the telephone rings and joffrey lupul, who normally answers, doesn’t.
A message is left but it is not returned.
An agent who has represented him on occasion hasn’t heard from him in months.
some say the injured maple leaf is in california. Some joke that he is stashed somewhere on what is now called robidas island, the place where fallen leafs go to disappear.
What isn’t funny is this: Quite likely, at the age of 33, after 701 nhl games, lupul has played his last game. Unless there is some quirky salary cap financial reason to do so, he won’t be traded on wednesday. His contract expires at the end of next season. He won’t be claimed in the las vegas expansion draft even though his salary dips to $3.7 million (cap hit is still $5.2 million).
The leafs have paid him this season and will pay him next season to go away and not be heard from. Essentially, they have bought his silence.
in august, the last time i spoke with lupul on the phone, he told me he wanted to play. He still considered himself a hockey player. He sounded enthusiastic. He wasn’t ready for retirement. I think it’s the last interview he gave on the subject.
At his absolute best, lupul scored 103 points in a 110-game span with the leafs over three seasons. That shouldn’t be forgotten in this year that he has been pushed away.
This and that
lupul’s career highlight other than being chosen for an nhl all-star game: He scored nine goals in the playoffs as a 21-year-old with the anaheim ducks ... asked a pro scout about lupul. His answer: “it’s become a very fast league, he’s not a fast player.”