Bleacher Report - Articles by G L

Toronto Maple Leafs Interested In Nathan Horton

G L — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 20:44:29 -0500

It appears as though Brian Burke is once again combing through the NHL for a trade partner, or two, as he looks for ways to bolster his roster. It's been widely reported that the Leafs would like to move forward Jason Blake, and goalie Vesa Toskala at some point this season, while various rumors have also linked Alexei Ponikarovsky, Matt Stajan, and Jeff Finger to the trade block. Burke is believed to be looking for a gritty top-six forward to play alongside Phil Kessel, and according to at least one published report, the Leafs are interested in Florida Panthers forward Nathan Horton.

Horton, who has apparently caught the interest of the Maple Leafs, has picked up his game of late, picking up nine points in his last seven games with four goals, and seven assists through 15 games this season. The 24 year old has been unhappy playing in Florida for some time now, and The Ottawa Sun is reporting that the Panthers would have to take Jason Blake, and his $4 million cap hit back as part of a deal.

Horton has four years remaining on his contract, with a 4 million per season cap hit.

Jason Blake's game has improved immensely as of late, making the 6 million he is owed over the next two seasons more reasonable. At 36 years of age, the former 40 goal scorer does not fit into the Leafs rebuilding phase, and could excel in Florida with prior linemate Dominic Moore. Nathan Horton has stated he wants out of Florida, which could facilitate a trade, and Blake paired with a younger player/prospect such as Tlusty, or Stajan, may be enough to get Horton in a Leafs jersey.

No Love For Spitfires

G L — Sat, 21 Feb 2009 00:16:30 -0500

I felt obligated to write an article about my hometown team since it seems nobody in the Canadian media seems willing to mention their great accomplishments this year.

This all started when I turned on Sportcentre tonight and watched the highlights of the London Knights hosting the Windsor Spitfires. They never show many CHL highlights, so I didn’t expect much. First, they showed two goals by John Tavares and then a decent cross-ice pass to end his three-point night and that was it.

So, what’s the big deal, you may ask? The game ended 6-3 for the Spits. Now, I know TSN only shows what people want to see, the CHL’s point leader and first overall pick at this year’s draft, and I’m in no way taking anything away from his amazing play, but I couldn’t believe they didn’t once mention the Spitfires and their remarkable season.

There was no mention that the Windsor Spitfires are currently the best junior team in Canada with 105 points. The second-closest team in the OHL is actually the Knights with 83 points. There was no mention that just two seasons ago the Spitfires went 18-43 with a measly 43 points, and last year set the record for the largest single-season turnaround in CHL history, with a 51-point difference.

The Windsor Spitfires established a team record Thursday night, winning their 51st game of the season, surpassing the single season total set by the 1987-88 Compuware Spitfires. So with nine games remaining on the schedule, the Spitfires need to win eight of those to eclipse the OHL’s single-season point record set by the Knights' Memorial Cup winning team in 2004.

2009 Blue Jays Pitching Staff: Questions at Back End of Rotation

G L — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 17:21:14 -0500

The Blue Jays were the American League's most effective rotation in 2008 but will have many holes to fill this year as their starting pitching staff has been decimated by the signing of A.J. Burnett by the Yankees, Shaun Marcum’s elbow surgery, and Dustin McGowan’s shoulder injury.

With these players gone, Cito Gaston has to find replacements for 78 starts, 484 innings and 33 wins which will be no easy task even with ace Roy Halladay returning and Jesse Litsch proving to be a great starter, going 5-2 with a 1.92 ERA over his final nine starts.

One of the biggest holes in the rotation was created when Burnett signed with the Yankees, after going 18-10 last season and providing 34 of the 40 starts that didn't come from products of the Toronto farm system.

Another huge lose is Marcum, whose 3.39 ERA last season was only topped by the Doc’s 2.78, and is expected to miss the 2009 season after elbow surgery.

Plus, McGowan will be out until at least May after shoulder surgery.

Toronto's starters led the majors with 1,021 innings, an average of 6 1/3 innings per start and it’s the Blue Jays farm system that has been responsible for the team's rise to the top of the American League in pitching. Homegrown pitchers started 122 of the team's games last season, a number that will probably increase in 2009.

Some of these prospects include David Purcey, who got his first 12 major league starts last season and is almost a sure thing for a rotation spot. Casey Janssen, who has been a starter and a reliever, missed last season because of a shoulder injury, but has healed and should battle for a starting position at spring training.

