A closer look at Darcy Tucker

From Terry Frei of the Denver Post:

Tucker is a pest, an agitator, a pain to play against. The phraseology tends to get more colorful than that on the ice or in dressing rooms, but he pulled off the tough feat of largely remaining a fan favorite in Toronto while his tangible contributions diminished and the team struggled. He had his fifth 20-plus goal NHL season in 2006-07 and was rewarded with a new contract, but had 18 goals and 34 points for the Leafs last season in a horrible Toronto team performance that led to a housecleaning.

Read the entire story here.

This was a very well done piece by Frei. With all the money flying around this off-season, Tucker's contract seems like one of the more reasonable deals that has been struck thus far.

Tucker signs two year deal with Avs

From TSN:

The Colorado Avalanche have signed unrestricted free agent forward Darcy Tucker to a two-year, $4.5 million contract.

Tucker, 33, was bought out by the Toronto Maple Leafs last week.

Read the entire report here.

Reasonable signing for the Avs. Tucker will provide depth on the wing for the Avs and another veteran presence in the dressing room. At $2.25 million per season against the cap, the deal is a solid one for both sides.

Comparing Tucker to Mayers

On Tuesday, word came out that the Leafs were going to buyout Darcy Tucker. While the move was not unexpected (it had been rumored for months), it makes me wonder why on earth the Leafs acquired Jamal Mayers from the Blues last week.

First off, acquiring Mayers cost the Leafs a 2008 third round draft pick (70th overall) in a deep draft year. If the Leafs are looking to clean their slate and rebuild, then why acquire Mayers? If the team wanted a gritty 33 year old veteran forward, then why didn't they just keep their very own Tucker? Both players are the exact same age, and in fact, Tucker is the far more talented offensive player. He has scored 20+ goals in three of his past seasons. While Mayers has never scored more than 15 goals in an NHL season.

Of course some people may be saying, "Mayers makes $1.4 million this season and next. That is far cheaper than Tucker's $3 million for the next three seaons." However, if you look at the numbers more closely, buying out Tucker will cost the Leafs $1 million against the cap for the next six seasons. So, if you were to say that Mayers theoretically replaced Tucker, then Mayers salary would be $1 million + $1.4 million=$2.4 million for the next two seasons.

Now, I'm not saying that the Leafs acquired Mayers strictly to replace Tucker. What I am saying is that they basically dumped superior production from Tucker for inferior production from Mayers. The difference between the two in theory is $0.6 million and Tucker's offensive production should more than make up for that. Never mind the fact that the Leafs gave up a valuable asset (3rd round pick) in order to acquire Mayers in the first place.

It says here that the Leafs would have been better off keeping Tucker and their 3rd round pick on the roster instead of buying out the veteran Leaf forward and trading with the Blues.

For Illegal Curve, I'm Richard Pollock.

Tucker looking for work

From Darren Dreger of TSN:

Darcy Tucker's career with the Toronto Maple Leafs is over.

Maple Leafs general manager Cliff Fletcher alerted Tucker of Toronto's intention to buy him out on Tuesday afternoon.

"The decision is always difficult when you are dealing with a good person. We wish him well.". Fletcher told TSN.

"Its a business, Darcy knows that," Tucker's agent Carlos Sosa told TSN.

Read Dreger's entire article here.

Only in Toronto does Darcy Tucker being bought out generate this much attention. Tucker isn't the player he once was, but he still can be a productive NHL checking winger who has a bit of a scoring touch. I'm sure a number of veteran teams will look to add the veteran pest.

Tucker buyout appearing more likely

From Mike Zeisberger of the Toronto Sun:

While Fletcher will not make decisions on potential buyouts until late next
week, it appears more likely by the day that Darcy Tucker could find himself in
that very situation.

During a break between meetings with his staff about the coming draft,
Fletcher yesterday hinted the $1 million US per season cap hit the Leafs would
absorb would not be a big blow. The Leafs GM ideally would like to deal Tucker,
but the player's agent, Carlos Sosa, is on record as saying his client would not
waive his no-trade clause under such a scenario.

