Hit Ôn Run
Maple Leafs fire GM
Brian Burke
TORONTO —
The Maple Leafs have stunned the hockey world by axing their GM just days
before the opening of training camp and the NHLÕs lockout-shortened season.
Saying
the change in leadership was about looking for Òa different voice,Ó rather than
a change in team philosophy, MLSE president Tom Anselmi
said the decision was months in the making and followed an exhaustive review by
the new ownership group.
ÒThe news
is coming as a shock but the decision didnÕt happen overnight,Ó he said.
Conversations
about BurkeÕs future in Toronto appear to have begun as soon as Bell and Rogers
formalized their $1.07 billion purchase of a 75 percent stake in MLSE from the
TeacherÕs Pension Plan on Aug 22.
It was
suggested at WednesdayÕs press conference that MLSEÕs
new leadership simply didnÕt like BurkeÕs aggressive style and persona.
ÒBrian
had a style and we knew what we were getting into when he was brought in,Ó Anselmi said before adding that there are now Òsober second
thoughtsÓ on BurkeÕs tenure.
ÒDid the
four years of missing the playoffs factor into the discussion with the
shareholders? Sure it did . . . but at the end of the day it was really looking
for a different voice.Ó
Burke
will be replaced by Dave Nonis, his assistant and
long-time protŽgŽ, on an interim basis. Nonis, 46, also replaced Burke nine years ago to become
general manager of the Vancouver Canucks following an ownership change in that
organization.
ÒItÕs a
shock for a lot of people,Ó Nonis said. Ò(But) weÕre
not going to spend a lot of time grieving . . . we have things to do.Ó
Anselmi
said BurkeÕs firing had nothing to do with rumours of
a potential trade with the Vancouver Canucks for goalie Roberto Luongo.
But that
didnÕt stop Mayor Rob Ford from speculating. Ford told the Toronto Sun he
thinks BurkeÕs inability to pull the trigger on a Luongo
deal played Òa big factorÓ in the GMÕs firing
Canada loses world junior bronze to Russia in OT
UFA, RUSSIA — Canada's run
of consecutive medals at the world junior hockey championship ended with a 6-5
loss in overtime to Russia in the bronze-medal game Jan 5.
It was
the first time since finishing a worst-ever eighth in 1998 in Finland that
Canada didn't win a medal in the tournament.
Valerie Nichushkin scored the overtime winner at 1:35 in front of
7,617 at the Ufa Arena.
The U.S.
beat the defending champions from Sweden by a score of 3-1 in the gold medal
final.
After 14
straight years of Canadians leaving the tournament with medals around their
necks, "unacceptable" was the first word out of these players' mouths
post-game.
"Fourth
place for Canada is unacceptable," coach Steve Spott
concurred. "Unfortunately that's something we're going to have to deal
with and we're all going to have to answer questions too.
"Today
was a tough game. I thought our players played extremely hard, but at the end
of the day when you look at the big picture, the end result is unacceptable for
our country."
Canada finished
first in their pool with a 4-0 record only to lose to two countries they'd
beaten in the preliminary round. The U.S. defeated Canada 5-1 in the semifinal.
Canada
had the best 19-year-olds available to the team for this tournament because of
the NHL lockout, minus a forward and a defenceman
lost to injury prior to the tournament.
Russia
was motivated for a medal because their country was hosting the tournament for
the first time since 2001.
The
Russians put Canada in a hole early with three goals on their first five shots.
Jordan Binnington of the Owen Sound Attack made his
first start of the tournament and was pulled at 7:54 for Malcolm Subban of Belleville Bulls.
The
Canadians gave chase, tying the game three times to send it to extra time. They
scored four power-play goals before Ritchie tied the game at 10:45 of the
third.
Nail Yakupov scored twice for the host team, which also got
goals from Alexander Khokhlachyov, Kirill Dyakov and Yevgeni Mozer.
