Well I have been putting this one off for a while. Depressed a bit. The end of this season is shaping up just like last year. It does look like the Leafs will miss the playoffs by more than 1 point though… which in a sad twist is actually a good thing.

This late push and respectable record over the last month is only ruining the Leafs chances at getting a good draft pick. As fans, we all like seeing our boys win, and I wouldn’t have it any other way. But… there is still something in the back of my head whispering “screwed again.” Too little to get into the playoffs, and too much for a draft pick.

When will the mediocrity with this franchise end? This will mark the first time in franchise history that the Toronto Maple Leafs have missed the playoffs three years in a row. I guess there is a first for everything.

Regardless of the bad position the team has put themselves, there are always positives of some kind to be found. Some of the young kids have received far more ice time over the last while than they have in the past. Steen, Stajan, Stalman, and Tlusty all received more responsibility, and they responded with results. Stajan showed he could shoulder great responsibility and is quickly becoming one of the leaders on this hockey club.

With years gone by with the Leafs trading and giving up on young prospects, its a good sign that these guys have answered the bell. And that’s pretty much the only good thing going right now.

Oh man! If that bad bounce had ended up winning the game, Toskala would have been on the highlight reels for quite a long time. For those who don’t know, Islanders defenceman Rob Davison turned to fire a puck down the ice while on the penalty kill. It was right from the goal line on the Islanders side. The puck bounced it’s merry way down the ice, only to take a sharp angled bounce directly in front of Toskala, and careened into the top of the net.

Embarrassing. McCabe shared a chuckle with Toskala afterwards though, and Vesa seemed to turn on his A game. He didn’t let another goal in the rest of the night. As far as the Leafs players go… it was a little hairy for a couple periods. The Leafs seemed to have their legs that night, and they once again got their share of shots, but nothing was going in the net for 2 periods.

For a while it looked like the 176 ‘ shot might actually stick as the game winner. And the Leafs are not exactly known for their solid 3rd period play. But anything is possible right? Well the Leafs seemed to think the exact same thing. Kyle Wellwood started the Leafs scoring off with a deflection/tip-in goal at 7:24. The Leafs only managed to fire 6 shots on net in the 3rd, but half of them were successful. Pavel Kubina jumped on the scoring bandwagon with a PPG, his 4th goal in as many games, and another game winner.

Alexei Ponikarovsky was actually successful in shooting the puck in an empty net (think Carolina) to seal the deal. What could have been a disastrous game for the Maple Leafs turned out to be quite good… albeit with a little humour.

Well this game marked the last game of the season that I was planning on going to. Good seats too. Section 114 Row 17. Can’t go wrong with those. I was excited to see some goals too, as I was behind Miller for 2 periods. There was a lot of scoring… but it was at the other end of the ice… and into the Leafs net.

The loss of Sundin to his groin tear was very noticeable. Sundin has taken 1680 faceoffs this year (167 more than anyone) and has won 921 (70 more than anyone). He has won almost 400 more than the next Leaf (Stajan) and taken 558 more (than Stajan as well).

Steen took 21 faceoffs and went 5-16. Stajan took 29, and went 8-21. Anyone see an issue here? When your top two lines can’t win faceoffs, the opposition has the advantage. How many goals would have been saved if Sundin had won his faceoffs, and the Leafs had possession of the puck?

The game was ugly. The Leafs got their shots, but were sloppy on both sides of the ice. We all know Sundin is this teams MVP, and the above stats attest to that even more.

The Stamkos Prize at the end of year will be getting closer and closer with every game the Leafs play.

Chad Kilger, as we all know, was traded to the Florida Panthers at this years trade deadline. Since then, he has failed to report to the team, and rumour has it that he has not even made contact with any Panthers personnel.

To make matters worse for Kilger, the team suspended him without pay on March 5. Kilger never seemed like the type of person to completely neglect his professional responsibilities. We know he was having personal problems that kept him out of 5 games with the Maple Leafs, but if these were ongoing, wouldn’t he have at least contacted the Panthers about it?

I hope we have not seen the last of Chad Kilger in the NHL. He is a solid bottom 6 forward who hits hard, hits often, and has surprisingly soft hands. Let’s hope he sorts out his personal issues soon and gets back to playing hockey.

The final deal of the day for Cliff Fletcher and the Toronto Maple Leafs has been completed. Chad Kilger has been traded to the Florida Panthers for a 3rd round draft pick. Kilger joins Wade Belak, both traded today. The Maple Leafs play the Panthers tomorrow and it will be interesting to see whether or not one or both of these guys are dressed.

