Post by Gerard on Jul 6, 2003 14:18:10 GMT -5
slam.canoe.ca/Slam030706/col_simmons1-sun.html
Joe Nieuwendyk has won three Stanley Cups on three different teams and an Olympic gold medal in Salt Lake City and all he wants to do is play for the Maple Leafs.
All he wants is to bring a championship home, to where he grew up, where he played his ball hockey, where he used to take shots on a driveway and pretend to be Darryl Sittler.
Except they don't seem to want him.
And if they do, they sure have a funny way of showing it.
Nieuwendyk, a free agent as of last Tuesday, has told his agent, Rick Curran, to explore all possibilities of signing with Toronto before even looking to any other NHL teams. He has talked about playing a lesser role, if need be. He has talked about taking a pay cut. He's made those concessions without even beginning the negotiating process.
And the Maple Leafs' response to date has basically been: "Don't call us, we'll call you."
He is devastated, frustrated, and just a little bit stunned.
And dealing with the Leafs doesn't make it any easier.
Pat Quinn, who claimed internally to have an interest in Nieuwendyk, has gone to Vancouver for his regular summer vacation as the only general manager in the NHL working part-time. If you call the Leafs looking for Quinn and are trying to get some business done, your calls are forwarded to Mike Penny, Quinn's trusted if unspectacular assistant.
Now here it gets interesting.
If you ask Penny about Nieuwendyk, he'll tell he has to take care of his defensive needs before he can even think about where or if Nieuwendyk might fit in.
Try at centre, where he is a better faceoff man than anyone the Leafs have. Try on the second line. You can have a first line of Mats Sundin, Nik Antropov and Alexander Mogilny. Not too shabby. And Nieuwendyk can centre Gary Roberts and Owen Nolan.
There is still enough game left in Nieuwendyk where he can be a difference maker. If only the Leafs would give him the opportunity at age 36.
But so far, there have been no conversations at all.
And Nieuwendyk, who grew up in the area, is close friends with Roberts, whom he won a Cup with in Calgary, and always wanted to play here, isn't alone. Bryan Marchment has already publicly played his cards expressing an interest in the Leafs. Glen Wesley wants to return next season. Adam Graves wants to play for the Leafs.
And despite their advanced ages, all of them could help this team. Nieuwendyk was a major player in the New Jersey playoff wins heading to the finals. Wesley was the Leafs best defenceman in the playoffs. Marchment, should he sign today, would be no worse than the Leafs third defenceman. Graves is a character guy whose best days are behind him, as a fill-in he would be fine.
This is not a case of ready-for-retirement players going through the motions in their final years. These are passionate people who care, desperately want to be here, and can't get so much as a response from the Leafs.
The Wesley situation is curious. He wants to re-sign in Toronto and keeps being told he is being held up by the qualifying offer made to Robert Svehla. The truth is, Wesley was a far better player than Svehla when it mattered most.
Normally, he would want a two-year contract but because the assumption is there will be no hockey in 2004-2005 because of the lockout, he is instead asking for a third-year with options.
If he signed a two-year contract and only played one of those years, he would only earn one season of salary. Again, for reasons unexplained, the Leafs basically have stopped negotiating with him.
Now factor this in: When the Leafs acquired Wesley at the trade deadline, Penny wasn't sure it was the deal to make. He wasn't a fan. That may say much about his ability to assess talent.
But he is out there representing the Leafs now with Quinn gone west and free agents knocking at their door.
One other typical Toronto concern the Leafs have about Nieuwendyk is his relationship with Roberts. There is a feeling within the Leafs upper echelon that Roberts has too much power in the dressing room. Bringing in Nieuwendyk would increase, not decrease, Roberts apparent power base. And rather than embrace the added leadership, the Leafs philosophy is the opposite.
At the end of the day, too many of the Leafs decisions are politically based rather than hockey related. The Leafs should be welcoming a player as accomplished as Joe Nieuwendyk rather than shutting him out.
