Search
Posts Tagged ‘Francois Beauchemin’
As free-agency day nears, Brian Burke has many options on his plate.
When hockey fans gather and think of all the possibilities in the summer, they usually only think of the usual options: free agents.
Look for Burke to make one or two interesting moves around the start of free agency that can occur.
In my opinion, these are moves that are very intriguing.
Nikolai Kulemin
As much as I love Nikolai Kulemin, why not let a team make an offer sheet on him. If it’s a bit too high the Leafs will get the picks they need for the next draft that they don’t currently have.
If not, sign him—he’s the best all around player the Leafs have had in years.
Grabovski for Savard
Grabovski for Savard, rumours have been swirling for days now. Will it happen or not? Might have to wait till around July 4 to see if it does.
In my view, Beauchemin is overrated; hopefully he can be a part of the trade to seal the deal.
Bring in Valuable Role Players, with Great Experience
John Madden fits in perfectly, he’d be great for the third line center, can do everything you need a strong bottom six player to do, and can pitch in as a top six in case of injuries.
Then there’s Willie Mitchell, a good piece of the puzzle as top four d-man—great defensive player for a team who really needs it.
Both would be great in the dressing room, add to the leadership where the Leafs currently lack, and are lower in salary with Madden’s age and Mitchell’s injury riddled past season.
Free up Salary
Lastly, if the Leafs put Finger’s salary in the minors, and move out Beauchemin and Grabovski while adding Savard, Mitchell, and Madden, it would still leave plenty of room to add a strong offensive player.
I hope the Leafs don’t bite on Kovalchuk, or Frolov, as they’re both only capable of scoring, and nothing less. Whatever they’ll receive would be overpayment.
Look for Kovalchuk to receive over $9 million and Frolov roughly $5 million.
Either would be fine in the blue and white but both are at least $1.5 million more then I would want to use the salary cap on.
So the plan would be to fill in a top six role player with a younger player (like Stalberg), which is fine with me.
The other option is to fill it with an older player for a season or two. Why not add a Kariya, or Demitra for just under $4 million for a season, or a underrated Scott Walker or Fedotenko for $1.8 million per year for two seasons?
There’s always still Marek Svatos for about $2.5 million. Or maybe even a trade for an RFA (like Wheeler or Ryan?) These are all great options.
All in all, Leaf fans will be eager to hear what their team has done, and don’t be surprised if you don’t see many free agents signed.
If anything, at least stay tuned to see who will win the Kovalchuk sweepstakes.
Read more NHL news on BleacherReport.com
- Read More
- Comments Off
With another NHL Entry Draft in the books, the Maple Leafs now need to set their focus on what is next, free agency. After watching the Leafs miss the playoffs again, it is becoming increasingly hard for Brian Burke and the Maple Leafs management to lure top notch free agents into coming to play for the Maple Leafs.
With that being said, the Maple Leafs may need to take a different route to improving their roster once free agency begins this time around. On July 1, not only do contracts expire, but the trade freeze lifts as well.
Aside from Tomas Kaberle, the Maple Leafs have many players that may be a good option when looking to complete a trade. Jeff Finger, Mikhail Grabovski, Jean-Sebastien Giguere, and even Luke Schenn and Viktor Stalberg are just some of them.
Schenn is still a very young player who has only played two seasons in the league. Even though he struggled through parts of last season, his career has not been completely tarnished. He is still being looked at all around the league as a good young defenceman, who is still growing, but is also playing in a pressure packed market.
He still has good trade value as well. In fact, during TSN’s coverage of the 2010 NHL Entry Draft, Brain Burke was interviewed and said that he was offered a first round draft pick for a defenceman that was not Tomas Kaberle. It would not be a stretch too assume that defenceman was Luke Schenn.
Schenn will not be able to grow as a player as well as he would be able to in a city like Columbus or Anaheim. Neither one of those cities are that focused on hockey, and both of the teams need defence.
