Posts tagged armstrong
A Hell Of A Two Days
Jul 31st
So, as you may or may not have noticed, two things have happened Leafs related on Tuesday and Wednesday. There are many ways you could’ve noticed this fact. For one, you’d see that I was completely invisible on here for more than 24 hours, leading to pandemonium a slight drop in traffic. Secondarily, you’d see that twitter was full of tweets hashtagged #cokezerofansfirst. Or finally, you were in Downtown Toronto on Wednesday and noticed a bunch of people in blue and white running down Yonge Street chasing a pickup truck, with a guy in green behind trying to keep up, clutching onto a handful of wigs.
Yes, this could only mean one thing, that the Coca-Cola Zero Fans First Game is back this year, and that they were ready to go all out yet again to kickoff the contest extravaganza that will ensue until August 31st. To start everything up was a very hush event on Tuesday, where Coke and the Leafs surprised a group of guys who play shinny at the Mastercard Centre for Hockey Excellence on a weekly basis by having Mike Komisarek, Kris Versteeg, and Colby Armstrong practice with them. Plenty of coke to go aorund, and an exciting experience for the players who were there. The second day was the opposite of hush, with the Leafs Mobile Fan Zone hitting up seven locations in the downtown (downtownish for one of them) area, giving fans an opportunity to win a pair at every location. With a bit of luck with the first one, and determination with the second, I managed to get myself quite involved in both events. So, if you have nothing better to do (this article’s going to be a long one), keep reading for my thoughts on both.
7 Reasons #84 Should Stay
Jul 26th
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: More >
My Five Outrageous Predictions
Jul 23rd
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.
Colby Revisited
Jul 20th
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.
The league will dread Toronto’s D!
Jul 18th
I look at the Leafs roster for the upcoming season, and I cant help but feeling somewhat optimistic. I really do like what Brian Burke has done with the team so far with the addition of Versteeg, and Armstrong. But the reason I have optimism isn’t just those signings, it is the blueline that we have in place, that has me thinking this could be a good season for the Leafs. It doesn’t take an expert to see that the team is missing some offensive firepower, but I really do believe that the defensive core will be enough to counteract that. I really do not think people understand how strong the Maple Leafs blueline is. The one knock I have against it, is that the cost for our 8 defensemen under contract costs 27,775,000$.
![8467346[1]](http://leafshq.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/84673461.jpg "8467346[1]"){kind=small}
Who’s Left?
Jul 9th
We’re officially 8 days into free agency, and with all the hype towards the Leafs going for a top six forward, not much has really happened in that regard. Yes, the Versteeg trade occurred, but that only puts the team at two definitely top six wingers, with two spots left available. Sure, Colby Armstrong and Brett Lebda are fine players to have on a roster, but one is a defenceman, and the other is a third liner. And both took up a chunk of cap space, to the tone of 4.45 total, to be exact. Capgeek.com has the Leafs at 1.125 million in Cap Space left, with 12 forwards and eight defencemen in the lineup. If you assume that Jeff Finger will get put on the Harbourfront Streetcar from Union Station to the CNE Loop (or, for those who don’t live in Toronto, the ACC to Ricoh Coliseum), that number goes up to 4.625 Million, and a Kaberle trade brings that number to 8.850 million, less whoever the team gets. So with that considered, we won’t use the Kaberle number, but rather go with a number of 5.525 for the sake of this article – aka the original Finger number, plus 900,000 for the forward that will be replaced (Luca Caputi and Brayden Irwin are thought to be the favourites in this regard).
Leafs Ink Lebda
Jul 7th
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:
Do You Know What Day It Is Today?
Jul 7th
No, it’s not my birthday, that’s two months from now. It is however the potentially historic anniversary of one of the most recent landmarks in Leafs Nation’s fabled existence. Today’s anniversary marks what started great, went to poor, and ended great again. It’s an anniversary that both pointed towards better things to come and still represents that very same thing. It’s a date of hope, much as it was the very first time we experienced what we can now say is something very promising indeed: today marks the one-year anniversary of the acquisition of the Monster. Today, my friends, is Monster Day.
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