SB Nation - Jiri Tlusty

Patrick Dwyer and Bryan Rodney Recalled from Albany

Bob Harwood Waeghe — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 22:39:37 -0000

The Carolina Hurricanes announced this afternoon that they recalled forward Patrick Dwyer and defenseman Bryan Rodney from the Albany River Rats. Both players will be available for tomorrow night's game against Dallas.

It was expected that the team would recall a forward because they were short a player, although Jiri Tlusty might have been the team's first choice. Tlusty has had some kind of visa trouble in Toronto.

It was unexpected that the team would recall Rodney. This move could lead to speculation that something concrete might be up with Aaron Ward, or perhaps there is another injury on the blueline. In Ottawa, Ward, Tim Gleason, Andrew Alberts, Brett Carson, Jay Harrison, and Joni Pitkanen all played.

Of that group, Gleason is the only one who has not made it to practice this week. Perhaps he is not ready to play tomorrow night? Either way, it's interesting that they recalled Rodney. We will find out what is up.

Patrick Dwyer and Jiri Tlusty Reassigned to Albany

Bob Harwood Waeghe — Sun, 13 Dec 2009 20:24:17 -0000

More photos » by Mike Fuentes - AP

Dallas Stars left wing Steve Ott (29) levels Carolina Hurricanes right wing Patrick Dwyer (39) with a check during the first period of an NHL hockey game Monday, Nov. 23, 2009, in Dallas. (AP Photo/Mike Fuentes). Will Dwyer be back for a rematch on Wednesday night?

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The Carolina Hurricanes announced today that they reassigned forwards Patrick Dwyer and Jiri Tlusty to Albany. Both players were assigned to the Hurricanes in time for Friday's game against Washington when Erik Cole and Chad LaRose were put on injured reserve.

Sergei Samsonov was close to returning to the lineup and he will most likely be ready to play on Wednesday night when Dallas comes to town, but the Canes will still be short a forward. Will they bring back either Tlusty or Dwyer, or will they give someone else a look?

Jerome Samson leads the River Rats in scoring, (11G 12A, 23 points in 29 games), and probably deserves a shot with the big club. More news to come on Monday.

Tim Gleason Heroics Not Enough, Capitals 4, Hurricanes 3, OT

Bob Harwood Waeghe — Sat, 12 Dec 2009 03:56:16 -0000

More photos » by Alex Brandon - AP

5 days ago: Carolina Hurricanes defenseman Tim Gleason, right, reacts with his team after his goal to tie the game in the third period of an NHL hockey game with the Washington Capitals in Washington, Friday, Dec. 11, 2009. The Capitals won 4-3 in overtime(AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

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The Carolina Hurricanes battled to a regulation tie, but finally succumbed to the offensive onslaught of the Washington Capitals, dropping a game to their division rivals in overtime Friday night, 4-3. The Canes were out-shot in each and every period as the Caps finished the game with a 40-19 advantage.

The visitors managed to block a total of 28 shots and the Caps missed the net 17 times, meaning the home team put a total of 85 shots on the beleaguered team from Carolina. The Canes made their shots and chances count as they missed the net five times and only had 13 shots blocked.

Speaking of blocked shots, Tim Gleason got a stick on one of Alexander Ovechkin's wristers and took a puck to the face late in the first period. It did not look like Gleason would return as he took 30 stitches and had to have a full face shield added to his helmet, but not only did he come back to the ice, he would tie the score on a shorthanded chance which at least gave the Hurricanes a much needed point for the night's efforts.

After the game, enough couldn't be said about Gleason's effort. "He's unbelievable", said Brandon Sutter. "He's one of those guys who always shows a lot of character and he's been doing that for us all year".

Paul Maurice said that it showed the leadership qualities of the defenseman. "There are very few people who could do what he did and it just goes to show the leadership that he provides to the team."

The "Gleason for Captain" bandwagon just got bigger tonight.

