The Leafs’ rookies took the tournament opener as a result of their energy, skill, and goaltending. They outpaced a Chicago group that was forced to rely more on physicality to gain ground. They caught the Leafs temporarily, but in the end Toronto came away with a win they probably deserved as Morgan Rielly and Tyler Biggs converted in the shootout to secure a 3-2 Leaf victory.
Earlier this month, Maple Leafs Hot Stove was asked to contribute to Puck Daddy’s National Hockey League of Nation Series. With the help of Michael Langlois from Vintage Leaf Memories, we identified who we felt was the best ever Leaf player to represent each of the major nationalities in the league: Canada, USA, Russia, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Sweden, Finland and The Rest of The World. The results are after the jump. Note that the vast majority of Leaf greats could not be acknowledged in this list as we could pick only one Canadian. It would’ve been nice to pick two Swedes, too.
Missing hockey? Here’s a good performance from Jonathan Bernier, wherein he turns aside 42 shots to win 3-2 over the Phoenix Coyotes on March 19. Good examples of, when on his game, how calm he is in the net and how well he handles the puck. Keeping in mind it’s just a one-game glimpse, it’s worth your while if you have some time to kill and want to get a feel for how Bernier tends the net.
MLHS’s Michael Stephens conducted an in-person interview with Steve Spott, head coach of the Toronto Marlies, at the Mastercard Centre earlier this week. Spott touched on a wide variety of Marlies-centric stuff, including the biggest challenges facing the team headed into the new season and the opportunities the Leafs prospects will be embarking on in the 2013-14 campaign.
They say don’t judge a book by the cover; in the case of The Hockey News, looking at the cover is all we recommend you do. Pretty badass, this one:
Photo: MLHS
Turning it over to MLHS graphic designer and power user mcloki for this morning:
Hello, Gents. It’s Mcloki. Last year, I suggested to Alec and Declan that a consistent look should be developed for the GDT. Foolishly they said yes. Those banners were done in the rush of adrenaline that came with the end of the lockout. The old banners were nice, but they didn’t bring a tradition or regularity to the site. And the Game Day Thread is special. When posted, it announces that it’s hockey time in Leaf Land.
MLHS’ Anthony Petrielli chatted with Garth Malarchuk, amateur scout for the Maple Leafs, earlier this week. Topics covered include the ins and outs of his job, Frederik Gauthier, Morgan Rielly, and a little on Tyler Bozak.
MLHS’ Anthony Petrielli chatted with assistant coach of the Maple Leafs Scott Gordon this morning. A wide range of Leaf topics are touched on in a more rapid-fire style of interview. If you missed them, be sure to check out previous MLHS interviews with Greg Cronin, Dave Morrison and Dave Poulin.
Tyler Bozak joined Mike Hogan and Jeff O’Neill on TSN 1050′s Blue Lunch segment. Bozak revealed that he didn’t field offers from other teams having agreed to terms with the Leafs before free agency opened at Noon last Friday. He also responded to a few questions about his controversial status as the Leafs number one center.
With the thrilling 2013 Stanley Cup Finals now in the record books, today we gaze into our crystal ball to see if the four teams that played in the two NHL Conference Championship series can retain that lofty level and get back into the hearts of the Canadian sports betting public during NHL 2013-14 action.
Joe Colborne Traded
Joe Colborne, restricted free agent no longer, has re-signed with the Maple Leafs to a one-year, one-way contract valued at $600,000.
The Leafs remaining RFAs include Cody Franson, Carl Gunnarsson, Mark Fraser and Nazem Kadri. By handing out the one-way deal, Colborne came in at a pretty cheap hit of $600,000, leaving the Leafs with around $10 million in available cap space.
The Toronto Maple Leafs have signed left-handed defenceman TJ Brennan to a 1-way, 1 year deal worth $600,000 dollars.
Courtesy of TSN’s Jonas Siegel. Read his full story on the buyout and Grabovski’s reaction here. Listen to the audio below:
Photo: MLHS
The Leafs are buying out Mikhail Grabovski. 2nd compliance buyout.
— David Alter (@DavidAlter590) July 4, 2013
In a curious decision, a little over a year after signing him to a 5 year contract, at 5.5 million dollars on March 6th, 2012, the Leafs are going to be using their second compliance buyout on Mikhail Grabovski. With Tyler Bozak hopefully not resigning in Toronto, Toronto has only Kadri in their top 2 center slots. This almost certainly signals a trade of some sort, or Dave Nonis is making a very, very bad decision by buying out a very good player so that he can bring back an average player.
Here’s to hoping that this signals a trade for a legit 1C that fits the age group of the Leafs. Tomorrow is going to be interesting.
This will be interesting. TOR has a boatload of cap room…there is more to come
— Elliotte Friedman (@FriedgeHNIC) July 4, 2013
Leafs now have 2nd most cap space going into UFA season where many teams are strapped. Not sure whether to be excited or petrified.
— Dudgee (@Dudgee) July 4, 2013
Director of Amateur Scouting Dave Morrison is a great interview (video) when it comes to the Leafs prospects and the scouting process. In case you missed it, or if you prefer the written word, here’s the transcript of his thoughts on each Leaf draftee from Sunday’s draft.
The Leafs rounded out a busy day with three selections in the final three rounds. The final 2013 draft haul is 4 forwards and a goalie taken over five selections (2nd and 4th were traded for Bolland).
The Leafs have selected 6’1, 180-pound center Carter Verhaeghe of the Niagara Ice Dogs with their 82nd overall pick. One of the younger members of the 2013 draft class (still 17 for another month and a half), the Ontario native recorded 44 points in 67 games this past season.
The McKeen’s Draft Guide (buy this book, btw) profile for Verhaeghe:
Watch below.
ICYMI, check out part 1 here.
Don’t take this as our etched in stone mock draft projection, think of it more as a fun exercise for the sake of learning a little bit about the top prospects set to join NHL teams this Sunday.
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