I'm in shock.
And upset. Imagine if I were still a die-hard Toronto Maple Leafs' fan.
Half an hour ago, I read the story that Toronto had found their replacement back-up goaltender after cutting ties with former Calder winner Andrew Raycroft.
The name? Curtis Joseph.
Now let me explain my stance on this.
I loved Cujo since his days in Edmonton. He was my favorite player from then until he left Toronto. It was so easy to watch the Leafs during the days of Joseph because he was a dependable goalie who could pitch a shutout on any given night. Then it happened.
Curtis Joseph, after nearly winning a Vezina, twice pushing Toronto to the Eastern Conference Finals, and being a class act his entire career, made a statement that will make me hate him forever.
In the press conference following his departure from Toronto, signing with the Detroit Red Wings for the 2002-03 season, he stated his reason for leaving Toronto was simple, he wanted to go to a team where he could win a Stanley Cup.
Now, I wasn't so fanatical that I was delusional. I knew there were teams who had a better chance than Toronto, although they were contenders at that time.
It was the way he said it, it was almost like he said, 'Basically Toronto is horrible, I'll never win a Cup here, so why should I stay? I'm going to go to Detroit and have my moment. The Leafs can bite me.'
That's how it sounded in the tone he used to leave a city and a team that had so much faith in him. Then he got swept by Anaheim in the first round. That made me laugh so hard, given the fact that that playoff was Anaheim's first taste of success in the NHL. In fact, they came within a game of the Stanley Cup.
But back to Joseph. He had put his foot in his mouth and the league must've had some who were making jokes. God knows I was.
Now fast forward to 2008. Curtis Joseph has been thrown around since then, playing for Phoenix, leaving the NHL, earning a rebirth in Calgary this past year.
But after leaving the way he did, where he appeared to have burned a bridge with the Maple Leafs, why would Toronto give him another chance?
Desperation, nostalgia, and the thrill of winning—which they had on a regular basis when Cujo wanted to play for the team. Since he left, he made it clear he didn't even want to play against the team he had his biggest successes with. In my opinion, Joseph was acting quite immature towards the organization.
But I guess I need to understand a second thing about this pick-up of the Devil Dog. There is new management. Better management.
Cliff Fletcher, in his GM post, was the man who turned the Leafs into a tough team to beat in the mid 90's, signing Doug Glimour among others.
Perhaps, Fletcher knows what he's doing bringing Curtis Joseph back. He's won a Gold Medal and he did a phenomenal job at the Splengler Cup. He also may have matured a bit to the point he knows he's not worth as much as he once was. Joseph signed a $700,000 contract to play back-up to Toskala this season.
Will Toronto continue to surprise this free agency period or will the team who hadn't missed the playoffs three straight years since the '20s miss it for the fourth year in a row regardless of who they sign?
Time will tell, but as far as Joseph goes, I hope he comes to play because the Toronto Maple Leafs are a proud franchise with a great history.
Fletcher seems to know that Joseph was a big part of that recent history. Let's see if Joseph himself can realize that if he comes to play, he is still capable of winning.
The Leafs need to re-live their glory years, need to learn how to win.
Surprise, surprise. Joseph's back.
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3 months ago
The only way I'd forgive him is if he wins us the cup. Other than that, I'm going to boo him.
3 months ago
ummm what the are you talking about? Joseph PROOVED in the playoffs with calgary comming in twice and playing really well as well as putting together a 3-2 record in the regular season in 9 games played with a G.A.A of 2.55 and a save percentage of .906. That's MILES away from raycrap. Even if he goes 11-10 all season or 10-10 all season,its better than the two wins raycroft gave us and will legitimatley give us a shot at making the playoffs. He's now a BACKUP im sure he realizes that. But we can still get 20-25 quality starts out of this guy and he always comes to play. Having a veteran presence will help this young team and will even help toskala become a better goalie. GREAT move fletch and with a price like that, we can't go wrong. He should hold the fort down as backup and hopefully Pogge will be ready to go within 2 years.
3 months ago
Maybe CuJo doesn't deserve to come back and retire as a Maple Leaf, but at the same time, maybe the Leafs need a classy move, such as this, to shed the lousy player relations they've shown through recent dealings with Sundin, Tucker, McCabe, etc.
At least the contract is reasonable, and CuJo can move into a goaltender coach/ PR rep/ or another position within the Leafs after this year.
Plus, he still had game last year with the Flames.. and anyone will provide more confidence in goal than Raycroft.
3 months ago
I'm willing to give Cujo anther chance and anyway i would take him over RayCorft anyday. Atleast he can get us wins.
3 months ago
I understand what you guys are talking about with his skill level...I'm not so much blasting his ability to play, I'm referring to his mindset of coming to play for a team he basically dumped because he was tired of playing for them and greedy for a Cup.
3 months ago
You know what im happy cujos back everyone makes mistakes he was born to play for toronto and hes gonna get us in the playoffs ive bein a die hard leaf fan for sometime and theres nothing better then hearing the name cujo in a leaf uniform.
3 months ago
People with aspirations leave their jobs all the time. That's what Cujo had here.. a job. And when it was over he announced he wanted to go to a team that could win the Stanley Cup, the thing all NHL players hope to achieve. What's wrong with that? Was he not telling the truth when he indicated that Detroit stood a better chance than the Leafs? Don't get me wrong, I'm a die hard Leafs fan - with the tattoo to prove it - and I'm a 47 year old woman! But realistically the Wings and Leafs are light years apart. If my dream was to be president of a company some day and I didn't see it happening anytime soon, would it be any different if I chose to jump ship because a different employer had a faster track? You may disagree, but I don't think so. Cujo's not getting any younger, he wanted to reach the pinnace of professional hockey and he took steps to try and make it happen. Personally I don't see what the problem is.... and I'm happy to see him come back. He'll bring stability and a quiet presence to the dressing room and reliability between the pipes for a quarter or so of the games for a reasonable salary. What more do you ask of your backup?
from 3 months ago
Like I said earlier in the article, it wasn't so much his intention to move, but how he said it and did it. He was a bit overconfident even in his closing remark: We'll see in June. In June, he was golfing having been ousted in April. I found some humour in the way his team were eliminated, but now I'm interested to see what attitude he has being back in Toronto. New Management, better management may have had something to do with his return also. Thanks for your interest in the piece.
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