The Canes started out well, even though they were out-shot in the opening period, 14-5. Jiri Tlusty opened the scoring for the visitors as he received a perfect cross-ice pass from Brandon Sutter. It was the first goal as a Hurricane for Tlusty on his very first shift for the team.

Sutter and Tlusty showed great speed on the play and beat the Capitals' defense down the ice. But the flashy winger will need to bone up on defense, he was on the ice for two of the Caps' scores.

The Canes got a bit lucky and scored again later in the first period when Eric Staal tried one of his patented wrap around attempts. The puck initially bounced back to him but he shoved it right back at Jose Theodore's feet. Somehow the puck got in and the period ended with the score 2-0, even though it seemed like the Caps were controlling play for the most part.

The Caps would tie things up in the second on the back of Alexander Semin, who scored twice. Semin scored his second goal with just a fraction of a second left in the period, giving his team an emotional lift and sending the Canes to the locker room feeling like they were snake-bitten.

Tomas Fleischmann put the home team ahead just inside of three minutes into the third period on a nice backdoor play set up by Mathieu Perreault.

But during a penalty kill, Tim Gleason stole the puck from Mike Green, skated in the offensive zone, and blasted a slap shot by Theodore. Gleason won't be asked to perform in a shootout anytime soon, but it was a perfect shot and gutsy effort by the injured defenseman.

The Caps would end the game quickly in OT as Mike Green atoned for his earlier gaffe by scoring just 1:16 into the extra frame.

The point gives the Hurricanes three points so far in this brutal road stretch as they now travel to Ottawa to take on the Senators Saturday night.

Game notes:

Carolina was credited with 19 hits led by Andrew Alberts with five and Tuomo Ruutu with four.
Brett Carson had an amazing eight blocked shots. Tim Gleason and Joni Pitkanen had four each.
The Canes had 19 shots on goal, led by Staal's four. The Caps had 40 shots led by Semin and Ovechkin with seven and six respectively.
Tlusty and Sutter look like they will be a good combination for the future. As mentioned previously, they both have excellent speed and seem to have chemistry.
Cam Ward played a very good game, but was not perfect. Needless to say he was kept busy all night long.
One can not say enough about Tim Gleason's effort. He got a point for the team and earned the respect of everyone with his gutsy performance.

Here is an interview I recorded of Jiri Tlusty speaking to the press after the loss:

Erik Cole and Chad LaRose Out - Patrick Dwyer and Jiri Tlusty Recalled

Bob Harwood Waeghe — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 15:42:33 -0000

More photos » by Karl B DeBlaker - AP

11 days ago: Carolina Hurricanes' Erik Cole (26) looks up at the replay following his third goal of the game during the third period of an NHL hockey game against the Vancouver Canucks in Raleigh, N.C., Saturday, Dec. 5, 2009. Cole notch his sixth hat trick of his career in the 5-3 Hurricanes win.(AP Photo/Karl B DeBlaker)

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The Carolina Hurricanes placed forwards Erik Cole and Chad LaRose on injured reserve today. LaRose had been fighting a lower body injury for some time and is expected to miss 3-4 weeks, but Cole is suffering from an upper body concern which must be something fairly new. He has played well in the past few games for the Canes but now is expected to be out 2-3 weeks.

The team is recalling forwards Patrick Dwyer and newly acquired Jiri Tlusty from Albany. River Rats leading scorer, Jerome Samson has not been recalled yet, even though he has been getting rave reviews from the AHL.

More about this later.

Catching Up With River Rats Coach Jeff Daniels

Cory Lavalette — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 15:50:11 -0000

River Rats coach Jeff Daniels, left, talks with Hurricanes European scout Robert Kron during this summer's prospect conditioning camp. Photo by LTD

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When I originally attempted to contact Albany River Rats general manager/head coach Jeff Daniels, I mainly wanted to discuss acquisition of Jiri Tlusty, who arrived — after some immigration issues — in Albany courtesy a trade between Toronto and Carolina Dec. 3. Five days later, there was plenty more to talk about: coaches, trades and recalls.

