Holy Crap

I had to re-read this information a few times: Kessel average ice time last season was 16:33 and he played on the 2nd power play unit.

Scott Cullen's numbers here.

Assuming his ice time goes way up and he gets #1 PP time, will the Leafs have their first 30+ goal scorer in I don't know how bloody long not named Mats Sundin? Even if he doesn'tm play until Thanksgiving.

F'n Aye we will

Leafs and Flyers pulling no punches

Phil Kessel will be introduced to the Toronto media in about 60 minutes. Then, an hour later, these two line-ups will hit the ice:


Forwards:Niklas Hagman - Matt Stajan - Jason Blake Alexei Ponikarovsky - Jason Allison - Lee Stempniak John Mitchell - Nazem Kadri - Christian Hanson Jay Rosehill - Rickard Wallin - Colton Orr Defence: Tomas Kaberle - Mike Komisarek Francois Beauchemin - Luke Schenn Carl Gunnarson - Garnet Exelby Goaltender: Vesa Toskala James Reimer

Forwards: James van Riemsdyk, Mike Richards, Claude Giroux, Scott Hartnell, Danny Briere, David Laliberte, Dan Carcillo, Darroll Powe, Ian Laperriere, Riley Cote, Blair Betts, Mark Bell. Defencemen: Matt Carle, Chris Pronger, Danny Syvret, Braydon Coburn, Ole-Kristian Tollefsen, Randy Jones. Goalies: Ray Emery, Brian Boucher.

This should be a good one. I'm surprised Primeau hasn't got a game in yet. Is he still hurt?

Also Habs at Sens. I know it's only pre-season, but being winless must still kind of suck?

09-10 BoOB goes public

Ten slots left! If you want in on the action, go to fantasysports.yahoo.com, join the Battle of Ontario Battle and enter the password kovalevftw. Draft day is Saturday, September 26th at 9:00 AM pacific, 12:00 AM eastern (autodraft using pre-ranking is an option if you can't make it).

The league url is hockey.fantasysports.yahoo.com/league/battleofontariobattle

Game Day: Leafs and Sens hit the road.

You smell that? Yep, it's the regular season fast approaching when the games will get really exciting and of course actually mean something. In the meantime, Leafs and Sens will both get game #3 out of the way tonight.

First up (because I'm a Leaf fan), Toronto visit Pittsburgh where Stajan and Blake will play their first game of the year. Leafs D will not feature any of the top 4, but Exelby is in so look for a few big hits as he tries to get himself a job.

Senators will take what could be their #1 line into action (Spezza, Afraidsson and Michalek), but as THM noted, it's an otherwise thin line-up that features a few bruisers for entertainment's sake.

Both games kick off at 7:30pm. Sens/Habs shown on RDS, while the Leafs/Pens are on Pravda (AKA Leafs TV).

Enjoy.

Game Day: Leafs vs. Psychopaths

Daniel Carcillo scares me and Colton Orr isn't dressed. This might be a bad night in the physical department for the Leafs, but I expect a few goals. Here's the complete rosters, game's at 7pm on LEAFS TV (you can watch it online for free):

TORONTO: F- Niklas Hagman, Lee Stempniak, Christian Hanson, Alexei Ponikarovsky, Ben Ondrus, Jay Rosehill, Nikolai Kulemin, Tyler Bozak, Nazem Kadri, Viktor Stalberg, Rickard Wallin, Mikhail Grabovski D -Luke Schenn, Mike Komisarek, Tomas Kaberle, Carl Gunnarsson, Andy Rogers, Jesse Blacker. G-Joey MacDonald, James Reimer

PHILLY: F- Matt Clackson, Mike Richards, Claude Giroux, James van Riemsdyk, Jeff Carter, Arron Asham, Dan Carcillo, Jon Kalinski, Darroll Powe, Riley Cote, Blair Betts, Mika Pyorala, Jared Ross. D- Kimmo Timonen, Braydon Coburn, Danny Syvret, Logan Stephenson, Ryan Parent, Oskars Bartulis, Joonas Lehtivuori. G- Johan Backlund, Brian Boucher.

Pretty good line-ups for a pre-season game. I love that Kadri/Stalberg/Bozak are back for a 2nd straight night and we get our first look at Komiserek and Kaberle together. I believe Schenn will be paired with Andy Rogers.

KESSEL TRADE UPDATE: TSN reporting that blockbuster deal either with Toronto or Nashville is very close. Holding my breath and wincing just a little at rumoured packages Burke has allegedly offered.

I'll drink whatever you're drinking Mike!

Mike Toth believes the Leafs will make the playoffs.

Don't you?

Also, some line-up info for the Bruins/Leafs game tonight. Kadri centering a line of Primeau and Orr? Allison skating with Grabovski and Kulemin? What the hell Wilson, did you pick these lines out of a hat?

Quick Pre-season accounting.

Ladies and Gentleman, your 2005/2006 Toronto Maple Leafs:

Mats Sundin
Darcy Tucker
Jason Allison
Alex Steen
Kyle Wellwood
Alexei Ponikarovsky
Jeff O'Neill
Nik Antropov
Clarke Wilm
Chad Kilger
Matt Stajan
Eric Lindros
Tie Domi
Ken Klee
Alexander Khavanov
Bryan McCabe
Tomas Kaberle
Aki Berg
Wade Belak
Staffan Kronwall
Ed Belfour
JS Aubin


Those are the players who played in 30 or more games for the team that season. Toronto have 3 players still on the roster and Jason Allison a long-shot at camp.

In comparison, Ottawa have 7 players remaining from that same season.

Have the Leafs changed enough? Did Ottawa change too much?

With that Heatley &%@* out of the way...

Whose up for a renewed Battle Of Ontario Battle?

Let me know in the comments when a live draft might work for y'all. Saturday the 26th or Sunday the 27th are the last weekend days before the start of the season, so I'd like to target those. Also, I realize we discussed changing some scoring rules, but Yahoo gives me the quick and easy option of resurrecting last year's pool structure, Lazarus-like, for immediate setup.

I'm done reading the Score Sports Forecaster, but I'm in definite need of a second opinion.

But they're sleepers, right?

I guess we need to temper our enthusiasm when a couple of our new players make lists like this.

4. Pascal Leclaire, Ottawa Senators
His list of injuries is almost as impressive as Gaborik's. Even if he's healthy, he's only had one solid year - and that was in a Ken Hitchcock system. I'll be honest with you: if it was the 16th round and I needed a third goalie and the only decent goaltenders left were Leclaire and Brian Elliott(notes), I would take Elliott.

1. Jonathan Cheechoo, San Jose Sharks
It's time to stop wondering what the hell happened to the former 56-goal flash-in-the-pan and start accepting reality. At this point, it's clear that he couldn't hit the broad side of Kyle Wellwood's(notes) gut. Who cares why? Move on.

