the post-deadline assessment

Well, I definitely have some stuff to say about the Leafs' dealings on Tuesday and there is a lot being said in the Toronto press. Some people are saying that Fletcher should have played hardball with the "No-Trade-Clause Gang of Five" and threatened them with being sent down to the minor leagues if they didn't waive their NTC's. Obviously they love playing for a 25th place, no-hope loser of a team because Toronto is cushy and they can loaf on the ice while getting endorsement deals and media attention from the hockey-crazy T-Dot media.

However, a contract is a contract and I refuse to blame Fletcher for what happened on Tuesday. He did get some draft picks and got rid of some dead weight--really, was anyone sad to see Wade Belak get traded? Fletcher did what he could considering what he had to work with. And to be honest, I am happy that at least Kaberle is still in a Leafs uniform, not to mention Sundin. Ferguson got us into this mess by handing out these no-trade clauses like he was Santa Claus (no pun intended) at Christmas!

As for the other three members of the NTC gang, I would have been ecstatic to see them shipped off, however, they did not waive their NTC's and so we're stuck with them, at least until the summer. If the Leafs don't make the playoffs, Kubina's NTC comes off and he is deal-able (though who wants to pick up a contract that big for a bum like him?). You ALL know how much I hate Brian McCabe and it was my prayer that he would waive the clause, but he didn't so we are stuck with that useless sack of s**t for awhile longer. Let's hope his wife puts enough pressure on him to get him back in New York, where they own property. Tucker has been a washout this year and needs to be dealt. Period.

The Leafs will continue to be crap until they get a GM in there that is not afraid of getting his hands dirty and until the organization cares about winning as much as we hard-core fans do. It's as simple as that.

And I am not really that angry--believe me, I am used to ineptitude by now...