Tlusty had an uneventful debut in the Rats' 4-1 win Dec. 6 against Wilkes-Barre, registering two shots on the night. The aforementioned immigration troubles contributed to that.

"For a first game he was fine," Daniels said. "He had gone four days without skating and admitted he didn't have his legs. But he was real good in practice [Tuesday], and showed us what he's capable of."

Despite coaching in the AHL the past two seasons —where Tlusty has spent most of his time — Daniels had limited knowledge of the 21-year-old forward because Albany and the Toronto Marlies are in different conferences and do not play in the regular season. But Daniels echoed Hurricanes general manager Jim Rutherford on the reason for the trade.

"[Tlusty's] further along in his development than Paradis," Daniels said.

* * * * *

Daniels also weighed in on Peter Laviolette and Kevin McCarthy reuniting on the Flyers bench.

"I was excited for both of them," said Daniels, who coached along side both during the Hurricanes' run to the Stanley Cup in 2006 and also played under McCarthy as a player. "It's a chance for [McCarthy] to get back behind the bench." (McCarthy has coached from the pressbox during games since Paul Maurice replaced Laviolette last season and Ron Francis joined the coaching staff.)

* * * * *

The Hurricanes have had to use several of Albany's defensemen this year, and with the recent long-term injury to Joe Corvo, Daniels was consulted by Rutherford as to who could best fill in. Bryan Rodney was initially recalled, the reassigned in favor of Jay Harrison. Brett Carson then got the call when Niclas Wallin went down with an injury.

"It's about filling a role," Daniels said. "They asked who was playing well, and with Corvo going down I told them Rodney was our best power play guy. But with them heading on the road, I think they wanted more defense [and went with Harrison and Carson]."

One defenseman who hasn't suited back up yet is hard-luck Casey Borer. Borer broke one of the vertebra in his neck in the Feb. 19 River Rats bus crash, a horrifying incident that Daniels said everyone involved has tried to move on from.

Borer underwent surgery on his neck Sept. 22, and Daniels said the resulting scar is a reminder about what happened on the Massachusetts Turnpike.

"He's still a ways away," Daniels said of Borer. "He can't do any contact right now. But he's skating and happy to be back out there with the team. Taking the first hit — that'll be his next hurdle."

* * * * *

The River Rats — who have won four straight and are 5-0-1 in their past six — return to action Friday at home against Hershey, the first of three games in three nights. They then host providence Saturday before wrapping up their busy weekend at Hartford.

Jerome Samson leads the team in scoring (11-12-23 in 27 games), followed by captain Patrick Dwyer (11-7-18 in 22 games). Justin Peters (9-5-2, 2.23 goals-against average, .923 save percentage) and Mike Murphy (5-6-0, 2.74, .919) continue to share the load in net.

For more on the team, visit their Web site or check out The Infestation, a great blog dedicated to the team.

Jiri (NSFW) Tlusty

1967ers — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 22:16:57 -0000

You know Stumpy and Rusty and Grabbo and Killer,

Tiger and Teeder and Frodo and Giller.

But do you recall

The most famous nickname of all?

Jiri the NSFW

had a very famous pose

and if you ever saw it,

well, it was you and about 10 million other people.

It says something about the age we live in that the defining moment for a first-round draft pick was not a particular goal or a memorable play but instead the social networking gaffe of a lifetime. Appropriately, his exit from the Leafs was similarly documented on Facebook. Rumour has it (it was on a radio phone in show, so it has to be true) that his profile page was full of statements about how he never got a chance here and how he was going to come back and burn the Leafs. Jiri, apparently, has learned something because

"Jiri only shares certain information with everyone."

Truly, his stay in Toronto was not without value.

I jest, of course. Like pretty much every other pick the Leafs ever make, particularly first-rounders, I had high hopes for Jiri. I was pretty pleased that he played most of a season as a teenager and I kept figuring that eventually he'd bust out and really show something.

Apparently, I now have to wait for it to happen in Albany.

I had sort of figured that since they'd gone to the trouble of trading for him and reuniting him with Paul Maurice, they'd at least give him a sniff with the big club. This may happen, but just not yet.

