Darcy Tucker era over

[Santacapper]

Darcy Tucker's career with the Toronto Maple Leafs is over.
Maple Leafs general manager Cliff Fletcher alerted Tucker of Toronto's intention to buy him out on Tuesday afternoon.
"The decision is always difficult when you are dealing with a good person. We wish him well.". Fletcher told TSN.
"Its a business, Darcy knows that," Tucker's agent Carlos Sosa told TSN.
"Whether this decision by the Maple Leafs is good business or bad business.only time will tell."
"We've been prepared for everything and Darcy and his family are ready to move on," Sosa added.
Tucker has 3 years remaining on his contract and Toronto will be on the hook for two-thirds, or 6 million dollars paid over a six year term. Tucker signed a four-year contract extension with the club back in February of 2007.
Because Tucker's contract included a no-movement clause, Tucker had the option of either going on waivers or not. He chose not to and thus becomes an unrestricted free agent.
Tucker's path out of Toronto appears have been laid several weeks ago when the Maple Leafs introduced new head coach Ron Wilson.
"Darcy Tucker for years was one of my favourite players," Wilson said at the time. "Then he started to wear down. What his role on this team will be, I'm not really sure."
The 33-year old forward struggled mightily this season, finishing with just 18 goals and 16 assists in 74 games - down from 24 goals and 19 assists in just 56 games a year ago.
The Maple Leafs acquired Tucker back in 2000 for a package that included Mike Johnson. In eight seasons with Toronto, Tucker has scored 148 goals and 319 assists.
A sixth-round draft selection of Montreal in 1993, Tucker has 197 goals and 239 assists in parts of 13 seasons with the Canadiens, Tampa Bay Lightning and Maple Leafs.


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[Toronto_Mike]

whats the deal with putting Wellwood on Waivers? Thought he was one of the decent few on the team

 

[Santacapper]

MIke, I think Wellwood is more of a 'business' decision... he never really became what they thought he would... article

The Toronto Maple Leafs took another step toward rebuilding on Tuesday, placing forward Kyle Wellwood and goaltender Andrew Raycroft on waivers.
If Wellwood is claimed on waivers, his new team could retain his rights by giving him a qualifying offer and he would not become a free agent. If Raycroft is claimed, the new team would pick up his contract and salary.
Should Raycroft clear waivers, the Leafs would be left with two options. They could put him on re-entry waivers, where if he is claimed, the Leafs would pay half his remaining salary and have it count against the cap. Or they could send him to the minors, pay him his full salary and not have any of it count against the cap.
''We put them on waivers, we'll take it one step at a time and we'll see what happens tomorrow,'' Leafs GM Cliff Fletcher told The Canadian Press.
Last season, Wellwood struggled through an injury-riddled campaign as he dealt with a nagging groin injury. Tabbed as a second-line player out of training camp, the playmaking centre finished with just 21 points in 59 games.
In 2006-07, Wellwood missed 33 games after undergoing surgery to repair a sports hernia.
Raycroft was acquired from the Boston Bruins prior to the 2006-07 season for goaltending prospect Tuukka Rask and went on to set a franchise mark for wins with 37 that season.
But the Belleville native took a backseat to Vesa Toskala early last season and never regained the starting role. He finished the year with just two wins in 19 appearances. Raycroft is scheduled to make $2.2 million in the upcoming season.

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[Joe Public]

Darcy Tucker had an era?

=)

 

[Santacapper]

Darcy Tucker had an era?

=)

:36_11_6:

8 years in a leaf uniform = era,

 

[Greencastle]

Tucker was the man.

But business is business.