With the retirement of Scott Niedermayer, the top three defencemen on the Anaheim Ducks are now Lubomir Visnovsky, Aaron Ward, and James Wisniewski. From there, there is a significant drop in the talent level in their defence.
Columbus is home to Rostilav Klesla, Fedor Tyutin, Kris Russel, Jan Hejda, and Mike Commodore. All five of them are talented defenceman, but none of them are one of the league’s best. Luke Schenn is not one of the National Hockey League’s best defenceman, but he would be a great addition to a defence corps that could prove to be a little better than average next season.
Viktor Stalberg is another young player that the Maple Leafs drafted and now have playing for them in the NHL. The only differences between Schenn and Stalberg are that Schenn was drafted 5th overall and Stalberg was drafted 161st overall. Schenn began playing in the NHL right after he was drafted while Stalberg took time to develop. Schenn is a defenceman and Stalberg is a forward.
Viktor has blinding speed and is not afraid to show it. He also knows how to score and make plays, but he was a bit of a disappointment this season. Whether it was the coach, the fans, or the players around him, Stalberg could use a change of scenery.
Schenn had a very impressive rookie season, where Stalberg struggled during his. After a very exciting and extraordinary pre-season, Stalberg went on to tally just nine goals and five assists while registering a minus-13. He does still have potential, however.
When put together, Schenn and Stalberg could bring a second round pick in next year’s Entry Draft and a prospect. If not that, than they could also draw a mid-aged, top-six forward who could bring a scoring touch to the Maple Leafs, which we all know they need.
Speaking of a top-six forward with a scoring touch, Marc Savard could be an option. Savard is a player who a lot of people see as being a top line centre, like he has been for the Bruins for the last four years. The 32-year-old was also Phil Kessel’s line mate and play maker when Kessel played for the Bruins.
If Schenn and Stalberg were both being sent to Boston in a trade that saw Savard come to Toronto, than the Leafs would obviously want another player or draft pick(s) as well. One or more draft picks would work out better than another player because it would be less of a blow to the Leafs’ salary cap space.
Some people would mention that you could get another player if you threw Tomas Kaberle into the trade. There are a couple problems with that though. Kaberle, also 32, would be very unlikely to draw in a player that is 24 or younger. Also, if they were to keep Kaberle in Toronto, than you would have a solid group of veterans that also includes Mike Komisarek, Francois Beauchemin, and Jamie Lundmark, assuming he is re-signed. The average age of those five, Kaberle, Komisarek, Savard, Beauchemin and Lundmark is only 30.2, meaning that even your veteran leadership is still relatively young, not to mention Dion Phaneuf, the 25-year-old captain.
If the Leafs were to trade Kaberle to Boston, than they would be taking away from a good core group of players to build around for the next five years or more.
Keep Kaberle, not Schenn and Stalberg.
Be sure to check out Buds In Blue by going to www.mtrmedia.com/mapleleafs for even more in depth analysis. You can also follow Buds in Blue on Twitter @BudsInBlue for even more up-to-date information on your Toronto Maple Leafs!
Read more NHL news on BleacherReport.com
- In: Uncategorized
- Tags: Francois Beauchemin, nhl, Opinion, Toronto Maple Leafs
- Read More
- Comments Off
The Toronto Maple Leafs Year In Review
3, Jun 2010Recapping the 2009-10 Toronto Maple Leafs season and a look at next year by those who know the Leafs best, LeafsWire.ca
- In: Uncategorized
- Tags: Chris Neil, Colton Orr, Dion Phaneuf, Francois Beauchemin, Fredrik Sjostrom, Guest Writers, Ian White, Jamal Mayers, Jean-Sebastien Giguere, Jerry D'Amigo, Jesse Blacker, Jonas Gustavsson, Keith Aulie, Kenny Ryan, Matt Carkner, Matt Stajan, Mike Komisarek, Mikhail Grabovski, Nazem Kadri, nhl, Niklas Hagman, Phil Kessel, Tie Domi, Tomas Kaberle, Toronto Maple Leafs, Wade Belak
- Read More
- Comments Off
With the Stanley Cup final currently on, you may be thinking that it is a little early to be predicting line combinations for next season, but why not go ahead and do it?
