BT's 2008/09 NHL Season Preview: The Toronto Maple Leafs

Jeff Finger as you may recall, was signed to an oddly large contract over the summer. $13.4 million (or something like that) to be paid over four years, which is strange considering Finger's 94 games of NHL experience. He comes highly recommended from Ron Wilson and Cliff Fletcher though, so I'd like to believe that they're on to something. Finger has shown his ability on the ice against a variety of talents in the Western Conference, and he seems to be described in just one word: dependable—which is something the Leafs could use this season.

Finger is a little banged-up currently, but when he comes back he could prove to be a surprisingly steady contributor to the Toronto blue line.

Who do you want to talk about next? Mike Van Ryn you say? Well why not. Van Ryn (who went to my highschool...although well before my time) was who Toronto received when they shipped token punching bag Bryan McCabe out of town. Although Van Ryn has run into some serious injury problems last season, he's still got the potential to be a player who could sit in the neighborhood of 30-points while playing a bit of a physical game.

Then Toronto went back to IKEA to pick up Jonas Frogren. The former Calgary Flames draft pick was signed from the Swedish Elite League over the offseason. Frogren can be a solid defensive option for the Leafs with a bit of a physical side, but the biggest challenge for him this season will be getting used to the North American game—something that may take at least a season.

Can we get Moore 'Kule'ness amongst the Leafs' forwards?

Now introducing, your top offensive player for the 2008/09 NHL season.....NIK ANTROPOV!!

Last season was a career year for the oft-injured Antropov. He posted career-highs in goals, assists, and points, and he actually stayed on the ice for more than 60 games—a challenge for Antropov the past few seasons.

This year may be a bit of a struggle as there's no Mats Sundin to fall back on, but someone has to put up points for the Leafs. And with the stock placed in Nik and the high opinion of him thanks to Cliff Fletcher, Antropov will be given a vast opportunity to produce.

Another player given an opportunity to strut his stuff will be Mikhail Grabovski. Grabovski was acquired from the Montreal Canadiens over the offseason in hopes of finding a quality offensive weapon. The biggest knock on Grabovski has been his two-way play and being too small for the game, but he's shown the ability to go into traffic during the preseason, despite his occasional lapses.

He'll be good for the Leafs this season, but the big thing will be the fans dealing with Grabovski during his struggles. Aside from that though, the fans could be too enraptured with his offense to notice.

Nikolai Kulemin is another youngster that Leafs fans are excited about. There's been a ton of talk about this kid and how he could be the replacement for Darcy Tucker—a player who'll be physical, be an energy guy, and even put up some points. Granted he's a little banged-up right now, but Kulemin might be a bit of a surprise for the rest of the league this season.

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