NEWS OF MAPLE LEAFS
Last Update:
Friday September 29, 2000 12:19AM EST
Thursday September 28 2000 Diduck dangled
Gerald Diduck's day of woe is the stuff country music songs are written about.
His girl didn't leave him. The dog didn't bite him.
No, this was worse.
He woke up to discover he had been left unprotected by the Maple Leafs for tomorrow's NHL waiver draft.
He made a pair of defensive mistakes that led to a pair of Buffalo goals in a 4-2 NHL exhibition loss to the Sabres last night at the Air Canada Centre.
And the coup de grace came early in the second period when he fell awkwardly and split open the bursa sac in his elbow. Diduck, who plans to take antibiotics, said he expected to be out four to seven days.
Diduck's exclusion from the protected list came as a surprise to no one. Diduck's $1-million US salary is believed to be too rich for most teams to pick up.
"I saw it in the paper but I don't worry about that," Diduck said. "A lot better players than me have been left unprotected. It comes around to everyone sooner or later."
Other Leafs left unprotected included defencemen Bryan Berard, Nathan Dempsey and D.J. Smith, forwards Lonny Bohonos, Aaron Brand and David Nemirovsky, and goaltender Jimmy Waite.
"It's pretty obvious we didn't have any fill-ins on our list," Leafs assistant to the president Bill Watters said last night. "Each team could protect 18 skaters and two goaltenders, so we couldn't protect all of them."
Pickings will be slim when the waiver draft starts at noon tomorrow. The NHL yesterday released the protected lists of each team, and there are very few names available that jump out.
"At first glance, I would say there is nothing we are really interested in," Leafs general manager/coach Pat Quinn said.
The Minnesota Wild holds the first overall pick in the waiver draft, followed by its expansion cousins, the Columbus Blue Jackets. The Maple Leafs select 38th.
No team can lose more than one player. And with the two expansion clubs ballooning the number of teams in the league to 30 this season, it is obvious by the mish-mash of players available that the talent level in the league is watered down.
Wednesday September 27 2000 Cereda may require new heart valve
A faulty valve in the heart of Toronto Maple Leafs' prospect Luca Cereda will have to be replaced if it is unable to repair itself, the team announced Wednesday.
Dr. Michael Clarfield told reporters the team is monitoring the condition of the 19-year-old centre from Lugano, Switzerland.
A heart murmur was detected during training camp and it was later determined to be a faulty leaflet in the aortic valve which pumps blood from the heart.
Clarfield said the condition isn't serious or life threatening and it was just by chance it was found.
"There were four or five players with small irregularities in the cartiograms we do in training camp and there are no red lights flashing, but we check them out," Clarfield said. "He could have played another five years and not really noticed anything different about himself. But it may as well be dealt with now."
Because of the physical constraints of hockey, Cereda's heart would become enlarged after workouts due to the weakened valve.
Upon future medical treatment now ongoing, Cereda's faulty valve will either repair itself or be replaced. If the latter is required, it would ideally be replaced with the valve from a human or pig and would last 12-20 years, Clarfield said.
Replacement with a mechanical valve (with a predicted lifespan of about 30 years) isn't feasible for Cereda because it would require blood thinners and is not conducive to the physical training of professional athletes.
Cereda, drafted in the first round (24th overall) by Toronto in 1999, has returned to Switzerland and is out of action for the entire season. He was expected to play for the Ontario League's Ottawa 67's.
Clarfield is confident Cereda will recover completely.
Wednesday September 27 2000 Joseph may test injury tomorrow
Curtis Joseph may be back in goal as soon as tomorrow.
Maple Leafs general manager/coach Pat Quinn said his star goaltender could see his first NHLpre-season action when the Leafs meet the Detroit Red Wings tomorrow night at Joe Louis Arena. It is believed Joseph would not play the entire game.
Ideally, Quinn also would like Joseph to play in the final pre-season game Sunday against the Red Wings at Hamilton's Copps Coliseum.
But Quinn said that any plans are tentative, since Joseph is battling a nagging groin injury.
"He's veteran enough to know if he's ready," Quinn said.
The ailment has improved, allowing Joseph yesterday to have one of his best on-ice practices since camp started.
"(It) was a good day," Joseph said. "Being able to play those (two exhibition games) would be great. But I'm not predicting anything. I don't want to be disappointed again."
Tuesday September 26 2000 Leafs trade McAllister to Flyers for Kelly
The Toronto Maple Leafs traded defenceman Chris McAllister to the Philadelphia Flyers on Tuesday in exchange for prospect Regan Kelly.
Philadelphia acquired McAllister because they were concerned about the play of second-year defenceman Mark Eaton and Chris Therien is recovering from a back injury.
McAllister, 25, played in 36 games for the Maple Leafs last season with no goals and three assists.
