Montreal had a strong start, getting six of the first nine chances, and a pair of goals in the first thirteen minutes (the second of which Bernier would like back). Toronto was able to get even in chances for the period after a good late push, but didn't get a goal out of it. The second period was also even in chances, with Montreal again having a hot start before the Leafs pulled things back late in the frame. There wasn't a real push back from Toronto in the third, as an early Montreal goal extended the lead to three,...

  Toronto Maple Leafs Projected Lines James van Riemsdyk – Tyler Bozak – Phil Kessel Joffrey Lupul – Nazem Kadri – Richard Panik Leo Komarov – Olli Jokinen – David Booth Zach Sill – Peter Holland – Brandon Kozun Dion Phaneuf – Korbinian Holzer Morgan Rielly – Roman Polak Jake Gardiner – Stephane Robidas Jonathan Bernier James Reimer Scratched: None Injured: Trevor Smith (lower body) Montreal Canadiens Projected Lines Max Pacioretty – David Desharnais - Brendan Gallagher Lars Eller – Tomas Plekanec – Alex Galchenyuk Brandon Prust – Jacob De La Rose – Devante Smith-Pelly Michael Bournival – Manny Malhotra – Dale Weise Andrei Markov – P.K. Subban Nathan Beaulieu – Tom Gilbert Sergei Gonchar – Greg Pateryn Carey Price Dustin...

Pete Deboer on TSN Drive: View on Clarkson and the trade: Clarkson is a great kid. Actually, at the time, I really thought he as going to help the Leafs. It was case of Murphy’s Law; everything that could go wrong did go wrong… big contract, huge expectations, people throwing out Clarkson like Wendel Clark in that vein. He tried to do everything right; look at that 10-game suspension, that’s exactly what every coach wants his team to do, stick up for their best players, and he ends up with 10-game suspension to start the season. Trying to do the right...

Bob McKenzie on TSN Drive: On trading Horton for Clarkson and not Semin or Richards: I couldn’t honestly tell you that I know for a fact there was conversation between . What I can suggest that is, of those three you mentioned – Clarkson, Semin, Richards - Semin wasn’t a fit in the eyes of Columbus. They were not looking for a high-end, underachieving goal-scoring winger. I don’t think they were eager to bring in another center in Richards. I think Clarkson fit the profile of what they were looking for: A guy to go up and down the wing and...

Pat Morris joined Leafs Lunch to discuss his client David Clarkson's trade to Columbus.  His involvement in getting the deal done: I actually spoke to Dave Nonis about another thought that we had on David, probably a week ago. I started with Nonis on that dialogue that had some legs, then died. Then, Dave said, “I might be working on something else, would you have interest in listening to that?” I said, “sure, bring it to me when it gets serious.” It got serious the day before yesterday, we had some contact Wednesday, and then all day yesterday we worked through...

We've pinched ourselves and waited 'till morning. David Clarkson is still a Columbus Blue Jacket. Strapped with way too many long term deals for a bottom five hockey club, the Leafs needed to open up cap flexibility. Nobody expected they would be able to offload the League's biggest boat anchor. Not in a million years, not without giving up assets and retaining salary. Thankfully Columbus came knocking, in a terrible spot with Nathan Horton's large and uninsured contract. Nonis kept a straight face, pulled the trigger, and the Leafs are in a much, much better position today than they were yesterday. Long Term Injured Reserve contracts count during the offseason, but teams...

The Clarkson-free Leafs had a strong first twenty-five minutes, out-chancing the Flyers and opening up a 2-0 lead on a pair of goals from the top line. The rest of the second period was all Philadelphia, as they dominated the chances, 10-1, but couldn't find a way past Jonathan Bernier. The Leafs started the third by widening the lead even further, but faced some penalty problems, as the Flyers had a number of chances on special teams, including a pair of power-play goals. Bernier stood strong, though, and the Leafs earned their first back-to-back wins of 2015. The first period was...

As Leafs fans rightfully celebrate not having to watch David Clarkson play hockey for 5 more years while taking up $5.25 million a season of their team’s cap space, here’s a basic reminder of how LTIR works now that the injured Nathan Horton is getting paid by the Leafs organization. Placing a player on Long Term Injured Reserve does not remove a cap hit altogether. In cases of LTIR, the cap hit is still technically on the books and the team is granted an exemption that allows them to exceed the cap by upwards of the full amount of the injured player’s cap...