Bleacher Report - Articles by Tyler Hill

The Best Toronto Maple Leafs Prospects: Who Needs Tavares?

Tyler Hill — Sun, 22 Mar 2009 16:21:31 -0400

Over the course of the year, the Leafs have played a number of rookies. Some were call-ups from the AHL Marlies that got the chance to shine or were given their big break.

The Leafs have made a few bad moves, trading Draft picks and prospects away. I listed all the slip-ups on B/R back in the day, counting down the best players the Leafs have traded.

But after seeing a few of the current crop of youngsters, I have decided to focus on a positive (I know, very unlike me). Here's the top five Leafs prospects in the system!

Don’t be alarmed if you’ve never heard of half these guys. It’s to be expected.

Alex Berry: 6'2", 212 lbs., 23 years old

He’s a big guy and knows it; he uses his size to his advantage. He could be a third line guy, primarily serving as a checker.

But that's not to say he doesn't know how to contribute to the offense. Indeed, he has 30 points playing in Massachusetts.

He recently signed a two-year entry-level contract which will see him with the Marlies for the remainder of the season, and I’m sure at some point next year we will see him in the bigs playing for the Leafs.

Viktor Stalberg: 6'4", 208 lbs., 23 years old

Never heard of him? I’m not surprised. He was drafted 166th overall in 2006 by a man all Leafs fans love, John Ferguson, Jr. When he was taken, he may have been regarded as a crap pick, a "best-of-the-worst" kind of guy.

But this year, the big kid is breaking out. Playing for the University of Vermont, Stalberg is in serious consideration for the Hobey Baker Award.

In his first two years, he had a total of only 17 goals. He has 22 already in 2008-09. He will one day be a top-six player in the Leafs' lineup.

Chris DiDomenico: 5'11", 165 lbs., 20 years old

I think most of you are familiar with DiDomenico, who played with the Canadian Juniors and won gold this past year. With his junior team, St. John of the QMJHL, he has 34 points, 23 of which are assists.

In my opinion, he'll be a great complementary center to the man I rank No. 1 on this list.

Two speedy youngsters, a playmaker and goal scorer, will make the perfect combo in the "new" NHL and will be great together in Toronto in the near future.

Dale Mitchell: 5'9", 207 lbs., 20 years old

Currently playing for Windsor in the OHL, he has 68 points in 66 games and has compiled a plus-24 mark.

But beyond his numbers, Mitchell proved that speed is his main weapon in his first few seasons with the Oshawa Generals. He was hands-down the fastest on that squad.

This guy will fit perfectly with the new Maple Leafs, who are quick and youthful.

Greg Scott: 6'0", 178 lbs., 20 years old

If you’ve never heard of Greg Scott, then listen up. In 65 games with the WHL's Seattle club, the kid has 76 points on 38 goals!

Last year, he had 32 points total, but this season, he has shown much improvment. He plays right wing, which is a position that needs addressing for the Leafs.

Scott could carry the Leafs offense now, and certainly will later.

So there you have them: the guys I think will be most vital to the Leafs future. But this is just me, and I'm not always right.

Who do you think should be on this list? What guys have your attention? Let me know, leave a comment.

Note: For people that say I’m too heavy on stats and goals, guess what? That’s all that really matters nowadays. Stats are your friend. Enforcers aren’t top priorities anymore.

Where The Leafs Stand After Trade Deadline Day

Tyler Hill — Sat, 07 Mar 2009 11:35:18 -0500

Okay, this is the second time in under a month I’m writing an article about the Leafs and the fact that they need to tank. I think just about everyone knows that the Leafs aren’t going to make the playoffs, and even if they did, there is only like a 10 percent chance they could possibly make it to the second round-realistically.

Just weeks ago the Maple Leafs were sitting in a solid draft position (Top Five). However, over the last couple of games they have been on a hot streak, of sorts. For seven straight games they went to Overtime, and during those last seven games they have collected 11 out of a possible 14 points. Pretty damn good for a team that should be well out of it by now, eh?

The problem is that’s not good. If this were at any other time during the season it would be great, fantastic, awesome. However now that the deadline has passed and the “stretch” run has officially begun, it is horrible.

Due to this recent hot streak, which, from a perspective could be interpreted as a cold streak, the Leafs have slipped from their top five seeded pick to the -before lottery- eighth pick.

There are four teams behind them in the east and four in the west, with a seven point differential separating them from their closest follower in the east.

This is a dramatic change since two and a half weeks ago they were only two points ahead of Ottawa, three points ahead of Tampa Bay, and behind all of the western conference teams as well.

Well, now that, Vesa Toskala is done for the season (we wish you well Vesa), Nik Antropov and Dominic Moore are gone and of course the two goaltenders we are left with are Cujo and Gerber, we can hope that the Leafs will once again start to slide down the slope- as much as they can now that they’ve started almost thrown themselves out of a good draft position.

In the closing days of the 2008-09 season I would hope that all the Leafs can find it their hearts to not let their fans down by actually making the playoffs the one year they aren’t supposed to.

Yes Pavel Kubina, I know that you’re doing well now and you really think you have a chance, but come on, you could'nt have been serious when you said that the Leafs would be in the race for the playoffs, could you? Playoffs? You’re talking Playoffs?

Go Leafs Go!

Was Dominic Moore Worth the Money He Wanted?

Tyler Hill — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 16:38:14 -0500

Well, the deadline is over—sort of anyway. As of right now people are still lined up to make trades official. However, one thing I know right now is that Dominic Moore is no longer a Leaf, mainly because they couldn’t come together on a contract.

The question is, was Moore worth what he wanted?

From what I have heard, Moore was looking for $2.7-3 million, which he lowered to $2.5 million towards the end. The Leafs, however, were only willing to offer $1.8 million (thanks to Derek Harmsworth for those stats). The differential there is roughly $700,000.

For you and me, big difference; for an NHL player it is still a rather large sum of money, but compared to the millions they get each year? Yeah, right.

Moore’s stats indicate to me he may not be worth everything he wanted, but I would still be trying to narrow that $700k gap. 41 points so far this year in 63 games—not amazing, but they’re still pretty solid stats that's for sure.

Let's take a look at his numbers and take a look at how much his game has improved since signing with the Leafs a year ago.

Before he came, his personal high in points was 18, which dated back to his rookie season with the New York Rangers. In the preceding two seasons, Moore managed only 20 points total. Last year with the Leafs he had 14 points in 38 games. Not much was expected from him this year.

Defying all expectations and surprising us all in the last year of his contract, Moore exploded and looked like a new man—a man the NHL had never seen before.

The Leafs didn’t expect that he would be asking for almost $3 million this year. Apparently they didn’t think he was worth it. Perhaps $3 million wasn’t the right number, but neither was $1.8. The $2.5 Moore was asking for at the end seemed reasonable to me.

In recent weeks Moore was arguably the Leafs' top player on the ice. On Leafs This Week, I named him in my three stars of the week three straight times.

In today’s NHL, $2.5 million seems to be right around average, with the average player salary being roughly $2 million. With the fact that Moore seems to be playing like a little more than the average NHL player, he deserves a little bit more money, right? Right!

Basically what I’m saying is that the gap the Leafs left in what he wanted and what they were offering was too big. I would be willing to offer some around the area of $2.2, maybe $2.3 million if that’s what it took to maintain the services of Dominic Moore.

I would like to know what the exact numbers were. Did Brian Burke try to close the gap? Whatever happened, Moore is no longer a Leaf, and it’s a sad day for me.

Toronto Maple Leafs Fans Are An Embarrassment to the NHL

Tyler Hill — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 14:30:15 -0500

Well, Leafs fans, congratulations! We are now the most pathetic asshole fans in the league.

In Tuesday night’s game against the Buffalo Sabres, Justin Pogge made his home ice debut at the NHL level. It was only Pogge’s fourth NHL game and it was, unfortunately, against the Sabres, who are tied for fifth in the Eastern Conference.

How was our 22-year-old goalie welcomed to Toronto ice? By a series of jeers and sarcastic cheers whenever he made an easy save.

I am absolutely disgusted as a Leafs fan. I am embarrassed to be a Leafs fan, and I'm ashamed of my fellow “fans” who thought this was acceptable. A 22-year-old in his fourth game had this done to him by these “fans” that are supposed to be supporting him.

How the hell is his confidence supposed to grow when his fans are doing that to him? You cannot be a successful goalie in this league without confidence.

Fact is, the Leafs are rebuilding now. So what exactly do these people want from Pogge? A goalie with as little experience as he has needs support from his team, mainly defense (which the Leafs don’t have), to play well. Even goalies with experience need support from their teams.

Toronto fans are going to ruin Justin Pogge’s career in the NHL, or at least drive him to another team, where he will become one of the best goalies in the league. Why? Because the fans in another city will give him room to develop into the goalie he should be...and is completely capable of being in Toronto, if these fans will get off his back and let him play the game, instead of being such assholes to the kid.

Leafs fans at this game or that participated in this jeers at home (if you were doing this at home, get a life, because no one can hear you) should be disgusted with themselves. In no way at all was this helping Pogge to become a better player for the future when we really need a goalie to lead us to and through the playoffs.

So, to you “fans,” congratulations. You have really shown your true colors to the world of hockey. Your performance the other night was an embarrassment to any self-respecting and true hockey fan.

Because of the Bleacher Report Terms of Use, much of what I wanted to say was not included in the published draft of the article. For the full, uncensored version of my article, listen to Leafs This Week at 4 p.m. Saturday on Youcastr.

Prepare To Enter Tank Nation Toronto

Tyler Hill — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 14:50:24 -0500

I think most Leaf fans are now at the point where they can let go of this season, if they hadn’t already done so that is. We knew at the beginning of the year the Leafs were not going to be cup contenders, but as fans we held on to any hope and cheered for the team as we still, moronically, wanted wins.

Well here we are now! It's the middle of February and the Leafs sit with 52 points (11^th in the East) which is one point less than the 14^th and 15^thplaced St.Louis Blues and Colorado Avalanche in the Western Conference.