Is it just me or is this the MOST repeated issue the past few years??
Joe Nieuwendyk has won three Stanley Cups on three different teams and an Olympic gold medal in Salt Lake City and all he wants to do is play for the Maple Leafs.
All he wants is to bring a championship home, to where he grew up, where he played his ball hockey, where he used to take shots on a driveway and pretend to be Darryl Sittler.
Except they don't seem to want him.
And if they do, they sure have a funny way of showing it.
Nieuwendyk, a free agent as of last Tuesday, has told his agent, Rick Curran, to explore all possibilities of signing with Toronto before even looking to any other NHL teams. He has talked about playing a lesser role, if need be. He has talked about taking a pay cut. He's made those concessions without even beginning the negotiating process.
And the Maple Leafs' response to date has basically been: "Don't call us, we'll call you."
He is devastated, frustrated, and just a little bit stunned.
And dealing with the Leafs doesn't make it any easier.
Pat Quinn, who claimed internally to have an interest in Nieuwendyk, has gone to Vancouver for his regular summer vacation as the only general manager in the NHL working part-time. If you call the Leafs looking for Quinn and are trying to get some business done, your calls are forwarded to Mike Penny, Quinn's trusted if unspectacular assistant.
Now here it gets interesting.
If you ask Penny about Nieuwendyk, he'll tell he has to take care of his defensive needs before he can even think about where or if Nieuwendyk might fit in.
Try at centre, where he is a better faceoff man than anyone the Leafs have. Try on the second line. You can have a first line of Mats Sundin, Nik Antropov and Alexander Mogilny. Not too shabby. And Nieuwendyk can centre Gary Roberts and Owen Nolan.
There is still enough game left in Nieuwendyk where he can be a difference maker. If only the Leafs would give him the opportunity at age 36.
But so far, there have been no conversations at all.
And Nieuwendyk, who grew up in the area, is close friends with Roberts, whom he won a Cup with in Calgary, and always wanted to play here, isn't alone. Bryan Marchment has already publicly played his cards expressing an interest in the Leafs. Glen Wesley wants to return next season. Adam Graves wants to play for the Leafs.
And despite their advanced ages, all of them could help this team. Nieuwendyk was a major player in the New Jersey playoff wins heading to the finals. Wesley was the Leafs best defenceman in the playoffs. Marchment, should he sign today, would be no worse than the Leafs third defenceman. Graves is a character guy whose best days are behind him, as a fill-in he would be fine.
This is not a case of ready-for-retirement players going through the motions in their final years. These are passionate people who care, desperately want to be here, and can't get so much as a response from the Leafs.
The Wesley situation is curious. He wants to re-sign in Toronto and keeps being told he is being held up by the qualifying offer made to Robert Svehla. The truth is, Wesley was a far better player than Svehla when it mattered most.
Normally, he would want a two-year contract but because the assumption is there will be no hockey in 2004-2005 because of the lockout, he is instead asking for a third-year with options.
If he signed a two-year contract and only played one of those years, he would only earn one season of salary. Again, for reasons unexplained, the Leafs basically have stopped negotiating with him.
Now factor this in: When the Leafs acquired Wesley at the trade deadline, Penny wasn't sure it was the deal to make. He wasn't a fan. That may say much about his ability to assess talent.
But he is out there representing the Leafs now with Quinn gone west and free agents knocking at their door.
One other typical Toronto concern the Leafs have about Nieuwendyk is his relationship with Roberts. There is a feeling within the Leafs upper echelon that Roberts has too much power in the dressing room. Bringing in Nieuwendyk would increase, not decrease, Roberts apparent power base. And rather than embrace the added leadership, the Leafs philosophy is the opposite.
At the end of the day, too many of the Leafs decisions are politically based rather than hockey related. The Leafs should be welcoming a player as accomplished as Joe Nieuwendyk rather than shutting him out.
Is it just me or is this the MOST repeated issue the past few years??
