While I am not fluent in Swedish, here is what Google’s translator popped out for me when I entered the Daily News blog by Dusan Umicevic being quoted as the source.

“Sundin Ready For Vancouver

Mats Sundin ready for Vancouver, according to my information. What a bomb.

A little difference of bombs and bombs. I know that this is a real bomb if it is true. You can never be 100 percent sure. But 99 is enough for me to write and inform my readers.

We are now waiting with bated breath!”

That’s it. That was the entire quote that led to a TSN posting saying he had signed. The Swedish equivalent to Eklund the Anonymous Hockey Blogger. It’s actually pretty amusing to think that Eklund would get more airtime in North America if he knew how to type in a foreign language. Oh well… suffice it to say, this has all been much ado about nothing. Nothing to cry over yet Leafs fans… (or celebrate if you’re happy to see this story fall by the wayside).

Unfortunately you might notice something about Hollweg.  He loses a lot of his fights.  In fact, he’s only considered to have won 3 of his 19 fights over the past two years according to www.HockeyFights.com.  A 16% success rating isn’t really a quality the Leafs should be looking for.  That being said, like Darcy Tucker, Hollweg doesn’t back down from anyone, and he takes on all comers.  He will give the Leafs some much needed back bone.

You might remember Hollweg from the Chris Simon throat slash incident over a year ago.  To be fair to the newest Leaf, while he did get slashed across the throat/face with a two hander, he did take a run at one of the league’s noted psychos, and boarded him from behind a bit to boot.  Basically the Leafs have found a replacement for the shenanigans of Darcy Tucker that they only have to put on the ice as an “energy” guy, once every 10 minutes or so.

Don’t expect glorious things out of Hollweg.  He’s got decent speed, and he’s not particularly old, only coming in at 25 years of age.  He was with a very good Memorial Cup finalist Medicine Hat Tigers outfit in junior, and he is considered to have decent leadership and character.  Hopefully he helps make the Leafs less pleasant to play against next season.

I would also like to make it perfectly clear that I have no idea if this is related to Brian Burke coming to Toronto… and frankly I don’t care.  Hollweg will make the Leafs tougher to play against, but he’ll also take his share of stupid penalties.  Who knows how this one pans out in the long run.  In 2 years nobody will remember the Leafs dumped a 5th rounder on him, but then again in 10 years, it’s quite likely that most people won’t be filling scrapbooks with pictures of Ryan in a Leafs uniform either.  Then again, we might be seeing him on the set of Leafs TV one day alongside Mark Osborne and Bob McGill… who knows these days?

According to the NHL he has “Defected Player” status, and the issue is as follows according to the 2005 CBA:

“Group 4 Player” means a Player who has never signed an SPC and who becomes a Free Agent after having met the conditions for a Defected Player in Section 10.2(b)(i) of this Agreement.

The key part of Section 10.2(b)(i) is the following:

Definition of “Defected Player.” For purposes of this Agreement, “Defected Player” means any Player not unconditionally released: (B) who, never having been under contract to any Club, but as to who the NHL negotiation rights now or at any time hereafter shall reside in any Club, has contracted or shall contract with such an unaffiliated club.

Which brings us to the Free Agent status described in section (ii):

(ii) Free Agent Status. (A) Any such Defected Player shall be deemed to have become a free agent within the meaning of this Agreement, when one of the following conditions (1), (2), (3), (4) or (5) and condition (6) have occurred.

As far as I can tell, condition (5) has been met when it’s read as follows:

 (5) the Player, having become a Defected Player pursuant to Section 10.2(b)(i)(B) and having played more than two (2) full seasons with an unaffiliated club(s), has become free of any obligation to such unaffiliated club(s);

Frögren reportedly paid $400,000 to buy out his contract with his Swedish club, of his own money.  This brings us to the last requirement (6):

(6) the Commissioner makes a determination (which shall be made as promptly as feasible) that he has reason to believe that the conditions described in subparagraphs (1), (2), (3), (4) or (5) have occurred, that he has ascertained the date upon which such Player became free of obligation (last week Gary), and that the Player falls within category (A) or (B) of Section 10.2(b)(i) above, by placing such a Player’s name on the Free Agent List (Defected Players) issued as of such time or any amendment of such List, which List, except for the date thereof and except for its application to Defected Players, as defined herein, shall otherwise be issued substantially in accordance with Exhibit 3.

