Alexei Ponikarovsky
Final Deadline Trades:
Alexei Ponikarovsky to Pittsburgh for Luca Caputi and Martin Skoula
Martin Skoula to New Jersey for a fifth round draft selection.
Lee Stempniak to PHX for 4th and 7th rounders.
Joey MacDonald to ANA for a 7th rounder in 2011.
Wrap-Up: That looks to be a wrap on Brian Burke's trade activity for the 2009-10 season. The Stempniak deal was obviously a form of loss-cutting on a pending UFA, but it's a bit painful to remember who we sacrificed to acquire him in November of 2008 in two albeit underachieving first rounders in Alex Steen and Carlo Colaiacovo. The Leafs will not draft until the third round this year, and Burke did not succeed in that sense, however he moved the only piece realistically capable of fetching a second rounder for a semi-established young asset with the potential to replace Poni at an immediately cheaper price in Luca Caputi. It looks as though no takers could be found on either Wayne Primeau or Garnet Exelby, who look sure to now enter the FA market July 1.
There seems to be details yet to unfurl surrounding the Tomas Kaberle situation this deadline, as once again Leafs fans were teased into believing a deal was pending (involving Hodgson, as it was reported, or possibly Alzner from Washington) only for what looked to be an imminent deal to be flatly denied by Brian Burke in the end. There are rumblings that Kaberle might have nixed a deal in similar fashion to the Jeff Carter situation at the '08 deadline.
From Garrett Bauman:
The deal is believed to be all but sealed, but the Penguins may have to first clear cap space. New reports suggest Toronto will take on the salary of Martin Skoula if they can't work something else out elsewhere, but that it could cost the Penguins an additional pick.
Now from Dreger and McKenzie:
ponikarovsky to Pitt for Luca Caputi and Martin Skoula...pending trade call.
[more…]
This involves the Leafs, as well as around the league.
TFP: The Los Angeles Kings, Pittsburgh Penguins and Nashville Predators are among the teams to have serious interest in Alexei Ponikarovsky. Various reports suggest the Leafs are looking for a first-round pick in exchange for Ponikarovsky, though it's believed Burke is willing to accept a second-round pick and a top prospect."
5:00 PM Update - Mueller, Roloson, Hamhuis, Voros/Lisin.
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Although the Maple Leafs did not dip into the trade waters just yet, there were a couple events of importance that may determine how the [more…]
With the Olympics wrapping up (and in the process Canada securing the record for most gold medals, capped off by our Men's and Women's hockey teams), the focus among hockey fans now shifts to the NHL trade deadline.
While there are few untouchables on the Maple Leafs' roster, speculation is that only a handful of players are likely to be dealt between Monday and Wednesday. Here's a look at some of the speculation surrounding the most-talked about candidates to swap jerseys.
The Toronto Star provides us with a couple interesting tidbits about potential trade talks leading up to the deadline:
- Ponikarovsky continues to be heavily [more…]
The Toronto Maple Leafs visit the St. Louis Blues tonight, in the Leafs' final game prior to the NHL's Olympic break.
The Leafs are coming off a narrow loss to the West-leading San Jose Sharks, a game which left the team with much to feel good about. Â Tonight, the team will look to resolve their road woes and enter the break on a high note, by capitalizing on what has been an inconsistent and underachieving Blues squad.
With the NHL's Olympic Trade Freeze about to hit at 3pm today, reports out of Pittsburgh indicate that the Maple Leafs had scouted the Penguins' [more…]
It's starting to feel like Groundhog Day.
For the 3rd time in a week, the Maple Leafs face the Devils. To be fair, the matchups have all been unique in that both teams have undergone significant overhaul between each game.
Not one player on the Toronto Maple Leafs' 2009-10 squad has had their name chanted in the Air Canada Center. It took Dion Phaneuf all of 6 minutes and 51 seconds.
When Travis Zajac had his face plastered into the boards, I just knew we had found our very own Chuck Norris. Then, Phaneuf dropped the gloves with Colin White and my man-crush officially began.
For the second time in four days the Maple Leafs will face off against the New Jersey Devils, this time at the ACC. In what seems to be the most nonsensical decision made in recent memory by NHL schedulers, come this Friday the Leafs and Devils will have faced off three times in one calendar week. What's up with that?
As you are all undoubtedly aware, the Leafs have a few new faces in the fold, and we are all eager to see what Phaneuf, Sjostrom, and Giguere bring to the table as members of the blue and white.
Note: I won't get into trade analysis here; that has already been covered in excellent fashion by the MLHS crew in prior posts.