Kilger is a gritty grinding forward with extremely soft hands. He would fit well on any team looking for a third or fourth line winger. He will get ample playing time in Florida, more than here in Toronto, and adds a dimension that Florida is lacking.

Leafs Nation wishes Chad and his family well in the future. Good luck!

The only other move Cliff Fletcher made before the trade deadline was moving stay-at-home defenceman Hal Gill to the Pittsburgh Penguins. Coming the other way was a second round pick and a fifth round pick.

Hal Gill has been a stalwart player on the Leafs since coming to the team. As mentioned, he is a stay-at-home defenceman who was almost completely defence-first minded. He put up his points, but that was not his role. He is very tall, giving him a tremendous reach. Hal Gill was one of the Leafs main penalty kill players, and was very good at it.

The picks coming back are not that bad either. Pittsburgh depending on playoff success, will produce a mid to low draft pick, which the Leafs definitely need.

Hal Gill goes to a Pittsburgh team headed for the playoffs. Playing alongside Crosby, Malkin, and the newly acquired Hossa, will be a complete change from playing with the Leafs. We all wish Hal Gill the best, and good luck in the playoffs.

This was the last deal Cliff Fletcher made for this season. I think everyone thought there would be more activity. Fletcher’s hands were tied, not by management this time, but by players not waiving their no-trade clauses. Not his fault. There were still some pieces that could be moved however, and I believe the media will have a field day with this. Time will tell (short time) what everyone makes of this lack of activity.

SAY IT ISN’T SO!

We knew changes were coming, but Wade Belak was not known to be on the radar. Belak loves Toronto, he has been here for 7 years, and he was a fan favourite. He has been a career enforcer, always stepping up to the plate to defend any and all of his teammates.

Coming back is a 5th round draft choice. This may seem like nothing, but Belak was not going to garner much more. The Leafs need to make these small moves to get some of their younger guys into the lineup.

Belak will get a lot more ice-time in the Sunshine State. The Panthers motives in this move is most likely the fight-factor, as this aggressive style of play is popular in the States. It brings in crowds, and if this is what the Panthers want, they get that in Belak.

Wade, we will all miss you deeply. You were a favourite of all of us. We always looked forward to your good natured bantering on Leaf broadcasts and on the EDGE 102 radio program. Good luck to you and your family in the future in Florida.

After a couple months of rumours and speculation about the potential movement of Leaf’s Captain Mats Sundin, the dust has settled. Sundin, after being asked to waive his no trade clause, refuses to do so and stays put in Toronto.

Mats Sundin is my favourite player in hockey, and all I can say is that I am happy at his decision. Fans have been all over the board on this one, some liking the decision, some hating the decision. Those that like it speak to the pride, tradition and honour it is to be a Leaf. Those that hate it say he is not loyal to the team and he wasted the future for the Leafs. That, of course, is bull-crap.

He has a no-trade clause, he exercised it, and he was well within his rights. The Leafs just are not the same without Mats Sundin. He doesn’t want to leave for a variety of reasons. He knows what the history of this team and it’s players, and the long-standing tradition of it’s great leaders mean to the city and it’s fans. He has been here for 13 years… who would want to go anywhere else after so long?

The vast majority of fans commenting on the stories on sites like TSN.ca applaud Sundin for his decision. There are of course some naysayers that bash the decision… they are most likely Habs or Sens fans though. They are unhappy that Sundin didn’t come over to their side.

Whether you are for the decision, or against it, I want everyone to read this article by Larry Wigge on NHL.com.

Article: Sundin follows his heart… to Toronto

It’s been a while since my last post, and for that I apologize. Since the Montreal win, our Leafs have won 3 and lost 2. The 3 wins were good ones; taking down behemoth Detroit, a tight fought battle against Boston, and last nights 3-1 win over the Blue Jackets. As for the losses, the 1-0 shutout loss to Buffalo was tightly played by both sides… Buffalo just happened to come out on top. The Islanders game was a different story. A team, like the Leafs, that dwells at the bottom of the league in special teams can in now way take so many penalties and expect to be successful. The Leafs lost that game for themselves.

Last night against Columbus was a game that the Leafs should have won. And they did. So congrats. That being said, this game could have went either way. Columbus is fighting for a playoff spot, and if they are successful, will mark the first time in team history they have accomplished that feat. A loss to the lowly Leafs does not look good in their players, coaches, and fans eyes. One reporter this morning (sorry, can’t remember who) stated that last nights game just might spell the end of Columbus’ season. That in turn means that any team should be able to beat the Maple Leafs on any given night. Didn’t the Leafs just beat three of the league’s top teams? Those games show us the Leafs are the ones that should be able to beat any team on any given night. The fact that Columbus lost to Toronto doesn’t spell the end of their season. It just means they are currently lumped in with Ottawa, Montreal and Detroit. Three pretty good teams.

