Kukla's Korner Hockey
Entries with the tag: toronto+maple+leafs
Hockey Player Bloggers
by Paul on 10/20/07 at 07:46 AM ET
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from the Toronton Star,
Time was that when you wanted to learn more about a player or the game itself, you were limited to traditional forms of media. And, unless you wanted to head down the arena to boo, it was one-way communication.
Now, your favourite player might post a blog, he might be reading messages on social networking websites or he might have his own website on which he entertains comments and queries.
“Fans feel free to email me, ask a question or tell me I suck,” said Wade Belak, who started his own website as a way to keep family and friends in western Canada up to speed.
Filed in: NHL Teams, Toronto Maple Leafs, NHL Talk, NHL Media, Hockey Bloggers | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: media, toronto+maple+leafs, wade+belak,
McCabe Trying To Earn His Keep
by Paul on 10/18/07 at 08:40 AM ET
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from the Toronto Star,
To any fans poised to uncork the boos at the Air Canada Centre tonight, besieged Maple Leafs defenceman Bryan McCabe offered some perspective.
“I’m one of the higher-paid guys on the team and they expect the world out of you. But I can’t turn water into wine every night,” he said yesterday.
“I’m not that type of player. I’m a hard-nosed player. I’ve been fortunate enough to get rewarded for some of my points over the years. I’m trying to earn it.”
Filed in: NHL Teams, Toronto Maple Leafs | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: Bryan+McCabe, toronto+maple+leafs,
Is Paul Maurice On The Hot Seat?
by Paul on 10/17/07 at 08:29 AM ET
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from Steve Simmons of the Toronto Sun,
Maurice has a serious hockey problem on his hands: The Leafs, through seven games, are getting fine goaltending, killing penalties well—two things they didn’t have a year ago—but are giving up goals against in mind-boggling numbers.
Numbers that indicate this roster may be ill-suited to compete at the NHL level.
Numbers that indicate this coaching staff may not be able to fix what is wrong.
Filed in: NHL Teams, Toronto Maple Leafs | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: toronto+maple+leafs,
Health Habits After Hockey
by Alanah McGinley on 10/16/07 at 11:34 AM ET
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From Nancy J. White at the Toronto Star,
You’ll never see Wendel Clark on a mountain bike or jogging down a country lane. For that matter, you’ll rarely catch him in his home gym.
“I hate working out,” confesses the former Toronto Maple Leafs captain who retired in 2000.
But you may well spot him on a tractor or up a ladder, at his farm. And you’ll likely find “Captain Crunch,” not known for his on-ice gentility, toting a cup of green tea – part of his health regimen. The hard-charging winger’s advice? “Everything in moderation.”
Retirement can change a guy’s perspective, especially after years of gruelling games and battered body parts.
Filed in: Hockey Related Stories | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: toronto+maple+leafs, wendel+clark,
Should Leafs Trade McCabe
by Paul on 10/16/07 at 07:06 AM ET
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from Damien Cox of the Toronto Star,
Maybe the ACC boo-birds will take sensitivity training and back off, or perhaps McCabe will again start playing with confidence and win back popular support.
But there’s blood in the water, and McCabe looks like one rattled hockey player right now. If his troubles continue, does GM John Ferguson, like Fletcher did 10 years ago, fix the issue by shipping McCabe elsewhere?
JFJ would need the defenceman’s permission, of course. But as this lurches into Larry Murphy territory, such permission may not be hard to get.
Filed in: NHL Teams, Toronto Maple Leafs | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: Bryan+McCabe, toronto+maple+leafs,
Sundin, Sundin, Sundin
by Alanah McGinley on 10/12/07 at 01:48 AM ET
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From the CP via TSN,
Mats Sundin, displaying the classy modesty that has marked his tenure as captain of the Toronto Maple Leafs, was quick to thank the team’s loyal fans after he made franchise history.
With his 390th goal and 917th point in the blue and white, the Leafs’ 36-year-old Swedish captain moved past Darryl Sittler to set both club records during an 8-1 rout of the New York Islanders on Thursday night.
Air Canada Centre announcer Andy Frost announced the three stars, and it was Sundin, Sundin and Sundin as more than 19,000 roared their approval.
Filed in: NHL Teams, Toronto Maple Leafs | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: mats+sundin, toronto+maple+leafs,
JFJ’s Problems in Toronto
by Alanah McGinley on 10/11/07 at 04:58 AM ET
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From Steve Simmons at the Toronto Sun,
In the most telling moment of a season already in crisis, the highest paid Maple Leaf skated behind his own goal Tuesday night and proceeded to trip over the net.
