One of the Hot Stove readers asked for an update on how the Leafs have fared without Mike Van Ryn. And the results are actually quite surprising.
Louisiana
Brian Burke must have felt a lot like the eponymous Old Mother Hubbard when he first reached into the Leafs prospects cupboard. Of course, unlike the elderly dog-mistreating crone of the rhyme, Burke already knew what lay in stock prior to his arrival in Leafs country. In short: a few notable exceptions to a decade of draft property mismanagement.
Subsequently, the draft of 2009 looked to be a vital cornerstone in Brian Burke’s rebuild. The first chance for the Leafs to restock in a new, finally directed era.
I've been holding off on posting one of these, as the sheer volume of Toronto-borne speculation renders separating the plausible from the impossible a rather difficult task.
Without further ado, here we go:
- There is no guarantee that Tomas Kaberle is traded this weekend. Sources say the chance that he could remains a member of the Maple Leafs beyond the Draft is increasing by the day. The reason? "Burke wants a player who can step in and play right away. He wants to win now, and is far less concerned about getting draft picks than he is about getting an impact forward."
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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.
Five trades that almost happened. Count 'em, five separate deals.  So close, yet so far away.
A very good source has it that Brian Burke saw five separate draft day deals fall apart in the last minute of each.  He worked his tail off on each, only to see the other teams back out in the end for a myriad of reasons. Yet despite these disappointments, Burke was still able to land a very good player in Nazim Kadri at #7, so the draft wasn't a total loss by any means.
It's official:Â the trade deadline has come and gone ... not with a bang but a whimper.
Aside from the agonizingly slow pace throughout most of the day, some fascinating moves (and non-moves) took place, for both the Maple Leafs and the league as a whole.
Here are my thoughts, in the aftermath of Deadline Day:
1967.
It is a number that all Leafs fans hold in such high regard. Â It means so much to so many.
