Well, since I am clearly the only person still writing on this site anymore, I thought I would make up a totally unique idea, unfounded by any previous member of this website, and list off five predictions I have for the Leafs next season.  They could be good or bad, but we’re Leafs fans, we’re pessimists, so really don’t expect much to cheer about (not in this post anyways).

Without further ado, here they are:

1. Kris Versteeg and Mikhail Grabovski will kill eachother.

Pending a Kaberle trade it looks like our top two lines are destined to look something like this: Neal/Kovalchuk/Simmonds/Raymond-Bozak-Kessel, with our second line being Kulemin-Grabovski-Versteeg.  Now don’t get me wrong, that’s a decent top-six at first glance, but anybody who has watched more than five Leafs games as well as five Blackhawks games (so essentially if you’re a Leafs fan who watched the playoffs), you would know that both Versteeg and Grabovski are incurable puck-whores.  These are two guys who refuse to let anybody on their line ever carry the puck over the blueline but themselves, these are two guys who try to deke through everyything, and these are two guys who will be just as bad once they are set up in the offensive zone.  Now that doesn’t mean they’re bad players, it just means that if they play on the same line by default they will probably end up brutally murdering eachother.  Or, since Grabovski’s completely insane he’ll probably just beat him up whether it’s in practice or at the bar.

2. Mueller > Caputi

So the Leafs signed some big German kid whose supposed to be a guy who hits, gets in on the forecheck, has good hockey sense and above all else can skate well.  He’s a left-wing power forward who looks like he’s only gonna get better, which is perhaps the exact opposite of what we can say about the recently acquired Luca Caputi.  Don’t get me wrong, I like the kid and all and I hope he can get it going with the team who grew up cheering for, but Caputi proved to us back in March that he isn’t overly aggressive, he has extremely mediocre hockey sense, and worst of all, he can’t skate to save his life.  Now who knows what he did this summer to prepare for next season, maybe he shows up faster than future Hall of Famer Bill Sweatt, but in all likelihood the kid that spent two years in the AHL already is probably going to be down there for a third, and that could very well be the nail on the coffin for an otherwise promising hockey career.  Essentially, I expect the much more well-rounded Mueller to take his place on whatever roster spot there may be for one of them moving forward.

3. Jeff Finger won’t get waived.

It appears pretty much everybody ever in the history of Leafs Nation expects Jeff Finger to get waived just because he sucks.  Though he may in fact be horrible, the fact still remains that if we bury Jeff Finger in the AHL, we bury any chance we have of ever trading him and his 3.5 per year contract.  It’s the same deal as last year, why bury underachievers like Vesa Toskala or Jason Blake to completely destroy their trade value when we can hold onto them and ultimately compress them into an asset (a la J.S. Giguere)? Though I understand that the Leafs are pressed up against the cap, they can still make it work even if they keep Jeff Finger, whether it’s keeping a max of twelve forwards up with the club at all times or shedding some cap in a potential Kaberle deal.  In other words, Finger won’t get waived unless he absolutely has to (for example if he was getting in the way of acquiring a star player).

4. Kadri will suck.

No, not longterm.  Longterm I think Nazem Kadri could, if he adjusts some of his flaws and puts on even more weight, potentially be a first-line center sometime in four or five years.  But as for now Kadri is a slightly undersized potential rookie who does stupid things like hog the puck, take long shifts, take horrible slap shots and produce even worse turnovers.  To add to that, he has all the pressure of Leafs Nation mounting over him, including the actual Leafs brass of Ron Wilson and Brian Burke.  Realistically I see Kadri pulling a Stalberg this year: tear it up in the pre-season, make the team, do absolutely nothing for ten games and become an awkward adventurer between stardom in the AHL and worthlessness in the NHL.  Repeat process until we trade all of our forwards and Kadri is given a full stint with the club post-deadline.  Once Tyler Bozak is his center all should be fine.  Wait, what?

5. The Leafs won’t make the playoffs.

Best case scenario this summer is that the Leafs trade Kaberle for somebody who could score roughly 25 goals next year, which without going into detailed projections would probably put the club around 230 goals next year.  Consdering the Leafs goaltending is expected to hold up enough to be around the same, the Leafs would have a decent shot at the playoffs.  Problem is, injuries and cold streaks are inevitable, so the Leafs goal total next season will probably be, at best, around 210 goals, so unless Jiggy and the Monster wanna go win us the Jennings I’m not sure the post-season is achievable.  Take into account that teams such as Carolina, Atlanta and Tampa Bay will all be better, another season without post-season glory seems almost a sure thing.  I know you can make the whole “well, other teams will have injuries too” argument, which is true, but the fact is that those teams projected goal total is still well over 230, so it won’t really be an issue either way.  It isn’t a matter of if the Leafs stay healthy they will be fine at scoring goals, its a matter of the Maple Leafs just can’t score enough goals in general.

