Jason Blake goes off

Don't know if you heard about this, but old friend Jason Blake has been a healthy scratch a couple of times over the past few weeks and has drawn the ire of Leafs coach Ron Wilson for not going to the net and finishing plays.

It all came to head earlier in the week when a frustrated Blake had a bit of a helmet-throwing tirade in the Leafs locker room and then vented to reporters that he might have made the wrong decision in signing with Toronto a couple of years back.

Now the Leafs have another malcontent on their roster and very few options in hopes of rectifying the situation with Blake. His contract--which will run until he is 38--makes him almost untradeable. According to the Toronto media, they could buy out Blake after the season and take the cap hit of 1.3 million over the next 6 years. (Buyouts are taxed toward the cap for twice the remaining years of the contract and Blake has three years left.)

Another idea floating around is that the Leafs could just demote Blake to the American League Marlies to get his contract off the books. The Rangers did this trick with a couple of players in the recent past; most notably, Darius Kasparaitis. They'd still be on the hook for what they signed him for but because he would be in the AHL, the contract and the salary would not count on the Maple Leafs' cap.

It's not been a great career for Jason Blake since he left for less-green pastures. He's had production issues (15-37-52 in 82 games last year and only 2-4-6 in 14 games so far this season) since scoring 40 on the Island two years ago. Plus, he was diagnosed with a form of cancer last season and that may have attributed to his lackluster play.

Signing a big contract in The Hockey Capital brings all sorts of pressures to players who make the move to Toronto. When you're brought in to score goals for a team that hasn't won a Stanley Cup in a generation and plays in a fish bowl, everything becomes magnified.

I hate to say it, but we called this one a mile away. No doubt that Blake thought he'd be playing with his buddy Mike Peca in TO but when the Leafs had no place for the oft-injured Center, Peca had to look elsewhere after the lockout. Blake, who for all of his hustle and determination that makes him a fan favorite, is one of those guys who reportedly tends to rub his teammates the wrong way. Let's never forget the reports that Roman Hamrlik was firing pucks at Blake's head in warm-ups when both were on the Islanders. Think about that. You really need to have strong negative feelings to fire pucks at a teammate in a warm-up.

Anyway, that is where we are with Blake. What does this mean? Well, for the Islanders, not much. They're committed to The Plan right now (as they should be) and are not going to be looking to bring on more payroll for a guy who is overpaid and not producing. Still, that doesn't mean that there won't be all kinds of (alleged) rumors floating around that are coming from Toronto that the Islanders may want to bring Blake back to help a struggling offense.

Don't buy it. Even at a league-worst 4-9-2 record, the Isles are, for better or worse, going with the kids. First-year Islanders coach Scott Gordon told Newsday today that he sees progress in the team. He even plans on playing rookie Josh Bailey with Kyle Okposo tonight in Ottawa in a pair that Islanders fans are hoping will be the combination that leads the team for the next ten years.

This season is going to be rough. Garth Snow, Scott Gordon, and the rest of the Islanders brain trust understand that there are bumps in the road on the way to success. We just have to hope that they know what they're doing and are strong enough in their convictions to stay on course. That course does not have room for a player like Jason Blake right now.

Jason Blake?

Look, the team is not performing. Last night was a bad performance against a team you should be able to take two points from. Toronto is going to be looking to re-do the entire operation from top-to-bottom. They have a guy there named Jason Blake. Blake is under-performing for his money. All bets are that he desperately misses Long Island and playing for the team that he made his name with. Why not give new/interim/aged Leafs GM Cliff Fletcher a call and see if he wants to real Jason Blake? There is nothing to lose and a lot to gain. The playoffs, perhaps.

Letters! We get letters! (Well, a few anyway.)

It's been a long time since I did the old mailbag, so why not now?
Here's a bushel basket of replies from the home office in West Hartford,
CT (via Middletown, CT) & thanks to everyone who has written in or left
comments. As always, I can be reached at nyiforlife (at) yahoo.com.

BLAKE55--Yes, it's true Jason is having a tough season in Toronto and
yes, I bet every morning he wakes up that he wishes he was back with the
Islanders and away from the Toronto media circus. Simply put, however,
the lack of scoring by our boys may not have been appreciably better if
Blake had remained an Islander. He year-to-date stats translate to a
projected 14 goal season. At what he is making, I'm sorry, but that is
a bust after potting 40 last season.

Viktor Kozlov is projecting to a seven goal season. He's really
lighting it up in Washington with 4 goals so far this year, eh? Did
that in one game vs. the Rangers last year. His Caps teammate, Tom
Poti, was a minus-1 player and had 44 points for the Islanders. This
season he's projected at minus-sixteen and 24 points. Maybe that is why
he was booed by Ranger fans when he played at MSG.