Heatley Traded!

There you go SuperSix. You ask, we provide.
Just take it easy on Leaf fans for a week would ya?

Onto the trade, like I said in earlier post I think this is good for Ottawa who have needed more firepower in numbers rather than single units if you ask me. Cheechoo adds some grit as well. Better team for it.

Eklund's take on the trade which should please Sens fans.

I just hope this doesn't signify the beginning of a Mats Sundin "where will he sign saga" courtesy of now empty-handed sports media networks. Another year of that and I think we'll all kill each other. We might anyway.

7-1

That's what I'm talkin' 'bout.

Milks with a nice recap.

The "other" Battle.

Balsille and NHL in court today as you all know.
If you want to follow along, good source here.

So far, it does seem like Judge doesn't like the smell of what the NHL is cooking. City of Glendale are on stand now. Exciting stuff if you enjoy courtroom drama based on hockey -- or if you're like me and have a very quiet week at work.

Same number, same Chris Neil beat downs...

Colton Orr will be wearing #28 this season.

Tie will be proud.

Can't believe I missed this!

PPP reviews a new book out there.

Oh, and while we're on the topic, SLC takes a look at the Leafs.

Ah, the season's almost back...

Burke in eye of offer-sheet storm

Yesterday, quietly, Brian Burke reacquired the Leafs 2010 2nd-round draft pick from Chicago. He paid a 2nd and a 3rd to get it.

Bob McKenzie kicked today off on TSN.com by noting that the Leafs now have possession of their own 1st, 2nd and 3rd round draft picks for next year - the payment required to put an offer sheet on Phil Kessel and his estimated $4M-$5M salary request.

Cue the instant chatter, most of it retreading on the Lowe/Burke/Penner offer-sheet fiasco from a few years ago. Popular opinion this morning is that Brian Burke arranging his draft pick troops in such a threatening way to acquire Phil Kessel stinks of hypocrisy. He hates offer sheets. Remember?

Then over at our good friends Pension Plan Puppets, Leafies provides the minutes from Brian Burke's original criticism of Kevin Lowe which shows Burke never said he opposed offer-sheets to begin with. Here is a portion of that story from July 2007:

"I have no problem with offer sheets, they are part of the CBA," Burke said on a conference call. "I think it's a tool certainly a team is entitled to use. My issue here is this is the second time this year in my opinion Edmonton have offered a grossly inflated salary for a player, and it impacts on all 30 teams and I think it's an act of desperation by a general manager who is fighting to keep his job."

This afternoon, Chiarelli and Burke both spoke in detail about the rumours.

Brian Burke, unquestionably, is intent on making the Toronto Maple Leafs a better hockey team as fast as he possibly can. The question is, with the evidence we have, is he doing this now at the expense of his own principles? Or more importantly, will this be the perception? Personally, I see no hypocrisy, only that a man as brash as Brian Burke will always have his critics.

Jason Smith

He officially retired today, ending a questionable signing by Bryan Murray.

Besides his Ottawa days, he was a good player, a former Leaf, and at 35 years old there are worse things than retiring a millionaire.

Oh. My. God.

Jason Allison making a comeback attempt.

Who says there's no hockey news in August?

CAREER POINTS:
552GP 154G 331A 485PTS

Demers a Senator

Not sure what this means for Clouston.

Battle of Ontario Pre-Season: Leafs 2 Ottawa 1 - Final

I'm not sure who is making decisions over at Upper Deck, nor that we should take them all that seriously, but our blog needs a post and I found this story.

You are reading correctly. Of the players chosen for Upper Deck rookie cards, two of them are Leafs; Jared Cowan was the lone Senator.

Here is the complete list (as near as I can tell) of Upper Deck rookies:
John Tavares, Long Island; Victor Hedman, Tampa Bay; Matt Duchene, Colorado; Colin Wilson, Nashville; Tyler Bozak and Jonas Gustavsson, Toronto; Jared Cowen, Ottawa; P.K. Subban, Montreal; Bobby Sanguinetti, New York Rangers; Logan Couture, San Jose; Mikael Backlund, Calgary; Eric Tangradi, Pittsburgh; James Van Riemsdyk, Philadelphia.

Brown

Dean Brown takes a look at the reduced role of Dany here.

Here is a very short list of some very good players who averaged less ice time than Heatley last season:

NHL Rank /Player/ TOI-GM
#32 Henrik Zetterberg 19:52
#33 Jordan Staal 19:50
#36 Jason Spezza 19:41
#37 Marc Savard 19:32
#40 Joe Thornton 19:27
#43 Alex Kovalev 19:25
#45 Alexander Semin 19:14
#46 Pavel Datsyuk 19:12
#60 Zach Parise 18:45

Heatley

I listened to the Heatley conference call, his scrum afterwards, and Bryan Murray's call.

He says his role was diminished since he signed his contract. I never saw it. He and Spezza signed those contracts after the cup run and you can see that their icetime - the key method a player can be given responsibility - have tracked very closely.

Heatley

Year	ES/G	SH/G	PP/G	Total
2006/7	15:17	0:45	4:59	21:01
2007/8	16:48	0:28	4:27	21:44
2008/9	15:38	0:22	4:05	20:06

Spezza

Year	ES/G	SH/G	PP/G	Total
2006/7	14:13	0:10	4:53	19:17
2007/8	15:59	0:19	4:20	20:40
2008/9	15:09	0:15	4:16	19:41

So if he thinks his role was diminished, does he think someone's role's been elevated? Obviously not Spezza. Alfredsson's role hasn't changed.

I think the reason he thinks he played a diminished role is that his numbers are diminished. The worst point production, shooting percentage, and plus/minus of his career since his rookie year.

Are things really looking up?

According to Howard Berger, Leaf fans can safely take the paper bags off their heads.

I dunno, I might just cut a mouth hole in mine so I can smoke.

Is this a better post?

Heatley will finally speak.

Sounds like he won't give any details, so I'm not sure what the point of this will be?

Chalk another one up for Ottawa.

Jim Balsille names Melnyk as one of the "crooked" owners that the NHL has a habit of welcoming to their fold.

Somebody should keep track of all these bad things happening to the Sens over the past two years. It would make for an incredibly satisfying coffee table book. Don't you think?

Another Prediction.

The time by THE SCORE FORECASTER.

NORTHEAST DIVISION
Boston
Toronto
Ottawa
Montreal
Buffalo

Thanks to PPP for the heads up - you can go read the rest there.

THE SCORE also has the Leafs finishing 6th in the conference and yes, making the playoffs.

Special thanks to Heatley and Gainey!

Peddie avoids another lipreading fiasco...

For some folks, shutting the hell up is the best case scenario.

