Natural Disaster
The Maple Leafs have signed prospect Philippe Paradis, a 2009 1st round pick (27th) who as you may recall was acquired earlier this season from the Carolina Hurricanes in exchange for 2006 1st round pick Jiri Tlusty (13th).
Paradis' Junior team, the Shawinigan Cataractes, were recently eliminated from the QMJHL playoffs. The Leafs elected to get Paradis signed immediately following his team's elimination so he can be sent to the AHL Toronto Marlies to gain some professional-level experience.
Submitted by Michael Stephens (a.k.a. Baumgartner)
Apparently Sidney Crosby still lives with Mario Lemieux. Anyone else find that weird? Dude, you’re almost 23. You’ve got a Stanley cup ring, an Olympic gold medal, an 8.7 million dollar per year salary (to say nothing of the endorsements). Damn man, move out already. But I digress...
Tonight, the Buds and Habs are set to battle it out and put their win streaks on the line. The Leafs are 5-1-0 in their last 6 outings, while the Canadiens are riding an impressive 6 game string of victories. With Toronto now over 0.500 at home (15-14-5), they are looking to play the role of heartbreakers this season, and what better way to continue doing so then by throwing a big fat L at Montreal tonight?
(Be sure to check out Bauman's pre-game article to get yourself ready for tonight's match-up!)
Dion Phaneuf, as of right now, is not a Norris trophy candidate.
Phaneuf took the National Hockey League by storm in his rookie season, producing 20 goals as a 20-year-old defenseman. He then had a successful sophomore campaign, breaking the 50-point barrier. In his third year, he had a 10-point increase and produced 60 points, gaining him consideration for the Norris trophy at only 22 years old.
The Carolina Hurricanes are closing in on a deal with the San Jose Sharks for Niclas Wallin, while Leafs fans were begging it was Rickard. Kovalchuk turns down $101M, while the Rangers pull out of the sweepstakes due to the asking price. Find out what the Thrashers wanted in return. Also, Dion Phaneuf has his own plan for the remainder of the Leafs regular season.
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***Be sure to check out Micheal Aldred's blog on the future of Tyler Bozak!*** The Toronto Maple Leafs have been in search of a number one goaltender since the National Hockey League's lockout, and after a four-year trial period---relinquishing a number of draft picks in the process--- they may have finally found their man.
On the heels of a disheartening loss against the last-place Carolina Hurricanes, it could now be concluded that the Toronto Maple Leafs will not be participating in the playoffs this season.
It was the same old story for the Maple Leafs last night. Another bad start, another power-play goal against, another game where they outshot the opposition badly, another good effort, but another loss. The Leafs dropped their fourth in a row, 4-2 to the last-place Carolina Hurricanes.
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…]
Friday night saw a host of impressive performances from a few Maple Leaf prospects; among them is QMJHL power forward Joel Champagne of the PEI Rockets who turned in a ridiculous 7 point performance. Nazem Kadri also chipped a pretty shorthanded goal and 2 assists for London. Meanwhile, Phillipe Paradis was held scoreless in his debut performance as a Leaf prospect. [more…]
Ho hum, a Saturday night without hockey in Toronto. Here are some interesting/random thoughts to consider:
- Now with 8 goals on the season, Phil [more…]
As the Leafs prepare for the Tampa Bay Lightning tonight, it occurs to many fans that while the Leafs are looking strong as of late, the fate of their playoffs hopes certainly lives and dies on the team's ability to win in extra time. While it does not show immediately, the 7 extra points from overtime losses would still have them in 14th in the East, but it would have them with 22 points on the year and within 3 points for a playoff position. Toronto has had plenty of practice playing 4 on 4 overtimes and participating in shootouts, it's time to start capitalizing on these extra points.