If the season ended today, the Leafs would be sitting with the fifth overall pick (for the sake of simplifying this article let us pretend the Draft Lottery doesn’t exist, which it shouldn’t. I know a certain team, Pittsburgh, ended up with two first overall and two second overall picks in four years, but if a team is so bad that after that many bad years with such good picks they still suck, maybe they need more picks...but that’s just me).

Fitfh overall pick isn’t that bad of a place, however the season doesn’t end today and knowing the Leafs, it’s right about time for them to start playing well and winning games, which will give them a nice 11th overall, or so.

In the east, teams that sit behind the Maple leafs are the Ottawa Senators (50pts), the Tampa Bay Lightning (49pts), the Atlanta Thrashers (45pts), and the Islanders with uhm...38pts.

So as you can see the Leafs can very easily move up a few places, if they were to lose their next game and if Ottawa and Tampa were to win their next two. The Leafs would then move up two slots in the draft and would be trailing only the Thrashers and Islanders. However, I’m not good with math or stats so i won’t go into the numbers too much here.

Any fan that starts a season, in October or even September, with the idea that his team needs to lose, is not a true fan, nor is he/she any kind of fan for that matter. I have held on to hope for awhile now, but I recognize when it’s time to throw in the towel and call it quits.

Before we get too far ahead of the few teams behind us and have not enough time to give up and have it actually make a difference, the Leafs have to do something now.

If things in the west keep panning out the way they have been so far we won’t have to worry about them interfering with the Leafs' plan of action in the late stages of the season. Although, it is sad that you can be 11^th in the east and still be behind all the teams in the west.

Brian Burke and Ron Wilson will hopefully go into the Leafs' locker room and say, “Hey! You know, I think we are all aware of where we stand this season; we should all be able to realize that we don’t have to go out and give it 100 percent every night anymore. Let’s just try and lay low for the rest of the season”. Play well, but not well enough to win, the Leafs need a good draft pick to help them in the long run, not solid play right now for a short term high.

Go for someone that will make a difference two or three years down the road. They have Luke Schenn now, but add some offense to the team and pick up John Tavares or Luke Schenn’s brother Braydon. Or build up the blue-line even more and add Victor Hedman to the line-up. These moves will bring strength and stability to the Leafs future.

So, to close, the Leafs need to realize where they are and what their situation is. They need to do what almost all fans have realized the Leafs needs to be done. They need to do the best thing for the team in the long run and give up the fact that this year is not going to happen. I hope all fans and the Leafs' management know and accept that.

Maple Leafs' CL No Longer: I Apologize Leafs Writers

Tyler Hill — Sat, 14 Feb 2009 10:14:33 -0500

This morning as I awoke from a night’s sleep readily awaiting the upcoming game against the Pittsburgh Penguins and Maple Leafs I went immediately to BR to the Leafs page to write in the CL message box only to discover I had been removed from my Community Leader status.

Before this article is deleted by members of the BR office I want to say this is not me begging for my CL status back, more an apology to the people I must have let down in order to receive this demotion.

After I had seen I was no longer a CL I thought it must have just been a glitch, so I checked my E-mail to see if there was any evidence to back this up. It was in my e-mail were I discovered I really was no longer the Leafs CL as I opened an Email by a BR official saying he had “...received complaints from other Leafs writers.”

To the leaf writers that complained about me, first I will apologize for whatever I did and certainly meant to harm by anything that was said, but also, if you are reading this article I must know why you complained about me? There is nothing I have done, to my knowledge that was offensive.

To my fellow Leafs writer, weather you complained about me being the Leafs CL or not, I will once again apologize for failing you as the CL.

However, I have taken some time and I have decided that, even though I am no longer listed as a Community Leader, I will still try and be active as CL would, if anyone needs to know anything or has any questions at all please feel free now, and always, to ask me and I will do my best to respond thoughtfully and intelligently.

Sayonara, Jason Blake: Why He Is Out Of Toronto Come The Trade Deadline

Tyler Hill — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 16:42:41 -0500

Toronto Maple Leafs fans have heard the name Jason Blake tossed around more and more as the trade deadline nears.

The 35-year-old veteran winger is stirring up a lot of trade talk in the past few weeks with his constant stellar play and the debate over whether he should be shipped out of Toronto for a young prospect or draft pick.

Those against the trade say he is more valuable in Toronto for his skill and role as a mentor to the younger guys on the team.

The fact of the matter is Jason Blake is old, too old to be on a team rebuilding. The Leafs can use him best to gain assets for the future.

Now is the perfect time for a trade, with Blake on pace for a 30-goal season (which would be only the second time in his career he hit the 30-goal mark). He surely is attractive to a team that could use a good veteran presence in the playoff push or as another weapon for a finals-bound team needing help to win the Cup.

If you were the one in control, if you were the one to decide Blake future in Toronto, what would you do? Give him to a team that is a contender, one that thinks that within the next four years they could win the Cup. Trade for a draft pick or a young prospect.

When I say prospect, I don’t mean a player who has been compared to Sidney or Ovie or any of those guys. I’m just thinking about a guy who can contribute every night, maybe score 20 goals a season. Someone reliable for the Leafs roster.

We don’t need a superstar and I don’t expect one. Jason Blake isn’t going draw trade talks for Malkin, Stamkos, or Kane, and he doesn't have to. They just need someone that can make their presence felt and let you know they mean business.

Some don’t want to see Blake leave because in the past months they have fallen in love with the scoring “machine” he has become. But that is not in the best interest of the team as a whole, neither now or in the future.

Need further proof? After this season, Blake’s payout on his contract goes down. Any GM not on board with that needs their head examined.

Justin Pogge Loses Ground with Maple Leafs Fans After Blowout Loss

Tyler Hill — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 10:54:20 -0500

Right off the bat I want to make clear that I’m not flipping on my previous feelings for Pogge. I’m not going to say he’s a terrible goalie because of last night’s game, so don’t jump down my throat for writing this.

As many of us may recall, some weeks ago Justin Pogge played in his first official NHL game for the Toronto Maple Leafs. In that game he collected his first win and received praise from the Leafs' large fanbase.

He won—if I remember correctly—6-2 against the usually subpar Atlanta Thrashers, and I thought at the time he had proved he was ready for the NHL.

After last night’s game, I still think he is ready. I will not fall into the majority of Leafs fans who will likely say, “He sucks! He got lucky in the first game.”

Despite last night’s 6-1 loss to the Minnesota Wild, I still believe that Pogge is a solid goaltender; every goalie has a bad game here and there.

True, he may have been lucky in the Atlanta game, but he still showed in that game, and even at times in last night’s game, that he can make big saves and hold his team in the game (Holding his team in doesn’t apply so much to the Minny game).

The one thing we, as fans, can’t forget is that Pogge is still young, and even younger when it comes to NHL experience. He has only two games under his belt and I’m sure by the time I wake up tomorrow and have published this, there will be enough stories on the major sports networks about how Pogge isn’t ready for the NHL and needs to be sent down to make your head spin.

Well, guess what? He isn’t ready, but keeping him in the minors isn’t going to help him any more. The only way for Pogge to improve is for Ron Wilson to give him more games at the NHL level.

You know what they say: Practice makes perfect. However, a 15-year-old doesn’t practice with 12-year-olds to get better—he plays with people his own age. You can play one level all your life and be the best player on the team, but if you move up a level you could be just an average Joe.

Pogge needs to move up now while he can still develop quickly. Ron Wilson is definitely smart enough to realize this himself—I just hope he can make up his mind about how many games he will give Pogge before the end of the season.

So fellow Leafs fans, give Pogge a break before you decide to drive him out of Toronto. He is good, he just needs time to adjust and get to know the team in front of him.

Give him some credit—he’s come into a team that isn’t really trying at this point and has been asked by fans and possibly staff members to give it up at this point.

Trying to make a name for yourself in that situation can be tough.

Maple Leafs Trade Deadline: Who Stays, Who Goes? Part 2 of 2

Tyler Hill — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 12:49:14 -0500

I’m back from a very busy week. I had virtually no time to go on BR except for a few minutes here and there, and I’ll tell you, it was really hard. Oh well, the important part is I’m here now and ready to write Part Two of Who Stays, Who Goes?

In Part One, I covered the forwards I thought needed to be included, and now, in Part Two, I’m looking towards the defensive end, which includes the guys between the pipes. Enough talk—let’s go!

Jeff Finger:

Finger signed a big contract with the Leafs during the off-season, and it definitely raised a few eyebrows. Although Finger may not be living up to the hefty contract he signed over the summer, he is still playing well with the Leafs and has been a solid defenseman for them. He’s gritty and tough, and that’s what the Leafs need.

Brian Burke’s acquisition of Brad May shows he wants grit too. I’m sure he wants to keep any grit he already has on the roster. Besides, who wants Finger's $3.5m contract anyway?

Stays.

Pavel Kubina:

More rumours surround this guy than that one girl from your high school. Well, maybe not, but there is at least one rumour that Kubina could be involved in a trade with Nik Antropov.

When I wrote Part One I didn’t think Antropov was going to be traded, but after a few comments, I realized getting Antropov out with Kubina might not be a bad idea. They’re starting to age and likely won’t get much better.

This 31-year-old defenseman has been improving his game in Toronto in the last few months, and if they want to get rid of him, now is the time to do it. A team that needs a solid defenseman to help make a playoff run might jump at the chance to grab Kubina, and I don’t think Mr. Burke would hesitate to pull the trigger.

Goes.

Anton Stralman:

Young, talented, on a two-way contract, and he is already one of the Leafs' top D-men. The most important word here was young. The Leafs are rebuilding, and to get rid of a young player with so much potential would be ridiculous! There is no way Stralman is going!

STAYS!!

Mike Van Ryan:

After 40-some odd games, Van Ryan has only played 17 games this season. I haven’t really noticed him on the ice myself, but he has nine points and is a +2, so in the few games that he’s played he must be doing something right. However, I’m sure on deadline day Burke will be on the phone trying to move him, but the chances of that happening are slim.

Want to move him, but won’t be able to.

