NEWS OF MAPLE LEAFS
Last Update:
Wednesday September 30, 1998 9:39PM EST
Wednesday September 30, 1998 Linden to T.O. in deal for Cat?
Felix Potvin's fiery words four days ago appear to have sparked trade talks involving the in-limbo netminder.
While the Maple Leafs took a break from training camp yesterday for their annual golf tournament -- which Potvin skipped -- the hot gossip around the league was that Toronto and the New York Islanders are talking trade.
The Leafs apparently have offered Potvin to the Islanders for centre Trevor Linden and forward Michael Rupp, a 1998 first-round pick.
Following Potvin's solid performance in Montreal last Saturday, the veteran goalie vented his frustration with the Leafs' inability to move him. Potvin then hinted he may leave camp if there isn't a deal.
The Isles have been unsuccessful this summer in trying to sign Linden, a restricted free agent. Linden, 28, is seeking a deal worth $3 million US a season. The team has been willing to give Linden a slight raise from the $2.5 million he made last season.
The Isles ownership is expected to get involved in the contract negotiations to speed up a deal. This also would aid a possible deal with the Leafs, who earlier said they were unwilling to pay the available Petr Nedved $4 million a season.
Linden, a former Canucks captain, played under new Leafs coach Pat Quinn when the two were with Vancouver.
Islanders general manager/coach Mike Milbury isn't convinced goalie Tommy Salo can backstop the young, developing Islanders to a higher level.
At last March's trade deadline, Milbury was trying to work out a deal with the Edmonton Oilers for Curtis Joseph. If Milbury lands Potvin, it is believed Salo would be moved to another team -- most likely the Oilers -- for help at forward.
Milbury did not return phone calls yesterday.
Leafs associate general manager Mike Smith denied trade discussions with the Islanders have taken place.
"I haven't talked to the Islanders about Felix," Smith said. "I talked to them on Monday. But I was just trying to find out where they were going to play this season."
The Islanders, of course, have safety concerns about their building, the Nassau Coliseum. A judge yesterday ruled the arena was safe to play in.
A trade freeze goes into effect at 2 p.m. tomorrow and is lifted after the waiver draft is completed Monday afternoon.
Smith did say his search for a defenceman continues. One possibility is another unsigned restricted free agent, 6-foot-2, 200-pound Drew Bannister of the Mighty Ducks. The former Canadian junior team member and OHL all-star has been working out with his former junior club, the Soo Greyhounds.
A veteran of 150-plus NHL games Bannister, 24, could be acquired for a mid- to late-round draft pick.
Wednesday September 30, 1998 Schneider eyes a wider world
It seems the higher the Maple Leafs soar, the greater the turbulence.
Their only blue-chip defenceman, Mathieu Schneider, yesterday vowed to play in the International Hockey League or in Europe this season rather than accept a $2.5-million US contract proposal from the Leafs.
"If they're dead set on me agreeing to their offer, I will end up playing somewhere else," Schneider told The Toronto Sun. "One way or another, something has to be done in the next seven to 10 days."
Goalie Felix Potvin is fed up, too. Never mind that the Leafs are 4-0-1 in pre-season and that he has won two of those games.
"When you sit here in camp and all you keep hearing is 'Be patient, be patient,' it gets harder and harder," said Potvin, still waiting to be traded. "I want something to be done before it's too late."
Goalie Glenn Healy doesn't enjoy being in limbo, either. The Leafs intend to expose Healy in Monday's NHL waiver draft. Should he go unselected, Healy might face a stint in the minors as long as Potvin remains with the team.
"Hockey is my livelihood, it's not my life," Healy said when asked if he would report to St. John's. "Right now it adds to my life. The day it starts not being fun is the day I make another choice."
Schneider, who earned $2.4 million US in salary and bonuses last season, expected more than a $100,000 hike in pay. He wants a deal worth $3.25 million a year. The Leafs won't budge.
"In fact, they called my agent (Steve Reich) last week just to tell us they've taken their ($2.5-million offer) off the table," Schneider said. "They've stopped negotiating.
