Leafs

What To Expect: Joffrey Lupul

July 19, 2011

Barring an untimely injury, Joffrey Lupul will start training camp on a line with Tim Connolly and Phil Kessel.

The keyword being start.

That's not to suggest Lupul is the weakest forward on theToronto Maple Leafs' top-six unit, or that he will ultimately move down the depth chart, but he is certainly in a vulnerable position with the second-line of Nikolai Kulemin, Mikhail Grabovski and Clarke MacArthur all but set in stone---unless the line fails to rekindle its chemistry from the onset. And barring the unlikely scenario of Nazem Kadri or Joe Colborne prying the number-one center position from Connolly, and I wouldn't bet a cen...

Burke Means Business...Hanson Heads to Washington...Zigomanis Re-ups, and More...

July 13, 2011

Owen Durkin

0 Comments

Brian Burke acquired NCAA power forward Christian Hanson late in the spring of 2009. The undrafted 6'4” son of Slapshot's Dave Hanson signed a two-year deal worth a million and a half and spent the majority of those two years with the Marlies. In 42 NHL games, Hanson amassed nine points and 22 penalty minutes.

While many felt the big centre had the goods to crack the roster out of last season's camp, he spent the majority of the year toiling with the Marlies, notching 13...

What To Expect: Tim Connolly

July 9, 2011

Ron Guillet

4 Comments

The acquisition of Tim Connolly to the Toronto Maple Leafs' top-six unit will, on the surface, add depth to the team's forward ranks. But the hopes of playoff hockey in Toronto could well rest on the shoulders of the injury-prone centerman next season.

Not because Connolly is capable of vaulting the Leafs to new heights single-handedly---because he cannot---but his role as a stop-gap to centers Nazem Kadri and Joe Colborne will play a pivotal role in the Leafs' short-term succ...

Leafs' Third Line Key to Success

July 6, 2011

Ron Guillet

1 Comment

Are the Leafs a Playoff Team?

July 5, 2011

Ron Guillet

5 Comments

The Toronto Maple Leafs will not be acquiring any more assets in the off-season... at least for now.

In an interview with the National Post's Michael Traikos, general manager Brian Burke said his team is going to sit back and let the players compete for spots at training camp. This is good news for the likes of Nazem Kadri, Matt Frattin and Joe Colborne. While there remains holes on the Leafs' roster, Rick Dudley told the Star that patience will ultimately address the team's needs.

"Come training camp, if one or two young players makes the team, they're going to have to move people, and they are not going to be able to move the people they just signed,&rdq...

What's Next For The Leafs?

July 3, 2011

Ron Guillet

3 Comments

With general manager Brian Burke acquiring John-Michael Liles, Tim Connolly, Matthew Lombardi and Cody Franson this off-season, there's little doubt the Toronto Maple Leafs have improved heading into the 2011-12 season. But with a logjam on defense and cap space left to improve some of the Leafs' needs, it's unlikely Burke is content with the current roster moving forward.

Before discussing what Burke may do next in his blueprint, let's first analyze the moves he's done in the past 48 hours. While Burke may not have found the number-one center the Leafs so desperately covet, he managed to acquire a decent secondary option in Connolly. Injury concerns...

The Life and Times of Brian Burke (Part 1)

June 29, 2011

Owen Durkin

1 Comment

He arrived in the hockey Mecca of Toronto, Canada in November 2008 to unprecedented fanfare. It was a highly publicized welcome fitting for a tried and true sports icon. An icon known not for a blazing shot or supreme playmaking skills (both painfully absent from the Leaf team he would inherit), but for his uncanny ability to systematically engineer a champion. He came with a proven pedigree, having successfully led his former club to the championship versus the Ottawa senators in 2007, whom the Ducks of Anaheim made quick work of to win the series.

To become winners, MLSE rationalized, the Leafs needed to start with a winner at the helm, and upon the release of ha...