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.

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.

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.

#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.

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.

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