Ian White:

He has been moved up to the wing a few times this year and is currently sporting a very fashionable 1970s hockey mustache. Aside from that, White has played 36 games and is a +4 with 12 points; not bad if you ask me. He won’t be leaving anytime soon, not because he’s a valuable piece to the team and not because he has an inflated contact, but simply because he just isn’t on the urgent agenda.

Stays...for now.

Luke Sch...

Never mind.

Curtis Joseph:

At Joseph's age, where are you going to trade him? No one wants a 41-year-old washed up backup goalie. It just wouldn’t be logical for someone to trade for him. The Leafs are better off keeping him and sticking with him until the end of the season. Make him a healthy scratch a few times and have Pogge come up and play a few games; that way Pogge will be ready for next year.

Stays.

Vesa Toskala:

He’s looked shaky for a bit now, and he seems to be slowly improving, but it would be a hard choice. At the start of the season he was seen as the Leafs' building block, and there could be no way I or anyone else could see him being traded, but now it’s more of a trade him while he’s still worth something kind of deal.

I really have no clue what the Leafs will do with Vesa on March 4. If they hold on to him hoping he returns to his former self, they could strike gold, or it could all come crashing down.

Undecided.

Well, there you go. If anyone wants to know why some people were not included on the list, it is because I did not feel the need to include them, i.e. John Mitchell is not a big part of the team, so I passed on him. However if there is an uproar or demand I will publish one with all the players I skipped, just to make you feel better.

Thanks for reading; I hope you enjoyed!

Maple Leafs Trade Dealine: Who Stays, Who Goes? Part 1 of 2

Tyler Hill — Sun, 18 Jan 2009 18:54:34 -0500

No doubt there were many changes for the Leafs over the off-season. New faces came in to begin the “first” year of the Leafs rebuilding process, while many fan favourites left to make cap room, and to make room for some younger guys.

However, this article isn’t about what the Leafs did over the off-season, but rather about the changes that might come at trade-deadline day.

Although the day is set for March 4^th, which is well over a month away, I say, why not start now? Distance in time has never stopped me before; I did write an article about the (2009) draft back in September. So here we go; who stays, who goes?

Nik Antropov: A few rumours surround this leafs, such as he may be involved in a package deal with Kubina. Despite the rumour, I don’t see Antropov going anywhere. He's the top guy and one of the best leaders on the ice. It may have taken him longer to grow into the player he was expected to be, but now he is one of the guys they can build around in the future. Stays!

Jason Blake: I, myself would like to see Blake stay in Toronto. I think he is a skilled player, but since coming to Toronto he hasn’t been playing the way people thought he was going to play unfortunately. Now that Brian Burke is the Leafs GM, older guys, especially the ones that aren’t contributing to the team on a regular basis, will have no place in the Leaf locker room. Going.

Grabovski/Hagman: They just came in this season. Both are playing well and there is no reason to trade them at this time. Therefore, it likely will not happen. Stay.

Ryan Hollweg: If Brian Burke has any sense at all, he will trade Hollweg. Since he came to Toronto, all he has managed to do is show us how much of an idiot he is. The total of games he was suspended this season is greater than his point total, which happens to be two. People say he brings grit, but they are wrong. He’s worse than Sean Avery, at least Avery can put the puck in the net on occasion. Going!

Jamal Myers: He may only have a few more points than Hollweg, but at least he hasn’t been suspended and hasn’t made himself look like a complete moron. Myers is all the grit we need (well...Brad May might help). Myers is a fighter and is here to stick up for teammates, aside from that he has some skating ability and jumps in on the rush. Myers is helpful in the corners; he is big and not afraid to go in hard on the puck. He has the ability to be a leader and will be an important part of the team. Stay

Dominic Moore: Some thought he was washed up when he came to Toronto, but since arriving in the city his game has improved and he looks rejuvenated and speedy on the ice. He has 23 points in 45 games which is about a point every second game, good enough for a second or third liner. Stay

Alexei Ponikarovsky: One of Toronto’s few Star players. He has 30 points through 45 games and the Leafs would be struggling (more than they are) without him. The only way Poni would leave is if they get a descent player and a draft pick in return for him. It is unlikely any GM will give up that much for him. Staying

Matt Stajan: Impressive young talent Stajan is becoming a valuable member of the Leafs, not only as a player on the ice, but, perhaps as a piece of trade bait later on. To a team that wants a skilled young forward to bring speed to the line-up Stajan may not be safe from a trade at the deadline. Possibly going.

Lee Stempniak: When he came to the Leafs no one knew of him and now a month later!...they still don’t? Stempniak hasn’t done, well, anything really. I expected him to be one of the hard working guys and that is great on the back check and fore-check. On occasion, Stempniak has done so but more often than not, he seems to be lagging and hardly noticeable on the ice. However, I think he may get a second chance from Brian Burke. Staying

Thus concludes the forwards, later in the week I will be making a similar list for defenseman. My original intention was to include the entire team, but due to the lack of available time I was forced to cut this short and I am unsure when I will be able to write the follow up to this.

Be sure to check out Leafs This Week exclusively onyoucastr. I weekly radio show hosted by Tyler Hill and Andy Echevarria. Check the site at Leafsthisweek.co.nr or see the future site at leafsthisweek.tk.

Why the Toronto Maple Leafs Need To Bring Up Justin Pogge

Tyler Hill — Thu, 01 Jan 2009 02:31:59 -0500

As featured in TOSports Magazine

Has Justin Pogge not spent enough time “developing” in with AHL Toronto Marlies? Or, has he not proven himself a capable NHL goaltender?

Maybe the Leafs want to save him for next year, so they can use him the whole year and also get a decent draft pick in this year's NHL Entry Draft.

I’m not sure what the reason is, but it seems that for some reason the Leafs, either do not want Pogge to play this year, or they refuse to believe that their young prospect is ready for the NHL.

Pogge has clearly proven—in his debut against Atlanta—that he is fully capable of playing at the NHL level. Not only can he play, but, he can play well. If given the right opportunity may even be able to steal a game or two.

Toronto’s management must realize that at some point he will no longer be their “young prospect”, but rather, their 30-year-old (NHL ready) goalie still playing in the AHL (ring any bells, Boston?). Some cases have shown that, holding a goalie in the AHL until he's in his 30’s might not ruin him.

Nonetheless, I wouldn’t recommend it, in Toronto’s case—or any team for that matter. Except Montreal; they have enough goalies running in and out of that city.

Anyway, Justin Pogge is clearly ready now! Why are the Maple Leafs wasting their time waiting for Vesa Toskala to return to his form!?

They need to trade Toskala while they can still get something decent for him. By the time they realize he has to go, the rest of the league will be caught up in the reading (as in being on the same page). Thus, no one else will want him either.

They may still be able to get rid of him, but for what? A third-round draft pick? I don’t think so, they might as well keep him if that’s all they’re going to get for him.

The best way to go for the Leafs is to get rid of Toskala as soon as possible, then bring up Pogge and Play him against a few tougher teams than the Thrashers. Get him some games so he can develop from an AHL goalie into a NHL goalie.

He needs to play against teams other than just the weak ones. Doing so is the only way he can reach his full potential. My co-host from Leafs This Week seems to think that the best way to go is to play him against weak teams to build his confidence.

All that will do is build him up for a horrible demolition when he plays a team with some real fire power.

You know the saying, “the bigger they are, the harder they fall.”

Pogge plays against weak teams and wins a lot of game then he will become “bigger,” but if he is put into a game against a team such as Detroit or Boston he will “fall harder.”

Keeping Pogge in the AHL and playing him against weak teams isn’t helping him in anyway. The time is now! Stop letting him rot in with the Marlies and put him in some real game action!

I am tired of waiting around for the Leafs management to do the right thing; they better get their asses in gear and figure out that me and half of Leafs Nation is right!

Why does it seem that the only people involved with a team that can’t see what the right move is are always the people that have the power and the control of that team!? Why do fans seem to be the only ones who know what’s right for a team?

Most importantly, why is Justin Pogge, after his performance against Atlanta, still not playing in the NHL?

Anyone who can answer even one of those questions, please feel free to inform me because I would love to know.

Checking The Laundry: Penalty Shot or Not?

Tyler Hill — Mon, 22 Dec 2008 05:15:11 -0500

I would like to apologize to our readers for the delay in publishing of this weeks edition. Andy and myself were very busy, especially with our radio show kicking off this week. We got off to a slow start and, I'll admit, pretty bad. But as we got more comfortable on air, the show got better.

Anyway, This week Andy and I look at some breakaway chances that, after the player was taken down, was called for a penalty shot, or were they?

Tyler: Penalty shot, no. Penalty? Yes.

Rule for penalty shots is that the player (in this case, Crosby) must be on a clear breakaway. This was not the case, in Crosby’s situation, it looked to me as though Miller caught up to him and was beside him, not behind him. Therefore, a penalty shot should not have been the call, but it was.

The fact that Miller hit Crosby’s leg and tripped him, before Miller’s stick hit the puck, would call for a penalty. That fact you can’t deny though, is that this play was punishable by the rules of the NHL, but the Penalty Shot rule.

Andy: Okay Tyler, just because I proved you wrong and said "Cindy" Crosby was a cry baby on last week’s CTL, doesn’t mean he doesn’t get fouled. I have to admit though, he’s one of the most skilled guys in the league, but he’s also overrated. He’s better than average, let’s leave it at that.

When you write “the player (in this case, Crosby) must be on a clear breakaway. This was not the case.” Do you mean that it was not a clear breakaway? If so, why was there no puck in front of him? For a breakaway to occur the player (Crosby) must be alone with the goalie (Luongo), and he was until Miller came in. It doesn’t matter whether Miller might have turned into a lightning bolt, gone in front of Crosby, and poke checked him.

At the moment of the foul, Crosby was on a clear breakaway, but I doubt he could have scored on Luongo with Miller on his tail. This was Miller’s fault by taking a risky dive at Crosby, especially in sudden death overtime.

Tyler: No, Crosby wasn’t on a clear breakaway. Miller was right beside at the time of the foul, therefore no foul. The rule I’ve grown up with since I started playing hockey (age five) is that for a penalty shot, you must be tripped or hooked, while still on the breakaway, not after the player catches up to you!