As for the song, I probably could have taken it further, but I had sort of painted myself into a corner where the only things I could think of were themselves NSFW. It would have been a fitting tribute, but not for today. I leave that to the rest of you.

Goodbye and good luck, NSFW. I'm really going to miss that nickname.

---

This would be about as good a moment as old NSFW had in a Leafs uniform:

Jiri's stats (NSFW):

2001-02	HC Kladno U17	CzR-U17	1	0	0	0	0
2002-03	HC Kladno U17	CzR-U17	48	28	17	45	22		10	5	4	9	12
2003-04	HC Kladno U17	CzR-U17	1	0	0	0	2		1	0	0	0	2
2003-04	HC Kladno Jr.	CzRep-Jr.	51	10	3	13	12		1	0	0	0	0
2004-05	HC Kladno Jr.	CzRep-Jr.	42	15	12	27	54		10	2	2	4	8
2004-05	Czech Republic	WJ18-A	7	3	0	3	2
2005-06	HC Kladno Jr.	CzRep-Jr.	6	4	2	6	2		6	7	6	13	6
2005-06	HC Rabat Kladno	CzRep	44	7	3	10	51
2006-07	Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds	OHL	37	13	21	34	28	+1	13	9	8	17	14
2006-07	Toronto Marlies	AHL	6	3	1	4	4	+2
2007-08	Toronto Maple Leafs	NHL	58	10	6	16	14	-12
2007-08	Toronto Marlies	AHL	14	7	11	18	8	+10	19	2	8	10	8
2008-09	Toronto Maple Leafs	NHL	14	0	4	4	0	0
2008-09	Toronto Marlies	AHL	66	25	41	66	26	+11	6	1	2	3	2
2009-10	Toronto Marlies	AHL	19	8	7	15	4	-7
2009-10	Toronto Maple Leafs	NHL	2	0	0	0	0	-2
2009-10	Albany River Rats	AHL	1	0	0	0	0	0
	NHL/Leaf Totals		74	10	10	20	14	-14

- Traded to Carolina by Toronto for Pierre Paradis, December 3, 2009.

the HHOF take on Jiri (NSFW):

"Jiri Tlusty was born March 16, 1988 in Slany, Czech Republic. The first round, 13th overall selection of the Toronto Maple Leafs in the 2006 NHL Entry Draft, Tlusty honed his skills in his homeland with HC Kladno in the Czech Republic Junior League.

A proven goal scorer, Tlusty competed in 2005-06 with Klado and tallied seven goals in 40 games before he arrived in North America. In 2006-07, Tlusty played six games with the Leafs' AHL affiliate, but spent the rest of his time with the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds in the Ontario Hockey League. After a stellar regular season and an outstanding playoff with the Greyhounds, Tlusty would dress for 58 games of the Maple Leafs 2007-08 season. "

via img42.imageshack.us

Canucks-Hurricanes Preview: Gee, Nice Start Time...

Sean Zandberg — Sat, 05 Dec 2009 02:00:16 -0000

Probably the only good thing going for the Hurricanes these days.

View full size photo »

10:29 PM ET Update: WAKE UP YOU FILTHY BUGGERS!

Dan Murphy just tweeted the following: "Aside from Raycroft, no line-up changes expected today. Hansen likely to stay on 2nd line."

**************************************

GAME TIME: 10:30 AM PST

TV: Sportsnet

The Opposition: Canes Country

Like Jason Botchford mentioned in the Province today, it was about a year ago that Roberto Luongo played in a morning game (pacific time) against the Penguins. He wrecked his groin on that fateful day. I don't think that plays a role in Andrew Raycroft getting the start against the Canes. Louie has played in 10 straight games, and has a 6-4-0 record in that span, along with a shiny 2.01 GAA and a .929 save percentage.

Raycroft's last start was not very pretty. On November 10th he started a game against the Blues and allowed 4 goals on 13 shots in the first period and was yanked. The Canucks admitted that they hung Raycroft out to dry in that game. They had also just come off a 5-day layoff and were not sharp. Now, with a healthy roster and less days off, the Canucks are kicking some serious ass on this road trip.

