Thursday 14 June 2012

1-2 punch?

With draft day a week away, there seems to be something going on in leaf land that is going to significantly change the leafs for years to come. I have different opinions on getting Luongo or Nash. I have a better solution for Burke and company to turn this team into a contender for years to come. These two players are going to be Alex Galchenyuk and Nail Yakupov. Trading up with both Edmonton and Columbus isn't too crazy of a thought either. So lets talk about the trade scenarios.


Thursday 1 March 2012

Tank Nation

First off I want to start by stating that I believe Ron Wilson will stick around for the rest of the season. May not be shocking but I also believe that once the season is over, Rotten Ron will get the can and Burke will not announce the new coach right away.

Thursday 26 January 2012

Get Back Grabbo


A team looking for center depth should have no intentions of letting their best pivot take off for free agency. He is tied for 10th in goals with David Backes and Brad Richards with 16 goals a piece. He is on pace for 62 points and 32 goals and is only getting hotter as the season goes on. He had 29 goals/29 assists for 58 points last year.

He only makes 2.9 this season and is due for a big raise. A comparable to him is Tomas Plekanec who is making 20 million over 4 years after posting similar stats to Mikhail. Grabovski brings a stronger defensive side to the game and is arguably only going to get better. Although his line mates have struggled this year, he has still performed up to expectations as this teams #2 center. Last year Plekanec had 57 points to Grabbos 58 although Plekanec has posted 69 and 70 point seasons, he is a year older and has more experience in the NHL. Both are going to score 20 goals each year for a few more seasons. 288 games for Grabovski and 519 for Plekanec. The best is yet to come from the Belarusian.

A deal giving Grabbo 4 years at 4.75 a year would be a contract I think both the Leafs and Crosbovski can settle on. He would hold down the second line center position and provide solid secondary scoring along with his keen 2 way play. Seems as though Mikhail is one of Rotten Ron's favorites. A nice option in the future for Grabbo is going to be Kadri who is learning the Wing position and they would compliment each other quite well. It would produce some silky smooth plays.

Tuesday 24 January 2012

Leafs 4 - Islanders 3

A strong showing by the Leafs 1st line of last year. Clarke Macarthur buried 2 tonight to go with 1 assist and Mikhail Grabovski buried one with 3 apples on the night. On a night where the Leafs didn't bring it in the early going, they turned it around with a goal before the second period ended to make it 2-1. After Jake Gardiner tied  it up with his first career goal that had eyes for the net, the game had two crazy deflections which gave the lead to the buds then taken back after a ring around attempt directed right to the slot where P.A. Parenteau banged it home with 13 seconds left in the match. The game ended on a nice give an go with Mac and Grabbo with Mac shooting it into the glove of a sprawled out Al Montoya. The glove was clearly over the line and the Leafs won a key 2 points.

Building a Back End


When Anthopolous solidified the closer spot on the roster when he acquired Sergio Santos for Nestor Molina, that was just the start to him building arguably one of the best bull pens in the league now. After that he has also re-acquired Jason Frasor then signed veteran lefty specialist Darren Oliver and veteran righty Coco Cordero. Although most these pitchers are on the older side, they can still eat quality innings. When your starting pitching is young and thin at the back end its great to have quality options to go to in the 6th and 7th innings knowing the 8th an 9th are under control.




Thursday 19 January 2012

Leafs 4 - Wild 1

The second game in a row that the Leafs dominated. Out shooting the Wild 33-21. Have to give props to Wilson for the line changes, created a spark for the team from the first shift where Nazem Kadri scored and it continued throughout the entire game. Joey Crabb stole a move out of Matt Frattin's notebook using that power move to cut to the net and finish it off sliding the puck under Backstroms arm. Very pretty goal by the Alaskan Crabb. Kessel got off the snide finishing a dirty goal in front of the net, also the first power play goal in four games for the buds. Making sure there was no chance at a come back Lupul and Grabovski hooked up on a quick on to open the third where Grabbo directed the puck in on a crossing pass by Joffrey. Lupul had arguably his most dominant game of the season showing off his hands and vision on numerous occasions. The monster stood strong the whole game and kept the game scoreless until a weak goal on a bad angle shot late in the third which broke the shut out bid. Once again the PK stood strong, with the Leafs being more discipline lately it has taken a large amount of pressure of the units and keeping them fresh.


