Ryan Fancey
Another quick hit in the world of trade talks as we wind down towards the deadline; Sportsnet reports that Burke is meeting with the Blue Jackets' Scott Howson in New York City.
From Daren Millard over Twitter:
Sportsnet can confirm Maple Leafs GM Brian Burke meet with Columbus GM Scott Howson this morning at a NYC hotel. Full story on snet.ca soon
The first thing that will cross anyone's mind is a potential Rick Nash deal, but with Grabovski's future up in the air, I wouldn't be surprised if this meeting is focused on Jeff Carter. We have no way of knowing, of course, unless Sportsnet can leak more information later.
Keep an eye on this.
Update from Sportsnet.ca (Glove tap to Declan):
Sportsnet can confirm that Toronto Maple Leafs general manager Brian Burke met with Columbus Blue Jackets general manager Scott Howson this morning at a New York City hotel.
Burke was in New York for an HBO taping when he ran into Howson and the two managers decided to talk over breakfast.
As reported earlier, Damien Cox confirmed the Leafs were on a short list provided by Rick Nash to the Blue Jackets of teams that he would consider waiving his no-trade clause for
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It is believed any deal between Toronto and Columbus would have to include a combination of players that could include Nazem Kadri, Luke Schenn, Nikolai Kulemin and possibly James Reimer.
Just a quick hit here; Darren Dreger reports from Insider Trading that the Leafs have received an offer for Mikhail Grabovski.
From @DarrenDreger:
For those unable to see Insider Trading. Offer for Grabovski is for a 2nd rnd pick and prospect. Could get more. Still hope to re-sign him
Not much in terms of a return, but we obviously have no idea who the prospect is. Dreger also hinted that the deal could grow and the 2nd be upgraded to a first, for example.
Grabovski is set to become an unrestricted free agent on July 1st. A negotiating tactic to release the news of the offer? Perhaps.
The Rick Nash situation continues to snowball this morning, as both he and Jeff Carter have been reported missing from Blue Jackets practice. The sense is that it's a maintenance day, considering Aaron Portzline of the Columbus Dispatch followed up with news that Nash's agent was unsure as to why his client was MIA.
Whatever the case, this has sent the social media world into a frenzy, as expected.
Via TSN.ca, Portzline also reports that the five teams on Nash's "go-to list" are likely the Bruins, Kings, Rangers, Sharks and the Leafs.
Pavel Kubina is also missing practice for the Lightning, and they were pretty frank about addressing the situation.
As hockey fans we often try to sort out trade rumors from various sources to see if they're legit. For me it's pretty simple, if one of the major insiders report it, I'll buy it. Until today I've yet to see a real reporter blatantly say that Rick Nash is on the trade market, but now that's a reality.
Renaud Lavoie from RDS was the first to toss out the Nash rumor last night, suggesting two teams are interested (I'm assuming now there may be 29). Since then many others have weighed in.
From Darren Dreger;
Further to RDS story on Nash last night, sources say the Blue Jackets are open to anything that will help their team longterm.
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Harder we dig, the more info that is beginning to surface re: Nash availability.
Then Pierre Lebrun chipped in with this;
Absolutely fascinating to see how things have shifted in Columbus re: Rick Nash's potential availability..
I'm not sure what to think as a Leafs fan. I'm assuming that Burke will at least step in and test the waters, why wouldn't he?
The Leafs lock up with the Flyers in Philadelphia tonight for their 55th game of the season. It's the second game of the season between the two - the first being a 4-2 win for the Flyers. [more…]
It's game day for the Leafs, visiting Philadelphia for an important matchup against the Flyers. While Toronto is obviously no sure thing for a playoff spot, they now find themselves  within striking distance of the Flyers, Penguins and Devils. For a team that recently exploded for 11 of a possible 12 points, it isn't that far-fetched to believe they can pass at least one of these clubs and land in sixth in the East.
The Flyers, on the other hand, have been mediocre lately, and their view from the top of the conference is a memory.
James Mirtle has more about Bryzgalov, the Flyers, and their recent struggles:
After all, they were 15-7-3 before HBO’s cameras invaded the dressing room and then won five games in a row immediately thereafter, standing first in the Eastern Conference.
