The Comedic Nature of Trade Rumours

This is the season of rumours. The Stanley Cup final is winding down, with the Los Angeles Kings holding the New Jersey Devils by the scruff of the neck. 28 other teams are patiently waiting for the games to stop and the  trade negotiations to start flowing. The draft is upcoming and after that the free agency period.

Before delving into that, I want to temper down the expectations of those that believe everything they read. There is the infamous Eklund, who publishes enough trash to make anyone's head spin. Besides him, there are many more who look to deceive.

Here are a few amusing rumours that I compiled. Sorry, if I missed any classics, there were just SO many to go through!

1) "The Bruins might be on the verge of trying to deal Vezina Trophy Winner Tim Thomas" (Bruce Garrioch)

This particular rumour came from Ottawa Sun's Bruce Garrioch. This audacious rumour was made in February 2010. Bruce, at the time stated he had talked to a few executives who said Tim Thomas was on the way out.

What makes this a horrible rumour? How about the fact Thomas stayed and won the cup with the Bruins, the next year? Thomas had just signed a contract with the Bruins and due to a few iffy months became trade bait in the eyes of journalists. Boy was Garrioch off on this one despite being vague to insure credibility!

2) "Stephen Weiss is being traded by Florida Panthers" (RDS)
     "Details are Sketchy..." (Darren Dreger)

You know you are going to cause a frenzy when a player like Weiss is named. Even more so, when Darren Dreger provides back up to the initial rumour. At that point, everyone was starting to name potential teams and shoving crazy trades down each other's throats.

What ended up happening? The only trade made that day by Florida was Cory Stillman going to Carolina for a pick and Ryan Carter. As for Stephen Weiss, Tallon said there was no trade ever in place. In fact, he's still wearing a Florida jersey in 2012, more than a year later. Yikes.

3) "Cammalleri to be traded for one of Bobby Ryan, Ryan Getzlaf or Corey Perry" (Radio Station: Montreal CKC)

Yeah. Don't have to say much about this beauty. Three top tier players, the so called "big 3" being torn apart to add Micheal Cammalleri of all players? Whatever was being smoked by the people at the radio station must have been good stuff.

What ended up happening? Nothing. Michael Cammalleri wasn't traded until a full year after this trade rumour came out.

4) "Rick Nash + Kristian Huselius for Mikail Grabovski, Luke Schenn, Nazem Kadri & Mike Komisarek" (Bill Watters)

This was a trade announced by Bill Watters as pretty much done. People thought Bill Watters has connections with Columbus, so might be in the know. A reasonable position to hold considering he was a GM at one point (how he got the job, I don't know) so his word held some weight.

What ended up happening? Rick Nash is still in Columbus. Grabovski, Schenn, Kadri and Komisarek are still in Toronto. Brian Burke came out the next day and said he had not even spoken to Scott Howson about  Rick Nash at that point. From what was at one point a done deal, became something that wasn't even talked about between the two GMs. Shocking.

5) "Corey Perry for Cory Schneider + Mason Raymond + Keith Ballard" (Patrice Brisebois)

Yes, another trade rumour involving Corey Perry. I suppose that is what you get for playing in an unappreciated market, Corey. Patrice Brisebois came out with this stunner and said a few Canucks told him "he will be joining us soon".

What ended up happening? None of these players changed teams. I wonder which Canucks, Brisebois was talking to. Must have been yanking his chain or he was pulling these out of his anal cavity.

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As you can see, trade rumours come and go. No one should be fully trusted, not until multiple reliable sources have confirmed a piece of news. They are great for discussions, but please learn to take them with a pinch of salt. Just some advice before happy hour comes around again and we see some more shocking trade rumours.

Evgeni Malkin for Mike Komisarek, anyone? Wouldn't be surprised to see someone pick up on this and post it on twitter. This is the world we live in now.

Luke Schenn's Time to Shine?

Luke Schenn has had it rough.

Selected 5th overall by the Toronto Maple Leafs in 2008, he was expected to become a high class shut down defence man for the team. Everything was going according to plan (even ahead of plan) at the beginning as he made the team right away. Not a tough thing to do considering the abysmal quality of defenders, the Leafs had at that point in time.

He put up a good rookie season, which increased the hype. Since, then it has been an up and down, turbulent type of situation for the young man. Emphasis should be placed on YOUNG because too many people are treating him like a washed up veteran defender, who can't hold a stick any more.

Let's have a look at his stats up to now.

2008-09 -- 2g, 12a & 71 PIMs
2009-10 -- 5g, 12a & 50 PIMs
2010-11 -- 5g, 17a & 34 PIMs
2011-12 -- 2g, 20a & 62 PIMs

It has been a pretty static type performance offensively. He has stayed around the same region in terms of points. The majority of his critics have not pinpointed his offensive game, but his defensive game. There were far too many mishaps by the young defence man over the year. It got so bad at one point, Ron Wilson was benching him for major chunks of games.

A big fall down for a young man who was being called a possible #1 defence man after his first year.

