Viktor Stalberg
With the World Junior Championship gold medal game taking centre stage tonight (7:30pm, TSN), Leafs' fans can be forgiven for overlooking tonight's matchup against an inconsistent Florida Panthers squad (7:00pm, Sportsnet).
Coming off a disastrous mini-road trip out West, featuring losses to the Edmonton Oilers and Calgary Flames, the Maple Leafs will look to inject some confidence into their lineup with a victory against the visiting Panthers, who sit only 4 points ahead of the Leafs in the Eastern Conference standings.
- On Leafs Lunch this afternoon, it was mentioned that rookie forward Viktor Stalberg has been medically cleared to play and will suit up against [more…]
The Toronto Maple Leafs are in a rebuild, or a re-tool, whichever you prefer. Â In any event, a process such as this requires a team to have a plentiful prospect pipe, ripe with blue chippers are all positions. Â The Leafs certainly may not be plentiful when it comes to blue chip prospects, but they do have a few who are developing quite nicely.
And you just never know when and where a potential blue chipper may come from.
If drafting has taught us anything, it's shown to be far from an exact science. Â Can't miss prospects turn out to be busts occasionally, and sometimes late round picks have proven to be key components for a team, just ask, among others, Tomas Kaberle, Henrik Zetterberg, Pavel Datsyuk, and Viktor Stalberg.
Okay, while he may not garner enough adulation to be put in a group with some of the NHL's top stars, there is plenty of reason to believe he may in fact one day be worthy of the mention.
Just a quick update:
The Maple Leafs have recalled Viktor Stalberg from the Marlies and are sending down Joey MacDonald, as Jonas Gustavsson is ready to back up Vesa Toskala Friday night in Buffalo.
Probably a good idea to start Vesa on Friday. Give Jonas an extra night off (hopefully, anyway) and keep Toskala away from the Bruins Saturday, as he's had trouble with them this season. [more…]
Viktor Stalberg has been recalled by the Toronto Maple Leafs today. Stalberg is the leading scorer for the Marlies, with 8 goals and 13 assists [more…]
The Toronto Maple Leafs are ranked third in the Eastern Conference during the last 10 games with a 6-2-2 record, and while that is no major accomplishment, it's an indicator that there is light at the end of the tunnel.
On the heels of a stunning victory over the Washington Capitals, in a shootout no less, Brian Burke shouldn't hesitate to pull the trigger on some roster moves.
While it was encouraging to see a collective effort from our boys in Blue and White at the Air Canada Center last night, Toronto Maple Leafs zealots have not forgotten the abysmal display of hockey that was presented to them during the first quarter of the season. As much as I'd like to believe defeating one of the Eastern Conference's top teams will remedy the Leafs' woes, it's simply not the case.
It's been suggested several times during the first quarter of the Toronto Maple Leafs' emotionally exhaustive season, but it needs to be mentioned once again:
It's time to bring up the kids. No more excuses. Just get 'er done, Brian Burke.
*Inspired by Eric Engels' question blogs over at HockeyBuzz*
As you all prepare for the Toronto Maple Leafs' division tilt against the Ottawa Senators tonight, allow me to throw some questions your way.
With the Toronto Maple Leafs failing to garner at least a point against the Chicago Blackhawks last night after an admirable performance from goaltender Vesa Toskala, there was an issue with the Leafs' offensive squad that became increasingly visible in the dying minutes of the game.
Grit.
The big club's off until a Friday night date with the struggling Hurricanes, so let's take this opportunity to review the progress of several Maple Leafs' prospects across various levels and highlight upon the season's surprises and disappointments thus far. The verdict: fairly encouraging results early on across the board. [more…]
The Buffalo Sabres are first in their division with a 7-1-1 record, first in the league with average shots per game (36), and have won every game in which the opposition out-shot them. Ryan Miller also holds the best goals against average (1.60) and save percentage (0.944) in the NHL. The Leafs visit them tonight in an effort to try and ruin many of those stats.
[more…]
