Maple Leaf Signings: Finger, Joseph, Hagman

[Amped]

http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/story/?id=242183& ... dlines_nhl

Will post more.

Jeff Finger- Defenseman -(From Colorado- 19 points last season) - four-year deal worth $3.5 million/season

Curtis Joseph- Goalie - one-year, $700,000

Niklas Hagman- LW/RW- (from Dallas, 27 goals last season) - 4 year contract, 12 million in total.

[Spalding]

Finger's a solid pickup. Late bloomer, but from what I recall he showed he could really make good decisions and quickly move the puck.

It's becoming more and more apparent that McCabe's days as a leaf are coming to an end..

[RingItUp!]

Finger's a solid pickup. Late bloomer, but from what I recall he showed he could really make good decisions and quickly move the puck.

It's becoming more and more apparent that McCabe's days as a leaf are coming to an end..

Unfortunately for Leafs' fans, he's taking absolute advantage of the absurd no-movement clause in his also-absurd contract.

There's certain to be teams interested in McCabe's services. He's not a bad player; he's just not nearly as good as the contract he's playing for and his time in Toronto has gone sour. Rather than accepting that and agreeing to a trade, he (and his agent) are being far more ruthless.

In order to get rid of him, the Leafs are going to have to buy him out. He'll get two-thirds of his remaining money and be able to sign a new deal with another team. (Anyone know the protocol there? Does the new team's contract reduce the cap hit for the old team?)

Part of me wants Fletcher and the Leafs ownership to be just as ruthless: sit him until he agrees to be traded. Let him forfeit his value on the open market. Why? Because **** you, McCabe. That's why.

[whysoserious]

Finger seems like a solid player but I still don't get the signing. 3.5 million a season seems a bit much here. I know we have to fill out a roster but couldn't we have found a cheaper option to fill out the roster for only like one or two seasons just until we clear the decks of the garbage and get our youngsters in a position to contribute.

BTW, in regards to McCabe, if he doesn't waive the clause, I too hope they just make him a healthy scratch night in and night out until he does waive the clause and make his life miserable. I still don't understand the mentality of wanting to stay with an organization that has made it abundantly clear they don't want you anymore.

[Amped]

Nevermind, I guess I guess it is worth 3.5 million a season.

[Marmoset]

I don't get the Finger signing either. He seems like someone who can help, but I'm not sure why they gave him a 4-year contract. He seems like the type of player you would sign for a year or two, and probably at a cheaper cost per year. Since I know so little about him, I can't really judge this one yet.

I also hope the Leafs stick McCabe in the press box. McCabe has every right to refuse to move, but the Leafs also have every right not to play him. If McCabe wants to play hardball, I have no problem with the Leafs doing the same. He can file all the grievances he wants, but any arbitrator will find that the Leafs are honouring the contract and therefore McCabe will have the choice of accepting a trade, or having a very long vacation.

As for Joesph, I'm indifferent. I don't really care who the backup is. I'd like Pogge to get a very serious look, but I realize he might not be ready yet. They need to have someone in place. I think it might be smarter to bring in a more 'disposable' backup who wouldn't cause a stir if he got sent down mid-season if Pogge tears it up with the Marlies. That thought has more to do with the inevitable sentimental Leaf fans than anything else, but maybe it's over-analyzing things. Like I said, not a big deal either way.

EDIT - there's a thread on the official Leafs forum stating that Fletcher was quoted on 640 saying that McCabe won't be back. The Finger signing only lends credence to this.

[RingItUp!]

Finger seems like a solid player but I still don't get the signing. 3.5 million a season seems a bit much here. I know we have to fill out a roster but couldn't we have found a cheaper option to fill out the roster for only like one or two seasons just until we clear the decks of the garbage and get our youngsters in a position to contribute.