What does this all mean? Well, it means that Ted Nolan is a pretty damn
good coach who knows how to get what he can out of his players. But if
you take the numbers as they are and add them to the NYI roster, you can
see that the new teams these players are on are simply not getting what
they paid for. I mean, Kozlov is projecting Andy Hilbert numbers at
four times Hilbert's salary. Doesn't add up.


Philly--I still think Forsberg ends up with the Flyers or Colorado if he
comes back. Last thing I read was that he dropped out of a tournament
in December when his feet weren't yet comfortable in his skates. He has
since had another procedure and is going to be going to camp with Team
Sweden very soon. If he thinks he is fit and can withstand the rigors
of the Stanley Cup playoffs, he will find many suitors in the NHL.
Sixteen of them, perhaps.


Shazbot--Thanks for the kind words about the wrestling reviews. I will
try to get more of the WWE 24/7 programming reviews up on the site when
I can. I like to use the site more for my hockey writing than anything
else because that's how I roll.

I feel that it is hard to compare the Bret Hart book to the Chris
Jericho book because of the different tone each takes. Jericho's is
more like Mick Foley's writing in that both guys are funny and are using
the humor to help them describe what it was like to realize their
dreams. Bret's book is serious as heck throughout. Sure, there are
passages where you can almost see that sideways smirk of his but most of
it is laid out in a no-nonsense kind of way. (Search this site for my
review, keyword Bret Hart.)

Saying that, both are worth reading. If I were to read them again, I'd
reach for the Hart book first.

And no, I haven't seen the Best of RAW DVD yet. All I know is that
Stone Cold whacking Vince with the bed pan simply has to be on there.


Ron--Glad you asked about the NHL Network. I would suggest calling your
cable operator as soon as you can. I know that it is available to
Comcast digital subscribers but I am not sure if it is on some kind of
programming tier or not. You didn't hear it from me but I would also
recommend making many DVDs for summer viewing. That's my advice.


Lastly, I want to recommend John Buccigross' interview with the dean of
NHL TV, John Shannon. You can find it at the link above.

Also, a big ol' uppercase THANK YOU to John for asking about the audio
of the NHL game presentations. They really, really need to work on
that. The FSN crew is guilty of not miking the crowds in a way that is
not indicative of the genuine crowd reaction at the games. Watch
anything on the NHL Network from the 1980s and you can hear the passion
and excitement in the building. We need to get that juice back on TV.

Ricky injured; Isles win in OT; Blake gets booed

One thing we all could have warned any of our Maple Leaf-loving friends (If we were to have any) about Jason Blake was his propensity to try and do too much by himself at times. It could be maddening for me watching him dipsy-doodle through the neutral zone, only to get the puck separated from him and for the opposition to go the other way on a scoring chance.

So, you know, in overtime, we'd sort of seen that thing before.

Blake must've been over-excited to make his return to the old barn, even though he was hearing some boos last night. (Memo to Toronto sports writers: we pay for the tickets and we can boo who we want.) Truth is that Blake has been squeezing the stick a little too tight all season. He's only scored a handful of goals and has failed to click with Mats Sundin. The guy also has become really, really good at hitting the post if last night was any indication. (Jason, I've been there in my meager playing days and it sucks.)

In a lot of ways, it was a fitting end worthy of being written by Vince McMahon back in the day when storylines made sense: guys bolts town for big bucks, comes back, causes new team to lose to the old team. Sounds almost NWO-ish, doesn't it?

In overtime, after the boys killed a Richard Park penalty, Park redeemed himself by pick pocketing Blake as he fiddled and diddled and tossed a shot at Toronto goaltender of the moment Andrew Raycroft. Raycroft dished up a nice, fat rebound and Mike Comrie put it in the back of the net with 9.6 seconds to play in the extra frame. It was Comrie's second of the game and his team-leading eleventh goal of the season.

The real news came in warm-ups, however. Ricky tweaked his left knee and tried to gut it out but after giving up two in the first, he pulled himself from the game and Wade Dubielewicz started the second. Dubie must have found some of that old Spring of '07 magic in Frosty's hat because he played solidly in his first action in almost a month. (Remember December 1 vs. Atlanta? Yeesh.)

DiPietro will be evaluated today but did not make the trip to Ottawa for tonight's game against the Senators. Soundtigers goalie Joey McDonald has been summoned from Bridgeport (where he won 5-4 last night over Hershey and that is his picture with this post) to back up Dubie tonight.