I love the Leafs hockey team and hockey people. I hate the owners and Richard Peddie.
Is that OK?

August 12th NHL Power Rankings!

No, seriously. Ross McKeon (how can you not believe a guy with Keon in his name?) has the latest power rankings and one side of the Battle of Ontario is going to be just slightly more pissed off than the other.

Read it (and weep) here.

The kids don't get it

Anshu pointed to this in the comments:

Teenage interest in NHL:
Ottawa 41% follow closely or very closely
Toronto 20% follow closely or very closely

The study also says this about adding teams in order to raise interest:
As a key part of their attractiveness, of course, those new teams need to be competitive and entertaining – shortcomings that have been particularly blatant in the case of the Maple Leafs.

Note that this survey was taken in late 2008 - before Wayne Primeau was added so I'm sure those Leaf numbers are way up now.

Pogge to Anaheim

Although not finalized, Leafs get a conditional pick back based on Pogge's play with the Ducks.

To fill out the Marlies goaltending void, Toronto will be signing Joey McDonald.

UPDATE:
Anaheim will send as high as a 3rd round draft pick if Pogge performs well, and as low as a 6th if he craps the bed sheets.

An entirely plausible scenario...

The most insightful nuggets are usually buried in comment threads. I like Dennis Prouse's assessment of why Heater ain't movin' over at TUC:

Eugene Melnyk is determined to show Dany Heatley who runs the show. Self-made men like Melnyk are typically very proud guys. Can you imagine how outraged Melnyk is over the fact that some 28 year old ingrate publicly peed on his shoes? I think that Melnyk has clearly instructed Murray to drive a hard bargain for Heatley in part because he WANTS him to have to come back to Ottawa, tail between his legs. If he dares hold out for even a day, the grievance will be filed so fast it will make your head spin.

For the love of all things holy....

Please be true.

I ordered the onion rings

With the Oilers saying buh-bye, it's good to see that a local restaurant thinks enough of our boy Dany to put him on the menu. This was on the menu at a local restaurant I was at tonight.

Bertuzzi a Leaf only a matter of time?

If you have your finger on the hockey news pulse today you may have noticed his name and the Leafs are in many of the same sentences, some saying the deal is hours away from being announced.

Good signing or really bad?

Collecting Pogge

Like most Toronto residents these days, Brian Burke has some household refuse that he needs to get rid of. Justin Pogge will be shipped out of town at some point. Lets hope it's easier for Burke than it has been for all of us.

It's not news that Pogge never found his game in Toronto, a career that started out with so much promise has over the past three years inched it's way from the sports pages to the obituaries.

What's even more painful for Pogge and Leafs Nation, is that Pogge's failure to succeed in the NHL puts him into a very small and unenviable group of Canadian Goaltenders.

Here's a quick list of World Junior goaltenders who have represented Canada over the last 20 years:

1988 - Jimmy Waite
1989 - Stephan Fiset
1990 - Trevor Kidd
1991 - Trevor Kidd, Felix Potvin
1992 - Trevor Kidd
1993 - Manny Legace
1994 - Jamie Storr, Manny Fernandez
1995 - Dan Cloutier, Jamie Storr
1996 - Jose Theodore, Marc Denis
1997 - Martin Biron, Marc Denis
1998 - Roberto Luongo, Mathieu Garon
1999 - Roberto Luongo
2000 - Maxime Ouellet
2001 - Alex Auld, Maxime Ouellet
2002 - Pascal Leclaire
2003 - Marc Andre-Fleury
2004 - Marc Andre-Fleury, Josh Harding
2005 - Jeff Glass
2006 - Justin Pogge
2007 - Carey Price
2008 - Steve Mason

Only Jeff Glass who has played 0 NHL games (that I can find) has been less successful than Pogge who played 4. Maxime Ouellet isn't far behind after playing only 12 NHL games. Everybody else has played 200 games or more, except Leclaire because of injury.

That means that from 1988 to 2008, only three world junior teams failed to produce an NHL goaltender. Not the kind of company Pogge dreamed of keeping when he finished the 2006 World Junior Tournament with a 1.00 GAA.

To make matters worse, when Pogge does finally pack his bags and move out of his Toronto condo, a certain blemish on JFJ's resume will instantly turn to scar tissue.

Trading Tukko Rask for Andrew Raycroft will go down as the stupidest trade of his tenure, especially when you consider that Rask is unbeaten in the NHL (his one win coming against the Leafs), will get a shot at the NHL this year backing up Tim Thomas on a contending team, and does awesome things like this.

Kaberle T-22 days

"We thought the best strategy was to wait and see where Jay Bouwmeester ended up (on July 1) and then get to work on the teams that were unsuccessful in that courtship".
- Brian Burke, June 25th, 2009.

"I look at our defence now and I'd put it up against just about anybody's. I think (Kaberle) is going to be a big part of that..."
- Brian Burke, July 23rd, 2009."

Is this more Burke posturing or has he come to the realization that a) he isn't ever getting the offer he wants or b) he might be f'd without him?

Rumours still persist...

Buffalo, Vancouver and Boston are still the interested clubs with one particular internet blogger (I'll let you guess who) reporting that a Kaberle/Hodgson conversation has been going on with the Canucks. I find that one just slightly outlandish...

Gerber takes Emery's job again and what the hell is Garth Snow thinking?

Emery is out and Gerber is in, this time in the KHL with Atlant Mytishchi. Is it just a bit surprising that Andrew Raycroft has a job in the NHL, but not one NHL team could even offer Gerber a back-up gig? Maybe a few teams did, and Gerber refused, or perhaps he wants meatier paycheques, but I think Gerber is more capable than a few back-ups and 1A tenders who are employed in the NHL.

While we're talking goaltenders, anybody else find it strange that the Islanders now have Dipietro, Biron and Roloson all signed for a grand total of $8.4M in salary next season? That's the highest paid goaltending position in the NHL! Obviously Dipietro has had injury troubles to put it lightly, but by all accounts he'll be ready for camp. One would think that Snow could have waited to see if he holds up before finding a serviceable back-up to Roloson if called upon? I sometimes wonder if Snow uses rock, paper, scissors to make management decisions.

One big pupil on the puck: A made for TV drama!

Interesting Heatley saga timeline put together by Eklund.

I hear the CBC are already interested...

Heatley speaks to media

Full transcript here.
Hat-tip to Hockey Capital.

Sched

2009/10 Full Schedule here.
(Leafs and Sens)

BoO:
Tuesday, Oct 6 in Tor
Tuesday, Nov 17 in Ott
Monday, Dec 14 in Tor
Saturday, Feb 6 in Tor
Saturday, Mar 6 in Ott
Tuesday, Mar 16 in Ott

Ottawa starts 15 of their first 21 games at home - lots of love for Dany!

