What should the Leafs do?

The Leafs need a new GM and a coach. Starting from scratch from up top. People who are dumb say the Leafs should just throw everything away and get Tavares and rebuild. I will point out that doesn't work that well and teams don't have to be out of the playoffs to make it. You only have to rebuild when your team makes a cup run and ultimately fails. Toronto hasn't done that inawhile, it's more about making smart decisions and drafting well. Philadelphia didn't need to rebuild, they brought in Briere, Timonen, Biron, Lupul, Hartnell while making some smart moves to refill their team. Those acquisitions cost a ton of money and they even missed the services of Simone Gagne. The real story is that their moves WORKED.

The fact is you need star players and people who give you equal value to what you're paying them or more.

The first strategy of "playing" for Tavares would require the trade of first and foremost goaltender Vesa Toskala. I think it's a fact he's here to stay and he can be good enough to take a shitty team to stay out of the basement.

Buy out:
Andrew Raycroft (salary = 2.2 M, cap hit = 2M, buy out amount = $1.47M, split over 2 years = 0.733M/ year) equates to 1.2 M savings this year with a 733K cap hit next season.
-Not a bad move to save 1.2 M, can get a decent player to sign for cheap, the 733K is no different from having Ed Belfour's contract on our payroll like the past 2 seasons

Think about buying out Mark Bell:
I wouldn't do it but if you do buy him out that would be 1.6 M saved with 800K carrying over to next season.

Don't buy out Darcy Tucker or Jason Blake. Tucker would have a 6M buyout spread over 6 years which would equate to 1M per year. Toronto would only save 2M for those 3 years and paying for it for the next 3. He adds more to this team then 2M and shouldn't be considered a sunk cost.

Jason Blake: 10M buy out over 8 years with a 1.25M cap hit each year. Would actually save $3.25M the first two years and then only $1.75M the next two years (or 2.75M in cap space). I'd rather wait this one out. The cap hits may be different. Don't have a complete understanding of the rules.

How about McCabe: Buy out = 9.63M which would be spread out over 6 years. This one I would consider as you can probably get a better player for that 5 million in extra space. Otherwise try to trade him

Bye:
John Pohl -non existant
Andy Wozniewski - no room for you

Keep Sundin...if he gives an appropriate discount. Nothing more then $5 million. Makes no sense for him to take up cap space when he claims he would like to win. The Leafs need cap space badly.

I would not trade Kubina. Toronto needs him and if we trade Kubina it would mean we would be stuck with McCabe (shudders).

Toronto needs to bring in some top of the line players as our high priced guys have sucked but for the most part one big name needs to be outed and some prude and cheap moves COULD shore up this team.

I would consider trading either Ponikarovsky or Antropov. Usually one seems to be one while the other struggles. These guys are horses and teams are looking for these kinds of guys. Antropov looks like he wants to stay but at what cost? He's a free agent and may be worth while to trade before the free agent deadline.

I'll look at the possible takers for McCabe but they probably won't take him.

Leafs FINALLY fire Paul Maurice

The Leafs finally fired media savvy Paul Maurice as the head coach of the Toronto Maple Leafs. About fucking time eh?

I've been calling for his head for some time and he is arguably the reason JFJ got fired. Maurice has been erratic and inconsistent with the Leaf team and as a coach is your job to get the team to play their best night in and night out and that didn't happen. Only when there were rumbling in the media did the Leafs win and the Leafs played well down the stretch as they always do further proof that Maurice had a problem motivating the team.

This move is also great for the new GM as he won't have any blood on his hands and Cliff is one of the best guys to work with the media. Toronto NEEDS a top notch coach and top notch GM now.

Do The Leafs Stand A Chance?

Probably not.

I think what pisses me off the most is that this team was capable of doing well but they just sucked during most of the season in typical Leaf or Maurice fashion.

Speaking of Maurice can we please fire this media-friendly coach already? Sure fans like him and JFJ took the brunt of the allegations but it's clear Maurice can't get the team to fire on all cylinders unless facing certain death.

