phil kessel
Speculation on who is likely to be scratched for Saturday's rematch against the New York Rangers, an update on Phil Kessel, and (surprise, surprise) some early-season trade chatter.
I often have to deal with a lot of commentary that seems when the Leafs skid, becomes more and more of the 'I told you so' variety. I don't get many 'hey great job' comments when things are going well, however. With this six-game funk, there's a boatload. But a couple made me think about why Schenn should be a candidate to sit on Saturday night.
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Five games in, no wins, and few positives within the play to indicate a turnaround is coming soon.
Something has to be done to shake up this roster.  Some sort of move needs to be made, that much is clear.
The question is, what?
A funny thing happened on the way to Marc Savard fantasy analysis that killed a myth ...
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The Toronto Maple Leafs have sent forwards Jiri Tlusty, Nik Kulemin, and Tyler Bozak, as well as defender Carl Gunnarsson, to the Toronto Marlies of the AHL.
These moves leave the team with a 22-man roster, one under the season-opening limit of 23.   That number does not include either of Phil Kessel or Mike Van Ryn, as both will start the season listed as injured non-roster players.
A couple of deals went down today, involving some players you might be familiar with:
- Anton Stralman was traded from Calgary to Columbus, for a 3rd round pick. Yes, you read that correctly.
- Ryan Hollweg was signed by the Phoenix Coyotes to fill their need for an enforcer following a preseason tryout with the team. Yes, you read that correctly, also.
To generate some discussion, Capitals blogger Steven Hindle threw out an interesting trade idea involving the Toronto Maple Leafs: Michael Nylander. Yes, he's old (turns 37 in about two weeks). Yes, he's coming off a brutal 33 point season. Yes, he's carrying a ridiculous $4.875M cap hit for the next two seasons. But, there is no denying the history of talent and production, including 199 points in 200 games from 2005-2007. Perhaps there is a possible trade fit involving the exchange of some undesirable contracts? [more…]
A quick profile of the newest Leafs forward, and an excerpt from the McKeen's Yearbook. For those in the Vancouver area, I kick off a monthly segment as a guest on Sportstalk Weekends with Rick Quinton on AM980 CKNW tonight .. we'll be discussing this deal and giving you all a fantasy primer for your drafts.
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The Toronto Maple Leafs are now riding a three-game winning streak after defeating the Philadelphia Flyers in overtime on Saturday night by a score of 5-4.
Yes, it's pre-season, but who cares? It's hockey, and we're winning. Enough said.
The infamous Brian Burke "stamp" that has become his signature since his times in Hartford, Vancouver and Anaheim arrived in Toronto yesterday in the form of Phil Kessel and at the expense of the club's next two first round draft picks and this year's second round pick. Any time a general manager moves not one but two first round draft picks, it constitutes a major future-shaping decision and one that will ultimately play a major part in defining the legacy of his regime. Yesterday we were reaffirmed of one increasingly apparent fact about Brian Burke's rebuild - it's not your traditional model. We've seen over the course of the last three months - from June to September - Burke aggressively pursue all available avenues to try to position his club as a contender in the short and long term. Certainly, the 2009-10 campaign just got a whole lot more interesting.
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Talking to sources this evening, I've managed to partially reconstruct -- there is obviously much more to it than what is posted here -- how the trade for Phil Kessel ultimately came about, and the origin of many of the rumours that circulated prior to the deal finally going down.
The Bruins wanted at least one player in a deal, but no suitable player-based deal could ultimately be found with any of Nashville, New York, or Toronto. Â At the end of the day, Bruins' GM Peter Chiarelli opted to accept a package of picks that was originally offered by the Leafs nearly a full week before the deal was finally consummated.
Here's how it is said to have happened.
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