And that’s a wrap.  Let me know what you think in the comments.

You can follow me on Twitter here.

On July 1st 2010 Brian Burke and Co flexed their proverbial management muscles and inked versatile grinder Colby Armstrong to a blah blah blah blah blah.  Great, now that we’ve got that out of the way, let’s get to the point.

As most of you know I try to keep my articles on the shorter side, just because well, reading a lot can get…boring.  Uh, anyways, that means I’m gonna try and keep this article short and get my point across in a number of brief paragraphs, so again, let’s get on with the show.

When Colby Armstrong initially signed with us I was disappointed for a number of reasons: whether it was the fact that we were paying a guy who had just tallied up 29 points three million dollars, whether it was the fact that we were giving him that money for three years, whether it was the fact that he’s a right-winger or whether it was the fact our cap space was slowly diminishing,  it really doesn’t matter.  None of the reasons I hated the Colby Armstrong signing matter anymore, because guess what: I don’t hate it anymore.

Okay, that last part wasn’t completely true.  Just because I think Colby has a place on this team now, and just because I think he will be a significant contributor to the team in more ways that one, doesn’t mean there aren’t some things still noticably wrong with bringing him on board.  But we’ll get to that later, first onto what I like:

Colby Armstrong will be worth the three million dollars we’re giving him.  What Colby will do is, for the most part, play against the other teams top lines and work like all hell to shut them off and wear them down.  In short, there are a lot of things that give me confidence that he can do that: whether it’s the fact that he was tied for 20th in the league in take-aways with 61 (by the way, Kris Versteeg is accountable to the exact same honor), the fact that he isn’t afraid to block shots, the fact that he produces at about a hit per game, or maybe the fact that he was a +6 last year on a below average Atlanta Thrashers team (think of this in the same way that Ponikarovsky was always + on the Leafs, or the fact that Carl Gunnarsson was a mind-boggling +10 last season), there seem to be a number of indictations that he will get good money doing a dirty job.  Essentially what I’m getting at is that if Colby Armstrong can do an above average job keeping the opposition’s best players from scoring, if he can be enough of a pest, if he can be enough of a leader (as he was an alternate captain in Atlanta), and he can perhaps set up a bit of an office in front of the net, Colby Armstrong’s versatile box of tools could be well worth just three million dollars.

But then there’s the other side of things.  The side that realizes although what these grinders do is well worth the vast sums of money, they still don’t pay it.  For whatever reason, as valuable as they are, some of the better grinders in the league never seem to make money.  Every once and awhile you’ll see a team desperate for a bottom-six fix that overpays a guy like Armstrong or Malhotra, but more often than not you’ll see classic grinders getting classic grinding money.  Good examples would be Eric Nystrom signing a three-year deal in Minnesota worth 1.4 per season, or even an aging master of the trait like Rob Niedermayer making just 1.150 million for one season in Buffalo next year.

To wrap up this article quickly, what Colby Armstrong does is well worth the money, and for that I’m glad to have him on board.  But again, as good as Colby Armstrong may be, as much as he may be worth that sort of money, the Leafs still should have been able to avoid paying him that much.

You can follow me on Twitter here.

Update: 2 years, 1.45 per.

Yep, Brian Burke has wasted no time this off-season bringing in guys with fake last names.  Whether it’s Bill Sweatt, Joey Crabb or Brett Lebda, Burke seems to be intent on making us suffer with commentating that was already frsutrating enough on account of Joe Bowen’s dreadful rendition of “GrrrRRRRrrrabouvvsskii”.  But I regress, it appears the Toronto Maple Leafs have added to their defensive depth by signing the former Stanley Cup Champion (Red Wings) to a…to a…uh…well, we don’t know the terms, but the Leafs Twitter account told us they signed him, so we’re gonna go on that.

When I first heard the news I didn’t have the overwhelming joy that I had when I found out the Leafs acquired my future new jersey in Kris Versteeg, but I didn’t exactly have the overwhelming dissapointment when the Leafs signed the “decent” grinder in Colby Armstrong.  Granted, that could change when I find out the terms of the contract, but as long as he isn’t making more than 1.5 I’d say it’s a decent signing.  Oh, I should probably mention that we do know he signed for two years.