In the video clip above, it is clear that Miller was beside Crosby at the time he “tripped” him. So, unless everything I have been taught as a player was false, there should have been no penalty shot here.

Andy: Jarkko Ruutu wasn’t actually tripped or hooked until he was taken down. If you watch the video closely, you see Ruutu having perfect balance until he misses the backhander. For all you hockey players out there, what happens when you’re skating on one foot and you put all your upper weight on your stick in order to hit the puck, but you miss the puck? Exactly, you fall.

I don’t think the hooks had much to do with it, they could have been called later on to give the Penguins a power play, but this wasn’t penalty shot worthy.

If you look at Ruutu in the penalty shot and his stick handling before he was tripped, they’re basically the same thing. So, how did Ruutu succeed in the penalty shot and not the initial try? For starters he had a nice distance between him and the goalie, and there were no defensemen pressuring him. Also, he was not skating on one skate when he backhanded it in, or was at least balanced.

Thus, it would be reasonable for him to fall when being pressured by the defensemen, while skating on one foot only about one meter away from the goalie. It might have been a dive by Ruutu, but at the very least, he just lost balance when he took the shot and fell.

Tyler: I think that was Colaiacovo, wasn’t it? Anyway, he stuck his stick in Ruutu’s side and put a little tug on it when he pulled back, not once, not twice, but three times!

If you do something like that enough, no matter how little, eventually it’s going to cause the player to fall. We forget that these players are moving much faster than they seem to be. The ice is very large and with those “tiny” players skating on such a large surface it can sometimes make it look like the players are moving very slowly.

However, that is not the case, the average NHLer skates at speeds upwards of 32km/h (20m/h for you Americans). Anyone traveling at that speed is going to be set off balance by even the smallest tug.

So, I guess what I’m trying to say is that the penalty shot was deserved in this case. Colaiacovo hooked him when he was on a clear breakaway. Ruutu never got a shot off, of any kind, thus making this one a penalty shot, not just a penalty.

Andy: Who’s cigar have you been puffing Tyler?! First off, it’s Colaiacovo, and it’s surprising that he didn’t miss Ruutu on one of the hooks, hit himself in the head and then have to miss a month or two.

Secondly, me and you both know those were soft tugs and those will not knock you down IF you were in Ruutu’s position. If Ruutu had actually been going at full speed like you said, he would have crashed into Andrew Raycroft, and we would have had a nice draft pick at the end of the season. However, Ruutu began to turn and try to go around Raycroft.

Ruutu had just received a pass and was attempting to gain full control of the puck and then he was taking a right turn at the same time. No one’s stupid enough to do that at full speed, he must have been doing it at a steady pace.

Since he was doing it at a steady pace, it’s not that easy to knock him down with three tugs. Tyler, I understand that maybe a hockey player like you gets knocked down on three tugs, but as for Jarkko Ruutu, it just doesn’t work the same way with him.

Tyler: No Penalty shot, for two good reasons. First of all, this was not a clear breakaway; Handzus came in from the side of the ice, and not down the middle. Not to mention that the defender was with him all the way and Handzus never really got in front of him.

Secondly, Handzus got off a shot. In the rule, does it not state that the ref can’t call for a penalty shot if the player on the breakaway gets a shot away? That’s what I’ve been told, and that has screwed me a few times in the past.

On more than one occasion, I’ve been denied a Penalty shot because, quote’ “You got a shot off kid, now stop complaining or your gonna get one (a penalty) too...” If I didn’t get a Penalty shot, why should Handzus?

Andy: Was that Mark Messier? Oh well, back to the video. Even though I was talking about the video. “If I didn’t get a penalty shot, why should Handzus?” because Handzus doesn’t get knocked down with three tugs. Next question—ah, there it is. This was clearly penalty shot worthy. This was very similar to the Ruutu one, he came from the side, and tried to shoot, but was fouled during his attempt.

I apologize for the crappy quality of the video (courtesy of Tyler Hill), but it’s a little blurry on his “shot.” I just see Handzus do a backhand with his stick, but this doesn’t necessarily mean it was at the puck. Perhaps he lost control, and the puck got caught up in his skates and he missed the puck or whatever.

Even if he got the shot off, he was fouled when doing so when he was on a breakaway, therefore he deserves a penalty shot. I don’t watch too many Flyers games so I don’t recall this happening, maybe Alan can help us out on this one.

Tyler: “...he came from the side, and tried to shoot.” He tried to shoot, he did shoot. That was one of my reasons that he should have been awarded a penalty shot, because he got a shot away on the initial rush.

In fact I can't even respond to this. All I can say to our readers is re-read my first argument on this video. It pretty much sums up my thoughts on Andy’s pathetic argument that starts off talking about Mark Messier for some reason.

Andy: Their don’t seem to be many “Avery videos” related to our topics anymore, but let’s see what I can pull out from this one. If you’re a goalie and you just covered the puck, you’re happy and whatnot. However, what happens if Sean Avery throws himself at you, then you’re pissed.

Although there was a story behind Avery actually getting pushed into DiPietro, let’s not forget its Avery. When Avery does something that might’ve been an accident, it’s most likely on purpose. So you can see that it’s reasonable that DiPietro wanted to stick his blocker up Avery’s butt.

Its evident that Sean Avery was walking like a drunk man and trying to regain his balance. Plus, a soft cross-check would’ve knocked him down. To conclude; it wasn’t intentionally done by Avery, but he deserved the outcome, not from this incident, but from many in the past and many to come.

Tyler: “When Avery does something that might have been an accident, it’s most likely on purpose.” Really, that’s the base of your argument?

So you're saying it had nothing to do with the fact that Avery kept getting pushed from behind? All he was doing was positioning himself in front of the net. Not to mention, the fact that he never touched DiPietro. Instead, he fell on the Islanders players in front of DiPietro. So you were wrong Andy, it’s not reasonable for DiPietro to want to stick anything up any part of Avery.

Andy: You know what Tyler? Let’s let the people decide! Would YOU want to shove something up Avery’s butt or any other part of his body? Vote on the poll, if you can’t see it, view the article in single page mode, so it’ll appear and you can vote!

Penguins-Maple Leafs: Tyler's Weekly Hockey Night In Canada Preview

Tyler Hill — Sat, 20 Dec 2008 01:05:04 -0500

I don’t know how but we did it. We got through a whole Saturday night without being able to watch a Leafs game. It was hard and it challenged our man hood, but in the end we pulled through and tonight we will be rewarded with, what is sure to be a very entertaining game, between the Toronto Maple Leafs and Pittsburgh Penguins.

Team Records:

Toronto: 12-13-6-30pts

Pittsburgh: 17-9-4-38pts

My Thoughts:

Looking at those two records, it’s hard to believe that this will be a good game. With an eight point spread between the two teams, Pittsburgh is younger, faster, stronger, and arguably just a better team. As a matter of fact two days ago when I watched Sportscentre: The Hockey Quiz; (the most popular game show in Canadian TV), they asked the panel who the best forward in the game today was.

Two of the candidates came from the Penguins, Cindy Crosby and Evgeni Malkin.

Toronto’s blue line has to be much better if they want to shut down, not only those two, but the entire arsenal that comes with them. Pittsburgh is one of the best in the league, there’s no denying that fact. Vesa Toskala will have to be on his A game if he wants any chance in this game, because I highly doubt the Leafs defence is up to the challenge.

Game Analysis:

When you look at the roster it seems that Pittsburgh has the better Offense, Defence, and Goaltending. Marc Andre Fleury has proven to be a better goalie than Vesa Toskala, no dis-respect to Toskala, he is still one of the better goalies in the league, but, Fleury is better.

He is younger, faster, taller (by 3”) yet, weighs less (by 15lbs), and so he takes up more net and cover open spots quicker. Overall, Fleury is just the better and more reliable goaltender. If you don’t agree ask yourself, if I had to chose between the two of them, who would I pick?

Then we have offense. Let’s see, Antropov, Blake, and Grabovski against, Crosby, Malkin, Staal, and Satan. I wonder who has the edge there. Need I say more? Leafs aren’t bad on offense, but Pittsburgh’s guns will bury them if they pull the trigger too early.

As for defence, I used to think that Toronto had a good solid “D”; they had a lot of depth in the line-up. In recent games, (i.e. Thursday Night’s game, 8-5. There is no reason a team should score five goals and still lose a game) the Leafs blue line has been less than stellar, they will need to step it up if they wish to shut down the Pens and have a shot at winning.

Game Expectation and Projected score:

Leafs defence must step up and can’t leave it all on Vesa. If they fail to do this they will lose miserably. That said, Toronto needs to remember they can’t win without putting the puck in the net. The inability to multi-task is what is making “W” so hard to come by for the Leaf.

Pick: Pittsburgh 6-2ish

Toronto Maple Leafs: What is to Come in the New Year?

Tyler Hill — Fri, 19 Dec 2008 07:18:49 -0500

In a season that was expected to be unusual, the Maple Leafs year has so far lived up to that, odd moves and strange decisions. (e.g. benching Kaberle for a period)

With another half of the season still to go, the question is: What can we expect as we head into the New Year and what will 2009 bring for the Leafs?

There is one obvious thing that we know 2009 will bring the Leafs, that thing, you ask, is Lord Stanley’s Mug. Yes, anyone that has NHL '09 will be able to see the Leafs win the cup!

Unfortunately, that is only in video game land. In real life, there is no Cup in the Leafs' near future. Despite that, there are many changes a foot in the Leafs' Locker room that will affect how they play on the ice.

One of the biggest changes is the arrival of the Maple Leafs new General Manager, Brian Burke. He will definitly make some big changes to the Leafs' lineup, and the players know it.

I’m sure that Burke walked into the room on the first day he got there and said it flat out to the entire team, “No one is safe, except Schenn.” To be honest, you can see it in some of the players.

They are working harder and as a result, playing better overall. Burke projects fear into players and commands respect. Even when I see him on T.V, it scares me a little bit. Every player on the team is working harder, and if it keeps up the Leafs will receive their reward with time.