Maybe Bryan McCabe had done this before. Maybe not. But the symbol was clear and not at all comical.
This is the player John Ferguson has chosen to build his team around. This is his Chris Pronger, his Nick Lidstrom. Ferguson cannot trade McCabe, cannot send him to the minors, cannot place him on waivers, can probably not look at him the wrong way and cannot keep him on his feet.
Filed in: NHL Teams, Toronto Maple Leafs | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: bryan+mccabe, john+ferguson, toronto+maple+leafs,
Leafs Trying To Find Their Game
by Paul on 10/10/07 at 06:18 AM ET
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from the Toronto Sun,
When the coach doesn’t even try to sugarcoat an effort, you know it’s bad. When the best players on the ice are the guy with cancer and the goalie, you know it’s bad.
The Leafs got away from everything they’ve tried to do all year. They tried to skate with the Hurricanes and ended up looking like Perdita Felicien hitting the first hurdle.
“We tried to play someone else’s game,” Maurice said. “We don’t have that kind of speed. (Darcy) Tucker got a penalty for hitting a guy just because there hadn’t been (any hits) before. It just was so much out of place in the game.”
Filed in: NHL Teams, Toronto Maple Leafs | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: toronto+maple+leafs,
Koivu Reflects on His Own Cancer
by Alanah McGinley on 10/09/07 at 06:23 PM ET
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From Shi Davidi of the CP via Yahoo,
Unlike Blake, who will be able to play while treating his chronic myelogenous leukemia, Koivu wasn’t sure he’d survive his treatment, let alone return to play, and the experience still scars him.
“Every time you hear the word cancer or see someone who is going through it, it brings back the memories, it’s part of me right now,” Koivu said Tuesday in Montreal. “There’s some positive things I took from that experience but there’s also a lot of negative things as well.
“It’s there, but it gets easier the more time you get away from the whole thing.”
Filed in: NHL Teams, Montreal Canadiens | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: jason+blake, montreal+canadiens, saku+koivu, toronto+maple+leafs,
Changing Game Times
by Alanah McGinley on 10/09/07 at 01:50 PM ET
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From Tim Wharnsby on the Globe & Mail blog,
So the Leafs-Hurricanes game has an opening puck drop of 7:07 p.m. tonight to accommodate the U.S. network, Versus. We love it. Thirty minutes earlier translates into finishing sooner and possibly having an extra post-game beverage.
Seriously, though, the earlier start does help us newspaper guys. Even though there have been so many technological advances in the past 30 years, newspaper deadlines have been stuck in the same rut. On most occasions when the Leafs weekday home games begin at 7:30 p.m., I don’t have time to stick around to hear the wisdom of Toronto coach Paul Maurice because I have to return to the press box to file my rewrite by 11:05 p.m.
continued… (*Wharnsby finds out what some Leafs fans think)
Filed in: NHL Teams, Toronto Maple Leafs, NHL Media | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: media, toronto+maple+leafs,
Stupid Questions
by Alanah McGinley on 10/09/07 at 12:36 PM ET
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From David Shoalts on his Globe & Mail blog,
Blake has the good fortune, if you can call it that, that it was caught in the chronic, or earliest stage, and can be treated with a drug called Gleevec and he is not expected to miss even one game for the Maple Leafs.
But he had the misfortune of having Damien Goddard of Sportsnet attend his press conference.
Goddard asked Blake if cancer put his “mini-slump” into perspective. Blake, who scored 40 goals for the New York Islanders last season, had yet to score in three games for the Leafs.
As jaws in the Leafs’ media centre dropped, Blake looked incredulous.
Filed in: NHL Teams, Toronto Maple Leafs, NHL Media | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: Jason+Blake, media, toronto+maple+leafs,
Cancer Will Change Blake
by Alanah McGinley on 10/08/07 at 04:21 PM ET
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From Scott Morrison at CBC,
Every now and then, reality intrudes in to the world of fun and games, offering us a reminder that professional athletes are really no different than the rest of us.
They laugh, they cry and, sadly, they get sick.
Just like the rest of us.
The latest reminder of how some times we forget, in all the excitement of the games, in all the angst over the winning and losing, that the players are just people, too, came in the troubling news Monday that Maple Leafs winger Jason Blake has been diagnosed with cancer.
Filed in: NHL Teams, Toronto Maple Leafs | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: Jason+Blake, toronto+maple+leafs,
Jason Blake Dealing With Leukemia
by Paul on 10/08/07 at 11:30 AM ET
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from TSN,
The Toronto Maple Leafs announced on Monday that forward Jason Blake is battling a rare form of leukemia.
