As mentioned today on Raking Leafs, Mariusz Czerkawski has been waived by the Maple Leafs. I can't help but think that he could have been put to better use this season. Sure, he scored a paltry 4 goals in 19 games, but he also never really got a chance to play several games in a row, to try and find his stride (if, indeed, it was to be found). Quinn "experimented" with him on Sundin's wing - notice the quotation marks, since said experiment never lasted very long. If the two had been able to drum up some chemistry together they could have been a force, a la Sundin and Mogilny, while Chad Kilger or Darcy Tucker could have played Gary Roberts' old role on left wing; Wellwood could have even played the left side for some more creative playmaking.

What's done is done, though, and the Leafs have finally shaken free of the overwhelming burden of Czerkawski's $500,000 salary (note the sarcasm). There are three reasons he could have been waived:
-John Ferguson Jr. is trying to honour Czerkawski's wish to play where he is wanted, hoping another team will pick him up; after Thursday he still will not have a place in the lineup, so there was no point in delaying the inevitable
-Ferguson has already tried including him in potential trades as a deal-sweetener, and it didn't work, so he was therefore totally useless
-the Leafs GM is shaving the payroll a bit, clearing the deck for a couple of deadline moves

Apparently Toronto is not cleaning house, because the relatively cheap Pole could have filled a hole at forward in the event that the team was just riding out the rest of 2005-06. All the best to Czerkawski, for whom the lockout never really ended. I'm sure he'd rather forget that this season ever happened.

Whether the Leafs make the playoffs or not, their future does not look bad at all, now that Ferguson has beefed up their scouting again. Brendan Bell will make his first NHL appearance against Montreal tonight, giving the Buds five rookie defencemen who have all seen icetime with the big boys this season. Add the eventual arrival of Justin Pogge and/or Tuukka Rask, and things look good on the back end, while Alex Steen and Kyle Wellwood will need some more help up front in order for this team to become a scoring threat again.