Stop me if you see ANY MENTION WHATSOEVER REGARDING ENTRY LEVEL CONTRACT STATUS. (I don’t).

(B) Upon the occurrence of the conditions prescribed by subparagraphs (1), (2) and (3) of Section 10.2(b)(ii)(A), the provisions of this Article 10, as applicable, shall then apply to any such Defected Player as if he had become a free agent at the expiration of his SPC, including, without limitation, the rights and obligations which would be imposed or conferred by the provisions of Sections 10.3 through 10.4 upon a Club signing such a Player and upon a Club with whom a free agent was last under SPC or who owned the NHL rights to negotiate with such Player.

 The idea that Frögren could somehow be relegated to Entry Level Group 1 status is pretty preposterous.  He played 8 years in an unaffiliated league.  He never set foot in the NHL.  He never signed a contract with an NHL franchise.  According to the previous sub-section (B), the issue that will arise out of this is that for all intents and purposes, Frögren is an RFA.  His negotiation rights are controlled by the Calgary Flames, who originally drafted him.  Thus they may have to be compensated… that is if the league decides to seriously make an issue out of this.

We’ll see in coming days where the Defected Player status thing goes, and whether it seriously messes up the Leafs plans for Frögren.

(c) Notwithstanding the chart set forth in (b) above, a Player who at the time he was drafted was playing for a team outside North America or who meets the qualifications set forth in Article 8.4(a)(v) (a “European Player”) who signs his first SPC at ages 25-27 shall be subject to the Entry Level System for one (1) year. A European Player who signs his first SPC at age 28 or older is not subject to the Entry Level System under any circumstances.

If he’s at age 28 or older, then he isn’t subject to the Entry Level System under any circumstances… it says so pretty damn clearly.

Frögren ACTUALLY doesn’t turn 28 until August 28th of this year. At which point he will no longer be subject to contract issues with the CBA. So basically if the Leafs want to sign him to a non-entry level deal, they just have to invite him to camp without a contract, then sign him to one after August 28th. It’s pretty simple. Don’t be surprised if it comes out that the Leafs sort things out with Frögren and the NHLPA so that his contract goes into effect after his birthday, and he just signs it then.

Frankly this is nothing to be concerned over… unless of course you think Sportsnet should perhaps be doing better research. Crack team they’ve got over there… can’t add so much… or perhaps even count, but they do some great work.  In case you were wondering I actually have his correct age posted in the article written the other day.

I wonder if Kypreos is in charge of birthdays over at Hockey Central?

First it was Cliff Fletcher being brought back to right the good ship Maple Leaf. Then it was Cito Gaston to fix the Jays. Then we heard they were re-signing CuJo to play in the nets. Now in their latest maneuver, the Leafs have brought back former player, and current shiny, new, management type, Joe Nieuwendyk - who a nasty little Keebler Elf look-alike felt the Leafs should wait for.

I’m a fan of this addition. With his new title of Special Assistant to the GM, Joe can hone his craft alongside one of the more experienced members of the NHL fraternity in Fletcher. He can ride shotgun with his pals from the Calgary Flames glory days, Fletcher, Coates, and Gilmour.

Next thing yanno, the Leafs will probably bring Mike Vernon in to coach the goalies, and then ask Lanny McDonald to show the new kids on the team how to grow a bitchin’ ’stache. Hopefully Theoren Fleury will show them how to abuse crack cocaine responsibly, while special guest D coach Steve Smith will teach the baby buds at rookie camp how NOT to put the puck in your own net… ex Leaf net minder Grant Fuhr will play the part of the unsuspecting goalie.

I like the idea of Nieuwendyk being with Leafs management. He’s classy, he’s a winner, and he’s from Whitby. I’m not sure what that last part has to do with anything, but every time you hear him mentioned on the radio, some announcer feels it necessary to inform the world that he and Gary Roberts grew up together in Whitby. I work in Whitby on occasion… there isn’t much there. There is a reason many people replace the W with an S when looking back on their life there before they moved on to better things… perhaps now that Joe is back, he will help us turn around the Leafs, and we too can mention things, OTHER than where the heck he grew up, when discussing his accomplishments.

He kills penalties (poorly last season) and he got a bit of power play time alongside Tucker and Blake. Is he worth $1.75 million a year? Well if you compare him to the other players in the NHL at that pay grade last year you’d be including Brian Campbell, Cory Stillman, Dan Hamhuis, Martin Erat, Owen Nolan, and Ryan Kesler.