After another disappointing season for the Toronto Maple Leafs, it will be another offseason surrounded with questions and rumors. With that being said, the Maple Leafs are going to need to make a lot of changes…big changes.
Those questions and rumors will be floating around many players, including Tomas Kaberle.
It will be very interesting to see what the Maple Leafs decide to do with Kaberle. There have been many suggestions as to what the Leafs should do with the talented defenseman, like trading him for prospects, keeping him, or trying to gain a top-line forward to play alongside Phil Kessel.
A great example of trading Kaberle for a top-line forward would be if they were to trade him and another player like Nikolai Kulemin or Brayden Irwin for a player along the lines of Patrick Sharp. Now, of course they would have to fill the void of Kaberle on defense, so they would also need to pick up someone like Brian Campbell or Nick Boynton.
If they were to trade him for prospects, then they would have many more options. They could also pick up a first round pick, if they were to take on a prospect of less caliber.
Many people would be quick to say that Bobby Ryan would be a great fit for the Leafs, and he is. The only problem is that a team like the Maple Leafs would have a hard time putting together a deal that the Anaheim Ducks would accept to acquire Ryan, due to the lack of talent on their roster.
Jean-Sebastien Giguere is another one of the Leafs’ veterans whose Leafs career is in jeopardy this summer, due to the young goalies coming up in the Maple Leafs system. If Giguere does stay with the Maple Leafs, than that will cut back the number of starts that Jonas Gustavsson gets.
Giguere would not bring as much talent back to the Leafs in a trade as Tomas Kaberle would, since Giguere is older and is not as consistent as Kaberle.
Many other rumours will be tagged on the Leafs this summer, including the futures of Wayne Primeau, Mikhail Grabovski, Viktor Stalberg, Rickard Wallin, Garnet Exelby, Jeff Finger, and Mike Van Ryn.
Ron Wilson’s job is supposedly safe, now that general manager Brian Burke has said it is.
After all of the transactions, signings and waiver claims you can think of, here is what the Toronto Maple Leafs’ lines will look like at the beginning of the 2010-2011 season.
Forwards
Line Player Player Player
1 Slava Kozlov Tyler Bozak Phil Kessel
2 Luca Caputi John Madden David Clarkson
3 Viktor Stalberg Nazem Kadri Nikolai Kulemin
4 Christian Hanson John Mitchell Colton Orr
Defense
Line Player Player
1 Dion Phaneuf Francois Beauchemin
2 Andy Sutton Luke Schenn
3 Mike Komisarek Mark Giordano
Goalies
Player Player
Jonas Gustavsson Jean-Sebastien Giguere
Healthy Scratches
Jamie Lundmark, Fredrick Sjostrom, and Jeff Finger.
As you can see, there are a lot of changes to the lineup.
Tomas Kaberle, Garnet Exelby, Mike Van Ryn, Wayne Primeau, Jay Rosehill, and Rickard Wallin will no longer be part of the team. Jeff Finger will remain with the team due to his massive contract that no other team will be willing to take on.
Andy Sutton will be acquired via free agency, while Mark Giordano will be acquired in a trade that will see Tomas Kaberle go to Calgary. Calgary will be a great fit for both Kaberle and the Maple Leafs because he will have been traded out of the Eastern Conference and he has many old Leafs teammates in Calgary.
Nazem Kadri will play in the National Hockey League next season. David Clarkson and John Madden will both be signed out of free agency in the offseason. Clarkson is a Brian Burke type player, while John Madden will bring a veteran presence.
Last, but most certainly not least, is Slava Kozlov. Kozlov will be another one of the three major free agents signed by the Leafs. He will also bring a veteran, top-six forward presence to the dressing room who definitely knows how to score goals.
The Leafs will not get that play making top-line centre that they need for Phil Kessel to feed off of, however they will still have Tyler Bozak, who showed great potential in 37 games last season.
Brayden Irwin will begin the season in the minors and will be likely to stay there for development purposes.