Another new face around the Leaf locker room is Lee Stempniak.

Stempniak was acquired in a trade from St.Louis for Alex Steen and Carlo Coliacovo. I can admit that Coliacovo was becoming more of a pain with his constant injuries, and it was the right move to drop him while they still could get someone decent.

However, removing Alex Steen from the roster might not have been a good move. He had been struggling in recent games and did not have a very productive season in 2007-'08. However, he still had a good future ahead of him, and the Leafs where impatient when it came to him.

Stempniak should be a good asset to the team. He isn’t the most skilled, and he might not be the fastest guy on the ice, but he is a hard worker and he does have some moves, just not a large repertoire. I have a feeling he is a diamond in the rough and will prove vital to the team when it counts the most.

Aside from the big things, what changes will make the difference in 2009?

Ron Wilson will need to make sure he keeps doing what he’s doing. He is a good coach and the players respect him. That is major. If the players don’t respect you, you will not get anywhere as a coach.

Toronto’s defence will also need to tighten up for them to be successful in 2009. Toskala is a good goalie, but he can’t stop them all. He is facing too many shots in games and seems to be taking a lot of criticism for letting in a few.

He was struggling in the early part of the season, but now seems to have found himself and is playing, possibly not at his best, but better than in November.

So, in the New Year, if Toronto’s recent play is any indicator, they might be able to pull off a playoff spot. If they know Burke means business and Ron Wilson makes them work, the Leafs will be firing on all cylinders come January. If things go well, they might even put a scare into a few teams (I’m looking at you Ottawa).

The Vesa Toskala Struggle

Tyler Hill — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 00:04:39 -0500

I am not sure how many people have noticed the recent play of Vesa Toskala, but I have noticed that he is not playing like he did last year at this time.

Now, before I even begin this article, I am in no way saying any of the following: Vesa Toskala is no longer a good goalie, Vesa Toskala should be blamed for where the Leafs sit right now and most of all, there is no way I am going to say that the Leafs should trade Vesa while they can.

Whether or not you agree with my statements is beside the point. You can think Vesa should be up for the Vezina, and this article will not offend you in anyway (hopefully).

Toskala is playing in a high pressure city that lives and breathes hockey; a city that has seen people leave because of—and those people said this—the fact they could not handle the pressures of playing in a city that expected nothing less than success every time their team took to the ice

The fact of the matter is Toskala’s recent play, to say the least, sub-par compared to his performance at this time last year: For example, his three game streak of letting in the first shot of the game.

Moreover, after four games during the month of December, Toskala has allowed a total of 16 goals. I will recognize he did face his fair share of shots in those games and I am sure a bit of help for the Toronto defence would help him out in these times of hardship.

Look at the numbers. In 25 games, Toskala has faced 681 shots, which is an average of 28 shots per game. Not an unreasonable amount of shots, but also not a great number. Ideally, for me anyway, I would think somewhere around 22 shots per game would be nice. Vesa is also averaging 3.08 goals-against a game.

So, what is the reason for this and how can we solve it?

The only reason I can think of is that Toskala is being over-worked. He has played 25 of the last 31 games, and the back-up, Curtis Joseph, has played only six.

Was that the reason they signed Joseph - to take some of the work load off of Toskala? Why is there such an imbalance in the number of games these two goaltenders have played? Has Joseph not proven to be a capable goaltender?

The answers are as follows: Yes, Joseph was signed so that Toskala would not be forced to play 66 games, as he had last year, while Andrew Raycroft sat on the bench. Joseph has proven that he is a fully capable goaltender in this league and should be given more ice time to show Toronto, once again, just how much talent he still has—there is the answer to number three.

As for question two, I quite honestly have no idea. I find it ridiculous that at this point in the season Joseph has only played 6 games. There is no excuse for this. If anything, there is an excuse to put him in more games.

In closing, if the Maple Leafs wish to become competitive this season they need to balance out the ice time they give to their goaltenders. Joseph needs more time to stay on top of his game and play at his full potential, and Toskala needs to have more time to rest and be able to play his best without being over-tired and sloppy in his crease.

Check out the new and popular series written by Tyler Hill and Andy Echevarria, Checking the Laundry. Each week Tyler and Andy go head to head debating topics such as: Questionable hit, Diving and Goaltender Interference. Many more are to come, as is the brand new radio show; Maple Leafs This week.

Checking the Laundry: Goaltender Interference

Tyler Hill — Sun, 07 Dec 2008 02:05:02 -0500

Tyler: Andy!...Andy!

Andy: What, what is it?!

Tyler: You forgot, didn’t you?

Andy: Forgot? Forgot what?

Tyler: We have to....

Andy: CHECK THE LAUNDRY!!!

Andy: Oh boy, good ol’ Eddie Belfour. I miss the Belfour days. Good thing you can still have him on your team on NHL 08 (no, they don’t sell NHL 09 in Chile...yet). Well, as much as I hate to say this, Ovechkin was kind of forced into goalie interference. To start with, McCabe cross checked Ovechkin into Belfour, and then when Ovechkin tried to get off of Belfour, McCabe wouldn’t allow him to.

It was reasonable the way Eddie reacted because he didn’t see what was happening. All he saw, or felt, was some guy jumping on to his back, and kind of jumping on him. This was interference, but not intentionally.

Tyler: I see what you’re talking about, but you are completely wrong. You seem to be only talking about what happened after the initial contact. Before that all happened, Ovechkin was skating a completely different direction, then decided to turn towards Belfour and run right into him, thus the preceding cross check done by McCabe.

Andy: No, no, and no! He was pushed into Belfour; Ovechkin is not that type of player! It’s just not Ovie style! I understand that maybe you, as a hockey player, get all excited when you’re in the crease and cause some trouble, but Alexander Ovechkin is not that type of player.

Tyler: Typical Dominik Hasek, Flopping all over the place to draw a penalty. I won’t deny the fact that Hasek is one of the best goaltenders in NHL history, but that doesn’t stop me from saying that Hasek had an ego the size of Quebec. For example: Do you remember his 12 shot shut-out and his comments after the game?

“I think, maybe, when it’s only 12 shots, it maybe shouldn’t count. You know?”

It was clear that Scott Hannan did put his hands on Hasek, but come on! He barely touched him, I can’t even describe what happened in this video, all I can say is, Hannan hardly grazed Hasek and he fell over like he had been shot. It was ridiculous and this is one of the reasons I have absolutely no respect for him.

Andy: Dominik Hasek’s style? No way! Scott Hannan was pushed into Hasek. He could have either gone head first into Hasek or stopped the fall with his hands. He grabbed on to Hasek, and then tried to get back on his feet. Remember Tyler, this is ice hockey. It’s not as easy to get back on your feet as it would be if you were playing soccer. Despite the fact that this was accidental, and not on purpose. He took Hasek down and it was goalie interference, but definitely accidental. Hasek did not flop over.

Tyler: Yes, it was an accident that Hannan “hit” him, but Hasek was flopping over like a fish out of water, as he always does. Hannan barely put a finger on Hasek, but as soon he feels something touch him he drops and starts to whine more than Sid Crosby.

Andy: That was obviously interference! No doubt about it. Marleau clearly pushed Price down and it resulted in a goal. Maybe the hit didn’t cause the goal right there, but you could see how right after Price got up, he was shaky. He was trying to get his interior pads back to the right place and tried to regain a firm hold on his stick. Carey Price was not ready for the shot that resulted in a goal, and that can be blamed on the Marleau interference.

Tyler: Like you tried to say about Ovechkin, Marleau was pushed into Price by Roman Hamrlik. Hamrlik knocked him off balance and he stumbled over price and fell. Unlike the Ovechkin clip where he made no attempt to avoid Belfour, Marleau tried to grab something and avoid toppling over Price. I can’t argue that this was not Interference, but at least Marleau did do it on purpose which is what this is really all about.

Andy: This is different; Marleau wasn’t pushed into the net. He threw himself into the net! Unlike the Belfour one which might’ve been okay because no goal was scored, there was one scored on this one! If no goal had been scored, then it wouldn’t really have mattered, but Marleau did not get pushed, and even if he did, it must’ve been a small tap and not a big cross check like McCabe’s on Ovechkin.

Tyler: Threw himself into the net! Are we talking about the same thing here? The only way you can say he “threw” himself at the net is if you were on crack (which, by the way, I am beginning to think may be the case).

Tyler: Good old Sean Avery, his most recent work has gotten him suspended for six games, but let’s not get into that.

In my opinion, this was totally clean, even though I’m sure many people will disagree. However, I hope to change their minds. At the time this was clean, now of course we have the “Avery Rule,” but if you understand what hockey is and the rules of the game you should know Avery broke none of them. First of all, he wasn’t in the crease, secondly he never touched Brodeur, and thirdly, there is no rule that says a player screening the Goalie must face the play. Therefore, Avery did nothing wrong and shouldn't have to be penalized.

Andy: That time of the month, eh, Tyler? Just because something isn’t written down doesn’t mean you should do it. Avery’s lucky Marty didn’t knock him out. Avery has had incidents with Brodeur in the past, and he’s lucky Brodeur didn’t have them building up inside of him. Seriously, if I had been Marty Brodeur, I would’ve grabbed his head with my glove and shoved my blocker up his...well you guys get the point. Sean Avery’s lucky he hasn’t been killed on the ice yet, but I can see it happening pretty soon.

Tyler: So, you’re saying just because he has not written the rule book, it doesn’t mean it’s not illegal? Come on! If it doesn’t say anywhere that he can’t do why wouldn’t he? Avery is (despite the recent evidence) sometimes a smart guy. He knew there was nothing the Refs could do to give him a penalty and this had to be the most genius move I’ve ever seen.

If you have something you want Andy and I to debate on Checking the Laundry, please leave your suggestion in the comment box, on our Leafs This Week site, or e-mail us at tml.this.week@gmail.com.

All topics are welcome; we will put the ideas to a vote on next week’s edition of Checking the Laundry. The topic with the most votes will be the feature topic on the next edition of CTL, and, of course, the name of the person that suggested the winning topic will have their name linked at the top of the article.