Here is where my opinion comes into play. Ron Wilson's system was that of a run and gun style and he was never shy to express this. There was minimal structure to the defensive side of the game, some of which was his fault and the rest being associated to his assistant coaches.

Randy Carlyle will assist in tightening up the defensive aspect of things. His system once implemented fully will go a long way in improving Schenn's game. Luke Schenn has always shown signs of strong play, the talent is there, it just has to come out now.

A better goal tender will help, as well. Will Burke fix things on that side? Only he knows what direction the Leafs are heading in net.

However, Schenn will have to put in the hard yards to improve his skating. This is a young man with a lot of years ahead of him (health permitting). Don't give up on him just yet!

Marlies Go Down 2-0 in Series

The Marlies powerplay went 1 for 4 in today's game against the Norfolk Admirals. A minor improvement over yesterday's catastrophic performance on the PP.

The result, however was the same. The Marlies lost 4-2 to the Admirals putting them down two in the series and looking down the barrel.

The effort was not to be questioned, the Marlies put in a better performance. Unfortunately, there were a few too many errors along the way that cost the team. They were unable to sustain any sort of defensive hold on the Admirals, who continuously brought the action to Scrivens' crease. A ploy they were determined to maintain throughout the game.

After the Admirals' went up on the Marlies quickly with a goal by Panik. Colborne finally got the power play going with a sniper like one timer that whizzed past Tokarski.

This was all the pressure the Marlies could maintain. The Admirals slowly but surely kept chipping away with their sustained pressure approach. The speed of the Admirals was constantly on display and it gave problems to the Marlies' defenders all game. Gardiner, a defenceman highly talked about had a thoroughly unsatisfactory game as he was left clueless on a few occasions.

The Admirals kept putting goals past Scrivens until it was 4-1. Picard, Segal and Smith were the goal scorers for the three goals. The defensive zone coverage was no where to be found, too many gaps that were constantly exploited by the Admirals.

Juraj Mikus was able to squeak a goal in and the score went to 4-2. However, by this time it was only a consolation prize as the Admirals were well and truly home.

The Marlies now have three games at home in a row as the AHL playoff setup goes 2-3-2 in terms of home games. The next game for the Marlies is on Thursday at the Ricoh Coliseum.

Alexander Galchenyuk | Player Profile

The Toronto Maple Leafs will have the 5th overall selection in the 2012 NHL Entry Draft. Nothing to scoff at by any means, in terms of positioning to pick a high calibre player.

I will be providing a little glance into some of the prospects within the Leafs range. Shuffling occurs at the draft all the time, so this is simply an educated guess of who would be available. For all we know, Brian Burke could be wheeling and dealing his way into 1st overall or out of the first round! 

The first prospect I will have a look at is Alexander Galchenyuk.

Name: Alexander Galchenyuk

Position: Center

Height: 6'0''

Weight: 198 lbs

Age: 18

The Maple Leafs' Director of Amateur Scouting had this to say about the young man, yesterday. A positive comment that bodes well for his chances of being picked by the Leafs.

“He obviously looked he was in pretty good shape,” Morrison said. “You know, he looked like a kid that’s worked hard. He’s built himself up pretty good.”
Source: The Star

Galchenyuk has been a victim of injury. Suffering a horrid knee injury as the season just got under way set him back, almost knocking him out for the entire season. He was able to come back for the Sarnia Stings' playoff run. Putting up 2 goals and 2 assists in 6 games played. An average showing for his known ability, but understandable considering his injury.

Strengths


* Immense skater with the ability to make skating at high speeds look effortless
* NHL quality wrist shot, tremendous release
* Hockey IQ is through the roof, able to read plays before they happen
* Sound defensive game

Weaknesses

* Knee injury is a major concern (could chip away at his speed)
* At times caught trying to do to much on his own

NHL Comparison

Looking at his skill set, there is no better comparison than Marian Hossa. The player his agent, Igor Larionov compared him to. Both players play the same style of  game, just smart and effective hockey with high end offensive potential.



The Leafs would be incredibly lucky to find him available at the number 5 spot. This is the same player who would have been pushing Yakupov for the top spot, if he had remained healthy last season. There is no doubt that he will be an effective player as long as he stays injury free. A worry that many will have.

Toronto Marlies Lose Game 1

Shocking isn't a fair word to describe the power play unit's performance. They went 11/11 in not doing a good job with the man advantage.

Norfolk walked all over them.

The goal scorers for the Norfolk Admirals were Cory Conacher, Tyler Johnson and Brandon Segal (empty net). Carter Ashton was the lone scorer for the Marlies as someone finally got something past the solid Dustin Tokarski.

Without the services of Nazem Kadri, Mike Zigomanis and Matt Frattin, the lack of offensive power was visible. These three make a key part of how the Marlies work their offence and Eakins was always going to have a hard time working things out.

The Marlies will now be playing on tomorrow in game 2. Can they step things up?

Lindback? The Forgotten One

Anders Lindback.