The Leafs are down 3-1 right now in a must win game against Buffalo. If they somehow manage to come back 4 teams stand in the way of them winning with just 10 games to go. They have to win at least 8 but I think they'll ended up missing once again. Stupid Leafs.. had them finishing 4th, thanks for making me look like a homer even with 5 or so readers.

Do Leafs Fans Suck?

Leafs fans are considered the New York Yankees' fans of hockey except that we haven't won anything in 40 years.

I think the running joke is that we're biased, stupid and we come in big crowds. But from a Leafs fan asking other Leafs fan, do you believe this?

I certainly do. Why? Well I will always be a Leafs whether they win the Stanley Cup (we suddenly have more) to whether they finished the season 0-82 I would still be loyal. By loyal I don't mean I would think that the Leafs would get the Stanley cup next year but because I will always cheer for them no matter what.

Unfortunately we can't say that for my counterparts who are also Leaf fans. Most people (Leaf unfaithful) tend to get critical before trying to rally a team. The only time where the crowd is ever really truly into a game is when the team is in the playoffs. It's so incredibly corporate.

Generally team management is so much about pleasing the Leafs fans by trying to win every year they get dubbed into making the worst moves. I wanted McCabe to walk (if you were a friend you would remember, not sure if I blogged about) but I knew there would be fan backlash if they let him go so I knew it would never happen. It's pretty much about appeasing dumb fans who are worried about what is going on now. They won't accept a rebuilding mode which is probably why we won't get our own Crosby or John Tavares and will have to deal with mediocrity.

I bring all this up because the Leafs are sucking as a home team but are an amazing team on the road. It feels like the atmosphere probably is the most likely reason. With the corporations involved in purchasing Leafs tickets and less going to the die-hard crazy fans who will spend 50 bucks to sit in the nosebleeds there just isn't any passion in Toronto anymore.

There are a lot of smart, loyal Leaf fans out there. This is a poorly constructed post and I'm really tired but the majority of the time being a Leaf fan sucks as I get lumped into a group that people assume are mindless hacks who know nothing about how to manage a team or know value when we see talent.

Jiri Tlusty: What's In Store For Him?

Jiri Tlusty made his debut on Thursday with as good of a debut as you can get showing off his speed, fore checking skills and all the reasons Toronto made him their 1st round pick in 2006.

I was a little surprised to see him make the Buds line up so early on because I felt like he was probably going to be ready next year. I would have liked to see him develop his offensive game further.

So what should be expect form Jiri Tlusty?

Just understand that he is not considered as offensive savvy as he was in his debut. Last year(first season in North America) he had 34 points in 37 games and 17 points in 13 games. Most scouts would say he needed time to adapt to the culture and battled with some injuries. He also had 3 points in 5 games with the Toronto Marlies.

As history would suggest we probably are not going to see a lot of offense from Tlusty. He may really struggle at times while playing solid defensively. Right now a good possible comparison are his linemates Stajan and Steen.

At least our first round picks are contributing now. Ferguson has made some good picks being GM compared to Quinn.

Tlusty is an interesting player to watch. He probably isn't going to be on the Leafs roster once a lot of the guys come back but he sure has made it interesting allbeit in one game.

Jason Blake To Continue Playing Despite Having Leukemia

Today, Jason Blake announced that he has a rare form of leukemia but says he will continue to play. The disease is Chronic Myelogenous Leukemia.

CML from my research is due to the unregulated growth of myeloid cells in the bone marrow. Overall though some of the symptoms include malaise, low-grade fever, increased susceptibility to infections, anemia, and thrombocytopenia with easy bruising.

I have a much greater increase in respect for Jason Blake. It must be tough to be living with and it may still affect his game even though he says it's not. It's good he has come out at the start of the season with the news. It doesn't matter if I'm a Leafs fans hear as this is something to do with outside the scope of hockey. Like other players who've overcome cancer they have 10 times the respect as it's something normal people of everyday life do not want to live with.