Welcome back Bryan McCabe! It’s quite humorous how Leaf fans bash and boo McCabe for the mistakes he makes, but long for him when he is injured. Our depleted Leafs team desperately needed bolstering, and McCabe does just that. After missing 2 months of hockey, McCabe jumped into the lineup against Montreal and had a fantastic game. Within the first few minutes, McCabe was the lone player flying in on a rush, received a quick pass and tipped it towards the goal, forcing Carey Price to make a great save. It was a great way to get back into the swing of things.

Montreal’s head coach Guy Carbonneau was quoted saying, “We weren’t ready to battle.” When the game started it seemed like they were ready. Tomas Plekanec scored at 11:09 of the first to get things started. Montreal was skating better and, for the most part, controlling the play. However, that did not last too long. AHL call-up Kris Newbury blasted home a one-timer to tie the game at 17:24, and the Leafs went to the dressing room with the game knotted at 1 apiece.

The second period was a different story. While the Canadiens out-shot the Leafs (11 to 8), the Buds were the one’s controlling the play. Tucker scored his first of two goals (although the second was an empty net goal) at 1:24 of the second frame, and Wellwood scored his first goal in 16 games, on the powerplay, at the end of the frame.

Montreal came into this game 1 point back of Ottawa for top spot in the Eastern Conference. They sport the league’s best powerplay, and conversely, the Leafs are one of the league’s worst penalty killing teams. The Canadiens ended up 0 for 5 on the powerplay, and in the end, lost the game 4 - 2.

Carey Price gets his first loss against the Leafs, winning the previous 3 contests. He has looked great in net against the Buds in the past, but last night, he looked like a 20 year old goalie.

And the Leafs looked like they know how to play hockey.

I know, I know… it’s only been 2 games. But with the Leafs playing so badly recently, the younger players have been handed the chance to play more minutes, and make an impression. And you know what? It’s the lines comprised of the kids that are playing the best. The last 2 games have seen Robbie Earl playing on a line with Dominic Moore and Boyd Devereaux. This line has by far been the most defensively sound, and created the most offensive pressure.

Robbie Earl seems to be fitting right in. I would like to see him stay here for a while, play some solid minutes, and see what he can do. I have been waiting for Robbie to make his NHL debut, and so far, I am not disappointed.

There have been quite a few lopsided losses for the Leafs this season. Remarkably, they have all come on home ice, and Leaf fans are getting fed up. This was made extremely apparent in the third period of Tuesday nights 8 - 0 shutout loss to the Florida Panthers.

The score of the game at the beginning of the third period was already 4 - 0 Panthers. The fifth goal was scored at 8:14, and Leaf fans began to show their displeasure. Instead of booing the Leafs, the fans started to cheer for each Panther goal scored. Droves of people were turning their jerseys inside out and seemed to be enjoying the on-ice demise of their beloved team.

I personally would not have joined in on all of the “festivities”. That being said, I completely understand where these fans are coming from, and I silently echo the sentiment. It is almost at the point of being a laughing matter. Fans of the Maple Leafs are some of the most loyal sports fans in all of professional sports. We have endured 41 years of failure to achieve and stood, unwavering, by our team.

But now it seems our collective support is starting to fail. Our patience has worn thin and we hunger for the victories of old. When Leaf fans start acting the way they were at the Panthers game, you know the problem is only getting broader. There should be very dramatic changes coming, and at this point, I believe we all look forward to rebuilding.

Well… it has finally happened. John Ferguson Jr. has been fired, and Cliff Fletcher has taken over the reigns as interim GM on a 19-month contract.

This is good news for Leafs Nation, as MLSE created and spurred on a complete mess with Ferguson behind this team. I personally believe Ferguson did an alright job considering the crap he had to put up with from the brass above. I think Ferguson would have done some things differently, but firmly believe his hands were tied.

That being said, a change still needed to be done in the GM department. That change is now on our hands. One interesting note that was reported are the four points Cliff Fletcher demanded of MLSE. The only one that really interests me is this: Fletcher wants a written agreement that keeps the MLSE board out of hockey operations. I didn’t think this would fly, but Fletcher is signed, so I guess it did. Interesting.

I personally don’t think any ‘agreement’ will keep the MLSE board out of the affairs of the hockey team. So we will see how Fletcher handles this whole mess.

The GM is replaced, and now the question is… Where does the team go from here?