Another potential outside addition to the rotation is Matt Clement, who signed a minor league contract after being out of the majors the last two seasons because of shoulder problems.

Other prospects include their top two pitchers in the system, Brett Cecil and Brad Mills, and also lefty Ricky Romero, who was the sixth overall pick in the 2005 draft. There is also British Columbia-native Scott Richmond, who had five big-league starts last season.

Bullpen

A deep bullpen has been the Jays' strength for several seasons and should remain strong as long as they don't borrow relievers for the rotation. The bullpen had a 2.94 ERA last season, best in the majors and more than half a run better than any other AL team.

The Jays are especially strong from the left side. Not only is closer B.J. Ryan a lefty, but so are their top three setup men: Scott Downs, Jesse Carlson, and Brian Tallet.

Closer

B.J. Ryan was ready much sooner than expected after Tommy John surgery and converted 32-of-36 save opportunities. Jeremy Accardo, who had 30 saves with Ryan out in 2007, was limited to 16 games with elbow and forearm problems, but is throwing again and hopes to be ready for camp.

Kansas City Next NHL Expansion Team

G L — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 18:40:49 -0500

It has been 33 years since Kansas City has had an NHL team, but it seems evident they will not be waiting too much longer. With the economic crisis financially crippling many NHL teams and leaving them on the cusp of bankruptcy, there will be several NHL teams forced to relocate in the near future. No one would like to see one of these teams move North of the border more than me, but there is no doubt a Kansas City team will be given the chance to fail in another southern market totally oblivious to the great sport of hockey.

Going back to 1976, the Kansas City Scouts played their inaugural season garnering only 41 points and losing 21 straight to end the season. The following season was not much better finishing with only 12 wins and an embarrassing 36 points. After only two seasons they were already millions of dollars in debt and the teams investors pulled the plug on the franchise partly due to a total lack of fan support, (in their final season they only sold 2,000 of 8,000 seasons tickets). Expansion to Kansas City was widely seen as a huge mistake and they moved to Denver the following season before moving to New Jersey to become the Devils.

In 2007, Kansas City opened the 18,500 seat Sprint Center and made a strong play for the Pittsburgh Penguins, offering them free rent at the Sprint Center if they moved to KC. William "Boots" Del Biaggio III also made an offer to purchase the Nashville Predators with the intention of bringing the team to the Sprint Center. However, Biaggio later ran into legal trouble over a multitude of unpaid loans and filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, effectively ending any chance of moving the Predators to Kansas.

There have been several rumors about which team would relocate to Kansas City-Phoenix, Nashville, Flordia to name a few as well as the New York Islanders whose GM has become increasingly frustrated with the lack of progress toward a new arena deal.

But it is really just a matter of time before Kansas City will be given an NHL team, as our stubborn commissioner continues his frivolous attempt to make hockey a national entity in the US.

Toronto Maple Leafs: Top Five Worst Trades

G L — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 20:45:44 -0500

With many Leaf fans puzzled at an allegedly rebuilding team trading away a draft pick for a 37-year-old veteran in Brad May, Brian Burke can always take comfort that he wasn’t involved in any of these stinkers. Here is my list of the five worst Leaf trades of all-time:

No. 5: Toronto trades Russ Courtnall to the Montreal Canadiens for Jon Kordic and a Sixth Round Pick in 1989.

The Leafs were looking to add some toughness and grit, and the Habs took full advantage of it. Gord Stellick will never live this trade down, as Kordic recorded 446 penalty minutes and 16 points in 104 games as a Leaf, while Courtnall gradually improved over parts of four seasons with the Habs and ended up with 82 goals and 195 points in 250 games.

This is likely one the worst trades ever based on the point difference between the two players. The Leafs eventually dumped Jon Kordic and Paul Fenton for a fifth round pick.

No. 4: Toronto trades Darryl Sittler to the Philadelphia Flyers for Rich Costello, a Second Round Pick in 1982 (Peter Ihnacak) and Future Considerations (Ken Strong).

This was a dark day for the Toronto Maple Leafs. They traded their captain, their best player since Dave Keon, and a man just 84 points away from becoming the first Toronto player ever to record 1,000 points in a Maple Leaf uniform.

He recorded 178 points in 191 games as a Flyer, and then added one last season in Detroit before retiring and going on to the Hall of Fame. It’s just sad what they settled for in return. Ken Strong? 15 NHL games, then disappeared to Austria. Rich Costello? 12 NHL games.

Only Peter Ihnacak made the club, and after recording a 66-point season he was able to register just 201 points in his final 337 games as a Leaf before returning to Europe.

