NEWS OF MAPLE LEAFS
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Sunday February 21, 1999 2:46PM EST
Sunday February 21, 1999 Warriner makes history at Air Canada Centre
Nobody thought Todd Warriner would find his way into the Hall of Fame. But that's where his stick and puck will be found after he scored the first goal at the Air Canada Centre on Saturday night.
"It was probably the biggest goal I've had as a Leaf," said Warriner, who scored 6:04 into the game. "It kind of sunk in as the game went on."
It was hardly his prettiest, though. Defenceman Daniil Markov took a shot from the point and Warriner grabbed the rebound at the hash marks and slid a slow shot under Jeff Hackett.
"I didn't exactly bury it, but I'll take it," Warriner said. He forgot to take the puck though. "It didn't occur to me to get the puck until I got to the bench and by that time it was gone," he said.
The Leafs went on to win the game 3-2 in overtime.
In the Leafs' other historic building opening, the Chicago Black Hawks' Mush March scored the first goal at Maple Leaf Gardens 2:30 into the first period Nov. 12, 1931.
The odds of Warriner getting goal No. 1 couldn't have been too good considering Warriner was a healthy scratch 25 times early in the season and had all of six goals entering the game.
"Early on in the year, I didn't think I would be in this game. (But) of late, it been going smoothly," said Warriner, who has 16 points in 31 games. There was even talk that Warriner was on the verge of being traded, but when Alyn McCauley went down with a knee injury Dec. 30 Warriner stepped in as the second-line centre and has played well since.
Although McCauley is almost 100 per cent, Warriner feels he hasn't played himself out of the lineup.
"I don't know what is going to happen," Warriner said. "I'm not going to worry about it. I think I earned a spot, but we'll see."
Friday February 19, 1999 CBC strike clouds hockey gala
English Canada may well have the French-language CBC to thank for TV coverage of tonight's historic NHL game from the new home of the Toronto Maple Leafs.
While nothing is set in stone, Radio-Canada says it intends to carry tonight's Leafs-Canadiens matchup at the Air Canada Centre despite a strike by technicians at the English-language CBC.
The technicians say they will not block other broadcasters from carrying tonight's NHL game if the CBC agrees to give up its licence to broadcast the game.
Daniel Asselin, director of the French-language version of Hockey Night in Canada, said Friday his network would broadcast the game, the first NHL matchup at the new arena.
"The strike doesn't concern me," Asselin said. "I have a contract with my employees. I have a contract with the Montreal Canadiens.
"I'm bringing my own cameras from Montreal," he said. "I'm bringing my own production staff."
Cynthia Deschatelets, a spokeswoman for Radio-Canada in Montreal, also said the game would be available on the network.
"You can see it on the French network of Radio-Canada because the technicians of the French network aren't on strike."
The fate of the game has been in doubt because of a strike by 2,000 CBC technicians and other personnel.
CBC is only saying it plans to air two hockey games, beginning at 7 p.m. EST, but won't say which ones.
"At the moment that simply does not change our statement," says spokeswoman Ruth-Ellen Soles.
The Communications, Energy and Paperworkers union says it has assured CTV, Global and TSN that they would face only an information picket tonight if they carry the game.
"We hope the CBC will agree to give the rights for broadcasting the game to one of the other networks so that Canadians can enjoy Hockey Night in Canada as they always have," says Mike Sullivan, national representative for the union.
Soles did not know about coverage plans by Radio-Canada, the French-language CBC service.
"There are two games, and what we're saying is we will not say which games will be carried," she said. "Notice that I'm not saying we can't at this time say that. We're not discussing it."
She said there would be no pre-game show, however, although she expected the CBC's on-air talent will be at work.
Published reports say the San Jose-Washington and Nashville-St. Louis games will be aired, although it may still be possible for CBC to get a feed from the Air Canada Centre from ESPN, the American sports channel, and put their own commentators on air from outside.
The strike's affects have been widespread on TV and radio, with newscasts on CBC-TV and CBC Newsworld suffering from a lack of Canadian video clips. CBC Radio and Newsworld are using a lot of repeats.
