Leafs Make the Kessel Run in Less Than Twelve Parsecs
Published September 18, 2009 @ 20:42 in Toronto Maple Leafs

TSN is calling it a done deal, and that's good enough for me. Brian Burke has completed a trade with the Boston Bruins and Phil Kessel is finally a Toronto Maple Leaf.

According to the tweet I just received from Darren Dreger, we gave up a 1st and 2nd round draft pick in 2010 and another 1st round pick in 2011. That's a mighty high price to pay, but Kessel is only 21-years old and coming off a career high 36 goals in 70 games with Boston.

Phil "The Thrill" Kessel is a nice addition to this team. He'll play his first game for the blue and white this November as he's on the shelf following rotator cuff surgery.

Oh yeah, and he once made the Kessel Run in less than twelve parsecs. That's pretty sweet.

Article Permalink    10 Comments

The Truculence Begins
Published September 16, 2009 @ 17:20 in Toronto Maple Leafs

In 2009 / 2010, it's all about truculence.

"We require, as a team, proper levels of pugnacity, testosterone, truculence and belligerence."
~ Brian Burke, President and General Manager of the Toronto Maple Leafs

Tonight, at 7pm on TSN2, the truculence begins.

Article Permalink    17 Comments

Leafs 2009 Training Camp Roster + My Two Cents
Published September 12, 2009 @ 09:44 in Toronto Maple Leafs

I hate official team sites. Can you imagine a more biased source of news? I suppose a site like mapleleafs.com would be fine if you were just looking for a schedule or to purchase tickets, but if you're looking for team news and insight, the official site is the last place I go.

On the web, I've witnessed the birth of the Barilkosphere the past few years. There's a solid collection of Maple Leaf blogs run by smart, passionate Leaf fans that simply didn't exist when I started blogging. I didn't coin the term Barilkosphere, but I'm still very, very proud of my Google ranking for Bill Barilko (currently #2 after Wikipedia) and I won't attend a Leafs game (or non-summer Hip concert) without my custom made #5 Bill Barilko jersey, but I digress...

One site in the Barilkosphere is Pension Plan Puppets. They posted the Toronto Maple Leafs 2009 training camp roster, so I'm going to borrow their HTML, throw in a little of my CSS and put it here for y'all.

Forwards		Defence		Goaltenders
Jason Allison	Dale Mitchell	Francois Beauchemin	Juraj Mikus	Andrew Engelage
Alex Berry	John Mitchell	Jesse Blacker	Phil Oreskovic	Beau Erickson
Jason Blake	Ben Ondrus	Josh Engel	Todd Perry	Jonas Gustavsson
Darryl Boyce	Colton Orr	Garnet Exelby	Andry Rogers	Joey MacDonald
Tyler Bozak	Alexei Ponikarovsky	Jeff Finger	Joe Ryan	James Reimer
Tim Brent	Wayne Primeau	Jonas Frogren	Luke Schenn	Vesa Toskala
Joel Champagne	Kyle Rogers	Carl Gunnarson	Barron Smith
Jamie Devane	Jay Rosehill	Tomas Kaberle	Juha Uotila
Andre Deveaux	Greg Scott	Mike Komisarek	Mike Van Ryn
Alex Foster	Robert Slaney	Brandon Manning	Ian White
Stefano Giliati	Viktor Stalberg
Mikhail Grabovski	Matt Stajan
Richard Greenop	Mikhail Stefanovich
Niklas Hagman	Lee Stempniak
Ryan Hamilton	Jiri Tlusty
Christian Hanson	Rickard Wallin
Nazem Kadri	John Kurtz
Nikolai Kulemin	Jamal Mayers

19 days, 10 hours, 10 minutes, and 42 seconds from now, that list has to be down to 23 players. The goalies will be Tosky and The Monster, but nothing else is certain. Here's my two cents on the above list.

• Is Jason Allison's invitation some kind of joke? If he was that slow last time, there's simply no chance of him making this team. I realize we're lacking scoring up front, but Jason Allison is not the answer.
• The Marlies look to have a solid defense this season, because there's a serious glut of NHL-calibre defensemen coming to camp. If we agree the top six is Kaberle, Schenn, Komisarek, Finger, Beauchemin and White, we're forgetting about Van Ryn, Exelby, Oreskovic and Frogren. Will White start up front?
• Who's going to score on this team? Please don't tell me that's Blake's job... I'll bet Tlusty and Kadri are playing October 1.
• What time is it? Can I add Phil Kessel yet?
• Two final words: Viktor Stalberg. That is all.

Go Leafs go!

Article Permalink    13 Comments

Remembering Robert Reichel: Five Years Later
Published August 29, 2009 @ 15:00 in Toronto Maple Leafs

I used to have a form on this site for anyone to submit a guest blog entry. Five years ago today, a gentleman in British Columbia submitted a tribute to Robert Reichel who was leaving the Leafs after three seasons to play at home in the Czech league for Litvinov CHP HC.