Now, to the dismay of Chemmy from Pension Plan Puppets it appears that, as horrible as Lebda may be, he has good intangibles.  These include being a drunk party animal and being a drunk party animal, which in other terms translates to him being a hilarious guy who will, if nothing else, be a “good locker-room guy”.  Welcome aboard the Character Express, also known as the Leafs 2010 off-season ventures in which they have now acquired three guys, each with varying degrees of skill but all with “good intangibles”.  I’m sure you’ll fit right in Brett.

Good news for the Leafs is that Lebda can really skate, so should Tomas Kaberle be dealt this summer it looks like the Leafs blueline won’t be full of pylons after all.  And yes, if Tomas Kaberle is dealt it appears the Leafs will continue to eat Jeff Finger’s contract til the bitter end.  Ah well, he can earn his money from the press box.

Just so you know, Lebda had 8 points, 24 PIM, 39 hits and a respectable 41 blocked shots in 63 games last season.  Intangibles below:

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Also, it’s probably a good thing he’s on Colton Orr’s side now.

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You can follow me on Twitter here.

Which is why I’m very happy to announce the status on all three players in regards to the Toronto Maple Leafs: Vancouver outbid Toronto for Dan Hamhuis, and…are you ready?  Colby Armstrong signed with the Leafs!

Yep, that’s right, the so-called gritty right-winger previously of the Atlanta Thrashers and Pittsburgh Penguins has signed with the blue and white for three years, making three million dollars in each of those three seasons.  Armstrong put up just 29 points last season, and in his final season with Pittsburgh he had just 24 points in 54 games playing along the league’s top centers in Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin.  Yeah, serious questions have to be asked when it comes to this kids offensive abilities.

On the other hand, Armstrong’s a pretty gritty kid, and a character kid at that.  His countless interviews on Hockey Central over the last year were hilarious, and he seems like a real loveable kid.  He can play at both ends of the ice and, according to some analysts should make a pretty good net presence.

But along the likes of Kessel, Versteeg, Kulemin, Sjostrom, Brown and Orr, Armstrong becomes the seventh right-winger on this team, and he appears to be an overpaid one at that.  This might not end badly, but I’m really not sure I like this one.

The Leafs didn’t stop there though.  They aggressively went after the highly-touted Joey Crabb, a right-wing grinder with some decent numbers offensively, though Hockey’s Future projects him as a future fourth-liner in the NHL. Don’t read too much into this one: he’s cheap, comes on a two-way contract, makes a decent call-up if injury arises but this is more than likely a signing to help improve the Toronto Marlies, the AHL affiliate of the Maple Leafs who Brian Burke has stated he wants to improve this year.

And according to Jonas Siegel of AM640, as well as Nick Kypreos of Sportsnet, that’s all she wrote for the Toronto Maple Leafs on day one of unrestricted free agency.  That’s not to say they’re done all-together though, because they’ve still got a bit of a hole to fill up down the middle when it comes to grinders (hopefully they don’t pay Eric Belanger three million though), and with the likes of star sniper Ilya Kovalchuk still being available, well, you never know.

But that’s not all folks.  Not by a long shot.  The Leafs trade possibilities significantly rose (or declined, in a way) with the signings of players such as Dan Hamhuis to the Canucks, Anton Volchenkov and Henrik Tallinder to the Devils, Martin and Michalek to the Penguins and Sergei Gonchar to the Senators.  With these singings, pretty much any team that had significant interest in Tomas Kaberle no longer needs him other than two teams: the Buffalo Sabres, who only managed to go out and get Jordan Leopold amidst losing Henrik Tallinder and Toni Lydman, and the Los Angeles Kings, whom were believed to be very interested in acquiring an elite defenseman such as Dan Hamhuis or Paul Martin.

It really does appear that the Sabres and Kings have emerged as the front-runners for Tomas Kaberle based on hopes of contension and defensive need, and look for those two teams to press hard for the skilled puck-mover in the coming days.  Either that or one of them will sign Pavel Kubina. We’ll see.

As for projected line-ups for next year, it looks as though the likes of Sjostrom, Kulemin and Brown will all be flipped over to the left wing as the Buds fortify themselves down the right-wing with Kessel, Versteeg, Armstrong and Orr.  It may not be pretty, but I should point out that the Stanley Cup Champion Atlanta Chicago Blackhawks had a number of players playing on the wing they weren’t used to when they won the Stanley Cup this past spring.  On the right wing they had the likes of Patrick Kane, Marian Hossa, Troy Brouwer, Kris Versteeg, Patrick Sharp and Dustin Byfuglien, and well, look how they turned out.