Also up in the air at the game tonight is the behaviour of the powerful Teamsters Union, which the CEP insists will not cross their picket lines tonight. The Teamsters represent ticket-takers, ushers and ice-cleaners, among others, and their refusal to show up could throw the whole gala, not just the hockey broadcast, into chaos.
A late Friday news release from Local 847, which represents industrial workers, laundry and linen drivers, repeated an earlier statement that union members have to make their own decision on whether to cross the picket line.
A planned disruption by the CEP of Friday's parade from Maple Leaf Gardens to the Air Canada Centre didn't materialize.
Soles said that Hockey Night in Canada hosts Don Cherry and Ron MacLean had received "non-threatening phone calls" from CEP members saying their safety could not be guaranteed if they took part in the parade.
She said CBC pulled the two high-profile personalities from the Hockey Night in Canada float "so as not to jeopardize the parade or the opening of the Air Canada Centre."
A management proposal presented just hours before the strike deadline midnight Tuesday included a signing bonus of $700, a three per cent increase for the 1999-2000 year, and another three per cent in 2000-2001.
The union says that when it came back asking for a five per cent increase for each of three years, management withdrew its proposal and at 11:55 p.m. offered zero increase. The members have been without a contract since last June.
Wednesday February 17, 1999 Leafs trade Ware to Panthers
Defenceman Jeff Ware has been traded to the Florida Panthers for right-winger David Nemirovsky in an exchange of minor-leaguers, the Toronto Maple Leafs announced Wednesday.
Ware, 21, had one goal, four assists and 130 minutes in penalties in 55 games with the AHL St. John's Maple Leafs this season. He was Toronto's first pick, 15th overall, in the 1995 entry draft. He played 13 games with the parent Leafs in 1996-1997 and two in 1997-98 but never made it back.
Nemirovsky, 22, had 22 goals, 13 assists and 35 PIM with the IHL Fort Wayne Komets. He'll report to St. John's. He was Florida's fifth choice, 84th overall, in the 1994 entry draft. In 91 career NHL games, Nemirovsky has 16 goals and 22 assists.
Tuesday February 16, 1999 Leafs, Canucks swap
The Maple Leafs traded centre Darby Hendrickson to Vancouver for defenceman-forward Chris McAllister on Tuesday.
Hendrickson, 26, had two goals and three assists in 34 games this season. In 248 career NHL games, he has 28 goals and 24 assists.
McAllister, 23, had one goal and one assist in 28 games with the Canucks. In 92 career appearances, he has three goals and four assists.
The Leafs wanted to add some size to their lineup and McAllister is six-foot-seven and 235 pounds compared to Hendrickson's dimensions of six-feet and 185 pounds.
"Darby had been having a tough time getting into our lineup and Marc Crawford's coached him before, in St. John's, and expressed an interest in him," said Mike Smith, the Leafs' associate general manager. "This is a good opportunity for him.
"Chris McAllister is a young, big defenceman-left winger in his development stage. He hasn't played an awful lot of hockey in the last year or so. He's a prospect."
The trade caught Hendrickson off guard. He was pleased, however, to be looking at the prospect of getting ice time. He'd become a healthy scratch the last two weeks.
"I didn't expect it," he said. "I've been fortunate to play for the Maple Leafs twice in my career, and now my career heads in a different path."
Monday February 15, 1999 Leafs send out call to the farm: Kohn gets chance after Modin's bad break
Maxwell Smart had the Cone Of Silence.
The Maple Leafs have Ladislav Kohn making lots of noise on the farm.
So when Fredrik Modin suffered a broken collarbone Saturday night, sidelining him for four to six weeks, the Leafs dialed the number of the leading scorer in St. John's. Kohn, who has 23 goals and 40 assists for the Baby Leafs, will join the NHL team in time for tonight's game in New Jersey.
"He's the best player and the most deserving," St. John's general manager Bill Watters said yesterday of Kohn, who had five points on Friday against New Haven. "He's a right winger, but he shoots left so he can play that side."
Kohn, who turns 24 in a few weeks, was acquired from Calgary during the summer for defenceman David Cooper in a deal of unhappy campers. Kohn, a native of Uherske Hradiste in the Czech Republic, had three 20-goal seasons in the AHL after a 92-point season as a junior with Swift Current in 1994-95.
