Toronto Maple Leafs News

Kaberle looks like a keeper: Leafs likely to keep star defender
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March 14
Toronto Sun
 
"Tomas Kaberle is a wanted man. But will it remain that way through the summer? On Friday, general manager Brian Burke, during a radio interview in Toronto, said he "expected" the veteran defenceman return to the Maple Leafs next season. On Saturday, coach Ron Wilson echoed the sentiments of his GM. "Hopefully, he will be back," Wilson said. "He has a role carrying the puck and on the power play. We have (other guys) who concentrate on the defensive aspect of the game on our blue line." Kaberle has one more season remaining on his contract, which pays him a cap-friendly annual salary of $4.25 million US. He does have a no-trade clause, of course, one that becomes moot from the June draft ..."
Career opportunities for Leafs
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March 13
Toronto Sun
 
"Given the number of players the boss has put on airplanes out of town recently, one wonders why the remaining Maple Leafs even needed the lecture from Brian Burke in the first place. Given the career opportunity, both in ice time and potential income, shouldn't it have been obvious? It came anyway, as the general manager always does with his teams following the trade deadline, and only the clueless among the remaining Leafs could miss the point. Burke met with the team a little over a week ago and, no doubt in colourful language, elaborated on what should have been apparent. "I think his message was pretty clear," Leafs goaltender J-S Giguere said following Friday's optional practice at ..."
Familiar face returns as Quinn guides Oilers
Comment
March 13
Toronto Star
 
"If Pat Quinn has any regrets, it's that he hasn't won the Stanley Cup yet. Now the coach of the Edmonton Oilers, Quinn reminisced Friday about his tenure with the Maple Leafs – a club he still has his fingerprints on, saying he believed a couple of teams back there he thought were good enough to go all the way. "I've been to the finals a couple of times," said Quinn. "I always felt I had some teams in Toronto, two, maybe three, that were capable of winning a Cup. We didn't do it. I guess that's what sports is all about. "At the end of the day, for me the pleasure has always been the people I've been able to work with and get some good results. I think there are probably 700 or 800 players, ..."
Leafs' Viktor Stalberg goes from video games to reality
Comment
March 13
Toronto Star
 
"It's one thing to be in the NHL and quite another to be convinced you belong there, especially when you've grown accustomed to facing those big-name opponents in video games. It can be a bit overwhelming, Viktor Stalberg concedes, lining up against the likes of Ryan Getzlaf or Nicklas Lidstrom without benefit of a game controller in your hand. There's no button to push for that extra speed to the outside. But, the Maple Leafs winger is learning and showing he doesn't have to be in the virtual world to put up points. "Most of the guys playing in this league are guys that I've been playing (against) on video games the last four years. So, obviously, when you go out there, you're a little ..."
Treat it like the playoffs
Comment
March 12
Toronto Sun
 
"The playoffs are here for the Maple Leafs. Just don't expect any parties on Yonge St., the CN Tower lit up in blue and white, or actual hope they still will be around in May and June. This is the stretch of the schedule that coach Ron Wilson has told his young team to attack as if they were in the running for eighth place, to be the classic spoilers in an intense Eastern Conference playoff race. "We didn't call up a beer league team and tell them: 'Go have a gas in the NHL,' " Wilson said of his kids Thursday before a home game against the Tampa Bay Lightning. "We think they can help us in the future and this is their audition time. "It has more to do with them wanting to make our team ..."
The story on some Pat Quinn myths
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March 12
Toronto Sun
 
"Pat Quinn wants to set the record straight. There are certain urban myths that were prevalent during his time in Toronto he claims simply weren't true. Here are three major ones. THE ALLEGED MYTH: Pat Quinn can not coach young players. QUINN SAYS: "I don't know where that came from. My first year in Toronto, we had three rookies on defence — Tomas Kaberle, Danny Markov and Yannick Tremblay." Since being dismissed by the Leafs in 2006, he also coached Canada to gold medals at the '08 Under-18 worlds and the '09 Under-20 worlds. THE ALLEGED MYTH: Pat Quinn scuttled Mats Sundin's effectiveness by not playing the captain 25-30 minutes a game. QUINN SAYS: "We studied it. Mats was most effective ..."
Honours for Quinn Saturday: Burke
Comment
March 12
Toronto Sun
 