The world according to Eklund.

I forget who it was who called this the most boring week in sports, but there's certainly some truth to it. If you're a fan of the four major North American leagues, all this week provides is one meaningless baseball game. Tough times.

So with that in mind, I was scanning the Eklund rumour chart over at HockeyBuzz, looking for remaining UFA clues and I thought it would be interesting fodder to list the remaining UFA's linked as favourites to land in Toronto or Ottawa.

TORONTO:
Brad May
Todd Bertuzzi
Mats Sundin

OTTAWA:
Brendan Bell
Marek Malik
Mike Grier
Blair Betts

At first glance, Toronto-wise, one has to believe the Leafs would never resign Sundin for one season, at this point. As far as Brad May, he's obviously been replaced by Colton Orr (plus if the Leafs resign May they have to give Anaheim a draft pick - not going to happen). Bertuzzi, however, for the right price and brought in with the understanding he's a role player, is a deal I could see materializing.

In Ottawa, I can buy Murray looking at Grier or Malik. If nothing else, both are affordable ways to add veteran depth to a team that probably could use some.

So, any interest in any of these players, or are there other remaining UFA's out there that Burke and Murray should be contemplating?

Alberta bound

Mirtle on McGratton's latest fight - getting back to an NHL club.

BoO losing traction?

The NHL today delivered an early look at the upcoming season schedule and for the first time since the lockout, the BoO will not face each other to open their season schedules.

Toronto will face Montreal on October 1st.

Praise Alfie!

Longest serving captain in the NHL. Silver Seven looks at some of the highlights.

Nicely done

Might have seen this already - passing around the web:

With Dany

I find myself thinking a few times about a Sens lineup for 2009/10 with Dany Heatley in it.

Heatley/Spezza/Kovalev
Foligno/Fisher/Alfie
Shannon/Kelly/Neil
Donovan/Bass/Ruutu
Winchester

Kuba/Lee
Phillips/Karlsson
Volchenkov/Campoli
Picard

LeClaire
Elliot

That's a lineup under the cap assuming Smith is moved.

What's the difference from last year's debacle? Clouston, LeClaire, and more balance up front. Obviously it's a team that would dominate the Battle of Ontario, but would it be enough to contend?

The lone gunman?

Melynk yesterday:

"A lot of this is not driven by the individuals," Melnyk said in an interview on the Fan 590. "Hockey people know who I am talking about. ... Ninety-nine per cent of the players you speak to are good people. They work in a community. They work hard. They want to score and they want to win, but there are other influences in their lives, and you've got to grin and bear it. It's going to happen. You always wish it didn't, but you may as well click your heels three times and want to go to Kansas in the Wizard of Oz if you don't believe it's going to happen to you."

Hmmm.

Kovalev

A two year deal for $10 million. I'm sure cap issues with Heatley not traded are going to come up but for now I am remembering this bit of sweetness:

In the words of one of my favourite blogs...

Now's the time when we juxtapose!

July 2
Sens fan Don: So Burke's strategy for scoring goals the next five seasons is what?

Leafs fan Five-O: Nash 40

Sens fan Don: Nash will get a big offer from Columbus - he's their franchise.

July 3
Rick Nash will be staying in Columbus for the long haul.

Reality's a bitch Leaf fans. Kovalchuk or bust!

Franchise rankings

Its not about market size / franchise value / how much a corporate suit will pony up for sushi and not even watch the game.

It's about which franchises give the most back to their fans. "Which teams are most deserving of your hard-earned dollar."

Out of 122 NHL/NBA/MFL/MLB franchises, here's where the Canadian NHL teams sit:

Rank	Team
53	Ottawa
60	Calgary
79	Vancouver
100	Montreal
102	Edmonton
120	Toronto

No Sens or Leafs at camp

(I'm not going to count Heatley.)

It's a little saddening to have no invites to the Team Canada camp from the Sens and it's no solace that the Leafs and Habs are in the same situation. Last time around we had Heatley, Redden, and Phillips at the training camp and Spezza was under consideration.

Some wonder if Spezza not being invited is a mistake. Savard likewise. Both are in the same situation where they are pure centers and up against Thornton, Lecavalier, Getzlaf and two way centers like Richards and Eric Staal.

The best argument in Spezza and Savard's favour is that Jordan Staal and Andy McDonald got invites. I don't understand the inclusion of either player frankly - especially the younger Staal - actually his brother Marc's inclusion on the defence leaves me scratching as well. Why isn't Jared there too?

Milks

Think this is possible?

From another perspective

Sometimes an article written from outside the sports circles looks at things differently - this one from Feschuk of Maclean's looks at it from the PR side. Plus, he's a funny guy:

To be fair, a small number of Ottawa residents are still keen to give him the key to the city, though only if he agrees to accept it rectally.

Kelowna sunrise

From commenter at Lowetide:

Melnyk is worth about 700 million. If I were him, I would put goalie pads on Heatley and tell him that he is playing net through the preseason.

Now, that's not going to happen as much as we'd like it, but what does this really mean for the Sens and Heatley?

1. Pretty much no way getting back that 4 million. Cash can't be traded and it looks like most of the teams that are trading partners are close enough to the cap that they aren't going to looking to take on Smith/Schubert contracts for fun. Heatley will be paid $31 million over the next 5 years now (4, 8, 8, 6, 5) - $6.2 per. Of course his cap hit is still $7.5.

2. NYR, MIN have added the skill up front they needed yesterday and are now unlikely suitors.

3. StL, LA didn't sign any contracts - still suitors?

4. With Heatley still in the fold our current cap hit is $52.6 (I think) with a lineup like this:

Heatley/Spezza/Alfie
Foligno/Fisher/Shannon
Winchester/Kelly/Neil
Donovan/Bass/Ruutu
Schubert

Phillips/Volchenkov
Kuba/Lee
Smith/Campoli
Picard

Leclaire/Auld

Not enough room to add Koivu who'd I would really like to see center our 2nd line or is it?

Happy Canada Day

Should be a good one!

Burke's already lost out on the Sedins and will put the future of the Leafs in the hands of an overpaid Chris Neil. I'm hoping Burke signs him to a 5 year 2.5/yr deal.

I'm thinking Sens fans would be mostly okay with keeping Heatley now and having him sit on the bench for 82 games a year for the next 6 years. Money well spent. Well, if we can get Marc Staal, that may be better.

Enjoy the holiday!

Canada Day eve

3 hours left before the Heatley bonus - I'm assuming it's midnight for the bonus.

Gomez and Bouwmeester are settled - does that make the Rangers and Flames more likely to dance?

Edmonton is supposedly hot and heavy for the malcontent. Penner and a D coming back? Would we have cap space then for a Tanguay, Cammalleri, Gionta, or even Knuble?