“This morning I shared with my teammates news that I was diagnosed with Chronic Myelogenous Leukemia,” Blake said on the team’s website.
“It is highly-treatable, and I have begun taking a pill on a daily basis that has proven to be very effective in controlling this cancer….”
Filed in: NHL Teams, Toronto Maple Leafs | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: Jason+Blake, toronto+maple+leafs,
Your Guide to Leaf-Free Hockey
by Alanah McGinley on 10/05/07 at 01:15 PM ET
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From the Torontoist,
The leaves are falling; the days are getting colder and the nights longer. All this can only mean one thing. It’s hockey season.
In Toronto, hockey is virtually synonymous with the Maple Leafs. Which is fine if you’re into teams with questionable goaltending, aging stars and $45 nosebleed seats.
Luckily for us, the Leafs aren’t the only game in town. Quality hockey, pleasantly free of suits in corporate boxes, can be found in and around Toronto.
continued… (*scrap your Leaf fandom for options ranging from the OHL to the Sabres)
Filed in: NHL Teams, Toronto Maple Leafs, Non-NHL Hockey | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: toronto+maple+leafs,
Hawks Or Leafs
by Paul on 10/03/07 at 02:05 PM ET
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from Damien Cox at ESPN,
Well, the Hawks will surely hit the half-century mark without winning it all, while the Leafs were closer five years ago than they are now. The Leafs are likely to be better this season and in the immediate future, but the Hawks have a chance with Toews and Kane to be one of the game’s most talented young teams if they nurture the prospects they own.
So the answer, really, is neither team appears on schedule to win the Cup anytime soon. But if the Hawks have the right kids and a productive change in ownership direction is in the offing, they look like the better bet somewhere down the line.
read on for a comparison…
Filed in: NHL Teams, Chicago Blackhawks, Toronto Maple Leafs | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: chicago+blackhawks, toronto+maple+leafs,
Optimistic in Toronto
by Alanah McGinley on 10/02/07 at 11:22 PM ET
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From David Shoalts at the Globe & Mail, the optimism of Paul Maurice:
The man is the epitome of grace under fire. A font of cool rationale as the centre of the hockey universe explodes into panic.
Lost Kyle Wellwood to another operation on his sports hernia? Relax, coach Maurice says. Chad Kilger and John Pohl are here to carry the second line.
Vesa Toskala looked more like Red Light Racicot than the second coming of Curtis Joseph in the exhibition season? Not to worry, coach Maurice says. He and Andrew Raycroft will make the Leafs better in goal this season.
The defence as a group looks every bit as bad as last season? Hey, coach Maurice says, we’re just working a few kinks out.
Filed in: NHL Teams, Toronto Maple Leafs | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: toronto+maple+leafs,
Toronto Media - You Missed Scotty
by Paul on 10/02/07 at 03:14 PM ET
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from the Detroit Free Press,
Will the rumors ever stop about you leaving the Wings to run the Maple Leafs?
(Bowman) They’ve been finished. I went to Toronto (last Friday), and nobody bothered me. I’ve been with the Wings for 14 years. I basically was not interested in leaving. I like the people I work with. No reason I’d want to change.
more from Bowman, including his team “favorites” for the season…
Filed in: NHL Teams, Detroit Red Wings, Toronto Maple Leafs, NHL Talk | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: detroit+red+wings, Scotty+Bowman, toronto+maple+leafs,
Mark Bell Can Begin His Suspension
by Paul on 10/02/07 at 10:03 AM ET
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via TSN,
Sources tell TSN Toronto Maple Leafs forward Mark Bell is expected to be reinstated today, ending his indefinite suspension after being placed into stage two of the NHL’s substance abuse program last month.
Bell will now begin serving the additional 15 game suspension handed down by the National Hockey League and won’t make his Maple Leafs debut until November 6th in Ottawa.
Filed in: NHL Teams, Toronto Maple Leafs | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: Mark+Bell, suspensions, toronto+maple+leafs,
Toskala Will Be Fine
by Paul on 09/28/07 at 06:30 AM ET
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from the Toronton Sun,
Yet before the Maple Leafs goaltender officially is declared a flop across the board, a voice of reason last night might help this sudden city-wide panic to end.
That person was none other than San Jose Sharks general manager Doug Wilson, who watched Toskala come up through his organization to emerge, in his mind, as one of the upper echelon goalies in the game.
“I understand the passion of the fans and that’s wonderful, butI’m not sure you want to judge him after just two exhibition games,” Wilson said in a phone interview from San Jose. “He is a very good goalie and I predict he will play very well for the Toronto Maple Leafs.