Both the money and the years are curious to me. I agree that Finger seems like a solid D but for $3.5m/4? When McCabe and Kubina are still on the books? And for a team that is, stated or not, rebuilding, 4 years is a long time. The objective should be to have a framework of solid and reasonably priced veterans filled in with young players getting a shot to play and, just maybe, make an impact. The number of years on this deal doesn't exactly fit into that model.

BTW, in regards to McCabe, if he doesn't waive the clause, I too hope they just make him a healthy scratch night in and night out until he does waive the clause and make his life miserable. I still don't understand the mentality of wanting to stay with an organization that has made it abundantly clear they don't want you anymore.

There's one reason: $$$. McCabe, and his agent, want to force MLSE to buy him out, to spend to get rid of the problem, while McCabe can then move on to a new deal with, probably, the Islanders.

I don't really want to skewer McCabe. I don't know the guy. But... the idea above (complacency until compensation), and many fans' inability to understand it, points to a feeling I've had about Bryan for a while: he's not a winning player. He was more than happy to play, and underwhelm, for a Leafs team that was paying him largely due to a big contract season (alarm bells!) and a GM that was operating under the thumb of a meddlesome ownership group.

But when the $h!t started to hit the fan because of consistent losing, he decided to stand on his contract instead of wanting to move on to somewhere he could contribute to a winner. There are a limited number of ways to interpret such a decision. i) He's disappointed but feels like he could be 'part of the solution' in T.O. or ii) he is disappointed but not so much that he wants to disrupt his life.

Option i sounds reasonable enough... except nothing in his play from the previous x seasons suggests he has ever raised his play or been good enough to QB a championship contender's defense. Option ii seems more likely. McCabe is a decent player who privileges many other things before winning and competing consistently. When confronted, at last, with the fact that the Leafs have decided he is not a part of their future plans, he wants to extract full value from a relationship ending: 2/3s of his existing arrangement and a new contract with another team that will bank on him "turning it around."

I hope the organization has enough faith in Fletcher to allow him to sit McCabe until Bryan and his agent have little choice but to accept a deal. Petulant press-box preening isn't going to drive his value up. Hopefully he's rational enough to understand that his priorities are really money and lifestyle and not Lord Stanley in T.O.

[RingItUp!]

EDIT - there's a thread on the official Leafs forum stating that Fletcher was quoted on 640 saying that McCabe won't be back. The Finger signing only lends credence to this.

In spite of Fletcher's consistent inconsistence since his 'interim' hiring, he seems to be sticking to his guns on the break-up of the Muskoka Gang.

I hope he's playing tough in the media with the intention of not letting McCabe screw up the Leafs salary structure for the next 6 years. MLSE can afford to buy him out but with the cap system, the team cannot afford a player on the books for 6 more seasons.

[whysoserious]

I find it funny that this organization still hasn't learned yet. I'm going to give Finger the benefit of the doubt for now but this wreaks of the Blake siging. An average NHL player was Blake until a breakout season scoring 40 goals and the Leafs give him a huge contract.

Same thing with Finger, even his name doesn't sound remotely familiar until I saw him mentioned a couple of days ago on SportsCenter.

The Leafs are one of the worse run organizations. I now have little faith in Fletcher too with this signing. Instead of being proactive like the Oilers who made a solid acquisition in Cole today we continue to overpay average players while not adding any stars.

I can say I am getting pretty close to the boiling point of finding a new team to root for when it comes to the NHL.

[emfive]

I don't get the Fingers deal. Even if he was worth 3.5 it would seem a deal the GM should make and not something a GM temp should do. This seems more like the usual insanity. I am anxious for the breakup of what was obviously a country club setting but it seems to me that should have been done in dribs and drabs. I am dumbfounded by this.

The Cujo deal is a ... meh. Dressing room presence and guidance for youth I suppose.

[Marmoset]

I thought that the Finger deal was $3.5 million in total. But this is $3.5 million per year!

