Post by Toronto Maple Leafs on Dec 11, 2011 19:13:15 GMT -5
Since he didn't feel like posting it, I decided I might as well. This is the interview I had with Cor99 a few weeks ago. His questions are marked with C at the beginning, followed by my responses. Keep in mind this was conducted late Oct/early Nov.
C: Thanks for joining us today Mike.
Yeah, no problem, just working out final details of new HoF site launch, so caught me at a good time for the interview.
C: You finish last season with just 30 wins, dead last in the east, how disappointed are you in this group?
There really wasn't any disappointment. We knew we would be able to go out there and challenge teams on a night to night basis, but we're a very young group. We focused on last year's draft to completely re-haul the club and I think we did that effectively.
C: Fans are going crazy calling for the head of the head coach, they want him gone, has this run through your mind?
Not at all. Gilmour has done well with what we've provided him and again, our kids will continue to grow, it's only a matter of time before the fans start praising what we've done here. Quite honestly, true fans would never call for anyone's head right now.
C: You have no star player. You have talent with Kessel, Myers, Schenn(s) and Kulemin. Fans are wondering, where is this star player... and when will he arrive.
We've just added Marc-Andre Bouchard to the club, and as much as people can suggest we don't have any star players, I think we do. Kessel, Lupul and Connolly all scored a boat load of goals last season, and with another year under their belt, they will prove it. We might not have the big names, but we certainly have the production necessary to succeed.
C: Fans have been calling for the trading of Dan Ellis and that terrible 4.00M dollar contract. Is this going to happen?
There's no telling. We've had minor discussions involving his name, but with Reimer's current groin issues, we think he's a great plan A2 for our goaltending depth. We had to pay to get his services and our money is spent appropriately at this point.
C: You have about 7.5M in cap space, how will that be used this off-season, and will you spend to the cap?
It was the veteran defenceman contracts we were worried about and disposed of them to clear the necessary cap to bring in another top player, and we did that with Bouchard. He's a top centerman on any team, he just needed the ice-time and I think he proved that last year with the Panthers. Fortunately, they felt they had more depth and did not require his services, so we feel we stole him.
C: Lets talk draft, you traded both of your picks, which included the 3rd overall pick, remind us what you go in return, and tell us why you did the deal.
We moved our pick with Filatov last season to acquire Leino, who we recently shipped to Los Angeles in a package deal to acquire Colin Wilson, and ended up drafting Rocco Grimaldi. He has since been dealt to acquire Patric Hornqvist for immediate talent. We kind of threw bodies all over the place to assemble what we felt was a more competitive club without hurting our youth.
C: Are there any talks with any teams about getting a first round pick? Even a 2nd rounder?
We have some feelers out there, but we're not actively shopping at this point as we feel this draft isn't as strong as last season's.
C: Will Pascal LeClarie be Re-Signed?
No, we have plans to bring in and develop prospect Ben Scrivens and our efforts in goal will be focused on with him, but we did enjoy LeClaire's time as a Leaf.
C: People are talking about the fact that the salary cap may drop significantly, what are your thoughts on the possibility and do you believe it will happen?
I do think the cap may drop. We had a few open teams which severely slowed down the league for about a month, but with the recent addition of five members, I think the league is flourishing again and the drop shouldn't be too terrible. We're prepared for anything that comes our way, regardless.
C: Jaromir Jagr is a first ballot hall of famer, talk is with the resignation of myself, he will also call it a career and hang up his skates ending two legendary careers, have you talked to the Oilers GM or Jagr's Agent about this casually?
We haven't. I've read the rumour mill, but I am kind of hoping it's not the end for him. I think he still has a lot of energy left to continue.
C: Thanks for joining us Mike,
Always, thanks for having me.
C: Thanks for joining us today Mike.
Yeah, no problem, just working out final details of new HoF site launch, so caught me at a good time for the interview.
C: You finish last season with just 30 wins, dead last in the east, how disappointed are you in this group?
There really wasn't any disappointment. We knew we would be able to go out there and challenge teams on a night to night basis, but we're a very young group. We focused on last year's draft to completely re-haul the club and I think we did that effectively.
C: Fans are going crazy calling for the head of the head coach, they want him gone, has this run through your mind?
Not at all. Gilmour has done well with what we've provided him and again, our kids will continue to grow, it's only a matter of time before the fans start praising what we've done here. Quite honestly, true fans would never call for anyone's head right now.
C: You have no star player. You have talent with Kessel, Myers, Schenn(s) and Kulemin. Fans are wondering, where is this star player... and when will he arrive.
We've just added Marc-Andre Bouchard to the club, and as much as people can suggest we don't have any star players, I think we do. Kessel, Lupul and Connolly all scored a boat load of goals last season, and with another year under their belt, they will prove it. We might not have the big names, but we certainly have the production necessary to succeed.
C: Fans have been calling for the trading of Dan Ellis and that terrible 4.00M dollar contract. Is this going to happen?
There's no telling. We've had minor discussions involving his name, but with Reimer's current groin issues, we think he's a great plan A2 for our goaltending depth. We had to pay to get his services and our money is spent appropriately at this point.
C: You have about 7.5M in cap space, how will that be used this off-season, and will you spend to the cap?
It was the veteran defenceman contracts we were worried about and disposed of them to clear the necessary cap to bring in another top player, and we did that with Bouchard. He's a top centerman on any team, he just needed the ice-time and I think he proved that last year with the Panthers. Fortunately, they felt they had more depth and did not require his services, so we feel we stole him.
C: Lets talk draft, you traded both of your picks, which included the 3rd overall pick, remind us what you go in return, and tell us why you did the deal.
We moved our pick with Filatov last season to acquire Leino, who we recently shipped to Los Angeles in a package deal to acquire Colin Wilson, and ended up drafting Rocco Grimaldi. He has since been dealt to acquire Patric Hornqvist for immediate talent. We kind of threw bodies all over the place to assemble what we felt was a more competitive club without hurting our youth.
C: Are there any talks with any teams about getting a first round pick? Even a 2nd rounder?
We have some feelers out there, but we're not actively shopping at this point as we feel this draft isn't as strong as last season's.
C: Will Pascal LeClarie be Re-Signed?
No, we have plans to bring in and develop prospect Ben Scrivens and our efforts in goal will be focused on with him, but we did enjoy LeClaire's time as a Leaf.
C: People are talking about the fact that the salary cap may drop significantly, what are your thoughts on the possibility and do you believe it will happen?
I do think the cap may drop. We had a few open teams which severely slowed down the league for about a month, but with the recent addition of five members, I think the league is flourishing again and the drop shouldn't be too terrible. We're prepared for anything that comes our way, regardless.
C: Jaromir Jagr is a first ballot hall of famer, talk is with the resignation of myself, he will also call it a career and hang up his skates ending two legendary careers, have you talked to the Oilers GM or Jagr's Agent about this casually?
We haven't. I've read the rumour mill, but I am kind of hoping it's not the end for him. I think he still has a lot of energy left to continue.
C: Thanks for joining us Mike,
Always, thanks for having me.