Again, as per various sources, the Leafs are done for the day.  But it wasn’t a day without productivity as the Leafs solidified toughness, belligerence and testosterone (albeit for an overpayment) and opened up new avenues for possibility on the Tomas Kaberle front.  The Leafs will look to still be active in the coming days as they notably only have Mikhail Grabovski, Tyler Bozak and potentially Christian Hanson or Nazem Kadri down the middle.  There is still quality available, and I should probably clarify one last thing: Ilya Kovalchuk is still available.

Photoshop is Jeff’s, not mine

EVERYTIME I DIVE IN MY POOL, ITS HARD TO BE HUMBLE

WHILE I DO A BREASTSTROKE IN AN UNDERGROUND TUNNEL AND I COME

UP ON THE OTHERSIDE

IN A JACUZZI BEING GREETED BY TWO GIRLS THAT ARE WEARIN’ MAH JERSEY

THEY GIVE ME LOTS OF HUGS AND KISSES ASK ME WHAT MY WISH IS

I SAY “GO AND GET YOUR FRIENDS CAUSE THERE’S GONNA BE A PARTY”

AND IN THE END THE STANLEY CUP IS A DREAM AND I’M (INAUDIBLE WORDS)

Well, if you couldn’t tell from all that, I’m thrilled.  If you read my Twitter at all during the course of the playoffs you’d know that Kris Versteeg was my favourite Blackhawk bar none, which is why I was exhilrated when I found out that the Toronto Maple Leafs acquired him via trade for Viktor Stalberg, Chris DiDomenico and Philip Paradis.  Oh, and we added a pretty good prospect in Bill Sweatt too.

And to add to this, Leafs HQ, namely me, totally called this trade about two weeks ago.  Take a look:

“Again, the Blackhawks are in so much trouble salary-cap wise that they are most definitely going to have to take risks on young players with cheap contracts, and because of this Stalberg could be a decent fit.  Stalberg’s potential is pretty much on the same level as Kris Versteeg, and both are similar players, so who knows, maybe a deal could be done there.”

Versteeg is a character guy, a young, loveable and skilled winger who can score, make plays, and even grind it out.  He’s the top-six forward that the Leafs were looking for without giving up Tomas Kaberle, and Versteeg looks to attract free agents for tomorrow.  That should prove to be a nice little bonus.

Your thoughts on the trade?  I absolutely love it, let me know what you think in the comments below.

Here are some videos:

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By now we’re all well aware that the Toronto Maple Leafs hold the longest Stanley Cup drought in the entire NHL.  Well, that’s what Damien Cox would like us to believe, but most of us also know by now that the St. Louis Blues and Los Angeles Kings hold the exact same miserable feat to their name.

In light of both the recent deal for Jaroslav Halak by the St. Louis Blues (as well as the lack of any other notable storylines in hockey right now) it got me thinking about how all three of these teams are seemingly on the rise, all emerging from the ashes of long and harsh rebuilding processes.  Whenever one long drought ends, the next longest one seems to end within a short span.  So again, with all three of these teams clearly on the quick road to contention it seems only natural that a Stanley Cup win from one of the Maple Leafs, Kings or Blues is imminent.  Let’s take a further look at whose poised to hoist Stanley’s mug next.

St. Louis Blues

You probably know that just a couple of days ago the Blues took part in what I guess you could in fact call a blockbuster deal with the Montreal Canadiens to acquire a 25-year-old goaltender who very recently carried the Habs to the Eastern Conference Finals: Jaroslav Halak.  To acquire Halak they gave up a future third-line checker in Ian Schultz as well as a pretty nifty center prospect named Lars Eller.  Eller was expendable though, considering the fact that the Blues already have the following players down the middle: a future star in T.J. Oshie, a potential star in Patrik Berglund, a quickly rising second-line grinder in Alex Steen and a veteran center who is arguably of the first line calibre in Andy McDonald.

On the wings the Blues have one of the league’s premier power forwards in David Backes as well as a recently struggling Brad Boyes (who when on top of his game is a 30-goal scorer).  The Blues are a bit weak when it comes to the left-wing, as all they have is pending UFA Paul Kariya as well as the wildly inconsistent French-Canadian sniper David Perron.

As far as the blueline goes the Blues should be set for a long time.  They’ve got the NHL’s best prospect in puck-mover Alex Pietrangelo as well as young stud, former 1st overall selection Erik Johnson.  The Blues also have Ian Cole, an arguable blue-chipper as well as veteran shutdown players such as Eric Brewer and Barret Jackman.  One thing to note is that their three best defenseman of the future (Cole, Pietrangelo and Johnson) are all right-handed shots, a rarity amongst most defensemen.  It may be tough for these kids to click if they all shoot the same way.

