I applaud the Leaf's signing of Joe Nieuwendyk. I only wonder what took them so long. Nieuwendyk is a tremendous two-way player with three Stanley Cup rings with three different teams. The Leafs are a better team with him as our number two center.
Of course, our greatest need is on the blue line. With the departure of Glen Wesley and Jyrki Lumme, the leg injury to Bryan McCabe and the mysterious virus affecting Karel Pilar, our opening day defensemen may look something like this: Tomas Kaberle, Bryan Marchment, Aki Berg, Rik Jackman, Wade Belak and Carlo Colaiacovo. For depth there's Anders Eriksson and Brenden Bell. We're in some serious trouble my friends...
One final word on Doug Gilmour's retirement. No other player on this planet played with the grit and passion Gilmour displayed day in and day out while with the Toronto Maple Leafs. #93 exemplified what it means to play for God's team, and in one exhilerating moment on May 3rd, 1993, he sent an entire city strait to heaven. It was game one of the Norris Division Finals at Maple Leaf Gardens. Gilmour takes the puck behind the net and scores a brilliant wrap-around goal against Cujo at 3:16 of the second overtime period. The Leafs win 2-1. Some of us are still riding that high...