With a great mixture of young forwards and great potential, the Maple Leafs could very well be a force to be reckoned with next season.
Be sure to check out Buds In Blue by going to www.mtrmedia.com/mapleleafs for even more in depth analysis. You can also follow Buds in Blue on Twitter @BudsInBlue for even more up-to-date information on your Toronto Maple Leafs!
Read more NHL news on BleacherReport.com
- Read More
- Comments Off
The debate about whether the Eastern or Western Conference is better is still going on. The Maple Leafs are trying trying to be the team that makes everyone say it is the East, as is every other team.
The Maple Leafs have something that a lot of teams do not have: a great mixture of skill and youth.
The Maple Leafs are the youngest team in the league and did not show it during the stretch run last season. The Leafs went 11-6-4 during the stretch run and were one of the most exciting teams to watch.
Now, you cannot compare the Maple Leafs to a team like the Washington Capitals or San Jose Sharks, because the Leafs are not that good and the teams are built completely different.
Nevertheless, the Maple Leafs have a great combination of speed, skill, and youth. Tyler Bozak is one of the best little-known young players in the entire National Hockey League, while Luca Caputi was impressive in his first half-season with the Leafs. Christian Hanson, who is a great penalty kill and third or fourth line type player, is another one of those young and talented Buds.
Dion Phaneuf, Francois Beauchemin, Tomas Kaberle and Mike Komisarek are known as some of the best defencemen in the East. Phaneuf was absolutely outstanding for the Leafs, while Beauchemin and Kaberle both suited up for all 82 games last season, scoring 26 and 49 points respectively. Unfortunately, we did not get to see much of Komisarek. He was injured only 34 games into the season.
That is not all of the Maple Leafs talent that helps make the Eastern Conference better.
We all know about Phil Kessel, the 5′11″ right winger out of Madison, Wisconsin. Kessel lived up to expectations in his first season with the Leafs, scoring 55 points (30 goals, 25 assists) in 70 games, and will be expected to surpass those statistics during the 2010-2011 season.
With Boston, Kessel scored just 18 points in his rookie season, before being diagnosed with testicular cancer. Kessel won the battle against the cancer and eventually returned to the Bruins for the 2007-2008 season, where he played all 82 games, scoring 18 points. Kessel then broke out during the next season, scoring 36 times, while adding 24 assists.
Too go along with one of the best management duos in hockey , the Leafs also now boast one of the best goaltending duos in hockey.
Jonas Gustavsson is still learning, but he had a solid rookie season and has a good veteran to learn from , Jean-Sebastien Giguere. In 42 games, the Monster went 16-15-9 with a goals against average of 2.87 and a save percentage of .902.
Giguere, the veteran, saw his stats improve by a lot once he came to Toronto. His final goals against average was 2.85 and his final save percentage was .907.
The Leafs do not make the Eastern Conference the better conference, but any team with the likes of Komisarek, Gustavsson, Kaberle, Kessel, Bozak, and Beauchemin certainly improves where they play, and that is exactly what the Maple Leafs have done.
Statistics: mapleleafs.nhl.com
Be sure to check out Buds In Blue by going to www.mtrmedia.com/mapleleafs for even more in depth analysis. You can also follow Buds in Blue on Twitter @BudsInBlue for even more up-to-date information on your Toronto Maple Leafs!
Read more NHL news on BleacherReport.com
- Read More
- Comments Off
The World Championship Hockey tournament is usually the last thing you want your favorite players to be a part of. It simply means your team isn’t playing for the “big mug.”
For the Maple Leafs, a team currently on the rebuild, the extra hockey really shouldn’t do any harm.
From mapleleafs.com ;
“It was a good start at the 2010 World Championships for some of the Leafs’ players.
Jonas Gustavsson was in net for Sweden as they defeated Norway, 5-2, in their first game. Gustavsson turned aside 19 Norwegian shots, while Rickard Wallin recorded two assists in the win.
Defenceman Carl Gunnarsson continued to carry over his strong play as he played 17 minutes and was a plus one in the win.
