TORONTO - Gone are the days of the Toronto Maple Leafs standing for truculence and the Brian Burke way.
Ben Powers Jersey . General manager Dave Nonis and coach Randy Carlyle are still old-school hockey guys, but one old-school mentality has gone by the wayside.The Leafs will open the NHL season without a heavyweight fighter after waiving Colton Orr and Frazer McLaren. The rough stuff will now be handled by committee.We have to have a pack mentality that, regardless of whether or not Colton or Frazer are in the lineup, were going to, as a group stick together, Nonis said. This isnt a unique situation. If you look around the league, thats becoming more prevalent.Enforcers have become less prevalent over the past few seasons, but only this fall have a handful of teams known for having them abandoned that path. The Montreal Canadiens let George Parros leave in free agency and the Philadelphia Flyers waived ex-Leafs fighter Jay Rosehill.The Leafs and Flyers were first and third in the league in fights, respectively.Using a fighter against certain teams as a way to intimidate or stand up to intimidation is also a fading strategy. Less than half the teams in the league still have a heavyweight brawler, though Burkes Calgary Flames have three.You just see teams really wanting a guy playing both ends of the ice, Leafs forward Daniel Winnik said. Its not a knock against old-school fighters, its just the way management has gone. They seem to like the middleweight guys a little more.Middleweights, or players who can fight but arent on the ice primarily to do it, are much more popular. The Chicago Blackhawks just signed Daniel Carcillo, the Pittsburgh Penguins picked up Steve Downie for that job, and the Flyers have Zac Rinaldo and others who dont mind dropping the gloves.Weve got some guys that can handle themselves, Philadelphia GM Ron Hextall told reporters recently. There never are any fights in the playoffs. And then in-between, its getting less and less.Carlyle has repeatedly referred to what he wants as team toughness. That doesnt just mean fighting, but it doesnt exclude it, either.Youve got to take the check to make a play, youve got to block a shot, youve got to defend a teammate if you feel hes been taken advantage of, Carlyle said. I think youve got to be hard to play against, and I think you have to compete for your space on the ice.For what its worth, the Leafs brass said not having Orr or McLaren on opening night doesnt mean either or both wont be back. Carlyle said not having them was not a philosophical change by the organization.But with the Leafs and Flyers planning to roll four lines that could play, its hard to find room for enforcers whose ice time is limited. Orr averaged 5:22 a game, McLaren 4:00 and Rosehill 4:56 last season.Obviously the game has changed a little bit in the last five or 10 years and teams are constructed a little bit differently nowadays, Leafs winger James van Riemsdyk said.The way the Leafs are constructed means the fights will fall on David Clarkson, Roman Polak, Carter Ashton and even maybe Winnik and Joffrey Lupul. Clarkson, now the leader with 85 regular-season bouts in his career, had a team-high nine in 2013-14.As a group, we have to take care of each other, theres some that are more capable than others, Nonis said. Theres certain players that thats not in their bag of tricks, but I think as a group we have to find a way to take care of each other and protect each other and I think that whether or not those two players are in the lineup or not, we have the personnel that can do that.---Follow @SWhyno on Twitter
Jaylon Ferguson Jersey . Adding playoff teams. Monitoring instant replay from league headquarters. Possibly creating a set of guidelines to prevent locker-room bullying.