Leafs coach Pat Quinn, who had not summoned any forwards from St. John's as Toronto took the NHL lead in scoring, won't say where Kohn will fit tonight. But Modin had played his way off of the first line with Mats Sundin and Steve Thomas, replaced on Saturday by Todd Warriner.
Modin, who hit the boards awkwardly with the Chicago Blackhawks' Chris Chelios on top of him, has just four assists during his past 12 games.
"An injury like this never comes at a good time, no matter how you're playing," Modin said yesterday. "But I'm going to stay positive and start working out as soon as possible. The doctors say it's actually better that the bone was broken cleanly because it will heal faster."
Unlike this time last year, when the Leafs already were on the verge of elimination from the playoffs, Modin can look forward to trying to make a contribution in the post-season.
"Absolutely," he said. "And that's going to help me get over this quicker."
Quinn's concern this week is not so much scoring as cleaning up the red-light district taking root in his club's net. Chicago's 6-2 win on Saturday raised the damage to 20 goals against in four games, three of them losses.
If the Leafs are this lax tonight and on Wednesday in Buffalo, those opportunistic teams will feast on an overworked Curtis Joseph in goal.
"Even the low-scoring teams (such as the Blackhawks) are doing it to us," Quinn said after arriving in the Meadowlands last night. "The type of errors we're making are individual errors. We didn't practise (convening for an afternoon flight yesterday following the long post-Gardens parties), but we'll sure talk about it (today)."
The Leafs are facing the prospect of a three-game losing streak for the first time since late October.
Centre Alyn McCauley might play in the Buffalo game, but as of yesterday, Quinn said the anxious youngster hadn't been cleared. McCauley suffered a severe knee sprain Dec. 30, with Warriner replacing him as second-line centre.
Monday February 15, 1999 MLG ceremony hit some low notes
The Maple Leafs are making no apologies for any perceived slipups in the celebration Saturday night of their Gardens departure.
While the nationally televised ceremony delivered on its basic plan to recognize 68 seasons of Leafs history in the building and salute its surviving Stanley Cup winners and Hall of Famers, elements of the post-game show were puzzling to the crowd. The program -- carefully guarded for weeks -- featured a parade of Leafs alumni, but included several faces who were virtual footnotes in franchise history.
The passing of a newly created Gardens flag from 90-year-old ex-captain Red Horner to Mats Sundin, who exchanged hugs, was a high point. But when the current-day Leafs took the pennant and joined the stars and lesser lights in a centre ice photo-op, the intended emotional finish fell flat. Todd Warriner and Eddie Shack were last seen scrambling for the flag as people began heading for the doors.
Organizers apparently intended that part of the ceremony to be unscripted, gambling that the players or the crowd would do something impromptu. But the awkwardness added to a few dry stretches in the show.
There also were some raised eyebrows when Lou Franceschetti -- a winger with just 96 regular-season Leafs games to his credit -- led off the parade of alumni.
Names such as Greg Hotham and Fred Boimistruck also seemed out of place.
"It reflected our goal of inviting the Leafs who played 50 or more games to our celebration," hockey operations manager Casey Vanden Heuvel said yesterday. "It didn't matter if it was Bruce Boudreau or George Armstrong, they're part of the alumni. We started with the 1990s and Franceschetti was first alphabetically. That's all there was to it.
"I would say we were very pleased with how the event went. Very few, if any, unpleasant surprises occurred. It did justice for what we tried to accomplish."
Darryl Sittler, who received one of the loudest ovations, thought the flag ceremony would strike a chord with younger Leafs.
"I think they realize that the Maple Leaf means so much to so many fans, and what it meant to so many players in the past," Sittler said. "To see that flag go over, knowing that banner is going to hang in the Air Canada Centre, maybe will be something that they can build on and hopefully win a championship of their own."
Coach Pat Quinn figured the hoopla had cost his team two points against Chicago, but was in a forgiving mood, given the circumstance.
"Maybe we don't have that experience yet to handle distractions," Quinn said.