"Brian Burke promises that Pat Quinn will be honoured in some capacity during his return to the Air Canada Centre Saturday. "Pat was here for a long time and did some great things," Burke said Thursday from Toronto. "It would be wrong not to acknowledge that." Quinn knows Burke well, having hired him as director of hockey operations with the Vancouver Canucks in 1987. To that end, Quinn feels Burke has the right makeup to handle the rigours of being the Maple Leafs GM. "Because of all the scrutiny and second guessing there, you have to have the self-confidence to believe in what you are doing and stick to the plan, even if you keep getting criticized for it," Quinn said. "Brian has that." ..."
NHL all-star game headed back to T.O.?
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March 12
Toronto Sun
 
"Ten years after they hosted a successful NHL all-star game - and floated the idea of making Toronto its permanent home - the Maple Leafs are re-launching a strong bid. The Leafs hope to land either the 2012 or 2013 all-star weekend for the Air Canada Centre, with 2014 up in the air because of the NHL's uncertainty with going to the Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia. "We've developed a very strong proposal that reflects making this NHL weekend event into the ultimate sports experience, and we're confident that hockey fans and Torontonians share our desire," Bob Hunter, executive vice-president of venues for Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment Ltd, said in a release on Thursday. "An important ..."
Leafs' speedster Viktor Stalberg helps sink Lightning
Comment
March 12
Toronto Star
 
"Somewhere in all the excitement provided by Steve Stamkos and Phil Kessel on Thursday night, Viktor Stalberg found his groove. For headline-grabbing and highlight-reel plays, Stamkos and Kessel factored hugely in the Leafs' 4-3 overtime win over the Tampa Bay Lightning. Stamkos' scoring artistry was on display with a wrist shot into the top corner in the first period that would look good on any goal scorer, let alone someone newly turned 20. Kessel finished off a tight game on a great play with another promising Leafs youngster (Tyler Bozak), bagging the overtime winner for his 23rd goal of the season."
Leafs can only drool over Tampa's Stamkos
Comment
March 12
Toronto Star
 columnist Rosie DiManno
"Now, Colton Orr may be an entirely fine fellow and precisely as advertised, pugilistic defender of the Maple Leaf realm, with probably his own adoring fan faction. But when the scoreboard un-spools a highlight reel for a player with two (2) goals and two (2) assists on the season – albeit third overall in league penalty minutes (183) – a cynical observer might suggest Toronto is scraping the bottom of the video-meritorious barrel, just as it is creeping along bedrock bottom of the NHL standings, a race to the abyss that will be contended come Pat Quinn's sadsack Edmonton Oilers on Saturday night. Not to dump on Orr and his ilk. At this point in another lost Maple Leafs campaign, all ..."
Maple Leafs beat Tampa Bay Lightning 4-3 in overtime
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March 12
St. Petersburg Times
 
"Remember the guys in the old black-and-white movies who got stuck in quicksand? Whatever they did to get out, they still were sucked slowly down. That kind of sums up the Lightning, which showed resiliency Thursday night to overcome two one-goal deficits but fell 4-3 in overtime to the Maple Leafs at the Air Canada Centre to drop another point back in the playoff race. "We need every last point we can get," defenseman Mike Lundin said. "By not getting these points, we're digging ourselves deeper." Tampa Bay (27-28-11), on a 1-6-1 streak and winless in five straight on the road, is six points and two teams behind the Bruins — who beat the Flyers on Thursday — for the last playoff spot in ..."
Lightning fall in overtime to Toronto
Comment
March 12
Tampa Tribune
 
"While the Tampa Bay Lightning continue to attempt to make a playoff push, they keep getting shoved further down the Eastern Conference standings. With just one win in the past eight games - after Thursday's 4-3 overtime loss to Toronto - Tampa Bay sits six points behind Boston for the final playoff spot with 16 games left on the schedule. And with each point lost, the road gets that much more complicated to navigate back up the standings. "We have to go on a streak, we have to, everyone knows that," said center Steven Stamkos, who scored for the seventh consecutive game while extending his points streak to 18 games. It was hard to fault the effort put forth against a Toronto team loaded ..."
Kulemin speaks up
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March 11
Toronto Sun
 