The 24 year old, 6' 6'' backup goal tender for the Nashville Predators. A man who has become lost in the shuffle behind one of the finest goal tenders in the league, Pekka Rinne. Sure could use that guy on the Leafs, huh?!

There is enough reason to understand that Lindback won't be sticking around for long. The Nashville Predators won't hold him for long either.

This is where the Leafs come in. Fans will not want to choose this as an option and understandably so. No one wishes to bring in another young goal tender to Toronto. We have had enough dealings with the unseasoned goal tenders of the world, now the fans just want a good ol' veteran. Someone like a Luongo or Vokoun if things don't work out with Luongo.

This blog post stems from Pierre Lebrun's segment on TSN concerning Lindback and the Leafs. This is what he had to say...

Two goalies I believe are on the radar for the Toronto Maple Leafs in their quest to upgrade their goaltending are veteran UFA-to-be Tomas Vokoun and young Nashville backup Anders Lindback (RFA on July 1).

Pierre Lebrun is obviously a trusted source and one who will get people talking. This is why Anders Lindback is the main topic of this post.

The Maple Leafs choosing him as an option would be a dire move. A move out of desperation more than anything else. He is a young goal tender that requires a lot more seasoning, he has only played 22 games at the NHL level.

A lot of question marks surrounding him.

Roberto Luongo to Leafs?

These are the murmurs coming out from  "sources".

BREAKING: can confirm Roberto Luongo will be traded to the Toronto Maple Leafs. Deal will be completed by draft, if not July 1. #Canucks

This was the tweet made coming from a source that has called trades before.

Unfortunately, with the way Leafs rumour mongering goes, you can't believe anyone except the top sources. It is best to keep calm until the trade is done and delivered because it usually comes back to bite everyone in the butt.

 Roberto Luongo will be a great fit for the Maple Leafs. There is a definite need for an elite goaltender, one that can get the job done in all situations. There are some unwarranted reservations when it comes with Luongo's play. I can assure you, his play will not be the issue, if he is truly being dangled by the Canucks.

 The only issue revolves around his contract. He is already 33 years of age and there are many years left on the contract. This is a negative no matter what a Canucks fan might say. It might not warrant a cheap low ball offer that Leafs fan are accustomed to suggesting, but it won't be CHEAP.

 His contract is laid out like this.

 Annual Cap hit = $5.333 Million 

  2012-13 to 2017-18 - $6.714 million 

  2018-19—$3.382 million. 

  2019-20—$1.618 million. 

  2020-2022—$1 million. 

 The contract has a few years tacked on at the end that might be considered (cap circumventing). This is probably a fair statement on the part of Canuck fans, but it is a hindrance. One that will devalue Luongo's trade value regardless of what anyone says. Those extra years have to be taken into consideration. When Mike Gillis was asked about whether he was mulling over a Luongo trade today, he replied with the following...

“I haven’t contacted anyone with respect to Roberto at all,” said Gillis on Thursday. “I’ve had people call me and ask about him and I’ve told them that we haven’t made any decisions at all about the future of our goaltending. And that’s absolutely the truth. Source: The Province

This is a legitimate statement, now whether he is bluffing or not, only GMs would know. It is only fair to trust his word over that of a source in Vancouver. Will Luongo come to Toronto? No clue, this is going to be a LONG wait. He might even end up staying. Elite goal tenders are not let go of this easily, even if there is a Schneider type back up.

Phil Kessel Trade Review

I have waited to let the whole trade sink in before writing about it on TML Nation. The Leafs have given away two first rounders and a second round pick but have gotten an excellent youngster in return. Brian Burke is known for making big moves as he likes to show he’s intending to ice a competitive team right from the get go. There will obviously be a lot of talk about the disadvantages of this trade but there are many advantages that make me drool due to the skill level of Kessel.

So what kind of player did we get with Phil Kessel? We just acquired a guy who can skate extremely fast and if you were impressed with Stalberg’s speed in the first preseason game you haven’t seen anything yet because Kessel is even faster. Speed is not the only factor in his game because he possesses one of the most accurate and quick shots in the league. There is a reason he is called a sniper and that is due to his knack for putting the puck in the back of the net. Kessel is a prolific dangler and he can make many high class defensemen look seriously amateur at times. The prospects of him being there on our first line is exciting and definitely makes me want to get the November when he is back in action after his injury.

There has been talk of his rotator cuff injury diminishing any advances he has made in the past three years. I think that Burke would have looked into this with great attention and we should trust them in this aspect of the trade. The other major argument by critics has been the fact that Kessel doesn’t have anyone to feed him the puck like Savard did for him in Boston. I think that’s a silly statement to make because you always need someone to finish the goals off. It’s not as if Kessel was always standing at the side of the net and tapping in passes from Savard. I personally believe you could put anyone with Kessel and he will excel due to his top class abilities as a sniper.