Reichel was a fourth line player for the Leafs, and I regarded his absence as addition by subtraction. Still, someone felt he needed a tribute, so he got one.

A Tribute to Robert Reichel

It has been something of an enigma to the mind of your writer as I pen these words about the retirement of Robert Reichel from the vaunted Toronto Maple Leafs. A lot of people weren't too impressed with Reichel as a player but I have always liked him. Here are my five favourite goals he scored for us in the season 2003-04:

(Away) November 22nd, 2003. The Leafs roll into Vancouver to take on the greatest team in the Western Conference. I must admit I was fearful of seeing my beloved team lose to the Canucks. Out here in la-la-land, I was privileged to see my team in action, live. I wasn't disappointed. Reichel scored the second goal for the Leafs for a great night that the game ended 5 to 3 Leafs win. As I saw this game live, this was my favourite Reichel goal.

(Away) January 30th, 2004. The Leafs played in Atlanta. This was Reichel's 800th game, he opened the scoring by placing the first goal of the game. This would be his fifth goal (and twelve assists) of the year. Leafs ended the game 4 to 1. It is a note worthy comment here to say that this was Trevor Kidds BEST game of the year. Kidd's net minding preserved the Eagle for on the next night when the Leafs had bigger fish to fry at home hosting the Senator's. Reichel would have decisive contributions to this key game at the A.C.C.

(Home) January 31st, 2004. A score was to be settled. The Leafs earlier took a drubbing at home by the Ottawa Senators. As the Leafs were in for a long night the Ottawa captain thought it was a good idea to mock Mats Sundin. This man has been marked. But, lets talk about the game. I personally thought this was the best game the Leafs played all year. Certainly it was my favourite.It was Pat Quinn's 600th win and Tie Domi got his revenge. Robert Reichel had two important goals to contribute in this epic game. In the first period, Reichel on his knees scored tying the game 1 to 1 . Later, (I've never seen this before) Reichel shot the puck and Gary Roberts tipped it in with NO TIME ON THE CLOCK to score Leafs were now 3 to 1. The end result was 5 to 1 Leafs. I can only imagine how it must have been to see that game at the A.C.C live.

(Away) April 3rd, 2004. At the Toronto Maple Leafs home away from home the Corel Centre, the Leafs proceed to take a ball pien hammer the Ottawa Senators. The 6 to 0 blow out was impressive to watch. Reichel scored the fifth goal in this rout. This sadly would be his last goal in the N.H.L. Reichel was unsuccessful in scoring any goals in the playoffs for the Leafs.

The reader may ask why do I harp on about some fourth line player? I feel it will be the Robert Reichel's or the Travis Green's or the Robert Svehla's that will one day end this cursed drought that has dogged our team. Yes I know our biggest guns (Mogilny, Nolan, Sundin, Nieuwendyk, or their successor's) can and will be counted on to get us, one day, to the seventh game of the Stanley Cup Finals. Our deliverer, who will score a goal to be the man who's goal will equal Bill Barilko's in fame will be a man from the fourth line. (Or, I'd like Darcy Tucker do be the man). I just feel a laughing fate has arranged that. I regret if I have been too melodramatic here; I'd like to close by saying to Robert Reichel thank you for your efforts and best wishes to you and your family when you return the Czech Republic to live.

     D.C.

Five years ago, this tribute was credited to the author's real name. A few years ago, D.C. wrote me and asked me to delete his real name and use his initials. People would Google him and see his tribute to Reichel. I'm guessing his credibility and integrity was shot right there.

Robert Reichel left the blue and white five years ago this week. He was not The Greatest Leaf in the World, no. This is just a tribute.

Article Permalink    2 Comments

Ted "Teeder" Kennedy, Dead at 83
Published August 14, 2009 @ 13:15 in Celebrity Death Watch, Toronto Maple Leafs

Ted "Teeder" Kennedy was 83. He won five Stanley Cups with the Toronto Maple Leafs during a Hall of Fame career in which he scored 231 goals and 329 assists for 560 points in 696 regular-season games, as well as 29 goals and 31 assists for 60 points in 78 playoff games.

Without a doubt, Teeder was one of the best Leafs of all-time.

Article Permalink    4 Comments

Pogge Traded to Ducks, My Son Shares His Thoughts
Published August 9, 2009 @ 11:36 in Toronto Maple Leafs

TSN is reporting that Justin Pogge is being traded to the Anaheim Ducks. The Leafs will get a conditional late round draft pick that can improve based on Pogge's play.

This concludes the Justin Pogge rollercoaster ride. I was sure Justin Pogge was on his way out and that suspicion was confirmed by a Sportsnet report confirming the Justin Pogge era had indeed come to an end here in Toronto. But then, like a phoenix rising from the ashes, it seemed Pogge was saved from the chopping block. Now, he's gone.

