mainstream media
Be sure to check out Junior's thoughts from tonight's tilt.Sean Mcindoe, better known as the unmistakeably hilarious voice of Down Goes Brown, has joined forces with the evil Empire that is the Toronto mainstream [more…]
We’ve partnered up with Pension Plan Puppets to bring to you a Player Review series, where we will be evaluating and grading the 2009-10 season for every Leaf who featured in a significant number of games for the Blue and White last season, with an eye towards 2010-11. Today we feature Dion Phaneuf, profiled by Nikhil Daljeet:
The Summary:
The arrival of Dion Phaneuf in Toronto this year will undoubtedly be remembered as a significant moment in the annals of Maple Leafs history, for better or for worse. The trade that Brian Burke engineered for the newest Leafs captain has been generally heralded as a wise maneuver for his Toronto club. However, this transaction occurred after a full 2008-2009 season that saw a noticeable decrease in offensive output from Phaneuf (Flames management insisted it was due to injury). Moreover, the 2009-2010 season gave way to a floundering Calgary team that was in severe need of a major shakeup and Flames GM Sutter did exactly that on January 31st.
Some reading material for your weekend enjoyment:
- The boys over at PPP provide us with a nice piece about European free agent goaltender Jussi Rynnas. The 6'5 22 year old is coming off an impressive season in the Finnish Elite League, posting a 2.50 GAA to go along with a league-best 0.929 SV%. For comparison's sake: Mikka Kiprusoff posted a 1.86 GAA and 0.936 SV% during his age 22-23 season in the SM-Liiga. Jussi is in the midst of a five city North American tour, with Toronto not being one of the destinations. However, Burke and Nonis have both made the trip out to Helsinki and later brought Francois Allaire along to speak with Rynnas during his stopover in Montreal. Rynnas is not as highly regarded as Gustavsson was last offseason, and will likely be playing for an AHL team next season. The scouting report on him is that he's a big guy who can struggle at times with rebound control and positioning, much like our own Gustavsson, and his style of play has been compared to that of Nashville's Pekka Rinne.
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In the end, perhaps the player to best describe the trades is ... Wayne Primeau?
After all, the former Flame has been through this before.
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Alec has asked me to add my two cents hereabouts from time to time, and I've agreed to do so with some trepidation.  For those of you who don't know me, I'm Junior, from Heroes in Rehab: the blog.  I don't want to step on the toes of any of the other contributors on the site, so I want to contribute something a little different from the others. What follows is, at it turns out, a bit of a (lengthy, sorry about that) manifesto for what I hope to produce in the coming weeks for you all. Some of it's even about hockey and the Leafs!  I don't really see my self as the Stuart Smalley of Leafs Nation, and the affirmations I offer will be far from daily, but...well, just read, won't you?
One lousy heart-stopping, craptastic win-that-almost-wasn’t against the Thrashers Predators (update: oops, thanks Nights, I'm an idiot. Stupid interchangeable southeastern teams!). One crummy “W†from a five game road trip through the Southeast, the division where NHL hockey goes to die. The Maple Leafs can’t be happy with the way that worked out. When the trip began ten days ago, it seemed obvious that the Leafs were expecting to get pasted by Ovechkin and the Caps (first clue: starting Vesa Toskala); after getting the better of Bruce Boudreau’s squad a couple of times earlier this year, it was essentially a foregone conclusion that the Blue & White would have the least amount of fun in a DC amphitheatre since Abraham Lincoln, and that’s exactly how it worked out. But they had to be hoping for more out of matches against Dixie’s puck-playing tomato cans: Nashville, Atlanta, Tampa and Florida.
Of course we know now that it didn’t work out that way. Much to the chagrin of the local populace, Ron Wilson, Brian Burke and the team have arrived home with only two points to declare at Customs. As far as road trip expectations go, this is the equivalent of a “buddies road trip to Vegas†turning into “an insurance seminar in Peoria.†[more…]
Recently, I had the opportunity to chat with Katrina Cady of Psycho Lady Hockey about an aspect of the game which receives less recognition than perhaps deserved: the fan experience.
Katrina was gracious enough to agree to share her thoughts with the readers of MLHS on a variety topics, including the culture of hockey in traditional and non-traditional markets, the impact of social media in terms of coverage and fan involvement, and of course, your Toronto Maple Leafs.
Despite the many talking heads who continue to suggest that Ian White is not a top-four defender anywhere other than Toronto, a growing number of personalities both in the blogs and the mainstream media are beginning to recognize his value as a hockey player as he continues  to consistently provide outstanding effort at both ends of the rink.
Although much of the talk has centred around White's play looking so good because of the lack of talent around him, and that on a deeper team he'd be buried, I say let's spin that argument on its head. Â The fact that he doesn't have a ton of talent around him is evidence of just how good a hockey player he is, dare I say one of the more underrated players in the entire league. Â Before you write me off completely as some fanboy lunatic for suggesting that, let's take a look at the numbers first.
At long last, Phil Kessel will don the blue and white as he takes to the ice against the Tampa Bay Lightning tonight. Â He has received final clearance (after undergoing a few tests on his repaired shoulder) and will be lining up alongside Jason Blake and Matt Stajan. Â While the focus will undoubtedly be on Kessel's performance in his first game, the Leafs as a whole must maintain their recent level of play and take a win from the visiting team tonight.
Today's midweek rumblings include the implications of the Joey Macdonald signing, Zherdev bolts for the KHL, a preview of the Coyotes afternoon hearing, a possible Senators throwback jersey, a whole lot of nothing on Phil Kessel and the National Post's take on winners/losers of free agency. [more…]
Leafs Nation Live has a nice little interview with the Leafs' 2nd round selection this past June, Jesse Blacker of the Windsor Spitfires, talking about [more…]
The American Hockey League has released the 2008-09 Clear Day Period lists for each of its 29 member clubs.
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