Yakov Mironov
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Homepage: http://yakovmironov.blogspot.com/
Posts by Yakov Mironov
D’Amigo To Sign With Leafs UPDATED: Signed 3yr. ELC
Aug 9th
Well Kaberle Week has given us our first Leafs story since the signing of Marcel Mueller, and hooray for that! Also a hearty Hoo-Rah for that fact that it is one of my favourite Leafs prospects, Jerry D’Amigo, who is the subject of a potential contract signing as reported by Buzz The Net and Maple Leafs Hotstove. Evidence of my man love can be found here, and here. I don’t want to start in on speculation that D’Amigo is somehow going to jump onto the Leafs roster this season, but he received a pant load of praise during the rookie camp, and this move signifies he’s at least being given an outside chance. More >
Kaberle’s A Dead Horse, Let’s Beat Christian Hanson Instead!
Jul 29th
Since nothing of note has happened to the Leafs in the past couple of weeks it’s time to dissect what the holdup is in Christian Hanson re-signing in Toronto. Not eligible for Arbitration, and not even required to be qualified on a one way contract, Hanson’s contract situation is filled with hurdles. More >
The Kovalchuk Signing and YOU!
Jul 19th
Wake up everybody something has finally happened in the NHL, and it’s not the Oilers naming another crappy old defenseman to a leadership position (that was last week, Congrats Steve Smith). Instead, the moment we’ve all been waiting for. The most exciting thing to happen in pro hockey ever, Kovalchuk announced he’s going to re-sign in New Jersey. WOOOOOO! Since it was just a two horse race the only team dealing with disappointment today should be the L.A. Kings. Sadly any hope of Kovalchuk becoming a Leaf waved goodbye to Toronto fans a long time ago. I mean, why would the Leafs be interested in a 40 goal scorer, he’s Russian! The fact that I will see my 4 month old nephew go off to college by the time his contract ends doesn’t make this any less of a bitter pill to swallow. Unless, somehow there was another player capable of scoring 40 goals available, short term and cheaper. Enter Simon Gagne. More >
I’ve Got Arby’s On My Mind
Jul 7th
Earlier this week was the deadline for eligible RFA’s to file for arbitration. Initially 31 players filed, and two have already re-signed with their clubs (Jeff Schultz in Washington and Cam Janssen in St. Louis.) It is highly likely these two won’t be the last to go this route as if last year was any indication only a handful of players feel like being locked in a room and having their careers dissected. Even fewer of those players that complete the process are not re-signed by their teams. So why is any of this interesting? Why should we care if there isn’t even a Leaf in arbitration? In the always interesting salary cap world, there is a outlying possibility that there may be players who are worthwhile to Toronto that may ultimately become UFA’s come early June, and maybe that will be Brian Burke’s draft day. More >
What’s the Deal With Tomas Kaberle?
Jul 5th

Did you know that there are twenty-nine fan bases out there that think that adding Tomas Kaberle to their roster is the worst thing that could ever happen? If you read the comments in Jeff’s article yesterday, you definetly would have known that Capitals fans think it’s a bad idea. If you’ve ever taken a glance at HF Boards you’ve probably noticed that everytime Kaberle’s name comes up, which it does a lot, there is an argument made that Toronto is overvaluing him, and at best he’s worth a salary dump forward. While I agree he’s not landing Bobby Ryan for us, I don’t think the deal is Kaberle + for Jason Pominville either. More >
5 Thoughts You’ll (probably) Hate About Free Agency
Jun 30th
After giving it a lot of thought, I think I finally have some ideas of what I want the Leafs to do tomorrow. Forget trades, looking strictly at free agent here are some thoughts on what I’d like to see done. As always, I welcome the criticism of these ideas.
- Give Kovalchuk a blank check and ask him to write in a number he thinks is fair. If the Leafs are serious about winning, this may be the best (or only) option. Kovalchuk immediately provides Toronto with a two line attack (unless Wilson plays him with Kessel), and has a history of putting up great numbers in spite of a lousy supporting cast. I agree with Burke that long term deals are stupid, but if Toronto isn’t going to draft, and they don’t have the assets for trades, how else is top line talent to be acquired? It is rare to see spare parts dealt for young Norris-candidate defensemen, so don’t use that as a rule, and if the Leafs draft in the top 10 for the next 10 years they may never find a guy who can play the way Kovalchuk does. It seems foolish to pass on this guy just because he wants a front loaded 8 year deal instead of a steady amount through 5. More >
WTF HHOF?
Jun 22nd
Before Reading this post, please read Paint The Hall Blue, and it will give you a bit of background to why I’m particularly upset about this.
No shortage of good news around Hockey today, so I’m going to focus on the worst. I will have a much rosier outlook posted on YakovMironov later on this evening. So meet your 2010 Hall of Fame Inductees everybody!
Dino Ciccarelli
Cammi Granato
Angela James
Jimmy Devallano
Doc Seaman
With this group the Hockey Hall of Fame is sending the message, we don’t want you watching our induction ceremonies. Seriously, who feels strongly about anyone on this list? I have much respect for all of them, and they have all contributed to the game, but it’s not so much about them as who was left off the list. More >














