The Price of Responsibility...

The trade deadline passed and the players moved.. now what?? well.. montreal certainly pulled a surprise by giving away arguably their #1 goaltender for practically nothing. Sure they could have potentially gotten more for huet than a menial second round draft pick, but then again there's the argument of whether there's a market for goaltenders in the NHL these days. Unless ur name is Roberto Luongo, JS Giguere, Martin Brodeur or Henrik Lundqvist, ur pretty much expendable in the NHL While teams like dallas, pittsburgh, and san jose strengthened their team, the habs and Bob Gainey seem to have done the reverse.

The flipside of this move though, is the payoff that waits around the corner. Sure, now all the hopes of a montreal stanley cup falls on the shoulders of a 20 year with a 21 year old backup. But history seems to favour the habs on this one. The last 2 times a rookie goaltender was thrust with this kind of responsibility, they brought home the stanley cup to la belle provence in 1971 and 1986, under dryden and roy respectively. I'm not saying that Carey Price is anywhere near the calibre of the 2 hall of famers mentioned above, but right now all we can do is hope that this young man can handle the pressures that come with the job and take us through. If he doesn't, we always have that draft pick we got.. which is 1 draft pick more than what we would have gotten for huet at the end of the season.

As a side note, what will happen if Montreal faces the Penguins in the first round?? they seem to be a powerhouse before the acquisition of Hossa. The two teams seem to be pretty evenly posed with them splitting the season series 2-2 but does the addition of hossa to the lineup really threaten to put them Pens over the top? I'm too scared to answer this question myself. my heart tells me that i shouldn't turn my back on my habs.. but the reality is that the powerplay lineup of malkin, crosby, hossa, malone is quite possibly the best line since alfredsson, spezza, heatley and redden. It's scary enough to think of one league leader in a line.. imagine having to block shots coming from 3.. I guess the bottom line is..Can Price Handle It? Is the loss of Huet too big a price for Price?? Only time will tell.

Moving on.. The Trade Situation..

Now that the oscars are done, I can move on to other topics.. so i figured i'd focus on the NHL trade deadline which is tomorrow.. so here I am waiting with bated breath on what's going to happen to mes habitants.. are they gonna make that trade for the impact player we've been told time and time again.

The Mats Sundin saga ended quite abruptly with him saying that he wants to stay in toronto. Although his intentions are noble, one has to wonder the long term repercussions of his decision.. Don't get me wrong.. I personally think that he is a great individual for staying loyal to the team especially when the team has treated him like shit over and over again. A simple question would be, y stay when the management doesn't want u to stay? will they really show you any respect? Knowing toronto management over the last 4 decades, i'm willing to bet my money that Sundin will be treated the same as all his predecessors. Doug Gilmour, Dave Keon, Wendel Clark, Daryl Sittler and many many more.

I read an article on the toronto star earlier today titled "Classless Leafs don't deserve Mats". This coming from toronto star columnist Rosie DiManno, a long-time supporter and die hard fan of the Toronto Maple Leafs.

"There is a recurring theme here in the melodramas of Maple Leaf Land. This is an organization without class and without conscience. Was a time that could be attributed to the deranged persona of Harold Ballard, a bully and misanthrope who abused staff, shamed players and held fans in contempt. But at least there was a face to put to the bungle and a desk where the buck stopped.

If you were to call the Leafs' front office today and ask to speak with the person in charge, who in the world might that be? It's a board of directors accountable to no one except shareholders and immune from scandal.

A few years back, the Leafs announced things were going to be done different. Alumni were welcomed back, the diaspora of beloved ex-Leafs embraced, vows of integrity expressed. In practice, little has changed. It remains a franchise without a soul, for all its iconic stature, thoughtless and disloyal.

Can you imagine the Detroit Red Wings treating Steve Yzerman, when in the eclipse of his career, as the Leafs are treating Sundin, even as respectful as Fletcher has attempted to be? Or the Montreal Canadiens similarly rushing Bob Gainey - his sweater retired on Saturday - out the door, with a slam-bang-thank-you capitaine?

The public has grown weary of sports idols who swap loyalties for the green, and rosier environments. Would serve the Leafs right if, denied a deal for Sundin at the deadline, he refuses to re-sign here now. But he won't. The guy's only crime is that he's not a mercenary, that he's true.

All else is false."

This is not to show my hatred for the TML organization but rather what i've been re-iterating for years about the lack of commitment and the lack of soul in the team. The time has finally come for the media and the fans to finally take a stance against the organization, to boycott the games, and to stop buying into the management's loose promises. But this has been an all too familiar a sight and is very likely to disappear into the background like all the previous years and the leaf organization, until a radical change is made, is doomed to failure.