"Maybe they're trying to scare me into accepting less money or trying to intimidate me in some way. I'm not trying for the home run, I just want what the market is. There's a lot of pride involved."
While several teams -- including the Carolina Hurricanes -- apparently would pay Schneider what he wants, the Leafs are demanding appropriate compensation. Schneider would prefer to stay in Toronto and can't understand why associate general manager Mike Smith would want to play hardball with him.
"It's just a matter of being treated fairly, feeling wanted, feeling you're a major part of that team," he said. "I've really played hard for the club. I believe in the club.
"I'm probably in the best shape I've ever been. My groins feel really good and my head is focused on hockey."
While Schneider has been skating with the St. Mike's Majors juniors since the Leafs opened camp, he is not likely to hang around Toronto much longer.
"I think some good things can happen with the club this year," he said. "But things have to change and change quickly because disappointment can turn to bitterness in a hurry."
Tuesday September 29, 1998 Quinn envisions big turnaround
If the Maple Leafs can't be the best team in the NHL this season,
they would settle for most improved.
The Boston Bruins bolted out of 26th spot and into ninth place last
season and Pat Quinn thinks his team also is capable of a dramatic
turnaround.
"I don't see why not," the Leafs coach said yesterday. "I'm not saying
we'll be 30 points better (like Boston). But we're going to be a better
team."
The surprising Leafs have averaged four goals-a-game en route to a
4-0-1 pre-season record. Only two of last year's Leafs -- Mats
Sundin and Derek King -- scored more than 20 goals.
Quinn believes five or six Leafs could reach that mark this year.
"The advance billing for this hockey club was not really strong," he
said. "But what I've found is that people -- maybe it's human nature --
want to tell you the bad things.
"But they didn't tell me the good things and there are a lot of good
things about this team. I think we're going to be able to come up with
two lines that can create some offence."
Quinn recognizes the Leafs probably aren't as solid as their early
exhibition record suggests.
"George Armstrong made an interesting point the other day," Quinn
said. "He said the kids are all working for you now because they
haven't figured out a way to fool you yet.
"But I'm very optimistic. I didn't come here to miss (the playoffs)."
Monday September 28, 1998 Mates have sympathy for Potvin
The Maple Leafs players don't blame goaltender Felix Potvin for letting his frustrations boil over.
But they don't want the distraction of their popular teammate being on the trading block to detract from their modest pre-season success and optimism.
"I can't say enough about the great way Cat's handled this so far, but obviously the wait's getting to him," winger Tie Domi said. "We made jokes about it when he first came to camp, about his suitcase being packed and all, but now we're definitely laying off of him.
"The bottom line is, no one (in the public) is going to feel sorry for him or us because of the money we make. No one wants a situation like this put on their family, but that's why we get the big bucks."
Life in limbo got the worst of Potvin after a 2-1 win Saturday in his home town of Montreal.
Saturday September 26, 1998 Healy the first to go?
"So where is Felix Potvin going to end up?"
It's the question most commonly asked of hockey writers these days and the answer usually follows these lines: "If Leafs acting general manager Mike Smith had a record of competence, or had shown even the slightest indication that he's determined to act rather than react, you could arrive at a reasonable conclusion.
"But Smith's history is primarily one of inactivity, so much so that other GMs around the league complain that their calls to him go unreturned. The few trades he has condescended to make since joining the Leafs were inconclusive -- one good, the rest bad or irrelevant.
"Therefore, you could make a wild guess about Potvin's destination, but you might just as well try to guess what form of criminal behaviour the Supreme Court is going to condone next. There's simply no way to know."
As time goes on, however, it becomes more and more likely that Potvin will end up on Montreal or Vancouver. It may turn out to be the only way Smith can stabilize Toronto's goaltending staff.
The reason is that in a little more than a week, the National Hockey League will stage its waiver draft. At that time, the Leafs can protect only two goalies. The management might think that Curtis Joseph is ineligible because he has a no-trade contract. Who knows what they think up there? But no-trade clauses are not no-waiver clauses and Joseph will have to be protected. For obvious reasons, so will Potvin.
