Good day downtrodden Leaf fans. It seems as if Monday's debacle against Tampa Bay was a seminal moment in the playoff drive for the Blue & White, given the flat performance and lop-sided defeat. Wish I could tell you I didn't see it coming. The pattern of a dismal home effort following an emotional Saturday victory is well established in this city, and the Leafs did nothing to alter it on Monday. That said, the Hurricanes provided a bit of a life-line last night by knocking off the Sabres in regulation time. That allows the Leafs -- with a regulation win tonight in Raleigh -- to move back to within four points of the 8th-place Sabres and two of 9th-place Carolina. If it happens, excitement and anticipation will pick up once again. If not... well, you know the answer. Fire away with questions/comments.
Kadri moves up to second line between Lupul and Kessel, dropping Bozak to play with Crabb and Boyce. Grabovski-MacArthur-Kulemin stay together. Of course, all of this can change five minutes into the game, which is why I rarely pay much attention to line combos. But, you asked.
Absolutely not. Reimer needs a night off. And though I may have left Kadri with the Marlies and used Jay Rosehill to compensate for the loss of Colby Armstrong's energy, Kadri does provide a more talented option.
Read my blog yesterday, did you? Absolutely this "race" was impacted by the Leafs usual comatose start. Even two or three added victories would have made the playoff battle more intriguing for Leaf fans. And, that seems lost on many people. It's like the old story in basketball: a team gets a two-pointer to win 100-99 at the buzzer. Which was more important? That final shot, or the one that put the team ahead 2-0 in the first 20 seconds? We know which SEEMS more important, but it really isn't.
Yessir.
That's kind of the $68,000 question in Leaf land right now. Will Gustavsson be a factor before the end of the current season? Doesn't appear so at the moment, but none of us -- a week ago -- would have expected J.S. Giguere to be in goal tonight, given Reimer's heroics. Things change rather quickly between the pipes. I believe Wilson still wants to bang away with Reimer. James will start tomorrow in Sunrise FL and likely thereafter if the Leafs win and he plays decently. I still think Reimer-Giguere is the plan for the final month. But, it CAN change.
Hard to say. I'm not confident we'll see a much-improved Kadri at the NHL level before next season. This isn't the ideal circumstance to drop him into, though he has played well in many AHL games recently. I doubt I'll make a judgement on him until I see what happens after training camp in September. That's when Nazem will have to show some progress, or people will begin to seriously doubt his furure in the bigs.
Another good question. Possibly not. Colborne had been scoring regularly in the AHL and the Armstrong "emergency" might have provided Leafs the opportunity they wanted to look at him in the NHL. But, moot point now.
Well, let's hope he's learned a trick or two in the past couple of months... what a waste of time otherwise. Still, the NHL and AHL are worlds apart... everythingt happens quicker up here and Kadri will have to adjust. Let's see how he does away from the puck. That was Wilson's bugaboo, and a legitimate one. No forward that isn't scoring can be irresponsible when he doesn't have the puck. Kadri was lost in that regard earlier. Dallas Eakins has worked hard to drive the point into his head.
Ilya Bryzgalov. Try saying it now. True answer could be neither, but I'd imagine Burke will have a prompt conversation or two with the Richards camp if Dallas doesn't re-sign its best player before July 1. Bryzgalov seems rather important to Phoenix as well. The Coyotes are a mess off the ice, but pretty darn respectable ON it -- largely because of their goalie. Why would GM Don Maloney not make a big effrort to retain Bryzgalov? If he's available -- and Burke hasn't enough confidence in the Reimer-Gustavsson tandem -- then he'll probably make a play for the goalie he waived in Anaheim a few years ago.
Leafs last won in '67. My laptop acted 67 the first time I powered it up. Answer your OWN question.
BRAVO!!
Way too soon to be thinking like that. I believe Gustavsson just needs to put Year 2 behind him and start Year 3 as a pro... as do many players. Of course, there is no predicting when or if his heart ailment will flare again, but it does seem rather manageable, and I'm of the opinion Jonas has the talent and temperament to play in the NHL. If nothing has changed by next year at this time, he probably won't be wanted in another NHL city.
And, I like your avatar. Makes me want to hop a plane for L.A. and one of those late-winter sunsets over the Pacific. Thanks for the props. Is there a "but..." coming?
Not really confident Giggy can pull it together for a night, are you? Maybe he'll provide a pleasant surprise. Hurricanes did play last night in Buffalo. They could be a bit weary as the game progresses.
I haven't seen Frattin lately but he was accorded a rather prestigious honor by his college grouping. Seems like a decent prospect, but Jerry D'Amigo has proven there's an adjustment obviously to be made between college/world junior hockey and the pros. My bird-dogs tell me this Jake Gardiner kid acquired from Anaheim in the Beauchemin trade could be the Leafs' runaway top prospect at the moment.
Actually, not much crazier than the Quebec Nordiques moving to Denver in 1995-96 and winning the Stanley Cup that season as the Colorado Avalanche.
Trust this is a serious question and you aren't trying to get Avery's lawyers on my ass again. Reason Sean isn't mentioned in this vain is simple: he hasn't done anything really stupid yet this season. There is time, mind you, but give the guy a bit of credit for reversing his own career pattern -- at least temporarily. And, Avery WAS handled internally by his colleagues... teammates in Dallas kicked him off the club after his dumb "sloppy seconds" remark a few years ago.
Folks, any way I can ask for an effort to use CAPITAL letters when warranted in your questions? Saves me time from having to edit. Thanks. Being intelligent as a GM -- and being able to land a top centreman -- aren't necessarily related. Of course Burke realizes he needs that type of player, but Leafs aren't alone. A potential wild-card here, clearly, is the development of Kadri and Colborne... and a third-year bounce-back by Bozak (try saying THAT fast three times). Leafs could easily have part of the centre issue already in place.
So long as you keep your money in your wallet, here goes... 5-4 OT win at Carolina; 4-2 win at Florida; 4-2 loss at home to Bruins.
Yes, that possibility does exist... Lupul has the hands to be a good scorer. But, he needs to be fully recovered from the long, arduous health issue related to his back surgery more than a year ago... and subsequent infection that went into his bones and mystified doctors for a few months. He is still on antibiotics from that infection and recently told me he'll need the entire off-season to round back into form -- physically and emotionally. As such, I repeat what I've said several times: anything Leafs get from Lupul this season is a bonus. Next season, he'll be graded more harshly on his $4.25-million cap figure.
I highly respect him, too.
Maybe this summer, if the Argos get more production at quarterback.