In net the Blues have two young prospects in Ben Bishop and Jake Allen, as well as Jaroslav Halak now who will more than likely be St. Louis’ franchise goaltender for the next decade.

Los Angeles Kings

This past season they emerged as a playoff team after a long absence, and it looks as though things are only going to get better for California’s most promising team (sorry San Jose).

Up front the Kings have first-line center Anze Kopitar as well as two of the league’s most agitating power forwards in Ryan Smyth and Dustin Brown.  The Kings also have two above-average checking-line centers Michal Handzus and Jarret Stoll, a blue-chip prospect in Brayden Schenn, an underachieving sniper in Justin Williams as well as pending UFA Alexander Frolov.  The Kings also have a young rising power forward in Wayne Simmonds, and have been linked to rumors surrounding another pending UFA Russian: superstar Ilya Kovalchuk.

On the blueline the Kings have a young star who looks to be a franchise player for years upon years to come in former second-overall selection Drew Doughty.  The Kings also have tough guy Matt Greene, shutdown checker Rob Scuderi and the potential star Jack Johnson along with soon-to-be NHL-ready puck-mover Thomas Hickey.

In net the Kings have a young and serviceable goaltender in Jonathan Quick who is on a cheap contract for three more years.  More noteably however, they have former first-round selection Jonathan Bernier who is poised to be a star.  Bernier will compete for a job in training camp in the fall and it will be interesting to see who takes the reigns over the course of a full NHL season.

Toronto Maple Leafs

We all know they had an unbelievably miserable year, but at the same time I think we all know they’re on the rise, whether its this year or three years from now, they’ve got a lot of key pieces in place that just need to develop a bit more.

On the forwards core the Leafs have young sniper, Phil “I think I can score 40″ Kessel, the speedy Viktor “Pretty sure I can finally play in the NHL” Stalberg and Mikhail “Fucking Crazy” Grabovski.  Along with that they have the young second-line playmaker Tyler Bozak and grinding scorer Nikolai Kulemin.  Oh, and let’s not forget the potential star, but still young and developing Nazem Kadri as well as the maybe bust but hopefully decent power forward in Luca Caputi.  They hope to add more to that core this off-season by dealing Tomas Kaberle.

On the blueline the Leafs are probably pretty much set.  Should Luke Schenn finally begin to emerge as the player we all think he can be this year, should Mike Komisarek have a strong rebound year after a horrible injury-plagued mini-season and should captain Dion Phaneuf get his career truly back on track starting next season, the Leafs will have three of the NHL’s grittiest, toughest defenseman to play against.  Along with that they have Francois Beauchemin, a pretty decent two-way guy who provides leadership.  They also have the young and promising Swede Carl Gunnarsson as well as a stacked prospect pool that includes Korbinian Holzer, Jesse Blacker, Keith Aulie and Juraj Mikus.

In net the Leafs have who will probably be their stud for a long time in Jonas Gustavsson, provided the veteran poise of J.S. Giguere helps back him up to greatness next year.  The Leafs also have a promising prospect pool of three near-NHL-ready goalies in James Reimer, Ben Scrivens and Jussi Rynnas.

Conclusion

You guys may not like this answer but I think a Los Angeles Kings Stanley Cup victory is not far away.  Drew Doughty could very well be the league’s next perennial Norris Trophy winner, and should Jack Johnson get his act together that pairing will be just as effective as the Chicago Blackhawks’ tandem of Duncan Keith and Brent Seabrook.  They’ve got a ton of grit and guys who are willing to pay the price to win much like the Blackhawks as well, and their depth in net is not far away from being the NHL’s best tandem as long as they can afford to keep it together.

While the Blues and Maple Leafs have a lot of key pieces in place (Blues have the depth at center, Leafs have the blueline depth) they just don’t hold the same all-around structure that the Los Angles Kings have.  The Kings are literally one Ilya Kovalchuk signing away from becoming perhaps the Western Conference’s best team, while the Blues and Leafs need to add more than just one key piece to push them over the edge.  The overall speed, structure, depth, skill and grit is eerily similar to that of the now defending Stanley Cup Champs, the Chicago Blackhawks, and for that reason a Cup win on the coast of California seems all but a sure thing within the next few years.

Let’s hope I’m wrong.

That’s straight from an article the Star posted yesterday (don’t worry, not by Damien Cox) showcasing an interview that the established newspaper had with the Toronto Maple Leafs’ most debated star sniper.

