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Tucker urges fans to lay off McCabe


Joe O'Connor , CanWest News Service



Published: Tuesday, October 16, 2007
TORONTO - He did not commit murder.
But he did leave behind a smoking gun, a damning piece of documentary evidence shot Monday night in Buffalo.
Bryan McCabe was already a marked man around Leafs Nation; a scapegoat with a fat salary that fans at the Air Canada Centre have been targeting for boos since the beginning of the season for his various defensive crimes and misdemeanours, both real and imagined.
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And then in a blur it happened in Buffalo: McCabe, the Toronto Maple Leafs' whipping boy, whipped the puck into his own net with 3.7 seconds remaining in overtime, giving the Sabres a 5-4 win.
The own-goal is every defenceman's nightmare. But McCabe had already been living a nightmare of catcalls and noxious comments from the crowd.
Darcy Tucker, McCabe's close friend in the Leafs dressing room and his roommate on the road, came to the defenceman's defence Tuesday, saying it was time for Leafs Nation - and the local media - to leave him alone.
"I always find it somewhat ridiculous, that (the fans) booed (former Leaf) Larry Murphy every time he touched the puck, and how many Stanley Cups did he leave here and win (with Detroit)?" Tucker said after practice at the Lakeshore Lions Arena.
"I am sure that the reporters in this town wrote all kinds of crap about Larry Murphy, and I just find it oddly ridiculous that it happens, and you know what, (McCabe) plays as hard as anyone on this team.
"And I know him personally and really well, and he is a character guy and a family person. He takes it to heart when he goes on the ice. And I find (the booing) hard to understand, but such is the business we are in."
There was a time not so long ago when McCabe, much like Tucker or Toronto captain Mats Sundin, was one of the chosen few among Leafs players, a focus of adulation for a fan base that can turn the likes of tough guy Tie Domi into a civic icon. McCabe's signature moments from the Air Canada Centre often featured a cocked stick, a feathered pass from Tomas Kaberle and a quick blast from the point. Afterwards, the McCabe smile, and perhaps a fist pump, and elicited delight from the home crowd.
McCabe scored a career-high 19-goals in 2005-06. He was a candidate for the Norris Trophy, and a wealthy man after signing a five-year, $29 million US contract with the Leafs in the summer of 2006.
But the happy days have been replaced by hard times.
"I'm sure (the booing) bothers him," Tucker said. "I'm sure it doesn't make him feel good. And it really bothers me that people keep saying, 'Well, he makes this much (money).'
"Well, you know what, he still goes home to his wife and his daughter and has a family."
McCabe did not speak with reporters after practice Tuesday. But Tucker did, and what irked him the most about the abuse being heaped upon his teammate was that some of the language he heard in Buffalo was personal, instead of professional.
"I went home last night and thought about them, and I can't believe that people can go on like that," Tucker said. "What bothers me the most was it was guys wearing Maple Leaf jerseys. And that's the hardest thing to take."
Tucker declined to offer any concrete examples of the curses. But McCabe is not the only Leaf familiar with the fans derision. Andrew Raycroft, the victim of McCabe's gaffe in Buffalo, has heard just about everything from the ACC crowd.
"Between Bryan and I, we get booed more than probably the entire league," Raycroft said. "We are not going to fight it. There is nothing that we are going to do about it."
The goaltender was asked if the negative comments planted negative thoughts in a player's head.
"It is so far out of our control," Raycroft said. "People pay to come, and cheer and boo and pay their money. They can do whatever they feel the need to do."
National Post



So do you guys agree with Tucker or the fans.??

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