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The Phil Kessel Effect

I heard a caller on the radio this afternoon talk about the effect that the Phil Kessel trade has had and will make on the Toronto Maple Leafs. I was a proponent of the Phil Kessel trade but I didn't think Brian Burke needed to give up 2 first round picks to do it since he essentially had Chiarelli cornered with the threat of the offer sheet (I know Burke lashed out at Kevin Lowe for the Dustin P... Read More »

The NHL’s Best Fans…According to Forbes

Forbes has recently put out a list of the best fans for the four major sports leagues in North America (MLB, NBA, NFL, NHL). The list includes the top four teams from each of the leagues. The NHL is represented by the following teams: 3. Detroit Red Wings 6. Pittsburgh Penguins 11. Montreal Canadiens 16. Chicago Blackhawks This excerpt from the Forbes article explains how the list was... Read More »

Top 10 Remaining UFA’s

After a flurry of activity in the first couple days of the free agent season, the market cooled off, leaving a lot of players sitting on the sidelines waiting for their phones to ring. There was a sense that everyone was waiting for Ilya Kovalchuk to sign and then the remaining pieces would start to fall into place. Well we are approaching August and although Kovalchuk is not officially signed, I... Read More »

Taking a look at the Leafs Roster and Cap Situation

The Toronto Maple Leafs ended last season with a 10-5-3 record after the Olympic break, giving them the fourth best record in the Eastern Conference for that time period. Many people consider this garbage time, when the games don’t matter, but the team put up this record playing against teams whose games meant a hell of a lot. Now I do not think the Leafs will finish in the top 4 of the Eastern... Read More »

A Lost Season for “Cost Certainty”

In light of the recent debacle, known as the Ilya Kovalchuk contract saga, and listening to and reading wide ranging opinions on various radio stations and print media, I can’t help but thinking back to the lockout and lost season of 2004-2005. The main issue of the CBA negotiations was the idea of creating “cost certainty” for the owners. Gary Bettman wanted to ensure that player salari... Read More »