Victor Stalberg
One of the key questions surrounding the upcoming 2010-11 Maple Leafs season is whether they will be able to score enough to compete for a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.
An optimist will point to the Leafs' record following the acquisitions of Dion Phaneuf and J.S. Giguere as evidence that the Maple Leafs can compete. The cynic will suggest that although the Leafs played well over the final third of the season following those moves, there just simply isn't enough proven offensive production to buoy hopes for post-season play.
A closer look at the Leafs performance over their past 26 games following the January 31st trades for Phaneuf and Giguere, in comparison to their first 56, might shed some light on whether or not the Leafs' need for more offense in order to compete is fact or fiction.
Great to see such an active group of readers. Here are a couple of FanPosts for your Friday afternoon reading enjoyment with today's theme being youth, youth and more youth. Paul LeMay (B. Leaf) takes an in-depth look at the team's organizational prospect depth while Chuck Johnson compares Nazem Kadri's chances of making the NHL as a 2nd year player with those of previous high draft picks. [more…]
Stick Work has a stellar lineup of guests this week to give listeners variety.
Kicking off the first segment isEric Prime, who covers the Toronto [more…]
As per Darren Dreger Twitter:
"Christian Hanson expected to be called up by Leafs."
http://twitter.com/DarrenDreger:
I think eventually all of Tyler Bozak, Victor Stalberg and [more…]
Phil Kessel, in his short tenure with the Toronto Maple Leafs, has displayed an offensive acumen unparalleled by his teammates. And that, ladies and gentlemen, is the reason the Leafs embody mediocrity.
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*Inspired by Eric Engels’ format over at HockeyBuzz. Great stuff.*
Ten questions as you soak in another disappointing overtime loss, this time against the Tampa Bay Lightning. If there’s anyone to blame, it’s that bitch known as Lady Luck.
It's a pre-Halloween edition of Stick Work featuring discussions on the road swing, Jiri Tlusty, in .. Victor Stalberg out, along with Joey MacDonald.
Vesa [more…]
Leafs coach, Ron Wilson made it clear, Nazem Kadri will not be getting a nine-game audition this season, just to be sent down to the OHL London Knights. Answering questions in the media scrum after the scrimmage at training camp in the Mastercard Centre of Hockey Excellence, Wilson was adamant about being against an audition for the young pivot. In order to stick with the Leafs, the 1st round pick in the 2009 draft will have to beat out one of Mikhail Grabovski, or Matt Stajan for a top-6 role in order to stick, and as of Wilson right now, both are ‘way ahead’ of Kadri for a spot at the moment.
Kadri will get every opportunity to earn a top-6 spot, but unless he completely overwhelms, expect to see him in London for the entire season.
More notes from Training Camp, Day 2.
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I won't go into a lot of detail about the game itself, as Alec covered that quite well.
The news, for the most part, was good.  Many of the Leafs' prospects were impressive in their bids to earn a spot on the big club and/or the Marlies.  The following is a quick summation of some of the things that stood out to me from my vantage point at the game.
Author: B Leaf
Last season, the Leafs were 10th in scoring (244) and 9th in shots on goal (2,603). There is no major reason why that number should drop other than the loss of Antropov. There are other players who should have better years and help fill his ice time with similar results. On the powerplay, the Leafs were middle of the road at 16th. The Leafs were a respectable 17th in shots allowed (2481), but were a league worst in goals against (286). The PK% was also a league worst. Not all the blame can be placed on the goaltending, but a lot of it can. The collective save percentage for the team was an abysmal .885%.