How Long Will this Last

Switching up basically the entire line-up going into tonight's game against the Wild seems a bit unreasonable. The Leafs need to fight through this struggle on their own. Yeah the Kessel/Lupul line has been scored against but to put the blame on them seems ridiculous. The team as a whole hasn't been able to get their speed going through the neutral zone and this has stalled the teams offense. Over the past 3 game losing streak the team has given up 3 goals each game which by no means is horrible. All games were close for the most part.

Monday 16 January 2012

Is Alex Anthopolous the Best GM in Baseball?

If I could choose any GM in the league to bring success back to the Jays organization, I would easily choose AA(Alex Anthopolous). Simply moving a contract as horrendous as Vernon Wells has definitely put AA in the upper echelon of General Managers.


.

Sunday 15 January 2012

Limiting the Damage

After losing back to back games the leafs cannot let this turn into a long losing streak. The month of January has been good to the Leafs so far and the remaining schedule left for the month is looking easier than the start. Maybe the biggest game in January is this coming tuesday against the Ottawa Senators. A win tuesday would snap this 2 game losing streak and it seems to be good timing cause the Leafs and especially Phil Kessel usually light the Senators up. Leafs need to get their speed going again and the lack of a fore check has held them back the last two games. The monster was good the last two games but 2 goals in 2 games isn't going to cut it from the Leafs upfront. The third line has been solid but the scoring hasn't been there in a few games.

Good on the Leafs realizing that the farm needed some gardining, as I previously said.

Saturday 14 January 2012

Speculation

Everything points to James Van Riemsdyk coming to the leafs for Luke Schenn and maybe more. JVR brings a lot to the table, dealing from a defence which is a position of strength for the Leafs seems reasonable too. Although it seems like a good fit, JVR plays wing. The Leafs are deep on the wings and the ideal trade would be to bring in a center. Although this could work...

Friday 13 January 2012

The Farm needs some Gardining

Seems like the perfect time to send Jake Gardiner down to the Marlies. Sitting in the press box isn't doing Jake any good right now. Any player that comes out of college will struggle with the length of the schedule. It appears that Gardiner is feeling the effects of the long gruelling NHL schedule about now. With the defence clicking  and healthy along with the strong play of Cody Franson, they should let Jake get some minutes down with Eakins to help him get used to a long season.

Wednesday 11 January 2012

Sultan of Swing

Everyone knows the story about Jose Bautista coming out of nowhere, what most are overlooking is how godly his numbers really were the past 2 seasons.

No batter in the MLB has the ability Bautista does to hit strikes hard and lay off of pitches outside the zone.




Now think of the pitcher, your looking at Bautista in the batters box and you know if you leave one up in the zone it could be out of the park fast. You try and jam him, his lightning quick bat is able to get to all inside pitches and drive them. You try to get him to chase, he has the best eye in the game. If you try and nibble the outside corner, his ability to battle and get the count in his favour is outstanding. Now any player can hit with a 2-0 count but not many players get the count in their favour as often as Jose. When Bautista is at bat, the game is in his hands.

Not only is he the homerun king in back to back seasons, he is the leader in the clubhouse, has a rocket arm in right field (can pick it at 3rd aswell) and he can take a walk with the best of them to give his team mates the opportunity to hit with runners on base. His OPS lead the league last year after finishing in 5th in 2010, OPS is arguably the most important offensive statistic. His slash line was remarkable in all stats, in 2011 .302/.447.608 with an OPS of 1.055.