UPDATE: Cogliano, Penner, and Smid
Cap numbers:
Heatley 7.5
Penner 4.25, Cogliano 1.113, Smid's an RFA - I see Lowetide says prob around 1

About 180 comments at Lowetide here btw.

UPDATER: Nope. Heatley didn't waive his NMC. Asshat.

Really helpful

Family friend of Heatley defends Dany in a letter to the Citizen.

My favourite part is where it says "According to Molloy, Heatley was with many of those teammates at a "bachelor party" last week for Senators centre Jason Spezza, Heatley's longtime linemate."

Then, later on; "Alfie is a god," Molloy said of Senators captain Daniel Alfredsson, "and nobody wants Spezza in a trade."

Nice - was it a bachelor party or a roast?

The letter says:

"The new coach (Cory Clouston) has decided that Dany is a second- or third-line player, uses him on the second power play and plays him 14 minutes a game. Dany had many closed-door conversations with him and was told that the situation would improve, but it didn't in the two months they were together."

Sure.
Here's the data:

	Goals per game	Points per game	TOI
Hartsburg	0.46	0.94	21:00
Clouston	0.5	0.79	18:50

His gamelog can be seen here.

Spezza's icetime went from 20:14 to 18:54 per game after the coaching change.

Sigh

Damn you Bob Cole.

Draft!

New thread for tonight.

What does Burke do besides tapping the buffet line? Does Dany go? Does Mtl finally get Lecavalier? Definitely one of the more exciting draft days I can remember.

Actually, this calls for an official warmup tune. What to do? Hmmmm. Maybe Murray will pull off the deal of the day and will steal some great players for Heatley - a la his Luongo/Jokinen robbery - a smooth criminal indeed. Go. Go!

Trade him right f*#!ing now!*

Senschirp says Minny has a good offer up. I like a few on their roster including Clutterbuck and Burns and their pick is in a nice spot. Clutterbuck would make Neil's salary demands a nonissue - the guy broke an NHL record for hits and put in 11 goals. If they key player (Burns? - maybe a mistrust between him and the Wild over a possibly misdiagnosed concussion issue last season) makes in the 4 million range it might allow the Sens to pick up a guy like Cammalleri, Gionta, or someone else to play in the 'top six'.

*Le Heatley

The candidates

Yesterday on TSN:
With regards to the Canadian teams; the Toronto Maple Leafs have the 7th overall selection and McGuire has them taking bruising defenceman Jared Cowen (Spokane - WHL). Button thinks there will be a Schenn family reunion in Toronto with Brayden joining older brother Luke.

The Ottawa Senators have the 9th pick and Button thinks they will add depth on the blueline by selecting Sweden's Oliver Ekman-Larsson (Leksand). McGuire thinks the Sens will go with a forward and take Nazem Kadri (London - OHL).

Here are the details on the prospects.

If Heatley ends up in Minny (12th), Nashville (11th) or maybe even St.Louis (17th) and their pick is part of the deal, it'll be hard not to go for Kassian. Gotta love the report on him:
Last season as an under-ager there were overage guys in the league who would not take him on. He has not fought much this season (because) he has not had to.
That and a point a game.

I'm curious to see where Ellis (5'9") and Schroeder (5'8") end up getting picked.

Chaka Khan and Robin Thicke

Oooohh yeah!!!!


Was that punishment for something?
I think I'd rather have seen this.

One of the more reasonable scenarios I've seen

Quite the post here by gallagher at St. Louis Game Time. He suggested to the Silver Seven Sens a package including Jackman and Perron.

Playoffs Done. Draft now the focus.

This is shaping up to be one of the more interesting drafts in a while as far as the BoO is concerned. We're still almost two weeks away, but already there's much drama building for both teams heading into June 26th.

OTTAWA: As if the 9th overall draft pick wasn't enough, Ottawa now have Heatley to dangle in any pre or post draft trades. Will Murray trade down with Heatley, get another first round pick, or wait it out until the UFA market opens to see what he can do there before dealing with his former 50-goal man? What about Spezza? Are the Senators heading for wholesale changes? It's doubtful something that big is brewing, but maybe Murray sees this summer as his last stand as far as getting the Sens back to something of their former selves.

TORONTO: Ever since Burke made his campaign for Tavares known, we haven't heard many rumours of him actually making headway. Stay tuned, this guy will work up until 6:59pm next Friday to make it happen. Toronto also can trade Kaberle and Kubina starting June 26th (until mid-August). One has to think that one of these guys are gone with Beauchemin heavily favoured to land in Toronto as well as Matius Ohlund. We're still waiting on some indication where Gustavsson will sign, which will have much bearing on whether Gerber stays in Toronto and how Burke will draft at the G position.

Please pass on any rumours, thoughts or outlandish trade scenarios you have. One can only take so many "coming of age" stories around the Pens in the sports pages. Plus BeRed has rejoined the conversation, which is more fun for Leaf fans.

If I didn't know any better, this guys grown up a bit.

Emery and Tim Panaccio one on one.
Good interview.

Talk to your GM

Pretty funny by Warne on the morning show.

Is it just me or is it Dany Heatley in here?

Sorry for the over post Muppet but I thought this may be of interest to some.

What the?

So long Cujo

The one-time franchise tender will not be resigned in Toronto, and is expected to retire this summer.

Rumours also persist that Pogge is the next to be cut loose, while Gerber may still be on Burke's radar (along with a few others) depending on what happens with "The Monster"...

***

If you really have nothing to do this afternoon why not follow the Phoenix court hearings live? You can find the link here - trial starts at noon ET.

Gilbert a gonner and looking forward to 10/11

Greg Gilbert and his coaching staff were handed pink slips today by Brian Burke. For those not familiar with the Marlies coaching staff (really, why would you?), Gilbert took over for Maurice when the latter was promoted to the Leafs a few years ago.

"The Marlies went 39-29-5-7 in the regular season, Gilbert's third with the team. They went on to lose in six games to the Manitoba Moose in the North Division semifinal."

Frankly, he did a pretty good job taking the team to the conference finals the year before, but seems Burke and co. have other ideas for the team. Brian Murray once he gets fired?

***

I was looking through the Leafs salary commitments earlier today (as one does in June), and noticed that as of today the Leafs (not including 2-way contracts), only have 5 players signed for 10/11. They are: Jason Blake, Niklas Hagman, Luke Schenn, Thomas Kaberle and Jeff Finger. Their combined salary amounts to 17M in cap hit.

Some UFA eligible players going into their final year of contract: Kubina, Toskala, Ponikorovsky, Mayers and Stempniak. One wonders if any of these five will be Leafs by December. A lot is going to happen. That you can bet on.

