Bohonos, Aubin... why weren't they given another shot?

On Friday (January 11), on Don Cherry’s popular radio segment, Don Cherry’s Grapeline, the former Bruins coach talked about Lonny Bohonos and reflected on how the Leafs mismanaged and failed to bring the winger back despite producing for Toronto in the 1999 playoffs.

See, Bohonos had played the 1998-99 season in the AHL with St. John’s (the Leafs’ farm club) before getting called up by the big club with injuries to Igor Korolev and Fredrik Modin. All Bohonos did was score 3 goals and 9 points in 9 playoff games playing on a line with Mats Sundin, and the Maple Leafs went all the way to the Eastern Conference Finals (before bowing out against Buffalo).

However, Bohonos was not brought back, instead suiting up for the IHL’s Manitoba Moose in 1999-00 and then moving on to play in the Swiss league.

Grapes then talked about how the Leafs also mishandled the goaltending situation with J-S Aubin. Aubin, who couldn’t hang on to the No. 1 gig in Pittsburgh, was picked up by the Leafs before the 2005-06 season. He, like Bohonos a few seasons back, started out in the AHL before being called up in March. All Aubin did was stop 35 shots in New Jersey and won a goaltending duel against Martin Brodeur in his first Leafs game. He then picked up a shutout in his first home game with the Leafs six days later. All told, Aubin went 9-0 with 2 shoot-out losses and a 2.22 goals-against average for the season (albeit in a losing effort as Toronto missed the playoffs). Awesome individual numbers, but Aubin was only given a one-year contract to back up Andrew Raycroft the next season.

Aubin wouldn’t get a fair shake in 2006-07 with the Leafs, though he played a key role in Toronto’s season finale. After coming in in relief of Raycroft, Aubin kept the Leafs in it and held off the Canadiens 6-5 in a must-win affair to keep Toronto’s playoff hopes alive for another night. (The Leafs just missed out on the playoffs the next day when the Islanders also won their game to eliminate Toronto.)

Cherry couldn’t understand why the Leafs basically gave up on Bohonos and Aubin when they made obvious contributions, and yet Sundin, supposedly the superstar, was still hailed a hero and brought back (he was re-signed) despite finishing with just one goal in a nineteen-game stretch at the end of the 2006-07 debacle.

A lot of valid points made by Don Cherry, and you just have to scratch your head when you sit down and think about it.

Any wonder why an organization like the Leafs haven’t won the Cup since 1967? The ’07-08 team just can’t protect third-period leads, is in last place in the division, and appears unlikely to make the playoffs - for the third straight season. The team is going in the wrong direction, and Toronto fans want GM John Ferguson Jr. out.

And of course, just this week, there was talk of Sundin possibly not finishing the season with the struggling ’07-08 Leafs.

Tough times ahead for Leafs fans.

But Grapes’ points were so bang-on. I offer my own short list of dumb team decisions:

Lee Smith, the all-time saves leader, was acquired down the stretch by the Yankees in the 1993 season was unscored upon in eight games in pinstripes. And yet New York let him get away, and while it ultimately didn’t hurt the Bombers in the 1994 season (because the strike wiped out the post-season), they were burnt the next year in the Division Series against Seattle when John Wetteland and the rest of the weak bullpen couldn’t stop the Mariners’ offense. The Yanks’ World Series drought was extended for yet another year before finally winning in 1996.

Pete Schourek, who pitched well for the Red Sox in September of 1998 after being acquired from Houston, threw shutout-ball in Game Four of the Division Series against Cleveland to give Boston a chance with his team facing elimination. The Red Sox didn’t win the series, but Schourek did his job. Yet for some reason they let the lefty go to Pittsburgh for the 1999 campaign. The Red Sox struggled mightily in the 1999 post-season because of thin pitching, and was forced to start the underwhelming Kent Mercker in the opener of the ALCS against the powerful Yankees.

Bruins teammates Jim Carey and Byron Dafoe were co-players of the week in the NHL early in the 1997-98 season, with “The Net Detective” Carey picking up back-to-back shutouts on a western road trip (in Anaheim and Vancouver). Yet coach Pat Burns went with Dafoe as his No. 1 man and Carey - who was criticized for his poor conditioning - was sent to the minors. And what exactly did Dafoe do for the Bruins in the playoffs? He, like Joe Thornton, basically disappeared come playoff time.