I can't conceive of how anyone could give this kind of a contract to a fringe-NHL player (one decent season does not change that status). What's the point of forcing out guys like McCabe if you're going to give out contracts that are just as bad, or worse? Even with Jason Blake, at least he'd had a 40-goal season. This guy managed to be average for one year, after being a minor leaguer for most of his career before that.

The FAN just had a guy from Denver on who was just as mystified as everyone else. He called Finger a 'meat and potatoes' defenceman who is slow and 'runs out of gas quickly'. If this is what we want on our team, we should have just kept Hal Gill, who had the same characteristics but was much better and made less money.

I don't know what else to say - this is plain sad. Maybe it's time to take the full plunge to being a Flames fan (which is already my second favorite team).

[RingItUp!]

As I mentioned earlier, it's more the years than the $$ that confounds me.

I can understand a team needing solid vets so the youth aren't left twisting in the (losing) wind. Finger sounds like a solid vet. But this team is not in a position to be locking up any players. That's usually reserved for young players of enormous quality or vets that will reinforce an already strong team. Finger is not the former and the Leafs most certainly are not the latter.

[Marmoset]

From TSN:

6:42PM Toronto Maple Leafs sign UFA forward Niklas Hagman to a four-year contract worth $12 million

Decent signing. But again, 4 years? What's the plan here?

[whysoserious]

The Leafs seem to be signing contracts as though they are making a run at title and adding some pieces needed when the core is not even established. I don't understand the types of signings they are making right now.

[RingItUp!]

The Leafs seem to be signing contracts as though they are making a run at title and adding some pieces needed when the core is not even established. I don't understand the types of signings they are making right now.

I have to second that.

The Leafs are making the exact type of deals that they will regret at the end of the coming season.

It's... really frustrating. Just stop. Please. Finger? Hagman? Cmon. 4 years a piece? What in the f**king f**k?!?!

I can't rationalize these moves. The only... ONLY... reason I can think of is that management has not accepted that the team needs to get worse (ie. play young players with potential, maintain cap flexibility, and collect draft picks) in order to improve. UFAs don't win championships.

EVER.

[ansoncarter]

this is a pretty odd rebuild

it almost looks like...they were never commited to it to begin with and lied to their fans

most of whom ate it up. Some even had seconds

[Crowned]

I don't like the Cujo signing.

I'm torn on the Finger signing. I haven't seen enough of him to make an appropriate assessment. From what I hear, he's vastly underrated.

I do like the Hagman signing though. We're talking about a guy that had just scored 27 goals, plays solid 2 way hockey...and is going to fit into Ron Wilson's system rather well. Good signing.


Fletcher has also stated that he's not done. He's apparently going to sign a European defenseman that has never played in the NHL.

[Amped]

I don't like the Cujo signing.

I'm torn on the Finger signing. I haven't seen enough of him to make an appropriate assessment. From what I hear, he's vastly underrated.

I do like the Hagman signing though. We're talking about a guy that had just scored 27 goals, plays solid 2 way hockey...and is going to fit into Ron Wilson's system rather well. Good signing.


Fletcher has also stated that he's not done. He's apparently going to sign a European defenseman that has never played in the NHL.

At first I'll admit I was a bit baffled by the Cujo signing but I have come to accept it. It is only for one year and he could be a good mentor for Toskala. I wouldn't expect him to get a lot of playing time either so it is not that big of a deal.

[bryant08]

Yesterday, on AM640, Fletch was asked if his Top 7 included McCabe, he replied no and later in the interview said we would be signing another d-man within the next two days. Late last night, with the Globe and Mail he said we'd be adding 1 d-man and 2 forwards. With Howard Berger, he said:

TORONTO (July 1) -- Having signed a trio of players on the first day of free agency -- goalie Curtis Joseph, defenseman Jeff Finger and left-winger Niklas Hagman -- Maple Leafs' GM Cliff Fletcher tells me he is not finished bolstering his roster. "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," Fletcher said in a brief phone chat Tuesday night. "We obviously need a centre, and that's the area I'll be concentrating on, either in free agency or with a trade. I haven't yet given up on Mats Sundin coming back. But, we've offered him $7 million [per year] and Vancouver has offered $10 million. So, we'll wait it out like everyone else."