Tuesday 10 January 2012

Leafs 2 - Sabres 0

Leafs extend their win streak to 4 games. The second line produced the only two goals needed. Really nice to see Nikolai Kulemin and Mikhail Grabovski getting hot. The monster continues his hot play posting his 2nd shut out in 3 games. Making 32 saves, Jonas Gustavsson out duelled opposing tender Ryan Miller who continues to struggle against the Leafs. A huge hit from Kulemin, Joffrey Lupul and Nathan Gerbe tussling is going to add fuel to the rivalry that contines down the QEW on friday. Once again the Leafs showed great discipline which is protecting their weak penalty kill. The Sabres did not have one power play chance.

Quietly the addition of Mike Brown, Mike Komisarek and Matt Lombardi has filled out the leafs line up giving the team continuous pressure by being able to role 4 solid lines.

Monday 9 January 2012

My Name is Jonas

When Jonas Gustavsson came to Toronto, of course there was a ton of hype surrounding him. Touted as the best goalie not in the NHL. It seems fair to say that the monster never received a valid shot at taking over the crease for the Leafs. In his rookie season he showed that he had the talent and quickness and size to be a legitimate number one. Posting a 16-15-10 record with a GAA of 2.87 and sv % of .902. Thinking his second year had more improvement to come, it did not. He ended the 2010/2011 season with a 6-13-2 record and a GAA of 3.29 and sv % of .890. This struggle gave James Reimer all he needed to win over Ron Wilson and the Leafs management to take over the number one position. Going into the 2011/2012 season now with high expectations of Reimer, the monster was an after thought. After a seemingly light bump to the head of Reimer, he was out with  concussion like symptoms. It is now that Gus has finally taken advantage of an opportunity that was long awaited for the swede. This is the last season on his contract and it may be wise for Burke to give him a 1 year deal to see if this is a fluke. Reimer is still young at the age of 23 and it wouldn't hurt to have two quality goaltenders going through a tough NHL season. Wilson should grab the monster by the horns and see how long he can keep this going.

Saturday 7 January 2012

The Perfect Solution....If True

A pivot that brings vision, size and leadership would seem like a player every team would love to obtain. The resume that Ryan Getzlaf has built is quite impressive at the age of 26. Although after seeing him without a bucket on it would be tough to tell he is just entering his prime as a hockey player. A stanley cup winner already, the experience he has already gained would help a team that hasn't made it to the dance in a few years.

The thing is that the leafs would have to give up Nazem Kadri and/or Luke Schenn. If it is true that the superstar is on the market, this is a big decision for the Leafs GM to give up on two potential cornerstones and maybe a 1st rounder. The chances of either of these two players becoming the player that Getzlaf is seems unlikely though.

The time is now to go after a big fish and turn this team into a Stanley Cup contender rather than a fringe play-off team. Both Schenn and Kadri will be missed but the first line will become one of the best lines in the league if it isn't close already. The emergence of Joe Colborne has made Kadri an easier trade option. The log jam on defence and Gardiner and Franson's strong play has made it easier to consider moving Schenn.

This all sounds fine and dandy but why on earth would a team give up on a player with the pedigree of Getzlaf. Let's keep our fingers crossed that his slow start will open up trade negotiations between the Ducks and Leafs who seem to be talking all the time.

I will continue to post daily.

Thursday 5 January 2012

Leafs 4 - Jets 0

The ice seemed to be tilted in the Leafs favour all night. A perfect penalty kill is always easy when you only have one penalty to kill off. A solid performance by the monster as he gets his second shutout of his career and his first of the season. Ron Wilson should ride his hot tender as long as he can. Solid contributions from the teams top six continues as Grabo is getting hot. The thought of a consistent Kessel and Lupul along with a hot Mikhail Grabovski is scary. If Mikhail can continue his play it will go along ways to help this team reach the play-off's. Schenn was all over Evander Kane tonight sending him to the ice on multiple occasions. A well rounded game overall with great special teams.