Read more about the Leafs' off-season plans here.

If Tucker isn't willing to waive his no-trade, then a buy-out is looking more and more likely. Tucker would have no trouble catching on with a team after that happened, and he would be getting paid by both teams. Not a bad deal.

Will Darcy Tucker be bought out?

From Mike Zeisberger of the Toronto Sun:

"To be honest, whatever happens happens," Tucker said yesterday. "I'm not really concerned about June 15 (the opening of the buyout period). I'm more concerned about June 19, the day we are moving out of this place and into the new one."

Amid speculation that Tucker's potential buyout already has been discussed at the board level of Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment Ltd., the Leafs are poised to introduce former San Jose Sharks bench boss Ron Wilson as their new coach. Tucker has no idea if Wilson will have a say as to whether he stays or goes.

Read the entire article here.

Tucker may very well be bought of his contract and that may be a good move for both sides. The Leafs need to get younger and faster and Tucker can still help a number of contending teams in need of a veteran checker who has a scoring touch.

NHL Morning Papers (Sunday Edition)

Here the Sunday rumor columns:

• Here is Larry Brooks' Slap Shots column from this morning's NY Post.
• Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Sun provides you with more rumors than you could possibly imagine in this morning's paper.

Here are the Eastern Conference morning papers:

• The Rangers got off to a great start against the Sabres yesterday, and cruised to a 5-1 victory at MSG, writes Larry Brooks of the NY Post. The best player on the ice yesterday for the Rangers was youngster Brandon Dubinsky, writes John Dellapina of the NY Daily News.
• The Bruins thoroughly outplayed the Leafs in the first period last night, but only came away with a 1-1 tie after twenty minutes and it was downhill from there as they were defeated 4-3 in overtime. Here are some news and notes about the Bruins roster.
• The Thrashers were outshot but a ridiculous 49-10 margin last night, as the Islanders defeated Atlanta 4-1. Thrashers defenseman Alexei Zhitnik was scratched last night with the flu.
• The Sabres got off to a horrible start at MSG yesterday, on their way to their first game in their last eleven without recording a point. Both Jaroslav Spacek and Brian Campbell were victimized last night by the Rangers forwards.
• Even with all their injuries and and the recent Cory Stillman trade, the Canes continue to be a resilient bunch as they defeated the Panthers 5-4 on Saturday night. On the injury front, Carolina got a big boost last night with the return of Matt Cullen to the line-up.
• The Flyers lost their sixth game in a row last night, but they weren't unhappy with the way they played, writes Tim Pannaccio of the Philadelphia Inquirer. Pannaccio also tells readers that everyone who thinks Danny Briere is a bust, should take a deep breath.
• Ron Musselman of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette has an interesting article about how kids from the Pennsylvania area can make the NHL. On the ice, superstar Sidney Crosby returned to full practice yesterday.
• The Capitals can thank veteran Olie Kolzig for last night's 3-2 victory over the Lightning, writes Tarik-El Bashir of the Washington Post.
• Darcy Tucker continues to increase his trade value, as the feisty winger recorded two goals and an assist in last night's 4-3 overtime win over Boston. Apparently Cliff Fletcher spent the entire second period of last night's game meeting with Stars GM Les Jackson behind closed doors.
• "It's pretty devastating," said Lightning defenseman Dan Boyle after last night's loss to the Capitals. John Tortorella says his top stars need to be better.
• The Senators turned in another poor performance last night, losing to the Devils 3-2.
• The Islanders have taken coach Ted Nolan's instructions to shoot the puck more to heart, as they outshot the Thrashers 49-10 last night in their 4-1 victory. Meanwhile, Islanders winger Trent Hunter is trying to not let his ongoing contract talks bother him.
• The Devils got off to a good start against the Senators, and that was probably the difference as they went on to a 3-2 road victory.
• Carey Price recorded his first NHL shutout last night in the Habs 1-0 hard-fought victory over the Flyers.
• The Panthers blew a late-game two period lead to the Hurricanes and let first place fall out of their grasp by losing 5-4, writes Steve Gorten of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel.

