Bleacher Report - Articles by Jamie Murphy

Roger Federer: Over and Out?

Jamie Murphy — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 08:05:54 -0400

I was at the Canadian Open tennis Wednsday night and got to watch the great Roger Federer go down in a shocking defeat in the secon round.

[Note: It will always be the Canadian Open to me and not the Rogers Cup. Or, more simply, the week it is on, “the tennis”. For example: I’m heading to the tennis tonight.”]

This was the great man's first match since losing the epic Wimbledon final to Rafa Nadal. Perhaps he still had a Wimbledon hangover [he had a first-round bye in Toronto]?

I said to a friend just after Nadal had won the fifth set at Wimbledon that this was the beginning of the end for Federer. She scoffed and rightly pointed out that he was still No. 1 in the world.

Fair enough, but the end can come quickly at the highest level. Federer looked like his classy self in dominating the first set against Simon.

Then the uncharacteristic unforced errors—particularly on the forehand, where he shanked a number of shots—started to pile up. He also struggled mightily on his serve and then, suddenly, a third set seemed possible and finally, a reality.

Still, Federer came out guns ablazin’ in the third set and seemed poised for a 4-1 lead which we then assumed would quickly be a 6-1 set. Alas, it wasn’t to be and we had an all-time upset on our hands.

The most damning piece of evidence for me was that, on the court, Federer seemed somewhat disinterested. Sure, he competed, but there was a general malaise to his game. He was able to turn it on at times, but on the whole he just seemed off the pace.

Is this the beginning of the end or just an annus horribus that can be redeemed at the U.S. Open in September or with a fresh start in 2009?

Toronto Maple Leafs: Once More, with Feeling

Jamie Murphy — Tue, 11 Mar 2008 17:12:35 -0400

So, the Leafs refuse to say die despite all logic telling them to start working on their their tans. I got home late from work today and flicked on the game while I fixed myself something to eat. Shortly thereafter the Flyers made it 3-0 in a game the Leafs appeared to be dominating. The Leafs could have easily rolled over, folded the tents and kissed their unlikely playoff hopes goodbye—and yet, they didn’t. They battled back valiantly to tie it up and eventually win it in overtime.

Obviously, giving up the extra point to Philly pretty much kills whatever long shot hope the Leafs had (yes, I know, not technically), but kudos to Paul Maurice for, (a) going for the win in regulation by pulling Toskala in a tie game; and (b) getting his players to play such a committed game. I think Maurice has done a pretty sketchy coaching job this season – poor special teams, having the wrong players on the ice at the end of tight games – but he’s been doing something right for the past few weeks. There is certainly no quit in this team yet. For whatever reason, and going back to the Quinn days, this team has always played well when faced with adversity.

All that being said, I’m really hoping that Fletcher sticks to his guns about rebuilding this team properly (side note: raise your hand if you’ll be surprised if the GM search eventually gives Fletcher the job). When he took the job he said he wouldn’t be swayed by improved play at the end of the season and that the fact that a number of players started playing well once the team was all but eliminated from post-season contention was instructive. When McCabe started talking about their improved play being due to just getting healthy I started getting nervous that the Leafs higher-ups would agree with him. We’ll see.

Speaking of McCabe, the Leafs' power play has improved dramatically since his return from injury. Perhaps this will create a market for him in the off-season, particularly with less money owed to him in the latter years of his deal?

On a purely selfish note, the Leafs not making the playoffs again means I don’t get to enjoy one of the most appealing aspects of the spring: Maple Leafs playoff fever. When the weather starts to warm up and the Leafs are going on a playoff run this town is electric. Every restaurant sign seems to read “Go Leafs Go” every cab driver will talk your ear off about the team and there is a general buzz in the air… not to mention the ubiquitous car window flags (haven’t seen too many of those this season). I guess we were spoiled around the turn of the century when the Leafs regularly flirted with a Cup run. On the plus side, starting in April I can begin focusing on the FC and my golf game.