Nikolai Kulemin played almost 13 minutes for Russia in their 3-1 win over Slovakia, recording one assist on Maxim Afinogenov’s opening goal.
Mikhail Grabovski had a strong weekend as he had one assist and played a team-high 22 minutes in Belarus’s 5-2 win.
Two Leafs’ were held scoreless in their opening games.
Francois Beauchemin saw 13:44 minutes of action in Canada’s 5-1 win over Italy on Saturday. Christian Hanson played almost eight minutes as the U.S. lost 2-1 to Germany on Friday.”
___________________
It’s good to see a few Maple Leafs still on the ice this spring. There really can’t be enough hockey for these guys to play if they really want to improve.
As key players, Beauchemin and Kulemin will garner the most spotlight of the Leafs participating. At least that’s who I’ll have my eye on the most.
Francois Beauchemin is wearing an “A” for the Canadian squad, and with any luck he can possibly talk Steve Stamkos (a “self admitted Leafs fan”, according to TSN this morning) into coming to the mecca.
A man can dream, right?
Hopefully this is the last time these Leafs players play in the World Championship for a while.
Email maplestirup@gmail.com
Read more NHL news on BleacherReport.com
- Read More
- Comments Off
The Toronto Maple Leafs have plenty of options this off-season & imaginations can run wild with all the deals that could happen.
These are all the deals that I would try and get it done if I was Brian Burke. Note that I am not saying that these will happen, but if I was Brian Burke, I would do exactly what I have written below.
Starting Cap Space: $3.352
Trade 1 Cap Space: $3.189
Trade 2 Cap Space: $1.089
Release/Sent Down Cap Space: $9.114
Re-Sign Cap Space: $4.214
Trade 3 Cap Space: $4.142
Trade 4 Cap Space: $4.167
Free Agency Singings Cap Space $2.667
TRADE 1
To Anaheim To Toronto
Tomas Kaberle (D) ($4.250) Bobby Ryan (RW) ($1.922) (RFA 2010) (Sign) To ($4.900)
John Mitchell (C) ($0.487) (RFA 2010) 2nd Round Draft Pick (2010)
Jerome Flaake (LW) (PROSPECT)
Matt Frattin (RW) (PROSPECT)
TRADE 2
To Philadelphia To Toronto
Mikhail Grabovski (C) ($2.900) Jeff Carter (C) ($5.000)
Juraj Mikus (D) (PROSPECT)
Ben Scrivens (G) (PROSPECT)
Joel Champagne (C) (PROSPECT)
RELEASE/SENT DOWN: RE-SIGN:
Wayne Primeau (C) ($1.400) Nikolai Kulemin (LW) ($2.000)
Rickard Wallin (C) ($0.800) Mike Van Ryn (D) ($2.900)
Jamie Lundmark (C) ($0.600)
Garnett Exelby (D) ($1.725)
Jeff Finger (D) ($3.500)
TRADE 3
To Los Angeles To Toronto
Fredrik Sjostrom (RW) ($0.750) Wayne Simmonds (RW) ($0.822)
Kenny Ryan (RW) (PROSPECT)
Jamie Devane (LW) (PROSPECT)
Gregg Scott (RW) (PROSPECT)
TRADE 4
To Philadelphia To Toronto
Christian Hanson (C) ($0.925) (RFA 2010) Darroll Powe (C) ($0.520) (RFA 2010) (Sign To $0.900)
5th Round Draft Pick (2010) Eric Wellwood (LW) (PROSPECT)
Free Agency Signings:
Matt Cooke (LW) ($1.500)
Forwards:
LW C RW
Nikolai Kulemin(22) Jeff Carter(25) Phil Kessel(22)
Viktor Stalberg(23) Tyler Bozak(24) Bobby Ryan(23)
Matt Cooke(31) Nazem Kadri(19) Wayne Simmonds(22)
Luca Caputi(20) Darrell Powe(24) Colton Orr(27)
Defense:
LD RD
Dion Phaneuf(24) Francois Beachumein(29)
Mike Komisarek(27) Mike Van Ryn(30)
Luke Schenn(20) Carl Gunarsson(22)
Goalies:
Jonas Gustavsson(25)
Jean-Sebastien Giguere(32)
Read more NHL news on BleacherReport.com
- Read More
- Comments Off
“Defense wins championships.”