"With a little help from Treehouse (adults without kids, never mind), Nikolai Kulemin has been able to get a handle on English. "My boy (Alexei) is 11 months now and he is just starting to watch TV," Kulemin said. "I watch the kids movies. I feel more comfortable this year. Now, English is not hard for me." Russian native Kulemin, in his second year with the Maple Leafs, has been getting a firm grip on the NHL dialect, as well. But no coach ever is truly satisfied, and though Kulemin has developed into a defensively responsible player, Ron Wilson could have settled for more scoring out of the 23-year-old in 2009-10. Kulemin had 15 goals as a rookie, and with 16 games remaining, has 13 this ..."
Leafs support headshot penalties
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March 11
Toronto Sun
 
"Three bruising members of the Maple Leafs have thrown their weight behind the NHL's take on headshots. The NHL's general managers, after three days of meetings in Florida, have tabled a rule change that would address headshots, a problem that was underscored when Matt Cooke of the Pittsburgh Penguins devastated the Boston Bruins' Marc Savard with a blindside hit on Sunday. The GMs put forth the language that "a lateral, back pressure or blindside hit to an opponent where the head is targeted and/or the principal point of contact is not permitted. A violation of the above will result in a minor or a major penalty and shall be reviewed for possible supplemental discipline." The ..."
Leafs' Kulemin more at ease, and it's showing
Comment
March 11
Toronto Star
 
"There is an argument to be made that soon-to-be-one-year-old Alexei, who props himself up against his dad in front of their television, has helped Nikolai Kulemin's career more than any coach. Together, the two watch Treehouse, a father and son learning the foundations of English that will eventually make them both more at ease in Dad's adopted hockey home. "English is easier than Russian," Kulemin says with a smile, talking about his television tutor."
Caputi can sure 'pasta' puck
Comment
March 10
Toronto Sun
 
"Ron Wilson joked that his first attempt to cash in on Luca Caputi's popularity with Toronto's huge Italian community didn't go over too well. "I went to an Italian restaurant (Monday) night and had to pay full fare," the Leafs coach said in a mock complaint at the morning skate. "So (Caputi) will be lucky if he gets on the power play tonight." Caputi gave up trying to get tickets for everyone in the Maple and Woodbridge areas that wanted to see him debut at the ACC - and score a goal."
Comeback kids
Comment
March 10
Toronto Sun
 columnist Bill Lankhof
"As masterpieces go, it looked a bit like fridge art. But, with victories so scarce, Nikolai Kulemin, Luca Caputi and Carl Gunnarsson combined on what felt like a genuine Picasso. The Maple Leafs missed open nets, they failed on the power play and Phil Kessel remains snake-bitten against his former club. But none of that mattered after Kulemin scored with 50 seconds left for a 4-3 overtime win over Boston. Caputi, making his Air Canada Centre debut scored the tying goal, Gunnarsson was a threat much of the night joining the rush and somehow the Leafs picked up the pieces of a fractured game. Mostly, they never quit, coming from behind three times. "I didn't think we had a good first ..."
Caputi the pride of both Maple and the Leafs
Comment
March 10
Toronto Star
 
"On this night, they really were the "Maple" Leafs. With a sizeable portion of Maple, Ont., on hand to watch favourite son Luca Caputi make his home debut in a Toronto uniform, the kid shook off that added pressure and delivered. With some 35 family members and friends trekking down from the town north of Toronto to capture the moment, Caputi potted his first goal as a Leaf, banging a loose puck into the open side in the third to push Tuesday's tilt against the visiting Bruins into overtime tied at 3-3. It was the kind of magical snapshot that Caputi imagined since he was a kid, growing up a huge fan of the Leafs and Doug Gilmour. It was made even sweeter when Nikolai Kulemin showed his ..."
Welcome back, Grabovski
Comment
March 9
Toronto Sun
 
