All Entries Tagged With: "Leafs"
The Expendables
As I sit here enjoying a cool, crisp, glacier fresh beer after a 9-3 Maple Leafs victory, the February 28 Trade Deadline enters my mind as I ponder how Brian Burke will fast-track Toronto to the playoffs. He has once again cemented his stance to acquire players that will help the team immediately, rather than [...]
Desperate Times…
The decision to call-up Nazem Kadri from the American Hockey League may provide short-term stability on offence, but it speaks volumes of the state of peril of the Toronto Maple Leafs. I can’t help but cringe at Brian Burke’s reasoning for the call-up:
The Boston Bruins Week That Was: 10/25-10/31
The Boston Bruins have played the fewest games of any team in the league, yet only one week after our last “Bruins Week That Was,” the team stands in sixth place in the Eastern Conference. With only two games in the past seven days, the team earned all four available points downing their Northeast Division [...]
Bruins Pregame 10/28/10 – Boston Bruins vs Toronto Maple Leafs
The Boston Bruins look to rebound as they take the ice tonight against the rival Toronto Maple Leafs. Do you remember as a kid, watching wrestling when all of the storylines would finally culminate into one big melting pot of greatness known as WrestleMania? If so, then tonight’s game is your hockey edition of WrestleMania, [...]
Watch those broken ankles
Now that the Maple Leafs are much closer to where I thought they’d be…a game over .500….you can hear the massive thump as Leafs “fans”…go leaping off the early season bandwagon. Watch those busted ankles!! Look…a thoroughly rotten start last season cost this team any shot at a post-season berth. They’ve turned it around…at least [...]
“Co-anchoring” NHL on the Fly with ex-Leaf Bill Berg
At the NHL FACE-OFF 2010 event in downtown Toronto two weeks ago, NHL Network had a booth just off to the side of the main square where curious passersby could try their hand at “co-anchoring” their nightly scores and news show, “NHL on the Fly”, with one of their studio hosts. As fate would have it, Bill Berg [...]
Good For Q. and Watch Crawford and Stalberg
Giving Joel Quenneville a contract extension was a no-brainer for Blackhawk brass. Signing Q. to a three year extension, which means he is under contract for another four seasons was a well deserved reward. Stan Bowman did the right thing by not letting Quenneville dangle and be open to any speculation concerning his Chicago coaching [...]
DAILY RUMORS: Shooting Down Leafs Speculations About Chasing RFAs
We at HockeyIndependent.com want to be your resource and filter for what is going on in the NHL. We try to disseminate the noise in the blogosphere. We don’t look to to attack those sources, but to question the veracity of the rumor with cold logic, hockey smarts and knowledge. To do that… we have [...]
Leafs Primed For Playoffs?
For the first time since the 2003-04 season, the Toronto Maple Leafs may be on the verge of ending its post-season drought. Many factors led to the Leafs’ demise during the 2009-10 campaign, which ultimately meant the relinquishment of Tyler Seguin to the Boston Bruins. Inconsistency was the primary issue, as many key players were ineffective or downright useless—I’m [...]
Torres A Viable Option
The Atlanta Thrashers (Maxim Afinogenov) and Montreal Canadiens (Marc-Andre Bergeron) can attest to it: unrestricted free agent signings deep in the off-season could pay dividends. Yes, those two particular players may not play for those respective teams anymore, but they both provided their clubs with offensive boosts (Afinogenov scored 61 points; Bergeron 13 goals and [...]
Leafs Fans Must Sit Tight
Although many Toronto Maple Leafs zealots had me believe it, the sky did not fall when I awoke this morning, despite the outcome of the latest entry in the Tomas Kaberle saga. And guess what? Kaberle’s future with the Leafs does not dictate whether or not the team’s short-term goals will be fulfilled. In fact, [...]
Versteeg Just the Beginning
On the eve of the Free Agent Frenzy, Brian Burke has once again stole the headlines with the acquisition of Kris Versteeg to the Toronto Maple Leafs. Burke has added a player who can legitimately play as a top-six forward. The 24-year-old has two 20+ goal seasons under his belt in his first two years [...]
Savard Makes Sense
If Brian Burke is contemplating the idea of acquiring Marc Savard, the Toronto Maple Leafs may be on the verge of adding a substantial piece to its rebuilding plan. That may sound strange considering the playmaking center is nearly 33 years old and is the beneficiary of a seven-year contract, but there are other factors at play [...]
Food for Thought – 1st Overall?
Just looking at the information floating around. Mapleleafs twitter releases rumour of "Bozak, Kulemin and Kaberle for 1st overall and high salaried player." That, in itself, is crazy. But I would have called the Phaneuf trade insane if someone had suggested it prior to it happening. Now, Darren Dreger reports that the Florida Panthers are [...]
It’s Your Turn, Pierre: The Great Captaincy Debate
Yesterday, the Toronto Maple Leafs ended an entire season of speculation when they announced Dion Phaneuf as their new captain, the 18th in their long storied history. The decision was generally met with approval from most Leafs fans. Phaneuf certainly represents the team that Brina Burke has built this far well, in terms of truculence, belligerence, [...]
Food For Thought: Nathan Horton
As July 1 approaches, there are no shortage of rumors involving the Toronto Maple Leafs as they attempt to bolster the forward ranks. Although Nathan Horton has not been linked as a potential target of GM Brian Burke, I believe it is within the realm of possibility. I base this simply from speculation posted at Spector’s [...]
Kadri Should Play Wing
Nazem Kadri is ranked fourth overall in points in the Ontario Hockey League playoffs. He also has the highest points-per-game average. It has a nice ring to it when you take into consideration he was eliminated in the second-round by his ex-team, the Kitchener Rangers. Kadri compiled an impressive 9 goals and 27 points in [...]
In With The New… In With The Old?
Since Brian Burke has been at helm, the Toronto Maple Leafs organization has restocked its prospect cupboard and have instilled hope in a fanbase desperate to win. Leafs fans have witnessed both highs and lows during the 2009-10 season and, although they must watch helplessly as the Boston Bruins select either one of Tyler Seguin [...]
Habs vs. Leafs Gameday: Last Chance
For this entire, final week of the regular season, the Montreal Canadiens have been sitting but two points or less away from a clinched playoff spot. Through the luck of the draw, if you want to call it lucky, they were handed the 11th, 12th and 15th place teams in the Eastern Conference to close [...]
How Stempniak REALLY Became First Star
Former Blues and Maple Leafs, Lee Stempniak is the NHL's first star of the week. "How?" I just assumed you asked. Quite simply, a young boy in the Netherlands just sacrificed a goat to the Gods over a copper caldron and down came the magical "wish demon" to provide the boy with three wishes. "What [...]