Capital Vs. Maple Leafs: Tyler's Weekly Hockey Night In Canada Preview

Tyler Hill — Sat, 06 Dec 2008 03:19:42 -0500

Saturday! Hockey Night in Canada is set to air tonight. Maple Leafs take on the Washington Capitals, unfortunately, that means Alex Ovechkin, as well.

I would also like to say that, although the new HNIC theme is good, I think it is complete bull-shit that CBC wouldn’t keep the old one around. It is a tradition and now my nephews and everyone one else their age will not be able to hear the true HNIC Theme!

Team Records: Washington: 14-9-3-31pts

Toronto: 9-11-6-21pts

My Thoughts

Leafs have only two wins in the last 9 games, I for one am sick of it and say it’s about damn time they won a few games! With Vesa letting in the first shot of the game it hasn’t really helped them out a lot. If Ovechkin is on his game and Toskala isn’t Leafs fans are in for a long night. The good news for the Leafs is they are returning from a three game road trip too some good old fashioned home cooked meals.

As for the Caps, I can honestly say I haven’t seen a lot of them this year, but judging from their 5-2 win Thursday night, having 31 points and leading their division, I would venture to say they must be doing something right.

Game Analysis

Once again I have to say Toronto will be the better team defensively, but whether or not that will be enough to stop Ovie, Semin, Backstrom and others, is the real question. I have been happy with the current play of Jeff Finger, it is still too early to tell weather or he is worth $3.5 million dollars, none the less, he has proven to be a valuable member of the team.

On the offensive side of thing there are really on two words to describe it: Alex Ovechkin. He is a definite threat to any team and can make any goalie shiver when he steps on the ice, if the Leafs want a chance their big guns will have to really step up in this game.

I’ve already mentioned Toskala and his consistency to let in the first shot of the game for the last three games. Hopefully this will not be the case this game. The last thing a team need against this team, or in any game for that matter, is to fall behind the 8-ball that early in a game.

Game Expectation and Projected Score:

Combine the offensive threat Washington poses and the declining play of Vesa Toskala and it looks very bad for the Leafs this game. But, all that in mind, I think the Leafs Skaters will rise to the challenge and pull off a win.

Pick: Toronto 5-3

Brian Burke: You're Overrated!

Tyler Hill — Sun, 30 Nov 2008 07:54:01 -0500

I never really saw what was so special about Brian Burke. So what if he won a Stanley Cup with Anaheim in 2007. Quite a few GMs have won Cups. I never said Burke wasn’t a good GM, I just could not see what was so great about him. Why do people treat him like he is the god of all GMs?

Last night he made his Toronto general manager debut (just as Maple Leafs This Week will be making its debut Saturday, Dec. 20). In his first game managing the team, the Leafs managed (no pun intended) to snap a five-game winless streak!

I must have had all my previous thoughts about Burke thrown out the window; only one game and already they were off to a great start!

Anyone who has this thought going through your head right now, please, go into your kitchen, find a really big knife...and you should be able to figure where I’m going from here.

The only thing Burke could have done is change the mindset in the locker room, other than that...he was only there for a day; he was barely the “official” GM. He had no time to do anything that would drastically change the team and how they perform.

To some, it may sound as though I am criticizing Mr. Burke. This is partly true, but mostly I am only saying that Leaf fans need to calm down and not get too excited—“that’s what she said,” Andy Echevarria.

Back to Brian Burke, he may have proven himself as a good general manager, but why is everyone so happy he is here? What is he going to do with a team full of guys that have No Movement Clauses (you gotta love that JFJ) in their contracts?

He has to work around that obstacle before he can do anything here, which might be a little hard to do considering Fletcher already tried and to no avail.

The bottom line is this: Brian Burke is a good GM, but that is it—good and nothing more (the team he had in Anaheim was not the same thing he has to deal with in Toronto); he is simply overrated.

Maple Leafs-Flyers: Tyler Hill's Weekly "Hockey Night In Canada" Preview

Tyler Hill — Fri, 28 Nov 2008 09:24:34 -0500

Yes, it’s that time again—the week has passed and the teams have changed.

It is time for Saturday night Hockey!

This week’s game sees the Maple Leafs take on the Flyers. Finally, I get to predict a game between two teams in the Eastern Conference.

Team Records:

Philadelphia: 11-6-4, 26points

Toronto: 7-9-6, 20 points

My Thoughts

Last week, I listed a few stars from the Blackhawks. But this week, as I look at the team the Flyers have, the only conclusion I can come to is that there are too many stars to list—so I will only talk about four or fivem tops.

Let’s see here, Jeff Carter (the should be captain, no offence to Richards), Simon Gagne, Mike Richards, Braydon Coburn, and many, many others. A combined point total of 83—and that’s only the guys I listed above! In their last ten games they gone 7-1-2, which is good for 16 of 20 possible points.

When you look at the Leafs' roster there aren't a lot of stars. But we do have some better than average guys on the team, such as Mikhail Grabovski, Nik Antropov, Luke Schenn, and the recently-added Lee Stempniak, who could be promising in the future.

But other than those few players, the Leafs roster lacks that extra something. Where is the heart? It has been gone for a while—two weeks and two days since their last win.

Game Analysis

So, when you break it down, who outnumbers whom? It appears obvious that the Flyers have the better offence. And as far as depth goes, the Leafs will be suffocating and gasping for air—no pun intended. The Flyers are fast, and won’t let the Leafs catch their breath.

I said this all last week—the Leafs have more depth than almost any other team in the league. However, a few recent injuries plague both these teams and the Leafs are without Mike Van Ryan.

I’m not saying the Flyers don’t have a solid blue line, I am just simply saying the Leafs have a better Defence as a whole. They have three solid lines to ice—even without Coliacovo and van Ryan.

Martin Biron or Vesa Toskala? Poor Vesa, he has (like I said before) been shaky this year, and Biron has been great in net for the flyers this year and will shut down the Leaf offence

Game Expectation and Projected Score

I hate to say it, but I don’t see this being the game for the Leafs to snap their losing streak.

Pick: 5-2 Philly

"Maple Leafs This Week": Debut Episode

Tyler Hill — Thu, 27 Nov 2008 08:59:50 -0500

Those of you who read the first edition of “Checking the Laundry” that was was published last week, by myself and Andy Echevarria, may have noticed the last little paragraph.

It talked about a show we will be starting called ‘’Maple Leafs This Week.’’ We have decided that, instead of updating readers in the Checking the Laundry series that it would be best to write a separate article.

Because of some problems with scheduling it has been hard to find a date suitable to start an internet-radio show. Nonetheless, we were determined to get it off the ground before Christmas. They likely Debut date will be December 20, 2008.

The show will air once a week (hence, the name) and we hope that it will always be on a Saturday. Each episode will include the following—recaps of all the prior Leaf games that week. Then, Andy and I will give full recaps of our selected games from the week. After we have each given our recaps, we will then preview the upcoming HNIC game.

Due to NHL scheduling, the Leafs do not have games on Saturday four times, three of which are after we we start the show. We are currently thinking of ways to fill this gap.

Following these will be our Weekly “Leafs news” segments. We will be discussing Rumours in Leafs nation, such as possible trades and various other news that comes up over the week in the Leafs Locker room.

Also, each week will list our (separate) three stars listing, as well as the three duds of the week. Towards the end of each show, we will have "Mail Time" where we answer your questions. Send e-mails to: tml.this.week@gmail.com

I also would like to announce that a website for the show is fully under way. To visit it Click here.

Checking The Laundry: Questionable Hits—Tyler Hill Vs. Andy Echevarria

Tyler Hill — Sat, 22 Nov 2008 14:53:25 -0500

In this Head-to-Head debate between Andy E. and myself, we will weigh in on some questionable hits over the course of the last few seasons.

This debate was sparked by Saturday night's hit by Chicago's Ben Eager on Toronto's Mikhail Grabovski. This hit got us riled up; we were both furious, being Leaf fans.

This made us think back upon other hits that were "questionable," and we discovered we had quite different opinions on some of these hits.

The Great Debate

Tyler: That was Darcy Tucker on Sami Kapanen. It seemed very clear to me that this hit was dirty. Tucker began going after Kapanen way before the puck began to approach him.

Sure, by the time Tucker hit him it could be argued that Kapanen was in possession of the puck, but if you ask me, the puck was not in Kapanen's possession at the time of the hit.

Tucker's hit was too early and the hit was illegal.

Andy: If that hit was dirty, then my name’s Edwardo Lee. First off, Sami Kapanen was skating in a pretty stiff position. You learn this when you’re first learning to skate—it’s one of the first rules—you must always bend your knees.

Perhaps if his knees had been bent he would’ve just stumbled.

Secondly, you have to always keep your head up. You can’t skate with your head down and not expect to be taken down.

Yes, Kepanen did not have possession of the puck, but Darcy Tucker did not go for him before the puck approached him. Tucker followed the puck through, and when he began to turn towards Kapenen, the puck was ahead of him. This was a hockey hit folks.

Tyler: Tucker did not follow the puck. He clearly started turning towards Kapanen before the puck was coming to him. He was lucky the puck got there when it did or it would have been bad news for him and the Leafs.

Tyler: Ouch! Brian Campbell hammered R.J Umberger there. Umberger missed the rest of the playoffs (although Philly was eliminated during that round), but Campbell didn't skip a beat and he shouldn't have.

Although Campbell did in fact come off his right foot, if you look carefully at his left foot it stayed planted on the ice. It is only a penalty if both feet come off the ice. In this case only one did. The hit was clean. No doubt.

Andy: There is no way that was a clean hit! You just can’t hit a guy in the middle of the ice. If you see a guy skating along the boards, fine, you can hit him. But you can’t hit a guy at center ice!

True, it’s not a written rule, but come on guys. If you hit a guy against the boards, he just walks there and gets up in a while. Hit a guy on center ice, you can send him flying out and he could land on his back or head which could lead to a concussion or spinal injury.

It might be a clean hit, but it was a cheap shot. No wait, let me rephrase that. It might be a legal hit, but it was a dirty hit.

