Jason Blake has had a hell of a time since he showed up in Toronto last season, he signed a huge contract and scored 15 goals for the season, the fans in Toronto were not happy. I read the Toronto Star sports page on a semi regular basis and the fans in Toronto are huge Jason Blake fans. I just hope they took into account that Blake had cancer last season, from reading some of the comments posted by fans it appears that they didn't. Last night Blake had a hat trick (2nd goal) and (3rd goal). Lastly, its nice to see Blake get the best of his former coach.
Suddenly a Leaf team that was poised to snap a four-game losing skid plunged back into the miserable hockey it had so desperately tried to erase.
On the bench, though, there was no letdown. Every player kept supporting the guy sitting beside him, right through the worst of it. Then Tomas Kaberle cranked home the game-winner on a power play.
Blake notched an empty-netter to complete his hat trick. That goal also bent the spotlight back toward him, and to the issues that have surrounded his time in Toronto.
The point was raised last night that he is a "different" player than he was last season, when he signed a five-year, $20 million (U.S.) free-agent deal, but followed up a 40-goal season in 2006-07 with just 15 under then-coach Paul Maurice.
He now has 13 goals ? tied for second on the team ? but admits that he was the problem, not Maurice.
Training camp was not quite over in September 2007 when Blake stunned the hockey world with news that he had been diagnosed with a rare form of leukemia. With the aid of a super pill, he would play through the ailment, but it was clear he wasn't the high-scoring winger the Leafs had hoped for. (Read the whole story here)
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