Friday February 12, 1999 Leafs have long way to go, says Dryden
The Leafs have come a long way but the journey has just begun, says club president Ken Dryden.
Toronto is 30-19-3 this season after missing the playoffs the last two years, but losses such as the 6-5 defeat at home Wednesday against the Carolina Hurricanes keep management humble.
"We're not at the level we need to be," Dryden said during an interview on The Fan radio Friday. "We have to get better."
That doesn't mean Dryden and associate GM Mike Smith are not about to make major changes.
"There are some things you can do in the course of a season," he said. "You look at yourself, you look at your weaknesses, you decide to focus on your weaknesses, but you also have to worry that, in filling the holes of your weaknesses, that you don't end up affecting what you really are.
"What we are is an opportunistic team that can have bursts and can score goals when we get a chance. That's the real good part of our team.
"What we have to do is play between the highlights."
The 6-5 loss proved it.
"We were spectacular. We just weren't good often enough. To win important games against good teams and in the playoffs, you have to play in the valleys. You have to play between the highs. Most of the game is played between the highs."
Just because Toronto is the highest-scoring team in the NHL doesn't mean the players can't check diligently enough to keep the other team off the scoreboard, he added.
Thursday February 11, 1999 'Go Leafs Go' almost gone: Gardens a dinosaur for the ages
One by one, the grand old sports palaces have disappeared into history.
The Forum. Chicago Stadium. Boston Garden. The Olympia. The old Madison Square Garden.
Long before that, Ebbets Field. Crosley Field. Comiskey Park. Before long, we'll be saying goodbye to Tiger Stadium and Fenway Park.
Some day, God forbid, Wrigley Field will go and the dinosaurs will be extinct.
Two days from now, with great pomp and circumstance, Maple Leaf Gardens will join the others in antiquity. For the moment, Conn Smythe's creation is safe from the wrecking ball, but its grand hall never again will echo with the cries of "Go Leafs Go."
The unofficial farewell festival, nostalgic with gusts up to maudlin, that has gripped this city like a flu epidemic this week will grow ever more pervasive during the next two days.
Even at last night's second-to-last Leafs appearance on Carlton St., there was a sense of history, an electricity running through the building that seldom finds its way into an NHL rink in the dog days of mid-February.
EVERYTHING BUT A WIN
The Leafs and the Hurricanes responded with some old-time firewagon hockey, chasing each other up and down the ice, providing something that often has been in short supply over recent years: Entertainment. The crowd loved it, all except the final score of 6-5 for Carolina.
Despite all the amazing things that have happened at the Gardens over the years, none could compare with the actual construction job itself. It was a tour de force that never could be matched.
At a time when no one had two nickels to rub together, Conn Smythe cobbled together a bankroll of $1.5 million and a workforce of 1,300 to get the Gardens built in 51/2 months. To put it in perspective, that's more than they now pay Tie Domi per season, but a little less than Alexander Karpovtsev.
Through depression and war, through massive cultural, social and demographic changes that have swept Toronto toward the 21st century, through waves of Maple Leafs success and Maple Leafs incompetence, the Gardens has remained vital and impressive, a heart beating strongly in the core of our city.
It has been renovated and redecorated. It has been rejigged and redefined. Every dime has been wrung from its aging bones.
But the pace of the NHL's economic expansion has left the old barn in the dust. NHL owners need arenas that print their own money these days. The Gardens may be a treasure trove of past glory but the Air Canada Centre is the bankroll for the future.
You don't have to like it but that is the reality that drove the Leafs to meld with the Raptors in a hybrid building that shares little with the Gardens save for its unexceptional exterior.
Saturday's closing ceremonies are a secret guarded as closely as the Allied invasion of Europe. But it doesn't take a great deal of imagination to figure out that the 48th Highlanders will have a role. They were there on opening night in 1931 and every opening night since, piping in each new season.
When the Montreal Forum closed its doors three years ago, it was a moving ceremony, a celebration of consistent Canadiens excellence stretching from the beginning to the end. They trotted out a steady stream of heroes representing half a century of Stanley Cup contention.
