Newswire: time to put one rumour to bed, maybe start another?

(h) Hold open tryouts for goalies. What the hell?? At least they’d get a movie plot out of it..

I just cannot envision any team wanting Toskala, but my gut tells me that he will pick up his play again after the All-star break. This could just be gas, but we may have more options deeper into the second half of the season.

Step 1: Trade Toskala to the Phoenix Coyotes in exchange for Wayne Gretzky’s contract.
Step 2: Sign 6 foot 2, 380+ pounds Chicago Bears Legend William ‘Refrigerator’ Perry to a tryout goalie contract.
Step 3: ???
Step 4: VICTORY!

…but seriously if we can get anything for Tosk we should do it now. Pogge and Joseph can play out the string, then Joseph can retire in the offseason and Pogge can platoon with a young goalie we acquire through trading or drop back down the depth chart behind a workhorse signed in the offseason.

i would go with trading toskala asap. and if you cant trade him then fall back on convincing cujo to retire. i think cujo is awesome but hes lost that edge he used to have and its only right to allow him some dignity by allowing him to retire rather than put him on waivers. then bring up pogge for whichever one works. pogge needs to be brought up so he can show what he has and basically audition for next year. it will also allow him to get some nhl experience and have no pressure on him to make the playoffs or anything. for those who think pogge is not a superstar, i wonder how you can say that considering he has only played 1 game for the leafs and looked dam good. it may have been the thrashers but kovalchuk is no slouch. dont judge him before he is given a real chance to show his stuff.

Anyone notice what happened in the league last night?
Atl won, St L won and the Kings won.

TPA and Ott will move up a few notches based on their massive underachievments.

We are two points away from Hedman or who knows Tavares.

Stand Pat

I would suggest trading Tosk for a pick(s), and bring up Pogge. Then focus on eliminating some of Holweg, Mayers, Deveaux to make room for Tlusty.
Also, get as many high draft picks as possible for Kaberla and Kubina, and wait for the off-season to sign Jay Bo.

…then sit back, and watch the show.

Any player should be available for the right return. However, Toskola value is very low right now. The only thing we can do is keep running him out there and hope for the best. Trading him now would be a mistake.

If he plays better after the break, his value will be higher in the summer.

If he continues to stink, we get a higher pick.

Relax. Its a win-win.

I think the TML need to respect Cujo, let him play out the remainder of his contract. You can’t just embarass a guy that has given so much to the franchise. I’d like to see the Leafs trade Toskala for some building blocks or picks. However if the demand is not there, than I think the Leafs need to keep him and try in the summer to ship him. As for Pogge, he’ll have to come up and play some games. The worst case scenario is that Pogge and Toskala duke it out next season for the number one job. Only time will tell. I think gms in this league are not stupid, Toskala’s poor season is due in large part to him having a bad season and having a bad team in front of him. With the theory of buy low sell high. A number one goalie like Toskala could be had for a cheaper price the Leafs paid in the first place. So that being said I think there will be a few suitors for his services, what we need to hope for is a bidding war. If Toskala gets shipped than three positives happen in Toronto. 1) return on the Toskala trade. 2) The team respects Cujo as will have the chance to start some games. 3) We get to evaluate Pogge and determine if a goalie UFA signing is necessary or not.

I’m pumped to see the other teams like St. Louis, Los Angeles, Atlanta, Ottawa, and Tampa Bay winning recently. Here come 2nd place Maple Leafs!!!

It’s quite conceivable that Toronto could finish 2nd last in the NHL this year. Should that happen, I could see Burke trading our 2nd pick (Hedman) to another team for their first pick + a couple of 2nd round picks, and snag a player like Svensson-paajarvi, or Kane.

I just don’t see Hedman developing into a top flight defender. At least not what I saw of him in the World Juniors. To compare him to Chris Pronger is very far fetched in my eyes. Also, the Leafs desperately need more talent up front.

With the way Toskala talks, maybe its time to use some shock treatment on him to get him playing the way we all know he can? I dont know if it is his conditioning and exercise plan (Shades of Kyle Wellwood) or his way of lowering his trade value so he doesn’t attract interest from other teams? It’s time to call up Pogge for 3 or 4 games, and stick Toskala up in the press box. RW has benched players for a lack of effort on the ice, maybe it’s time Vesa learns that you have to earn your ice time.