For the second time this week, Mike Komisarek has missed the team practice. He also left early on in the game against the Wild on Tuesday and now Ron Wilson isn’t sure when he will return, or if he’s even able to play this weekend.
Update: Burke’s reaction after the GM’s Meeting.
It seems that day to day status on his tail bone is still affecting him. Ron Wilson’s response when asked if he had an update on Komisarek was “No, I don’t”.
“We just have to compete harder,” said Wilson. “Go into the dangerous areas, and battle when we’re there. Chicago is a difficult building to play in.”
Wilson feels they need to be much more physical on the play to make sure they hold off the other team. “It’s all about competing and not letting the other team win the little battles. It comes down to will power, and we have to improve that.”
Wilson feels the team is not good enough that if they sit back in a game they can still pull out a win. “We’re not good enough and the Red Wings aren’t good enough to sit back and only give a 75% effort in a game and expect a win.”
Wilson also addressed Luke’s play this season, and says he expects more from him. “It’s up to Luke to start playing with the intensity we need from him,” said Wilson. “Your first year kind of went your way a little bit and you come in relaxed and you don’t have the same drive or hunger and it’s up to me as a coach to get that out of him.”
Toronto will meet with the Blackhawks in Chicago tomorrow night, before heading back to Toronto to host the Calgary Flames. It’s definitely going to be a challenge to face two of the best teams in the Western Conference on back to back nights.
Click Here to Watch the Full Interview
Also, who should the Leafs trade, Ian White or Tomas Kaberle? Dan Renaud breaks it down for you!
Update: Burke’s reaction from the GM’s Meeting.
“Look at the hit from Mattias Ohlund on Phil Kessel last week. That’s a great hit, we want that hit. We don’t want to turn this into a game where there’s no hitting, and it’s not ringette, it’s hockey. We want to keep that hit in the game, but that’s a player who either was aware of the hit or skated right into it and should have been aware of the hit. We want to eliminate where a player can’t anticipate it or prepare for it or avoid it.”
Leafs Lines in Practice:
FORWARDS
Jason Blake – John Mitchell – Phil Kessel
Alexei Ponikarovsky – Mikhail Grabovski – Nikolai Kulemin
Niklas Hagman – Rickard Wallin – Lee Stempniak
Wayne Primeau – Matt Stajan – Colton Orr
Jay Rosehill – Jamal Mayers
DEFENCE
Tomas Kaberle – Luke Schenn
Ian White – Jeff Finger
Garnet Exelby – Francois Beauchemin
GOALIES
Jonas Gustavsson
Vesa Toskala
Other Articles:
Funny Look at Fedor’s KO On Rogers – Video
Scary Hit on Reddox – Video
Micheal A. Aldred
michealaldred@hotmail.com
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November 12th, 2009 at 12:31 pm
@ Garrett
As per your link about who should the Leafs trade, Ian White or Tomas Kaberle?
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I think you have to look at age as well. If the Leafs are going to be serious contenders about 2-3 seasons from now, Kaberle will be 35. I think the window to move Kaberle for a ‘knock-your-socks-off” deal is now, or at least at the trade deadline. There will be the opportunity to move Kaberle to any team at the June Draft, which would allow the Leafs to talk with teams with a top-10 pick, those same teams that Kaberle would not have consented to be traded say at the trade deadline.
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But I think if Kaberle keeps up his points-pace, Burke will be able to drum up the bidding war for Kaberle that failed to materialize this past summer. As for White, dealing him for a 2nd round pick and a lower end prospect would be, in my opinion, moving him for the sake of moving him, without getting a tangiable return.
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As the Leafs slip further from the playoff picture, Burke has to start kicking the tires on trade talk for Kaberle, well before the trade deadline. I don’t think you move Kaberle after only beginning to talk to a team the day of the trade deadline.
November 12th, 2009 at 12:40 pm
“Wilson feels the team is not good enough that if they sit back in a game they can still pull out a win.”
Thanks Ron, for the profound insight, no one would have noticed that, after all, with the talent oozing out of this lineup we would have been inclined to think that most games would be a walk in the park…
Komisarek may miss the two weekend games, but he won’t be missed… LOL.
No way BB trades Beauchemin (or imagine Komisarek!) any time soon, that would be tantamount to admitting his mistake (investing too much cap in the back end), and BB is not about to do that.
I think the yoga is making Luke soft… LOL.
@ Charlie
A 4 1/2 hour drive to Montreal… wow, you must fly… watch out, because they have doubled the fines in Quebec, so if you get caught you will have to take out a mortgage to pay the ticket!
November 12th, 2009 at 12:41 pm
I’m having a debate with one of my employees regarding how many cup wins we have. He says 11 and I say 13.
