Available The Krinar Captive
5 years ago
Thursday, March 11, 2010
Friday, March 5, 2010
Overhaul almost complete
After the Ponikarovsky trade to the Stanley Cup defending Pittsburgh Penguins, which I called many-a blog ago, the overhaul of the Maple Leafs has taken another step in the new (hopefully right) direction. I’m not trying to toot my own horn or anything. Anyone could have seen that trade coming for months. It’s just some people decided to put a lot of teams into the Poni sweepstakes that were far from true. I really believe Pitt was the front-runner from the get-go, with Montreal and Atlanta also dabbling.
When I spoke to a friend today, who is another rabid Leafs fan, we discussed how insane this whole overhaul has been. It’s like trades and players we’ve all discussed in the past are coming to fruition in a pretty abrupt fashion. The old Leafs squad from the days of Quinn and eventually JFJ, are simply over. We all knew that when JFJ was fired, and talks of Brian Burke started up, that the Leafs would be overhauled because of their knack for failure. Little did we know that it would actually happen. I know that sounds stupid: “We expected it, but it’s surprising.” But put simply, us Leafs fans have expected a lot from the biggest franchise in hockey history, and we’ve been let down time and time again. So it’s fun to finally see some good deals go down.
Correct me if I’m wrong, but I think 14 (or so) players from the roster exactly one year ago have moved on. Howard Berger from the FAN590 wrote a new piece about the overhaul, and the list he presented was pretty mind-blowing. I know every trade and tidbit of news surrounding the Leafs as it happens, but when you look at the giant list of all the players that have left town, it really puts it into perspective.
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The Leafs are the worst OT/Shootout team ever. This season has forced me to just assume the Buds will lose when the game hits the extra frame. I really can’t believe how terrible they are. Last night against Boston, who can’t score their way out of a paper bag, the blue & white couldn’t get anything by Tim Thomas in the extra minutes and shootout. Give credit to Thomas, he was good. But how sad is it to always have to give credit to other teams players for the Leafs inadequacy? Can’t we just have a chance to hype or praise our own players for a change? Upsetting.
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Luca Caputi looked alright last night. The scouting report on this guy seemed pretty accurate. He’s strong when going to the net, has decent hands and needs work on his skating. All of that was evident last night.
Caputi helped to set up the Tyler Bozak goal by using a big body approach and chipping a pass to Kulemin, who should see a lot ice-time for the remainder of the season. It was good work by Caputi, as he looked pretty focused and ready to go last night, so hopefully he can keep it up.
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I forgot to add Chris Peluso to the stats sheet yesterday. Peluso was drafted in the 7th round by the Pens in 2004 (#194 overall) and came over to the Buds for a 6th rounder. Here’s what he’s all about.
MSU
When I spoke to a friend today, who is another rabid Leafs fan, we discussed how insane this whole overhaul has been. It’s like trades and players we’ve all discussed in the past are coming to fruition in a pretty abrupt fashion. The old Leafs squad from the days of Quinn and eventually JFJ, are simply over. We all knew that when JFJ was fired, and talks of Brian Burke started up, that the Leafs would be overhauled because of their knack for failure. Little did we know that it would actually happen. I know that sounds stupid: “We expected it, but it’s surprising.” But put simply, us Leafs fans have expected a lot from the biggest franchise in hockey history, and we’ve been let down time and time again. So it’s fun to finally see some good deals go down.
Correct me if I’m wrong, but I think 14 (or so) players from the roster exactly one year ago have moved on. Howard Berger from the FAN590 wrote a new piece about the overhaul, and the list he presented was pretty mind-blowing. I know every trade and tidbit of news surrounding the Leafs as it happens, but when you look at the giant list of all the players that have left town, it really puts it into perspective.