Mark Bell Suspended Indefinitely 1 Year After Incident

Mark Bell was placed into Stage 2 of the Drug Abuse Program and thus he is suspended indefinitely until the NHL reviews his situation.

The suspension was based on the fact that Bell made a guilty plea in a DUI/hit and run incident in which he was sentenced to 6 months in a county jail.

This situation is pretty stupid. Yes, Bell deserves a suspension for his off the ice action but one-year later?

It feels as if he probably already learned his lesson and should've been suspended on the spot rather then a year later.

The NHL was clearly not on the ball like the NFL is with their players. It probably was a hot topic outside the US but on radio it was highly discussed how his crime is still a terrible one and that he isn't setting a good example with what he did.

Update: He has been suspended 15 games.

Mark Bell to be sentenced to 6 months in jail

I really like Mark Bell as a player. However what was holding back his value was the felony drunk driving charge that definitely gets anyone to jail as he was in an accident then left the scene of the accident.

I don’t ever condone drunk driving as it’s a stupid thing to do, especially if you are a star athlete. Affording a taxi is easier then what us normal people could do and he probably has more friends sucking up to him and would drive then us nobodies.

The six months in jail however won’t be a detriment to him as a hockey player as he will serve at least 4 months but can serve them in multiple off-seasons if required.

He is a great player and let’s hope he gets past his off-ice problems. I know for sure people shrug things like this off when it comes to a hometown player and I know with Bell’s style of play that he is going to be a definite fan player. I’ll still remember he went to jail.

Leafs sign Scott Clemmensen to two-way contract

Scott Clemmensen though he’s not expected to do much is one of those backup goalies people like. Look at him like Glen Healy and while on the eBaum’s World forums a New Jersey fan wished he would remain the backup to Martin Brodeur.

Clemmensen is now turning thirty on the 23^rd and he only played part of 7 games between the minors and NHL last season and 14 last season. His statistics and track record are decent when it comes to his season playing in the minors and is around a .910 save percentage goalie in the minors. He is good enough to be in the NHL but not bad enough to go and have a career in Europe.

He is the perfect goalie to have in the Toronto Maple Leafs organization. Here’s why. With Raycroft and Toskala probably going to share most if not all the goalie time Clemmensen can either be up with the team or down with the Marlies as Justin Pogge’s backup. He should be a good mentor for Pogge as having experience with a goalie like Brodeur is invaluable and he could give Pogge actual rest. If one of Raycroft or Toskala gets injured, one goalie will take full reigns and the Leafs will use Clemmensen as the backup so the Leafs don’t hurt the development of one of their young goalies by making them sit on pine in the NHL.

I always applaud Ferguson’s smaller moves as that’s where he’s done a fabulous job. Clemmensen may not make a name for himself but it’s always good to have one of these older veterans to guide the youngsters and he’s a good candidate to step up if something disastrous happens.

Leafs sign Jason Blake

The Leafs signed 33-year to a 5-year contract worth 20 million. If you consider Blake’s last 4 years he is definitely worth the money though the term was a bit of issue at face value. However the contract is front loaded with 5 million in the first year, 4.5 million in the next two years and 3 million for his age 37 and 38 seasons which go with a possible decline. Considering he played with Yashin and will likely see time with Sundin we can expect his 40-goal season to be repeated and he’s a very solid player as he skates well, shoots well and is gritty.

Blake’s assist should increase for when he plays on the Leafs as his 69 points were very dependent on his 40 goals which suggests he has potential to put around 80 points. I expect 50-60 point seasons when he starts to decline as he was a late bloomer coming out of college and had a very small frame but hasn’t ever been hurt. It's interesting that he never really spent time in the minors

This is a great signing as 4 million a year on average is great value for a 40 goal player from a not so great offensive team in the Islanders. The term was an issue for me at first but since it’s front loaded very smartly this goes down as one of the better moves as it doesn’t involve throwing ridiculous amounts of money at players. I will make a post on the best free agent move later on.

Leafs Trade for Toska and Bell: Good or Bad?

