.54 goals scored for average. They appeared to be pinned to the mat and were about to tap-out. Inexplicably, Pavelec and the Jets allowed four unanswered goals to the Sabres and were sent to the bus with a demoralizing 4-2 loss.
The very type of collapse that makes reasonable, respected NHL coaches lose their minds, and eventually, their jobs.
Noel blasted his team’s laissez faire attitude after their collapse in Buffalo.
Thanks, jets.nhl.com
The Winnipeg Free Press spoke with Jets GM Kevin Cheveldayoff in Buffalo on Tuesday night. Chevaldayoff said that he is working the phones.
"You always, in any situation, look to improve," Cheveldayoff said. "If you're able to find a way to improve, then you try to act on it. But change doesn't always equate to improve. Change can certainly placate phone calls, emails on the different venues out there but that doesn't necessarily mean that's the proper direction to go."
Sounds like Chevaldayoff’s mind is open to making changes that can improve his team. Word out of The Peg is that Noel’s job is safe for now. The players appear to be the focal point of blame for the team’s inconsistencies this season.
"On this side of it, you make calls, you take calls, you're always looking and talking to different people within the game, other managers, your scouts," he said. "There are multiple, easy avenues that seem like they're the way to go but there are 30 teams in this league that are doing the same thing and trying to effect that ultimate goal and that's to win the Stanley Cup."
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Like grains of sand through the hourglass, so too are the consecutive days of NHL suspensions.
Engelland earned a match penalty for the “Rule 48… violation and was booted from the game. Abdelkader hasn’t played since the incident (concussion symptoms).
Engelland is a repeat offender.
Raise your hand if you are sick and tired of the lack of respect being shown from one player to another In the NHL.
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