Leafs' Hockey posts moved to HarnessHorses.info

Toronto Maple Leafs building momentum for 2011-2012 NHL regular season schedule

If any readers have wondered what happened to most of my Toronto Maple Leafs' coverage, so sorry! About a month ago I started posting hockey stories on my horse racing blog Harness Horses Info, as that one normally tends to be busier in the summer, and Leafs Nation hockey is a great way to keep Ontario (and PEI) sports fans tuned-in during winter months.

Here are 2010-2011 Toronto Maple Leafs stories from both the O Joe College Blog and the HarnessHorses.info website:

Maple Leafs drive alive; NHL East race tightens

New blogger Dynamic Views, Leafs hockey and Harness racing

PEI Power: Leafs should go for Prince Edward Island Trifecta

Toronto Maple Leafs' strong roster for 2011-2012 NHL season

3 Top 2011 NHL Free Agents that can help Toronto Maple Leafs win a Cup

Five on the Farm – Best Toronto Maple Leafs prospects

Maple Leafs GM likes to get something for nothing

Maple Leafs benefit big from selling at trade deadline

Maple Leafs Blog posts from earlier in 2010-2011 NHL season

Toronto Maple Leafs blogposts 2010-2011 season

As this blog has been preoccupied with the democratic revolutions in North Africa the past month or so, it may have become difficult for regular hockey fan readers to find their fave blog posts about our beloved Toronto Maple Leafs. To simplify things, here are a selection of Leafs-related posts from the 2010-11 NHL season:


Blog posts relating to Toronto Maple Leafs news and opinion


26 Sep 2010 - Are the Toronto Maple Leafs FOR REAL???


7 Nov 2010 - Toronto Maple Leafs strong in own end ...


16 Dec 2010 - Phaneuf leaves PEI, returns to Lion's Den in Calgary


18 Dec 2010 - Toronto Maple Leafs; Kitty-cats or Lions???


12 Jan 2011 - Reimer wins big for Wilson and Leafs


24 Jan 2011 - Leafs call up Reimer, may play tonight


24 Jan 2011 - Brent shines, MacArthur battles in Leafs loss


08 Feb 2011 - Toronto Maple Leafs are 10-8 in revolutionary 2011




Older Toronto Maple Leafs posts:

25 Nov 2009 - Loose Leafs; Quirky Players in Toronto ...

03 Jan 2010 - Toronto Maple Leafs Prospect Jerry D'Amigo leads USA Juniors over Sweden ...


2011 NOTE: My Toronto Maple Leafs' coverage and hockey stories are now on my Leafs Fans News and Horse Racing blog Harness Horses and Leafs Info, as that one normally tends to be busier in the summer, and Leafs Nation hockey is a great way to keep Ontario (and PEI) sports fans tuned-in during winter months.

Kris Versteeg's selfish penalties made his price too high

With the Toronto Star screaming a "Versteeg trade solves nothing" headline across the top of the Sports section, I have to ask Damien Cox if he's been watching many Toronto Maple Leafs games this year. Kris Versteeg was paid big bucks and brought over from the Stanley Cup champions to provide leadership and show a young Leafs team how to win with pride and discipline, not cost your team games with petty, selfish and even stupid penalties.

The type of play exhibited by Versteeg in several games this year was indicative of a player who wants out of town. If that was truly the case, then Burke was right to flip him for early round draft picks. When the tight offer comes in for Jiggy, it would be nice to open up a skating roster spot also, for example one of Lebda, Sjostrom or Lupul could be packaged with Giguere to bring us one high value prospect / young NHLer, or a good prospect and a high draft pick.

Leafs GM Burke building toward 2014 Stanley Cup

This is a refreshing change from recent years, when the Leafs would add expensive established talent as free agents and at the trade deadline, only to fall short and have to carry the costly dead wood into future seasons.

Some may believe Burke has gone too deep into the kindling, however I can see sparks that will build some decent fires in the years ahead, with a Stanley Cup run being possible around 2013-2014.

Toronto Maple Leafs are 10-8 in revolutionary 2011

Readers of the Original Joe College blog have likely noticed that Leafs coverage has been pre-empted in recent weeks by the revolutionary events in Tunisia and Egypt. The Maple Leafs started the year with a bang, then went into an all-too-familiar swoon, and have now begun their perennial last minute dash for the playoffs.

Overall, 2011 has been a big improvement for the Toronto Maple Leafs. After going 6-7 in January, they are now 4-1 in February, boosting their 2011 record to 10 wins against 8 losses. Their youth, size and strength are becoming more apparent as the season wears on, and their lack of experience is diminishing as they get used to playing with each other. Still, the team should not try to add at the trade deadline, but rather move two or three veteran assets to deepen the youth core.

Giguere deserves to be playing with a contender come Stanley Cup playoff time, and as it's his contract year there will be an offer that he and Burke will not be able to refuse. One can only hope that Jonas G shines in the minors, and earns his place beside Reimer in the bigs after Jiggy goes.

Other candidates for trade that can bolster the youth movement include Komisarek, Sjostrom, Lebda, and to a lesser extent (because I'd like the Buds to keep them both), Tomas Kaberle and Francois Beauchemin.

TWO Stanley Cups in Tomas Kaberle's future?

Kaberle can help Maple leafs and have a fun Spring!