A keen skill I've noticed from Jake Gardiner is his ability to keep the puck in on the man advantage with his great hand eye coordination.

#TeamUnit

Colby Armstrong (left), Tyler Bozak(middle), J.P. Arencibia(right)

The boys rocking their team unit shirts that are now being sold at
real sports in toronto.

The city of Toronto has a unique friendship going on between two of its sports teams. The friendship that consists of players such as; Tyler Bozak, Colby Armstrong, Joffrey Lupul, Phil Kessel, J.P. Arencibia, Ricky Romero and Brett Lawrie. These guys along with other players occasionally will go out for dinner or take in the other teams game.

What makes the friendship so special is that fans of the teams and players can see the players ongoing conversations via twitter. These conversations are exactly what Toronto fans want to see. The players also continue to reach out to fans and the community.

It will be neat to see the young nucleus of each team as they continue to grow as both teams have a bright future with success coming soon. Imagine how amped the city will be if play-off hockey returns to Toronto and the Jays come out of the gates hot and build on on last years 81 win season.

Wednesday 4 January 2012

Down for the Count?

At one point in his career with the Toronto Maple Leafs, Colton Orr was one of the toughest heavyweights to throw knuckles in the NHL. In 2009/2010 Orr dropped the mitts an impressive 23 times never shying away from the rough stuff and always sticking up for his team mates. From a fans point of view it seemed as though his team appreciated his security. Today Orr has been put on waivers and his fighting career could be coming to an end after suffering a concussion after a bout with George Parros last year. There is also the chance that no team claims Orr and he has a chance to prove his chin can still take a punch down in the minors. Orr only played in 5 of 39 games this year.

Tuesday 3 January 2012

Leafs 7 - Bolts 3

With one of the more exciting 2nd periods we have seen this season, it saw the leafs gather a freight train of momentum after killing off a few key penalties then took the game over after the lead changed 5 times in this shoot out. All fourlines contributed and Darryl Boyce and Dave Steckel helped out an ailing team with a man in the sin bin. It seems as though who ever centers lupul and kessel will succeed as Connolly has a solid showing tonight with 2 apples. Nice to see Keith Aulie stick up for captain and "D" partner Dion Phaneuf.

Monday 2 January 2012

Sell Low, Buy High?

Most jays fans would love a trade for a poised Matt Garza going into his 7th career major league season. Even after seeing him post excellent numbers with the Chicago Cubs in 2011, a trade bringing him to the great white north doesn't seem reasonable. At the cost Theo Epstein is asking for which would be along the lines of a package similar to Kyle Drabek, Travis Snider and Deck McGuire, it seems like a situation AA (Alex Anthopulous) would like to avoid. This would be selling off two of the jays top prospects at their lowest value ever in their respective careers. Along with Travis D'arnaud, Drabek was the centre piece of the Doc Halladay deal. Although last year wasn't the type of showing most would have liked out of Drabek or Snider, both should be kept in the system to let their tools come together.

Can you fire a BFF?

Ron Wilson and Brian Burke go way back. A scenario where Burke would have to fire his good pal seems unlikely. The leafs have changed their entire roster over the course of Wilson's tenure and his assistant coaches have also changed. With the leafs sitting on the cusp of the play off picture currently looking in from the outside, it seems the only thing to happen now is the firing of Wilson. After receiving a 1 year extension from Burke, it seems as though Burke is letting Wilson coach the rest of this season with the team behind him thinking he will be back next year.

With a special teams enthusiast awaiting his opportunity to take over the heralded Toronto Maple Leafs, Wilson may be out of a job if his penalty kill keeps the Leafs out of the play-off's once again for the sixth straight year. Dallas Eakins has his penalty kill at the top of the AHL and is coaching the marlies to the tune of a 17-12-5 record