So, what on earth is wrong with the Hurricanes?

They have been without Cam Ward since November 7 due to a leg injury. In the 15 games with Ward in the lineup they had only won 2 games. Up to his injury, Ward and his mates had lost 10 straight games. Even so, his numbers were not terrible, according to ESPN.

Since the Ward injury, the Hurricanes have gone with the goalie tandem of Michael Leighton and Manny Legace. In those 11 games they lost 8. Manny Legace will start against Vancouver. Carolina has had 4 days off.

	GP	MIN	W	L	T	EGA	GA	GAA	SA	SV	SV%	SO
2009 - Manny Legace	8	465	2	4			25	3.23	227	202	.890	0

If you take a look at the Hurricanes' scoring leaders you can see many glaring problems. Tuomo Ruutu is leading the team in scoring with 6 goals and 16 points in 23 games. Rod Brind'Amour is a -19! Eric Staal..where did you go? 3 goals and 9 points in 17 games. He won't stay that lousy forever. Their highest scoring d-man is Joe Corvo with 4 goals and 12 points in 27 games played. He is a -10. Edit: He's also injured.

Will Chad LaRose and/or Jussi Jokinen play?

I wonder how well newly-acquired Jiri Tlusty will fit in.

Let's look at the comparative stats:

-The Hurricanes sit last in the East and the NHL...8 points behind the Leafs! Yikes!

-The Canucks are trying to get into the top 8 in the West and are almost there.

-Goals Per Game Average: Canucks 5th, Canes 30th

-Goals Against Per game Average: Canucks 7th, Canes 30th

-5 on 5: Canucks 5th, Canes 30th

-PowerPlay: Canucks 3rd, Canes 29th

-Penalty Kill: Canes 20th, Canucks 21st

-Shots Per Game: Canes 9th, Canucks 13th

-Shots Against Per Game: Canucks 11th, Canes 16th

-Faceoff %: Canucks 9th, Canes 22nd.

Should be an automatic win, right? Nope. That depends on how lightly the Canucks take these guys. They have to go out there and pretend those guys are wearing Devils jerseys.

Friday Links: That. Just. Happened. Edition.

averagejoe — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 11:00:25 -0000

More photos » by Paul Sakuma - AP

Hugs for everyone! (AP Photo/Paul Sakuma)

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After last night (this morning?), I'm contemplating naming my first-born child Carlo. Boy or girl.

Blues news

The Blues really did win. Seriously. [St. Louis Post-Dispatch]
You stay classy Evgeni Nabokov. The Sharks goalie blames Marc-Edouard Vlasic for not blocking Carlo Colaiacovo's shot. [San Jose Mercury News]
The Blues stopper line is playing a lot, but not more than it should. [St. Louis Post-Dispatch]

Hockey news

Lots of games on Thursday. Here are the results. [Yahoo! Sports]
Friday night will be kinda quiet around the league. [Yahoo! Sports]
Brendan Shanahan will be joining the NHL front office. [National Post]
It's official: the Blackhawks have signed Toews, Kane and Keith. [ESPN]
The Second City guys reflect on the Big 3 signings. [Second City Hockey]
Jonas Gustavsson has heart surgery. [ESPN]
Matt Moulson gets his first career hat trick. [TSN]
Preparation for the Winter Classic is underway. [TSN]
Jiri Tlusty, famous for showing his dong on the internet, has been dealt to the Hurricanes. [TSN]

Other links

Can you believe that people tried to use comic books to sell shit to kids? OH YEAH! they did. [Cracked.com]
Here is a Web site devoted to single-purpose Web sites. Need the Price is Right sound? Go here. [Urlesque]
Christmas light we can all appreciate. [Tosh.0]
The guy who writes Comcast descriptions enjoys his job. [WTF Comcast]
What did Craig do before his massive list-site? [Users]
Chruch signs are sometimes funny. Mostly because of vandals. [Manofest]

Video

This video may not be for everyone and it's very NSFW (language) but it made me laugh.