In other sporting news…. Big news last week in the tennis world that Roger Federer had mono during the Australian Open, which explains his sluggish performance there and during the opening two months of 2008. So, if we can give him a mulligan for 'only' reaching the semis in the year’s first Grand Slam, can we say that the rivalry is back on? What rivalry is that you ask? Well, with Tiger Woods of course. Both have no real peers among their contemporaries and are only competing against history, so let’s hype their Grand Slam battle…. Or maybe just enjoy their artistry, but doesn’t this race seem like something you could gamble on?

Fixing the Toronto Maple Leafs

Jamie Murphy — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 10:37:30 -0500

Unfortunately there are no easy answers and no shortcuts. Even if they somehow get Steve Stamkos next year it is unrealistic to expect him to come in and have a big impact right away (it could happen, but it isn’t something the Leafs should bank on). He is going to be a great player but he is not Sidney Crosby.

The key for the Leafs will be putting some of that MLSE money muscle to good use. They can free up valuable cap space by sending Raycroft and Bell to the minors next season as a start (that is $4.1 million in cap space right there). If Kubina won’t waive his no-trade clause, they might need to play hardball with him and ship him (or threaten to ship him) to the Marlies as they can’t keep both him and McCabe and McCabe has a no movement clause.

They have some decent young talent but not a lot of it. If some of the kids make the final 23 next year (and they should, in my opinion, assuming they continue to develop as expected) that will strip the farm bare of replacement parts when the injuries arrive, as surely they will. The Leafs should look for some inexpensive depth guys on two-way contracts to give the kids a chance but also to provide a bit of a safety net. Think Boyd Devereaux and Dominic Moore types. They should look at guys with local connections who will take less money to be Leaf (or a potential Leaf). Sounds silly? I remember years ago driving on the QEW, passing a St. Catherines exit and the town was proudly displaying a giant banner that read, “Home of Bill Berg. #10”. Bill Berg. He was a Leafs fourth liner for three years and probably doesn’t have to pay for breakfast anywhere in the GTA and environs. I’m sure there is a car dealership somewhere with his name on it.

If they play the kids next season they won’t be any worse than they have been this year and they will have some money to spend in the off-season on decent, mid-level players if they want to go that route (just limit the term, and please, no more no movement clauses other than to veteran players signing below market, short-term deals). Sure, tanking the season to try and get Tavares is probably a better way to go from a long-term perspective but we all know that is not going to happen.

So, here’s what I think the Leafs should be projecting as their 2008-2009 lineup based on what is currently in their system and what they might need to do in the off-season. They should see if these young guys are for real and try to inject as much youth and speed into their lineup as possible.

Out at this year’s trade deadline: Gill, Kilger, Belak
To the Marlies: Bell, Raycroft
Young players making the big team: Kulemin, Tlusty, Earl, Stralman, Kronwall
Re-sign UFAs: Sundin, Moore

Forward lines:
Tlusty – Sundin – Wellwood
Ponikarovsky – Antropov – Tucker
Blake – Stajan – Steen
Earl – Moore – Devereaux
Extra: Newbury or Ondrus

Kulemin will push hard for a spot in the lineup and could make Ponikarovsky available. He likely starts with the Marlies as he acclimates to North American hockey (and life)
Earl’s speed earns him a spot on the 4th line and he could take over on one of the top 3 lines when needed as he has offensive potential
Mitchell could take over centering the 4th line from Moore (who has been very good for the Leafs this year)
Newbury basically replaces Belak
Wellwood and Blake could switch places
Tlusty projects as a centre, so if he is ready they could look at him to centre the 2nd line and reunite the Sky Line as the number one unit
If Tlusty, Kulemin are both ready the Leafs could potentially roll 4 lines with good speed and spread out scoring potential

Defensive Pairings:
Kaberle – Colaiacovo
McCabe – NEW veteran stay at home defenceman (free agent signing)
Stralman – Kronwall
Extra: White

They should try to maximize White’s potential by making him QB the second unit of the powerplay. He is always going to be a bit of a defensive liability, so they should try to take advantage of his strengths while limiting his weaknesses.
Yes, the veteran will be like a Hal Gill, but they should be able to get a better player even if they have to pay a little more. Gill is great killing of 5-on-3 disadvantages but he’s just too slow for today’s game. The Leafs should look at someone like the Devil’s deadline acquisition, Bryce Salvador, or even a Richard Matvichuk (if he has anything left in the tank?). Both are UFAs this summer and made in the $1.5m range this season. Anyway, the point being, there are plenty of veteran defensive defencemen to be had at a reasonable salary.