Here are the Western Conference morning papers:

• The Ducks are continuing their in-house search for a suitable second-line center, writes Curtis Zupke of the Orange County Register.
• Flames coach Mike Keenan says he’s never seen such a veteran group of NHL’ers be as inconsistent as the Flames have been this season.
• Blackhawks super-rookie Patrick Kane understands that he has to get bigger and stronger this off-season to be able to compete better at the NHL level.
• The Avalanche have the second worst power play in the NHL and need to improve on their efficiency if they hope to make the playoffs, writes Terry Frei of the Denver Post.
• Jimmy Howard will get first start in three years today for the Red Wings as they take on the Stars. On the trading front, apparently the Wings have been scouting Brad Stuart.
• Coach Craig MacTavish was disappointed his team lost 4-2 to the Canucks last night, but happy that they stuck together, writes Joanne Ireland of the Edmonton Journal. MacTavish would have loved to have seen the Oilers play like that two months ago, writes Robert Tychkowski of the Edmonton Sun.
• Dallas coach Dave Tippett says his team needs to maintain its focus this afternoon if it wants to beat the Red Wings.
• Aaron Portzline of the Columbus Dispatch weighs the pros and cons of the Jackets trading before the deadline. Here are the Jackets’ lines for today’s game against the Blues.
• Wild GM Doug Risebrough wants his team to simplify their power play, writes Kent Youngblood of the Star Tribune. Youngblood’s colleague Michael Russo talks about the trade deadline in his Sunday Insider.
• The Predators were a lot better in their 2-1 overtime win over St. Louis last night than they were earlier in the week against the Blackhawks.
• Jeremy Roenick is not looking forward to playing at MSG because it brings back bad memories of his jaw injury, writes David Pollak of the San Jose Mercury News.
• Manny Legace was the only reason that the Blues were able to record a point last night in their 2-1 overtime loss to the Predators.
• Radim Vrbata bailed out the Coyotes last night by scoring the game-winning goal after his team blew a two-goal lead.
• Henrik Sedin called yesterday’s win over the Oilers a “great team win.”

For Illegal Curve, I'm Richard Pollock.

Email any thoughts, ideas or suggestions to illegalcurve@gmail.com

NHL Morning Papers (Friday Edition)

Here are the national morning papers:

• William Houston of the Globe & Mail wonders if Don Cherry will be on his best behavior in Winkler, Manitoba this Saturday for Hockey Day in Canada.
• Kevin Allen of USA Today has an interesting article on the difficult decisions that have to be made by Columbus GM Scott Howson prior to the trade deadline.

Here are the Eastern Conference morning papers:

• The Thrashers had their chances to win last night, but played a poor third period and were defeated 2-1 by the visiting Canucks. Thrashers defenseman Niclas Havelid didn't play in last night's contest because he had the flu.
• If today's morning skate goes well, Glen Murray will make his return to the Bruins lineup after missing nineteen games with a hip flexor. Coach Claude Julien will be looking to give Alex Auld a start in between the pipes, either tonight or tomorrow.
• Sabres forward Tim Connolly is going to try and play through the pain of his hip injury and see if he can withstand the pain to be able to play the remainder of the season. With Connolly being out of the lineup, coach Lindy Ruff moved Jochen Hecht to center and his line has enjoyed great offensive success.
• Luke Decock of the News Observer gives fans a behind-the-scenes look at what goes into broadcasting a hockey game on television.
• Larry Brooks of the NY Post calls out essentially the entire Rangers roster for a lackluster performance last night in their 4-1 loss to the Ducks at MSG. Ryan Hollweg of the Rangers was not happy that Alexei Kovalev was not suspended for his elbow on Hollweg on Sunday.
• Start the uproar, Sam Donnellon of the Philadelphia Daily News believes Eric Lindros should be in the team's Hall of Fame. In current Flyers news, winger Scottie Upshall has been lost to the team for the next 7-10 days with an ankle sprain.
• After being called out in the press by his coach, Pens defenseman Ryan Whitney scored two goals and added an assist in his team's 4-3 victory over the Islanders on Thursday. Meanwhile, Mario Lemieux was skating yesterday at Mellon Arena yesterday to fulfill the wish of a sick child.
• With the start that the Captials and Hurricanes got off to respectively this season, no one would have believed that the Hurricanes would be trailing the Capitals in the Southeast Division standings at this point in the season.
• "We have to play a bit more stingy than that if we want to be successful on the road," said Panthers netminder Tomas Vokoun after his team's 5-4 loss in Ottawa last night. Even after the loss, the Panthers still have four points in the first three games of their road trip and hope to make it more with two games left before they head back to Sunrise.
• The Habs lost 4-2 to the Leafs last night at the Bell Centre, and coach Guy Carbonneau believes the main reason the team lost was that they strayed away from their defensive game. Herb Zurkowsky of the Montreal Gazette gives readers an inside look at the struggles this season of former Hab Darcy Tucker.
• Scott Niedermayer makes his first appearance in New Jersey tonight since signing with the Ducks in 2005. For the first time since the inception of the salary cap, Devils GM Lou Lamoriello has money to spend come trade deadline time, writes Mark Everson of the NY Post.
• The Islanders caught a tough break last night as Bill Guerin's tying goal with 0.6 seconds remaining in the third period was waved off and the team lost 4-3 to the Penguins.
• The Senators were really happy with the way Dany Heatley played in his return from his shoulder injury, as the sniper scored two goals and added an assist in his team's 5-4 victory at home over Florida. With Dany Heatley back in the lineup, Don Brennan says the Senators should focus on some other concerns, such as their struggling penalty killing.
• After defeating the Predators 2-1 in overtime at Nashville, the Lightning has moved to within six points of the Southeast Division lead, writes Erik Erlendsson of the Tampa Tribune.
• After defeating the streaking Habs 4-2 in Montreal, everyone can get off the Leafs' backs for one night, writes Paul Hunter of the Toronto Star. Kevin McGran of the Star provides readers with more background information on highly sought after free agent forward Fabian Brunnstrom.

Here are the Western Conference morning papers:

• The Ducks, sparked by the play of their fourth line, went into MSG and defeated the Rangers 4-1, writes Dan Wood of the Orange County Register.
• The Flames couldn't replicate their comeback against Phoenix last night as they lost 2-1 at home to the Blackhawks, thanks in large part to the play of Nikolai Khabibulin. With his name being tossed around in almost every trade scenario, Flames winger Alex Tanguay says he tunes out all rumors.
• The Jackets were concerned with the loss of Pascal Leclaire for their two-game road trip, but Fredrik Norrena was strong in the team's first game of the trip leading them to a 2-1 victory at Phoenix. Jackets players admit it will be weird to see Jody Shelley skating on the opposite end of the rink tonight as Columbus visits the Sharks.
• Who needs Marty Turco? Obviously the Stars, but not last night, as backup Michael Smith shutout the Wild in Minnesota to lead Dallas to a 1-0 victory.
• No one could have predicted this outcome, as the Wings, winners of eight consecutive games, blew a 3-1 third period lead to the lousy Kings and lost 5-3 on home ice. The Detroit Free Press provides fans with an interview with former Wing Shawn Burr.
• "First two period, I don't think we worked hard," said Wild coach Jacques Lemaire after his team's 1-0 loss at home to the Stars.
• After being called out for his poor performance against the Avalanche, Sharks winger Steve Bernier will see himself in the press-box tonight when his team hosts the Blue Jackets.
• Bill Coats of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch has a nice article on Jeff Woywitka and his family.
• The Canucks put an end to their four game losing streak and evened their record to .500 on their current road trip with a 2-1 victory at Atlanta last night. The Canucks clearly had a plan to knock Ilya Kovalchuk off his game, writes Ben Kuzma of the Vancouver Province.
• Ilya Brygalov wasn't as sharp as he needed to be last night and that was the difference, as the Coyotes lost 2-1 to the Blue Jackets on home-ice, writes Jim Gintonio of the Arizona Republic.
• "I didn't think we brought our best effort, but I don't want to take anything away from Tampa Bay," said the classy Barry Trotz after his team's 2-1 overtime loss at home to the Lightning.
• The Oilers are making a concerted effort to get back to playing a gritty game lately and it has paid off, writes Joanne Ireland of the Edmonton Journal. Sam Gagner has stepped in beautifully for the injured Shawn Horcoff, making onlookers forget that his is only 18 years old.
• The Blackhawks outplayed the Flames last night, and came away with a well-deserved two points, writes Chris Kuc of the Chicago Tribune. In positive news, center Jonathan Toews may return to the lineup this Sunday.
• Avalanche GM Francois Giguere said he wouldn't have the interest he does in Peter Forsberg if he didn't he was worth pursuing.