But since an ugly 6-0 loss at home to the Boston Bruins midway through the run of the series, the Flyers are only 10-9-4 and have fallen much closer to a pack of teams fighting to make the playoffs
Tonight is a chance for the Leafs to move within three points of the Flyers with a regulation win. After being held to only a goal against a stingy home team in the Jets, hopefully the Leafs can break out for a few tonight.
Links after the jump.
Just a quick hit of links and a new thread.
Can the Leafs stop Sam Gagner and the Oilers? (The Star)
Marlies Weekly Update (Jeff at TLN)
Leafs should stand pat (Traikos at NP)
Leafs' D deadly at both ends of the rink (The Sun)
The Leaf legacy in my lifetime, part II (Michael at VLM)
Trade Winds: Jeff Carter (Hockey Nerd)
And head on over to Copper and Blue or Oilers Nation to read up on the Leafs' opponent ahead of tonight's game.
Feel free to share any other links you have in the comments section.
Entering this hockey season, the idea of talking about James Reimer as a backup plan by January would have seemed odd. The only way I could have thought up such a scenario would've been to include the Leafs signing or trading for a veteran netminder to settle things down. It didn't happen, and the team is tied for a playoff spot regardless due to some timely performances by Jonas Gustavsson to kick off 2012.
The Leafs have the luxury (I guess) of not being constrained by a large goalie contract. There's no true "number one."
When teams throw around huge cash to goaltenders, it goes without saying that there's risk involved. By paying Ryan Miller or Ilya Bryzgalov upwards of 5-6 million per season, the Sabres and Flyers, respectively, are basically saying "that's our guy." And in the case of both, this season has been a lot of wasted money.
Some surprising news this morning, as the Leafs have announced a four-year contract extension for blueliner John-Michael Liles, who was set to become an unrestricted free agent this summer.
From TSN:
The Toronto Maple Leafs will announce today that the club has signed defenceman John-Michael Liles to a four-year, $15.5 million contract extension.
It's Thursday morning, and since it's a game day I'll keep this short.
After dropping three straight games, it looks like Ron Wilson has mashed up the Leafs' lines and created somewhat of a puzzling layout. During practice on Wednesday, things looked something like this up front: Lombardi-Bozak-Kessel, MacArthur-Grabovski-Kulemin, Lupul-Connolly-Kadri, and Brown-Steckel-Crabb. Good to see Kadri re-enter the lineup after sitting against the Senators, I thought some of his creativity with the puck probably could have helped in the third.
It's no real surprise that a head coach would want to shift some things around on a losing streak, but moving Lupul from the top line had a lot of fans confused. It's a tough situation given the Leafs have only scored four goals in three losses, with only one point each from Kessel and Lupul, and the duo has been on the ice for six against in that span. [more…]
Few 25 year old NHL players have had careers as interesting as that of Kris Versteeg. Sure, there are guys who've done some great things early, but Versteeg has definitely had a weird past couple years.
After some good seasons and eventually a Stanley Cup win in Chicago, he was sent to the "center of the hockey universe" in Toronto, wasn't given a fair shake (or at least he and many others believe), got dealt to Philadelphia and didn't do much of anything, and now is producing big time in Florida.
We knew something was up with Versteeg when he was sent packing out of Leafland and basically couldn't wait to jump on the plane. And in the past few days he's made some comments that sort of paint the picture as to why things didn't work out with our beloved Maple Leafs. [more…]
Not a lot for me to talk about in this one, just some good links to send your way. There's obviously a lot to be excited about regarding the Leafs right now - a playoff spot, some trade speculation, a good interview from Burke yesterday, plenty of buzz on Twitter.
As I mentioned, last night Alec posted Brian Burke's interview with McCown and Cox at the FAN590. If you haven't given it a listen, make sure to do so right here. Burke was on fire as usual, covering a variety of topics, even throwing out some more quotes to get everyone thinking about trade talks ahead of the deadline (is something on the burner? "Yes." Do you think you'll get something done? "Yes."). A must-listen for sure.
Links after the jump.