My son sat beside me throughout most of the last Marlies season as we watched Justin Pogge from the first row. He was easy to like and easy to root for. I just conducted a brief interview with my son after telling him Pogge was off to Anaheim. Here's the transcript.

Me: How do you feel about Justin Pogge being traded to the Anaheim Ducks?

Son: I don't like it.

Me: Why don't you like it?

Son: Because, I like Justin Pogge.

Me: What did you like about Justin Pogge?

Son: He was a good goalie. Well... mostly.

James hit it on the head. Pogge was good, not great... and he was inconsistent at that. That's some solid insight. To replace Pogge, the Leafs will sign free agent goaltender Joey MacDonald who I will henceforth only refer to as Joey Mac.

Farewell, Pogge. My son and I wish you much luck on the west coast and hope you make us regret this fateful day.

Article Permalink    6 Comments

Kerry Fraser to Face the Music
Published August 4, 2009 @ 14:53 in Toronto Maple Leafs

On his blog, Chris Zelkovich tells me former referee Kerry Fraser will be on 640 Toronto's Leafs Lunch tomorrow from noon to 1 p.m. Yes, he'll be fielding calls from Leafs fans and I'll bet you can guess what 100% of those calls will be regarding.

Here's Fraser's infamous non-call.

You'd think watching that would hurt less and less as the years go by, but it actually hurts more today than ever. Let him have it, guys and gals.

Article Permalink    9 Comments

Leafs Acquire Wayne Primeau For Some Reason
Published July 27, 2009 @ 20:06 in Toronto Maple Leafs

Brian Burke has pulled off a trade with the Calgary Flames. Yes, a member of our defensive glut was involved, and no, it wasn't Tomas Kaberle.

Anton Stralman, Colin Stuart and the Leafs' 7th round selection in the 2012 NHL Entry Draft are off to Calgary for forward Wayne Primeau and the Flames' 2nd round pick in 2011.

At first it seems like we grossly overpaid for Primeau, a 33-year-old center who only scored three goals and 14 points in 67 games over his last two seasons in Calgary, but let's break it down. We're giving up a 7th rounder for a 2nd rounder, a defenseman who can't crack the Leafs lineup and a fringe NHL forward who was only in town for a cup of coffee.

It's not a blockbuster, but it's not as bad as you think. At least we finally have a player named Wayne in the lineup.

Update: Apologies to Wayne Carleton, Wayne Presley and Wayne Thomas, great Waynes in Maple Leafs history.

Article Permalink    11 Comments

The Justin Pogge Rollercoaster Ride Continues
Published July 23, 2009 @ 13:40 in Toronto Maple Leafs, Toronto Marlies

I was sure Justin Pogge was on his way out and that suspicion was confirmed by a Sportsnet report confirming the Justin Pogge era had indeed come to an end here in Toronto. But then, like a phoenix rising from the ashes, it seemed Pogge was saved from the chopping block.

Today, Pension Plan Puppets is giving a very interesting quote from Brian Burke the light it deserves. Here's what Burke said yesterday about Pogge.

[Justin] Pogge's a good kid, but it just didn't work out for him in Toronto. I assured him I would find him somewhere to play this year.

It appears the Justin Pogge era in Toronto has indeed come to an end. The Justin Pogge rollercoaster ride continues...

Article Permalink    4 Comments

Toronto Mike Wants Patrick Sharp
Published July 16, 2009 @ 11:11 in Toronto Maple Leafs

I like this article from the Daily Herald.

The Blackhawks have talked to Toronto about Patrick Sharp, among other clubs, according to a team source.

Where those discussions go now is unclear, but what is clear is that players like Sharp ($4 million), Dustin Byfuglien ($3 million), Kris Versteeg ($3 million) and Cam Barker ($3 million) are available because a movable contract today may not be movable a year from now if the player doesn't perform next season.

And contracts will have to be moved before 2010-11, the result of the Hawks' bungled salary-cap situation that threatens the future of their young core.

ESPN says this:

As I wrote a short time ago, the Leafs have an abundance of defensemen and are lacking scoring. According to an article in the Toronto Star on Thursday, Leafs general manager Brian Burke also wants to bolster Toronto's penalty-killing unit.

According to thestar.com, Burke mentioned he received a trade proposal for one of his defensemen Wednesday. He remarked the trade would require the Leafs to take on some salary, but they would receive a forward in return. He is also looking at free-agent possibilities.

"I want to make sure if we're down to our last three to five million dollars we want to spend the money wisely," Burke said.

The Blackhawks have a talented forward who will earn $3.9 million next year. Patrick Sharp's 26 goals would have led the Maple Leaf scorers for 2008-09. He would be an attractive option for Mr. Burke.

The Leafs desperately need young scorers up front. Sharp would be a welcome additon. Make it so, Mr. Burke.

Article Permalink    0 Comments