No. 3: Toronto trades Kenny Jonsson, Sean Haggerty, Darby Hendrickson, and a First Round Pick in 1997 (Roberto Luongo) to the New York Islanders for Wendel Clark, Mathieu Schneider, and D.J. Smith.

Although there is no guarantee that the Leafs would have picked Roberto Luongo, the Leafs definitely took the grunt of this trade. Cliff Fletcher was pressured into bringing back fan favorite Clark, but after only one 30 goal season followed by a 12 goal season, Wendel was eventually lost to free agency.

While Haggerty was a bust and Hendrickson was back in Toronto the next season, Kenny Jonsson was a fixture in New York and played 597 games for New York, recording 232 points.

Mathieu Schneider was solid for the Leafs but was then traded for Alex Karpovtsev, who in turn brought in Bryan McCabe. The Leafs are really wishing they had Luongo between the pipes now.

No. 2: Toronto trades Bernie Parent and a Second Round Pick in 1973 (Larry Goodenough) to the Philadelphia Flyers for a First Round Pick in 1973 (Bob Neely) and Future Considerations (Doug Favell).

This is easily one of the most lopsided trades of all time, as in Bernie Parent’s first two seasons after being traded he won two Stanley Cups, two Conn Smythe trophies, and two Vezina trophies. He was also incredible during the regular season, posting a record of 177-60-57 in 298 games over six seasons.

Doug Favell lasted just three mediocre seasons with the Leafs and Neely posted decent numbers but was gone after four seasons on defense.

No. 1: Toronto trades a First Round Pick in 1991 to the New Jersey Devils for Tom Kurvers

The New Jersey Devils got a player who had 476 points in 892 games and helped them to Stanley Cups in 1995, 2000, and 2003 (and nearly another one in 2001).

He then went on to sign with the Anaheim Ducks as a free agent, where he added another 157 points in 209 games, and added a fourth Stanley Cup ring to his resume in 2007. He has won a Memorial Cup and gold medals at the World Junior Championship, the World Championship, the World Cup of Hockey, and Winter Olympics.

I am of course talking about Scott Neidermayer, a franchise player who without a doubt would have made a huge impact on the Maple Leafs organization.

While the Leafs in turn got a player who had a respectable 52 points in his first season with the Leafs, but followed that up the next season with only three assists through 19 games before being traded to Vancouver for Brian Bradley, a player eventually lost in the 92’ expansion draft for nothing.

Not much of a Neidermayer fan? The Leafs could have had Peter Forsberg, Brian Rolston, Alexei Kovalev, Markus Naslund, Glen Murray, or Martin Rucinsky instead.

Honorable Mentions:

Toronto trades Fredrick Modin to the Tampa Bay Lightning for Cory Cross and a Seventh Round Pick.

Toronto trades Tukka Rask to the Boston Bruins for Andrew Raycroft.

Toronto trades Larry Murphy to the Detroit Red Wings for Future Considerations.

Toronto trades Alyn McCauley, Brad Boyes and a 2003 First Round Pick (Mark Stuart) to the San Jose Sharks for Owen Nolan.

Toronto trades Jason Smith to the Edmonton Oilers for a Second Round Pick in 2000 (Kris Vernarsky).

Toronto trades Adam Mair and a 2nd round draft pick (Mike Cammalleri) for Aki Berg.

NHL's Only Hope to Solve Woes Is Contraction

G L — Thu, 25 Dec 2008 06:30:44 -0500

Gary Bettman tried expansion and it hasn’t worked.

With the economic downturn, weakened Canadian dollar, and heavily indebted owners, the elimination of several teams from the 30-team league seems to be the only logical answer to avoiding a complete financial meltdown of the National Hockey League.

Teams in non-traditional markets with low revenues are drawing heavy subsidies from the NHL’s profit sharing pool, which is putting an increasing drain on the entire league. These teams, which were strewn across the southern USA, were destined to fail before the puck even dropped.

With revenues dropping as well as the salary cap projected to fall over the next couple of years, these teams will no longer be able to afford the large salaries of big name players. This in turn will decrease box office revenue and further diminish fan support.

It has been reported that the Phoenix Coyotes are already receiving financial assistance from the NHL, as owner Jerry Moyes is expected to lose more than $30 million this season. He has reportedly lost up to $200 million since he purchased the franchise for $120 million seven years ago.

Economics aside, many believe the NHL’s talent pool is already diluted and fewer teams would mean more skillful players, with an emphasis on speed and creativity, as opposed to teams who must work with less skillful third or fourth line players with an emphasis on sound defensive systems.