Many people have started assembling their first line now that we have Kessel. I see him playing with Blake and Hagman on the first line because these two will compliment his game quite well. Jason Blake is extremely quick and will be able to skate at Kessel’s pace causing both of them to have a great time especially when the chemistry between the two develops. I put Hagman there because he makes things happen and his vision on the ice is underrated big time. He makes sweet passes that go undetected by fans and that’s unfortunate. If they decide that Hagman is not the right guy they could possibly put someone like Stajan up there on the first line but I don’t see that happening.

All in all this is going to be an interesting season with the arrival of Kessel. Obviously no one will be cheering for the Leafs to do bad this year and I have to thank Burke for that. I was getting sick and tired of tank nation and now Burke has buried that for a while.

4-3 Leafs Beat Pens

We had a game today?! Barely anyone noticed the game because everyone was too busy thinking about Phil Kessel and the trade to bring him over to Toronto. The game was a good one for the Leafs as they beat the Stanley cup champions at their house, 4-3. Obviously, the Penguins were playing an extremely weakened team with Malkin being the only superstar on the ice unless you want to count Fleury as well.

The game seemed to be getting out of hand early on as the Leafs kept taking silly penalties which even led to two goals. The penguins seemed to be playing with extreme confidence in that first period but sadly for them they came out flat in the 2^nd period. The Leafs cashed in on four power plays and turned the game upside down in a few minutes. There was a little fight back from the Penguins at the end but they really were out and the idea of them making a comeback was not looking promising. They had a few opportunities that were easily denied by Macdonald who seems to be quite a goalie and would have made a fine backup for Toskala if we didn’t have Gustavvson already.

John Mitchell stood out today with his all round game. He did all the little things right and made us appreciate his work ethic and ability to understand the game so well on the ice. He also chipped in with a nice goal that certainly capped off his night with a little style. He was one of my favourite leafs last season and he seems to be heading in the right direction this season as well. Ron Wilson will certainly be looking to put him on the ice quite often due to his ability to do everything with ease.

Jason Blake who was playing in his first game of the preseason came back into action as if he never had gone away for the summer. He was skating with the same intensity as he would in a regular season game and he was all over the Penguins with his speed and agility. They didn’t know how to handle him and he created quite a few chances. Now with Phil Kessel becoming a Leaf many fans will be drooling at the prospects of Blake and Kessel lining up together. The speed of that line will make many opposition defenders cry before and after the game.

Ron Wilson coached a good game and the approach to penalty killing has impressed me this pre season. They are much more attacking in the way they go about killing penalties. Last season, we would all see the Maple Leafs hanging back for the opposition to carry the puck into the zone or to dump it in. In the three games we have seen so far they have jumped right on the puck carrier in the neutral zone which has left the opposing puck carriers confused and in a little shock causing turnovers. The foot speed of some of the Leafs is astonishing and perhaps the new bikes in the gym should be complimented.

Overall , it was a good game and wins are wins no matter what time of the year they come. I hope the Leafs continue developing and become a force to reckon with this season.

Leafs Lose Nail Biter

There was no television coverage of this game but I had a few relatives who went to the game and gave me some inside scouting on the players in today’s game. The Leafs unfortunately didn’t come out on top in this encounter with the Bruins by losing in overtime, 6-5. There was some excellent hockey played by the Leafs although they made some silly mistakes that cost them the game in the end.

James Reimer was a tad disappointing and seemed to be extremely nervous or some would even to as far and say lazy. He seemed to be struggling to save the easy ones and made them look extremely difficult. There were signs that he was flopping around and not totally aware of the angles he was supposed to cover. I am going to give the kid the benefit of the doubt and say that he just had a bad day in the office with nerves playing a role as well.

Christian Hanson was on top of his game today, he scored a hat trick and that certainly made him the best player on the ice. Although he did some of the little things very well today and that seemed to aid him in finishing off a couple of those goals. Christian Hanson was supposedly superlative on the boards today and won quite a few battles that would make Burke grin sheepishly with delight. He certainly will be getting some attention now from Burke and Wilson in regards to an opening night roster spot that he covets so dearly.

Nazem Kadri was quite good and did a lot of things well today. He chipped in with a goal as well which certainly doesn’t hurt his confidence going into the season. He was much better then yesterday and seems to be improving day by day. He showed some flashes of brilliances that got the crowd excited and his dangling ability is quite good when it comes off. There is the “Hog” element to his game that might irk some fans and coaches but he’ll get better once he notices that passing is noticed as well.

Tyler Bozak got on the score sheet as well, his goal was the best of the game as he let go an absolute bullet from the faceoff circle. Obviously he should be one of the better players on the ice in this tourney as he’s amongst the oldest attending, but still the talent of the guy speaks loud and clear. He will certainly be vying for a spot on the top 2 lines this year. Can he continue with his excellent form? This is the question that he will have to answer in the next game.

