Matthew Lombardi
With the boats now foolishly burnt and the season 31 games old, the Toronto Maple Leafs sure look like they’re reeling into form. Since starting the season with a record of 15 – 9 – 0, the Leafs have gone 1 – 3 – 3 in the past seven games, collecting only five points in the standings and now sitting precariously in sixth place in the Eastern Conference.
Through the good graces of the Hockey gods and the incompetence of their direct competition (the Jets, Hurricanes and Rangers all lost in regulation last night), the Leafs are just barely keeping their head above water. [more…]
With just over three weeks to go until the trade deadline, I feel as if I can get away with a rosterbation post without too much scrutiny. I’ll do my best to not go full HFBoards with my ideas, but certainly have a few players in mind that I’d like for the Leafs to target, and a few that I’d like Nonis to jettison. While I’m sure this won’t be the most intelligent post you’ll read this morning, hopefully it will at least spark some Monday morning conversation. [more…]
Leafs trade Matthew Lombardi to Phoenix for conditional 3rd or 4th round pick
The draft pick is a fourth rounder in 2014, which could become a third if Lombardi re-signs in Phoenix or records a certain number of points with the Coyotes this season.
Obviously, this is better than using the amnesty buy out because a) the Leafs get a pick, and b) retain both of those buyout options for the summer period should they want to exercise them. The Leafs will pay his $500,000 bonus and retain some of his base salary in order to off load the cap hit. [more…]
If the Toronto Maple Leafs hope to qualify for the Stanley Cup Playoffs next season, the franchise must now focus on further bolstering the top six.
While the acquisition of Kris Versteeg certainly helps, and Colby Armstrong could potentially step into a top six role to add a physical presence with some offensive upside, the Leafs are still in need of more pure goal-scoring ability up front. Options are scarce in the free agent market, but the likes of Matthew Lombardi (although reports indicate he is seeking upwards of $4 million per season), Alexander Frolov and Ilya Kovalchuk are still available.