Though no one can be entirely sure what Sundin is thinking, it's obvious he is not jumping at the Canucks' mammoth overture. To this point, no other club has offered the long-time Maple Leafs' captain the same wad of cash. "If Mats were to make a decision solely on the basis of money, he'd go with Vancouver's offer, but he has never done that before," said Sundin's agent, J.P. Barry. "He still hasn't confirmed to anyone that he'll play again next season, but if he does, his choice of team will go beyond just the financial aspect. It will have to be a place where he really wants to live and work." Though it's incomprehensible that Sundin would leave $3 million on the table to sign elsewhere, Barry issued a flat "No" when asked if he felt his client's association with the Leafs has ended.

Fletcher still needs a No. 1 centre, and he seems determined to find one... if Sundin doesn't return. "It's not something that has to be done tomorrow or the next day, but it's a requirement before next season," said the GM.

As for his work in Day 1 of the open market, Fletcher claimed he was happy to sign a "shutdown" defenseman, and a "versatile winger" that can also score. "A lot of people in Toronto are asking me, 'Who the hell is Jeff Finger?' simply because they haven't seen him play," Fletcher scoffed. "But, [former Colorado coach] Joel Quennville told me he was one of the five best defensemen in the Western Conference last year. He played against the best players on every other team. [Leafs' coach] Ron Wilson told me he was always on the ice in San Jose games against Joe Thornton. Same thing with Jarome Iginla in Calgary, or the Sedin twins [Henrik and Daniel] in Vancouver. Quennville said [Finger] was his best defenseman in the last half of the year."

As for Hagman, Fletcher said, "he brings speed to our line-up; he's a good penalty killer, and he scored 27 goals for Dallas. There was a fair amount of competition [to sign] Niklas, and there was about 15 teams after Finger. So, we think we did alright."

Doug Armstrong, assistant GM of the St. Louis Blues, traded for Hagman when he managed the Dallas Stars. On Dec. 12, 2005, he acquired the Finnish-born winger from Florida for a seventh-round pick in 2007. And, though Armstrong warns not to expect 27 goals a year from Hagman, he feels the Leafs have landed a good player ."Niklas is a great skater and a tenacious worker," Armstrong told me Tuesday night. "One of his best qualities is durability -- he doesn't get injured and has played just about every game in his NHL career. He gives a consistent effort each night and you know what to expect from him as a coach. He's just a solid utility player that can help in multiple ways."

Indeed, Hagman has been virtually injury-free. In six full seasons, he has missed only 11 games. He played all 82 games for Dallas last season and the one before. And, he actually got into 84 games the year he was traded -- 30 with Florida and 54 with the Stars. He scored a thwack of important goals for Dallas in 2007-08. Of his 27 markers, four were on the powerplay, four were shorthanded, and eight were game-winners. He averaged 15:35 of ice time, and finished the season a plus-4.

The Leafs' decision to bring back goalie Curtis Joseph was finalized last weekend, as I wrote in this space. Of course, Fletcher could not negotiate with Cujo until Tuesday at noon, and it took a bit longer than expected to put a stamp on the dollar figure [700,000] in his contract. This arrangement is likely to extend beyond the one-season Joseph has signed to serve as back-up to Vesa Toskala. It could well evolve into a long-term relationship, in which Cujo works with the young goalies in the Leafs' system, and acts as an advisor to the general manager. But, that's obviously pending the approval of the full-time GM that succeeds Fletcher (could it be ol' what's his name in Anaheim?). In the meantime, Wilson is hoping that Curtis can give him at least 15 quality starts next season.

E-mail howard.berger@rci.rogers.com

[EZ]

Hey, i'm pretty content with the moves this far...Aren't we trying to get involved in the Tavares sweepstakes next year?