Other players with similar experience (or slightly more to compare to Stajan going forward) and pay grade include Sean Avery, Nick Schultz, Stephen Weiss, Jason Williams, Tyler Arnason, and Mark Bell.

So umm… lets just say, if he continues to score 30-35 points, he’s pretty much a disappointment.

Stajan, like Steen, needs to see a serious rise in his fortunes. Using the logic of trickle down economics, the assumption amongst the Leafs brass is, if Stajan and Steen get more ice time and opportunity to score, the team will improve along with them. The unfortunate flip side of that coin is, if they don’t score given that increased opportunity, then the team will seriously suck… suck like it has rarely sucked before.

I hope Stajan can find the nerve to shoot the puck more, and that playing for Ron Wilson improves his confidence to the point that he’s capable of playing top 6 minutes and producing to match. I also am not sure I think that turn around is about to happen.

By this time next year we’ll have a better read on whether or not this signing, or the Finger signing, was more appropriate. Frankly I hope both work out.

If you consider that prior to the work of Cliff Fletcher, here is who the Leafs had on their roster (ages in brackets):

Forwards

Antropov (28), Sundin (37), Steen (24)

Blake (34), Stajan (24), Tucker (33)

Ponikarovsky (28), Moore (27), Wellwood (25)

Kilger (31), Bell (27), Tlusty (20)

Extras - Devereaux (30), Pohl (29), Belak (32)

Defense

Kaberle (30), Kubina (31)

McCAbe (33), Gill (33)

White (24), Stralman (21)

Extras/Injured - Colaiacovo (25), Wozniewski (28)

Goalies

Toskala (31), Raycroft (28)

Extra - Clemmensen (30)

Minor League Callups

F - Boyce (23), Battaglia (32), Williams (24), Newbury (26), Ondrus (26)

D - Kronwall (25)

Of those 32 players, 10 of them are - at this moment - not Leafs:

Sundin (37), Tucker (33), Wellwood (25), Kilger (31), Pohl (29), Belak (32), Gill (33), Wozniewski (28), Raycroft (28), Clemmensen (30)

That’s almost a 3rd of the roster, and their average age is 30.6 years. In their place, the following 10 players have been added, resigned, and will be getting an opportunity to make the squad in September:

Mayers (33), Hagman (28), Kulemin (21), Grabovski (24), Finger (28), Joseph (41), Foster (23), Earl (23), Mitchell (23), Frögren (27)

Aside from Joseph - whose advanced age should be considered separately from the other players due to his skill level, and the fact he’s playing as a back up goalie - the average age of the incoming players is 25.6 years.

Grabovski is a skilled Belarussian (who was actually born in Germany) who formerly lined up for Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk, and Dynamo Moscow, in the Russian Super League. In ‘04-’05 with Neftekhimik, he scored 16 goals, and had 36 points in 60 games as a 20 year old. That put him 11th in the RSL in scoring during the lockout year, right behind Slava Kozlov of the Thrashers, and Alex Frolov of the LA Kings. He had more points than Pavel Datsyuk of the Wings, Petr Sykora of the Penguins, Alex Semin of the Capitals, Evgeni Malkin of the Penguins, and Maxim Afinogenov of the Sabres. Following that stellar campaign, he followed up in a partial ‘05-’06 campaign with Dynamo, scoring 10 goals, and 27 points in 48 games as a 21 year old.

He has since moved to the AHL after being drafted by the Montreal Canadiens. He played two partial seasons for Hamilton in the AHL, helping them win the Calder Cup in ‘06-’07. He scored 25 goals, and 74 points in 78 games in the minors over those 2 years, and in the playoff run he had 4 goals and 11 points in 20 games. Expect him to need some seasoning at the NHL level as he is relatively undersized at 5′11″ and 182 lbs. He has loads of speed, and is a very heady play maker. He also possesses a decent wrist shot, but sometimes falls victim to Sergei Berezin disease and tends to try to do a bit too much on his own.

Jonas Frögren is a stay at home defenseman with a lot of skill in his own end. He has lined up for Swedish Elitserien side Färjestad for the past 8 years. He was originally drafted by the Calgary Flames in 1998 (who at the time were being run by recent Leafs front office addition Al Coates). He has copious amounts of international experience, having played for the Swedish National Mens side in 49 games, as well as 15 games with their under-20 program, and 6 games with their under-16 side.