_______
The Leafs are the worst OT/Shootout team ever. This season has forced me to just assume the Buds will lose when the game hits the extra frame. I really can’t believe how terrible they are. Last night against Boston, who can’t score their way out of a paper bag, the blue & white couldn’t get anything by Tim Thomas in the extra minutes and shootout. Give credit to Thomas, he was good. But how sad is it to always have to give credit to other teams players for the Leafs inadequacy? Can’t we just have a chance to hype or praise our own players for a change? Upsetting.
__________
Luca Caputi looked alright last night. The scouting report on this guy seemed pretty accurate. He’s strong when going to the net, has decent hands and needs work on his skating. All of that was evident last night.
Caputi helped to set up the Tyler Bozak goal by using a big body approach and chipping a pass to Kulemin, who should see a lot ice-time for the remainder of the season. It was good work by Caputi, as he looked pretty focused and ready to go last night, so hopefully he can keep it up.
_____
I forgot to add Chris Peluso to the stats sheet yesterday. Peluso was drafted in the 7th round by the Pens in 2004 (#194 overall) and came over to the Buds for a 6th rounder. Here’s what he’s all about.
MSU
Thursday, March 4, 2010
Quick rundown of Leafs deadline
Full blog coming later today. The Leafs are in action tonight against the Boston Bruins. The game will be nationally broadcast by TSN, followed by San Jose v. Montreal.
So here are some stats on the Leafs pickups from the past couple days. Keep in mind it is doubtful that Matt Jones will ever play a game with the Leafs as he is dealing with major injury issues from what I can gather.
So here are some stats on the Leafs pickups from the past couple days. Keep in mind it is doubtful that Matt Jones will ever play a game with the Leafs as he is dealing with major injury issues from what I can gather.
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
The Leafs should pursue Kesler
You read that correctly. The Maple Leafs should definitely look in to acquiring Ryan Kesler of the Vancouver Canucks.
Though Kesler is currently property of the Canucks, his contract is set to expire in the summer. He will then become a restricted free agent who is eligible for arbitration. If the Canucks cannot afford to pay him the raise he deserves, then he should be far from untouchable after Vancouver finish up the season/playoffs. Obviously they can’t deal him prior to the deadline because Kesler will be an integral part of their playoff hopes. Ryan Kesler is built for the playoffs.
Many Canadians, including myself, were clearly pissed off with Kesler because of remarks he made during the Olympics about hating the Canadian team and how he thought his own teammate Roberto Luongo was fighting the puck. The point is, it works and it gets under everyone’s skin. He's a very smart player, something the Leafs could use more of (insert Grabovski comment here). Either way, Kesler was classy in defeat, giving congratulations to Luongo and the Canadians and ending any real controversy his earlier remarks may have sparked. He is truly a great player with a major competitiveness that’s at a level that only a handful of players in the league can bring to the table every night. He’s gritty, and definitely one of the best players in the NHL on both sides of the puck. Really, he’s the ideal player that the Leafs should get. Ron Wilson would be a great coach for Kesler, as we all should be aware of after the Olympic tourney.
The rest of the Maple Leafs brass are no strangers to #17 either. Brian Burke was the GM who drafted Kesler in 2003 in the first round (23rd overall). The speedy center is only 25 years old and would fit in to a Leafs team that is smack-dab in the middle of a rebuild. Since the Buds defense is completely blocked with high-end talent and in turn, barrels of cash, then acquiring good forwards is definitely a priority going forward.
I know that this all sounds like far-fetched wishful thinking, but a fan can dream right? Plus, it’s only speculation. I actually firmly believe that the Leafs have already looked in to what the Canucks plan to do with Kesler, and if they haven’t, then they should. I would imagine that Burke or Nonis have probably chatted with Mike Gillis about a trade offer, whether it’s regarding Kesler or not. The lines of communication are definitely open between these two teams. As Burke said earlier this year when the Phaneuf deal was pulled, he is far from finished.
Don’t get this confused with tampering either. Tampering is when a team actually makes a statement regarding another team’s player, or tries to contact the player directly. Checking to see if players are on the block from another GM is not tampering. Plus, I can speculate all I want. It’s not like anyone is going to take my first round picks. Although, if they did, my beer league team would surely suffer.
