Toronto Maple Leafs Thread

kenshunt

leafs4ever wrote:

honestly i think this is going to be a fun year. We are finally getting our rebuild and the young guys are finally getting their chance. I expect us to finish in the bottom 5 of the league this year which is awsome (2 schenn's are better than 1 )
I really don't see Stajan being our #1 center, i do see him or kaberle taking the C though, if it is given out at all this year. If mats doesn't return, antropov will be the #1 C.
Laraques might beat up Hollweg but, well pretty much anyone in the league will get beat up by Laraques so i can't expect anything else. I can say that this team is not going to be soft and while we may not score many goals, teams will be leaving the acc hurting and i'm happy that will finally be back.
GO LEAFS GO

Yeah maybe your right about Antropov being the number 1 centre, i guess id rather see Mat Stajan number 1, im not a huge fan of Nik

leafs4ever

kenshunt wrote:

Yeah maybe your right about Antropov being the number 1 centre, i guess id rather see Mat Stajan number 1, im not a huge fan of Nik

ya i know what you're saying... i spent many years not liking nic and finally that changed last year. He finally started using his body while not getting hurt (extemely essential for him), and had his best year by far. Without a 10 game injury a 30g 30a season would have been very possible.
Right now i really don't know what our lines will look like though. I still need some time to watch some of more of the new/young guys. I see hagman being anywhere from a 1st liner to a 3rd liner, have no clue where bell and hollweg will fit in (1 of them has to be scratched), and can't decide on grabovski as a winger or 3rd line center and move stajan up to #2. Plus, does Steen play #2 C or does he play on the 1st line wing? so many questions about this team and i love it
Plus we have 8 nhl ready d-men lol

kenshunt

The deal was held up while the Panthers waited for the Leafs to pay a $2 million bonus due to McCabe on Sept. 1.

With the payout, McCabe, 33, will earn $4.15 million in each of the final three seasons of the five-year, $29 million contract he signed with Toronto in 2006.

The Maple Leafs will receive defenceman Mike Van Ryn in exchange for McCabe and a draft pick.

In order to complete the deal, McCabe had to waive his no-movement clause.

McCabe scored five goals and added 18 assists in an injury-plagued campaign that saw the St. Catharines, Ontario native miss 22 games with a broken hand. He also became a scapegoat for Leaf fans after committing some high-profile defensive blunders, including an own-goal in overtime to hand the Buffalo Sabres a victory early in the season.

In 917 career games, McCabe has 115 goals and 303 assists and was named a second team All-Star in 2003-04.
http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/story/?id=248234&lid=sublink02&lpos=headlines_main

leafs4ever

well i'm not really happy that we had to give up a 4th rounder in 2010 but atleast it's not in the 09 draft so i'm not that pissed about it.
With Van Ryn officially in we now have 8 nhl ready d so who do we go with? This is how i see it, so far:
Kaberle Kubina
Van Ryn Colaiacovo
Finger Stralman
Frogen

Traded/Waived/Minors
White

Kronwall (could play as a #6 or 7)
Schenn (probably juniors again this year but could possibly be ready as early as this year. Too young to play in AHL)

Frogen moves in when either of Van Ryn or Cola goes down to injury and plays with Stralman

Rygar

leafs4ever wrote:

well i'm not really happy that we had to give up a 4th rounder in 2010 but atleast it's not in the 09 draft so i'm not that pissed about it.
With Van Ryn officially in we now have 8 nhl ready d so who do we go with? This is how i see it, so far:
Kaberle Kubina
Van Ryn Colaiacovo
Finger Stralman
Frogen

Traded/Waived/Minors
White

Kronwall (could play as a #6 or 7)
Schenn (probably juniors again this year but could possibly be ready as early as this year. Too young to play in AHL)

Frogen moves in when either of Van Ryn or Cola goes down to injury and plays with Stralman

Why is your big acquisition defensemen (snicker) on the third line?

leafs4ever

Rygar wrote:

Why is your big acquisition defensemen (snicker) on the third line?

because that is where he fits. In terms of skill set (without injury) cola is our #3 or 4 d-man without a question. Plus i'm not big on Cola and Stralman on the same line together. Finger fits much better with stralman and van ryn fits much better with cola. A defensive d-man with an offensive d-man in each line.

ariel

I'm actually looking forward to this season more than any in the last while. It definetly feels like we have a roadmap for the future rather than another season of grasping.