So the Leafs will have to expose Glenn Healy. And unless they're totally asleep in Montreal and Vancouver, one of those teams will grab him.
In the case of the Canucks, Healy is probably better than any of the goalies they have on their roster. In the case of Montreal, it dearly coveted Healy before he signed with Toronto a year ago. Since then, the Canadiens have lost the veteran presence of Andy Moog and Healy would be the ideal guy to nurse Jose Theodore, who is probably going to start the season as the No. 1 goalie.
Even if Montreal had no use for Healy, it would make sense to grab him. Philadelphia Flyers GM Bob Clarke pulled off a similar move a few years ago when he picked Pete Peeters out of the Washington organization. He didn't really need Peeters, but the move hurt Washington, a divisional rival of the Flyers.
But the best reason of all for the Canucks or Canadiens to take Healy is that it would put pressure on the Leafs to send Potvin to that team.
With Healy gone, the Leafs would be down to two goaltenders and Potvin would become the most expensive backup in hockey history. If Potvin were then traded, they would have to bring up Francis Larivee, which would help neither Larivee nor the organization.
And, should the Leafs decide that Healy is too expensive and let him go willingly, that's an even worse decision.
So the Canucks or Canadiens would say, "You want Healy back? Then we'll make him part of the package when you send us Felix Potvin."
The Leafs would therefore be in the unenviable position of having to take a reduced package for last year's No. 1 goaltender in order to get their own No. 2 goaltender back.
The Leafs hint that they don't think that Healy, at a salary of $1.2 million US annually, is going to be picked off. Think again. At that price, Healy is barely making the league average, but he is one of the best backup goalies in the game.
At the moment, the Canadiens are leaning toward handing the top job to Theodore, which makes the disposition of Jocelyn Thibault a problem. But if they had Healy, they could trade Thibault, secure in the belief that, at worst, they've got two years to wait before Mathieu Garon arrives on the scene to solve their problems.
The time to trade Potvin was mid-summer, when Joseph was acquired. As the days dragged on, we were assured that it might be November before Potvin is traded because by then, a few teams probably would be desperate for goaltending.
But no one seems to have taken into account the possibility of losing Healy in the waiver draft. It changes the outlook entirely -- and as far as the Leafs are concerned, not for the better.
Friday September 25, 1998 Leafs hopeful suffers second concussion
The trouble with trying to make the Maple Leafs as a banger is that, well, you can get hurt. Right winger Steven Rice suffered his second concussion is as many weeks during a 5-2 victory Wednesday over the Oilers in Edmonton. Rice, who is on a tryout and doesn't have a contract, will have trouble making the squad now. Rice, 27, smashed his head against he boards after he missed his intended target, Oilers defenceman Brad Norton. "It gave him a pretty good whack," Leafs coach Pat Quinn said. "He
was in a fog for quite a bit of time. He recollected getting off the plane(in Edmonton) and that was about it." Rice, who spent the past four seasons in the Hartford/Carolina organization, was released this past summer after a difficult two-goal, six-point season with the Hurricanes.
Friday September 25, 1998 Quinn seeing red, but no centre line
Pat Quinn plans to install a flashing stop sign at centre ice tonight at the Gardens for the game between the Buffalo Sabres and the Maple Leafs. Party-pooper. The Leafs coach isn't crazy about tonight's NHL experiment aimed at opening up the game and creating more scoring. The Sabres and Leafs in effect will play without a centre red line, although rules regarding icings will be in force. However, a player can pass the puck out of his own end through the neutral zone without putting his teammate offside. "I don't think it makes for a better game," Quinn said. "The open rink might breed a lot of cheating. "We're going to try to play a game with the red line on it. If we see a
guy hanging out well beyond reason, the critique on his game is not going to be favourable." The NCAA abandoned the red line several years ago and many NHL players, including the Leafs' Tie Domi, think it's worth looking at. "By taking the red line out it could stop a lot of teams from trapping and open up the game more," Domi said. "The trap really has taken root throughout the league." Leafs goalie Curtis Joseph doesn't think juicing up the game is such a bad idea, either. "There can be good games without a lot of goals being scored," Joseph said. "But scoring, I think, is what people like to see. "It's just like home runs in baseball. If you have a guy going for 100 goals it would add a lot of excitement. I guess 93 would be the Mark McGwire mark."