The Islanders also played last night without Radek Martinek, who was nursing a sore leg. Funny, but I wasn't able to find word anywhere online if would be playing tonight against the Senators. In Martinek's absence, Bruno Gervais was elevated to the top defensive pair and played over 27 minutes.

Jason Blake

Our thoughts are with Jason Blake and his family as the former-Islander fights this disease.

Statement From Jason Blake Regarding Condition
Toronto Maple Leafs
Oct 8, 2007, 10:39 AM EDT

Jason Blake of the Toronto Maple Leafs issued the following statement following the team's practice Monday at Air Canada Centre:

"This morning I shared with my teammates news that I was diagnosed with Chronic Myelogenous Leukemia. It is highly-treatable, and I have begun taking a pill on a daily basis that has proven to be very effective in controlling this cancer. The prognosis, and certainly the expectations of my physician, myself and my family, is that I will live a long, full and normal life.

"This situation will not impact my ability to live my life as I otherwise would, and will not affect my ability to perform at my highest level for the Toronto Maple Leafs. I'm looking forward to my first season with the Leafs and helping our club compete for the Stanley Cup."

Statement from Maple Leafs team doctor Noah Forman regarding Jason Blake's medical condition:

"Jason Blake has very recently been diagnosed with Chronic Myelogenous Leukemia (CML). This is a form of leukemia (blood cancer) which is a slow growing cancer of the white blood cells. It has an incidence of 500 new cases diagnosed each year in Canada.

"It is caused by an abnormal chromosome of cells in the body's bone marrow.

Jason is in no immediate danger, as he is in the chronic phase of the disease and has been assessed by a leading authority on CML at Princess Margaret Hospital in Toronto.

He has already started treatment which consists of an oral medication taken daily with low side effects.

"We have secured opinions from numerous CML specialists confirming that with this oral medication, most patients are well controlled and lead normal lives, doing all their normal activities. Jason will be able to continue to play fully with the team and will be monitored closely by both the team's physician and his CML specialist."

Mail Responses

Well, I figured since we are all sitting around twiddling our thumbs and waiting for 12:01 tonight, I'd take the time to respond to some of those who were kind (?) enough to send me their opinions. Here we go:

To BLAKE55--No, I have not forgotten about Jason Blake. I like Jason Blake and I love the energy he brings to the ice. It's just that everything I have read said that he and his agent want a lot of money (I seem to recall 4-5m a year) and to me, that is too much to pay for a guy who is 34. I know he just had his best season as a pro and has been a mainstay on the Island through tough times. But that is just a lot of cash. My guess is that he goes to Toronto or Minnesota. Either way, he will always be an Islander and I bet he'd be the first to say that.


To GomesGrrl in NJ: Scott Gomez would be a great addition to whicher team he picks. I am thinking he goes West Coast since he is from Alaska and anywhere in the west is closer to Alaska than New Jersey.


To GoLefsGo: I TOTALLY brain-farted when I said the Leafs got Toskala from the Predators. Mea culpa. I must be as stupid as you said I am. One thing I know is that I can properly express myself in words and I also learned how to capitalize the first word of a sentence in school as well. I might not be genius but I am smart enough to know that JFJ is not one either. Why else are the Leafs trying to bring in a "hockey guy" to hold his hand? Isn't JFJ a hockey guy? Just wonderin'. Good luck Leafs.

To John in Halifax: GREAT to hear from the Maritimes! I hope to visit someday.

Chris Benoit may have been a troubled dude for sure; but I am hopeful that the docs doing the autopsy check his brain out. Too many chairshots and diving headbutts from the top rope can't be good for your mental health. I bet they find that he has the brain of a 80 year old guy with the onset of Alzheimer's. That would definitely increase the paranoia effects from painkillers and muscle relaxers.

Of course, anything is speculation at this point. We won't know much until the toxicology reports and autopsy results are made public.

One thing about the media speculation that sticks in my craw is the way that a lot of these so-called experts on TV obviosuly have no idea as to what they are talking about. The worst offender in this has to be Geraldo. Nancy Grace is no genius either.

Another thing: nobody thought that football made OJ do what he did. No one pinned football as the thing that made Rae Carruth do what he did. A lot of people think wrestling is to blame; which is ridiculous. You can probably pin a lot of stuff on the McMahon family but you can't pin a guy flipping out and killing his family on them. Wrestling itself is not to blame at all. Now the pressures of the game and the way in which these men and women put their bodies on the line could very well have contributed to his mental state. No denying that. But to toss a blanket on "wrestling" itself is disengenuous and a scary characterization.