Rygar

leafs4ever wrote:

because that is where he fits. In terms of skill set (without injury) cola is our #3 or 4 d-man without a question. Plus i'm not big on Cola and Stralman on the same line together. Finger fits much better with stralman and van ryn fits much better with cola. A defensive d-man with an offensive d-man in each line.

The overpaid Van Ryn doesn't belong on a second line. You guys paid big money for Finger, he should be on the second if you ask me.
The Van Ryn trade was a bad one - no point other than getting rid of McCabe.

Rygar

Mats Sundin now won't make up his mind before training camp.
Haha, he's fucked everyone up, including himself. The chances of him getting on a contending team by then are pretty slim.
Back to TO or bust! (or vancouver)

kenshunt

Leafs Tonight, i can't believe hockey's back tonight, even if it is only pre-season

Rygar

kenshunt wrote:

Leafs Tonight, i can't believe hockey's back tonight, even if it is only pre-season

Kenny's back!
Nice #1 center you got there

Hawkshore

Hey Kenny thanks for sending us that fat ass kyle Wellwood are way! :mad:

http://communities.canada.com/theprovince/blogs/canucksnation/archive/2008/09/21/coach-vigneault-criticizes-kyle-wellwood-s-fitness-or-lack-thereof.aspx

Coach Vigneault criticizes Kyle Wellwood's fitness, or lack thereof
Canucks coach Alain Vigneault didn't say Kyle Wellwood is a lost cause but he did leave some tread marks on the waiver-wire pickup after he drove the bus over him.

AV took direct aim at Wellwood's fitness level after the two-day training camp in Whistler.

“His commitment to conditioning and being a professional athlete probably wasn’t where it needed to be for him to have success,” said Vigneault. “His test results showed from early July [to training camp] significant improvements. That being said, it’s still not NHL calibre.”


Ouch. And that wasn’t the only shot that Wellwood absorbed.


“He’s going to be re-tested after the first four [preseason] games,” added Vigneault. “As long as we see improvements and consistent improvements, we’ll work with him and give him the benefit of the doubt.


“The day that stops, it [roster-spot battle] stops.”

“I know that part [conditioning] needs to get better,” Wellwood admitted.


Does the former Leaf have a good chance to make the team now? What do you think? We're supposed to see him in action Monday in Edmonton where he is scheduled to centre Daniel Sedin and Taylor Pyatt.

Hope he doesn't get winded.

Rygar

Hawkshore wrote:

Hey Kenny thanks for sending us that fat ass kyle Wellwood are way! :mad:

http://communities.canada.com/theprovince/blogs/canucksnation/archive/2008/09/21/coach-vigneault-criticizes-kyle-wellwood-s-fitness-or-lack-thereof.aspx

Coach Vigneault criticizes Kyle Wellwood's fitness, or lack thereof
Canucks coach Alain Vigneault didn't say Kyle Wellwood is a lost cause but he did leave some tread marks on the waiver-wire pickup after he drove the bus over him.

AV took direct aim at Wellwood's fitness level after the two-day training camp in Whistler.

“His commitment to conditioning and being a professional athlete probably wasn’t where it needed to be for him to have success,” said Vigneault. “His test results showed from early July [to training camp] significant improvements. That being said, it’s still not NHL calibre.”


Ouch. And that wasn’t the only shot that Wellwood absorbed.


“He’s going to be re-tested after the first four [preseason] games,” added Vigneault. “As long as we see improvements and consistent improvements, we’ll work with him and give him the benefit of the doubt.


“The day that stops, it [roster-spot battle] stops.”

“I know that part [conditioning] needs to get better,” Wellwood admitted.