"When Mikhail Grabovski broke his wrist on Jan. 2, the Maple Leafs were a fairly veteran team with designs on a playoff spot and the forward positioned as a middle-of-the-pack scorer. He's set to return Tuesday against the Boston Bruins with the Leafs reduced by trades to the youngest club in the NHL, stuck in 29th place and him their third-highest scorer by default. So count the 26-year-old among those in dire need of a strong finish in the remaining 17 games. Grabovski also is trying to get back in general manager Brian Burke's good books after a scrape with the law in Vancouver during the Olympics, an alleged role in a street brawl. Burke did not mince words at the time about Grabovski ..."
Mind the hits
Comment
March 9
Toronto Sun
 columnist Lance Hornby
"They carted off Marc Savard on a stretcher on Sunday, now see if the NHL sweeps him under a carpet. Matt Cooke could wind up with a suspension, the general managers committee will have another intense deliberation on the topic on Tuesday and there will be more hand-wringing about head shots in the media and demands for automatic minors and majors. But tinkering with the physical element of the game touches too close to home for a lot of people and not just those with power and influence. As much as the Maple Leafs and Boston Bruins were critical of Cooke on Monday, and to a lesser extent, Chris Neil of the Senators, who flattened Toronto's John Mitchell shoulder-to-noggin on Saturday, they ..."
The Leafs' Punisher
Comment
March 9
Toronto Sun
 columnist Steve Simmons
"If he could it again, and Colton Orr knows full well he cannot, he would keep his fingers to himself. All three of them. "That's not me," he said on the phone Monday, talking of his post-fight celebration after his fourth scrap with Matt Carkner. "I don't really do that kind of stuff. I've never been one of those guys who likes to celebrate. I just like to do my job. "If I had that situation again, it would be different." That was Saturday night in Ottawa. The next night in Philadelphia may have been worse. "I took bad penalties," Orr said. "You can't do that. A couple of bad penalties really cost the team. You can't put your team in that kind of trouble." It is forever a fine line for ..."
Leafs decry head shot to the Bruins' Savard
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March 9
Toronto Sun
 
"Marc Savard of the Boston Bruins won't be around to face the Maple Leafs on Tuesday, but the fallout from the head shot that led to his concussion and a similar close call with Toronto's John Mitchell dominated talk Monday during practice at the MasterCard Centre. Savard, who was taken off the ice on a board Sunday, was flown home from Pittsburgh to be evaluated by team doctors and a concussion specialist. A parade of Leafs spoke out against the Matt Cooke hit in Sunday's Bruins-Penguins game, but the fact there was no penalty call then, nor Saturday in Ottawa against the Senators' Chris Neil for his hit on Mitchell, underlined the difficulties the NHL has whenever the issue arises. No ..."
Leafs' Phaneuf urges NHL not to cut out 'clean hits'
Comment
March 9
Toronto Star
 
"There was a great deal of sympathy for concussed Bruins centre Marc Savard emanating from the Maple Leafs, and a general feeling that head shots like the one Savard suffered Sunday in Pittsburgh ought to be eliminated from the game. But, says hard-hitting defenceman Dion Phaneuf, not at the expense of reducing contact. "If a guy is coming through the middle of the ice and you hit him with your shoulder, that's a clean hit," said Phaneuf. "You can't take hitting out of the game of hockey. Contact is still a big part of this game. If a guy's coming though the middle and he's got his head down, that leaves him vulnerable to be hit. If it's a clean hit, with your shoulder to him with his head ..."
Blue and white tally troubles
Comment
March 8
Toronto Sun
 columnist Rob Longley
"They fight for each other, finish checks and generally put in an honest all-for-one, one-for-all effort most nights. But the biggest challenge facing the young Maple Leafs for the remainder of the NHL season will be mastering the game's basic requirement. Scoring continues to be at a premium for coach Ron Wilson's hard-working team, post trade deadline purge. They outshot the Philadelphia Flyers Sunday night at the Wachovia Center and often outplayed them, yet with no punch up front, never really had a shot of winning. The result was a 3-1 loss, the Leafs fifth defeat in the past six games, a run of games in which they were unable to score more than two goals even once. Without touch ..."
Leafs part ways with Jackson
Comment
March 8
Toronto Sun
 