The Toronto Maple Leafs made some pre-draft noise by trading for goaltender Vesa Toskala and Mark Bell for 3 draft picks a 1^st, 2^nd and a 4^th round pick. San Jose used the 1^st and 2^nd round picks to move up into the top 10.

For Toronto, they finally have a number 1 goaltender that has very few question marks and would be finally giving a guy with the skill of Toskala to break free of Nabokov and solidify his presence as a number one goalie. Remember that he was the reason Kiprusoff had to be traded off to Calgary as Kiprusoff couldn’t outplay him so there is no doubt in my mind acquiring Toskala will propel to Leafs back into the playoffs.

The key to this deal working was the inclusion of Mark Bell as he struggled mightily being in a new environment and had a cap number of 2.25 million that San Jose wanted to get rid of. For Toronto, this is the PERFECT environment for Bell. Maurice won’t expect him to play with skill like they require in San Jose, he will be expected to play with grit and get his team going with fights, bang in goals. I am telling you this now he will do well in Toronto and get his career back on track. The fans will also love this guy as he’s the second coming of Darcy Tucker in my opinion.

For San Jose they got draft picks and cap space so it’s a great trade for them as they are going to be big players on July 1^st. Both players you can argue weren’t of much contribution to them so you can never blame them even if Mark Bell does extremely wel..

This trade goes as even for me. Some people are saying Florida got the better deal with Vokoun but it’s clear the Leafs picks are less valuable and this years draft was much weaker then next years. I expect Florida to struggle so they may pay the price of the picks they gave up as Vokoun is both older and more expensive. The Leafs in my opinion made it a good deal by including Bell and therefore having to pay a lower cost like other teams as Ferguson probably recognized that they are buying this young guy at a very low price. Good trade both ways and I am excited as a Leafs fan!

If I was GM Of Toronto Maple Leafs for 2007 Off-season

I am going to outline salaries, restricted and unrestricted free agents and who I would attempt to sign on the free agent market.

People on contract for next year:
Darcy Tucker $3 M
Alexander Steen $870K
Chad Kilger 800k
Matt Stajan 950K
Kyle Wellwood 950K
John Pohl 475K
Bryan McCabe 7.150 M
Pavel Kubina 5 M
Tomas Kaberle 4.25 M
Hal Gill 2.075 M
Wade Belak 625K
Andrew Raycroft 2 M
Andy Wozniewski 500 K
Other:Newbury, Ondrus (minor league deals)
Total: Under 29 million (28.645 + change)

Restricted Free Agents -Expected Salary (taking 10% raise and performance into account):
Alexei Ponikarovsky - 1M from 725K
Carlo Colaicovo -1.25 M from 902 K
Ian White 750K from 513 K
Sign rest to minor league deals except: Aleksander Suglobov, and only one of Jay Harrison and Steffan Kronwall or neither
Total: 31.645 M + change from the odd call up

Unrestricted Free Agents:
Nik Antropov -offer 2 year deal in 2.5-3 M range
Boyd Devereaux - offer 2 year 1.5 M deal
Bates Battaglia: offer 2 year 1.1 M deal
Yanic Perrault- offer 2 year 1.8 M deal
Decline to offer: Jeff O'neill, Travis Green, JS Aubin, Mike Peca (too expensive),
Total: 35.095 M

Special case: Sundin's salary cap hit is expected to be approximately 5.320 M. This situation surely sucks since if they decline to pick up his option there is a 1M buy out. So declining his deal really isn't worth it unless he's taking 3.5 M or less and that I don't see happening. I say keep Sundin for this year by accepting the option and extending him 2 years at a preferred 2 years 7M contract and ultimately save for 2008/2009.

That leaves us at around 40.5 M without a backup goalie and the forward and defensive lines set (maybe with the odd forward pick up). Forward lines of Poni-Sundin-Antropov, Steen-Stajan-Devereaux, Wellwood-Tucker-Perrault, Pohl-Battaglia-Kilger and Belak as the 13th will be solid. Having Newbury, Ondrus and Williams as injury protection will be key.

