Remember in the film The Terminator, when Arnold Schwarzenegger took a stroll through a police station with a pair of assault rifles, and proceeded to casually mow them down? Toronto Maple Leafs GM Cliff Fletcher is doing the same thing to his club's roster right now.

Over the past week, Goaltender Andrew Raycroft, and forward Kyle Wellwood were put on waivers; the preliminary step towards buying out a player's contract. Fletcher granted the Montreal Canadiens exclusive negotiating rights with soon to be UFA Mats Sundin, effectively putting an end to that era, and today placed forward Darcy Tucker on waivers... again taking a step towards his eventual buyout.

Kyle Wellwood was claimed off waivers by the Vancouver Canucks yesterday. Rumors have been swirling around defencemen Bryan McCabe and Pavel Kubina regarding their status with the team, and there is a very good possibility that Fletcher is not done yet.

Really no big surprises. Following the trade deadline in February, the Leafs attempted to move everyone, but all of the players exercised their no movement clauses, handcuffing Fletcher... till now. The buyouts, trades, and shake-ups were expected, and the gutting of this roster has begun. The Leafs will be a very different looking club come fall.

The Ottawa Senators also did what most expected and bought out the contract of their goaltender Ray Emery. Emery was the focus of much of the alleged turmoil within the Senators locker room that eventually saw their coach fired, their team collapse, and the Penguins sweep them in a quick four games in round 1. Emery is now eligible for unrestricted free agency next week on July 1st. He did lead his club to the Stanley Cup Finals a year ago, so the talent is obviously there.... along with the attitude. Defenceman Wade Redden who also had a disastrous season is not expected to be playing for Ottawa next year and could have a new home by next week as well.

The Tampa Bay Lightning made a nice move and signed their captain and franchise player Vinnie Lecavalier to a long term contract today. The new deal would keep Lecavalier in black and blue for the remainder of his professional career and pay him $77 million over the next 9 years. I can't wait to see him and Steven Stamkos breathe life back into this club. I'm sure their new head coach Barry Melrose is very pleased at the toys he has in his sandbox.

Your friend on ice,
Captain Bosh