Some of the other guys that were impressive in today’s game against the Briuns were Blacker and Devane. Jesse Blacker showed up and played an excellent game on the defensive side of things again. He was always in position and showed the staff that he deserves to be taken seriously. As for Devane he basically broke his hand on another guys face. Unfortunately we don’t know what happen to the other guy’s face, I am sure it was not rated G in terms of amount of blood. He was the spark plug that got the Leafs going after they were down 2-0. He deserves credit for boosting their morale and getting them to go out and play as a unit and fight for each other.

These games are turning out to be an excellent way to see how our prospects are doing in terms of their development. We have some excellent players in the cupboard right now and Burke will certainly be looking to add more. This was a great game and the Leafs will be looking to do well in the next game as well.

Leafs win 3-1 Over Pens (Rookie Tourney)

The Rookie tourney has finally begun and the Leafs played the Penguins today. Firstly I want to get something off my chest about today’s broadcast...it sucked. I haven’t seen such an atrocious hockey broadcast in my life, if you’re going to show us the game at least don’t do such a garbage job. Anyways from what I saw, I will discuss the positives and negatives from today’s game. The Leafs winning 3-1 was a good start to the tourney indeed.

Time to begin with the man who amazed everyone in Leafs nation today and that’s Swedish rookie Viktor Stalberg. If you want to see skating perfection, this man is the guy you want to see. He can absolutely fly down the ice with utmost of ease and grace. His shot is definitely NHL level and that wrister will have many goalies around the league in utter shock and disbelief. His shot is superlative and deserves all the praise. He could be the find of the year for the Leafs in terms of their prospects.

The next guy I will talk about is our first round selection this year, Nazem Kadri. Nazem was not a big impact in this game and was trying to do too much on his own. He will have to start realizing soon that what he could do with the Knights is not possible against the big boys. He was trying to dangle the puck a lot and it’s tough with the good defenders to get past them. He did have a couple of nice chances and got on to hit the bar and come out. He has serious potential but he will have to improve in certain facets throughout the tourney and this year.

Tyler Bozak was impressive in what I saw of him today. He has good vision on the ice and made a pretty pass to set up Stalberg on the first goal. He seems like he will do well with the Leafs this year, but I don’t want to jump the gun. Bozak is just like Stalberg in terms of his skating ability, perhaps he’s not as smooth but he can absolutely fly down the ice.

Jonas Gustavvson was amazing today and made some absolutely stunning saves. He is extremely good at standing up and taking a huge chunk of the net out of the equation. He definitely will be an interesting goalie to look at. There was a negative facet to his game today and that was the rebounds he let out. He needs to start absorbing the puck better instead of letting it hit him and bounce out. This is something Allaire will certainly talk to him about but he has a ton of skill and he will get a lot of fans drooling of the prospects after today’s game.

There were a few other guys like Blacker and Stefanovich who were decent today. Blacker seems to be a very good pick up, he can skate well and he is sound in terms of his positioning. Usually from your defender you want him to be smart with the puck and Blacker is exactly like that. Burke seems to have made a smart pick by getting him in the draft. Mikhail Stefanovich was not that good today but at best he was fine. He will need to wake up and start contributing soon in this tourney if he wants to be looked at ahead of Stalberg.

Trade Report: Maple Leafs Swap Picks

A minor trade has occurred and The leafs are part of it. This is how it has panned out according to Bob Mackenzie of TSN.

The Maple Leafs have re-acquired its own 2010 2nd round draft pick from Chicago in exchange for its own 2011 3rd round pick and the 2011 2nd round pick recently received from Calgary as part of the Anton Stralman trade.

What could this trade mean in terms of future moves? Time to turn up the heat on the rumours again.

Here is the link to the TSN article regarding this trade: http://tsn.ca/nhl/story/?id=290103

Adam Wallace Earns Tryout

A lot of talk has been made of the tryout offer made to Jason Allison, but Burke has given a tryout offer to a few other players as well. One of those players is fighter Adam Wallace. He probably won’t have much of a chance making the 4^th line on the Leafs but he will again add some competition for those aspiring to be in the Leafs’ bottom six.

Adam Wallace is a normal hardnosed defenseman, who is only 19 years of age and that will certainly do him no harm entering into this minicamp. Adam Wallace played for the Windsor Spitfires the past three years, so he does know a lot about playing hockey with older guys. He has worked extremely hard to get this tryout and I will certainly be expecting him to bring his 110% out there on the ice with the other rookies in the upcoming tourney. He will definitely be getting ample chances to show why he has been awarded this tryout from Burke.

This young defenseman has all the traits that Burke looks for in his players. He is extremely belligerent on the ice and that can be confirmed with the amount of fights he got into last season with the Spitfires and he came out on top in many of those fights as well. He is 195 pounds and 6’1’’ and he’s still growing in terms of muscle mass. He has worked hard over the summer and will be looking to make a difference and get the coaches and Burke to look at him twice and perhaps think about putting him with the Marlies.

He had 174 penalty minutes and he didn’t do much damage in terms of scoring, he is a typical stay at home defender and he knows what to do at his end of the ice. The problem of not scoring is something that can be corrected if he shows promise with his defensive game at the camp.