This leaves around 2.5 M if the cap stays the same (at 44M) or 5.5 M if rises to 47 M. Leaving around 1 M in movement. Toronto doesn't need to sign any player but they desperately need a solid backup as John Ferguson has said. Even with Pogge waiting in the wings, he is still 2 years away from being a starting goalie and we could always trade Raycroft for scraps if that happens.

Here are people Toronto should pursure according to notable unrestricted free agent list I compiled:
Mika Noronen - could be had around 1.5-2 M
JS Giguere probably would require a 4 year 5 M deal or maybe a 6 year/36 M if some teams are desperate
Niklas Backstrom- if Minnesota lets him on the open market, he could easily get 2-3M per year and Toronto should go after him
Curtis Joseph - could be had for cheap and I'm sure he will be embraced by the Leaf faithful.

Otherwise it's thin pickings as usually.. or they could make another trade which I would not recommend. The goalie selection is probably the most important and I think we'll be in decent position if we get either Noronen or Cujo. We'll get a playoff spot if we could get Backstrom or Giguere I think.

Maple Leafs win huge game after losing heartbreaker

After last night’s collapse, I found it to be one of my toughest days being a leaf fan. I was angry, mad and everything you can say negatively about the way I was acting. The pain of that loss since it was just so important to shore up any possible points as we currently sit in 11th.

Tonight’s game was just as important as the Leafs HAD to win in order to show both their fans and for the morale of the team that the upsetting loss wouldn’t have done anything. Maurice (pictured) must of made some magic with whatever he did overnight to get his boys to play as they dominated the game and made some nice defensive plays along the way. It was a great performance by the Leafs, Thank You Maurice.

Currently the Leafs still sit in 11th spot 2 points behind Carolina and Montreal but they just played 3 games with the top 2 teams in the Eastern Conference and came away 2-1 though it should’ve been 3-0. I would call that very solid. All the other teams shored up points versus weaker opponents but watch out for our Leafs, they’re coming for you!!

Toronto Maple Leafs: 10 games left, can they make it?

Here is a look at the Leafs chances with their last 10 games.
March 20 vs. New Jersey Devils
Home n’ Home with Buffalo (23&24)
March 27 vs. Carolina
March 29 @ Atlanta
March 31 vs. Penguins
April 1st vs. the Rangers
April 3rd vs. Philadelphia
April 5th vs. Islanders
April 7th vs. Habs

This is tough as it gets. This would not seem so bad if there were not four back-to-back games. I feel that for sure Toronto will lose one of the back-to-backs with Buffalo (if not both) and I also have them losing to Pittsburgh.

I really believe they can pull off victories over the Hurricanes, Devils, Thrashers, Rangers and Habs. I would be quite afraid of the Philadelphia game as I think Biron can steal one and he has been playing well for them. Toronto has to win as much as possible so it is a game-by-game basis. The crowd will be on Cam Janssen and will give more of playoff atmosphere to drive the players so I like their chances for now…

If Toronto does in fact make it, it will be well deserved.

The other teams I believe I should look at who are still in the mix and will be by season end are: Tampa Bay (4 points up on the Buds, same games played), Carolina (2 points up, 1 more game played), Rangers (1 point up, same games played) and the Canadiens (tied but 1 more game played)

As a follow in, I will judge these team’s chances.

Video of Cam Janssen hit on Tomas Kaberle

Some things I find important when looking at the video:

Kaberle right before dishing off the pass, looked and saw Cam Janssen a big distance away. Kaberle probably suspected that Janssen would have skated by him since it was clearly too late.

It was probably only 1.3 seconds which puts it in the gray area of a late hit but the general rule is that if the player you pass to has the puck that's off limits

Colaicovo took one stride with the puck once Janssen had thrown the hit. Kaberle moves towards the boards in my opinion thinking Janssen would skate on by.

Janssen left one foot so that's a partial charge and he had lifted his elbow BEFORE hitting Kaberle. In my book, an elbow thrown is just as good as an elbow connected.