Now that’s all fine and dandy that Phil Kessel feels more comfortable in Toronto now, that he’s training more thoroughly this summer and that he seems genuinely interested in winning hockey games, but can the Madison Flash really accomplish what the likes of Alex Semin, Ilya Kovalchuk and Marian Gaborik did this past season?

Well, let’s take a further look in the only way I know how:The arrival of Tyler Bozak in mid-January certainly created a positive spark to the Maple Leafs and it was perhaps a sign of more good things to come (see: Phaneuf and Giguere).  In Bozak’s 37 games with the Maple Leafs he put up 27 points, pretty good numbers for a rookie who had put up just 20 points in 32 AHL games in the first half of the season.

But it wasn’t Bozak himself that meant so much to the franchise this past spring, it was what he did to the then only established building block for the team moving forward: you guessed it, Phil Kessel.

Ron Wilson rather simply said that the reason Bozak was called up was  because “he needed somebody to center Kessel”.  How Matt Stajan becomes a key piece in a deal for our future captain Dion Phaneuf after Ronnie comes out with a comment like that is beyond me, but that’s beside the point.  Wilson wanted somebody to center Kessel, and although Bozak’s numbers don’t completely reflect that he did a stellar job of doing so, Kessel’s numbers do.

Let’s take a look at Phil Kessel’s production from all games between January 14th and March 30th (scratch off the last five games of the season because Kessel was injured and playing with Mikhail Grabovski).  In those 31 games Kessel was centered by Bozak, Phil the Thrill had 16 goals and 15 assists.  Yep, 31 points in 31 games.  To add to that, Kessel’s numbers in that stretch would be pro-rated to 42 goals, 40 assists and a total of 82 points in 82 games over a full season.

It’s not the same thing as the grind of a full NHL season, but that 31-game stretch that saw Kessel play a a point-per-game pace is certainly an indication that yes, Phil Kessel can score at least 40 goals next season if he really sets his mind to it.  Factor in that unlike last year Phil’s showing up to camp fit, well-prepared and healthy (not to mention accustom to the Toronto Maple Leafs), it almost seems inevitable that the young sniper can pull off one of hockey’s greater feats.  It should also be noted that Kessel isn’t playing alongside Marc Savard anymore, and perhaps he really is starting to mature as a player and reach his full potential.

Just to clarify, I’m by no means calling Tyler Bozak a number-one center.  I think he has the potential to be a real good young player in the NHL for a long time, and perhaps even the true anchor to the second line one day, but Tyler Bozak just simply doesn’t have the potential to become an elite playmaking center.  That being said, he will probably be the team’s number-one center next season because it shouldn’t be expected of Nazem Kadri to be an immediate impact, and it also shouldn’t be expected of Mikhail Grabovski to do any playmaking at all.  Yep, barring a trade it seems that Tyler is already penciled in as the Leafs go-to guy down the middle next year, and though I don’t think he will be a star, given Phil Kessel’s production alongside Bozak means I’m certainly not complaining.

The last member of the Toronto Maple Leafs to score 40 goals in an NHL season was Mats Sundin in 2002.  If Phil Kessel can in fact hit that elite marker, he will be the first player dawning the blue and white to do it in one year shy of an entire decade.  Let’s hope Tyler Bozak doesn’t have a sophomore slump.

You can follow me on Twitter at www.twitter.com/raskofalltrades

Okay, good job, by now you really should be officially informed of the Blackhawks improbable chances at competing hard for a dynasty next season.  But hey, they’re the defending Stanley Cup Champs, they’ve gotta make another run.  That’s where in a perfect world, the Leafs jump right into play.

The Toronto Maple Leafs are in pretty clear need of offensive help, especially considering the barren offense core currently set in place for next season, and especially considering that if they repeat the 29th-place performance of this season next year, well, let’s just say it might be pretty hard to forgive Brian Burke for trading away three great picks for one great player.  But Kessel controversy aside, the Blackhawks are full of offensive depth, and full of guys that they will be forced to deal this off-season due to, as stated earlier, unbelievable salary cap issues.

The problem with poaching pieces of the defending Champs and bringing them to T-dot, however, is that the Leafs quite frankly don’t have much to give.  What the Blackhawks are looking for is cheap players who can contribute immediately, and for the most part those players have to be forwards.  The Leafs do however possess an asset here or there that hypothetically Chi-town would be interested in and able to fit into their line-up, so conceivably a deal could be done.Forwards of Interest Who Could Be Available

Kris Versteeg-A Calder Trophy nominee in 2009, Versteeg is an energetic player on and off the ice.  He’s a good skater and can put up 50+ points a season.  He’s a right-winger who, when forced to, can shut it down defensively.  Comes with a 3.083 cap hit for two more seasons.

