So trust me, nobody’s suddenly giving up – it just seems that everyone’s either lazy or has had something to do lately. We pride ourselves on activity, and there hasn’t been a new article in days, which is below our standards. Thanks everyone for reading, and I promise that at least I’ll be in my daily-or-close-to-it pace starting tonight.

It truly is a grim day in Leafs HQ history.

When I saw the final count all I could think of was this

Click here to view the embedded video.

P.S.: If you never watched Lost you are probably very confused.

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Editor’s Note: There’s been a lot of discussion amongst fans whether it’s in the comments, or forums or Twitter or things like that which state the Leafs should trade Mikhail Grabovski, and that he’s expendable with the acquisitions of guys like Kris Versteeg, or that he can be packaged with Tomas Kaberle for a greater return or things like that.  This is a post I made way back in April, one of my first here at LHQ, stating why we should keep Grabovski, at least for one more season.  Pretty much all of the points still stand.  Enjoy.

Whether it’s TSN’s Off-Season Game Plan or just another thread on the HF Boards, the consensus is that Mikhail Grabovski could be shipped out of town.  But why?

Don’t get me wrong, I don’t think he’s the greatest offensive stud or an answer to any position longterm, I don’t think he’s going to score 30 goals or dish 50 assists, I don’t think he has any shot at ever topping 55 points in a season.  I don’t really like his cap hit, his contract, his attitude or his ethic.  I don’t like his defense, his rushes or even his hair.  But put all those negatives aside, and Mikhail Grabovski is a guy who could be integral in helping the Maple Leafs reach the playoffs next season.  How?

Here’s how:

1. What he plays.

Grabovski’s played as a center during his entire tenure as a Maple Leaf and presumably the majority of his pro career.  The Leafs could really use a center with at least some offensive flair like Grabovski in the top six.

Also, if Nazem Kadri doesn’t make the team, than the Leafs don’t have to worry.  If they deem Kadri too small or realize that he really does need more work in the AHL or OHL, they can send him to the there and not worry about their second-line center position because they’ll still have him on the roster.

2. What he could play.

Nazem Kadri is expected to crack the top six (or at least in the yes of the Leafs brass), and with Tyler Bozak a surefire lock to make the team next year, how do we fit Mikhail into the top-six?  Well, considering Grabovski has scored most of his goals closer to the boards than the center of the ice, considering he likes carrying the puck over the blueline on the rush and considering he’s a left-handed shot, Grabovski could fit nicely on the left wing (a position you may have noticed the Leafs are sorely lacking in).

3. There aren’t any better options.

Most of you seem to think the Leafs can just package Grabovski with Kaberle for Bobby Ryan or Brad Richards, or even trade Grabovski for Patrick Sharp flat because of so-called Chicago cap issues, but that isn’t so.  Then there’s the group that believes Grabovski could be traded for as little as a second round pick, which quite frankly is pretty realistic given the circumstances.  The problem with that is it means the Leafs would have to go out and make a splash in the free agent market, and unless you guys want either the often-injured, below average Raffi Torres or the expensive sniper Ilya Kovalchuk, there’s nobody to be had. EDIT: Colby Armstrong isn’t going to be a significant offensive contributor.

4. He can put up 50 points a season.

Whether it’s on the wing or at center, Grabovski has proven to us one way or another that he can in fact put up at least 50 points a season when healthy.  With the Leafs forward group depleted since the you-know-what trades in January, Grabovski is the sort of guy you want around to help out with the scoring.

5.  No matter who it is, 50 points is 50 points.

If Kadri does make the big club next year, it would be unrealistic to expect him to top the totals Grabo’s posted in the past, at least in his rookie season.  Even if he did put up 50 points next year, he would only be doing what Grabovski would be doing for us if we had kept him, meaning the offense wouldn’t get any better than how it was last season.  On the other hand, if the Maple Leafs have both Nazem Kadri and Mikhail Grabovski on their team, and they both put up something around 50 points, the team will will have more offense than last year.  Keep the equation the same by changing the name on the back, or add to it by adding another offensive threat and keeping the other.  Your call, but I’ll take the latter.

