Nikhil Daljeet
After months of nothing but Kaberle rumours and Grabovski lawsuits, Leafs Nation will finally get a glimpse of their 2010-2011 Toronto Maple Leafs. Being the first game of the preseason, Toronto is going with a healthy mix of youngsters, borderliners, and veterans. Luckily, fans will not have to wait to see most of the new Leafs (Clarke MacArthur excepted) as off-season acquisitions Versteeg, Armstrong, Brown and Lebda will all be hitting the ice.
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In a move that will inevitably add to the frustratingly indecipherable trade rumblings of the last few days, Eric Belanger indicated that he has essentially signed with a team, but is unable to divulge where he will be going. Â The article is French, but the English translation of the title ("Eric Belanger signs...but he won't say where!") says it all. Â The information we can gleam from this is that Belanger can not reveal his new team because they are "working on an exchange that will affect the salary cap". Â Of course, this begs the question: are the Leafs somehow involved?
A former Leaf is about to sign with Los Angeles, as Alexei Ponikarovsky has agreed to join the Kings (although a deal has not yet been signed).  This ends some speculation that "Poni" would have to take his games overseas, as this summers UFA market has seen a lot of viable NHL players still without a job.  Ponikarovsky was shipped to the Penguins by Toronto at this year's trade deadline, bringing back Luca Caputi in what was a very fair exchange of players.  However, Pittsburgh was expecting the Ukrainian to contribute at the level that saw him pour out 61 points for the Leafs in 2008-2009.  With a disappointing 9 points down the stretch for the recent champs and an awful showing in the playoffs, teams weren't exactly lining up to sign the 30-year old.
The book has (finally) closed on the Ilya Kovalchuk saga, as the Russian winger elected to remain with the New Jersey Devils. Â This ends weeks of mind-numbing speculation and rumour-rehashing, including a recent explosion of news in the hockey world that had all signs pointing towards Los Angeles. Â Thus, while there will be some surprise that Kovalchuk did not head down south, the overwhelming feeling amongst hockey fans today will be relief. Â A side-effect of Kovalchuk's prolonged decision-making has been the absolute cessation of any other hockey activity. Â The dam should finally burst as the remaining free agents and possible trades will now be explored further by the league's general managers.
John Mitchell joins Nik Kulemin as the second Leaf to re-sign with the club today. Â After initially not being qualified by Toronto, Mitchell hit unrestricted free agency with an understanding that Brian Burke intended to offer him a new contract. Â The purpose of waiting was financially-driven as it allowed Toronto to save at the very least 250,000 on Mitchell because he was not qualified. [more…]
We’ve partnered up with Pension Plan Puppets to bring to you a Player Review series, where we will be evaluating and grading the 2009-10 season for every Leaf who featured in a significant number of games for the Blue and White last season, with an eye towards 2010-11. Today we feature Dion Phaneuf, profiled by Nikhil Daljeet:
The Summary:
The arrival of Dion Phaneuf in Toronto this year will undoubtedly be remembered as a significant moment in the annals of Maple Leafs history, for better or for worse. The trade that Brian Burke engineered for the newest Leafs captain has been generally heralded as a wise maneuver for his Toronto club. However, this transaction occurred after a full 2008-2009 season that saw a noticeable decrease in offensive output from Phaneuf (Flames management insisted it was due to injury). Moreover, the 2009-2010 season gave way to a floundering Calgary team that was in severe need of a major shakeup and Flames GM Sutter did exactly that on January 31st.
In a move that should surprise nobody, a Swedish hockey site has indicated that Rickard Wallin will not be with Toronto next year. Â Wallin, who would have been a UFA for the Leafs, signed a four-year deal with his longtime European team Farjestads. Â This ends a very brief return to the NHL for the Swedish centerman which saw one mediocre-at-best season with the Toronto Maple Leafs.
The Leafs are looking to post their third straight win as they roll into Pittsburgh for this Sunday afternoon tilt. On the surface, this may seem like a run-of-the-mill Sunday game as there is no obvious importance in a matchup between the defending Stanley cup champs and our basement-dwelling team. However, there are a multitude of underlying storylines that should make this a very interesting game. [more…]
The Leafs will be looking for their fourth win in a row (for the first time since February 2009) when they face off against ex-Leaf Scott Clemmensen and the Florida Panthers tonight. Â Florida is one of the teams Toronto is trying to catch in its struggle to emerge from the Eastern Conference basement. Â This should be a tightly contested matchup, as Florida fights to keep their playoff hopes alive and the Leafs look to win and come within three points of the Panthers.
Sources (here and here) are floating the possibility of a Jeff Finger trade to Chicago. The Leafs would receive Cristobal Huet and possibly a draft pick in return.
Turns out Martin Brodeur will be getting some rest as Roberto Luongo will be starting in net for Canada tomorrow against Norway. Â Brodeur will see the start Thursday against Switzerland. Â After the jump you can take a look at the line combinations for some of the participating countries.
Per Kevin Allen's twitter. Sources say that it is three players and a 1st round pick. Oduya is in for sure. Bergfors likely. More details to be revealed soon.Â
EDIT: Allen says it is Bergfors, Oduya, Cormier and a 1st rounder for Ilya Kovalchuk.
