Week 21 – Torontosaurus Rex
Before we get to the T-Rex, make sure to stop by Maple Leafs Hot Stove Tuesday night.
I will be live blogging the Leafs/Bruins game from the press box at the Air Canada Centre.
Stop by, bring the funny and join us for a good time. Boston will be without Marc Savard after the devastating headshot from Matt Cooke, and the Bruins have had scoring woes all season long. Will this be the game Phil Kessel finally get his first point against his former team?
It’s Monday in Week 21, marking the return of the Torontosaurus Rex. The Leafs were 1-1-1 since the trade deadline, scoring only five goals and showing fans how difficult it will be for the Buds to score moving forward this season. If pure skill and talent aren’t going to be enough for success, the team will have to rely on a commitment to a work ethic.
For the player this week, it would make sense to choose a player that contributed to the offense, that also exhibited the ethic required.
In that regard, the Torontosaurus Rex this week scored once and added a helper since the trade deadline (3-1-1-2) and plus-2 firing six shots in the only pointless game, tying a career high from the final game of last season. He’s played 20-plus minutes in three straight and played on the power play in each, the first time since mid-January.
Only three goals shy of career high 15, Kulemin (11-11-23) draws duty on a top line as the Buds look for some scoring punch. It isn’t the scoring touch in vogue here; it’s his emergence as a defensively responsible third liner that can be injected onto a second line in case of injury with some individual puck skills and decent vision.
It’s hustle and work ethic that has improved and he’s looked more comfortable in his sophomore season than a tumultuous rookie campaign.
For emerging as a go to player the rest of the way, Nik Kulemin is the Torontosaurus Rex of the week.
katshockey@mapleleafshotstove.com
twitter.com/@KatsHockey
March 9th, 2010 at 9:18 am
It pisses me off knowing that Burke has some sort of plan, and yet we will never know until it happens. Much like the Phaneuf deal
March 9th, 2010 at 9:24 am
If anybody deserves to be in the loop its me. And Jordan. Come on Burkie call us into the ACC offices and we can discuss our future moves, we can keep a secret.
March 9th, 2010 at 9:29 am
The baby Buds get their shot at the Bruins after last week’s SO loss… I actually thought they outplayed Boston last week so it will be interesting to see if their hard work ethic continues…
I agree with baby Bud of the week being Kulemin… He has been a pleasure to watch.
Loads of potential with him and Bozak… Stalberg has shown some flashes of brilliance as well. Caputi and Hanson have been working hard as well but lack the scoring touch.
March 9th, 2010 at 9:56 am
@ Cameron:
Completely agree on going after Jagr and Cervenka.
We need top 6 guys and as we are not rebuilding in a traditional fashion, we have to find some worthwhile shortcuts.
March 9th, 2010 at 10:38 am
I want to see Gustavsson start tonight
March 9th, 2010 at 10:40 am
GiuseppeM wrote:
Jagr? oh man…..I don’t see how his notoriously poor attitude can in any way help a young team that loses A LOT of games
March 9th, 2010 at 10:43 am
Toronto could definately use some leadership up front. Particularly with guys like Kadri coming up. I’ve seen Kadri play in London several times. The guy has some maturing to do when he comes up with the Leafs. A strong veteran presence in the Forward core is needed for all these, as has been described, “baby buds”.
March 9th, 2010 at 10:43 am
We haven’t really had a top line since 2004. These guys didn’t often play on the same line, but it happened at times:
2004
Nieuwendyk – Sundin – Mogilny
2002
Roberts – Sundin – Mogilny
1999
Berezin – Sundin – Thomas
1996
Clark – Gilmour – Sundin
1993
Clark – Gilmour – Andreychuk
I think between 1993 and 2004 we missed the playoffs a total of two times? Looking at some of the talent that we had, it’s not hard to see why.
Kulemin – Bozak – Kessel… Damn…
March 9th, 2010 at 10:51 am
danvertising wrote:
the year of the lockout, we had one the best on paper line ups i’ve ever seen. what a piss off.
March 9th, 2010 at 10:53 am
yea but Staal does much much more than just put up points
March 9th, 2010 at 10:55 am
The lockout fucked the Leafs so hard. We went into it rough and tough, and come out far too slow for the new NHL. The GM’s that prepared well going into it and were built for speed did well, but it still took the Leafs a few years to figure out what was going on.
March 9th, 2010 at 10:55 am
@ Kostas:
True but we that’s not what we need most. We need pure skill and talent to score
March 9th, 2010 at 10:57 am
@ the Surreal McCoy:
Hey McCoy, did you get a chance to read my reply to your comment yesterday? If not it’s on page 9 I think of the Leafs-Flyers Preview.
March 9th, 2010 at 11:02 am
i think it’s a given that Burke will sign at least one and perhaps 2 somewhat talented UFA forwards this summer.
Centermen need to be high on the list
On a scale of 1-10, how would we feel if he signed Saku Koivu (Center) to a 2 year deal at around $3mil per….
1-10, Colby Armstrong – 4 years at $3-3.5mil per
1-10, Raffi Torres – 4 years $3mil per (front loaded)
March 9th, 2010 at 11:03 am
Not to sure any of those guys are going to be a true topflight C for us…
March 9th, 2010 at 11:03 am
2 Minutes for Looking so Guru wrote:
signs of a truly professional organization….errrrrrr wait, signs of one of the poorest management teams in professional sports
March 9th, 2010 at 11:11 am
@ Jordan:
I feel the same way.. man another 3 1/2 months until FA and moves to commence.. Burke will be planning all this time so he’ll be ready, it’s definitely going to be an interesting off-season. I’m confident he’s going to have a more explosive/Talented team come training camp in September.