“He is very mentally tough. He’ll be able to handle the (spotlight) in Toronto.”
Filed in: NHL Teams, Toronto Maple Leafs | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: goalies, toronto+maple+leafs, Vesa+Toskala,
Goalie Expectations in Florida, Boston and Toronto
by Alanah McGinley on 09/27/07 at 05:18 PM ET
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From the CP via Yahoo! Sports,
A trio of Eastern Conference teams feel they’ve made themselves better this off-season by acquiring goalies who couldn’t hold on to No. 1 jobs in the West.
Trades brought Tomas Vokoun to Florida, Manny Fernandez to Boston and Vesa Toskala to Toronto this summer and every one of those teams is hoping those guys can carry them to the playoffs.
Expectations might be a little high.
All three have shown some shaky form during the pre-season, although it would be foolish to put too much stock in the exhibition play.
Filed in: NHL Teams, Boston Bruins, Florida Panthers, Toronto Maple Leafs | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: boston+bruins, florida+panthers, goalies, Manny+Fernandez, tomas+vokoun, toronto+maple+leafs, vesa+toskala,
Would The Leafs Waive Raycroft
by Paul on 09/24/07 at 11:29 AM ET
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from Adam Proteau of the Hockey News,
The Cloutier demotion makes me wonder why the Toronto Maple Leafs aren’t giving all-but-banished netminder Andrew Raycroft the same treatment.
With second-line center Kyle Wellwood out for a month (at least) thanks to his second sports hernia surgery in nine months, you’d think GM John Ferguson could use Raycroft’s $2 million in salary cap space to help plug the pivot hole.
read on and more NHL notes…
Filed in: NHL Teams, Toronto Maple Leafs | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: Andrew+Raycroft, goalies, toronto+maple+leafs,
Wellwood Relaxed This Summer - Maybe Too Much
by Paul on 09/23/07 at 11:13 PM ET
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from the National Post via the Ottawa Citizen,
After Wellwood missed 33 games with a sports hernia last season, head coach Paul Maurice instructed the third-year forward to hit the weights and get stronger this summer.
According to Wellwood’s father, the 24-year-old took a different approach.
“He likes to take the time off to rest himself mentally,” Rick Wellwood said in a telephone interview yesterday. “In the past, that has worked for him. But maybe he’s now going to have to do more in the summer; he’ll decide to take care of himself better when he decides to do that.”
Filed in: NHL Teams, Toronto Maple Leafs | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: Kyle+Wellwood, toronto+maple+leafs,
Leafs Goaltending Still Unproven
by Paul on 09/22/07 at 06:54 AM ET
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from Damien Cox of the Toronto Star,
The Leafs believe they are set in goal and that, by having Toskala and Raycroft combine forces, have strengthened themselves considerably.
It’s just that there’s no concrete evidence, really, upon which to base such a belief.
Indeed, when you looked at the goaltending depth chart of the lowly Phoenix Coyotes this week and saw David Aebischer, Alex Auld and Mikael Tellqvist, could you honestly say that group is significantly inferior to that of the Leafs?...
So if the weak Desert Dogs have questions in net to be answered, well, the Leafs are in exactly the same position.
It’s just that the Leaf goaltending questions will be asked much more loudly. Every day. Over and over. Under a white hot light of scrutiny powered by 40 years of Cup-less play.
Filed in: NHL Teams, Toronto Maple Leafs | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: goalies, toronto+maple+leafs,
More Groin Problems For Kyle Wellwood
by Paul on 09/22/07 at 06:32 AM ET
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from the Toronto Sun,
Surgery might be a realistic option for the young forward, who already underwent a sports hernia operation earlier this year.
Because tests revealed yesterday that Wellwood might have a potentially significant problem in the same area again, expect the Leafs to take every precaution in their quest to discover whether another operation is in the cards for Wellwood, who has experienced similar symptoms to those that caused him to miss almost half of the 2006-07 season.
added 3:57pm, Sportsnet reporting Wellwood out 3-4 weeks.
Filed in: NHL Teams, Toronto Maple Leafs | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: injuries, toronto+maple+leafs,
Toskala’s Bad Night
by Alanah McGinley on 09/21/07 at 12:31 AM ET
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From David Shoalts at the Globe & Mail,
You have to go back to Ed Belfour in 2002 to find a Toronto Maple Leafs goaltender who had a worse debut than Vesa Toskala.
Eddie the Eagle coughed up a goal on the first shot of the Blue-and-White intrasquad game, which drew some boos from the fans at Copps Coliseum in Hamilton. A few nights later, in his first real game, Belfour — the replacement for the sainted Curtis Joseph — did it again. Belfour gave up a goal on the first shot by the hated Ottawa Senators in the Leafs’ first exhibition game, then gave up two more before leaving partway through what turned out to be a 7-1 drubbing by the Senators.