"The Maple Leafs shakeup hasn't been limited to the organization's on-ice employees. The team recently parted ways with Jeff Jackson, the team's assistant general manager and director of hockey operations. "Jeff did a good job but he wants to move up in the organization and it's a situation where he didn't think that was going to be the case," Dave Nonis, the Leafs' seniour vice president of hockey operations said Sunday. "He met with (GM Brian Burke) and they decided it was best he move on." Jackson was considered a salary cap expert and most recently also was responsible for Toronto's AHL affiliate, Marlies. That task now moves to Nonis, who was well versed with the AHL in his days with ..."
Leafs go down swinging
Comment
March 8
Toronto Star
 
"The Leafs have become a younger team, but the question remains how much different they are from that Jan. 31 roster that was ineffective and ultimately dismantled. The new, youth-filled Leafs certainly proved over two games this weekend that the foundation for a new culture – and a possible return to the playoffs next season – is firmly in place. Toronto lost 3-1 to Philadelphia here Sunday night, but those youngsters were just as energetic and truculent as they were in a solid 2-1 win in Ottawa the night before."
Gagne boosts Flyers past Maple Leafs
Comment
March 8
Philadelphia Inquirer
 
"Restricted by the salary cap and lack of attractive draft picks, the Flyers watched last week's trade deadline pass without adding some pop to their offense, leaving them to quietly wonder if Simon Gagne would address the problem by rekindling the scoring touch that once ranked him among the NHL's elite finishers. In a 3-1 win over sad-sack Toronto last night at the Wachovia Center, the veteran left winger offered some hope by continuing his modest surge. From the Flyers' perspective, Gagne's second-period goal had to be one of the more positive developments in a dreary contest that was hardly a rousing return to their home ice for the first time in 23 days following the break for the ..."
Leafs call up two after bruising
Comment
March 7
Toronto Sun
 
"The always changing Maple Leafs lineup will have two new faces tonight when Toronto faces the Flyers here. Injuries to John Mitchell and Freddie Sjostrom in Saturday's bruising shootout win against the Ottawa Senators have forced management to call up a couple of players from the AHL to fill out the roster. Centre Tim Brent and left winger Jay Rosehill are expected to arrive in time for the third meeting of the season between the two rivals. Both Mitchell and Sjostrom left the game with what the team is describing as "upper body injuries." Mitchell was nailed by the Sens' Chris Neil, a shoulder shot to the head that had the Leafs steamed. It was believed Mitchell suffered a mild concussion ..."
Leafs must solve Kaberle situation
Comment
March 7
Toronto Sun
 
"To trade or not to trade - that is the upcoming question with Tomas Kaberle. And it comes with no easy answer. If the Maple Leafs determine to trade Kaberle this summer, when his no-trade clause is deactivated, they do so with many issues worthy of debate. Who do they get to replace Kaberle? How do they replace a defenceman of his puck-handling skills and reasonable contractual status? And what happens to the possibility of Dion Phaneuf on the power play, taking advantage of Kaberle's perfect one-timer feeds? This is the long-time story of the long-time Leaf: He is the only chip they have to bargain, but do they get better by moving him or keeping him? He has a rare skill, yet ..."
Orr flashes the fans
Comment
March 7
Toronto Sun
 
"When Matt Carkner saw Colton Orr flash triple fingers to the Scotiabank crowd, he knew his Maple Leafs pugilist partner wasn't signifying three wins for Toronto over the Senators in the Battle of Ontario. Orr was trying to claim the victory in the third of four fights in as many games between them, though Carkner took exception to the signal as showboating. "He was probably celebrating because he had three shifts in the game or something," Carkner retorted. Actually, Orr was a little more involved than usual in the game, seven minutes worth, with two Leafs teammates injured in the rock 'em-sock 'em affair, peppered with the Carkner fight that has been hyped here for a month. "Heat of the ..."
Goalie guessing game
Comment
March 7
Toronto Sun
 
