OOOOh SNAP!

Gary disses Jim !

well...only sort of in a roundabout way...but he points out the fact that the Govenors rejected Jim's bid based (mainly it would appear) on the section that says "the league can reject potential owners if it does not believe they are of "good character and integrity," as well as for financial reasons."

ohhh SNAP!

from last night...to tonight

Steve says:

Some good things happened for the Leafs:
Sens beat the Penguins
Devils beat the Bruins
Flames beat Tampa

but, with the good comes the bad

habs beat flyers
isles beat yotes

So after all the dust has settled, Toronto gets bumped down to 10th place.
The good way to spin this is that we are now in a 3 way tie for points with Pittsburgh and NYIslanders. Pittsburgh has played the same number of games as us, and the Islanders only have 1 game in hand.
The Habs, Rangers, Bruins, and Devils have all also played the same number of games...so we can really see where we sit right now...which is out of a playoff spot.

That means that our future is really in our own hands now. Hopefully we fans will not be left on the edge of our seats hoping for some other team to win in order to decide our playoff fate this year.

Of the games happening tonight, here is who I hope wins...

Caps over Sabres
Flames over Canes
Leafs over Thrashers (duh)

Go Leafs Go!

Trade Talks at last

Steve says:

Finally there are some real trade talks happening...rumours still...but these seem to have some weight to them rather than the usual fluff that floats around the NHL....

from a rumour site...

"A possible trade between the Leafs and either the Coyotes, Ducks, or Avs. . . this deal is a big one and there are very some big names involved going both ways...I also am told that it could happen as soon as today or could be a "weekend blockbuster." This from various sources throughout the NHL. I have been completely swamped by this one since around 10 pm last night. "

So we shall see...some of the names kicked around have been McCabe (of course), Kaberle (noooo!), Doan (yesss!), Getzlaf (hell yess!), and a myriad of others...in various quantities and assorted picks...

Hopefully something good will come of this...maybe we can get Phoenix's 1st round pick somehow....maybe a 1st round in 2 years so we can get Tavares the legal way...

Chris:

God no. Please. Not the Coyotes.

Their taint of failure is worse than ours.

Pre-Season: Game 3 Phoenix v. Toronto

Chris says:

What goes around, comes around.

After beating the Coyotes 3-2 in their last pre-season match up Wednesday, the Leafers found themselves on the short end of the stick against the very same team dropping last night’s game by an identical score.

Most disturbing element?

The Coyotes scored on Toskala with their first shot on net. If that doesn’t say humbling I don’t know what does. Now, the man isn’t completely to blame. There was some pretty lackluster D being played by the Leafs throughout. But I have to say this was supposed to be one of our big off-season upgrades and with Raycroft performing about as well as he normally does, I’m not seeing out of Tosk to put my faith in him quite yet.

This is what the Pre-Season is all about, finding your rhythm and getting familiar with your new teammates’ style of play. I just hope I don’t have to wait too much longer in order to see some tangible results.



Steve says:

So last nights game was not exactly what most of us had in mind when we thought of Vesa Toskala's first game as a Leaf.
First shot = first weak goal.
Some people actually booed Vesa for that.
But, just for a minute, try to imagine the nerves that must have been working overtime for Toskala.
He comes from San Jose, where their average attendance was probably in the ball park of 7-10,000. And reporters after the game? Maybe 1 or 2 here and there...
Now move to the centre of the Hockey universe where thousands of people spend their entire day either chatting on forums, or talking on the radio, or TV or in coffee shops and bars about every single move the team and the management make. At every practise there is a swarm of media. At game time, the ACC is exploding with energy.
Add to it the fact that Vesa sat on the pine for most of the games in SJ, and that it was the first game after a long summer.

I think if you take that all into account, Vesa can be forgiven losing game one.

Just don't let it happen again, or Toronto will have your head!

Pre-Season: Game 2

Chris says:

For those of you keeping track at home, our Pre-Season stats are 1 win and 1 loss. Of course no one is breaking out the champagne quite yet. A 3 – 2 win against the Coyotes, a team widely expected to make a run for the bottom, is hardly conclusive proof of anything. But we here at Hockey Talk are eternal optimists and even a win at a glorified game of shinny has us dreaming of the Cup.

I’m feeling good so far about the Sundin-Blake line. I think having a 40 goal scorer on his flank will go a long way to relieving some of the pressure he must feel to carry the line as well as creating a double scoring threat. Last night seems to bear that out.

Goal scorers last night? Blake, Steen and Kilger.

Here’s to 2008.

Steve says:
That's a bit better boys...The Sundin-Blake combo is starting to look really good, but damn we have got to stop giving the puck away (Gill, I'm looking at you).
although Gill had 2 helpers in the game, he also did a tape to tape pass right onto a phoenix players stick....
I mean, come on,...that's basic stuff we are dealing with here...Don't pass the puck to the other team.
If you lose the puck in a battle on the boards, OK
If you lose the puck scrambling in front of the net, OK (not great but OK)
BUT
If you are in your zone and you PASS it to the other team, NOT OK!
We need to work on D still, but it should come with time....and Raycroft looked shaky in the last minute, but had much better rebound control for most of the night. The go ahead goal scored by Phoenix was , yup you guessed it , short side glove hand!..dude...practise using your glove ...PLEASE!!!!

so, overall I'd say that was a below average game, with some moments of offensive greatness against a mediocre team.
We will need to do better against other teams.
but a win is a win...I'll take it....and yes, I am wearing the Blue and White today!