He is considered physical (even tough - and he’s Swedish - Don Cherry might have trouble with this), mobile, and makes very solid, though simple, decisions with the puck. He is also considered a great team player, and a good attitude. He lined up alongside Anton Stralman for the majority of the World Hockey Championships this past spring, so he should provide a level of comfort to the youngster as he develops on the blue-line. Think of his signing as being comparable (though less expensive) to the Leafs bringing in Kubina to play with Kaberle, who have also worked as a Czech international blue line pairing in the past.

When they introduce Frögren the Leafs will now have 9 NHL ready D-men signed to contracts, plus rookie Luke Schenn. Obviously the indication from the Leafs is that they would like to move McCabe. Whether or not he’s set to receive on that subject is still up for debate. They have said they will not prevent him from coming to camp, and they won’t discourage him from being a member of the team. That being said, the writing is moving from the wall, right onto McCabe’s face.

The logic behind standing “firm” in the face of the obvious disdain your franchise holds for your play, is a tad alarming. McCabe isn’t really making a “point” - though it could be argued that he has always been a very strong member of the NHLPA and they could be influencing his stance on the enforcement of his Non-movement Clause. We’ll see where it goes over the rest of the off-season.

“We’ll be signing a defenseman from Europe that hasn’t yet played in the NHL, and I’m still looking to hit a home run,”

While I’m sure most Leafs fans are curious as to whether the “home run” is Mats Sundin, or another player as the Leafs #1 Centre, I’m currently more intrigued by his comment regarding the defenseman from Europe that has yet to play in the NHL.

That description would certainly describe Dmitri Vorobiev, who the Leafs drafted with the 157th pick in the 4th round of the 2004 NHL entry draft. He has played an increasingly impressive role on Lada Togliatti in the RSL over the past few seasons. He finished 1st in the RSL for Goals by a defender and 2nd in the league for Defense Scoring with 16 goals, and 12 assists for 28 points. He also registered 74 penalty minutes in 55 games.

He is of average size at 6′ and 187 lbs. He is consistently noted in Russian scouting reports for his sometimes ugly, but effective, play in his own zone. He doesn’t always make the right pass consistently, but his offensive upside, and potential to improve make him a highly valued prospect. On Russian Prospects, he is given an 82 rating, which puts him on a par with Alexei Ponikarovsky, Alex Khavanov, Mikhail Grabovsky, Maxim Grachev, and Alexander Perezhogin. They consider him to be one of the top 20 D men produced by Russia in the past 10-15 years. That’s actually pretty solid company when you think about it.

Hopefully he crosses the pond this season, and the Leafs will be able to throw one more dart in the fart balloon that is the Leafs career of Bryan McCabe. I hope I don’t sound too bitter…

More intriguing, and perhaps questionable, is the signing of free agent defender Jeff Finger. With 19 points and a +12 rating last season in 72 games, Finger’s stock was definitely on the rise. That being said, he has little in the way of NHL experience for a 28 year old blue liner. He was steady if unspectacular for Hershey, Lowell, and Albany at the AHL level before earning promotion to the Avs in the ‘06-’07 season.

With a defensive game that is considered (at least in media circles) to be relatively similar to his team mate Kurt Sauer, it is a tad surprising he has been rewarded with a 4 year $3.5 million a year contract. Sauer has also been signed to a 4 year deal, by the Phoenix Coyotes, but his is only valued at $1.75 million per - Finger’s going to make twice as much money over the next 4 years… I’m not sure that makes much sense. All of that being said, a closer look at the numbers begins to indicate why he’s being paid more money for the next few years.

The point totals slide in Finger’s favour, as Sauer only registered 6 points, which ties his career high. Finger also had more hits and blocked shots per game at 1.68 Hpg, and 1.63 BkSpg in comparison to Sauer’s 0.88 Hpg, and 1.09 BkSpg. The take-away/give-away ratio (higher number is better) also favours Finger, where he had a 1.11 Ta/Ga, Sauer had a 1.08 Ta/Ga. In terms of Ice-Time, Finger played about a minute more per game at even strength (16:35 vs. 15:25), slightly under a minute less on the PK (2:18 vs. 3:10) and where Sauer played almost zero time on the PP, Finger saw about a minute of PP time a game. All in all, Finger looks like the better all-around defender than Sauer.

