First off, thank you so much for the e-mails and kind words. It really meant a lot. It was a tough weekend but also a nice celebration of a life well-lived. Anyway, normal service will resume this morning.
After the news that Mats isn't going anywhere the mittenstringers got a little excited. Nevermind the fact that the only ones that have treated Mats with no class have been those same stringers that repeatedly and inanely asked him if he would waive his no-trade clause. It wasn't Cliff or MLSE that published articles hourly about his latest response. If they bothered to write anything that dealt with the realm of reality they might have put together this simple timeline:
Cliff gets hired. The Omen asks him if what he'll do about Mats. Cliff says that The Captain is in control. The Omen gets indignant. Cliff points out that Mats has a no-trade clause. The Omen slinks away in shame for being clueless.
Later, Cliff and Mats sit down and have a closed-door meeting. The assumption is that Mats says that if he gets a blow-away offer he'll consider waiving his no-trade clause.
Last week Cliff presents Mats with a deal or two because he refuses to ambush Mats at the last minute. Mats considers it and says that he loves the city, the team, and doesn't think that a Stanley Cup won after parachuting onto a team for a couple of months has any meaning. Most fans agree, some disagree, some are right, the ones that disagree are wrong.
Where in that timeline is there any mistreatment of Mats? Did The Omen and DiMANno expect MLSE to try to muzzle the idiotic press so that they would leave Mats alone? What more did they want than Cliff exercising all of his options and privately discussing matters with Mats and giving him lots of time to consider any deal? Imagine if Cliff had dismissed the notion of a trade outright? And isn't there an editor working at that paper that's supposed to make sure that the sports section makes at least a little bit of sense?
Ok, so consider this the trade deadline open thread. Comment on any trades that are made as you refresh three websites all day. As trades are made I'll put them in the comments and if Trader Cliff pulls a rabbit out of his hat I'll try to get reaction up pretty quickly. Also make sure to kick around The Battle of Ontario for the sens, The Battle of Alberta for the Oil and the Flames, Four Habs Fans for...ummm...Les Habitants, and Waiting for Stanley for the Canucks. As always, for the best coverage visit Mirtle.
This day loomed as the marker for a new era for the Leafs but now it seems like it'll just be another opportunity missed.