Burke's greatest asset right now could also be his demise. He has a fairly clean slate roster-wise, a chance to build the team the way he wants and over the next calendar year or so get the players he wants. It also means it's his neck alone on the chopping block if it doesn't work. One gets the feeling he's perfectly OK with that.

Have a good weekend.

Martin to coach Habs

Discuss.

It's time we had a new thread...

Sens suck.

True or not true?

Allow me to be your agent son

The kid will be a Red Wing.

If he doesn't sign there he's probably crazy.

NHLPA should side with Balsille

I'm assuming this data is still valid from a year ago:

Ticket Revenue per game:

Leading the league is Toronto at $1.9 million.
A bit down the list is Ottawa at $1.2 million per game
Phoenix was last at $450,000 per game.

Leaf fan of the week

He may coach Ovechkin, but he's still a fan of the blue and white.

Random Playoff Thoughts

Ho-hum. How's the off-season so far?

1. Who's your favourite ex-Sen (or Leaf) in the running? While Chara and Havlat are sentimental favorites (F.Y.M.), let's not forget former Black/Red/Gold wearers Sami "The Flamingo" Salo and Brooks "Peter Bondra and a bag 'o pucks" Laich.

2. The Sharks need to go down in order to seriously shake up the office pool dynamics. Everyone and their dog loaded up on Bruins in the east, and the west seems to be the only real gamble. I am impressed by the hockey pool neophytes who picked alphabetically and are doing quite well while Anaheim hang in there.

3. There are many truly irritating commercials, but the Air Canada finger painting/singing children one is perhaps the most irritating of all.

4. I'm kind of hoping Pittsburgh goes deep only because I'm guaranteed to be entertained by The Pens Blog.

5. I still love CHRIS Cuthbert's high PITCHED vocal INFLECTIONS!

You Stay Classy, Surrey

Jeesus, act like ya been there people:

Surrey Leader: Officer injured in post-Canucks fracas



To the region's credit, I don't believe there's been a "targeted shooting" since the playoffs started. If they crap the bed in Round 2, though, I'm looking into body armor options.

If you have any doubts...

"The Ducks, despite being badly outshot, stunned the San Jose Sharks 2-0. Hiller, who has taken over from veteran J.S. Giguere, is a 27-year-old Swiss who was personally scouted and signed in 2007 as a Euro free agent by Burke for Anaheim."

Wasn't that right around the time Murray had his tail between his legs buying out Ray Emery?

Happy Friday.

F**k You, Indeed

Another Battle of Ontario Battle has come and gone, and our good friend DC in YOW has made the case for a dynasty. He not only managed to lock up a second BoOB title on the final weekend, fending off a strong challenge from David Johnson, but recorded the highest percentage increase in points since the All-Star break. This gives him most of this year's hardware, the only exception being the McCabe Memorial Award which will either be sent to Pension for a tour around his hometown (maybe he'll take it skydiving?) or lie in state here in the commish's hall closet.



Nicely done, DC. Shoot me an email to claim your prizes.

Well at least that goddamn season is finally over. Time to hang back, see if Dany and Jason can make their case for a 2010 roster spot in Switzerland, watch habtown burn to the ground after the sweep, and if we're up to it maybe allow ourselves to be driven mad by the latest heavy rotation marketing genius from Tim Hortons / Canadian Tire / Mastercard / Molson / CBC.

Have a great summer, everyone.

It's not as good as the playoffs, but...

In dramatic fashion Burke already stating he will try and trade up to draft Tavares.

Can he do it? Should he do it?
I'm not sure trading away prospects and/or 2nd + 1st rounders for Tavares is the right way to go. The only way I can see something like this happening is if Tampa get the first overall pick. They might need Tavares the least out of the bottom teams.

That aside, who can't wait to see Boston pummel Montreal?

Muppet vs. Muppet

So, one game left, against the Sens. Where you watching the game?

Sadly I'm not. Off to NYC this weekend. Mrs Muppet slid that one by me. Next season the schedule goes on the fridge so we get no more conflicts like this.

Ok, well before you hit YYZ, what do you make of this Hanson kid?

Not that impressed so far. He doesn't seem to use his size and he stops skating in his own end looking pretty lost. The two points in two games is nice, but he's Ponikorovsky at best. The jury is out.

He probably hasn't learned the system yet. Give him time.

This is a rebuild. Filling the team with prospects is great and all, but unless we add players who can find a higher level and surprise, it will be a team full of unremarkable players. We need a gem from this crop of kids. One of them needs to get to a Carter or a Boyes level. And fast.

Ok. Onto the standings. April 14th is the draft lottery, only the top 5 have a shot at #1. Are we going to make it?

For Toronto to get the 5th pick we need to lose Saturday, Phoenix would have to win two straight (against SJ and ANA), and LA needs to win one game against San Jose or Vancouver. I think we'll pick 6th at best.

And 6th is where Brayden Schenn is currently projected to go. Do you bring Luke's brother onto the team, or would that just be weird?

Brayden is a solid player. You go for the best player and if we pick 6th he might be it. The brother thing is secondary.

Well, it's 10:15am and you need to get some work done. Any parting words about the game Saturday?

Sens suck.

To the point. I like that.

A BoO Poll:

If the Leafs and Senators are tied in the standings Saturday at 7pm, and the losing team gets the higher draft choice, which team will you cheer for?

Burke is the man.

Tyler Bozak. F'n aye.

Throwing a bone

While I think most Leaf fans have turned the page on Justin Pogge (I know my expectations are measured in fractions these days), here's some interesting statistics on a few NHL goaltenders who took their time getting to the NHL. It may provide a little hope for the 22 year old to one day get it.

GOALTENDER AND GAMES PLAYED IN THE AHL/IHL:

Manny Fernandez 246
Tim Thomas 242 (includes European teams)
Dwayne Roloson 179
Ryan Miller 172 (4 seasons)
Justin Pogge 138
Jean-Sabastian Giguere 134

And that's just NA goaltenders. Hard to tell with the European tenders (Kipper for example), as I'm not sure what Euro leagues are on par with the AHL to make it a fair comparison.

One other strange stat: Patrick Roy had a career 5.41 GAA during his 3 years in the Q and his one game played in the AHL he allowed 4 goals. How he even got a look at the NHL with those stats is nothing short of a miracle.

The Bozak Thread: first of many on BoO?

As reported on TSN last night, Tyler Bozak has narrowed his NHL destination down to 3 or 4 teams. Toronto and Ottawa are believed to be the front-runners, while the Ducks are also rumoured to be on his shortlist. It's believed 26 teams were interested in his services, most of whom Tyler has called personally to say no thank you. The Flyers got their call yesterday.

You thought this would be just another Thursday? Think again. Bozak has been in Toronto all week with his agents and is expected to make his decision.

Today.

Hey, it's not so bad Sens fans.

