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ANAHEIM — The biggest problem surrounding the Toronto Maple Leafs is that every night is a full moon.
There is no shortage of lunacy, be it uproars over a two-game losing string or rumours the captain is selling his house. So it went yesterday with the latest panic attack, this one a double play: speculation Leafs captain Mats Sundin already told general manager John Ferguson he will waive his no-trade clause and, horrors, Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment president Richard Peddie is joining the Leafs on their trip to California.
Sundin was not around to deflect the latest nonsense because the players were given the day off to try some fishing or golf. Hey, they're 2-6-2 in their past 10 games so they deserve it, all right?
But it wasn't necessary for Sundin to squelch the latest silliness. Ferguson handled that.
Now just take a deep breath everybody and relax. Getting this wound up over a bad hockey team is not healthy. Better you should go outside and watch the melting snow turn your backyard into a lake.
No wonder some of the heads in the Leafs' dressing room are swollen out of all proportion to their value as players.
Now, where were we? Oh, yes, Sundin. We'll get to Peddie in a minute.
There is no doubt that at some point there will be a three-way conversation among Sundin, his agent, J.P. Barry, and Ferguson. Will Sundin be willing to waive his no-trade clause to allow Ferguson to get draft picks and a good young player or two at or near the Feb. 26 trade deadline?
But it is way too early for this topic to dominate all discussions about the team. It is at least a month away for several reasons.
First is that Sundin gets traded only if the Leafs are out of playoff contention. Strange as it sounds, this is not a sure bet, given the collective mediocrity in the NHL's Eastern Conference.
However, the other problem is that it is clearly not in Ferguson's personal interest to trade Sundin. The trade is the equivalent of a white flag in the playoff fight and it's been made clear many times by Peddie and other MLSE poobahs that missing the playoffs for an unprecedented third consecutive year would mean dismissal.
Mind you, the MLSE board has to take the blame for this situation. Peddie could not persuade his fellow directors to give Ferguson a contract extension last summer. But neither did they fire him, letting him limp along in the final year of his contract.
Now, the most important decision in years on a franchise asset is necessary and trading Sundin is not in the best interest of the fellow who has to make it.
At this point, the best thing for Ferguson to do is iron out the options with Sundin and Barry. If Sundin agrees, Ferguson could trade him to a contender and then re-sign him on July 1 when he becomes a free agent. Or he could hold on to Sundin if the Leafs are still contending and sign him to a new long-term deal.
Either of those moves could work in Ferguson's favour with the board, although he still has a huge selling job on a new contract for himself. In any event, the final decision on Sundin should not be made until a week before the trade deadline, when it should be clearer where the Leafs are headed.
As for Peddie's presence on the California trip, once again, relax. There is no reason not to believe him when he says this was planned months in advance. Peddie usually takes one long trip a year with the team, just as he said, and this one has California.
On a hockey level, there is a lot at stake on this trip. If goaltender Vesa Toskala feels good in practice today, he will probably start tomorrow against the Anaheim Ducks, his first start since he was lost to a groin injury at Christmas. If Toskala picks up where he left off and the Leafs knock off the Stanley Cup defending champions, maybe that would propel them back into playoff contention.
I know, I know. But it's that full moon.