For more than three decades, the Leafs legacy has been bankrupt. There are still many living Leafs legends to be sure, but two generations of hockey fans have grown up since they worked their magic on Gardens ice. It will be at least interesting to see how the Maple Leafs organization builds the emotional bonds between audience and ceremony on Saturday.
Perhaps all that is necessary is to expand on the season theme: Memories and Dreams. Of all the thousands of hockey arenas dotting our landscape, none is woven so tightly into the dreams of Canadian youth and into the memories of the rest of us, as is Maple Leaf Gardens.
It promises to be a night for the ages, a night of tribute to a sporting dinosaur.
Monday February 8, 1999 Leafs keep soft touch
If goalie Curtis Joseph needs an insurance policy for the playoffs, he best call Manulife.
Maple Leafs president Ken Dryden yesterday shot down the notion of adding a nasty, Mark Tinordi-type defenceman to help protect the goalie.
Joseph's welfare again became an issue Saturday in New Jersey where the Devils played a game of bump-and-run with the Leafs MVP.
When that didn't rattle Joseph, 6-foot-3 Jason Arnott nearly decapitated the goalie with his skate. Joseph still stole the game, 3-2.
The Philadelphia Flyers also have spent considerable time in Joseph's face while Toronto's next opponent -- the Hurricanes -- created plenty of havoc in Toronto's end during a 4-2 win Jan. 18 in Carolina.
But Dryden believes altering a team's personality in mid-stream is a dangerous game -- especially given the Leafs are 11-5-1 in their past 17 starts.
"You are what your are," Dryden said yesterday. "And the strength of our team team is quickness and our ability to move the puck well.
"You can't transform yourself and you don't want to. I think we're the kind of team you want to have."
Translation: Don't expect the Leafs to make any significant personnel changes before the playoffs.
Tinordi, a 6-foot-4, 215-pound defenceman with Washington and a soon-to-be unrestricted free agent, has tweaked the interest of a few NHL clubs -- including the Detroit Red Wings.
Rangers agitator Ulf Samuelsson also could be moved before the March 23 trade deadline.
While the Leafs have an excess of defencemen, none are particularly large or nasty.
But Dryden says the Leafs have learned to deal with traffic headaches around Joseph in other ways.
"We play a kind of a contain, rope-a-dope defence. What we're looking to do is bend but not break," Dryden said. "We're not strong enough to just go get the puck.
"The first time we played Philadelphia, we made the mistake of trying to overpower a team that was overpowering. We can't do that. We don't have the size.
"Now, there may be 20-second stretches when (big) teams seem to have it all their own way in our end, but where it is, is in the corners or on the edges. They can have it there all night."
Meanwhile, the idea of adding a sniper such as Theo Fleury or Valeri Kamensky for the playoffs appears to be pure fantasy, too.
The Leafs already possess one of the league's most balanced attacks -- a fact borne out during the past 11 games, 10 of which were on the road.
They were an impressive 7-3-1 during that wicked stretch, despite the fact the Todd Warriner-Mike Johnson-Derek King unit seemed bothered by the same malaise that has hampered Mats Sundin's line.
Sergei Berezin and Steve Sullivan filled the vacuum with a handful of timely goals that has kept the Leafs within striking distance of Eastern Conference-leading Philadelphia.
Berezin was arguably the Leafs' best forward during the club's long absence from the Gardens. With 18 goals, the Leafs fireplug ranks third among Russians in the NHL, behind Ottawa's Alexei Yashin (22 goals) and Boston's Dmitri Khristich (21).
Sullivan has scored eight times in the past 10 games after collecting one in his previous 23 starts.
Thursday February 4, 1999 Leafs will take shot at the Cup
So much for the long-term rebuilding program.
The Toronto Maple Leafs are ready to take a run at the Stanley Cup.
Ever since becoming general manager almost two years ago, Ken Dryden has preached patience. But now that the Leafs are having such a good season, the attitude has changed.
In management's collective minds, the Leafs are a genuine contender and will be treated accordingly.
While Dryden stressed he will not be reckless -- as if that's a surprise -- and has no intention of selling the team's future for one crack at the Cup, he definitely is ready to make some short-term moves.
