MVN - Most Valuable Network

Something Is Going On, But I Can’t Put my Finger on it

The day starting out normal enough, aside from the Leafs signing Curtis Joseph (read about it below), but as the day went on things got stranger and stranger.

Let’s begin with the signings of former Leafs players, starting with Vancouver signing Kyle Wellwood for a pinch under a million. Not a bad deal considering the upside Wellwood has. It really wouldn’t have been much of a risk for the Leafs to sign him but if I continue to go about this I might run the risk of sounding like a broken record.

Moving on now, Darcy Tucker may not have been good enough to play for a non playoff team like the Leafs but the Colorado Avalanche felt he was worth 4.5 million dollars. Let’s just say that Darcy is raking in the cash now since he’s making money for playing for the Avs and for not playing on the Leafs. Who won this one?

The Avs, in an attempt to become more like the Leafs (I kid, I kid) also signed Andrew Raycroft who will most likely begin the season by battling with Peter Budaj for the starting goaltending position. For this, I have no complaint, the Leafs didn’t have room for him and Curtis Joseph is without a doubt an improvement over the former Calder Trophy winner. Also, the Avalanche won’t have to spend nearly as much on Raycroft as the Leafs would have.

So they took two of ours, let’s get one of theirs. That must have been Cliff Fletcher’s reasoning on signing Jeff Finger. Finger who has only played one full season in the NHL will earn 3.5 million per year for four years with the Leafs. And to everybody’s surprise Finger’s contract will not include a no trade clause, gasp, I’m shocked.

Finger is not a bad player, but he’s no game breaker. Since Hal Gill is gone I guess the Leafs needed another defenseman to overpay. Finger is solid in his own end and he doesn’t make many mistakes, he knows how the game is played and has a team first mentality.Despite standing at 6’1 and 205 pounds Finger has never been known for his physical play. Nor is he known for his offensive prowess although he did manage to 8 goals and 11 assists last season, which is a step up from Gill.

I have nothing against Jeff Finger. I just don’t understand how a guy who has only played one full NHL season can garner so much money. Did I mention that even though Finger has only played a total of 94 NHL games he’s 28 years old. Not old but for a guy with his experience it’s not young either.

He seems overpaid to me, but in this day and age, in my mind, everyone is overpaid. (Vancouver offered Mats Sundin a two year 20 million dollar contract with a 5 million bonus? And Crosby only makes 8.7? This year we’re seeing a mediocre free agent crop rake in the dough.) Perhaps this is the new market for a middle of the pack defenseman.

Fletcher adding another defenseman could be an indication of more moves to come. With a number of young Leafs defenseman looking to make the jump to a full time roster spot, like Anton Stralman, and newly drafted Luke Schenn; not to mention oft injured Carlo Colaiacovo hoping to play the whole season, something has to give.

That something may be Pavel Kubina. I wouldn’t be surprised to see Fletcher take advantage of the window he has with Kubina to flip him, despite the fact that Fletcher says he will only trade Kubina if something worthwhile is offered.

Finger coming in should also cut Bryan McCabe’s ice time. Perhaps they won’t tell McCabe to stay home if he refuses to waive his no trade clause, in fear of him filing a grievance with the NHLPA. One thing they might just try is, making him unhappy enough in Toronto to want to leave; he clearly doesn’t fit into their plans anymore.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, July 1st, 2008 at 5:13 pm and is filed under Kyle Wellwood, Darcy Tucker, Curtis Joseph, Jeff Finger, Luke Schenn, Cliff Fletcher, Toronto Maple Leafs, Mats Sundin, Andrew Raycroft, NHL. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.