CAT FINALLY OUT OF THE BAG
It took five months but apparently the Cat has had it. His nine
lives are gone. I'm sorry but I can't think of any other cliches
at the moment.
In all seriousness, some five months after Curtis Joseph signed
as a Maple Leaf, and Felix the Cat was promised he would be
dealt, he played, obviously what he and his agents believed to be
his only trump card. He went home.
The Cat, last Thursday told the club he had it and was jumping
ship. The Leafs convinced him to hold off on his decision for a
couple of days because trade talks were hot and they hoped a deal
could be reached very soon. However, when the team left for
Montreal, Felix was already there, the Leafs had given him
permission to go early, he was, according to the Leafs, supposed
to be at practice Saturday morning. He failed to show there, and
the Leafs again covered for him. He failed to show that night in
Montreal and issued a press release saying in essence that he
could not take anymore, that he is going home to wait for a
trade.
So, where do we sit today? Well, as of 11pm on Tuesday night,
Felix is still a Leaf. A deal that was rumored with the Tampa
Bay Lightning for Mikael Renberg is on hold, perhaps permanently.
Rumors are flying around from various cities including, but not
limited to, Montreal, Edmonton, Vancouver, Calgary, Philadelphia,
and even Colorado. I would not pay much attention to them, this
could drag on a while (actually I'm saying this in hopes that it
gets a deal done sooner). In reality, however, Potvin, has
greatly misjudged his situation, all the pressure on the team to
deal him has gone, along with him. In fact he has done the Leafs
a service. He is no longer sitting on the bench, collecting a
meager $21,000 a day (Canadian), being the circus leader in every
city they travel to.
Glenn Healy is no longer in the IHL. He's in Toronto where he
belongs... but perhaps not for very long. The Leafs told Healy
while he was in Chicago that he was free to find himself a new
NHL team.
Potvin is no longer an issue to the Leafs. He is an asset and
not a liability. In the little I know about economics that is a
good thing, and for the Leafs it is a very good thing. They now
only have two goalies on the payroll and one major distraction is
gone. Should he current hotbed of rumors die without a deal,
people will forget he exists except when the odd rumor pops up.
Potvin will not let that happen, though. You see, things were
getting pretty quiet of late. All trade talk was quiet, the
daily's weren't even mentioning trade talk until he quit the
team. Tomorrow, just to be sure people don't forget him, he will
hold a press conference. You can bet that in the next few weeks
if he is not traded, and things get quiet, he will have some
other ploy to keep himself in the news. I can see the headlines
already: AND THE CAT CAME BACK, yes upset that he had not been
traded or paid, the cat has decided he would be better off back
with club.
The odd thing about the situation is that people are genuinely
feeling badly for the guy. Sorry, Felix, the buck, as they say,
stops here. Nowhere in your contract is there a games played
clause, nor is there a guarantee you'll be a number one. Perhaps
your agents this time will write that in for you.
No, I don't feel sorry for a guy who was collecting $21 thousand
a game for sitting on the bench and little more. He said it had
become too difficult to handle. What exactly had become too
difficult to handle, the sitting or the cashing? The worst part
of the entire thing is that Potvin has completely walked out and
abandoned his teammates. Publicly they are all supporting him,
however, it cannot be sitting too well with some that he simply
left. To walk out on his teammates is inexcusable. It would be
interesting to see how he would react if things ever got really
bad and times were really difficult on him how he would react.
Having said all that, Potvin was fairly successful as a Maple
Leaf. He took the team to the Semifinals playing incredible
hockey. Early in his career, the Cat was all the rage in
Toronto. No matter how bad the team was in front of him, he was
able to keep them somewhat competitive. Of late the magic was
simply gone. On too many nights the soft goal beat him. And
those same teammates whom he abandoned, lost faith in him.
To a man, the Leafs this year say how confidant they are in front
of CuJo. If there was one reason that Potvin has not to care
about his teammates, it would be that constant, unintentional
stab they were taking at him.
The next few weeks should be pretty interesting for the Leafs.
Experts keep expecting the floor to fall out from the team and
the Buds to land in reality. So far it has yet to happen. They
had a strong camp, and followed with an impressive start. Then
after each loss, one can sense Leaf fans worrying that the end is
near.
Well, the team put together what coach Quinn termed the worst
outing of the season against the Rangers on December 7. Should
the fall come here, fingers will start to point to Potvin, and
thus to GM (or whatever his title is) Mike Smith, who may be too
worried about caring for his sick wife, and rightfully so, than
concerning himself with Potvin's pouting. However, if the Leafs
come back with a big win and get back on track then there will be
no finger pointing, and the question will be who cares about the
Cat?