The blue & white are in action tonight for the first time since the Olympic break, which I can’t even write about. There’s no need for me to write even MORE material about the Olympic hockey tournament. I will say that the gold medal game was like something out of a movie. As Canadians, the Crosby goal will stay with us forever. I watched Sportscentre yesterday and Patrick O’Sullivan was asked about the game, to which he responded that it was a broken play and lucky goal for Crosby. Lay off the sour grapes Pat. Maybe if he worked on his plus-minus (WORST IN THE LEAGUE) instead of bitching, he would have been on Team USA. Canada rules hockey, so deal with it.
Wow, I just got side-tracked. Like I was saying, the Leafs are in action tonight against the Carolina Hurricanes at the ACC. The game goes at 7:00 est. Everyone enjoy!
MSU
Though Kesler is currently property of the Canucks, his contract is set to expire in the summer. He will then become a restricted free agent who is eligible for arbitration. If the Canucks cannot afford to pay him the raise he deserves, then he should be far from untouchable after Vancouver finish up the season/playoffs. Obviously they can’t deal him prior to the deadline because Kesler will be an integral part of their playoff hopes. Ryan Kesler is built for the playoffs.
Many Canadians, including myself, were clearly pissed off with Kesler because of remarks he made during the Olympics about hating the Canadian team and how he thought his own teammate Roberto Luongo was fighting the puck. The point is, it works and it gets under everyone’s skin. He's a very smart player, something the Leafs could use more of (insert Grabovski comment here). Either way, Kesler was classy in defeat, giving congratulations to Luongo and the Canadians and ending any real controversy his earlier remarks may have sparked. He is truly a great player with a major competitiveness that’s at a level that only a handful of players in the league can bring to the table every night. He’s gritty, and definitely one of the best players in the NHL on both sides of the puck. Really, he’s the ideal player that the Leafs should get. Ron Wilson would be a great coach for Kesler, as we all should be aware of after the Olympic tourney.
The rest of the Maple Leafs brass are no strangers to #17 either. Brian Burke was the GM who drafted Kesler in 2003 in the first round (23rd overall). The speedy center is only 25 years old and would fit in to a Leafs team that is smack-dab in the middle of a rebuild. Since the Buds defense is completely blocked with high-end talent and in turn, barrels of cash, then acquiring good forwards is definitely a priority going forward.
I know that this all sounds like far-fetched wishful thinking, but a fan can dream right? Plus, it’s only speculation. I actually firmly believe that the Leafs have already looked in to what the Canucks plan to do with Kesler, and if they haven’t, then they should. I would imagine that Burke or Nonis have probably chatted with Mike Gillis about a trade offer, whether it’s regarding Kesler or not. The lines of communication are definitely open between these two teams. As Burke said earlier this year when the Phaneuf deal was pulled, he is far from finished.
Don’t get this confused with tampering either. Tampering is when a team actually makes a statement regarding another team’s player, or tries to contact the player directly. Checking to see if players are on the block from another GM is not tampering. Plus, I can speculate all I want. It’s not like anyone is going to take my first round picks. Although, if they did, my beer league team would surely suffer.
The blue & white are in action tonight for the first time since the Olympic break, which I can’t even write about. There’s no need for me to write even MORE material about the Olympic hockey tournament. I will say that the gold medal game was like something out of a movie. As Canadians, the Crosby goal will stay with us forever. I watched Sportscentre yesterday and Patrick O’Sullivan was asked about the game, to which he responded that it was a broken play and lucky goal for Crosby. Lay off the sour grapes Pat. Maybe if he worked on his plus-minus (WORST IN THE LEAGUE) instead of bitching, he would have been on Team USA. Canada rules hockey, so deal with it.
Wow, I just got side-tracked. Like I was saying, the Leafs are in action tonight against the Carolina Hurricanes at the ACC. The game goes at 7:00 est. Everyone enjoy!
MSU
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