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Abel to Yzerman

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Blue Lines and Bowman

by IwoCPO on 08/06/07 at 05:42 AM ET
Comments (3)

So I guess the stress train we all rode last May is kind of a rental, eh?  I’m thinking that while we had it bursting at the seams a few times, they may have to add a couple cars to fit all the Tiger fans aboard.  If you’re finding the other Ilitch organ-I-zation to be a cause of current (and hopefully temporary) sorrow, all I can offer you is a little hockey news to distract you for a few minutes. 

We start with the D. Markov Dilemma, a continuation of it.  Last week Khan(!)’s wisdom prompted us to finally come to this conclusion: 

...public overtures to Markov may be for show.  As it stands right now, there’s just no room for the guy.  There’s no animosity there, just the reality of a stacked blue line and a bit of a bind where Meech is concerned.  It would seem, and it’s kind of embarrassing that it’s taken me this long to figure it out, that the day Rafalski signed Markov’s ticket out of Detroit was stamped.

Yesterday, the Sporting News’ veteran NHL bubba Ray Slover joined in. 

Markov’s asking price is too rich for GM Ken Holland’s taste.

Holland added to defensive depth last week by re-signing restricted free agent Derek Meech.

Ansar Khan of the Detroit News says signing Markov would give the Wings eight defensemen on the NHL roster. Meech figures to be seventh on the depth chart. If Markov returns, the team probably would have to move out one defenseman.

Move past the fact that he mis-id’d Khan(!)’s employer and settle on this: Slover’s got the scent, but he’s still scrambling a bit.  This thing isn’t about the money.  It’s all about the future and the certainty that Meech would be scooped the second he hit the waiver wire. 

If it were any other franchise, I’d be giving you the smoke and fire routine right now.  All this talk about Scotty joining the Leafs has to have some substance, right?  Apparently, wrong.  After three days of speculation, it seems that it all boiled down to a visit to Toronto and some speculation from the Globe and Mail.  Here’s the key phrase, and the driving force behind the BS.

The source said Bowman was offered the job by the board of Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment late last week. However, Bowman said the only time he was in Toronto recently was to attend a conference on the rules last Thursday at the invitation of National Hockey League vice-presidents Colin Campbell and Mike Murphy.

Scotty apparently emailed TSN after the Globe and Mail’s “sourced” report.  A separate “source”, obviously in conflict with the Globe and Mail’s original quality “source” said Ken Holland asked Bowman, again, what his intentions were and was satisfied Scotty had no interest, no contact and no intentions where Toronto was concerned.

So...absolutely nothing going on there, right?  Nothing?  Nope, nothing at all. 

Unless of course...the offer included the coaching job.  Think he’d take it?  Five years off, getting a little restless, the most glamorous job in hockey...the chance to win Cups in Montreal and Toronto?

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Comments

He’s the only man in hockey that can turn that franchise around, and I don’t just mean in the short-term, but over the long haul. Otherwise the Leafs are looking at Red Sox-like losing for 50 more years.

MLSE would be wise to give him WHATEVER he wants. If he wants a minority ownership in the team, for crying out loud, they should give it to him.

Posted by Nathan on 08/06/07 at 07:53 AM ET

Nobody seems to mention that Scotty, has no coaching or management experience under the Salary Cap.  He has the experience and success, but turning around a franchise that has been on its knees for 40 years, under the cap, may take a lot more time than he has left.

Posted by Gramps (HockeyTownTodd) from Hockeytown on 08/06/07 at 09:12 AM ET

I can’t imagine he would be all that interested unless the team was closer to contending.  It will be years before some of the big contracts are off the books, so he would be stuck with a team not of his own devising.  If that is the option to a much less stressful semi-retirement, I wouldn’t willingly choose stress.

Posted by Baroque from Michigan on 08/06/07 at 11:07 AM ET

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