The Toronto Maple Leafs' 2009-10 Season Preview

(Photo by Richard Wolowicz/Getty Images)

I will be previewing all 30 NHL clubs. I will be looking at their available salary cap room, the additions and deletions from the 2008-09 rosters, and where I think they will stack up in their division and conference for the 2009-10 campaign. 

Let's get a move on with the Toronto Maple Leafs, which play in the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference.

When Brian Burke was hired as the new General Manager of the Toronto Maple Leafs, he promised a return to the glory days and a return the success that the franchise has not experienced since 1967.  It was the last season of the Original Six era in the NHL and the last time the Toronto Maple Leafs hoisted Lord Stanley’s Cup.

As I started to look at this year’s potential roster I had to ask myself where the goals will be coming from.  When I looked at last year's statistics, I realized that the Leafs had a very balanced attacked and were in the top third of the NHL. I knew the goaltending had more holes than a block of Swiss cheese and a defense core that was only physical when someone hit them.

During the off-season, Burke has significantly upgraded his defense core, but the jury is still out on how the goaltending will perform. Toskala had season-ending hip surgery on March 9th. 

An injury he had played with for most of the season. He was suffering the effects of his hip but attempted to play through the pain.  At 32 years-old, how Toskala responds from his surgery may be the biggest hurdle the Leafs will have to overcome to get back into the playoffs.

Joey MacDonald, the Islanders number one goaltender from a year ago and Jonas Gustavsson, an undrafted Swedish goaltender, have been brought in to back-up Toskala, should the Finnish-born goaltender remains injured.  

Brian Burke says “his team will be too tough and too truculent to allow other teams to look forward to meeting the Maple Leafs, a feeling that has been all too common for the past four years.”

Let’s take a look at the moves G.M. Brian Burke was able to make and see which players will be a part of the Toronto Maple Leafs in 2009-10.

Significant Additions

Some of the significant additions that the Maple Leafs has made during the offseason are as follows:  Francois Beauchemin (Anaheim), Tim Brent (Chicago), Mike Komisarek (Montreal), Colton Orr (NY Rangers), Garnet Exelby (Atlanta), Jonas Gustavsson (Färjestads BK - Sweden), Rickard Wallin (Färjestads BK - Sweden), Joey MacDonald (NY Islanders), Wayne Primeau (Calgary), and Phil Kessel (Boston).

Significant Deletions

Some of the significant roster deletions that have moved on from Toronto are as follows: Kris Newbury (Detroit), Jeremy Williams (Detroit), Pavel Kubina (Atlanta), Tim Stapleton (Atlanta), Jeff Hamilton (HC Lugano - Switzerland), Brett Aubin (EC Salzburg - Austria), Justin Pogge (Anaheim), Erik Reitz (Sibir Novosibirsk - KHL), and Jamie Sifers (Minnesota).

There are 12 former Maple Leafs Players that have yet to sign deals with another franchise. They are Josef Boumedienne, Bates Battaglia, Luca Cereda, Boyd Devereaux, Martin Gerber, Chris Harrington, Jamie Heward, Ryan Hollweg, Curtis Joseph, Olaf Kolzig, Brad May, and Andy Rogers.

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