March 9th, 2010 at 11:12 am
BeLeafer wrote:
Well when you can only go nowhere but up……
March 9th, 2010 at 11:14 am
@ the_cause2000:
jagr and Cervenka aint coming here.. burke won’t want them and why would Jagr at like 39 come back to a team that is rebuilding.. makes no sense.
Burke will get us our add-ons for our top 6 – the Kaberle trade/ UFA/ maybe another ufa signing or deal involving grabovski/Prospect to a team that has cap issues (chicago/Pitt/SJ).. Burke will be on this like a hawk
March 9th, 2010 at 11:18 am
@ Jordan
then sign Kovalchuk as well.
Kovalchuk – J. Staal – Kessel as your top line would be fantastic. Jordan staal is a big body that can stand in front of the net or go into the corners and get the puck out for either line mate. He can also play shut down man and take care of other teams top players. He can kill penalties and play on the Powerplay. that’s skill and talent right there that we need
March 9th, 2010 at 11:19 am
Haha yea we really did, same as the 04 playoffs. Although a lot of those guys were at the end of their career, we really tried to buy a championship that year.
March 9th, 2010 at 11:22 am
Not being rude about it but I don’t get all this Armstrong love. He’s good for his role but 3-3.5 mil per? That’s nuts for a 2-3 line winger who doesn’t really produce. Might as well sign Ponikarovsky back if that’s the price for him. Burke also usually one gives out 3 or 5 year contracts. He’s picky with his ideas and thinks 5 years is the max and gives it to guys he wants there for good. Then 3 years for anyone else. I don’t think 4 years works in his plans
March 9th, 2010 at 11:29 am
I just can’t see Burke looking for Kovalchuk. He wants too long of a term and Burke isn’t gonna go further then 5 years. He said he NEVER would because its too risky for an organization. Only other way is if he overpays and he said he wouldn’t do that.
Although I do remember his saying that he didn’t have a problem with front loaded contracts, unless the player was expecting to retire. Maybe he does that with Kovalchuk, I dunno.
Year/$$$$
1-14mil
2-10mil
3-8mil
4-6mil
5-4mil
That’s a total of 8.4 mil cap hit. Totally acceptable to get that kind of skill for FREE.
Anything more is just silly though IMO
March 9th, 2010 at 11:29 am
@ Jordan:
I agree, earlier on in the Year I though maybe Armstrong would be a decent addition, but we clearly have the bottom 6 guys now and it’s all about adding talent to our top 6, I doubt Burke signs him.. he will need that money to go elsewhere.. I see Torres as a possibilty and other than him I think it’s hard to say who else Burke may consider signing…
the big addition will be the young forward coming back in the Kaberle deal
March 9th, 2010 at 11:33 am
Ya I like the thought of Torres because its because he wants to play here. Not because of money so you know he’s gonna be motivated to win. Something we have lacked for a while
March 9th, 2010 at 11:37 am
@ Jordan
That looks pretty good there for 5 years… Plus all the money Kovalchuk would make off of endorsements, it makes sense for him to come here. Then use Kaberle to help get us a top center man and we’ll be well on our way.
March 9th, 2010 at 11:38 am
We need top 3 forwards…i know the pickings are slim this year in the ufa department and we dont have the picks for a rfa…so burke is either gonna have to make a trade for a rfa or get them in the kaberle deal…i dont believe torres or armstrong fit top 3…we have plenty 4 to 6 and have plenty of bottom six…i dont think it is fair to stick kadri in the top 3…he is still playing junior…i would like to see him on the leafs next year but not in the top 3…lets not put to much pressure on the kid…bozak is showing signs but is not a top center…hopefully we dont waste our money on torres or armstrong unless some of our players are put together to get the #1 center or #1 winger…lets all acknowledge the talent we have and not over estimate the…kessel is our only #1 liner…as i said i believe we are good to very good in our bottom 9 forwards….it is our top 3 we need and no use paying good money for a torres or whoever that is a second line player…save the money for a top 3…
March 9th, 2010 at 12:39 pm
/
March 9th, 2010 at 5:19 pm
BeLeafer wrote:
Allow me to answer your question. First of all, Jagr has indicated that he is interested in Edmonton. He is interested in basically any team that is going to be able to give Cervenka a legitimate NHL shot. For him, it’s not all that important where he goes, because he knows he can always get traded to a contender for a Cup run, if he so desires. For that reason, it probably makes more sense to sign with a bottom feeder. He’d get paid more than he would with say Pittsburgh, Cervenka would get a solid oppurtunity, and there’d be relatively little concern about the team deluding themselves into keeping him for a Cup run.
Also, Kaberle would obviously talk to Jagr and try his hand at persuading him. It was rumored that Burke was trying to start talks at the Olympics, so he is interested.
March 10th, 2010 at 1:02 pm
[...] Week 21 – Torontosaurus Rex : Maple Leafs Hot Stove [...]
March 16th, 2010 at 4:16 am
The best software online shop: http://www.softwares-supplier.com/
ms office 2007,only $110!
Windows 7 only $139! No Tax and Free Shipping!
Office 2007 Pro
Office 2007 Ultimate
ms office 2007 pro
ms office 2007 Ultimate
Windows 7 Pro
Windows 7 Ultimate
office pro 2007
office ultimate 2007
Acrobat 9.0
Adobe Acrobat 9.0
Adobe Acrobat 9.0 extended
Flash CS4
Illustrator CS4
Photoshop cs4
Master cs3
Dreamweaver cs3
windows vista ultimate
Windows Vista Business