"The Maple Leafs and Ottawa Senators are tinkering with their goaltenders heading into the latest chapter of the Battle of Ontario on Saturday. Toronto coach Ron Wilson is making good on his plan to use Jonas Gustavsson more down the stretch, planning to start him ahead Jean-Sebastien Giguere, despite the latter blanking the Sens 5-0 in the last meeting. Giguere would then get the start Sunday in Philadelphia where the rookie Gustavsson was beaten decisively in January. "We have to see exactly what Jonas can do for us," said Wilson, with an eye to the goaltender's free agent status this summer. Down the hall, the Sens might not have a choice but to come back with Pascal Leclaire, who was ..."
Cherry criticizes the other Orr's antics
Comment
March 7
Toronto Sun
 
"Mark Carkner and Colton Orr went toe-to-toe in a fight that lacked finish - except for Orr's fingers. As the Maple Leafs tough guy left the ice Saturday night at Scotiabank Place, he waved three fingers in the air, claiming his third victory in four fights vs. Carkner this season. A victory without a knockout punch. "He was probably celebrating because he had three shifts in the game or something," said Carkner. Orr sought out Carkner for Round 4, but there weren't many punches thrown or landed. Orr had Carkner tied up while the two danced near the boards. Orr landed a few before taking Carkner to the ice with 1:55 left in the first. "(It was) heat of the moment," Orr said of his ..."
Leafs capture latest battle with Ottawa
Comment
March 7
Toronto Star
 
"The Battle of Ontario turned into a war of attrition and the Maple Leafs have the battle scars to prove it. The last-place Leafs emerged with a 2-1 win over the playoff-bound Ottawa Senators – a rare Toronto shootout victory – in a game filled with heavy hits and big fights that left centre John Mitchell and winger Fredrik Sjostrom hurting. Mitchell was levelled by Chris Neil's shoulder in the first period and didn't return, a hit Leaf coach Ron Wilson believes should be made illegal."
Orr?s bouts rated 18-plus
Comment
March 6
Toronto Sun
 columnist Lance Hornby
"As the Maple Leafs get younger, Colton Orr's fight card will get longer. That's usually the way it works for NHL enforcers, at least those who find themselves in the spot that Orr does with the rebuilding Leafs. With Toronto now the youngest team in the NHL, without the injured Mike Komisarek and with Garnet Exelby not guaranteed to be in the lineup every night, Orr will be getting overtime minutes on his policeman's beat. Saturday, for example, there's a much-anticipated rematch with Ottawa Senators nemesis Matt Carkner. Orr is at 18 bouts according to hockeyfights.com, tying his mark of last season with a quarter of the schedule remaining, residing in the league's top 10 in that unique ..."
Wilson embraces spoiler role
Comment
March 6
Toronto Sun
 
"Most teams hate being reduced to the role of playoff spoilers come March and April, but coach Ron Wilson figures why not embrace it? His patchwork 29th-place team threw a scare into the Boston Bruins on Thursday and had the Boston fans booing as the young Leafs came alive in the latter stages before losing a 3-2 shootout. On Saturday, the Leafs hope to add to the two-game losing streak of the Senators and beat their provincial rivals for the second time in a month. "I'm a realist, I know the situation we're in," Wilson said Friday, talking of his team and its 19-32-12 record. "But we view every game we're in as important, because we can have a hand in who makes the playoffs and what the ..."
Jonas, breather, Jonas, breather
Comment
March 6
Toronto Sun
 
"Jean-Sebastien Giguere and Jonas Gustavsson are headed for Splitsville. What at first looked liked the Giguere Show with rookie Gustavsson reduced to sidekick status, will now see the two goaltenders split the Maple Leafs' final 18 games, coach Ron Wilson said. When Giguere arrived in a trade from Anaheim on Jan. 31 and posted two home shutouts, the Leafs spoke of the veteran taking the bulk of the games, with the hot-and-cold Swede limited to one game a week. But that plan was re-assessed after the Olympics, with the Leafs in a four-game slide and realizing Gustavsson wasn't going to get any better sitting on the end of the bench. The latter also will be a restricted free agent at the ..."
Burkie's plan tests faith
Comment
March 6
Toronto Sun
 columnist Bill Lankhof
"Brian Burke promised there would be changes when he took over as general manager of the Toronto Maple Leafs. And, there have been. It's just that nobody expected it would be a change for the bad. Toronto is now the only city in North America with two teams that have American Hockey League rosters. In rebuilding the Leafs, Burke has left this team naked of much of its recent history. Maybe, that isn't such a bad thing. Maybe this was a dirty job that someone had to do. There was general acknowledgement that big changes were necessary. But in the wake of the tsunami Burke has unleashed on the roster, there is a quiet, uneasiness that has enveloped a restless Leafs Nation. There is no ..."
Dion Phaneuf brings 'A' game to Leafs
Comment
March 6
Toronto Star
 