It could be far, far worse.

The last year the Sens missed the playoffs...

Black Aces takes us back in the time machine.

I was in second year at Ottawa U. I had finally traded in the bowl cut for short 'n spiky and was slowly but surely purging denim from my wardrobe in favour of cargo pants. This song was in heavy rotation and a cinematic masterpiece had just been released to VHS. Y'see, kids, there were once these things called "video cassettes" and, ahhh forget it.

Post your mid-90's retrospective in the comments.

A few afternoon thoughts:

1. Ping Pong Balls
While some fans in some hockey cities are chewing their nails off wondering if their team can squeak into the 8th playoff spot, the remaining of us scroll down the standings for our drama.

22. Ottawa, 76pts - GR 7
23. Dallas, 75pts - GR 7
24. Toronto, 75pts - GR 6
25. LA Kings, 73pts - GR 7
26. Atlanta, 70pts - GR 6
27. Phoenix, 69pts - GR 7
28. Tampa, 65pts - GR 6
29. Colorado, 64pts - GR 6
30. New York, 59pts - GR 7

2. Martin Gerber
One wonders what the future might hold for Gerber whether it's in Toronto or somewhere else. Talk this morning in one Toronto paper has suggested he should be considered as a back-up to Vesa Toskala next season at a huge discount on the $3.7M Ottawa has paid him for the past three seasons. It wouldn't surprise me if Burke and Co did throw $1.2M/year at him. He showed more passion in one game in Toronto than he ever demonstrated in Ottawa and he would be one of the more experienced back-ups available on the market once Toronto throw a retirement party for Cujo. He has five games left to seduce the Leafs management team.

3. Brian Burke
There are three exceptional free agent NCAA players available this summer (Bozak, Gilroy, Hanson), and Burke is already talking to all three. Burke was in talks earlier than most GM's, speaking with the players "family agents" (NCAA players are not allowed to have paid agents, only family members speaking on their behalf) for months now. Good to hear that Burke, along with Nonis, Niewendyk and Fletcher are doing their homework and at least getting their foot in the door on some good young players. Maybe this rebuild won't have to take half a decade after all?

4. Cryin Bryan
How do you take a playoff team off of Mucklers hands and turn them into a basement dweller in a few seasons and still have your job? Easy, throw a bunch of coaches, players and Martin Gerber under a bus to cover up your own mistakes. Keep trading players on and off the roster until something sticks, and then, with a little luck and a long leash, last until something positive happens. Seems like hiring Clouston along with the Comnrie/Campoli deal have maybe saved his job for now. Credit where it's due, good moves, but in most other hockey markets he would have been fired long ago.

Sad to be out of the playoffs? Here's a Ray Emery story!

Charged with "stunt driving". Hummer seized.

Grant me this one fantasy

It's Saturday, April 11th 2009. It's the final game of the regular season and the Senators must win to make it into the playoffs. The Sens and Leafs are in a scoreless deadlock until late in the third when Jason Spezza curls and finds a pinching Chris Campoli who rifles one over the shoulder of Curtis Joseph.



Yes, it's been a long year. Yes, I'm ingesting the same mood stabilizers as Mean Gene, and yes that is Bubbles from TPB dancing a jig in the aisle.

(but, NO this is not an official GDT - the lads have gone 9-2-1 since my last one against the Sharks, so consider this a Game Day Non-Thread).

The Leafs will pick 5th overall.

A prediction to kick off Tuesday.
Of the bottom eight teams, the Leafs have the second toughest schedule to close out the season.

Average Current Point Totals For Opponent's Remaining:

The NY Islanders 86.9
The Toronto Maple Leafs 86.4
The Ottawa Senators 84.1
The Tampa Lightning 83.6
The Atlanta Thrashers 81
The Phoenix Coyotes 80
The Colorado Avalanche 79.3
The Los Angeles Kings 79.2


Does draft position even matter when this coming draft is being compared to 2003? Here are a few of the many highlights from 2003 with position in brackets:

Staal (2)
Phaneuf (9)
Carter (11)
Parise (17)
Getzlaf (19)
Richards (24)
Perry (28)

If the Leafs do pick 5th, here's who they would have gotten the last seven seasons:

Ryan Whitney (2002)
Thomas Vanek (2003)
Blake Wheeler (2004)
Carey Price (2005) (note: The Sens took Brian Lee in 2005 passing on Marc Staal taken two picks later. Well done!)
Phil Kessel (2006)
Karl Alzner (2007)
Luke Schenn (2008)

That's all I got.

Still in it, thanks to Buffalo

I've gone from putting up 90% of the roster on craigslist to busting out my 1998 keepsake Woo-Hoo towel. Who's with me?

Consolation prize: stealing four points from the habs in the last three weeks of the season.

Dominic Who?

Meet Jeff Hamilton.


When the Leafs signed him out of the minors on March 5th and inserted him directly into the line-up that same night, it was a head-scratcher to say the least. At least for most of us, who aren't exactly scouting the AHL for 30 year old UFA's.

Seven games later, the 5'10" right winger has two goals and a pair of assists and has provided speed and the intensity we saw in Moore. He even scored a beauty shootout goal last night, which of course, doesn't show up in his stats.

So the Leafs take on another reclamation project it would seem, although maybe one with even more upside when you look deeper:

HAMILTON's Career NHL pts/game before signing here = .503
MOORE'S Career NHL pts/game before signing here = .220

Some were pretty insistent that Burke had foolishly traded away an incredible player in Moore. Ottawa fans, mostly. I hate to say it, but Moore is pointless in 6 games since joining the Sabres. I wish no ill will on Moore and think he's a solid fella, but his ask of $2.5M a year was way too much and Burke knew it. Hamilton seems to be filling the same role, so far, and one would think if he keeps up his play the Leafs may have just replaced Moore at a fraction of the cost.

Not too shabby.

What to talk about

It's been so long since we haven't made the playoffs here in Ottawa. The Leaf fans are old hat at this but it would seem to me that I'd rather be talking about this than this.

MUPPET VS MUPPET

Ok, so this morning a Sens fan, his comment directed at you Muppet, said that Burke "put Vancouver in a funk for the better part of decade". Is that true?

Well, it depends on who you ask: some dude sounding off because he hates everything remotely linked to the Leafs? Or, facts?

Door number two big man!

Facts it is. Well, lets go back a decade shall we, when Burke had just taken over a last place Vancouver team that missed the playoffs 3 straight years before his first full season as GM.

Right. So they weren't very good?

And they would get even worse during Burke's first in command. 23 wins. Just awful. But it turned out to be a transition year.

A transition to what my good man?