Dustin Byfuglien-If you haven’t heard by now, Byfuglien is 260 pounds of pure beast.  A decent skater, Byfuglien is known more for the terror he brings to the opposition in front of the net.  Probably only good for about 40 points a season, but your prototypical net presence and classic power forward.  3-million dollar cap-hit for one more year.  Byfuglien can play either wing.

Patrick Sharp-A proven leader and performer, Sharp isn’t quite an elite talent in the league, but he’s certainly a player capable of playing on the first-line and performing well.  Good for 60-70 points a season, Sharp is an extremely polished sniper who carries a 3.9 cap hit for two more seasons.  Sharp can play any position.

Andrew Ladd-A debatable second-liner, Ladd is probably more of an exceptional third-liner who comes with little bonuses.  He’s a good locker-room presence, a decent net-presence and knows what it takes to win (won a cup with Carolina in 2006 as well).  Ladd’s a left-winger and an RFA who will demand between 2-3 million.

Ben Eager-Good for a lot of hits, a lot of energy, a lot of fights and about 15 points a year.  He’s currently an RFA who will probably seek between 1-1.5 million.  Eager plays the left-wing.

Players From the Leafs Who Could Be of Interest

Viktor Stalberg-A speedy sniper who finally began to prove that he can probably maintain a job at the NHL level by the end of the season.  Stalberg could fail miserably and finish with 20 points next season, but also surprise with as many as 50.  He’s also big, also plays the right-wing and also only has a .850 cap hit for one more year.

Luca Caputi-Probably not of that much interest because as it stands he probably isn’t NHL ready.  He only comes with an 0.833 cap hit for one more year though, and as a projected left-wing power forward he could be of some use or interest to the Hawks.

Fredrik Sjostrom-Also known as Sjobacca, he’s another speedy Swede who came over to the Leafs mid-season to considerable liking.  He does a pretty nice job of killing penalties and is good for about 20 points a season, so as a guy who can play either wing with a 0.750 cap hit for one more year the Hawks could do well to try and fit him into their line-up.

Tomas Kaberle-It’s a long shot, but if the Blackhawks were able to rid themselves of Brian Campbell’s contract then this is a guy they would definitely like to add considering he’s an elite puckmover, extremely similar to Brian Campbell and only has one year left on his contract with a very cheap 4.2 million-dollar cap-hit.

Conclusion

Yep, not a bad list of players from the Blackhawks but a pretty shallow one from the Maple Leafs.  Any deal involved with the Blackhawks would almost assuredly involve Viktor Stalberg unless Tomas Kaberle was included, in which case Brian Campbell would have to be on his way out (in a three-way deal, because the Leafs would not be interested in Campbell’s contract).  Again, the Blackhawks are in so much trouble salary-cap wise that they are most definitely going to have to take risks on young players with cheap contracts, and because of this Stalberg could be a decent fit.  Stalberg’s potential is pretty much on the same level as Kris Versteeg, and both are similar players, so who knows, maybe a deal could be done there.  To add to that, if the Blackhawks would rather trade a different player, perhaps they would take Stalberg for Byfuglien or even Ladd.  If Kaberle were to be involved Brian Burke would probably want Patrick Sharp, and maybe some secondary toughness which is where Andrew Ladd or Ben Eager could step in.

All in all the Chicago Blackhawks are in need of significant salary dumping and the Maple Leafs are in some serious need of offensive support for next season so ideally the two could be good partners.  However, the Leafs don’t have many assets that make sense for the Blackhawks, so unless a third team is involved it’s unlikely the Toronto Maple Leafs will be able to poach talent from Chicago, at least not on a significant level.  But who knows, it’s the off-season and Brian Burke is our general manager: anything can happen.

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Sure Brian Burke and the Toronto Maple Leafs are building towards the on-ice trademarks of playing with truculence, pugnacity, belligerence and testosterone, but who really cares?  The same “on-ice trademark” argument can be made about the 2010 Stanley Cup Champion Chicago Blackhawks who play with speed, energy and cockiness.  The same can be said about the Philadelphia Flyers who, much like the Leafs try to build around toughness, but the difference between the Blackhawks, Flyers and the Leafs is that one of them don’t have an off-ice trademark, or something that makes their place to play unique.  That one team is the Leafs.