Wayne Gretzky scored 92 goals during the 1981-82 season, a record
not likely to be broken in today's defensive-minded NHL.
Thursday September 24, 1998 Could Felix soon be a Flame?
So now, it's perfectly clear why the Toronto Maple Leafs scheduled their only non-bus trip exhibition game way out here.
What better place to showcase the runner-up goalie derby with a pair
of interested eyes in attendance?
On the ice, Mike Johnson picked up where he left off last year. The
NHL's 1997 leading rookie scorer had himself a three-goal night as
the Leafs beat the Oilers 5-2 at the freshly-renamed Skyreach Centre.
But most of the action was happening off the ice. With designated No.
1 Curtis Joseph safely tucked in bed back home, Felix Potvin and
Glenn Healy shared goaltending duties.
Among the 13,484 in attendance was Calgary Flames senior scout
Ian (Deputy Dawg) McKenzie. By itself, having a scout at the game
would not be considered earth-shattering except for the fact
McKenzie is rarely seen in NHL rinks unless a potential deal is in its
final stages.
Considering only a skeleton crew of five returning Leafs skaters made
the trip out west, it seems logical the stage was set to put Potvin and
Healy in the most challenging situation possible.
McKenzie was coy when approached about the subject. And, who
could blame him, considering how a potential deal with the Vancouver
Canucks for Potvin was scuttled after details leaked out of Toronto.
One thing's for sure. It's no secret the Flames were unhappy with their
goaltending situation as they faltered during their playoff run last year.
The pre-season has not been any more promising.
The Flames could be in the market for a veteran goaltender after a
shaky outing by ex-Leaf Ken Wregget, who allowed four goals in 22
shots and took a loss in his only pre-season appearance so far.
Back-up Tyler Moss is still considered an NHL rookie, not having
logged the required games last year and is credited with the Flames'
only win this pre-season. The third goalie, highly regarded rookie
Jean-Sebastian Giguere, gave up four goals last night against the
Ottawa Senators.
So, who would come east in a potential deal?
Veteran Theoren Fleury may not be the power forward the Leafs are
looking for, but he's the type of player who could spark their anemic
offence.
Potvin came on in relief of Healy midway through the second period,
impeccable in making 22 saves, a fact sure to impress the Flames'
braintrust.
Wenesday September 23, 1998 The bottom line for Quinn is win
When it blows, there is nothing sharp or demanding about the whistle. Pat Quinn's whistle is a barely audible burble yet its tone is ominous, almost disdainful. Every Maple Leafs player stops and looks to the silver-haired coach as he skates slowly from the boards into their midst. The drill has been botched.
"What kind of breakout was that?" he asks no one in particular, then makes a technical point and indicates everyone to start from the beginning. These are edgy times at Maple Leaf Gardens. There is a new sheriff in town, a coach with no allegiances, and given the team's performance last year, few reasons to believe that anyone's job should be safe. Quinn has had some teams that failed him but he has had more teams that won for him. His success has been based on his ability to assemble not necessarily the best players but the ones that might make the best team. He has been observing his candidates for 10 days now but he's not about to be quick to judge. For now, he's keeping his evaluations more or less to himself. "I'm certainly starting to form my own opinions," he said after presiding over an early workout involving those selected to play tonight in Edmonton. "I think this team can at least skate. That's a big plus. From that,
hopefully we can build something. "I'm an optimistic person anyway and right now, at this time of year, everything is positive. We see a lot of good things. "The pimples will break out soon enough." It has been 20-odd years since Quinn last hung his hat in Maple Leaf Gardens as a tenant, not a visitor.