The 08-09 Toronto Maple Leafs Season Preview

The time has come to start the countdown to the opening night of the 08-09 NHL regular season. The preseason is already underway and we have already got a first look at the new faces in the Toronto Maple Leafs dressing room and front office. With that said, let's break down the new look Leafs.

New Faces:

FW Nicklas Hagman, Jamal Mayers, Nikolai Kulemin, Mikhail Grabovski, Ryan Hollweg

D Jeff Finger, Jonas Frogren, Mike van Ryn

G Curtis Joseph

Key Departures:

FW Mats Sundin, Kyle Wellwood, Darcy Tucker, John Pohl

D Bryan McCabe

G Andrew Raycroft

This offseason the Leafs sent a few recognizable faces packing and brought in some fresh faces to try and avoid being out of the playoff picture for the 4th year in a row. However, many of the moves made were for players with potential that may be reached in the future.

Forwards

Antropov--Grabovski--Ponikarovsky

Blake--Stajan--Steen

Hagman--Moore--Mayers

Kulemin--Hollweg--Tlusty

Other Noticeables: Bell, Devereaux, Williams, Newbury

Most of the forwards on this Leafs team would be fixtures on secondary scoring lines elsewhere in the league. They play very well and get an A for effort, but whether they have raw talent remains to be seen. Tlusty got a good feel for the NHL last season playing in 58 games, scoring 10 goals and 6 assists. He will be counted on to improve, as well as everyone else, and will most likely double his numbers this year.

Another young talent new to this team is Nikolai Kulemin. A forward most well known for being Evgeni Malkin's former linemate on Magnitorisk (in Russia), he scored 21 goals last year in the Russian league and should be ready for full time duty as well as increasing his numbers. Mikhail Grabovski is also looking to spike up his numbers, especially if he gets bumped up to the first line, as he is expected to be given every opportunity to excel inbetween Antropov and Ponikarovsky

Some of the returning veterans counted on to produce on scoring lines will be Nikolai Antropov, Jason Blake, and Alexi Ponakarovsky. Antropov had a career-high 56 points last year and GM Cliff Fletcher has previously stated that he is the main man up front for the blue and white this year. If the leafs expect any opportunity for the playoffs this year Antropov is going to need to put up another career year for the Leafs.

Jason Blake went from 40 goals to 15 last season, but most fans didn't notice how much his 37 assists helped the team. However, Blake should still return to at least 20-30 goals and around 60-70 points in the coming year.

Ponikarovsky is now a fixture on the top two lines and scored 35 points in 66 games last year. Solid numbers, but not good enough for a 1st or even 2nd liner. He is one of the top forwards though, and he will be expected to have put up numbers that he has never put up before.

Alex Steen and Matt Stajan are going to take on higher-leverage roles this season with the departures of the older team leaders. They have made the jump from the young guns to the more experienced leaders in the dressing room. Both of them will be expected to excel as star players for the Leafs in the upcoming season.

There are many players on the Leafs who have been expected to have potential for the future, but this year the future looks to be now as these players are now the stars of their respective team.

Grade: C

Defense

Kaberle--Finger

Stralman--Kubina

Van Ryn--Frogren

Other Notables: Kronwall, White, Coliacovo, Schenn

The Leafs are crowded at defense this season with many new players being brought in during the offseason. Jeff Finger, the most notable of these players, looks to be a fixture on a top pairing. He can play solid shutdown defense, and while not that capable offensively, the Leafs do have Kaberle and Kubina for a reason. He should get better as the season progresses, much like last year.

Tomas Kaberle has had at least 50 points in each of the past 3 seasons, so repeating that effort shouldn't be difficult, while Pavel Kubina has got past early criticism to be a valuable offensive defenseman.

The rest of the Leafs' defensive core remains up in the air and it will be the story of training camp in the preseason. Many young and new faces are trying to make their mark in training camp to stand out above all the rest. Anton Stralman has been highly touted and should hold down a spot on the defense, but will recieve challenge from other defensemen such as Nicklas Kronwall, Ian White, Carlo Coliacovo, and perhaps even 18-year old Luke Schenn.

Kronwall played in the AHL for most of last year but has spent parts of his last 3 seasons with the Leafs. He remains a good defensive defenseman. Ian White has played 2 full seasons with the Leafs but is in danger of losing his job, despite 21 points in 81 games last year.

Coliacovo has had bad luck with injuries over the past few years and many has labelled him as injury-prone. He remains an enigma with enormous potential that he has failed to reach. As well, Luke Schenn plays a very complete game for an 18-year old, although he is not expected to make the team this year. He will probably spend another season in the WHL before making his Leafs debut. Even though the defense doesn't look that strong on paper, it is a big improvement defensively from last season.

Grade: B-

Goaltending:

Toskala

Joseph

Other Notable: Pogge

Vesa Toskala has been a stud goaltender as he has been one of the top players overall on the Leafs during his first year with the organization. If the leafs are going to make any noise this year, you can guarantee Vesa will be a big reason why. Backing him up is the legendary Curtis Joseph, who played well in Calgary during the stretch run last year. While losing a lot of leaders last year, bringing in Joseph will put him into a big leadership role with the younger players, even as a backup.

Justin Pogge had a good year in the AHL last season. However, he is not ready for the NHL just yet. He is expected to make the jump to the NHL either next season or the year after. The goaltending will need to be the focal point of the Leafs roster if they are expecting to be a playoff contender. On paper, the goaltending seems to be the strongest aspect of the team.

Grade: A-

Although the Leafs are not expected to do well this season, they are looking better towards the future to get the organization back on track. This season I believe many people will be surprised by the young look Leafs. However, do not set your sights on a playoff position this coming April.

Overall Grade: C

Prediction: 10th in East