All things leaf related.
Posted 5:11 PM ET | Comments 0
Is it just me or did the all star break come out of nowhere? With less than 35 games left for each team we are getting into crunch time! First of all I'm going to talk about the first two thirds of the season. A lot of surprises regarding the leafs! I've had the pleasure of watching every leaf game this year and have come to one conclusion, were building something great here! So I'm going to break down the 4 components that make up the leaf team.
The Offense
Finally some offensive pieces after years of watching Dominic Moore and Matt Stajan "fly" down the ice with the puck. Phil "the thrill" Kessel is finally coming into his own! He has the unique ability to be able to change the game in a split second with his amazing speed and quick release of that snap shot. But Kessels main change is back checking, hes finally playing a 200ft game and his running mate Joffery Lupul is reaping the rewards, Lupul is a Unique blend of strength and skill and has really blossomed since coming to Toronto. Grabo is finally starting to pick it up and rest of the offense is coming as well. For the leafs to make the playoffs they will need secondary scoring and the top horses to keep pulling the wagon.
The defense
The defense has been playing well but hasn't quite gotten back to the way the were since Liles has went down. Phaneuf is finally playing the way we envisioned when we traded 4 crum bums for him. Gunnarsson is the most defensively sound of all our d and should be paired with Phaneuf all the time, Gardiner and Schenn will be around for quite some time. Franson has played well even through Ron Wilson's attempt to give him the shaft, Komisarek has played well this season but I will get back to him in a second.
Goaltending
The Monster has risen were Reimer has fallen! This is nothing but good news for the leafs, We know Reimer can carry the load because he has before, he hasn't been the same since the gianta hit early in the season but I am confident he will get back to his old ways but for the time being he is a more than capable backup. The Monster is playing amazing and he is one of the fastest goalies from post to post Ive seen since Roy. But the only advice I can give is FOR THE LOVE OF GOD DO NOT PLAY THE PUCK BECAUSE MY 5 YEAR OLD CAN PLAY THE PUCK BETTER.
Coaching
Sucks! That is all I'm going to say regarding the matter! Wilson should be fired at the end of the year and Dallas Eakins should take over. Our PK has sucked since he got here and we have had all sorts of players.
Future
Capspace!!!!This is the most intriguing part going forward in my opinion, we have far too much money tied up in the back end and we need to trim the fat i.e. komi. I am sorry to all you Komisarek fans out there but he absolutely sucks and is not worth the cap hit whatsoever. Now with the signing of Liles we need komi's money off the books going forward to resign Franson and Grabo and Kuli. One of Mac or Lombardi has to go as well unfortunately.
This is an exciting time finally for the leafs as we have so many young talented players and were just starting to gel. They will make the playoffs and make some noise and if Brian Burke stays the course we will see many playoff appearances in the foreseeable future.
This is the first of many blogs! Any criticisms would be welcomed.[url]
The Offense
Finally some offensive pieces after years of watching Dominic Moore and Matt Stajan "fly" down the ice with the puck. Phil "the thrill" Kessel is finally coming into his own! He has the unique ability to be able to change the game in a split second with his amazing speed and quick release of that snap shot. But Kessels main change is back checking, hes finally playing a 200ft game and his running mate Joffery Lupul is reaping the rewards, Lupul is a Unique blend of strength and skill and has really blossomed since coming to Toronto. Grabo is finally starting to pick it up and rest of the offense is coming as well. For the leafs to make the playoffs they will need secondary scoring and the top horses to keep pulling the wagon.
The defense
The defense has been playing well but hasn't quite gotten back to the way the were since Liles has went down. Phaneuf is finally playing the way we envisioned when we traded 4 crum bums for him. Gunnarsson is the most defensively sound of all our d and should be paired with Phaneuf all the time, Gardiner and Schenn will be around for quite some time. Franson has played well even through Ron Wilson's attempt to give him the shaft, Komisarek has played well this season but I will get back to him in a second.
Goaltending
The Monster has risen were Reimer has fallen! This is nothing but good news for the leafs, We know Reimer can carry the load because he has before, he hasn't been the same since the gianta hit early in the season but I am confident he will get back to his old ways but for the time being he is a more than capable backup. The Monster is playing amazing and he is one of the fastest goalies from post to post Ive seen since Roy. But the only advice I can give is FOR THE LOVE OF GOD DO NOT PLAY THE PUCK BECAUSE MY 5 YEAR OLD CAN PLAY THE PUCK BETTER.
Coaching
Sucks! That is all I'm going to say regarding the matter! Wilson should be fired at the end of the year and Dallas Eakins should take over. Our PK has sucked since he got here and we have had all sorts of players.
Future
Capspace!!!!This is the most intriguing part going forward in my opinion, we have far too much money tied up in the back end and we need to trim the fat i.e. komi. I am sorry to all you Komisarek fans out there but he absolutely sucks and is not worth the cap hit whatsoever. Now with the signing of Liles we need komi's money off the books going forward to resign Franson and Grabo and Kuli. One of Mac or Lombardi has to go as well unfortunately.
This is an exciting time finally for the leafs as we have so many young talented players and were just starting to gel. They will make the playoffs and make some noise and if Brian Burke stays the course we will see many playoff appearances in the foreseeable future.
This is the first of many blogs! Any criticisms would be welcomed.[url]