If you want to be paid like Jonathan Toews, Grabo might want to consider playing like Jonathan Toews. Who were the other three for whom firsts were offered, and how high would they have been?

On a related matter, your trade target poll elsewhere on the page includes Eric Staal. Where in the world is that coming from?

One thing about shorthanded situations that I've never understood...when a team is shorthanded, and gets a delayed penalty, during which time the team on the power play scores, the shorthanded team gets its man out of the penalty box and the delayed penalty is wiped out. And just to make things more complicated: if the NHL decides not to make the shorthanded team kill the entire two minutes even if a power play goal is scored, why not make the offending player stay in the box the entire two minutes (or longer, until the next whistle), thereby depriving his team of his services for the length of the penalty? Or why not let the player out of the box if his team scores a shorthanded goal, thereby rewarding a shorthanded team that tries to add some more excitement ot the game?

But on whom can they spend that money? Can they sign Brad Richards? Will they package their first rounders with cap space, taking bad contracts off someone's hands in order to get a centre as part of the deal? The UFA crop doesn't look particularly attractive.

Looking at this with increasingly superficial interest, unfortunately, I tend to see the Raptors as a team full of promising young players and a veteran or two who would fit nicely into the top eight or nine players on most teams, but would not be among the first two in talent on that team, more likely not the first three. You're right that they need stars, desperately need to land one in the draft this year, but whether one's out there as a free agent despite all their cap room is debatable.

Valid points --- more impressive young goalies flame out than become dependable or superior goalies --- but how will anyone know which Reimer will be, if Bryzgalov is playing 55 to 60 games a year? Burke's rebuild is a gamble in so many ways, and Reimer is a part of that, as are the three other young goalies the team has. Yes, goalkeeping is essential, but until and unless Reimer and the other three all turn out to be abject failures, the priority needs are up front, especially at centre.

Without getting carried away after nine games, Reimer is one of three goalies the Leafs have with terrific minor league numbers. It's been a while since anyone could say that, or at least say that without watching those goalies rushed to the NHL too soon or traded away. A few weeks ago, I saw Reimer give up three goals in the first 22 minutes here in Winnipeg. He's going to have bad games, inevitably, but he, Scrivener, and Rynnas have to be seen as positives so far.

When Aulie played for our world juniors, he looked solid. Anyone who plays for those teams should be worth a long look. No, he's not Larry Robinson, but he's a keeper. Look at it another way --- when does Calgary ever not give up far more than it receives in trades? If the Flames are willing to dump him, Aulie must be NHL-calibre.

Richard, I didn't ask about steroids. I asked what I thought was a reasonable question -- where does a career year come from? I cited examples from the 50s through the 90s of players who for one year exceeded significantly their career performances, and asked how that happens. Instead of answering my question, you took a very common political approach and instead answered a question that hadn't been asked. I'd still very much like to know just what it is that comes together when an athlete has a season far unlike any season before and after.