Ryan
Nugent-Hopkins, Jonathan Huberdeau, Mark Scheifele, Ryan Murphy and Brett Ritchie replied for
Canada. Nugent-Hopkins, who plays for the NHL's Edmonton Oilers, had three
assists and Murphy had two.
Russian
goaltender Andrei Makarov, who plays for the Western
Hockey League's Saskatoon Blades, made 40 saves for the win. Subban stopped 18 of 20 shots in relief of Binnington.
Canada
was without defenceman Griffin Reinhart, who served
the first of a four-game suspension given to him Friday by the International
Ice Hockey Federation for high-sticking an American during the semifinal.
Vancouver police seeking charges against 40 more
June 11 rioters
VANCOUVER — A Vancouver
Provincial Court judge sentenced three Stanley Cup rioters Dec 21, as Vancouver
police announced a new round of riot-related charges against another 40 people.
Two
rioters received conditional sentences for their actions around a Blenz Coffee store on June 15, 2011.
Chelsea
Andrews, of Surrey, B.C., received a three-month
conditional sentence and must perform 100 hours of community service.
Eric Hodson, of Langley, B.C., was
handed a six-month conditional sentence. Both have been banned from any Blenz Coffee location in B.C. for one year.
Another
rioter, Willmar Ovando-Renderos, was
sentenced to 45 days, to be served on weekends starting immediately.
His
family was shocked at the sentence and was quick to defend the Surrey, B.C., man outside the courthouse.
The case
loads are expected to increase further now that Vancouver police have
recommended 168 more charges against another 40 people in connection with the
June 2011 riot.
"I
hope that news of more rioters facing charges brings a small measure of comfort
to victims of the riot," said Insp. Laurence Rankin.
The
department has now recommended 1,040 charges against a total of 315 people.
The
charges include mischief, assault and arson resulting from the mayhem that
included cars being set on fire, stores being looted and windows broken. Police
say they are still receiving tips, including video and photos from the riot,
and some have come from suspected rioters' family members.
Sundin, Sakic, Oates, Bure get Hockey Hall of Fame rings
TORONTO — Former NHL
forwards Joe Sakic, Mats Sundin,
Adam Oates and Pavel Bure
were honoured at the Hockey Hall of Fame on Nov 12 as
the hockey shrine welcomed its Class of 2012.
Sporting
new blazers as honoured members of the Hall, the quartet received their rings at a press
conference.
A formal
induction ceremony was held later in the day.
Sakic
and Sundin, who began their careers as teammates in
Quebec City, were selected in their first year of eligibility. Oates and Bure got in after waits of five and six years,
respectively.
Between
them, the four new members scored 1,967 regular-season goals and added 3,786
assists.
Sakic
spent his entire 20-year NHL career with the Nordiques-Colorado Avalanche
franchise and served as team captain for 17 seasons. He scored 50 goals twice
and had six 100-point seasons.
Sundin
was a big, rangy centre who dominated the area around
the net. The native of Bromma, Sweden made his name
mostly as captain of the Toronto Maple Leafs.
He never
won a Stanley Cup but was captain of Sweden's 2006 Olympic gold medal squad. He
was also the first Swedish player to earn 1,000 NHL points.
Oates
had 341 goals and recorded 1,079 assists — good for sixth on the NHL's
all-time list — in 19 seasons with seven teams.
Bure,
a right-winger known as the Russian Rocket, could pull fans from their seats
with his spectacular high-speed rushes up the ice for Vancouver and Florida.
The
Moscow native defected from the former Soviet Union to join the Canucks in 1991
and won the Calder Trophy as rookie of the year. He became one of the most
exciting goal-scorers of his time with 437 goals and 342 assists over 11
seasons with the Canucks, Panthers and New York Rangers.
He had
back-to-back 60-goal seasons in the early 1990s and had five seasons of 50-plus
goals.
Bure
joins fellows Russians Viacheslav Fetisov,
Vladislav Tretiak, Igor Larionov and Valeri Kharlamov in the Hall.
Sundin
is the second Swede to be inducted. The first was another Toronto great, defenceman Borje Salming.