Toronto Maple Leafs: Wholesale Changes Begin

The Toronto Maple Leafs cut ties with three former key players on Tuesday, and I'm here to tell you which moves made sense and which ones didn't (you know, because of course I know more than Cliff Fletcher).

Andrew Raycroft, gone.  Darcy Tucker, gone.  Kyle Wellwood, gone. 

Raycroft was an obvious move.  Depending on how well Tuukka Rask develops, the Raycroft-Rask deal could go down as the most lopsided one-for-one deal since Alex Stojanov-for-Marcus Naslund at deadline time in 1996. 

At the time the deal happened, based on his rookie year, I thought the deal might at least be close to even.  But with Raycroft never regaining his rookie form, and having to constantly hear a good friend of mine (a Bruins fan, of course) bug me about the lopsided nature of the trade, I'm ready to forget that Andrew Raycroft ever wore the Maple Leaf.

Darcy Tucker.  My guess is that between the majority of the public not liking his deal (myself included) in the first place, and his play (or lack thereof) over the last season and a quarter, most everyone in Leaf Nation is happy to see him go. 

I got to disagree for two reasons, and neither of them is related to his play.  Yes, he's quite obviously on the downside of his career.  With his lack of size and style of play, his downside may quite possibly be short and extremely painful to watch.  We don't know that for sure, however. 

Because of his contract alone, I would have kept him for at least one more year.  Rich team or not, teams that take advantage of cap space by buying out anyone, let alone $1 million a year for six years is a risk. 

The cap only goes up when profit margins go up, and considering how non-existent hockey is in the American sporting landscape, how much higher can it go? 

The cap is at $57 million or so this year, but I can absolutely see it dropping after this year or perhaps the year after.  And suddenly that $1 million means more. 

The second reason I would have kept him is that Tucker is the kind of player who is driven by anger.  After hearing all the buyout talk and what new Leafs' head coach Ron Wilson said at his introductory press conference, you're crazy if you don't think that Tucker is training like a man possessed for this season. 

Worst case scenario he plays bad for a team that we're pretty sure will be losing anyway.  Best case he plays well enough that teams will deal for him at the deadline and can be talked into waiving his no-trade clause.  Then you can get a kid or a draft pick for him.  If neither one of those scenarios pan out then you have a high paid fourth liner on a losing team who has a solid fan base. 

Toronto's had that before in Tie Domi.  Not the worst thing in the world.  And if you buy him out after next year, you're paying less on the buyout.

Kyle Wellwood on the other hand, I'm very happy to see him leaving.  I will be the first to admit that Wellwood has exceptional hockey sense and on-ice vision.  If you've ever played hockey, you know that vision can't be taught, you either got it, or you don't). 

He also can make some incredible passes with that deft touch of his.  With that said, no team will ever win a Stanley Cup with Kyle Wellwood on its roster. 

I remember saying to my father out of the blue about two weeks ago, "If I were Cliff Fletcher, I'd get rid of Kyle Wellwood."  Now my father, who's also worked in Jr. Hockey for years, had a bit of a fit, until I explained my reasoning to him. 

Wellwood is slow.  Wellwood is showing that he is extremely injury-prone.  If this was 1990, Wellwood may be Craig Janney, the poor-man's Adam Oates.  However, this is a faster, larger league, and Wellwood doesn't seem able to handle the physical scrutiny that he faces as a second line center. 

Fine then, can't he play the third line checking role, become a top face-off man, and chip in with more offense than the average player at that position?  No.  Have you ever seen Kyle Wellwood throw a check, or for that matter a hard check? 

To play that role, you have to be tough, granite-like (Kris Draper, Stephane Yelle, Mike Peca, and John Madden immediately come to mind), and Kyle Wellwood simply isn't that kind of player. 

To that end, I don't think that Adam Oates, in his physical prime, would be the player in 2008 that he was in the early 1990's.  And all of that is without even considering how it creates a steady, stable role for Alex Steen and Matt Stajan, something that is key to the development of young players.

What's done is done; I simply get to write about it.  Knowing "Trader Cliff," there will be plenty more to write about, and soon.