The question I have for anyone here who wants to jump in with an opinion…
Do you consider the cups won by the St. Patricks and the Arenas in our total or do we forget them as we weren’t actually called the Leafs?
November 12th, 2009 at 12:44 pm
@ Potsy
This game was actually at the ACC, but both games in Ottawa (one of which you were at) were awesome. Shayne Corson absolutely owned Yashin, and Ottawa didn’t score until late in the third period of Game Three. Hard to believe that Mad Mike Milbury saw enough in Yashin to trade Zdeno Chara for him, and then sign him to that ridiculous contract, which the Islanders are probably still paying off. Then John Muckler keeping Wade Redden instead of Chara, have to believe that the Bruins signing Chara was one of the best free-agent signings ever. I guess that is why Milbury is on HNIC and Muckler is in the retirement home.
November 12th, 2009 at 12:46 pm
@ Potsy
By the way, if I’m not mistaken, we lost that 4th round pick, the league intervened and said the deal was “illegal” or something to that effect… so in the end we gave away a little bit of the teacher’s pension fund and ended up with I believe it was Andy Rogers (career AHLer)… hopefully any other deals to take on salary will work out a little better (although we are in no position to take on salary at this time).
November 12th, 2009 at 12:49 pm
@ TT
According to this site, we sit in second with 13, ahead of Detroit who have 11
http://proicehockey.about.com/od/stanleycupbunker/a/stanley-cup-wins-team.htm
November 12th, 2009 at 12:50 pm
@ TT
Same franchise, different names
November 12th, 2009 at 12:51 pm
@ Potsy and Neverlosehope
I think the leafs lost that pick because they violated a rule when they signed Jonas Frogren.
November 12th, 2009 at 1:00 pm
I say 13 as well. The Habs weren’t actually called Les Stroumphs till 1916 but the franchise started in 1909 so they celebtate this year and not 2016. The franchise is what counts not the Team name IMO!
November 12th, 2009 at 1:13 pm
@ ingy56
“The Toronto Maple Leafs essentially gave up defenceman Richard Petiot to the Tampa Bay Lightning, for whom he’s played 11 games since then, for nothing after the NHL forfeited the fourth-round pick Toronto received in the deal.”
You are right, it was because of the Jonas Frogren signing… boneheads!
So, if they hadn’t been so bright, they would have gotten something out of the deal.
November 12th, 2009 at 1:16 pm
@ TT
Indubitably!
November 12th, 2009 at 1:21 pm
@Neverlosehope
It was Fletcher that did the Frogren deal too, he should have known better or gotten some help. Isn’t Jeff Jackson the legal expert in these matters? He was on staff at that point.
November 12th, 2009 at 1:29 pm
We did lose the pick due to the Frogren signing, not because the deal was illegal. We can take on as much money as we want as long as that money plays in the marlies. Although I am sure the PA would have soem kind of problem with it
November 12th, 2009 at 1:29 pm
One of the graetest hockey commercials ever made..
And the coolest guy to ever wear a Habs jersey!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ySjUgBSA80g
November 12th, 2009 at 1:35 pm
@Potsy
Wasn’t it because they signed him to an entry-level deal when he should have been signed to a RFA contract becuase of his age?
November 12th, 2009 at 1:35 pm
Ingy, my mistake on the game, but the story aboutthe one I went was still awesome! I yelling loudly on how long the leafs had shut otut the sens in the playoffs, e.g “127 minutes of shut out playoff hockey” Am I getting my years mixed up? There was old dude who i think was going to have a heart attack because he was so angry with me. I’m not kidding I almost felt like stopping…. but I didn’t. His face got all red and veins started popping out of his forehead.
November 12th, 2009 at 1:35 pm
@ ingy yeah something like that
November 12th, 2009 at 1:41 pm
“The Leafs were fined $500,000 (all figures U.S.) and will forfeit a fourth-round draft pick for overpaying Frogren, deemed by the league as an entry-level player.”
http://www.thestar.com/sports/article/612280
November 12th, 2009 at 1:47 pm
@Potsy
Hilarious, I have several relatives in Ottawa and have to endure the usual nonsense throughout the season, but come playoff time they become strangely silent, especially after playing the Leafs.
It was the 2000-2001 playoffs, Leafs won 4 straight that year, despite being 19 points behind Ottawa in the standings during the season.
November 12th, 2009 at 1:48 pm
@TT: Agree with Neverlosehope, it’s the franchise that counts. The Montreal Maroons’ wins don’t count for The Habettes. Different franchise. If we had changed our name to the Toronto Maple Loafs and had some bread as our emblem, the past Cup wins would still count.
November 12th, 2009 at 1:48 pm
@TuckerThomas
Ok, I had it reversed…thanks.
November 12th, 2009 at 1:52 pm
With no traffic, 4.5 hours doing a buck twenty is quite reasonable….
