Edmonton Oilers
The Leafs face up against their old bench boss Pat Quinn tonight hoping to get back on a winning streak of some sort. The big lineup change seems to be a demotion for Grabovski to the fourth line. Rickard Wallin benefits from Mikhail's demotion with a undeserved look on the second line.
Happy Boxing Day, hockey fans!
It's a great day for hockey here in Leafland. Â The World Junior Championship Tournament, featuring the Leafs' highly-touted Nazem Kadri, officially gets underway this afternoon as Canada takes on Latvia. Â Following the tournament opener, we are in for a treat Leafs take on their long-standing rival, the Montreal Canadiens. Â And for those who are able to remain awake after all the holiday parties of the past two days, the Edmonton Oilers will visit the Vancouver Canucks in what should be a typical Saturday night Western Conference barn-burner. Â Does it get any better?
Now, onto the Leafs-Habs preview:
Just wanted to share a fantastic bit of work done by Nights, one of our many enthusiastic and intelligent readers, who evaluated how the NHL landscape would look without the first 8 games of the season during which the Maple Leafs struggled mightily. Great work! [more…]
Seven games into the season might still be too early to panic, but it's becoming quite clear that we're inching quickly towards the button. The Sun is reporting that Brian Burke has beeen making calls around the league in search for another goal scoring forward. In the same article, the Sun also mentions that Florida has begun preliminary talks in exploring trade possibilities for young power forward Nathan Horton, who has thus far struggled out of the gate. Is there a possible fit here? [more…]
It is being reported by TSN that Dany Heatley has refused to waive his NTC in a deal to the Edmonton Oilers for the speculated return of Andrew Cogliano, Ladislav Smid, and Dustin Penner. I'm not usually one to have an opinion, but that was somewhat classless, then again, he signed a NTC for a reason, so he could have this control.
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(Cross-posted at Checking From Behind)
4:20 PM
Fan 590 suggests the Dallas Stars have offered the #8 selection and Ondrej Roman or Perttu Lindgren for Tomas Kaberle.
3:00 PM
Thanks to Andrew Stoeten for finding this tidbit:
"Columbus is not interested in Leafs defenceman Tomas Kaberle, and one rumour circulating is that the Thrashers will land him, as part of a package that will see the Leafs get Atlanta's fourth-overall pick" - Columbus Dispatch.
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This time of year pretty much everyone is doing a mock draft of some sort. So, with one week to go until the Entry Draft, I figure it's time I chip in with my two cents on what may or may not unfold with the top 10 picks come June 26.
Note that the draft projections listed here are made based on current draft positions, and are not reflective of any possible trades involving the top 10 picks.
Excitement abounds these days in the streets of Toronto, as a long-overdue rebuilding effort for the Toronto Maple Leafs, and the prospect of a revitalized franchise, moves into high gear.
Arguably the last successful revitalization of the Maple Leafs franchise occurred in the early 1990s, when in the span of three seasons the Leafs went from basement-dwellers to Stanley Cup contenders. Although many are quick to credit then-GM Cliff Fletcher's 1992 mega-deal with the Calgary Flames as the key turning point for the franchise, the groundwork for the franchise's rapid acceleration from pretender to contender actually began much earlier ... in the 1989-90 season, to be exact.
So you're Brian Burke and it's July 1st.
Who do you go after? And what is the contract you offer?
With Files from Gil Brown
The current point system is most equitable for playoff races in January and individual franchise marketing, beginning as early as midseason.
Part of the logic behind Detroit Red Wing's GM Ken Holland's proposal, shot down in GM meetings in Naples, Florida in March, to change the season ending tie-breaking measures from Wins, to Regulation Wins is incentive for teams to get the job done in 60-minutes.
It's about motivation, from puck drop in October through to April. But the current point system has greater connotations for marketing games, ticket sales and shaping the playoff race, the biggest issues for owners.
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With Files from Gil Brown
Brian Burke doesn't take credit for the Maple Leafs drafting Luke Schenn 5th overall in 2008, but he's sure glad they did. Under different circumstances, which we'll get into over a series of posts, Burke's Ducks would have been in the mix for the Saskatoon native at the 2008 draft.
Fortune shined on the blue and white allowing them to trade up to 5th overall pick. There was an associated cost from their original seventh spot, but the end result is a potential future Maple Leafs captain of the Scott Stevens mold.
Unbelievable as it seems; perhaps, even laughable, Schenn, could have been wearing Ducks colors.
The story doesn't begin in Anaheim, however. It starts in Edmonton.
