2013: The NHL season that almost wasn't

Ford vs. Canseco vs. Burke.

I'd love to see that. ;D

 

It's on TSN Radio

http://www.tsn.ca/Toronto/

 

Nonis: We have come a long way," Nonis says. "I know it's hard to recognize, but the reserve list is much stronger, the group is much stronger."

 

Again, we are on the same page here. I have ripped him here more than anyone, I think. Which makes the desperation among the Leafs sheep for Luongo that much more entertainign for me. I think he's a good goalie. I think he's a highly overrated goalie. I don't think he's a money goalie in any sense. I think Toronto would be a terrible landing spot for him, due to the pressure and the glare of the media.

 

So we actually all agree on this.

Who knows, Scrivens may be the real deal. Reimer still a huge question mark because of his concussion.

Word was that Allaire pretty much fucked Reimer up. Took away his athleticism and made him play that doctrinaire robotic butterfly style which is pretty outdated now.

 

Absolutely, we agree. I'm only invested in this for entertainment purposes.

 

There is no more pressure in Toronto than there is in Vancouver. More media yes, but the pressure he was under out here was crazy. It was cup or nothing. The only pressure there would be to make the playoffs and they would have made the playoffs if he was between the pipes last year.

 

Interesting Tweet from Damien:

Damien Cox ‏@DamoSpin
Bell/Rogers clearly not comfortable with Burke. Bell, in particular, believed his style was "bad for the brand."

Now, THAT, I would believe. The corporate weasels are in charge now.

 

That has more to do with it than anything trade related.

 

Very true on the pressure of the expectations. To me the media glare is still worse in Toronto -- not that it isn't bad in Vancouver -- which puts a different kind of pressure on Luongo. It's the no-escape-factor. Again, Vancouver definitely has that as well, but Toronto and Montreal are worse for it than, I believe, any other team in the league. And when shits going bad, and it will in Toronto for the next few years at least, goalie is often the main/easy target. He may say all the right things, but I don't think Luongo wants any part of the Maple Leafs.

 

Let's remember: Toronto has four daily newspapers, two all sports radio stations, three all sports TV stations and numerous media outlets like CBC. And it can be in the middle of a WS but if's breaking Leafs news, it leads every time.

You can get more media people at a Leafs morning skate than a lot of teams would get at a playoff game.

 

At the risk of being labeled a bad Sunbelt fan, I'm struggling to get excited for this.