For Illegal Curve, I'm Richard Pollock.

Email any thoughts, ideas or suggestions to illegalcurve@gmail.com

Morning Musings: When will players learn to respect each other?

If you haven't seen it already, here is a clip of Randy Jones' hit-from-behind on an unsuspecting Patrice Bergeron. After watching this clip, I don't even know what to say. I mean, this hit was just plain ruthless. Jones followed through on the hit and buried Bergeron's face directly into the end boards. Now, some people have said that this isn't Jones' game; that the defenseman doesn't play this dirty style of play. Even so, that is irrelevant in my opinion. Past history of dirty play or not, this hit deserves a severe suspension. Think about it, Bergeron could have broken his neck. In my opinion, there is no dirtier hit in hockey than a hit-from-behind. It is cowardly, cheap and completely unnecessary. If the NHL wants to put an end to these ridiculous hits, they will give Jones at least a 15+ game suspension and set a strong precedent that would discourage other players from hitting-from-behind.

Here are the Eastern Conference morning papers:

• Fluto Shinwaza of the Boston Globe has an update on Bergeron's injury status in this morning's paper. The hit was a chilling reminder of some of the scary things that can happen when you play a contact sport. As far as the game goes, Bruins' coach Claude Julien thinks the Bruins deserved better than the 2-1 loss they were handed.
• Here is Kevin Paul Dupont's usual Sunday notes piece.
• The Flyers' victory was definitely tainted by the Jones hit writes Tim Panaccio of the Philadelphia Inquirer. Meanwhile, Panaccio also has a piece this morning on the plans of new NHLPA boss Paul Kelly.
• The Sabres could have packed it in when they fell behind 3-2 in the third period, but instead the team turned it on and wound up coming back and defeating the Bolts 4-3 in overtime. In other Sabres' news, it looks like Nolan Pratt will be joining the team in the next day or two.
• Pens' goaltender Dany Sabourin came into last night's game to replace a struggling Marc-Andre Fleury, after Fleury let in three early goals, and ended up giving the Penguins a chance to win; however, unfortunately for Pens' fans the team lost 4-3 in a shootout to the Habs. Penguins' veteran Gary Roberts missed last night's game because he has the flu and was replaced in the lineup by youngster Tyler Kennedy.
• The Capitals had a twenty minute players-only meeting after their 4-3 loss to the Blues on Saturday night. Tarik El-Bashir of the Washington Post has the details of the Alexander Semin contract extension.
• Ilya Kovalchuk and Slava Kozlov led the Thrashers to their second victory on their current seven-game road trip last night with a win over the Blackhawks. Coach of the AHL's Chicago Wolves John Anderson has proven he can win in the minors and is being considered for the head coaching position in Atlanta.
• The Hurricanes proved last night that rest is overrated writes Lorenzo Perez of the News Observer. Eric Cole was excited to get back into the Canes' lineup last night after injuring his foot a week earlier while playing soccer during warmups.
• Tomas Vokoun's return to Nashville turned out to be a letdown last night as the the veteran netminder was beat for the game-winning goal in the last minute of action. "We basically give games away, and we do it night after night," said Vokoun after the game.
• As Pat Hickey tells us in this morning's Montreal Gazette, size does matter, especially if you are Habs' rookie netminder Carey Price. Hickey also has an interesting story about the "struggling" Sidney Crosby and the youngster's ability to take criticism in stride.