6. His value can’t get any lower.

I do agree that unless Grabovski thrives as a winger then it would probably be better to trade him for someone whose better at the position, but we won’t know until we try.  Also, considering Grabovski didn’t have nearly the year he had in 08-09 due to both injuries and a bit of a sophomore slump, Mikhail would be a perfect showcase of “buy low, sell high” for other teams to strike on.

7. The cap hit.

You’re probably not going to get a guy who can put up 50 points a year with a cap hit any lower than 2.9, whether it’s via trade or via free agency.  At least for the time being, Grabovski’s as good as it gets in that department.  I know the Leafs are barely below the cap max, but Grabovski isn’t one of the players who should become a cap casualty, that dishonor should be reserved for Jeff Finger.

So, still think we should trade Mikhail Grabovski?  Yeah, me neither.  Let us know what you think in the comments.

You can follow me on Twitter here.

During these months of summer it really is difficult to find something fresh and other than Kovalchuk to write about so here is my effort to keep you interested in Leafs hockey even if the market is as boring as it ever was. It will also keep my mind from searching for any kind of news regarding the Leafs and Kaberle. What I’m really trying to say is sorry for the writer’s block. Every hockey team needs them, every hockey team has them (more or less). They are the people with special skills that differ from those of a normal hockey player. Skills which they use to perfection. In this one, I’ll examine the pugilist of the Toronto Maple Leafs and closely look at the skills that make him such a valuable asset to this team. Also I’ll examine the emerging trend of teams upping on toughness and grit by adding and paying top dollar to big guys that know how to use their fists.

Colton Orr is, at least in my book, the best pound for pound fighter in the NHL. He’s such a valuable asset on that fourth line. To better understand his value to his team it’s one can only look to the NY Rangers and what happened to Marian Gaborik last season. Dan Carcillo goaded him into a fight and pummeled him. There was no one on the Rangers team that could (or would for that matter – which kinda shows what the character of that team was and was the main reason why they overpaid for Boogaard) defend Gaborik in that situation. Whatever Sather says, that was the main reason they drafted Dylan McIlrath as their top pick in the 2010 NHL draft. That lack of toughness is also the reason they are going to pay him 6.5 million over the next four years. One of the biggest problems the Leafs had in recent years was the lack of an enforcer. Ok, Colton Orr is not exactly a heavyweight enforcer, because No1, and this is kind of important, given the chance, he can actually play hockey. Burke realizes the importance of toughness better than any other GM out there. He set out to build a belligerent, in your face hockey team and the prime candidate was this guy. Now, every team that comes up against the Leafs knows he will be on the ice. His importance grows with other teams following the same model. Edmonton’s kids will need protection as this will be their first year in the NHL and the Oilers ended up getting just that with Steve MacIntyre. It’s clear now, maybe more than ever, what kind of an asset Colton Orr really is. I’m just waiting for the moment some team decides to sign Georges Laraque. At this rate it’s bound to happen. Pittsburgh, for example, has Eric Godard who was a healthy scratch for most of last year, but I suspect he’ll see a lot more ice time this season.

As we all know, there are actually two main categories of pugilistic players – middleweights (Colton Orr, Cam Janssen etc.) and heavyweights (Georges Laraque, Derek Boogaard, Steve MacIntyre etc). Many would suggest that Colton really is a heavyweight. Well, the reality is, he is somewhat in between categories, but I list him as middleweight because his ability to outplay other typical heavyweight enforcers. If you ask me, it’s better for a team to have a middleweight who can play hockey than the a guy who’s main and only assignment is to fight. While watching Laraque play I often thought to myself, what is this guy doing on skates? Yes, I enjoy a good scrap, I also view it as a major part of the game but I also like when hockey players play hockey. It’s the whole point. So, what I’m saying is, it’s better to have one, two middleweights like Cam Janssen than paying Boogaard that kind of money. A middleweight (looking at the big picture) can sometimes score and contribute something other than intimidation and fear. With the addition of Mike Brown our forth line looks set and I’m really liking what Burke has done with it. With Brown, it has the speed, strength and energy and of the top of my head I would say there aren’t a lot of better fourth lines in the NHL right now. Put Zigomanis between them and you get a line that can win a multitude of faceoffs plus be an intimidation force every time it hits the ice. Orr’s flaws are not something that can’t be coached out. His biggest flaws include taking bad penalties and not possessing enough speed for a wing position in the NHL. But as long as he fights as he does (and we all remember those dear Ottawa games don’t we) I’ll love him as a part of our Leafs team.