That is a very famously known quote that flies around the world in all of sports, largely and virtually first known as a football quote.
If you examine the Montreal Canadiens in the NHL 2010 Stanley Cup Playoffs and the run they are having, the majority of the success they have been having in this postseason is significantly thanks to their defensive end (Hall Gill, Jaroslav Spacek, P.K. Subban) and goaltending (Jaroslav Halak).
Should the Boston Bruins go on to the conference finals, which it seems like they will as they currently hold a commanding three to one lead over the Philadelphia Flyers in the Eastern Conference Semi-Finals, they will have their blue-line and goaltending to thank (think Tukkaa Rask, Zdeno Chara, Johnny Boychuk, Dennis Wideman).
As for the Toronto Maple Leafs, defense and goaltending has unfortunately and quite annually been a weak point in their depth chart for a fair amount of time now. Whether it was Brian McCabe, Carlo Colaicavo, Pavel Kubina, Hal Gill, Jeff Finger, Vesa Toskala, or Andrew Raycroft, the Toronto Maple Leafs back end was one of the worst in the league year after year.
If we go back to the years before the NHL lockout, the years where I like to recall as the “Golden Years” for the Maple Leafs, statistics show that when their defense was fairly solid, the team was very solid.
In the 2000-2001 regular season, the Toronto Maple Leafs averaged 2.52 goals against per game, which was ranked a solid 11th in the league. Their penalty killing that season was ranked 10th in the NHL at 84.9 percent. That same season the Toronto Maple Leafs finished 15th in the NHL and made the postseason.
In the following season (2001-2002), The Maple Leafs GAA was ranked at 13th in the NHL and fifth in the Eastern Conference, at once again 2.52 GAPG. Their penalty killing was ranked 16th at 84.4 percent. The Leafs were just one of three teams to achieve 100 points in that regular season, finishing an astonishing third place in the NHL.
In the 2002-2003 season, the blue and white blue line was once again holding their ground finishing at a solid 2.54 GAA (10th in the NHL). Their penalty-killing improved and it finished at 86.6 percent, which ranked them at an excellent third place in the league, behind Anaheim and New Jersey, which were ironically the two teams that would meet in the finals that season.
Funny how things work, the two best defensive teams in the NHL meet in the finals—now that is living up the quotation of “defense wins championships.” New Jersey was ranked first by the way (they won the Stanley Cup that following season). The Leafs finished ninth in the NHL season.
In 2003-2004, the Toronto Maple Leafs saw a decrease in defensive numbers, they finished at a solid 2.49 GAA (15th in the NHL). However, they had a 83.4 percent penalty killing rate and finished 20th in the NHL in that department in that season. The teams would make the playoffs finishing a rather very solid fifth in the NHL.
Those were the “Golden Years” and once the NHL lockout came in effect, the after-effects certainly did not favor in the Leafs direction.
In 2005-2006, the Leafs began what was going to be the next worst five seasons for the defensive system. They finished a below average 3.21 GAA and sat at 21st in the NHL for that category. Their penalty killing was at 80.0 percent (24th in the NHL). The Toronto Maple Leafs would go on to miss the postseason that following season.
The next season (2006-2007), the Maple Leafs finished 25th in the NHL at GAA (3.20 GAA) and an awful 78.5 percent penalty-kill, which ranked at 27th in the NHL.
In 2007-2008, it kept getting worse. With Andrew Raycroft not living up to his expectations, the Maple Leafs faltered at 3.12 GAA for 27th in the NHL. As for their penalty-kill, it was an embarrassing worst in the eastern conference and 29th in the NHL (78.1 percent), ahead of only the Los Angeles Kings by just one decimal.
