Salt on Wednesday

We here at Salt on Monday were having such a grand ol’ time celebrating Canada’s celebratory day that we ended up not putting forth our usual Monday Salt. However, we have for you instead, Salt on Wednesday!!!

(That’s the good thing about Salt. It is always ready to be spread any day of the week.)

Let’s start by saying fare thee well to one of the most iconic heroes south of the border, Captain America.

The Marvel Comic empire has decided to kill off it’s erstwhile symbol of the American nation in an attempt to mirror the sense of division and turmoil in The US of A. While I don’t think that killing off a fictional character is ever truly worthy of grief – after all, the fictional character can easily be resurrected, since the laws of science don’t exist in the minds of the writers who dream up heroes who can fly and shoot webbing out of their wrist – it must be noted that the good Cap’n never got to realize the potential that he was destined for.



Originally conceived as a propaganda tool to push the Americans into WWII – like many comics of that era – Cap’n never got the popular support of his DC rival Superman. Losing out every Halloween to Superman in costumes sold, and having a straight to video movie instead of a 5-movie franchise with a theme song that is embedded into the psyche most people on this continent, the good Captain was probably put out of his misery. After all the view from second place is the rear end of the front runner, and after 40 plus years of looking at Superman’s butt, you gotta think that Cap said ‘no mas’.


But don’t fret Cap’n lovers as it turns out that Marvel has killed off and resurrected the hero no less than twelve times and Salt thinks we haven’t seen the last of America’s favourite runner up.

I digress.

As JFJ turns….

It must be hard to operate as a NHL GM in the biggest hockey market on the planet with only a series of one year contracts as security/leverage.
But our JFJ is doing it.
Salt is no longer on the bash the GM wagon. We see that the corporation formerly known as the Toronto Maple Leafs is stringing along their GM with a series of one year deals while openly casting around for an old hand to guide their Hockey operations.

If that isn’t a recipe for a Stanley Cup run then I don’t know what is.



But to his great credit, The AmaZing JFJ has managed to sign a REAL winger for Mats Sundin without paying stupid Ranger money, and found a REAL goaltender to replace Raycroft.
Jason Blake – JBLOCK muh***ckker!!! – is 34 but has only been in the NHL for 8 years. So he doesn’t have the usual wear and tear of a fourteen-year NHL veteran. What he does have is s.p.e.e.d and you can bet that Mats and Thomas Kaberle will be looking to hit him on the fly all season. The AmaZing JFJ also managed to pay him four million rather than the Rangeresque type of deal that makes me wonder what the lockout was all about.


( How can you pay Chris Drury and Craig Janney, uh, I mean Scott Gomez seven million dollars over five and seven years? I mean is there any sense in locking up players who won’t be of much use during the playoffs – and weren’t this year? At least now Bobby Holik won’t be remembered as the worst signing in recent Ranger history. But is anything as crazy as paying Todd – the Animal – Bertuzzi eight million dollars over two years? Brian Burke is bullet proof right now isn’t he.
I am sure that Steve Moore is going to get a deal at least twice as big as that as soon as his head stops spinning.)