Mislav “Xterratu” Jantoljak

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.

Personally, if it was up to me, I’d wait a few weeks for the other online retailers to get permission to sell them, for anyone else looking to buy in the future.

However, I WILL say, even though its inaccurate, am I the only one who likes the look even better? I’ve always liked the fonts they used.

Well, its late July. Nobody’s signing contracts, and training camp hasn’t started yet. The fascination with rookie camp is at its low point until it begins its merger with training camp hype, and there are no decent players that are rumored to be on the market (like, legitimate rumors, not the “OMG GUY ISN’T SIGNED YET HE MUST BE UNHAPPY” ones).  Hell, its so slow that I looked to HFBoards in the middle of the night yesterday, saw a thread about Boyd Devereaux signing with the Leafs on the first page, said to myself “makes sense”, and went to lie down without realizing that the post was from 2006, and that someone found the thread 4 years later to bash him for scoring a that 82nd game hat trick, baiting many people into believing he signed last night, myself included.

So, of course, this means I have no news for you. Hell, there aren’t anymore soon-to-be UFA prospects to bash, no more jerseys to speculate on, and I’ve run out of people to say “SHUT UP – WE’RE NOT TRADING FOR HIM”. Actually, I have one, but I’ll save that one for tommorrow. Today though, lets do something ridiculous, and talk about ridiculously stupid things that we think will happen next year. I’d like to see some of yours in the comments. As for me, here are my five.

1. Tyler Bozak will have a down year compared to last season.

So, the rookie centre has gotten himself into quite a it of hype from the fanbase of the team he calls his. And you can definitely see why – we are talking about a guy who lead rookies in points per game, with 27 points in 37 games. However, there’s a key issue with this concept. Two, actually.

The first one is an absolutely shoddy sample size – 37 games? We’re talking less than half the season, here. And he didn’t even really have to work his way up, almost immediately slotted into top minutes. Having to compete for his time and play a full season will possibly change things.

Secondly, is the fact that people holding their breath for an amazingly improved star, even down the road, may be disappointed. Bozak isn’t exactly Nazem Kadri age, folks, at 24 years old. He’s got some time to develop a little more, but nobody should be expecting the world in terms of improvement.

Honestly, the hype all reminds me of a certain 23 year old who got a chunk of minutes in 06/07 and scored 42 points in 48 games, leaving everyone in a tizzy. I think he’s a UFA now, and we make fat jokes about him now. Yes, of course, I’m talking of Kyle Wellwood, who also happens to be the last person to wear #42 before Bozak. Just sayin’

2. The Nikolai Kulemin hype will hit a brick wall.

Something that I’ve noticed with Nikolai Kulemin, and this really isn’t his fault, is that a lot of the hype came from the fact that he was on an entry level contract and his play seemed like a “steal” to many. Unfortunately for him, he signed an about right extension with the team worth 2.35 million dollars per year. What’s the issue? The issue is, the second people realize he’s making decent money now, they’ll demanding more than the 15-15 play they got the past two years.

Don’t believe me? Mikhail Grabovski’s year was on pace for about the same in every regard, even with an injury in the middle and considerably less minutes. Mikhail Grabovski is also officially the teams scapegoat of the month right now, with him being thrown into every single trade proposal ever made. Why? Because he was loved at $800,000, and now hated for the same stuff at $2.9 million. Funny story – he’s at par, if not above average, for players with the same salary. Kulemin will be next in line.

