Toronto Maple Leafs Getting Desperate On Day One of Free Agency

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.