This video, is for everyone. Enjoy.

Poor College Student has the weekend shift. gametimelinks(at)gmail.com

I Need a Cigarette...

blurr1974 — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 10:00:27 -0000

Last night was amazing. Was it good for you? It was good for me. So good. I've heard the commercials. "Call a doctor if it lasts for longer than 4 hours" but ya know what? I'm not calling any doctor. Call me crazy, but I want this feeling to last as long as possible. Maybe even through Saturday...?

Also, I think I finally figured out what has caused Jonas Gustavsson's elevated heart rate. This Phil Kessel guy has got mine racing. Ya ya ya, Likely fan shot already. And, ~~I know it's available as a t-shirt because I already bought one~~ (communist on line corporations are such buzzkills. Likely's working on a means to get this done, stay tuned...). So if you don't like it, maybe you're dead?

Giggity.

Would you like to feel the elation from last night all over again? Ya, me too. How about some recaps then? There's a plethora of them around the Barilkosphere: FiftyMissionCap, JaredFromLondon, Dr. Steve, the MLHS gang and The Hockey News.
Apparently Burke traded somebody named Jiri Tlusty. Never heard of him personally, but some folks have. Steve, HockeyCentric, TSM, MLHS (with two different posts) and Toronto Mike.
It's Friday and that means youTube Yoinkage for everyone!
The Vintage Leaf Memories reminisces about Dick Duff.
Puck the Media has some predictions for the landscape of televised sports with Comcasts' purchase of NBC.

Poll

My opinion of the Phil Kessel trade...

Acquisition Of Jiri Tlusty: More To It Than What’s Been Said

Cory Lavalette — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 08:29:16 -0000

The Carolina Hurricanes cannot hit the reset button on their 2009-10 season, but perhaps their newest player can get a reboot on his career.

Jiri Tlusty, who was acquired from Toronto Thursday for 2009 first-round pick Philippe Paradis, knows the pressures of playing in Toronto as well as nearly anyone.

As a rookie in 2007, he found himself in the middle of a media maelstrom over some racy photos that accidentally made their way on to the Web. The Toronto tabloids had a field day, splashing some of the pictures on their front pages. He never really outran those 200-point headlines in Toronto. In coming to Carolina, he will not only get the chance to shake away his rough introduction to life in the NHL, but will likely be afforded more of a chance than he ever received with the Maple Leafs.

With four days off between games, many thought Hurricanes GM Jim Rutherford would be wheeling and dealing to try to shake up his team, be it for the future or the present. What no one expected was for Rutherford to deal the player he selected in the first round less than six months ago for an unproven — albeit talented and promising — 21-year-old former 13th overall pick.

Tlusty has played parts of three seasons with the Maple Leafs, but has spent most of his time with the AHL’s Toronto Marlies. The Czech-born forward is not an unknown to the Hurricanes — coach Paul Maurice was the bench boss with the Leafs when the teenager played 58 games in the NHL in 2007-08, registering 10 goals and six assists in less than 11 minutes a night. As for Paradis, we hardly knew ya — he was in Raleigh for prospect conditioning camp this summer and gone just a few months after joining the organization.

Both Rutherford and Toronto GM Brian Burke gave their respective reasons for the move, but in both cases there is much more than meets the ear.

Burke told the Toronto Sun that Tlusty was unable to perform despite repeated chances at the NHL level, while Rutherford said acquiring him gave the team a prospect further along in his development and closer to contributing.

Rutherford has, at times, shown an impatience with the development of prospects. But not this time. It's clear this move is about one — or more — of three things:

Carolina realized they missed the mark with Paradis and wanted to cut their losses before his value was diminished.
Rutherford has had his eye on Tlusty for some time and, with Paradis struggling with Shawinigan, saw an opportunity to get a player he coveted. Look no further than the acquisitions of Justin Williams and Tim Gleason as examples of Rutherford targeting a player and, eventually, getting him.
This is the start of something bigger.