Marquise Brown Jersey . In the days leading up to the draft, TSN.ca and TSN Radio basketball analyst Duane Watson looks at some of the names that will be headlining the event. Watch the 2014 NBA Draft on TSN, Thursday at 7pm et/4pm pt.PHILADELPHIA - Jimmy Rollins, Wil Nieves and the Phillies picked up Sunday right where they left off the night before. Rollins and Nieves opened the first inning with back-to-back homers and Philadelphia went deep four times in all to back Cliff Lee in an 8-3 victory over the Cincinnati Reds. Cody Asche and Marlon Byrd also homered for the Phillies, who broke out of their offensive doldrums with a 12-1 rout Saturday night. Lee (4-4) pitched effectively into the seventh inning for his first home victory of the season. Devin Mesoraco had a career-high four hits for Cincinnati, including two doubles and an RBI. The Reds again played without slugger Joey Votto, who remained in Cincinnati during the three-game series with a left knee injury. Philadelphias offence busted loose for a second straight day. Despite playing in hitter-friendly Citizens Bank Park, the Phillies entered Sunday second-to-last in the NL in home runs with 27. But they were riding the confidence of homering twice while scoring a dozen runs in Saturdays victory, which snapped streaks of four straight losses and 23 consecutive scoreless innings. "Todays game was a momentum game and a build off (of Saturday)," Philadelphia manager Ryne Sandberg said. "It was a carry-over game on the offensive side." Cincinnati starter Tony Cingrani (2-3) returned from the disabled list and gave up three home runs in six innings. After the Reds went up 2-0 in the first on Brandon Phillips RBI groundout and Mesoracos run-scoring double, Rollins hit his 46th career leadoff homer. Nieves followed with a shot to left that tied the game. It was the fifth time the Phillies began a game with consecutive homers, the last coming on Sept. 9, 2004, at Atlanta when Rollins and Placido Polanco accomplished the feat. Chase Utleys fifth-inning groundout scored Lee and put Philadelphia ahead for good. Byrd opened the sixth with a homer to right to push the lead to 4-2. That was enough offence for Lee, who had received very little support at home this season. He entered 0-3 in four home starts despite a 1.55 ERA. Lee gave up two runs and nine hits in 6 2-3 innings with three strikeouts and a walk. He was happy to get some runs for a change. "Its definitely easier to pitch with a lead," Lee said. "Its easier to attack the strike zone, and you can use a little more of the plate and not worry so much if you give up a solo home run or whatever. Its not going to hurt you as bad. If its a close game or aa low-scoring game, every pitch is important.
Mark Andrews Womens Jersey. Not that its not with a lead, but theres definitely more room for error and you can get away with more mistakes." Without Votto, who remained in Cincinnati for treatment during the series for a distal quadriceps strain in his left knee, and slugger Jay Bruce (knee), who went on the disabled list May 6, the Reds were without two key pieces that might have helped in a comeback bid. "The elephant in the room is the fact we have Votto and Bruce unavailable," Reds manager Bryan Price said. "Those are pretty essential pieces. That being said, we do have players getting an opportunity to play and do some things. I was very, very optimistic going into todays game that we were going to do some really good things offensively. We got some things started but we werent able to finish." Price said there is no timetable for Vottos return and wasnt sure whether the four-time All-Star and 2010 NL MVP would make the trip to Washington, where Cincinnati begins a three-game series Monday night. The Phillies took two of three from the Reds and improved to 7-0-1 in home series against Cincinnati since 2006. Byrd upped his team-leading RBI total to 24 with a run-scoring single in the seventh. Asche followed him and broke the game open with a three-run homer to right off Manny Parra that gave Philadelphia an 8-2 lead. "I think good at-bats are contagious, up and down the lineup. You saw that the last two days," Asche said. Cingrani allowed four runs and seven hits while striking out seven and walking three. Cingrani, who hadnt pitched since April 30 because of left shoulder tendinitis, had given up three homers all season in 32 1-3 innings before Sunday. "I felt pretty good today," Cingrani said. "Everything was coming out well. I was spotting it pretty much all day." NOTES: The Phillies improved to 11-3 in Saturday and Sunday games. They are 8-19 during the week. ... To make room for Cingrani, the Reds optioned catcher Tucker Barnhart to Triple-A Louisville. ... Reds RHP Mike Leake (2-3, 3.09 ERA) opposes Nationals RHP Stephen Strasburg (3-3, 3.48) on Monday. ... After a day off Monday, the Phillies travel to Miami for three games against the Marlins, with Philadelphia RHP A.J. Burnett (2-3, 3.13) facing Marlins RHP Anthony DeSclafani (1-0, 3.00) on Tuesday. ... Phillies CF Ben Revere was available to pinch-hit. Revere missed games Friday and Saturday due to a stomach virus.
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