He will probably go undetected in the rookie tourney but we should be on the lookout for him and how he progresses throughout the camp. These are the types of tryouts that will perhaps get Burke another diamond in the rough that he would love to find. Just like the Allison tryout, this is a win-win situation for the Leafs. Adam Wallace will most likely find it tough against really good forwards, but the ball or shall I say the puck is in his court and it’s time for him to step up and show his potential out there on the ice.

Weekly Roundup

Not a lot has gone on over the past week but I still have a few interesting tidbits about the Leafs to talk about. I can’t wait until the pre season begins so we can actually start talking about the on ice game instead of all the off ice discussion we’ve had. The Leafs are poised to be a hard hitting team this season, and we all hope that they also are able to score a few goals for our sake.

First up is the story of Brian Burke releasing the names of the top 6 defensemen he feels will be playing against the Montreal Canadiens when the regular season begins. The names are in no special order... Mike Komisarek, Francois Beauchemin, Tomas Kaberle, Garnet Exelby, Jeff Finger and Luke Schenn. This was pretty much the expected top six although a few people had Ian White pencilled in over Garnet Exelby. It seems that Garnet is high on Burke’s list as a defenseman. I am sure Mike Van Ryn, Frogren and White will give these guys a run for their money in training camp. This is definitely going to create a healthy competition amongst the ranks.

The whole veto issue is getting out of hand now and it’s getting boring as well. No Leafs fan wants to see Balsillie face every day on the news talking about how the Leafs are being mean to him. If the Maple Leafs have the right then by all means they should use it as a business entity. There is no reason for them to be nice to Balsillie, but this should all be kept behind closed doors as most people really don’t want to hear about this garbage.

Tyler Bozak has been beefing up over the summer and he’s made some significant progress in the muscle department. He will certainly be willing to take the hits and hopefully dish them out as well without getting himself hurt. The fitness trainers with the Leafs will be paying significant attention to how these youngsters are going about their fitness regime. Brian Burke and Ron Wilson are always keen on players that are fit and most of these guys know that and are really burning it up in the weight room these days. Also, to fit the category of being a hard hitting team, the Leafs will have to definitely spend some time in the weight room to beef up.

Now with some news that has nothing to do with the Leafs and that’s the signing of Roberto Luongo for a 12 year extension. Quite an extension that is especially if he goes on and gets himself injured. These days a lot of the NHL teams are signing their superstars for huge contracts that won’t hurt them financially. It’s really getting silly these days with the amount of players that are on “Life” contracts basically. I hope the NHL does something about this otherwise we might be seeing these types of contracts for every superstar in the league.

Not much to talk about over the past week, but we certainly have had some interesting revelations like the Top 6 defensemen Burkie expects. Although for everyone’s sanity I would like a court order stating Balsillie cannot go within 50 meters of a microphone. I have had enough of that man for a while.

Let's Draft Again (2000-2001)

So basically I will start from the 1999-2000 draft all the way to the 2007-2008 draft because in those years I think we made some poor choices. The last two season have been not as bad and I will like to give credit the current scouting team for their excellent work in getting players like Schenn and Kadri. They might not be the best players in the draft but as of now they are two very good prospects. What I will do is i will redraft the seven rounds and instead pick the best player that went soon after the Leafs drafted. There will be times where I will decide to keep the players the Leafs selected due to them being good players and better then ones that followed them.

The 1999-2000 draft was not that bad for the Leafs but they did miss out on a few key players that might have been good pieces to add to the puzzle. Now we will be looking at the 2000-2001 draft and see if we missed any gems in that draft.

**The order of the players is by rounds... so first players is from the 1st round and so on. **

2000

Players We Drafted – Carlo Colaiacovo, Karel Pilar, Brendan Bell, Jay Harrison, Nicolas Corbeil, Kyle Wellwood, Maxim Kondratiev, Jaroslav Sklenar, Ivan Kolozvary, Jan Chovan, Tomas Mojzis and Mike Knoepfli

Players We Should Have Drafted – Colby Armstrong, Fedor Tyutin, Tomas Plekanec, Aaron Johnson, Patrick Sharp, Kyle Wellwood (i would keep the fat munchkin), Marek Zidlicky, Jussi Jokinen, Derek Boogaard, Cristobal Huet, Petr Cajanek and Toni Dahlman (he sucked as well but he was better then Mike Knoepfli).

As you can see this revelation is a bit more disturbing then the last one. We missed out on players like Patrick Sharp, Colby Armstrong, Marek Zidlicky and Jussi Jokinen for players we don’t even have on our team anymore. Quite a disappointing draft year for the Maple Leafs considering the amount of picks we had.

It certainly would have been much more interesting if we had that many picks in this year’s draft with the proper scouting team. It’s sad that we wasted so many draft opportunities on pathetic picks if you want to put it nicely. There are some nice forwards that we missed out on that might still have been on our team right now and helped us in the past few years.