Four straight years making the playoffs for one. Plus rising from 7th in the Pacific before he got there, steadily up to 1st on the Northeast his final season as GM. Along the way he dealt with trading contract holdout Pavel Bure, and of course swapping out the entire management and coaching staff and most of the players - and drafting the Sedins thanks to that one awful first year as GM.

Kind of reminds me of what he's up against here. But wait a minute, we're talking about how he allegedly screwed the Canucks for a decade and he left them in 2005. Let me guess, he left the Canucks with a bare cupboard when he was fired?

Vancouver has had a 1st round draft pick EVERY SEASON since Burke came on as GM right up until this past draft. Not many teams can say that. So he left the future intact in that regard. As far as salary cap, Nonis had cap room to bring in new players his first summer on the job and the Canucks were considered a serious contender their first season post-Burke. So they didn't resemble anything close to what the Leafs looked like post-lockout. On paper anyway.

How did that season work out and what about since then?

Well they never won a cup with Burke, but it got worse as they missed the playoffs two straight years after he left. That whole Bertuzzi/Moore thing destroyed the "west coast express line" and the team failed miserably. Naslund became quite ordinary once Bertuzzi was a non-factor. Eventually Bertuzzi was traded for Luongo, a move that has put the Canucks back on track and well on their way to a 2nd playoff appearance in a row.

Wow. Did Burke make that trade as well?

Nope that was a guy named Dave Nonis.

Nice friggen move. Man, somebody should hire this Nonis guy for their management team, and fast?

Not a bad idea Muppet. Not a bad idea at all.

Swiss taking both sides

Season series:
Oct 25 @ Toronto: Leafs win 3-2
Nov 27 @ Ottawa: Sens win 2-1 in SO
Jan 3 @ Toronto: Leafs win 3-1
Feb 28 @ Ottawa: Leafs win 4-3 in OT
Mar 9 @ Ottawa
Apr 11 @ Toronto

So, the good guys need to take tonight's game and the last game of the season not to lose the Battle this year.

The big guns for the Leafs are now Blake, Stempiak, Mitchell, and Stajan. Ian White led all Leafs on Saturday with over 30 minutes.
Who's going to be in net for Toronto? TSN is reporting that Joseph is going to start for the Leafs so we'll see Gerber around the 10 minute mark I'm guessing.

Campoli's stat line on Saturday looked great - goal and an assist, +3, 5 shots in 25 min of icetime. Watch for him and Spezza to have big games.

6-1 Sens

BoO Poll

Who was the ugliest deadline acquisition of 2009?

The Gerber era begins

The genius of Burke. Bringing a ring into the room and moving out players in their 20s with no experience carrying the big mug. Brad May and Gerber will show the key to the Leaf future, guys like Blake, Hagman, and Finger, how to win.

Ah, I'm just messin' with you guys. I think the bigger move is his last with Tampa. Buying contracts in exchange for a draft pick is a dangerous ground for the league and one that should spark discussions a the head office.

It was a good day for Burke. In theory.

I think this is a good summary:

"We're positioned well from a cap standpoint. We intend to be aggressive this summer on a lot of different fronts," Burke said.

The Leafs also shut down red-hot goaltender Vesa Toskala for the rest of the season so he could undergo hip and groin surgery. He'll be replaced by ineffective Senators netminder Martin Gerber... Toronto, then, has weakened itself considerably by removing two of its top four scorers and its No.1 goaltender.

That, despite Burke's protests that his team will strive to win every game, will make victories difficult down the stretch.

Toronto also went from having two picks in the first four rounds to having five, with the possibility of a sixth.

"This is an opportunity to put some draft picks back into the hopper. It was an important part of the rebuilding process here," Burke said.

(edited from The Star)

Not much bad you can say about yesterday. Leafs are definitely in a far better position to get into a draft lottery position (thanks Ottawa), and our cap situation will be excellent going into the summer.
The only question now is will Burke make the most of these draft picks? Something we won't know for a few years, so for now he either gets the benefit of the doubt or he doesn't, depending on who you ask.
I happen to believe, and history has shown, that great players come from any round. It's hit and miss. So the fact the Leafs have more darts to throw on draft day probably increases the chance of getting at least a couple of good NHL players, maybe even great.

Deadline Thread: For the late risers on the west coast

We'll all have fun today, but this lack of productivity is exactly the type of thing that could turn a severe recession into a full blown depression. Thanks for nothing, TSN. It's 7:05 AM and I haven't glimpsed at the trade tracker yet, so here is my deadline day synopsis, originally drafted around midnight last night and not to be taken too literally by anyone of influence who reads this blog.

Previous installments are instructive as to the mood that grips us on these special days. I'm in a bitter / fatigued one this year. It has not been enjoyable to watch the team, and while I've been a fan through darker seasons, those mid to late nineties had a sense of hope and ultimate fulfillment to them, whereas now we are struggling through the hangover of a failed cup run and seem to be stuck in the tracks of our top-heavy expansion cousins. I'm tired of Spezza's drop passes, tired of Heatley's premature goal celebrations, tired of Chris Kelly's failed breakaways and tired of Chris Neil's Dumb Penalty Face.

As such, here's the current roster, color coded according to my highly subjective deadline preferences.

Left Wing / Centre / Right Wing
Dany Heatley / Jason Spezza / Daniel Alfredsson
Ryan Shannon / Mike Fisher / Nick Foligno
Antoine Vermette / Mike Comrie / Chris Kelly
Jarkko Ruutu / Jesse Winchester / Sean Donovan
Christoph Schubert / Cody Bass / Chris Neil

Defence / Defence
Chris Phillips / Anton Volchenkov
Filip Kuba / Brian Lee
Jason Smith / Chris Campoli
Alex Picard / Brendan Bell

Goaltenders
Brian Elliot
Alex Auld
Martin Gerber

Colour Code:
Red: Hands Off, For Now
Yellow: I Would Hold Back Tears If The Return Was Decent
Green: Lost Souls / Solid Gold Toilets / Old Couches In Need Of A Loving Home

My classifications are more than open to discussion, and I've changed colors multiple times in the past several drafts of this post. It would be an easy task to try and talk me out of my choices in the comment section. That's just how ambivalent I am about the season. Ah well, best wishes for a happy, healthy deadline day - maybe this is the year we land Gary Roberts!

Hurry, sell your Antropov jersey.

Sources tell TSN neither Dominic Moore nor Nik Antropov will be in the lineup tonight when the Toronto Maple Leafs host the New Jersey Devils.

I can't find any lineup news for the Sens except Schubert being inserted.

Take a guess?

Burke has this trade on the table:

''We got a trade proposal yesterday (Sunday) that is intriguing. We're actually chewing on it right now,'' Burke stated. ''This one would involve three players and a draft pick…it would involve two guys off of our team,'' Burke added. ''I think we're going to reject it, but we're chewing on it,'' the Leafs gm concluded.

So who is it?