Toskala, who managed to survive his Blue-White debut without too much embarrassment last Sunday, was channelling Belfour last night against the Phoenix Coyotes in his preseason debut.
Filed in: NHL Teams, Toronto Maple Leafs | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: goalies, toronto+maple+leafs,
Is Blake A Fit With Sundin
by Paul on 09/16/07 at 09:08 AM ET
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from the Toronto Star,
Welcome to the club, Jason Blake, the Fraternal Squadron of Mats Sundin Wing Men.
Remember Mikael Renberg? Steve Thomas? Alex Mogilny? Gary Roberts? Eric Lindros? Freddie Modin? Lately, everyone from Tie Domi to Darcy Tucker, Alexei Ponikarovsky and Nik Antropov have flanked Sundin, with mutually less than Cup-calibre results.
Now, it’s Blake’s turn, circa training camp ‘07. Is he the one, the missing link in the magic combo?
Filed in: NHL Teams, Toronto Maple Leafs | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: jason+blake, mats+sundin, toronto+maple+leafs,
Hockey Thoughts
by Paul on 09/16/07 at 07:16 AM ET
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from Steve Simmons of the Toronto Sun,
• The Ottawa Senators have quietly expressed some interest in Curtis Joseph as a backup goaltender should they be able to find a home for Martin Gerber and his $3.7-million US contract.
• Word around is that the new tough NHL was ready to give Mark Bell a 30-game suspension had he not shown such remorse and personal growth to the league. Doubt Ferguson, who said he did his due diligence on Bell, was aware of that when he tied up $2 million in summer cap money trading for him.
• A waste of money: Whichever NHL team ends up signing Peter Forsberg. He has little left to offer.
Filed in: NHL Talk | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: goalies, ottawa+senators, suspensions, toronto+maple+leafs,
Overseas Trip For Leafs?
by Paul on 09/16/07 at 06:01 AM ET
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from the Toronto Sun,
The Maple Leafs are rumoured to be on the short list should the NHL again choose to open the 2008-09 season in Europe.
“I have heard about it,” general manager John Ferguson said yesterday. “No question, the Leafs are a team with global appeal.”
Stockholm would be a strong possibility for the Leafs, who have Swedes Mats Sundin—for this year anyway—as well as Alex Steen. A perfect match would be the Vancouver Canucks with the Sedin twins and Markus Naslund.
more... hmmm, I know another NHL team that would be even a better fit to play in Stockholm than either the Leafs or Canucks…
Filed in: NHL Teams, Toronto Maple Leafs | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: sweden, toronto+maple+leafs,
Toronto’s New Jerseys
by Alanah McGinley on 09/12/07 at 03:28 PM ET
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The Toronto Maple Leafs unveiled their own new RBK jerseys a few minutes ago. This post on HF Boards shows a screenshot from Leafs TV:
More on the history of the evolving Maple Leafs sweater can be found here.
Update 3:58pm ET: For another point of view… (ha! okay, sorry…)
Update 4:34pm ET: Here is the broadcast from Leafs TV that unveiled the jerseys earlier today. (opens in WMP)
Filed in: NHL Teams, Toronto Maple Leafs, Hockey Equipment, RBK | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: jerseys, rbk, toronto+maple+leafs,
Bell Gets Suspended For 15 Games
by Paul on 09/12/07 at 12:04 PM ET
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via TSN,
Toronto Maple Leafs’ Mark Bell received a 15 regular season game suspension from the NHL on Wednesday.
added 12:07pm, Statement from Gary Bettman,
“Playing in the National Hockey League is a privilege, and with that privilege comes a corresponding responsibility for exemplary conduct off the ice as well as on it,” Commissioner Bettman said. “Mark Bell will serve jail time following the 2007-08 season after pleading to felony and misdemeanor charges stemming from an alcohol-related automobile accident that caused an injury. He also left the scene of the accident. Such conduct is a violation of our covenant with our fans, and to the game, and is prejudicial to the welfare of the League.
“However, over the past year, Mark has made extraordinary strides in his rehabilitation. This positive progress was a material factor in reducing what could have been a lengthier suspension,” Commissioner Bettman added. “The NHL supports Mark’s commitment to learning from his past mistakes and his efforts to move his life forward in a positive direction.”
Filed in: NHL Teams, Toronto Maple Leafs | KK Hockey | Permalink
Tags: Mark+Bell, suspensions, toronto+maple+leafs,
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