Let's Draft Again (1999-2000)

Don’t you ever wonder how our team would look like if we had made the right draft choices instead of the poor ones we usually made? So many good players have been passed over for complete duds who didn’t even make the NHL because they didn’t know how to hold a hockey stick. This is why I have decided to look at some of the players we could have had if we drafted differently. Although we have to remember hindsight is always clearer then what the general managers see at the draft tables.

So basically I will start from the 1999-2000 draft all the way to the 2007-2008 draft because in those years I think we made some poor choices. The last two season have been not as bad and I will like to give credit the current scouting team for their excellent work in getting players like Schenn and Kadri. They might not be the best players in the draft but as of now they are two very good prospects. What I will do is i will redraft the seven rounds and instead pick the best player that went soon after the Leafs drafted. There will be times where I will decide to keep the players the Leafs selected due to them being good players and better then ones that followed them.

**The order of the players is by rounds... so first players is from the 1^st round and so on.**

1999

Players we drafted – Brad Boyes, Kris Vernarsky, Mikael Tellqvist, Jean-Francoise Racine, Miguel Delisie, Vadim Sozinov, Markus Seikola, Lubos Velebny, Alexander Shinkar and Jean-Philippe Cote.

Players we should have drafted – Brad Boyes (i would keep him), Antoine Vermette, Micheal Rupp, Dominic Moore, Lubomir Visnovsky, Darcy Hordichuk, Matthew Lombardi, Antti Miettinen, Alexander Shinkar (the guys after him sucked even more) and Simon Gamache.

This draft didn’t have much class at the spots the Leafs were picking but we did miss out on guys like Vermette, Moore and Visnovsky. These three would have been better additions then some of the weak talent we picked up. This draft didn’t hurt as much but then next few will hurt where it really hurts as die hard fans.

I will be back tomorrow with the next draft and it’s only going to get worse I am afraid.

Weight Room Transcript (Leafs Style)

This is a little transcript which gives you a little insight on the happenings of the Leafs (all fake of course). This has been perfected by Downgoesbrown but I am giving it a shot to add some energy to TML Nation.

(28 guys are working out in the weight room)

**Trainer walks in**

Trainer: NOOOOO... this can’t be happening... i’ll have to actually do some work this year!? I like guys like that fat kid we had last year.

Wilson: Are you talking about Wellwood?

Trainer: Never got his name.. cause he came once and that was by mistake. He was going to the Cafeteria and made a wrong turn.

Mike Komisarek: Hey trainer... can you help me with my weight lifting?

Trainer: What’s weight lifting? Never heard of such a term.

Burke: Have you heard of the term.. FIRED? Time to bring in the real boys!

**In walk two supremely fit trainers**

Burke: Boys I want....

Entire Team: proper levels of pugnacity, testosterone, truculence and belligerence!!!

Burke: That’s more like it!!!

Wilson: Burkie perhaps we should ease up on these boys... I mean it’s an optional training day after all.

Burke: BOYS! Tell coach what you do for guys who think this is optional!

Entire Team: We pray that they live to tell the tale of their encounter with Garnet Exelby in the Parking lot.

Garnet Exelby: I love the parking lot part the most. (gives a deadly smile to Vesa)

**Vesa Toskala faints**

Wilson: What happened to him? Don’t scare him guys!

Garnet Exelby: I don’t know what’s wrong with the guy, whenever i come near him he faints.

Luke Schenn: Ummm... yeaaaa... that’s my fault. I kinda showed him Exelby’s montage on Youtube.

Entire Team: Yikes!!

Kaberle: Where’s Poni by the way?

Burke: Caught him praying that JFJ would come back.

Entire Team: May Poni’s soul rest in peace!

Wilson: If you keep this up we’re not going to have any players for the first game this season

Burke: The opposition won’t have many players after the 1^st period.

Wilson: We can’t go out there and play like goons all the time.

Burke: Why not?!

Wilson: The point of the game is to score goals not hurt people all the time.

Burke: Why are you my best friend again?

Wilson: You’re crazy!

Burke: Thank You.

**The players trained for the rest of the day and are told to now live in the fitness** room*

Jason Allison is Back!!!

Jason Allison is back and I am so excited! Ok no I am not ... but it’s good to see the guy after he just disappeared off the radar for some time. An excellent player back in the day but it’ll be interesting to see how he copes with all the news things that have been slowly added to the NHL. Jason Allison’s willingness to even put on a pair of skates is tremendous and will make this training camp even more interesting for Leafs fans. Competition will again increase if he gets a hang of it out there on the ice very quickly. Also, him being a local boy doesn’t hurt the equation much cause that’ll bring back his passion a bit faster for this game which he randomly deserted.

Jason Allison was always regarded as a slow and sluggish in terms of his overall hockey abilities. There is no doubt though that this guy could put up the points when he was on top of his game. He was when at the top of his game a top 6 forward and a very capable one at that. His stats don’t lie even with the one year in 2005 here in Toronto he potted 60 points (17 goals, 43 assists) and that’s not bad for only 66 games. His best season was in 2001 and that was with the Bruins when he really was at the peak of his career and he potted a fantastic 95 points (36 goals, 59 assists). His performance on the ice in those years was phenomenal and I supposed that does make him acceptable for a tryout as this can only be a win-win situation for Burke and his team.