Tyler: That's bull shit! It doesn't matter where you hit a player. You said yourself that it's not in the rulebook that you can't hit at centre ice!

Andy: You can’t get a “hard hit,” and a “dirty hit” mixed up.

This hit was completely legal, only that Steve Downy pushed a little harder than he had to. Also, it wasn’t like Downy just decided to go for McAmmond, he was just going for the puck, and saw an opportunity to get a hit, and did so.

Everyone who plays hockey knows a hit can affect the momentum of the game and perhaps Downy was attempting that. He committed the hit correctly. It was completely legal, and he didn’t even raise both of his feet until he made contact.

It’s only illegal if you lift both of your feet before the hit. This was a completely legal and clean hit, just a hard one.

Tyler: Wow, I didn't know Steve Downie was an Olympics' high jumper. What was he trying to do, jump over McAmmond?

Andy, I don't even see how you disagree with me. Downie came off his feet by at least a foot when, and definitely before, he hit McAmmond. That's all there is to say. The video speaks for itself.

Andy: Tyler, my friend, there’s much for you to learn about life. It’s human nature to react to something with a jump. Downy was probably as stunned as McAmmond was, but he didn’t do it fully on purpose.

Sure he intended to do the hit, but not to knock out McAmmond. Yes, he jumped, but that’s human instinct. Let’s not forget, he went head first into the boards. It was just a really hard hit, nothing dirty. He hit him with his shoulder, not with his hip, not with his elbow, but his shoulder. Therefore the hit was just hard, not dirty.

Andy: Clean no doubt. First off, who doesn’t want to kill Sean Avery? Jagr simply pushed Avery out of the way, it’s as simple as that. Avery dumped the puck, and Jagr was trying to regain possession and wouldn’t let anyone stand in his way.

As for Sean Avery, suck it up buttercup. This isn’t soccer; you don’t dive out and throw yourself when you get hit. It wasn’t even a hard hit, just a soft one to push him out of the way.

Sean Avery, it’s either the whole NHL picks on you, or you pick on the whole NHL. Which one’s it going to be? I think we all know the answer.

Tyler: Oh come on! Look at this! That hit was so dirty it messed up Avery’s motor skills and he thought he was a fish jumping out of the water or something! How else would you explain that extra jump at the end? It’s not like he was diving and trying to draw a penalty, that just isn’t Avery style.

Andy: I hate to tell you this Tyler, but Avery has no style. Sean is more of a crybaby than you were when you said I couldn’t win two BR up and coming awards because you only managed to win one.

Tyler: Is everything just cupcakes and sprinkles to you Andy!?! ;)

______________________________________________________________________

Coming soon: “The Leafs This Week,” The youcastr radio show that will be hosted by Tyler Hill and Andy Echavarria. If you like this debate you will like the show. Stay tuned for more details coming soon in our Checking the Laundry series.

Tylers Hill's Weekly Maple Leafs Hockey Night in Canada Preview

Tyler Hill — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 10:07:08 -0500

I thought I would start with a ‘Fun Fact’ for this preview: Neither of the teams in this game have won the cup within the last 41 years. The Leafs won it last in 1967 and the Blackhawks won it last in 1961. Now down to the nitty gritty (yes I said ‘nitty gritty’).

Team Records: Chicago: 8-4-5-21pts

Toronto: 7-8-4-18pts

My Thoughts:

Looking at the young skilful team that the Blackhawks now have, it may only be a matter of seasons until they snap their cup-less drought. Toews, Kane, Havlat, Campbell and Seabrook, along with two No. 1 goaltenders, make for a very strong team.

However, a few names from a list of 20 may not be convincing to some people. But you see the players I listed are the ones I consider to be stars.

The 'Hawks are full of depth and are a very underrated club at some times. They will look to take the NHL by surprise one day.

On the other side of the pond, the Leafs are in their re-building process, with names like Grabovski, Antropov, Hagman, their 18 year old saviour Luke Schenn, and a (lately) sub-par goaltender in Toskala. They are the only real ‘weapons’ on this Leafs Squad.

Unlike the Hawks, they hold no real depth in their lines. Looking at everything as a whole it’s hard to believe they have gotten this far. The unlikely name of Mikhail Grabovski has propelled the Leafs to where they are now.

Game Analysis:

When you look at everything as a whole for Saturday night’s game, it appears as though the Blackhawks have the upper hand pretty much everywhere, with the possible exception of the blue line.

The 'Hawks have two of the best young players in the league—Toews and Kane—and their veteran experience gives them that extra push.

Where as the Leafs have very few players capable of contributing offense and no real experience on their team. The majority of the Leafs team are still in their 20’s (much the same as the Pittsburgh Penguins last year).

The Maple Leafs skilled defense may have what it takes to shut down the Hawks crucial offensive strike.

Luke “Lockdown”/”the human eraser”/”the force”/ “the sponge” Schenn and Tomas Kaberle are the strongest Blue liners on the Leafs team. They will likely be pitted against the 'Hawks one-two punch of Toews and Kane.

However, they are only two people. The Leafs have had controversy around their top six D-men for many years and this was no different. Look for a man-man defensive style in this game.

I have already mentioned the Hawks solid goaltending, consisting of Chris Huet and Nik Khabibulin. Both are No. 1 goalies and both will shut you down on a good night.

The question is, who will the Hawks start for the game? The Leafs will have the same question going through their locker room.

Vesa Toskala has looked shaky in the last few games, especially against Boston this past Monday. Toskala was replaced by back-up Curtis Joseph who looked good in his time on the ice.

The smart move would be to start CUJO for the game and explain to Vesa that he needs to take a break and re-group for a game, so as not to break his confidence.

Game Expectation and Projected Score:

If the Leafs start CUJO and are smart about pairing Schenn and Kaberle against Toews and Kane, the Leafs should be able to shut down the Hawks scoring and pop in a couple of their own.

Pick: Toronto 4-3

Don Cherryism: For True Hockey Fans

Tyler Hill — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 11:21:13 -0500

Don Cherry is more well know in Canada than anyone. Yes that includes our Prime Minister. He is unarguably, the most respected man in Hockey and in many minds (such as my own) all of Canada.

I encourage all readers to take a look at his autobiography: Grapes, A Vintage View Of Hockey.

It was soon after reading this book that my respect for Mr. Cherry increased largely. So much so that I have started my own religion so to speak. I call it Don Cherryism and I am a Don Cherryist. I have taken the liberty to start a Facebook group of the same name; I encourage anyone who is interested to join.

The book is all about the behind the scenes drama of Don Cherry’s life, from his time as a young boy to the first days of Coaches Corner. It includes his feud with Former Boston GM, Harry Sinden, his days in the AHL and his time working odd jobs to make a little money.

Just so I don't drag this on and on I will say this: “What’s the one thing it takes to be great?! I dunno, but Don Cherry has it.” Thank you to Andrew Echevarria for that quote.

Check out the Facebook Group

Hockey Night In Canada: Leafs Vs. Canucks Game Preview

Tyler Hill — Sat, 15 Nov 2008 04:40:49 -0500

Picture obtained from: http://canucks.nhl.com/

Tonight the Toronto Maple Leafs play the Vancouver Canucks. It’s a Canadian HNIC in Toronto (well, it’s in Vancouver, but you know what I mean). This game will be a very interesting one, as Kyle Wellwood plays his first game against his former club.

Team Records: Toronto: 7-6-4-18 pts.

Vancouver: 9-6-1-19 pts.

My Thoughts

As of right now the Leafs sit in eighth in the east, where as the Canucks are sixth in the west. However the two are only separated by one single point and for years it has been said the west is the better Conference (mainly because the one a majority of the last few Stanley cups). The Leafs have not been playing very well over the last few games. They seem to the only team that can’t beat the Flames 6-1 this week.

The Canucks will look to rebound from a 2-1 OT loss to Colorado, which snapped a 3 game winning streak. With Kyle Wellwood as their leading goal scorer (trailing far behind in points), the Leafs will be the one team that can shut him down. Many Leaf players knew him for years.

Game Analysis

Breaking it down in all aspects of the game the one place it looks tight is behind-that doesn’t sound right—in goal, Roberto Loungo and Vesa Toskala. It took a few years for Toskala to prove himself as a No. 1 man; he spent a few years behind Evgeni Nabokov in San Jose.

He is one of the best goaltenders Toronto has ever seen (and lets not forget, the leafs have seen some great guys). On the other end of the pond there is Luongo, he had established that he was a No. 1 long before coming to Vancouver. With that in mind, don’t expect a high scoring game.

Toronto’s unexpected offense this season has thus far come from very few guys. They are mainly Mikhail Grabovski, Nik Hagman and Nik Antropov. To say this was expected at the beginning of the year would be...well, spot on, expectations are always high in Leaf land. However, with only nine points last year, Grabovski production has been outstanding.

As for Vancouver, the Sedin brothers have played well so far this season and power the team. Kesler, Burrows, Bernier and Raymond have been great for them this year. Aside from the obvious, they have had a few defensemen chip in for a few goals, something the Leafs have not had so far.

Game Expectation and Projected Score

Low scoring game, will be fast paced and full of excitement every minute.

Pick: 3-2, Vancouver

Why Quality Means Nothing In Toronto and The MLSE

Tyler Hill — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 00:44:07 -0400

“When the going gets tough, the tough gets going. But in Toronto, when the going gets tough, the dough keeps rolling”

I would like to thank my friend Andrew Echevarria for that wonderful quote. Mostly because it has inspired me to write this article. On with the show!

Take a minute to drink in the quote... think about what it might mean, I’ll wait don’t worry. That quote must be what the MLSE lives by. When you think about it, why would the MLSE care about the success of the team, or in other words, why would they get the tough going? They make money either way right? Right.

So, when did quality stop mattering? I’d say somewhere around year 25 or so, of this 42 year cup drought. This would be about the time they realized, “hey, it doesn’t matter what the team does! The fans will still come to the games any!”

I know that companies, and yes, that is what MLSE is a company a business, they really only care about the money. But, money is infinite, the profit is what it’s really about they like all businesses, have expenses. The money they make must go to staff members and share holders. So it seems to them that as long as people come to the games and pay admission they have no worries.

