Vincent Lecavalier
In case you haven't already heard, the Maple Leafs have broken off negotiations with prospect Bill Sweatt, acquired in the Versteeg trade from the Blackhawks. In a statement to the Toronto Sun, Burke explained that the club would rather keep a spot on the 50 contract limit open than continue discussions with Sweatt. As the talks continued to stall, the Leafs likely turned and upped their offer to Marcel Mueller, whose ELC contract value sits at $1.12 million. Sweatt is likely looking for a figure close to Blake Wheeler's $2.825 cap hit as a 4-year college free agent, which is a steep price to pay for a player with speed but limited offensive upside. [more…]
Coming off an uninspiring performance during a 4-3 road loss to the Atlanta Thrashers on Tuesday, the Maple Leafs look to rebound tonight with a more energetic effort in Tampa Bay against a struggling Lightning squad.
The Lightning currently sit 13th in the Eastern Conference with 48 points, 5 ahead of the Toronto Maple Leafs and 4 out of the 8th and final playoff spot. For the Leafs to get back into the race, a victory tonight, and another Saturday against the Panthers, will be essential.
The Leafs face up against their old bench boss Pat Quinn tonight hoping to get back on a winning streak of some sort. The big lineup change seems to be a demotion for Grabovski to the fourth line. Rickard Wallin benefits from Mikhail's demotion with a undeserved look on the second line.
My Team Canada Roster selections may seem a little vanilla, but they've been selected to play out various situations. Penalty killing, power play and balance on all the forward units took precedent over sheer offensive/defensive ability.
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After a sloppy first couple of periods, the Maple Leafs held on for a 4-3 victory against the Tampa Bay Lightning. The Leafs blew a 2-goal first period lead, as well as a 1-goal lead in the second, but played a solid third period and came out on top. It surely wasn't the Leafs' best performance of the season, but it was nice to see them emerge on the right end of a tight scoreline for a change. [more…]
By now, I'm sure many of you have seen ESPN's report of a significant offer by the Maple Leafs for Phil Kessel: two 1st round picks and a 2nd round pick. The general reflex reaction that we've been conditioned to by the Toronto media the last few seasons is to avoid moving 1st round selections by any means necessary. The thought of moving two such commodities is beyond horrifying. I've seen the name Taylor Hall used as the backbone of many an argument over the last few days, often associated with the "chance" of landing said player. If we're gonna turn this into a game of chance, let's at least get all the cards on the table. [more…]
Now that we're in the TRUE off-season (in which nothing usually happens until September) I came across a little rumor not started by Eklund that raised an eyebrow, so I decided to pass it on. Keep in mind, I don't even know the people personally who brought this up so it's definitely peculation as of right now, but still interesting to say the least. It involves the Leafs, Lightning and Blues.
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I've read a lot of comments and feedback on everyone's take for this pick but this is what has been making the rounds in the rumor mill - yes, rumors are still circulating through the playoffs. Keep in mind that this is pure speculation and isn't exactly a mainstream rumor, but it is interesting and perhaps logical.
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This evening's 3-2 loss was another tough one to swallow for a Maple Leafs team that largely outfought the Tampa Bay Lightning throughout the course of the game. There appeared to be only one real area where the Maple Leafs fell short in this one... star power. The Tampa Bay Lightning's Vincent Lecavalier pulled off a few moments of magic which proved decisive. Backstopped by a stingy Mike Smith, the Lightning were sturdy defensively, but on top of their 39 shots on target, the Leafs missed the 6x4 on an inexcusable 19 occasions (believe it or not, only 2 were off the stick of Jason Blake). [more…]