Come 2008-2009, the Toronto Maple Leafs hit a league low, averaging 3.49 goals against per game, which was 30th in the NHL, dead last. Their penalty-killing was also last place at 74.7 percent. This was the year that Vesa Toskala failed to prove that he can be a No. 1 goalie in the NHL.
As for this season, the Toronto Maple Leafs GAA did improve, by just one rank—they went from 30th to 29th in the NHL in GAA this season at a finishing result of 3.21 GAA. The penalty-killing ended up being once again a league worst at 74.6 percent.
The only up-side to this season’s defensive statistics is the final month or two of the regular season, when Brian Burke landed defensemen Dion Phaneuf and goaltender Jean Sebastien Giguere at the end of January.
The Toronto Maple Leafs played a total of 26 games since the acquisition of Dion Phaneuf and Jean Sebastien Giguere. In those 26 games, they had a total record of 13-10-3. They allowed in 67 goals over those 26 games, averaging a solid and steady 2.57 GAA.
Over the last 26 games the Toronto Maple Leafs have played, their defensive core group has mainly consisted of Luke Schenn, Tomas Kaberle, Dion Phaneuf, Francois Beachumein, Garnett Exelby, and Carl Gunnarsson. Not to mention that Mike Komisarek was out with injury during this time.
If you add the plus/minus rating of Schenn, Kaberle, Gunnarsson, Phaneuf, Beachumein, Komisarek, Exelby, and Finger, the defense of the Toronto Maple Leafs plus/minus rating is an un-acceptable -46.
However, reviewing the final two months, when Dion Phaneuf became a Leaf, and when Jean Sebastien Giguere became a Leaf, their penalty-killing immensely improved, their goals against average largely improved, and their overall record improved and was three games above .500 Percent.
With the Maple Leafs defense expected to be much more stable next season seeing that Luke Schenn had one of the biggest turn-around of any Leafs player this season (about the half-way point of the regular season), and Carl Gunnarsson being one of the best rookie defensemen in the NHL this season, the Leafs will have a good mixture of veterans, and young guys to complete a big and tough blue-line for next season.
Should the defensive core work at a solid and steady and consistent pace next season, with the addition of Jean Sebastien Giguere and Jonas Gustavsson in between the pipes in net, it could very well be the reason the Toronto Maple Leafs make a splash in the NHL standings and surprise more then a few people.
Read more NHL news on BleacherReport.com
- Read More
- Comments Off
It is extremely early but, it’s always fun to predict and especially with Toronto.
Trades, players, statistics, will they make the playoffs? Their are plenty of possibilities to happen for Toronto in the up-coming off season. Like if all the Bobby Ryan/James Neal/Patrick Sharp rumors are true. Or how will Nazem Kadri do in his rookie season?
It will all be answered right here, right now.
- Read More
- Comments Off
This off-season is gauranteed to be a busy one for Brian Burke and the Toronto Maple Leafs.
I’m sure Burke will bring in plenty of new faces to join the roster for next season. However, he’s going to have to move quite a few players in order to do that.
I am predicting that 8 Players will leave the Toronto Maple Leafs this season, and these 8 players are….
- Read More
- Comments Off
This years World Hockey Championships will take place primarily in Cologne Germany from May s7th to 23rd although there are also venues in Mannheim and Gelsenkirchen.
This 2000 year old city is home to some of the worlds most popular events including the Cologne Carnival.
Cologne boast a population of over one million residents but annually hosts in the neighborhood of around 110 million day guests.
This years tournament will not likely draw close to that number but still holds promise for Leafs fans everywhere as there will be no less than five Toronto Maple Leafs players participating in this years tournament.
There have been plenty of Leafs representing their countries on the world stage over the teams long history, most notably of course is former captain Mats Sundin who played in a total of six World Championships and one Winter Olympics helping Sweden to a total of four Gold, two Bronze and one Silver medal over the course of his career.
While these five players have a long way to go before they can think of eclipsing tose numbers, this year will be a good start.
- Read More
- Comments Off