Doug Flutie led the Buffalo Bills to a 10-5 record in the 1999 NFL season, but was “rested” in the season finale against Indianapolis. Coach Wade Phillips then benched Flutie and went with bust Rob Johnson in the Wild-Card game in Tennessee. The Bills lost and have not made the playoffs since. Johnson was handed the No. 1 gig the next season and became the “sack” and injury king.

Jeff George threw 29 touchdowns with only 9 interceptions with the Oakland Raiders in 1997 but the team had no defense and went only 4-12. The next season, new coach Jon Gruden adopted the West Coast offense and ignored George’s strong arm and ability to throw the ball downfield, and the QB struggled in an injury-plague campaign the next season. However, George found new life in Minnesota the next season, going 9-3 when Randy Cunningham struggled, and even won a playoff game over Troy Aikman and the Cowboys. Yet, the Vikings decided not to re-sign him, opting to go with unproven Daunte Culpepper instead. And despite George having a strong arm, the Washington Redskins, his next club, again didn’t utilize his strength, choosing to go with the West Coast offense. George went 0-2 to start the 2001 season, was cut, and never played another NFL game. The Bears and Seahawks signed him as an insurance policy when hit with QB injuries, but George never got into any games. At the age of 33, Jeff George had thrown his last NFL pass. Plain dumb. Yes, he had a cantankerous attitude, but he could throw the football too. Why didn’t anyone give him another shot?

Wouldn’t Smith have made a difference with the Yankees? Carey with the hometown Bruins? Flutie with Buffalo and George with the Vikings or the other teams? We’ll never know.

Just like Leafs fans will never know how Bohonos and Aubin would have changed the Leafs’ fortunes.

Anyone else like to share their own lists of "dumb" team decisions? Discuss.

What Green Bay / Lambeau mystique? What Favre playoff magic? Overrated...

(also published on Bleacher Report)

Talk about being overrated. All the experts on ESPN.com chose Green Bay to knock off the Seattle Seahawks in Saturday’s NFC divisional tilt at Lambeau Field.

Regardless of what happens Saturday, I just don’t understand why everyone is on the Packers’ bandwagon.

True, the Seahawks hadn’t looked great all year long and play in the weak NFC West. And yes, they had some lucky bounces go their way (the finish against St. Louis when the Rams botched their final scoring drive comes to mind). But the Hawks won when they had to, including a huge win against the Cardinals in Week 14 and the wild card round vs. the red-hot Redskins, when their defense came up big.

And have the Packers really played that great themselves during the year? Don’t forget that soft schedule; they got to play the Rams (3-13), Oakland (4-12), and Kansas City (4-12) - and had to get a late rally in the fourth quarter just to pull one out against the Chiefs. And they played the lowly Lions - who allowed a league-high 27.75 points per game (yes, worse than the 1-15 Dolphins) - twice. And don’t forget the Panthers (7-9) and Broncos (7-9) too.

And let’s not forget what happened in recent playoff past for Favre and the Packers. At Lambeau Field. And what Lambeau mystique and Favre magic is everyone talking about?
Favre couldn’t beat the Falcons five years ago when former stud Michael Vick led the Atlanta club into Lambeau and won impressively, holding the Favre-led offense to a lone touchdown. The score was already 24-zip by the time Favre found the end zone.

The Vikings, an 8-8 outfit who had already lost twice to the Pack in the regular season, knocked off Green Bay at Lambeau in 2005, despite the controversy surrounding then-receiver Randy Moss and his mooning incident. Oh yeah. Favre threw four picks in that one.

Even the Seahawks took the Pack to overtime four years ago before Matt Hasselbeck’s interception cost Seattle the game.

And Seattle has more playoff experience. This could be the Seahawks’ final hurrah, and they might come out hungry. And there’s talk of coach Mike Holmgren stepping aside if the Hawks don’t get it done this year. And how many more years does Shaun Alexander have to get his Super Bowl ring? Obviously Seattle has something to play for here. Outside of Favre, the Packers are a young, inexperienced team. I’d go with Seattle in a nail-biter, with the game being decided on a last-second field goal. Seattle's defense is going to force Favre into more of his classic playoff-INT's.

And Favre continues to get all the love from the media despite the Packers having no post-season success since his lone Super Bowl win in 1997 against the Patriots. Don’t all those subsequent playoff losses mean anything? Six INT’s in St. Louis in a 2002 embarrassment? Plus those home losses in 2003 (Falcons) and 2005 (Vikings). Yet that ’97 win is all everyone talks about. This guy just gets all the hype despite his failures.

And no, there will be no New England-Green Bay rematch this year.

Final Score: Seahawks 30, Packers 27, with Favre throwing 3 more picks.