"Two years ago, he really looked on the upswing," Flyers GM Bob Clarke said. "We still see a fairly young, tough defenceman who needs some work and some growing as a player."
McAllister, six foot seven, 235 pounds, is likely to be used as a first backup once Therien is healthy.
Clarke was impressed with McAllister's play in 1998 when Toronto defeated the Flyers in the playoffs. McAllister has played in 120 NHL regular-season games for Toronto.
Kelly, also a defenceman, was drafted by the Flyers in the eighth round, 259th overall, in the 2000 entry draft. He played last season in the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League.
The Flyers also submitted their protected list for Friday's waiver draft. Eric Lindros, an unsigned restricted free agent, was on the list.
Sunday September 24 2000 Leafs believe courts wrong to judge NHL
The Maple Leafs are glad to be leaving town just before Hurricane Marty hits.
The National Hockey League is about to be dragged under a legal microscope in front of the world media tomorrow when Marty McSorley's assault trial begins.
But while the Leafs don't condone the actions that landed McSorley in B.C. provincial courtroom 307, some think the Boston Bruins enforcer should not be having his fate decided there.
"Our league should police itself," winger Tie Domi said yesterday. "They made their ruling (suspending McSorley since last February pending an NHL review) and it should've ended there.
"It should never have gone this far. Yes, it will be (damaging for the game). But whoever laid this charge (the B.C. attorney general's office) has brought that damage on the game."
General manager/coach Pat Quinn indicated similar views, but held his tongue.
"You don't need me to fuel this," he said. "My view is the courts don't belong here and we'll leave it at that."
Gary Roberts was worried about the trial's fallout and how both McSorley and victim Donald Brashear, the Canucks enforcer, will be portrayed.
"Hockey's a great game and you would hate to see it (discredited) by people who know nothing about it," Roberts said. "The game of hockey is one of emotion. To be successful, you've got to play on the edge, but be careful not to cross it.
"I'm not taking sides, I just know how tough it is on both guys and what they've gone through the last six months. What Marty did was wrong, but I look at him and know that he's not that type of person. A lot of hard work went into his career, the same as Donald's."
Defenceman Gerald Diduck also felt that McSorley's punishment should have remained a league matter. But he hopes that the unusual case, the first of its kind since the Dino Ciccarelli stick attack on Luke Richardson in 1988, would consider all the circumstances involved in the heat of a hockey game.
"We operate as individuals who answer to a legal system, whether we're hockey players or doctors or Slobodan Milosevic," Diduck said. "If you've done something wrong, you answer to that higher level. This is one rare incident in hockey that has gone to that next level.
"Marty has already said that what he did is not part of the game. I'm sure everyone wishes this never happened. You just hope it gets dealt with in a responsible fashion and you don't get people jumping in trying to make headlines for themselves out of it."
Saturday September 23 2000 Heart surgery for Cereda
Centre Luca Cereda must undergo minor heart surgery, likely putting his promising career with the Maple Leafs on hold for this season.
A heart specialist, called in Thursday after a murmur was detected at training camp medicals, has determined that one of three valves in the 19-year-old's aorta is not pumping blood properly, a potentially life-threatening condition.
"I am bit worried, yes," Cereda said last night from his Toronto hotel room. "But it's good they found it and they say I will come back even stronger. So even with the bad news there is some good."
The surgery was inevitable, agent Don Meehan said yesterday after meeting Leafs doctors Michael Clarfield and Darrell Ogilvie-Harris in Toronto.
"Through passage of time he would have needed this surgery whether he played hockey or not," Meehan said.
"The only thing to decide now is whether to operate here or in Switzerland (Cereda's home). He'll be speaking to his parents about that in the next couple of days.
"He has had this problem since birth. His attitude is good about what has happened. We're pleased the doctors have discovered this early. They've told him that after the surgery and recovery, he'll eventually feel like he has a lot more (energy) than he does now."
After the three-hour surgical procedure, Cereda likely will be confined to hospital for four or five days, followed by a three-month rest from any strenuous activity. Meehan said Cereda could start a conditioning program by the end of the year, beginning on a stationary bike, but that nothing would be rushed.
One further test remains, inserting a tube down Cereda's esophagus to give doctors a clearer picture of the problem, then a date for surgery would be set. "We want to get it done as soon as we can," Meehan said. "Luca is very proud of his accomplishments at training camp and wants to continue as soon as possible."
Cereda was Toronto's first pick in the 1999 draft, 24th overall, and the first Swiss to be drafted by the Leafs. In his first pro camp this month, he tied Lance Galbraith for the team lead with five points as the Leafs swept their four-team rookie tournament, and he had one goal and one assist in his lone NHL exhibition.
"We're glad this problem has been detected now," Leafs assistant to the president Bill Watters said.
"It will have obvious benefits for Luca when he resumes playing."