November 12th, 2009 at 1:52 pm
Good times Ingy…Good Times!
November 12th, 2009 at 1:52 pm
Komi is out three weeks
November 12th, 2009 at 1:53 pm
I was the the Sens game the last year we made the playoffs in the game we eliminated them. Nieuwendyk had those two weak goals coming down the wing. Lost my voce that night.
November 12th, 2009 at 1:53 pm
* voice
November 12th, 2009 at 1:56 pm
Charlie, aren’t leaf road trips the best?
I fucking live for them. Well, them and my two boys and wife.
November 12th, 2009 at 1:59 pm
http://www.downgoesbrown.com/ an interesting look at the NHL suspension policy
November 12th, 2009 at 2:02 pm
Charlie: I’ll bet $20., of Jordan’s cash, that we beat the Hawks. But Komi out could hurt. Finger is playing Komi’s game right now though, with similar hits & blocks per game. Although 6′ 1″ -209lbs compared to 6′ 4″ – 243lbs, might make a slight difference. Hope Exelby or whoever plays has a good game.
November 12th, 2009 at 2:02 pm
doesn’t that leave us with a roster spot open since Komi is on injured reserve? Rosehill down and Gunn up.
November 12th, 2009 at 2:06 pm
Charlie: When Nieuwendyk was coming down the wing before the 2nd goal I said to my buddy “He’s gonna score.” The goalie just looked rattled after the first one.
November 12th, 2009 at 3:48 pm
I miss those days….
November 12th, 2009 at 4:04 pm
If Toskala starts tomorrow night, this is going to be one hell of an ugly game…
November 12th, 2009 at 4:19 pm
@ Potsy
I love ‘em also, but this Leaf game was at home…. I’m hopefully going to Pittsburgh for the December 27th game against the Leafs if anyone is interested. Very nice putting the family in that one…
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@ Bob
I can’t take the bet… I predict the Leafs winning, but deep down I know the Hawks will stomp on us like an unwanted cockroach. That game was amazing…. the atmosphere was absolutely electric. I miss that feeling so much, it actually hurts.
November 12th, 2009 at 4:39 pm
For a sense of where we are with Toskala starting I’m reminded of the last time I saw him play. We went to a shoot out and both shooters scored on him while ours fanned including Kaberle telling how bad our forwards are as snipers (excluding Kessel) when you go with a defenseman as your #2 shooter. Was it Montreal with Cammerelli and Gomez? Lots of issues with the Habs but at least thy have some speed and snipers up front.
I just chuckle when I read of continued hopes for the playoffs. Ain’t in the cards. Still need lots more talent esp upfront.
November 12th, 2009 at 7:53 pm
The Bozak situation confuses me on every front..maybe someone can enlighten me. If you were a free agent college player that wanted to make an NHL team why would you want a contract that is structured with so many bonuses that it puts a stanglehold on the parent team if they want to call you up. Confusses me.. Better off signing an entry level contract, maybe a bit more and give yourself a chance to play without being a 3 plus million dollar cap hit. Anyone know the logic behind this whole situation.
November 12th, 2009 at 7:57 pm
tko
yeah, I don’t understand it either…guess it’s just the nature of a capitalistic society and agents looking to get the biggest contract for their client without thought of the salary cap hit,
November 12th, 2009 at 8:10 pm
TKO and lonsmos2
Thats why Bozak and his agent picked Toronto. We were suposed to be fine cap wise at the time of the signing and they believed he would get a roster spot. Then come the Komi, Beauch and Kessel contracts to eliminate the very reason they chose Toronto.
November 12th, 2009 at 8:20 pm
@lonsmos2
Yep, totally agree with that but don’t you think maple leaf brass would have told him and his agent that, we will sign you to this contract but we are in a cap world and with our current roster and their contracts your chances of being called up are limited.Its no wonder Stalburg is first on the radar for callups.
November 12th, 2009 at 8:20 pm
I think this is a good example of agents and players perhaps wanting different things. The agent wants the absolute biggest dollar amount for now and to tell potential clients and the player likely wants to play.
November 12th, 2009 at 8:27 pm
@TukerThomas
You may be absolutely correct but how many of those bonuses are legitimately attainable..I don’t know what they are, just speculating…. I’m sure Burke or whoever explained that they were not done with their signings and everyone who follows hockey was aware that Burke intended on spending to the cap this year… if it improved the team.(That’s however still debatable)
November 12th, 2009 at 8:45 pm
@ TKO
I will agree about the bonus crap though. The league needs to get rid of it. The way the bonuses are laid out it’s almost impossible achieve them.
http://ndgoon.blogspot.com/2008/08/hard-to-make-nhl-bonuses-phil-kessel.html