North America
Kicking off the week with another update on a whole lot of nothing around the NHL: The Leafs get ripped in ESPN's Ultimate Team Standings, P.J. Axelsson signs with Frolunda, CBS Sports assigns offseason grades for the Northeast Division, and Kaberle bought out?
- Update #1: Rumors of a Calgary -Toronto trade involving Anton Stralman.
- Update #2: RDS confirms it. Stralman and Stuart to Calgary for Wayne Primeau.What the heck?
Not a whole lot of news coming out of the NHL ranks these last few days, as the few free agents still available are playing the waiting game (kind of surprising to note that Alex Tanguay's still out there). As we try to make it through the last work day before the weekend, let's touch upon more trade speculation out of Chicago, Leaf prospect Mikhail Stefanovich, early playoff predictions and the Leafs' second annual Coca Cola Fans First Game. [more…]
It wasn't long ago when Todd Bertuzzi, Markus Naslund, and Brendan Morrison were the talk of the league. They were arguably the best line in hockey during the 2002-03 season as the trio not only set career highs, but collectively posted 119 goals and 133 assists for 252 points. Not bad for one line. But since the lockout and the Steve Moore incident, every single one of their careers began to go downhill with a heap of steam.
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Although it has been widely reported that Farjestads BK forward Rickard Wallin is considering leaving Sweden to return to the NHL, and that the team interested in bringing him back to North America is the Toronto Maple Leafs, there is no definite timetable on when he might sign.
One would assume a decision is likely to happen within the next week.  Wallin's four year contract with Farjestads includes a clause which allows him to sign with an NHL team, but that clause is only in effect until July 15th.
Player Profile
Position: D
Shoots: Left
Height: 6'1
Weight: 183 lbs
Birthdate: 1990-10-29
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For much of the year, scouts from NHL clubs and private scouting agencies scour the globe for the next generational talent, the next franchise player, and the next late round steal. On Draft weekend, a year's hard work is condensed into a single list of names, a few of whom teams hope will become the future building blocks for their franchise. In Part Three of the '09 Draft Preview, the readers of MLHS are in for a special treat, as I recently had the opportunity to pick the brain of E.J. Mcguire, the Director of the NHL's Central Scouting Services and perhaps the most well-recognized face of the scouting world, about the upcoming June Draft. [more…]
According to their website, the Toronto Maple Leafs have signed recent draftees Mikhail Stefanovich, Carl Gunnarsson and Juraj Mikus to entry-level contracts. As General Manager Brian Burke continues the process of evaluating the Maple Leafs farm system, he has identified a trio of players with a chance of becoming part of the long-term picture in Toronto. [more…]
Hockey's Future, the renowned hockey prospects website, announced their Spring Organizational Rankings today and the Toronto Maple Leafs found themselves in the bottom tier of the league at #23. The ranking is based on an assessment of a team's farm system, which takes into account the amount of star power and depth that is likely to be produced. For a team in "rebuilding" mode, that's not a flattering number to see. [more…]
I feel that the NHL has paradoxically lost a lot of it's appeal to the casual hockey observer by ushering in a salary cap and establishing the presence of relative parity. The prospect of competitive balance within the sport of hockey was long viewed as the ideal scenario, assuring the opportunity to succeed in any given season for even the least moneyed franchises and as a direct result providing these franchises with the means to draw new fans out of their tepid markets. It all sounded good on paper. But the league has lost a valuable dynamic that in my estimation plays a large part in the success of other major sports leagues and associations within North America.
Coaches Corner maybe becoming increasingly irrelevant as the staunchly patriotic Don Cherry rambles about musings better suited to an age when every player was nicknamed “Butch†and that a Swede was something related to jokes about corners. But as Cherry provides the antithesis to contemporary hockey analysis I once more find myself agreeing with his misty eyed old school view of hockey in the wake of Don Sanderson’s tragic death. Sure I may find a lot to fault Cherry with, but the way in which he handled Sanderson’s passing was touching and unerringly appropriate at a time when fighting found itself once more centre stage for bandwagon discourse.
In October 2008, a reporter set the Barilkosphere into a tizzy with a certain writing. The intention was simple, a deliberately cruel finger pointing at Leafs Nation.
The backlash was tremendous, and it inspired Pension Plan Puppets to trigger a massive response to the piece. It shows the unifying force behind the internet, allowing fans the opportunity to voice dissent.
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Lot of mystery and speculation regarding the status of one Dmitri Vorobiev of Lada. Leafs 5th round pick back in '04 has really come into his own as one of the top young D-men in Europe. Leading your team in scoring at age 21 in the RSL, as a supposed "physical, defensive defenseman" is not an easy thing to do. Add in some very nice size at 6'2 216 (almost a Schenn clone), along with a devastating and somewhat crazy mean streak reminiscent of Danny Markov, and you've got yourself a pretty intriguing prospect. [more…]