In other words, Dryden agrees with fans that, incredible as it may seem considering their performance last season, the Leafs have a genuine crack at winning the Stanley Cup.
They're far from being odds-on favourites, but they're better than last season's Washington Capitals,who advanced to the Stanley Cup final. And when a team with a goalie such as Curtis Joseph gets to the final, it has a serious chance at winning the Cup.
There had been a suspicion in the hockey community that the Leafs were so committed to their long-term rebuilding program that they would stick to that plan, even if it meant leaving holes unfilled for the playoffs.
But Dryden said that is no longer the case.
'GO FOR IT'
"You always go for it," he said. "The league is too close. You can't predict your own time, so you always go for it. You're never reckless, but you always go for it."
Therefore, the Leafs seriously will consider acquiring players who might help them shore up some weak spots.
There are usually two aspects to be considered in such moves -- the cost of the player and the cost of his salary.
The salary aspect would be the lesser problem. Dryden said that while the Leafs have a budget, he would exceed that budget for the right player.
It is the impact on the Leafs' long-term hopes that would create a dilemma. It's fine to say that the long-term hopes should be shelved if the incoming player is the last piece in the puzzle and the team wins the Stanley Cup.
IMPROVE
However, Dryden said, no team in history has been able to go into the playoffs guaranteeing that it would win the Cup. "All you can do is improve the odds."
As a result, the approach at the moment is one of wait and see.
"Yes," Dryden said, "but it's an active wait-and-see."
Tuesday February 2, 1999 Tie back in action
The previous time Tie Domi was out of action this long, he had slugged Ulf Samuelsson and then paced like a caged tiger as he served an eight-game suspension.
But after spending 10 games on the sidelines last month nursing a knee injury, the message finally got through to Domi: The 10-year veteran is more valuable to the Maple Leafs than just as an enforcer.
So when coach Pat Quinn cleared him to play Saturday against Washington, then held him back one more day to be sure, Domi gritted his teeth and accepted his fate.
"If we had lost six or seven in a row, it would be a different situation," Domi said yesterday at the Ice Palace. "I would be ready to get back out there. I really wanted to play after we lost 6-0 to Pittsburgh last week. But (the team's success) actually makes you want to be sure you're all right.
"My heart was willing (Saturday), but Pat knows best."
Had he been out a month earlier in his career, Domi might have found himself on the outside looking in, with another checker in his spot. But Quinn likely will put him back on the plumbers line with Kris King and Steve Sullivan tonight against the Lightning.
"I've never believed in carrying someone who can't make a contribution," Quinn said.
The Leafs aren't as physical a team as the other Eastern Conference leaders, but that hasn't stopped them from staying in contention. There have been three hard-fought games with the Philadelphia Flyers, while the Leafs face one of their stiffest tests later this week in their first meeting with New Jersey.
But Quinn continues to try to convince his team that any physical limitations can be overcome with crisp puck movement and attention to detail on defence. That, and perfect attendance by Curtis Joseph.
Assuming the Leafs don't crash and burn, they will be capable of making some noise in the playoffs. Post-season means avoiding fighting, but Domi, the Leafs penalty king, doesn't mind.
"I'm the type of player who always will have to prove himself (in the skill department)," Domi said. "Playoffs is when I played my best hockey. Pat Burns put me with Mats (Sundin) and (Doug) Gilmour and I just went to the net."
The only thing that did stoke Domi's fire was the rough stuff Joseph endured from a couple of Dallas Stars two weeks ago. Domi says he has filed that incident away, though barring a Leafs-Stars Cup final, it's a dead issue until next season.
Quinn, who has been using seven defencemen, will go back to four lines with Domi's return. As a result, Dallas Eakins departed yesterday for St. John's on a 14-day conditioning stint. Quinn resisted the urge to use Eakins up front when Domi and Alyn McCauley were out last month.
That still leaves eight defencemen, with Tomas Kaberle and Yannick Tremblay likely spending tonight in the press box. Darby Hendrickson, the former centre for Domi and Kris King, could be a scratch again, but Quinn says he'll be back on this trip, perhaps tomorrow against the Panthers or Saturday against the Devils.