Now, I have been firmly in the "In Cliff We Trust" and who wouldn't be? The man built a Stanley Cup winner in Calgary and then fueled the Leafs' renaissance before taking a decade vacation away from hockey before returning to once again save the Leafs. I mean, the guy looks like a cuddly grandfather. Him and Nelson Mandela could toss on big fluffy sweaters and you'd be hard-pressed to decide which one you'd rather have read you a bed-time story.
Which is why this latest move is causing a big of confusion in the ranks of Leaf bloggers:
- DGB and Eyebeleaf wonder why Ben Ondrus or Kris Newbury can't fill the same role that Hollweg is presumably meant to occupy.
- MF37 is curious about just where Hollweg will fit in among the almost dozen identical players under contract for the Leafs.
- TO Mike has a nickname ready for the new guy.
- Steve likes that this makes the Leafs tougher (in theory) but overall gives the move a shoulder shrug.
- Justin Dahan proclaims the Tumble for Tavares (TM Greener) open!
- Chemmy offered his opinion in the comments ("I am going to get mocked mercilessly for this move") and decided to give us a look at the Leafs' possible D pairings for next season./
My theory is that Uncle Cliff is really Mad Scientist Cliff and is trying to create the ultimate fourth liner out of the pieces of players that we have under contract and Ryan Hollweg provided some vital last piece of the puzzle. Odds are it's his ability to take a beating/stick to the face and survive.
p.s. if anyone can make a photoshop of that I'll post it.