Sauer has more experience at the NHL level, having played in 288 games, as compared to 94 for Finger. That being said, over the past 3 seasons, Sauer has been quite injury prone, playing 54, 48, and 37 games respectively. He missed 28 games with a concussion last season, and perhaps this is something teams were wary of when considering the big blue liner. When I say big, I do mean big, as Sauer’s size at 6′4″, 220 lbs, is quite considerable. Finger isn’t as big, standing 6′1″ and 205 lbs, but he certainly isn’t a midget, and he does possess a bit of a mean streak, fighting occasionally despite his low penalty totals. That should stand the Leafs in good stead considering he is a solid defensive minded rear guard.

If anything, this should point the way to the exit for Bryan McCabe. The Leafs now have Kaberle, Kubina, Finger, Stralman, White, Colaiacovo, Kronwall, and Schenn on the radar for next season… all of whom are likely to be a larger part of the picture Fletcher has in mind going forwards. That isn’t to say they are all superior to McCabe in their overall play, they just cost less, and play within their limitations more appropriately than McCabe does.

There are still discussions of potential trades involving Pavel Kubina, but little of note has arisen as of yet.

On another note, Darcy Tucker has signed a two year $4.5 million dollar deal to play with Finger’s ex team, the Colorado Avalanche. Unfortunately this means Leafs fans will not be seeing a whole lot of Darcy, which given his propensity to play well against former teams, might be a good thing.

I’ll update this thing as the day moves forward… when I get the chance.

* Update *

Ok, so the Leafs also signed Niklas Hagman to a four year, $12 million deal.  That’ll work out to $3 million a year which isn’t really a bad price tag for a young, solid defensive forward, with offensive upside and great wheels.  As I’ve discussed in previous postings (and comments)  I’m relatively certain if Hagman gets the ice time of a top 2 line player, and penalty kills, and gets some PP time, he’s capable of scoring 30+ goals.  Last season was his career high at 27 goals, but he only took 178 shots on net.  If you compare that to the Leafs of last season, that would’ve placed him 3rd on the team in shots behind Blake and Sundin, and 2nd on the team in goals behind Sundin (1 more than Antropov’s 26).

He finished tied for 2nd on Dallas in goals with 27 (Mike Ribeiro was the other), behind Brendan Morrow’s 32 goals. Only 4 of those goals came by way of the PP though, so he does well 5 on 5.  He was 4th on the team in shots behind Richards, Morrow, and Modano.  He played 15:36 on average per game, with 2:21 of that being on the PP, and 2:11 of it being on the PK.  He basically plays in all situations, and he should slot in nicely as a top 6 forward on the rebuilding Leafs.

He’s not a replacement for Sundin, but he’s defensively responsible, he skates well, and he’ll provide some scoring punch.  Decent pick up on Fletcher’s part for $3 million a year, and he’s only 28.

What the Leafs need, and what the Leafs are likely to get, will bear little resemblance to each other as the free agency signing period begins on Tuesday.

At this moment in time, the Leafs most pressing needs are one scoring winger, a solid shut down defender (or 2), and a backup goalie.

They will likely find a back up goalie no problem (Curtis Joseph anyone?). They might get one of the two shut down defenders at a reasonable price. They will probably get a patchwork effort in terms of the scoring winger, and may go for a player with upside that has failed to produce in the past few seasons.

What they will not get, is a top flight, marquee name, free agent. Ryan Malone is not going to come to Toronto. Sean Avery should not come to Toronto. Brian Campbell won’t be lining up in a Leafs uniform next year. Nor will a host of other players who have been discussed both in the media and in my blog… I know… you all think Hossa would be a flop - but since it will never happen anyway, I’m just going to disagree.

The players I think the Leafs are likely to make the biggest play for are wingers like Vrbata, Williams, Hagman, or Glencross, but we’ll see as things move forwards. If Cliff makes moves to add toughness, then don’t be surprised to see them in the mix with Avery, and/or Voros. I’d prefer Voros since he’s less of a head case. On D, I’d expect to see mention of Brooks Orpik, Mike Commodore, John-Michael Liles, Karl Rachunek, and Michal Rozsival. Kurt Sauer will also be available and should get some attention.

Less than 12 hours till it all begins - now I’m off to watch the EURO 2008 Finals.