Don’t get me wrong, by no means am I saying that fans should stop going to a game just to teach the MLSE a lesson, because it’s just crazy to think any fans would ever do that. But for years now MLSE has been saying “we do care about the fans, we do care about the results and we do care about the players.”

I would like one good reason to believe that. They don’t care about anything except...any guesses? That’s right! Profit! How much money can we make off this? They wonder.

There are so many Leaf fans out there, that the recent small decline is hardly even noticeable. But the fact remains that over the last few years the “fan ship” has become smaller than ever before. Very soon small curve is going to plummet. People will become fed up with these losing ways. Fans won’t put up with this forever, Think about it MLSE (especially you, Richard Peddie)

How Close Are the Toronto Maple Leafs to Their Next Stanley Cup?

Tyler Hill — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 15:26:56 -0400

It may seem crazy, but to say the Maple Leafs are not that far from another Stanley Cup isn’t that unrealistic. There are many reasons this is true—if you don’t believe me now, read on!

First of all, I would like to look at the depth the Leafs have on defense. Some people say that, “Oh, it doesn’t matter if they have all those guys, they can only use six of ‘em anyway.” Well, even though this is true, the fact that teams suffer injuries during the season is undeniable. Having players you can rely on to back them up is always helpful.

Now, as we look at individual defensemen for the “Buds,” names like Tomas Kaberle, Pavel Kubina, and Jeff Finger (and his $3.5 million contract) come to mind. But what about the addition of Mike van Ryan, Jonas Frogen, Anton Stralman‚—and, of course, Luke “Lockdown” Schenn.

Schenn is without a doubt the best defenseman they have (runner-up: the former Champ, Tomas Kaberle). As Ron Wilson said, “He is definitely one of our top-four defensemen”. By “top four,” I am assuming he means top one. All in all, the Leafs' defense looks to be among the strongest in the league.

Behind this outstanding blue-line, when you clear away the smoke, lies the very backbone of any team—their goaltender, Vesa Toskala. If it was up to me, I would rank Vesy among the top ten goalies in the league, possibly top five. Whenever someone slips past the defense and breaks in on goal, he seems to come up with the big save that causes the opposing player to say, “How the hell did he stop that one?”

In a very recent game, Toskala slid across the crease on a cross-ice, behind-the-net pass, and stacked the pads. This made me jump out of my chair (or throne, as I call it) and say, “Holy f#*kin' s**t!!” so much so that I had to stay up and walk around for a minute before I could sit down.

Behind Toskala, there is a guy who is there when Vesa needs a rest from all the hard work he does. That man is Curtis Joseph—"CuJo," for you Toronto faithful that have watched the Leafs for years now—the veteran with a gold medal under his belt, along with several playoff appearances. He is totally capable of holding down the fort while “The King” takes a rest.

In addition to this outstanding defensive corps, the Maple Leafs have a strong offence to boot. The former young guns Antropov and Ponikarovsky have grown older, and now have experience and more talent than fans thought they were capable of a mere two seasons ago. So far in eight games this year they have a total combined point total of thirteen (Sundin’s jersey number).

The Leafs have also supplimented these now-aged, not-so-young guns with new ones such as Nik Kulemin, Alex Steen, and Jiri Tlusty (who was recently sent down to the AHL).

As you can see, one look at the Leafs' roster and it becomes clear that they have the tools to be champs. Maybe someday, not now, not this season—but somewhere in the near future, the Blue and White will hoist Lord Stanley’s Mug!

Top 10 Reasons Why the Leafs Maybe Just Might Not Suck That Much This Year

Tyler Hill — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 12:30:09 -0400

I don’t think that, in my "career" at Bleacher Report, I have ever written a “Top 10" list. I love to read them and comment, but if I’m correct, this will be my first time writing one. So, here we go!

The Top 10 reasons why the Maple Leafs maybe just might not suck that much this year.

10. Game One, we beat the Red Wings

The Maple Leafs came out strong in the season opener and beat the Cup champs. If they play like they did in that game, the season looks bright.

9. Ryan Hollweg keeps getting suspended

In the words of Greg Caggiano, “Haha, he’s ur problem now.” No Greg, he will be suspended too often to cause problems on the ice.

8. No Mats Sundin

Calm down and let me explain. The Leafs slacked off when Mats was there; without him, they must give 115 percent every shift.

7. The Maple Leafs' BR readers have something to prove

As mentioned in Greg Caggiano’s article “Greg’s interview with Ryan Hollweg”, Hollweg reads BR and will pass on to teammates how we talk about the Leafs, thus they will want to prove us wrong.

6. Jiri Tlusty will have a breakout year

After a 16-point rookie campaign, I predict Tlusty will have a break out year, in which he will help the Leafs propel past several teams.

5. Depth on the Blue Line

The Maple Leafs have 10 guys fighting for six, possibly seven, available spots. Among them is fifth-overall pick Luke Schenn.

4. Solid Goaltending

Vesa Toskala...He’s amazing. I regret not taking him in my fantasy league.

3. Ron Wilson Coaching Style

Wilson’s hard-nosed coaching will whip the Leafs into shape by Christmas, at the latest.

2. Nik Kulemin

Possible Rookie of the Year candidate? In seven games, he has three points, along with two shootout goals. That's impressive for a rookie.

And the No. 1 reason...

1. Luke Schenn

Do I have to explain? He’s Luke Schenn!

Well, there it is. It's funny how Ryan Hollweg was mentioned three times, but never in a positive way.

Does Ryan Hollweg's Punishment Fit the Crime?

Tyler Hill — Sat, 18 Oct 2008 02:03:58 -0400

Well, fine! I wasn’t going to do it, but everywhere I look on the Leafs page, all I see is "Ryan Hollweg this," "Ryan Hollweg that." So here I am, sitting at my computer, typing away. All my devoted fans that have been killing themselves waiting for me to write this, here you go.

I’ll make it short and (not-so) sweet. Hollweg is garbage. The Leafs made a mistake when they signed him; he has nothing useful to bring to the club. He gets suspended (two games) before the season even starts. He makes his regular season debut against the same team that he was playing during the preseason when he was suspended; somehow he has managed to duplicate the hit.

When you get a game misconduct and suspension, it’s not a good idea to go out—in your first game back, no less—and do exactly the same thing...to exactly the same team, as what you did in the first place that got you suspended.

After this hit, some called for Hollweg to, instead of serving three games, serve somewhere in the 40-range, I believe (to tell you the truth, every time I heard it it was 7 in the morning and I could barely keep my eyes open.) This would have been a great idea. In two games, he has amassed five games in suspensions. That is not a part of hockey.

This long-term suspension did not happen. Hollweg was let off with a warning. That is total bull. Every player in the NHL knows they cannot hit from behind; they have learned that since they played at 6 in the morning. That is enough of a warning.

I don’t see him getting another one of these “warnings” next time; so, for his sake, he had better watch out for the numbers or there won’t be any way around it. He’ll be gone, and he deserves to be.

How Can You Say You're a Fan If You Say Things Like This?

Tyler Hill — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 07:45:15 -0400

If any so-called “fan” of any team says their team should tank the season, that person cannot be called a fan.

There are NO exceptions—you know who you are, too!

I know that people will likely think I am a hypocrite, due to the past articles I have written. Those articles were not to say I wanted my team (the Leafs) to lose. In them, I was simply stating the Leafs would not have a very productive season; therefore, they should not be making comments saying they will compete for the Cup.

But this is for the people that believe they are a fan when they want to see their team lose in order to gain a high draft pick. The ones that write articles saying “delusional fans who think going down with the ship is some noble act.”

If you will please divert your attention to the word “delusional”—the person who wrote this article is also a person who claims to to be a fan of the team he was writing. Just because you're delusional, and have no faith in your team, doesn’t mean we all are.

In this same article, the following line was written: “I much prefer jumping off the boat into a life raft and throwing bombs at the vessel.” If this is how you feel about the team you claim to cheer for, stop cheering for them. These are the type of people that piss me off.

I hope you're reading this. Please tell me how this make you feel.

This shall conclude my crazy rant—for now. But if I see any more articles like this, I will be sure to continue.

However, for those who will never lose faith and always support your team, keep hanging on. Eventually, you will be able to say, “We’re No. 1!”—and truly be No. 1.

Sean Avery: Who Wouldn't Love Him?

Tyler Hill — Sun, 12 Oct 2008 07:15:51 -0400

Sean Avery may be a pest, but he is very good at it, and any team in the NHL should be happy and feel lucky to have him.

Avery is a different type of pest. Most of them in the NHL are good for only that, in fact it seems they can barely even skate. When it comes to pissing off your opponent, they usually end up doing more harm than good for their own team. Avery, though, seems to have mastered the skill/art of “the hockey pest.”

The Dallas Stars are now blessed with the presence of the super pest, and he will bring energy to that team. Unlike most of today's pests, Avery has shown the ability to make plays and finish, as well. He will be a lot of fun for Dallas now that he is a member of the team as opposed to playing against.

Every hockey fan knows what Avery did in the playoffs last year against the New Jersey Devils, and because of that there is now a rule instituted in the book against taunting the goalie right in his face. The “Avery Rule” at the time was completely legal; there was nothing the officials could do. Now that it is no longer legal, Avery will need to find something else to do to get under the skin of opponents. I have a feeling this will not be a challenge.

The Rangers front office made a big mistake when it let go of Avery; he was the team's most dangerous weapon on the ice. If he was put on the ice with top players, he would have more points and still be the super pest he has always been. The Rangers should have put him on their first line instead of on the third line, where he was most of the time.

As a Maple Leafs fan, I would have loved to see Cliff Fletcher hold a press conference to announce that they have acquired Avery, no matter who they had to trade for him. If Avery ever came to Leafs Nation, it would be one of the happiest days of my life.

He is the ultimate weapon when he’s going after the puck; if he went for it more often, he could be a 60-point man. I know 60 points isn’t great, but combined with everything else he does, he is well worth any trade that will bring him to the Leafs.