UPDATE: This isn’t to say that Kulemin will have a bad year, or that I don’t like him. What I’m getting at is that people’s perception of value will go down, he’ll have the exact same year, if not slightly better, yet people will be disappointed.

3. Colby Armstrong will end up in the team’s top six.

Lets face it – with the queue of Left Wingers nearing closer and closer to the end of the line, the Leafs are going to have to look at someone for that 2nd line spot. Luca Caputi is the natural fit at the moment, but who knows where he may be next year. With that said, I think it would be a good idea to keep your eyes out for Colby Armstrong squeaking into that second line Left Wing role. I mean, he’s not completely against scoring, having 40 points in 47 games in his rookie year. Granted, this was on a line with Sidney Crosby, but the point is, the potential is there for him to do something more than be another “third line truculence” guy.

4. This year will define Luke Schenn’s development into a better player than expected.

Over the course of last season, we saw Luke Schenn lose a jump in his step and have a little bit of pencil markings clog up his eraser. However, a marked improvement was made after the trade that sent Dion Phaneuf here occurred. Since then, Schenn has been playing with a bit more offensive willingness, and hitting back to where he was. Perhaps working with his favourite player has helped him. And honestly, I don’t see this being a fluke – Luke needs to improve his all around role, and at 20, he’s at the right age to do it.

5. Tomas Kaberle will sign a “lifetime” extension if not traded by August 15th

Burke knows what he’s doing when it comes to Kaberle, and its not trading him for the first offer that comes through. He knows that Kaberle is a really wicked player, and that puck movers of his quantity don’t come often and when they do, they often win championships, or at least act as part of the core. With this said, the Leafs only chance at a puck mover in their pool is Carl Gunnarsson, so a risk may be worth it. It would not shock me in the slightest to see the Leafs sign the 32 year old defenceman to a 7 year extension after this year, with some good ol’ fashioned front loading involved.

UPDATE: I’m aware that Burke has 5 year policy. However, he’s been known to alter his policies on occasion (Giguere with NTC’s, Kessel with high numbers, etc). And we’re not talking a Kovalchuk eternity extravaganza, so it wouldn’t entirely shock me.

So, those are my predictions. I also have some for the Marlies that will probably be up on MarliesHQ at some point, as well. What do YOU predict will happen next year? I’d really like to hear your thoughts. In fact, the best and worst comments that I get will be addressed in a sequel article if there’s enough of them and I get a chance. Comment away!

Leafs GM Brian Burke has wasted no time upon the return from his fishing trip, making another splash to distract Leafs fans from the fact that Tomas Kaberle hasn’t been traded, with the signing of young defenceman Luke Schenn to a 26 Year, $62.3 million dollar contract.

Many are already jumping on Burke for the signing, saying that no player could be possibly expected to play for such a length of time. His response? He begs to differ, citing that Chris Chelios, currently 48 years old, is still a very much elite AHL defenceman. On top of this, the deal doesn’t necessarily mean that Luke is to play hockey the entire time.

“If Luke doesn’t see himself fit to play at any point, beginning in the 2031-32 season, he will be given the same amount of money to be the manager of our fantastic new store, Real Sports Apparel located in Maple Leafs Square. With this, Luke can continue to be part of the Toronto Maple Leafs game-night experience, selling Reebok Edge jerseys to everyone he possibly can.

Contrary to the Ilya Kovalchuk fiasco that’s currently occuring, the NHL is not expected to rejected the deal on the basis of the last six years. Apparently, Leafs jersey sales bring in millions to the NHL revenue sharing program, so he feels Luke driving sales even higher would be for the greater benefit of the National Hockey League.

Schenn’s cap hit is expected to be just under 2.94 million dollars a year for the duration of the contract, with a no trade clause covering Edmonton, Kansas City, Las Vegas, El Paso, and Winnipeg (just in case on the last four) kicking in on July 1st, 2016.

(Article with substance coming tomorrow…just that there is literally ZERO to talk about right now, yet I wanted to post something)