When MLB contracted the league in 2001, Bud Selig said, "It makes no sense for Major League Baseball to be in markets that generate insufficient local revenues to justify the investment in the franchise.”

Maybe Bud was right about something and it is finally time for Mr. Bettman to put his stubbornness aside and face the facts that the NHL will never be able to compete with the NFL, MLB, and NBA in American markets.

But there is still no indication that the NHL commissioner has comprehended this. He seems to be oblivious to the National Hockey League’s distress, most recently blocking the sale of the Nashville Predators to Jim Balsille because he was interested in moving a team to the hockey rich area of southern Ontario.

Surely if he had been interested in moving the team to Oklahoma or Las Vegas, this transaction would have gone through without any problems.

The only rational answer to me would be to contract the league to 24 teams, while adding at least two more Canadian teams, most likely in southern Ontario and Winnipeg.

Gary needs to forget about this notion of hockey becoming a national entity in the US and focus on teams in legitimate hockey markets where they have no problems filling the arenas every night. Only then will all the NHL franchises be able to become truly profitable again.

Brian Burke's Trade Options

G L — Sun, 21 Dec 2008 06:23:10 -0500

Brian Burke’s Trade Options

With the Christmas Trade Freeze soon coming to an end, Brian Burke has his work cut out for him in the months heading up to the March trade deadline. He is well aware the Leafs are more than a few players short of becoming Cup contenders and will have to build this team through smart scouting and drafting.

So, one of Burke’s first priorities will be to stockpile as many draft picks for the 2009 draft as possible. So far, these are a few of his options.

1. Nik Antropov becomes a free agent at the end of this year and Burke will not likely be interested in resigning him as he doesn’t fit into the rebuilding phase . He had a career year last season with 56 pts (26G, 31A), and was plus-10 in 72 games and this year is on pace for a 60-point season.

He does not have a no trade clause and may be dealt to a strong playoff contender that is just looking to make minor improvements to its lineup, such as San Jose. The Leafs in turn could receive a second-round draft pick and a prospect.

2. Jason Blake is one of the last overpriced and over-aged players from the John Ferguson Jr. era. He is already 35 years old and with three years and $12 million left on his contract, he no longer fits into the Leafs' rebuilding process.

With his improved play lately he might be dealt in exchange for a player with another large contract a team is trying to dump. The benefits of this being the Leafs are well under the salary cap and might also be able to pick up a draft pick or a prospect in this exchange.

If Burke can not find any takers this year look at his contract being bought out this summer.

3. Thomas Kaberle is one of Brian Burke’s greatest trade assets approaching the deadline and it has been widely reported that Kaberle was already contacted about the possibility of being traded and would be willing to waive his no trade clause for the right team.

Although at times this season he has struggled defensively, he is still one of the best defensemen in the league. He is sure to attract a lot of attention from teams seeking defensive solidarity and has already generated interest at this years GM meetings in Florida.

The Leafs do not have to pull the trigger on this trade immediately though as Kaberle is still under contract until the 2010-2011 season (at only $4.25M per season) and have the possibility of trading him this summer as his no trade clause expires July first, 2009.

The Leafs in return will be expecting at least a first round draft pick and a prospect or another impact player.

4. Vesa Toskola is a proven starting goalie and would defiantly generate interest if Burke decided to move him before the deadline. Although his numbers don’t look great, you must remember most nights he faces the most shots in the league and plays behind a team known for its defensive gaffs.

There are always teams looking for a goaltender going into the playoffs and don’t be surprised if a team is willing to part with a first-round draft pick or a high prospect for him.

5. Alexei Ponikarovsky is one pace for one of his best seasons yet Burke may feel its time to sell while his stock is high and try to acquire more draft picks. It would be unlikely he would be packaged in a deal with Antropov, but may be traded to another cup contender looking to add a big bodied left winger. The Leafs in return would expect something similar to an Antropov deal such as second-round draft pick and a prospect.

6. Pavel Kubina, after coming off his first 40 point season, teams may also be interested in Kubina, especially if Kaberle is no longer on the table. He is making approximately $5 million per season, with one remaining year left on his contract after this season and may be traded if the Leafs want to further cut down their salary and add draft picks.

He may generate interest in a playoff team looking to add a big defenseman with playoff experience and a Stanley Cup ring. Although Kubina does have a no-trade clause until this summer, it is likely that Brian Burke could work something out if the right deal came along.