This is absolutely an illegal hit to me. It wasn't clean and it was late. Even if you don't agree that it was late, the hit sure was illegal. No person can tell me only shear stupidity.

The league really really messed this situation up in my opinion, this injury was WAITING to happen as they have said every hit is clean even with many players being put on the shelf throughout the year. It's a shame someone has to be a victim before they get their act together. Some of the guys on YouTube have been saying really really stupid things you can read but it's a waste of time in the end...

I hate Leafs TV and paying anything for sports

If there is one thing that I recently hated about being a Leafs' fan this year is the increase in the number of games that are hosted by Leafs TV.

Yesterday I received an email offering me to purchase the rights to watch tonights match up of Washington vs Toronto as an online stream for a "mere" $3.95. There are other options such as watching Leafs TV on the big screen for $10, or going to a bar and buying a beer or food and watching TV there.

The point? I would have to shell out more money because I'm a fan! Being reduced to listening to it on the radio is simply frustrating and it pisses me off that the Leafs are trying to maximize dollars and not going for the more important thing which is to maximize your fan base.

This goes for every station that has to be a paid add-on such as another of MLSE's creation : Raptors TV, the YES network which is for Yankees TV. While the money comes in presently, the money in the future WILL be a lot less. How will you have new fans? Only the people who 1. Are old enough to be allowed to order Leafs TV and living on their own (not me) 2. Are fans themselves and 3. are willing to dish out the extra money per month to watch. This clearly leaves NEW fans out of the mix and if your a child you won't watch hockey but the freely available sports on basic channels unless of course your parent's themselves are fans.

Leafs TV go to hell!

Cam Janssen suspended 3 games

Enforcer Cam Janssen was suspended by Colin Campbell and the NHL for 3 games earlier today. Why? The man in the picture Tomas Kaberle was sent to the hospital on what we could clearly call a late hit that was unncessary.

I agree with this call not as a Leaf fan but if you look at the reply, Kaberle wasn't necessarily blind-sided like many of hits like the Chris Drury hit, Kaberle saw him coming but didn't think anything of it as 2 seconds late in a game is a long time. Any hit to the head that is late with the puck already long gone is a penalty in my books.

Claude Julien even justified that the hit was wrong by not sending out Janssen for the rest of the game. I may sound like I am biased, which is fair since I'm a leafs guy but it's the right call in the end as the refs didn't even see it due to it being so far away from the actual play. I'll try to find a youtube video to prove what I initialy saw.

Toronto Maple Leafs acquire Yanic Perrault

Noting that I am writing this at 10:16 PM has a much different feel when I was about to write this post BEFORE tonight’s Buffalo game where we absolutely sucked.

Anyway, before the trade deadline I was expecting the Leafs to make zero moves since they were up against the salary cap and on the cusp of potentially making the playoffs.

With Yanic Perrault we get a guy who has made a resurgence in his career and even made an appearance in this year’s all-star game in Dallas. I have always liked this guy and I didn’t understand how the commentators and Bill Watters said he couldn’t play. He was a smallish guy who wasn’t very strong but ever since the NHL cracked down on obstruction he has absolutely thrived. He currently has 19 goals this season and his 60% plus face-off winning percentage will be a bonus especially if Peca comes back. The reason we lost yesterdays game versus Montreal was the faceoff (I am going to totally ignore tonight’s game though…I have to I’m a leafs fan!).

Toronto does get back a 5th round pick that isn’t worth too much but to make the trade look much better. I have been high on Brendan Bell the whole season and I really liken him to a top 4 defenseman one day but this is not the team to do that on. For him this is an even better trade. He had no chance with Colaicovo and White in front of him.
The 2nd rounder feels kind of stiff but with the way the draft is called weak and everyone giving away multiple picks, I’m sure Bell and a 3rd rounder wouldn’t have been enough for the Coyotes to pull the trigger.

I had a friend really think this trade is crap but the Travis Green experiment has not worked and I really think Perrault WILL prove us wrong. Not the greatest of moves for a slight overpayment but in the end it is not only bearable but decent.