Does the former Leaf have a good chance to make the team now? What do you think? We're supposed to see him in action Monday in Edmonton where he is scheduled to centre Daniel Sedin and Taylor Pyatt.

Hope he doesn't get winded.

Sounds like the Wellwood criticism flying around when you guys picked him up is spot on

kenshunt

Hawkshore wrote:

Hey Kenny thanks for sending us that fat ass kyle Wellwood are way! :mad:

http://communities.canada.com/theprovince/blogs/canucksnation/archive/2008/09/21/coach-vigneault-criticizes-kyle-wellwood-s-fitness-or-lack-thereof.aspx

Coach Vigneault criticizes Kyle Wellwood's fitness, or lack thereof
Canucks coach Alain Vigneault didn't say Kyle Wellwood is a lost cause but he did leave some tread marks on the waiver-wire pickup after he drove the bus over him.

AV took direct aim at Wellwood's fitness level after the two-day training camp in Whistler.

“His commitment to conditioning and being a professional athlete probably wasn’t where it needed to be for him to have success,” said Vigneault. “His test results showed from early July [to training camp] significant improvements. That being said, it’s still not NHL calibre.”


Ouch. And that wasn’t the only shot that Wellwood absorbed.


“He’s going to be re-tested after the first four [preseason] games,” added Vigneault. “As long as we see improvements and consistent improvements, we’ll work with him and give him the benefit of the doubt.


“The day that stops, it [roster-spot battle] stops.”

“I know that part [conditioning] needs to get better,” Wellwood admitted.


Does the former Leaf have a good chance to make the team now? What do you think? We're supposed to see him in action Monday in Edmonton where he is scheduled to centre Daniel Sedin and Taylor Pyatt.

Hope he doesn't get winded.

Wellwood showed up to Leafs camp every year out of shape, it's really nothing new, the Leafs got tired of it and put him on waivers, but he does show flashes of being a very good player at times.

leafs4ever

so glad the 1st game of the year is here.

Sorry about wellwood, but he did have a cast until about july that stopped his workout (doesn't help that he's kind of lazy), but from what i've heard he's made some good strides since then.
He has some great potential, if he could ever get over this motivation problem that he's having, he could be a great player for you guys.
Hope he works outs

kenshunt

Leafs win lol, i hope i say this alot this year.

TORONTO -- There might not be a player on the Toronto Maple Leafs roster who better embodies the type of player new coach Ron Wilson is looking for than Dominic Moore.

Moore used his speed, threw some hits, blocked a shot and scored two goals Monday as the Maple Leafs opened their pre-season schedule with a 7-4 victory over the Buffalo Sabres.

The 28-year-old has bounced between teams in recent years but might find a more permanent home in Toronto if he keeps playing like that.

``The one guy I guess who did make an obvious impression to everybody tonight is Dom Moore,'' Wilson said after coaching his first game since being hired by Toronto in June. ``I'd never really seen him play all that much. ...

``I was impressed with his speed and his competitiveness. He scored two nice goals, took the puck to the net and did a great job killing penalties.''

Wilson's team is going to be short on star power this year so the coach has vowed to put a hard-working squad on the ice.

He might have a good fit in Moore.

The Leafs coach won't be counting on much offence from him - Moore has scored 22 goals during 224 career NHL games - but he can rely on getting the maximum effort possible.

``I take pride in my versatility,'' said Moore. ``That's a big part of my game. I'm happy to help out whatever way I can.''

Carlo Colaiacovo, Boyd Devereaux, Robbie Earl, Matt Stajan and Jiri Tlusty also scored for the Maple Leafs on Monday. Marek Zagrapan, Philip Gogulla, Mark Mancari and Jochen Hecht replied for Buffalo.

Tickets to the exhibition opener were given away for free and the 18,819 in attendance at Air Canada Centre saw a pretty good game that featured some physical play and plenty of scoring.

It resulted in a pretty lively crowd for September.

``There was a lot of energy in the building,'' said Leafs goaltender Curtis Joseph.

His presence made it feel like the old days. The fans chanted ``Cujo! Cujo!'' before the start of the 41-year-old's first start with the Maple Leafs since leaving for Detroit as a free agent in 2002.