To all that asked: My favorite Islander player of all-time is probably Mike Bossy or Denis Potvin. Gotta throw Steve Thomas in there too. Stumpy totally rocked in NHL 93 on the old Sega Genesis. I could score with that guy from anywhere in that game!


Pete in Long Island asked about Pierre Turgeon. Yeah, I was totally a fan of Turgeon's. I still hate Dale Hunter and what he did to derail the Isles in 1993. And yes, it's weird that one of my favorite current Islanders, Brendan Witt, wears #32 to honor Dale Hunter. But Witt rules and he is so fun to watch.


That's it for today. Keep the letters and comments coming. Well be back with more free agent fallout this weekend.

Off-season Question #1:

Ryan Smyth? Jason Blake? Or, both? (WAIT--is that THREE questions?)

If anyone reading this has access to the flux capacitor, can you let me know? I'd like to go into the future to about August and find out how this all shakes down because waiting for it to happen is going to give me piles.

Both guys are unrestricted free agents for the first time in their careers. That means that for the first time, Jason Blake and Ryan Smyth have leverage. Think about that for a minute. It's got to be an honor to play in the NHL--there is no doubt about that. But for the first time maybe in their lives each man gets a chance to decide for himself where he wants to play his hockey. It has to be a staggering revelation for all hockey players. Most of these players have been drafted into situations out of their hands since they were teenagers. Now, they have a choice. And exploring that choice has to be daunting.

Jason Blake has been an Islander for six years. He was stolen from the Los Angeles Kings for a fifth-round pick. His career has done nothing but blossom on Long Island as his playing time increased. He's a competitive son of a gun who gutted through the playoffs with a bad arm after that from-behind hit by Teppo Numminen.

Ryan Smyth is Captain Canada. He played all of 24 games for the Islanders--and many of those with an injured knee! He has been the de-facto Captain of the team since he arrived. Some fans and some in the league think that the Islanders gave up a lot for him. I argue that Robert Nilsson; Ryan O'Marra; and a first-rounder were not enough for the guy if he gets resigned by the team. Neither of those players has what Smyth brings to the table. He's a leader through and through. He plays a gritty, tough game and gets his nose dirty. He sticks up for his boys and scores quite a bit. But he also offers those intangibles that separate him from other players with a similar skill set. He's heart-and-soul. The fact that his good buddy Mike Sillinger is on the team is a strong selling point. But, on the other hand, being a free agent like he is now is a rare opportunity to actually pick the city and situation that suits him and his family. The Islanders are a family-friendly organization. Smyth has said that he has been treated well. What's not to like?

The fact that Smyth played on an injured knee when he was entering free agency says so freaking much about how much he cares. How can you let a guy like him walk? The onus is on Ted Nolan and Garth Snow to make it known to Smyth and his family just how important he can be to the revitalization of the Islanders. And Smyth comes across as one of those guys who gets it. I expect Ryan sees the bigger picture in these kinds of situations. Because of that, for some reason, I think he understands that the team is desperate to field a winner. The contract of Rick DiPietro shows that the organization is committed to win. Now the Islanders brass just has to convince Ryan Smyth that he can be a big part of that.

When Michael Peca was traded to the Isles, he said that he wanted to be part of turning the franchise around. We now know that Peca was really all talk. What we have seen from Ryan Smyth is that he can walk the walk as well. Call me crazy, but I really, really he think that the Islanders are going to be able to keep him. At least, I am hoping so--very much hoping so.

Jason Blake has been characterized as a me-first player at times in his career. He's also shown an ability to piss off the players on his own team at times--let's remember that Roman Hamrlik once went headhunting on Blake during warm-ups a few years ago. Ted Nolan recently said that Jason has learned to be more of a leader and a better teammate. Blake also said in Newsday that you see guys who leave good situations for more money, "but are they really happy?"

Reading between the lines, Blakie wants to stay. I don't know if the Isles will be able to finagle it or not, but if you assign priority to players this off-season, Smyth is the first choice. I'd say that
signing Trent Hunter to something a little more long-term may be Job #2; since he is restricted. Perhaps Blake slides down to being #3. For a fifth-round draft pick who couldn't play on terrible Kings teams, being #3 ain't bad at all.

I would just hate hate hate to see a player like Jason Blake go for the money and get into a situation like Mark Parrish has been in since going home to Minnesota. Granted, Parrish isn't exactly the skater Blake is but Parrish has had to deal with a bit of the Golden Boy Goes Home-kind of thing where expectations are higher than reality may be.