For those who don’t follow hockey, the Toronto Maple Leafs are the NHL’s New York Yankees. But it’s not because Toronto always has the most expensive players or a tradition of winning; it’s mainly the media pressure that surrounds the city’s beloved hockey team. Wait ‘til the Toronto media gets a hold of this one.
An unbelievable story surfaced today. The Maple Leafs, who are in deep rebuilding mode, were trying to revamp their roster this offseason. Among their moves was hiring American coach Ron Wilson (that’s how you please the Canadian media). But the Maple Leafs have allegedly made an even larger faux pas.
They signed the wrong player.
No, it’s not that they signed one player when another was clearly a better fit. The Toronto Maple Leafs legitimately confused two defensemen and signed the wrong one.
When the Leafs inked Jeff Finger to a four-year, $14 million contract, jaws dropped. Here was Toronto, desperately looking to improve with some savvy maneuvering, overpaying for a career minor-leaguer who had half a good season at the NHL level. When GM Cliff Fletcher spoke about Finger, his description better fit Finger’s former Colorado Avalanche teammate, Kurt Sauer.
Fletcher talked about how Wilson, the former coach of the San Jose Sharks, had high praise for a certain defenseman. Wilson apparently was impressed with this defenseman’s play against his top player, Joe Thornton. Having been in the building for two of those games, I can confirm what the media is reporting: Sauer was the one matched up with Thornton, not Finger.
Fox Sports Denver was the first to pick up the story. Having watched Finger’s “breakout” season, the Denver media was particularly confused. Heck, even Finger admitted he got twice as much money as he thought humanly possible.
Confused? So is Toronto. Of course, there are ways to tell Finger and Sauer apart. Such as the fact that Finger is right-handed, three inches short than Sauer and a different person.
The big winner, of course, is Finger. He’s with a new team, making more money than his former counterpart (Sauer signed a four-year, $7 million deal with the Phoenix Coyotes). Not bad for a career minor-leaguer.