As for Burke, it's tough to understand how he could claim Tlusty was given a fair shake in Toronto. Yes, he got a 58-game showcasing in 2007-08. But, as mentioned earlier, he was just a teen and not afforded much ice time. Since then, Tlusty's chances have been limited. Last year he played just 14 games, nine of which came before Burke joined the Leafs. In a five-game January recall, Tlusty had four assists — including three Jan. 15 6-4 Toronto win at the RBC Center — in around 13 minutes of ice time. This year he played two games the end of October, going pointless in about 12 minutes a night. That's seven games Burke saw Tlusty in the Leafs blue and white.

With the Marlies, Tlusty has been dominant at times, scoring 43 goals and 60 assists in 105 AHL games. Want more proof? He was the AHL’s player of the month last February, registering a staggering 12 goals and 11 assists in just 11 games, including this five-goal effort:

But with Phil Kessel in the fold — at the cost of first-round picks the next two years, with next year’s looking like a top-three choice — Burke has little use for a skilled forward who doesn't bring the pugnacious style he prefers. Does Paradis provide that? Time will tell. Paradis can certainly be characterized as a project, probably closer to five years from getting an NHL shot than one or two. More than anything, this is about Burke restocking his cupboards with young talent that doesn't need to be paid (Tlusty will be an RFA at season’s end), something the team is lacking because of the Kessel deal and pre-Burke wasting of draft picks. Paradis also adds size, which Burke loves and he's sorely lacking up front on his current roster that sports its share of sub-six foot players.

For his part, Tlusty isn't undersized — the Hurricanes list him at 6 feet, 209 pounds, roughly the same size as Tuomo Ruutu — but he definitely is more of a skill player than Paradis, who was projected as a third-line, gritty forward heading into last year's draft. Tlusty, as Rutherford said, has the skill set to play among the top-six.

For now, Tlusty is expected to join the AHL’s River Rats. But with Rutherford searching for deals that can help reshape his team going forward, Tlusty’s chance should come sooner rather than later.

Picture that: a chance at redeeming yourself.

* * * * *

Trade Me Toronto .... PLEASE!

Since 2000, the Leafs have dealt away five of their seven first-round picks (only the last two, 2008’s Luke Schenn and 2009’s Nazim Kadri, have survived), with the Leafs coming out on the wrong side of all five.

2000: Brad Boyes, 24th overall — The Leafs dealt Boyes, Alyn McCauley and a first-round pick (2003, became Boston defenseman Mark Stuart) for Owen Nolan. Nolan played just 83 games in two seasons with the Leafs, getting just 26 goals and 34 assists. Boyes, now with St. Louis, had a combined 76 goals and 132 points the past two seasons.
2001: Carlo Colaiacovo, 17th overall — The Leafs gave up on the injury-proned defenseman just more than a year ago, sending him and Alexander Steen (more on him in a second) to St. Louis for Lee Stempniak. Colaiacovo has been much improved in St. Louis, getting five goals and 33 assists in 79 games since the deal. Stempniak has 16 goals and 26 assists in 87 games.
2002: Alexander Steen, 24th overall — Steen hasn't thrived in St. Louis, but when you couple him with Colaiacovo, it's another clear loss for the Leafs. Steen has seven goals and 19 assists in 72 games with the Blues.
2005: Tuukka Rask, 21st overall — Rask was traded to Boston at the following year’s draft for Andrew Raycroft. Rask has become the clear successor to TIm Thomas in Beantown (he is 7-2-2 with an impressive 2.02 goals-against average and .930 save percentage this season). Raycroft fizzled out in Toronto, then Colorado, and is now the backup in Vancouver.
2006: Jiri Tlusty, 13th overall — Traded Dec. 3, 2009, to Carolina for Philippe Paradis.

* 2003 first was part of the Boyes deal; 2004 first was part of a package that sent to the Rangers for Brian Leetch; 2007 first was part of a package sent to San Jose for Vesa Toskala and Mark Bell