A recent NHL.com article by staff writer Adam Kimelman talks about Al Iafrate and his NHL record of hardest shot. Unfortunately this is incorrect. At the 2006 Leafs Skills Competition, our own Chad Kilger shot a puck that reached 106.6 mph. This would make the record Chad’s to keep, and the NHL.com article inaccurate. Here is the article: http://www.nhl.com/nhl/app/?service=page&page=NewsPage&articleid=350475.

I have emailed Adam Kimelman with a correction:

This headline, and the story, is not accurate. At the Leaf’s 2006 Skills Competition, Chad Kilger shot a slapshot that recorded at 106.6 mph. Looking at your story, this would be the all-time record, which was announced at the competition.

I believe credit needs to given to Chad Kilger for accomplishing this feat, and holding the all-time hardest shot record.

These are stories, columns and websites that reference the shot:

Canoe.ca
Canada.com
SportsGamer.com
HockeyStation.com

Let’s see what happens. I will post any response I get (not likely), and keep an eye open for a correction.

Last night’s tilt against Carolina was not a pretty game. But at this stage of the season, and with everything that is going on around the team, any tick in the dusty win column is good news.

With the Leafs up by 2 at the end of the third, Carolina turned on their jets. Rod Brind’Amour tipped in a shot from Whitney with 9 seconds on the clock. Leafs fans across the country felt their chests tightening as it looked like the same old story was about to unfold. A third period meltdown, this time with only 9 seconds on the clock.

Sundin vs. Brind’Amour on a face off in the Leafs zone with 5 seconds left. Carolina’s net is vacated by Ward and left empty. All we need is a face off win, and a defenseman to skate around the net to waste the final seconds. Sundin wins the draw and the puck goes to Kubina? And what does he do? He has a MAJOR brain cramp and fires the puck down the ice. Now, I suppose he was aiming for the empty net, but the puck was iced instead.

There was 2.7 seconds left on the clock. Of course, time ran more than it should have, so .6 seconds were added on after a lengthly delay.

Another face off in the Maple Leafs zone, this time with only 3.3 seconds left. Once again, the breathing of Leaf fans stops, and everyone half expects Carolina to score the equalizer. Good ole’ Sundin wins the draw again, and this time the Leafs hang on to the puck.

Leafs win.

No one would have been surprised if Carolina won the draw and blasted home the tying goal. We have all come to expect it.

All in all, a win is a win. The bounces were going the Leafs way this game, as demonstrated perfectly by Ian White’s seeing-eye goal from the blueline. While Toskala did allow 4 goals, he actually looked pretty sharp in the net. He has gotten his speed back, and the flexibility is coming.

Let’s hope the Leafs can build on this one and put together a string of wins.

I waited until the west coast trip was complete to make this post. And it looks like I made a good decision on that front.

The game in Anaheim was a good indication of things to come. It was the first time this season that the Maple Leafs were shutout, which is actually quite surprising. Raycroft was pulled after the first after allowing 4 goals. He stated after the game that he “is not feeling it right now”. That was obvious a long time ago. Why has he not been sent down to the Marlies? We fans know it should have happened a long time ago, and by his own words, it seems he has realized it. Time for him to go. But then the Marlies are stuck with a crappy goalie who is going to lose games for them. Waive him with hopes he’s going to be picked up. Bad goalie gone, and some salary room.

Next comes the Los Angeles Kings. The worst team in the NHL. Well, that seems to have changed. While the Kings still sport the worst record in the league, it is disappointingly obvious which team is the worst team in the league. Toskala, after allowing 5 goals, stated after the game that “he felt like he played a good game”. Allowing 5 goals, losing the game, and your goalie thinks he played well? It’s good he has confidence in himself, but the comments are also heavy with disdain for the rest of his team. Whether he meant it in this way or not, the thoughts are creeping into his head. A goalie needs confidence in his team to perform well with them on the ice.

San Jose was the nail in the coffin. After losing to Los Angeles, no one expected the Leafs to beat the powerhouse San Jose Sharks. But the Leafs came out flying, and led 2-0 after 2 periods. We all know that 2-0 is the worst lead in hockey, and the Leafs showed all of us that this is true. 3 goals form the Sharks in the third period sealed the deal for San Jose, and sealed the fans thoughts around Leafs Nation.

The Leafs are really bad. We do have a first round draft pick for this upcoming draft. Fans need to start cheering for the Leafs losing every game. We need to ensure that we have a solid shot at getting a Stamkos or Doughty. Winning is obviously not an option for the Leafs, so they need to concentrate on losing.