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Can Carlyle Turn Things Around?
Posted on 3 Mar 2012 by Ben Fisher.
Look, I'll be the first to question the true impact of a coach in any sport. Fact is, your team is only as good as the players on it and those players shouldn't require a good coach to play hard, nor do they need a bad coach to coast if they should be so inclined. But something had to be done – and fast – for the free-falling Leafs and their 1-9-1 mark over the past 11 games. Withou...
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That’s All, Folks
Posted on 28 Feb 2012 by Ben Fisher.
Here we are on February 28 – the day after the NHL trade deadline – and the Toronto Marlies are an improved AHL club as they head towards postseason play. Meanwhile, the Leafs, losers of eight of their past nine and moving in the wrong direction as the playoff race tightens, are left with the same personnel that just fell listlessly to Washington on Saturday. Depending on your persp...
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The Leafs This Week – Nov. 25 – Dec. 1
Posted on 1 Dec 2011 by Ben Fisher.
What Happened Anyone who witnessed the past week of Leafs (14-9-2) hockey would be hard-pressed to argue that the West remains the stronger conference. Toronto walked into Dallas and Anaheim last weekend and took all four points from the 14-9-1 Stars and the talented-but underperforming Ducks (now under the watch of Bruce Boudreau) to move to 5-1-2 against Western Conference teams. Then, after ...
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Leafs’ Season Preview: The Goaltenders
Posted on 20 Sep 2011 by Ben Fisher.
What happens to the Leafs’ season if ‘Optimus Reim’ and the ‘Monster’ turn out to be far better nicknames than players? Brian Burke has put his faith into James Reimer and Jonas Gustavsson, leaving his two young netminders without much in terms of a safety net. Reimer enters the season firmly entrenched as the No. 1 option between the pipes, but Leaf fans could be forgiven for their w...
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Leafs’ Season Preview: The Coaching Staff
Posted on 15 Sep 2011 by Ben Fisher.
With training camp set to begin tomorrow to – finally – bring some positive news back to hockey’s forefront, it’s high time to get going on a four-part series of blogs previewing the Toronto Maple Leafs’ 2011-12 season. Today, we kick off with a coaching preview, to be followed in the coming weeks with a look at the goaltending situation, blue line, top six and bottom six forwards. Th...
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The Race for a Roster Spot
Posted on 7 Sep 2011 by Ben Fisher.
Here we are: about a week away from the Sept. 16 opening of Leafs’ training camp and GM Brian Burke has laid out what’s on the line. Burke acknowledged that most of the spots up front would be established heading into camp, although he opened the door to a battle for the third-line winger slot, as well as an opportunity to stay with the big club as the 13th forward. Already in place are the...
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Two Picks and a Trade: Draft Day for Leafs Nation
Posted on 24 Jun 2011 by Ben Fisher.
The Kaberle Trade Keeps Giving A trade that already looked good for Toronto grew that much sweeter on Friday, as the Leafs used their 2012 second rounder acquired from Boston in the Tomas Kaberle deal to lure John-Michael Liles over from Colorado. Now, there’s no point in trying to provide even a semblance of analysis on a swap where the involved parties won’t even be fully revealed until n...
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2010-11 Breeds Disappointment, Hope for Future
Posted on 12 Apr 2011 by Ben Fisher.
In a season-ending interview with the Toronto Star, Leafs GM Brian Burke wrapped up his Buds’ campaign with his usual dose of frankness and bluster. “This season is a failure,” states Burke emphatically. And he’s right. As I pointed out in my off-season outlook, for all the positives emerging from Leafs Nation this season, they remain – for the sixth consecutive year – among the bot...
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Leafs’ Trade Deadline Game Plan
Posted on 19 Feb 2011 by Ben Fisher.
Brian Burke has long been a proponent of the “why wait until the last minute” mindset when it comes to the NHL trade deadline, and this year has been no different. Even as his Maple Leafs make a charge into play-off contention, the team’s GM had had a busy few weeks of working the phones and already has three significant deals under his belt to show for it. Whether or not the trades actua...
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Trade to Boston Wraps Up Kaberle Saga
Posted on 18 Feb 2011 by Ben Fisher.
Thirteen seasons, 878 games (all in blue and white), three head coaches and countless trade rumours later, and Tomas Kaberle is – finally – no longer a Maple Leaf. That isn’t to suggest that anyone was anxious to get rid of the 32-year old blue liner, but after over two years of failed trade attempts and far too much chatter, it was clear that Kaberle’s tenure was coming to a close. Unf...
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Something More to Versteeg Swap?
Posted on 15 Feb 2011 by Ben Fisher.
You never want to make a trade in which team observers are left wondering if the outgoing player had asked to leave. Yet that is precisely the thought I keep returning to upon learning of Kris Versteeg’s trade to Philadelphia in exchange for their first- and third-round selections in this summer’s NHL Entry Draft. Why else do you give up on a young forward after just 53 games when it isn’...
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Leafs Nation: This is the new plan?!?
Posted on 20 Dec 2010 by Mike De Petrillo.
Brett Lebda is playing LW tonight and Nazem Kadri continues to be a healthy scratch. In what bizarre edition of reality does this scenario even remotely make sense? Seriously? Brett Lebda. Makes sense that the under-achieving defenseman that is incapable of cracking the blue line when all Leafs defensemen are healthy is now taking NHL playing time away from the organization’s top prospec...
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