 

[Santacapper]

didnt take too long

The Vancouver Canucks added some depth down the middle for next season, claiming soon-to-be restricted free agent centre Kyle Wellwood off waivers from the Toronto Maple Leafs.
The Canucks can retain his rights by giving him a qualifying offer and he would not become an unrestricted free agent. "I was really excited," Wellwood told CKNW radio in Vancouver. "I wasn't sure what was going to happen and what other teams in the NHL would think of me, but for Vancouver to take a chance and pick me up - I'm really happy."
Last season, Wellwood struggled through an injury-riddled campaign as he dealt with a nagging groin injury. Tabbed as a second-line player with the Maple Leafs out of training camp, the playmaking centre finished with just 21 points in 59 games.
In 2006-07, Wellwood missed 33 games after undergoing surgery to repair a sports hernia.

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[Liquidnoose]

That blows...about both guys leaving....Tucker would look good in Teal I think.

 

[Greencastle]

Wellwood was let go not because of lack of talent, but rather a lack of heart. He was quoted, off the record by one team-mate as being "lazy and weak".

Some strong words indeed.

 

[Toronto_Mike]

Wellwood was let go not because of lack of talent, but rather a lack of heart. He was quoted, off the record by one team-mate as being "lazy and weak".

Some strong words indeed.

he's going to tear it up in the West Coast....look what happened to Joe Thornton

 

[Greencastle]

wellwood isn't half the player thornton is.

 

[Santacapper]

lol mike... Thornton and Wellwood in the same sentence...

 

[Santacapper]

The Toronto Maple Leafs have turned a lot of heads over the last few days with the moves that they've made to rebuild their struggling franchise.
And all of them have certainly put interim general manager Cliff Fletcher in the hot seat.
The Hall of Fame builder discussed all the moves he's made - and has yet to make - on TSN's Off The Record on Wednesday.
While the Leafs grabbed the spotlight last week by giving Mats Sundin's negotiating rights to the rival Montreal Canadiens, the team also had a parting of the ways with another 'heart and soul' player by buying out forward Darcy Tucker. The scrappy winger was one of the team's most popular players, making it a difficult decision for Fletcher to make.
"It's a straight case where we had to make some hard decisions," Fletcher told TSN's Michael Landsberg. "We have to make a number of changes on the team and it's all part of the process. I love Darcy Tucker, he's been a warrior, but we have to do what we have to do, the Leafs have missed the playoffs three years in a row. We've got to get this thing going in the right direction."
Fletcher was also busy on Tuesday, placing forward Kyle Wellwood and goaltender Andrew Raycroft on waivers. While Wellwood was taken by the Vancouver Canucks, Raycroft cleared on Wednesday and awaits an update on his status going forward.
"That decision will be made in the next 48 hours," Fletcher told TSN. "We will have to decide whether to put him on unconditional waivers to buy him out, or to keep him for the next season. We haven't made that decision.
One player who survived the Maple Leafs' purge was defenceman Bryan McCabe, who would cost the team about $3 million a year for the next three years and $1.6 million a year for an additional three years if he was bought out. Fletcher added that McCabe's signing bonus would still have to be paid in full, and not at the same two-thirds' rate his salary would be owed.
"Sometimes you make business decisions," he said. "At this stage we're not interested in buying Bryan McCabe out. It's a business decision that doesn't make any sense at this time."
Another blueliner who's getting plenty of press is Pavel Kubina, who has a small window in his contract that allows the Leafs to trade him over the summer. But Fletcher wasn't keen on dealing the veteran defenceman if the return was low.
"Everybody in the league knows that he can be traded between now and the 15th of August," he explained. "If somebody wants to talk seriously about it and make us a serious offer, we'll consider it. We're not going to give him away. He can be an integral part of a team. Kubina's value is very high."
Fletcher also shed some more light on Sundin's status with the club, saying he wouldn't rule out talking to the Leaf captain come July 1.
"We will talk to him absolutely," he told TSN. "J.P. Barry and I had some discussions before we gave Montreal the rights to talk to him. "The reason why we gave Montreal the rights to talk to him (was because) they were the team from what we could gather, a team that Mats would always consider as an alternative to Toronto."


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