Toronto Maple Leafs

The Future: Leaf Goaltending

August 27, 2010

This Season the Maple Leafs hope to once again make the post-season. There are many factors that will decide if the Leafs reach this goal. Today I will look at the Leafs goaltending and if it can be good enough to steal around 10 games for Toronto. The Toronto Maple Leafs will enter the upcoming season with a 1A - 1B goaltending tandem between Jean-Sebastien "Giggy" Giguere and Jonas "The Monster" Gustavsson. A solid tandem for sure, but will it be enough to lead the Leafs to the playoffs? Last Season, Giggy started the year with the Anaheim Ducks, backing up Jonas Hiller, to whom he lost the starting role a season earlier. Giggy played 20 games with the Ducks in which he held a recor...

Leafs Primed For Playoffs?

August 23, 2010

Ron Guillet

3 Comments

For the first time since the 2003-04 season, the Toronto Maple Leafs may be on the verge of ending its post-season drought. Many factors led to the Leafs' demise during the 2009-10 campaign, which ultimately meant the relinquishment of Tyler Seguin to the Boston Bruins. Inconsistency was the primary issue, as many key players were ineffective or downright useless---I'm looking at you, Vesa Toskala. The off-season acquisitions of Mike Komisarek and Francois Beauchemin had fans salivating at the potential of the team's defense corps. However, things took an unfortunate turn for the worse when both Beauchemin and Komisarek---it was later revealed he required season-ending surgery for a p...

Torres A Viable Option

August 18, 2010

Ron Guillet

1 Comment

The Atlanta Thrashers (Maxim Afinogenov) and Montreal Canadiens (Marc-Andre Bergeron) can attest to it: unrestricted free agent signings deep in the off-season could pay dividends. Yes, those two particular players may not play for those respective teams anymore, but they both provided their clubs with offensive boosts (Afinogenov scored 61 points; Bergeron 13 goals and 34 points in 60 games). The point is that there are plenty of quality players available in free agency if the contract terms are reasonable. Luckily for the Toronto Maple Leafs, they have some breathing room, and options, to maneuver around the salary cap. The Leafs will have approximatively $5 million in cap space ...

Leafs Fans Must Sit Tight

August 16, 2010

Ron Guillet

0 Comments

Although many Toronto Maple Leafs zealots had me believe it, the sky did not fall when I awoke this morning, despite the outcome of the latest entry in the Tomas Kaberle saga. And guess what? Kaberle's future with the Leafs does not dictate whether or not the team's short-term goals will be fulfilled. In fact, retaining the veteran defender may prove to strengthen the Leafs' chances at making the playoffs for the first time in the post-lockout era. Don't get me wrong, I still believe it was in the Leafs' best interest to trade the veteran defender and acquire an offensive boost upfront. However, no one other than Burke is privy to the quality of the trade offers. Burke had made it clea...

Is There A Plan B?

August 16, 2010

Patrick Storto

0 Comments

Whether you're happy with the outcome or not, the elephant in the room has finally been dealt with. And just in case there's any confusion, no Kyle Wellwood has not been signed by any team. The end result, as I'm sure you all know by now is that Tomas Kaberle will remain a Leaf for the time being. After the dust has settled, I can honestly say that I'm happy Burke didn't just trade Kaberle for the sake of it. Of course I would have liked to see Kaberle traded for a decent return, but at the same time I'm also happy Burke didn't get desperate and pull the trigger on deals like the rumoured Ryan Malone for Kaberle deal late in the evening. The problem now, as I've mentioned before is...

And So We Wait

August 13, 2010

Patrick Storto

1 Comment

As the Kaberle trade deadline looms, Leaf fans are eagerly waiting, most panicking about the situation. As it stands Kaberle remains a Leaf and many fear that will still be the case on Monday morning. I stated a few weeks ago that I believed if Kaberle was dealt it would have happened at the beginning of August, not at the deadline. Obviously that hasn't happened and so we hope that something will happen within the next three days. With that said, I am still optimistic that something will get done and Burke fueled that optimism this morning on the FAN 590. When asked about whether Kaberle would be a Leaf Monday morning, Brian Burke stated, "it's too early to say." Leaf fans might be ...

Don't Sweatt It

July 17, 2010

Patrick Storto

0 Comments

The Leafs made a deal on the eve of the UFA frenzy which sent Stalberg, Didomenico, and Paradis to the Chicago Blackhawks in exchange for Kris Versteeg and the rights to Billy Sweatt. Most Leaf fans, myself included, knew little to nothing about Billy Sweatt, apparently a speedy winger who was selected in the second round back in 2007. After some quick analysis and reassurance from GM Brian Burke, Leaf fans started to get excited about the little known prospect. Well now just two weeks later, he's gone. Sweatt had gone three years without an NHL contract, meaning that the Leafs only had a small window to sign him before they lost his rights and he hit the open market. A frustrated Bri...