PONDERABLES
The Pierre Elliot Trudeau Foundation is being sued by an Indigenous woman over sexual harassment and its attempt to cover it up. Wonder how this makes Pierre’s son Justin, the self-proclaimed ultimate feminist and promoter of diversity, feel?
President Biden wants information from China on the source of COVID-19. Doesn’t he realize that Justin Trudeau, the admitted admirer of the Chinese dictatorship, is the only world leader who actually believes anything they say.
Why did anyone in the Toronto Maple Leaf braintrust think Joe Thornton or Wayne Simmonds could help the team.
What’s really going on with injured Blue Jay George Springer?
THINGS I FIRMLY BELIEVE
These days, Ontario Premier Doug Ford’s political future grows dimmer with every erratic, incoherent dither.
The current shortcomings of the Toronto Maple Leafs began the day three years ago when Brendan Shanahan replaced Lou Lamoriello, one of the best general managers in the history of the game, with the woefully inexperienced and unprepared Kyle Dubas.
The universal joy being expressed over seeing fans back in arenas and stadiums is testimony to the importance of sports in our lives.
Amber alerts should not be transmitted on cell phones between 10:00pm and 6:00am.
KATIE TELFORD FOLLOW-UP
I’ve been accused of being unfair in my musing last week that Justin Trudeau’s Chief of Staff, Katie Telford, suffers from the tunnel vision of those who’ve had no experience outside of politics. Oh really? Both her parents were public servants. At age 12 she was a page in the Ontario legislature. She has a degree in political science from the University of Ottawa. Her previous jobs have been: chief of staff for Ontario Liberal education minister Gerard Kennedy; deputy chief of staff to former Liberal leader Stephane Dion; and before joining the prime minister’s office, a short stint as a political consultant with Strategy Corp, a PR firm founded by long-time Liberal operative John Duffy.
A BADLY NAMED DEPARTMENT
Mark Scheifele’s hit on Jake Evans deserved more than a four-game suspension, and reminds us again that the NHL’s so-called “Department of Player Safety” is as badly misnamed as possible. First of all, Commissioner Gary Bettman insists on heading it up with former goons, the current being George Parros. By what logic is the safety of the league’s players been put in the hands of a person who made his living trying to injure them? Secondly, punishment based solely on an assessment of the actions of the perpetrator, while the seriousness of the injury incurred by the player whose safety was violated is ignored, has always been wrong-headed. Both should be taken into account.
PLAYOFF FUR BALLS
Much has been made about the futility of Maple Leaf stars Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner in this year’s early playoff exit. This is nothing new, their playoff performance has always been sub-par. Matthews’ regular season per game performance is .60 goals and 1.05 points, but in playoffs it’s .41 and .75. Marner’s drop-off is from .29 goals per game to .16 and from 1 point per game to .78.
And as for the team itself, the Leafs have now joined the New York Rangers as the only team to go fifty-four years without winning a Stanley Cup. The Rangers’ drought lasted from 1940 to 1994.
Some sports pundits have opined that this year’s Leaf choke job was the greatest in Toronto sports history since the Blue Jays lost to the Kansas City Royals in 1985. That may be so, but the Leaf demise is far more inexplicable. The 1985 Kansas City Royals were a superior team that went on to win the World Series. The Montreal Canadiens finished 18th overall during the regular schedule and barely made the playoffs.
PRICE/DRYDEN COMPARISON
Many pundits have also likened Montreal goalie Carey Price’s performance during this playoff to Ken Dryden’s in 1971. This is somewhat apples and oranges. Price is backstopping a mediocre Canadiens team. On the other hand, in the 1971 playoffs, Dryden played for a team that had eight future Hall of Famers on its roster, three of whom were defensemen. Price’s performance is much more impressive.
HE’S VERY GOOD, BUT….
CTV’s Evan Solomon, the host of Power Play and Question Period, is clearly a knowledgeable and hard-working broadcast journalist. But his comment “always great to have you on the show,” with which he greets every guest, every time, has become trite and meaningless. He also talks too much during his “Press Gallery” segments. Viewers want to hear what his panelists have to say, not listen to his lengthy regurgitation of whatever the topic is before hearing from each guest.