• Apparently the Devils' new arena was far less disappointing than the team's play on the ice. Here are some sights and sounds from the new Prudential Center. In sad news, Colin White is not sure if he'll be able to play hockey again after sustaining an eye injury 38 days ago.
• The Rangers were awful last night according to Larry Brooks of the NY Post. You can find Larry Brooks' Sunday Slap Shots piece right here.
• Much of the Islanders' impressive statistics went out the window after being blown out by the Hurricanes last night writes John Jeansonne of Newsday.
• Lightning coach John Tortorella had "no complaints" about the way his team played last night in their 4-3 overtime loss to the Sabres. The coach also had no complaints about his team's disallowed goal late in the third period.
• It is fair to say that the Senators are home wreckers writes Don Brennan of the Ottawa Sun. Here is Bruce Garrioch's Sunday rumors piece.
• The Leafs proved they can hold a third period lead last night on Broadway writes Kevin McGran of the Toronto Star. Darcy Tucker has denied reports that his ACL is torn writes Lance Hornby of the Toronto Sun. Meanwhile, Mark Bell is looking forward to finally returning to the Leafs' lineup.

Here are the Western Conference morning papers:

• Alex Tanguay is heeding the advice of all the people around him and has decided to shoot the puck more often.
• The Blackhawks fell to below .500 last night after losing 3-2 to the Thrashers; Chris Kuc of the Chicago Tribune has the story. Winger Sergei Samsonov was a healthy scratch for last night's game.
• Terry Frei of the Denver Post profiles new NHLPA boss Paul Kelly and the promise that goes along with his hiring. Frei's colleague at the Post, Adrian Dater has the story of Jeff Jillson and the possibility that he will get into some NHL game action today for the Avalanche.
• Looks like a move to the fourth line was just what was needed to motivate a struggling Mike Modano opines Mike Heika in the Dallas Morning News.
• George Sipple of the Detroit Free Press has the story of Andres Lilja's 11th career goal. (Writer's note: You know it is a slow news day when...)
• If the Oilers want to start winning games they have to eliminate their bad giveaways. The team just committed too many errors to have a chance to win writes Jim Matheson in this morning's Edmonton Journal.
• Once again, the Jackets stifled an opponent going into the third period protecting a lead writes Aaron Portzline of the Columbus Dispatch. The team's successful penalty kill has been one of the reasons that the Jackets are three games above .500 for the first time in franchise history.
• The Kings' impressive backstop Jason LaBarbera turned aside 34 of 35 shots to give the Kings the W over the Oilers.
• Didn't take too long did it? Wild winger Marian Gaborik hurt his groin in practice and will miss tonight's game versus Colorado. In other injury news for the Wild, Niklas Backstrom also was injured in practice and will miss tonight's contests.
• Predators' new goaltender Dan Ellis out-dueled the Predators' former netminder Tomas Vokoun for a 4-3 victory last night.
• The Coyotes were defeated by the Stars, but Shane Doan reached a milestone with his 200th career goal.
• Craig Rivet says the Sharks have "far too many passengers" on their team right now, as the Sharks were defeated 2-1 by the Blue Jackets yesterday afternoon.
• Brad Boyes continued his offensive tear last night with two goals as the Blues upended the Capitals 4-3.

For Illegal Curve, I'm Richard Pollock.