What would Allison bring to our team if he blew the coaching staff’s socks off at camp? Well he was known to have a flair for the net and thus was quite good at putting the puck in the net. His offensive talents were quite good indeed, and no one questioned them at all. His 6’3’’ frame didn’t do much to ruin his case as he used to do well in the corners and was tough to move once he was set on getting the puck. Unfortunately, that was if he reached the puck before the defender, and in most races he was second. This was always his problem because his skating was horrid to put it nicely and if he has improved on that facet of his game he might become extremely valuable. His passing skills plus his pass first mindset made him one of the finer passers in the game. He could pick players with ease if you gave him open space and he was respected for that from his teammates and the opposition. Although many questioned the wisdom of not shooting more in Allison’s case because he had a good shot back then and most people were dumbfounded that he didn’t shoot more often.

Whatever Allison does this training camp, this will only be a positive for the Leafs who could use some positive news in terms of handling players. This way Allison will only have good things to say about the Leafs and perhaps he might even show up as a really good hockey player. His experience will be invaluable as well because I am sure some of the younger players on this team will go to him and ask for some great tips that he might have. His tips about playing in Toronto could certainly help out in the long run for some of the younger guys who don’t have many experienced players to ask. Allison will come out firing but will he be rusty or not is the main question that the coaches will have.

This certainly is going to be an interesting camp for everyone involved. He will be scrutinised to death by the Toronto media and I can guarantee that.

Sophomore Jinx: Luke Schenn?

A lot of attention will be paid towards the offensive side of the Leafs game and that makes sense since there is a lot of young talent there. Although I will keenly be observing Luke Schenn’s progress in his sophomore year. The second year for an athlete is considered the hardest, because of the expectations from the fans, coaches and general managers for a repeat performance or improved performance

.

Luke Schenn showed immense growth throughout last season, and his level of maturity can never be questioned. He handled himself so well that there are shouts for handing him the captaincy for the Leafs already. Obviously i wouldn’t go that far yet, because he has to show how consistent he can be plus how he can improve his game even further. Toronto is at times a tough place to grow as a hockey player but Schenn has handled himself exceptionally well in front of the media and on the ice. Everyone would like to see his offensive numbers go up and I am sure he has worked hard on that aspect of his game over the summer, but he will have to remember what his main job is and that’s stopping the offensive stars of the opposing team. He did that really well last year but will he be able to do the same thing this year, with the offensive stalwarts around the NHL knowing his weaknesses a little better than they did last year when he was new to the NHL?

He fits the belligerence and truculence requirements that Burke has set up for the team and that certainly won’t be a problem. It will be interesting to see who is paired up with all the changes that have been made over the off season. I am sure Wilson has something in mind; I would think he might be paired up with Beauchemin who is more offensively gifted then Schenn is. They could be a lesser version of the Leafs’ top defensive pairing which will most likely consist of Kaberle and Komisarek.

It will be interesting to see how much ice time he’s given this year with the amount of quality defensemen we have in the team. I would think he will still get a lot of time if he plays like he did last year, because he was crucial to whatever little success we had at the backend. Schenn will be keen to get started especially after all the success he had last year, but he should remember that good hockey players can be found anywhere... it’s the great ones that are hard to pick out. He needs to become a great NHL defenseman and he has all the potential in the world to become one if he stays focused on the task. He doesn’t come across as a kid who will stop working once the money starts rolling in, because if he stops working he might see himself gone really fast.

I hope Schenn has a fantastic sophomore season and he surprises everyone with the improvements he’s made over the summer. This certainly is shaping up to be quite a season even before the puck has been dropped.

Rookie Tourney Squad Announced

The rookie tourney that will be held in Kitchener is shaping up to be an exciting one for Leafs fans as the roster was released today. The roster includes names like Bozak, Viktor Stalberg, Mikhail Stefanovich, Nazem Kadri and Jonas Gustavsson.

Player	Position
Alex Berry	Forward
Jesse Blacker	Defence
Tyler Bozak	Forward
Joel Champagne	Forward
Jamie Devane	Forward
Andrew Engelage	Goaltender
Stefano Giliati	Forward
Richard Greenop	Forward
Carl Gunnarsson	Defence
Jonas Gustavsson	Goaltender
Christian Hanson	Forward
Nazem Kadri	Forward
John Kurtz	Forward
Simon Lacroix	Defence
Brandon Manning	Defence
Juraj Mikus	Defence
Dale Mitchell	Forward
James Reimer	Goaltender
Greg Scott	Forward
Robert Slaney	Forward
Barron Smith	Defence
Viktor Stalberg	Forward
Mikhail Stefanovich	Forward
Adam Wallace	Defence

Squad courtesy of mapleleafs.com