With longtime Leaf Tomas Kaberle expressing a willingness to discuss any potential trade for him, the next month will certainly see plenty of offers come Burke's way.

Here's the ideal scenario:

A) February 2011: The Leafs trade Kaberle to a serious Stanley Cup contender, perhaps together with Sjostrom and/or Giguere (they're both great but their trade value is maximized by their age and we need to get younger) for young NHLers and top prospects. Kaberle et al go on to win the Stanley Cup.

B) July 2011: Kaberle signs a three year deal with the Toronto Maple Leafs, for several million less than a competing offer, as he wants to stay in Toronto.

C) Spring 2013: Leafs win the Cup!!!

Toronto Maple Leafs have many players that could be traded

Assuming (I know...) that sanity prevails in Leafland and management goes younger at the trade deadline, ideally we would add young NHLers, top prospects and draft picks for some of the following players:

Tomas Kaberle (IF he wants to go to a Cup contender)

Mike Komisarek

J-S Giguere and/or Jonas Gustavsson

Brett Lebda

Francois Beauchemin

Fredrik Sjostrom

Are you getting the picture? Essentially, the goaltending and the defence have to get as young as the forwards, and the whole group will then need to get faster, stronger and more skilled, as a unit, growing together. As this is realistically a three to five year project, there should be a moratorium on trading any picks in the first three rounds for years 2012, 2013, 2014, and 2015.

Let's take the pain now, and not repeat past mistakes.

Leafs call up Reimer, may play tonight or tomorrow

Although the spec is that Jiggy plays this evening and James Reimer gets the start tomorrow night in Florida, do not be surprised if the tables turn. This weather cannot be ideal for Giguere's tender groin, so if there is any soreness, look for JR between the pipes this evening, providing J-S Giguere with another day's rest before the Florida start.

My readers will know I was very happy with this decision, as I had called for Reimer to be brought back up to the Leafs last week. The only reason The Monster would get another start soon would be if we had a first round pick and didn't care about winning the remaining games. Going with Giguere and Reimer shows the Leafs are still trying to win, and Gustavsson's trip to the Marlies next week could provide the minutes, the sharpness and the confidence needed to return him to the ranks of bona fide NHL goalies.

If Goose plays well on the farm, Burkie may get trade offers for both Jiggy and The Monster...

Maple Leafs must send Gustavsson to Marlies, call up Reimer

James Reimer - Photo by Christian Petersen


Reimer deserves extended NHL opportunity

Clearly it wasn't just one bad game, or Leafs fans wouldn't have had such an ominous feeling when we heard Goose was getting the start at Madison Square Gardens. If we're going to stick with these young guys and develop them into a contender, the Toronto Maple Leafs have to become a meritocracy.

James Reimer has earned the opportunity to play more NHL games, while Jonas Gustavsson clearly needs to get his confidence and game back. Gustavsson to Marlies, Reimer to Leafs; It's really that simple!

Reimer wins big for Wilson; Leafs rolling on the road

It's been a coupla late nights but they've both been worth it. Last night I witnessed James Reimer providing solid NHL goaltending while backstopping the 600th career victory for Toronto Maple Leafs coach Ron Wilson. Reimer stopped 36 shots while Clarke MacArthur scored two goals; Kessel and Gunnarsson rounded out the scoring.

There are four Leafs with winning records this year:

Colby Armstrong
James Reimer
Darryl Boyce
Joey Crabb

Have I left anyone out? The return of Armstrong and the promotion from the Marlies of the diligent trio of Reimer, Crabb and Boyce, has created a new chemistry on the Toronto Maple Leafs. The 6-5 shootout victory game against the St. Louis Blues on January 6th (I was very lucky to be at that game!) marked a resurgence in the Leafs offence, and combined with the 9-3 win the next night in Atlanta, moved the Leafs to the top of the class for 2011.

A statistician out there may want to look this up, however I believe the Maple Leafs are leading the league in 2011 for:

Wins
Goals For
Penalty Killing

If they are not at the top, they are very close in all 3 of those categories. Well done, Burkie and Wilson!

Next up: Thursday at Phoenix, 9pm Eastern, then home to host Calgary at the ACC, Saturday at 7pm.

Toronto Maple Leafs vs St. Louis Blues

I haven't been to the ACC for a Leafs game in about five years, so tonight's game against the St. Louis Blues should be a blast. Five or six years ago I was working for Portfolios.com (now CreativeShake.com) when Dan Tanenbaum owned it, and the gentleman was kind enough to give me a pair of Platinum seats every year at Christmas, for several years. As my dad had often taken me to Leafs games at Maple Leaf Gardens (he had mid-level Greens season tickets, right on the blueline) when I was a child, it was a huge pleasure to return the favour and sit with him in those awesome Tanenbaum seats!

My son David won tonight's seats (3rd row in the balcony) at his company Christmas party, and as he was kind enough to invite moi to join him, so the Father-Son hockey tradition lives on!

Go LEAFS Go!!

Toronto Maple Leafs; Kitty-cats or Lions???

When the puck drops in Vancouver tonight will we see the Toronto pussies we witnessed in Calgary, or the rock-em sock-em lions we enjoyed in Edmonton? The blueshirts have to play smart, however if they don't play fast and tough, then they're not playing to their own strength.

Take the man, win the battles; the rest takes care of itself!




Video of Colton Orr / Zack Stortini fight, Toronto Maple Leafs at Edmonton Oilers