Look, even if you go back to 2007-2008, the four teams that have appeared in the finals since then all have something that makes their arena special.  The Pittsburgh Penguins have the white-out (perhaps not original but something to hold onto nonetheless), the Detroit Red Wings have the throwing of the octopus, the Philadelphia Flyers have God Bless America and in addition to that all fans wear orange, and with the Blackhawks they’ve got the large-scale anthem-singing, the Fratelli’s Chelsea Dagger and to add to that, the United Center is more commonly known as the Madhouse on Madison.

So what do the Leafs have?  Burkie dogs?  Excruciatingly long ceremonies?  The most expensive tickets in the NHL?  How about fans with bags on their head?  No, no, no and no, the Toronto Maple Leafs have nothing of significance that makes the Air Canada Center unique, not the way they do their anthems, not the goal song, the goal horn and the place doesn’t even have a nickname.

Some might say, “who cares?”, but the fact of the matter is that we all should.  If the Toronto Maple Leafs truly are the hotbed of hockey, the most fabled franchise and greatest team in all of sport, why is their nothing to separate them from everybody else off the ice?  Now do the Maple Leafs need a trademark of their own to succeed in hockey?  Will they crash and burn without being unique?  Absolutely not, but it can’t hurt to try.

Listen, when it’s all said and done, when the Stanley Cup Finalists are ready to duke it out for hockey’s greatest prize, you’ve gotta think there’s something behind these trademarks.  These are trademarks that the fans feed off of, the players feed off of and the energy in the building rises significantly due to these factors.  These trademarks may in fact give the home team that extra little push, that extra little energy needed to close out a game or come from behind.  These trademarks may very well decide games for the home team, and if the 29th-best team in the league can give themselves an extra advantage to help them win, then why not?

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Ever since his arrival there was word of how Dion immediately impacted the team both on and off the ice whether it was with his loud mouth, big hits or timely goals late in the season, and the club’s record certainly reflected that.  Whether it was Brian Burke explaining how Dion set off an adrenaline bomb in the locker room or Ron Wilson commenting on Phaneuf’s swagger, whether it was the approval of the skilled Bozak or the hated Exelby, the consensus was clear: he’s the new face of the franchise.

But my question to you is: is it too soon?  Is Dion too unproven, too much of an asshole, too young, too lost?  Can he can handle the pressure, the players, the people, the media?  Will Dion Phaneuf thrive as the Maple Leafs’ captain now or is he just not ready?

The first thing you’ve got to take into account when discussing Dion Phaneuf as the next captain of the Toronto Maple Leafs is not how he can turn the franchise around, but in fact the very opposite: how Dion still needs to turn his own career around.  In the last two seasons (since the year Dion was nominated for the Norris Trophy) Dion’s career has taken a turn for the worst, dropping from 60 points to 47 in 2008-2009, and from 47 points in 2008-2009 to just 32 points in 2009-2010.  Along with that, there have been questions about Dion’s defensive ability, Dion’s leadership and even his will to win (or at least truly commit to hockey).  One has to wonder if Dion can handle the pressure of leading the world’s most pressured-filled hockey market when, at the moment he hasn’t proven he can even handle himself.

Then there’s the age factor.  Can Dion really lead the room with so many older, vocal leaders who are perhaps more experienced or stronger opinionated?  Being a model to the young kids such as Phil Kessel or Luke Schenn should come easily as young players are easily influenced and easily lead, but leading and having his voice exceed players such as Mike Komisarek or J.S. Giguere could be a whole different story.  Additional concern needs to be had with the reported locker room rifts between Dion Phaneuf and others in his days as a Calgary Flame.  To truly be a leader to everybody, their can be no disputes and no bad relationships with teammates, and that could be difficult for a young, extremely vocal player such as Phaneuf.  Whether or not Phaneuf can truly control the room and get everybody on the same page, especially in the grind of an 82+ game season still remains to be seen.

And has he really been here long enough?  Dion’s only played 26 games for the blue and white, and sure that’s a pretty good sample, but again, one has to wonder if first of all he really deserves such an honor as being the captain of hockey’s most storied franchise.  Then there’s the issue of who the Leafs could acquire in the off-season, a potentially older, more fit-to-be-captain player who could easily walk into the organization, blow everybody’s mind with how much more qualified for captaincy he is, yet nobody would budge because hypothetically Dion was made captain pre-maturely.

Listen, I’m not saying Dion shouldn’t be our captain, and quite frankly I’m all for the decision, but again, is he really ready?  Whether it’s getting his own career on track first, whether it’s him being able to handle the pressure, whether it’s the other leaders in the room or Dion being in the room himself, there are a number of things that need to be taken into consideration when realizing that ultimately, the decision to make Dion Phaneuf the 18th captain in Toronto Maple Leafs history on June 14th 2010 is premature.

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