Joseph returned over the summer and will likely be Vesa Toskala's backup once the season starts.

Another player the home fans were anxious to see was defenceman Luke Schenn, the 18-year-old the Maple Leafs drafted fifth overall in June. He played nearly 20 minutes and was a plus-2.

``I had a lot of fun out there,'' said Schenn. ``It's awesome playing in front of 20,000 fans.''

Zagrapan opened the scoring for Buffalo on a power play just 45 seconds in before the Maple Leafs found their stride and dominated much of the period.

Moore tied it at 8:09 after a strong forecheck caused a Sabres turnover and the Leafs centre beat Sabres goalie Ryan Miller over the shoulder. Toronto again established its presence in Buffalo's end just before Colaiacovo's shot through a crowd made it 2-1 at 18:51.

``For periods of time, our forecheck was unbelievable,'' said Wilson. ``(Later in the game), our guys didn't have their legs because of all the work we've done the first two and a half days. And that's understandable.''

Fortunately, they had Justin Pogge, who played the final two periods in place of Joseph. He was particularly good in the second, making 15 saves as Toronto built a 4-1 lead on goals by Devereaux and Earl.

This is an important season for Pogge, who is expected to start with the AHL Marlies and will be looking to show he deserves a spot on the big team down the road.

``I'm just ready to do whatever it takes,'' he said.

That kind of attitude will serve him well.

The Sabres came out strong in the third period and looked like they might have a comeback in them until Moore's short-handed goal ended those chances. He took the puck hard to the net and somehow managed to sneak it past Jhonas Enroth _ who replaced Miller midway through the game - while being taken down at 14:47.

That made it 6-3.

Moore grew up in the Toronto area and joined the team midway through last season after being picked up on waivers from Minnesota. The Maple Leafs are the fourth NHL team he's skated for since the lockout and he's feeling good in Toronto.

``It's been great,'' he said. ``Obviously growing up here, I really enjoy being home. I appreciate the opportunity to wear that jersey. It's been a lot of fun.''

Notes: Luke Schenn, Toronto's first round draft pick in June, played his first game with the team ...Toronto was 3-3-2 against the Sabres during the regular season a year ago ... Chad Kilger and John Pohl led Toronto in pre-season scoring last fall. Neither player is still with the team ... The Maple Leafs next exhibition game is Wednesday night in Pittsburgh ... Buffalo plays Montreal on Tuesday in Roberval, Que. - the small town's prize for winning Hockeyville 2008 ... Enroth was a standout for Sweden at this year's world junior championship. His only loss came against Canada in the gold-medal final.

http://mapleleafs.nhl.com/team/app/?service=page&page=Recap&seas=20082009&gtype=1&gnum=3

leafs4ever

what a game to start the pre-season. Cola looked incredible and (if healthy) should be a reason to trade one of kubina or kaberle at the deadline. Pogge was pretty impressive aswell and damn is he quick in the net getting across from side to side.
Kulemin was pretty much invisible except when he drew the penalty with some great foot work, he's going to be good once he gets the hang of the differences between the NA game and European game.
Moore needs to be our 4th line C, he gives it all every shift and if he keeps it up, there is no way he does not make this team.
Tlusky looks alot bigger and stronger on the puck and i could see him playing very well this year.

We actually looked like a pretty cohessive team for on the 3rd day of camp, i hope this doesn't keep up cause i want one of the top 3 picks in the draft lol

kenshunt

Maniac Hollweg was running aroung hitting everything in site, as for Pogge he had an amazing 2nd stopping all 15 shots of the period, Dom Moore flying in off the wing, should be fun watching a no talent team give it there all every night

Rygar

haha, for a team that is supposed to challenge for worst in the conference you tools didn't look too bad last night

Rygar

BeerBaron wrote:

I would expect last night's W to be the exception rather than the rule

True, but you beat Detroit, what's to stop you from beating anyone else on any given night?
Hell I almost cheered you on. I couldn't quite bring myself to do it, so I laughed instead.