Goal:
Toskala
Pogge

This team, with Kubina and not the veteran stay-at-home guy noted above, would have a cap number of about $49 million. Take him out and plug in a $2-3million for another defensemen and the Leafs should be about $7 million under the cap (projected at $54m).

If Tucker finishes strongly there might be a market for him. I could see him going to Calgary, especially if they move Tanguay. Fletcher should try to move him, Kubina, Raycroft et al before the draft but he might need to look at moving other pieces if he is looking for anything useful in return (e.g. Ponikarovsky, Blake). I think the guys with no-trade clauses can be moved in the off-season. These guys have families and kids in school so it is understandable that they don’t want to uproot their lives in the middle of the hockey season, or be apart from them for 2-3 months.

Is this team going to win the Stanley Cup? No, obviously not. But this is a start to building towards the future and clearing enough cap space so that Sundin can be properly replaced in a year or two and you start building a pipeline of young (and inexpensive) talent. E.g. what happens if Lecavalier decides not to re-sign in Tampa…. I assume he will, but who knows what can happen. If nothing else, it would be a faster team and you need speed to contend in the new NHL.

Assumptions:
1. They can move Kubina. With Boyle getting crazy money someone might view his $5million as a decent deal. Well, probably not. But I think the Leafs could give him away for a pick if all they wanted was cap space.
2. Sundin re-signs the same type of deal as this year
3. Whomever they Leafs draft in the first round isn’t ready to step in right away
4. Tucker has, in fact, been injured this year and does have something left in the tank. It might not be much, but something.
5. Wellwood’s year is best just written off. I don’t think he ever properly recovered from the two abdominal surgeries. This is a big assumption, but in this scenario he works hard on his fitness and comes back healthy and in shape next year. Without speed his shiftiness doesn’t come to much of anything useful. He doesn’t get much of an increase, if any, for next year.
6. Stajan gets an increase to $1.5 million.
7. Blake bounces back to his normal 20+ goals per season numbers
8. The Leafs are willing to play hardball with their players in order to move the team forward….

Maple Leafs Analysis: Mats Sundin Situation Boggles the Mind

Jamie Murphy — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 10:30:19 -0500

The Toronto Maple Leafs tried to play it classy in how they handled captain Mats Sundin’s no trade clause and ended up botching it royally and coming off as totally classless—and clueless.

Hopefully the Mats bashers will layoff. Sure the team would be better off long-term if they'd been able to trade Sundin for top draft picks or prospects, not to mention the added advantage of sinking to the bottom of the standings without their best player and upping their chances of landing Stamkos on draft day.

However, Sundin’s reasons for staying—his commitment to the team, city, and his teammates—are exactly what you look for in a captain. He should be lauded for not simply demanding to be traded to a place where he “has a chance to win.” I always hate it when a superstar demands a trade to a contender. Stay where you are and make your team a contender, if you are a true star player.

Finally, no one ever said, even once, that if the Colorado Avalanche were to fall out of playoff contention that they should look to move Joe Sakic. His situation is very similar to Sundin’s (not exact, obviously as Joe has won a Cup and only ever played for one team) but the treatment of the two was very different.

As to the handling of l’affaire Sundin, as I said in my opening, it boggles the mind. What they should have done is so straightforward I had just assumed they were doing it behind the scenes. When Fletcher came in all he had to announce was the following:

1. I’ve been given a mandate and we are going to everything we can to get this franchise back to its rightful place at the top of league and competing annually for the Stanley Cup.

2. We have five players with no-trade / no-move clauses. I will be meeting with each of them, outlining my vision for the future and discussing how they fit in. In the best interests of the team I will ask each of them if they would consider waiving their clause if the right deal came along.

3. We have no interest in trading Mats. He has been the face of the team for the past decade and is our best player and captain. That being said, if we got knocked over with a great deal we’d have to consider it. If Wayne Gretzky can get traded, anyone can get traded.

Boom. Done. Press conference over, nothing more said than what happened anyway. Expectations properly managed and direction communicated.