On a side note, this is why the Coyotes should’ve waited to trade Comrie and Nagy.

Grade Report: Toronto Maple Leafs

In case you're wondering I did cover the leafs last week and now you're going to see some more leafs and raptors since the NFL season is winding down.

At the beginning of the season every "expert" (sorry I can't call the media experts) says the Leafs won't make the playoffs and they have no chance in hell. The leafs are in the thick of the playoff race and while they still have fans complaining about their poor play at least the expectations are still there. Even with all the injuries and the goaltender inconsistencies this team has looked very good.

One of the things I like about this team is the coaching. Quinn wasn't able to get the most out of the young guys and Maurice has brought in a style of play that actually exhibits some offense. Add that Maurice is a very honest guy in the media, not being too hard on players nor not cutting slack for his poor play has gotten the media's and my respect as he handles it beautifully.

You have to give some credit to J. Ferguson Jr. Some of his key moves have been contributing greatly: Bates Battaglia, Boyd Devereaux recently, Hal Gill, Peca. Generally JFJ did overpay a guy like Kubina but he was a big defenseman and a guy who can play physical was a huge need from last year's team. If it wasn't for these moves we would be in huge trouble and we would probably be talking about trading Sundin and Tucker.

Toronto has assembled some nice defensive talent that needs to be traded for some guys upfront but the farm team is improving and trading your big name players won't do anything but give them bad PR. I'm sure JFJ will try to assemble a better farm team for years to come as that will come as the foundation to team success.

So while a 10th place does sound disappointing if they sneak into the playoffs and play Buffalo.. watch out! Overall I give them a Grade B, while not outstanding they still have impressed me and this team doesn't look like the team to go on a huge losing streak that puts them out of it.

Guaging the Toronto Maple Leafs

Though I've stopped with all the hockey posts, it doesn't mean I've lost interest in watching hockey as that will NEVER happen as playoffs are the big thing to talk about anyway.

The leafs are a good team, look at some of the games were they totally dominated. Inconsistency has plagued this team and they are currently just 1 game over .500 and have been plagued with injuries over the last month. The Leafs have had key contributors with minor-league deal pickup Boyd Devereaux (shown on the left) and having major contributions from guys like Kris Newbury, Ben Ondrus et al. The guys returning from injuries can only help the team.

Currently the leafs sit in 9th place 2 points behind Tampa Bay however only 6 points separate 14th place (Panthers with 44 points) and 7th (Rangers with 50 points). So every game here on out is huge for the Maple Leafs. Do I think they've got a chance? I think they'll ultimately finish 8th with Pittsburgh leap frogging them and Tampa and the Rangers falling out of it.

Some observations that most of the media and everyone doesn't look at: The chemistry between Pavel Kubina and whoever his fellow linemate is the reason for the poor play. At first he started out with youngster Brendan Bell and clearly that didn't work, they tried it with Ian White for a little while and though Carlo Colaicovo still plays with him on the powerplay it was clear there was a communication issue. Maurice is trying to fix that (finally) but putting Kaberle with him and so far it's looked good. Mccabe seems to be playing better as well.

Note: Kubina was there when the leafs started to lose when Sundin came back.. they didn't need Sundin but it really made their defense unstable

-Brendan Bell should be sent down soon once Ian White/Andy Wozniewski/Steffan Kronwall come back, it's great the Leafs have good youngsters coming up, and Bell is the odd man out due to him having a two-way deal. He's got a real future, solid solid guy and I really like his skill and it's no wonder why he's still up with the team and the leafs brass even risked waiving Harrison in order to keep Bell.

-Raycroft has been bad yes.. he needs serious work on his positioning, right now I see him like Curtis Joseph. I always heard "Joseph would've probably liked to have that one back" same thing with Raycroft but he's not on CuJo's level yet.. Hopefully we can get a good goalie coach for Rayzor since he makes a lot of nice looking saves, his positioning seems to be flawed.