Brad May
Brett Lebda has barely registered on the radar for Leafs fans and with good reason. This offseason is yet again centered solely on Tomas Kaberle, while Lebda toils away on the bottom pairing in many fans’ minds. Expectations are understandably low for Lebda, so it now becomes important to gauge proper expectations. All stats not specifically referenced are found on BehindtheNet.ca.
Lebda primarily played with two people in 2009-10. Those players are Jonathan Ericsson and Brad Stuart (courtesy of DobberHockey.com). Lebda registered the fewest points in the trio at 8, with Ericsson amassing 13 and Stuart putting up 20. Lebda’s -2 rating is by no means a good stat to have, but it is significantly better than Stuart’s -12 and Ericsson’s -15. So in looking at these basic stats, we find that Lebda is average defensively and sub-par offensively. However, do advanced statistics shed any more light on his overall play? Let’s find out. [more…]
From USA Today - 3/1/2007:
Anaheim Ducks general manager Brian Burke has always been among the NHL's most colorful wheeler dealers. In 2005-06, he overhauled his [more…]
This will be the first and only time these two teams will meet this season. Their last tilt took place on November 22, 2008 in Toronto where Chicago won the game 5-4 in overtime.
Note: Be sure to check out Alex Tran's quick hits of the day!
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A couple of deals went down today, involving some players you might be familiar with:
- Anton Stralman was traded from Calgary to Columbus, for a 3rd round pick. Yes, you read that correctly.
- Ryan Hollweg was signed by the Phoenix Coyotes to fill their need for an enforcer following a preseason tryout with the team. Yes, you read that correctly, also.
Let's take a break from the rumour mill, and have a look at where the Toronto Maple Leafs roster currently stands.
With the draft a little over a month away, and free agency beginning shortly thereafter, it's time to take a look at the current Maple Leafs' roster, who is and is not under contract for next season, and the resultant depth at each position.
Now that the 2008-09 regular season has officially ended, it's time to take a look back over the roster to assess each of the Maple Leafs' players.
Note that I'm only including players who finished the season with at least one game played for the Maple Leafs, and am excluding those traded away during the course of the season.
Statistics for those who were acquired mid-season reflect games played as members of the Maple Leafs only.
On a night where the stars were aligned for the first-pick lottery, where a Leafs loss coupled with Phoenix and Los Angeles wins would give the Leafs a chance at the #1 pick overall, a night where Phoenix and LA both did their part ... the Maple Leafs took the high road and won the game.
The end result is Toronto finishes with the 7th pick in the draft, entering this week's lottery draw.
John Mitchell capturing fastest skater honours was the revelation of today's team skills competition. I could've predicted the team with Jason Blake and Dominic Moore would've won the event but I'm surprised Mitchell clocked in with the best individual time. Here's the team press release containing the results:
For all the hype surrounding the seemingly inevitable fight between Grabovksi and Kostitsyn, the two Belorussians were not quite at the forefront of a very chippy game between the Leafs and the Canadiens. The animosity apparently encompassed both squads, as the tone was set early by a first period showdown between Georges Laraque and Brad May. As is the case with most matchups of these two rivals in Montreal, the crowd's energy fed into a quick-paced sixty minutes that saw both teams control the play in the offensive zone for lengths of time on end.
The latest from a source:
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Random thoughts and opinions from (roughly) the halfway point of the season:
* Glad to see the mustache is back in style.  In fact, when I was younger I grew a goatee just because everyone else was doing the 'stache. Then the '93 Canadiens all grew goatees during their Cup run, and it became a social mainstay.  Yes, folks, it's true: my hatred of the Habs has nothing to do with the Leafs, and everything to do with facial hair.