"If there is one player who symbolizes the kind of team GM Brian Burke wants to build, it's Dion Phaneuf. So it should come as no surprise that when coach Ron Wilson went looking for another chest to attach the alternate captain's A to, he found the hard-hitting defenceman. "Dion is the most vocal guy we have, plays hard every shift and he deserves to wear the A," Wilson said in explaining his decision to have Phaneuf join Tomas Kaberle and François Beauchemin as alternate captains. "It's definitely quite an honour to be given that," said Phaneuf. "Whether I have a letter on my jersey or not, I don't change the way that I play or the way I lead. I try to be a guy that works hard day-in, ..."
Leafs young and eager
Comment
March 5
Toronto Sun
 columnist Mike Zeisberger
"Looking down from the TD Garden press box at the 6-year-old kids stumbling and bumbling all over the ice during a first intermission youth hockey exhibition Thursday night, one press box wag could not hold his tongue. "Look at the Leafs playing down there," the sarcastic chap said. "I knew they are young but that's ridiculous." Bad pun, buddy. But the guy did have a point. These new-looked Leafs are, in fact, young, albeit not 6-year-old young. In fact, looking around the Maple Leafs dressing room prior to their game against the host Boston Bruins, it was almost like being in the company of a junior A team. This is not the way Brian Burke wanted it when he took over as general manager 15 ..."
Kaberle open to a new deal...
Comment
March 5
Toronto Sun
 
"In a perfect world, Tomas Kaberle would want to remain a Maple Leaf for life. And yes, he admits he was "happy to hear" general manager Brian Burke state Wednesday that the team was open to discussing a contract extension for the veteran defenceman. At the same time, Kaberle no longer appears so stubbornly steadfast to stay in Toronto if the right opportunity comes along elsewhere. That was evident Wednesday when Kaberle's handlers told Burke there were three destinations, known to be in the Eastern Conference, that he would be open to going to. Burke, in the end, could not complete a deal by Wednesday's 3 p.m. trade deadline. But a swap might very well happen over the summer, when the ..."
A true Blue response
Comment
March 5
Toronto Sun
 columnist Lance Hornby
"For fans of such a bad hockey team, it must be said that Leafs Nation is full of good sports. You can question their sanity - as we did every day for two weeks in our series on why they've gone 43 years without a Stanley Cup - but all that time between titles has built layers of thick skin, which can take the abuse and even allow them to see the humour of their situation. When we wrapped up the 43 instances of blunders, bad luck and bizarre behaviour that has vexed the franchise since 1967, we listed the fans' support as the No. 1 mistake, a red flag to wave at those who see the world through blue and white glasses. It was not a decision reached lightly in this corner (in another life, a ..."
Leafs' kids shine, but not quite like Bruins
Comment
March 5
Toronto Star
 
"There, in the post-game summary, is a signpost of the Maple Leafs' future: Tyler Bozak assisted by Nikolai Kulemin and Luca Caputi. None older than 23 and all in on the goal that knotted the score at 2-2 in the third period Thursday and pushed a strong Toronto effort against the Bruins into overtime. The Leafs could have even finished this off too and started their new era with a win if not for a n excellent night's work from Boston netminder Tim Thomas, who toyed with American Olympic teammate Phil Kessel to create his own highlight reel."
Caputi's dream come true
Comment
March 4
Toronto Sun
 
"As far as grappling grudge matches go, this one had Luca Caputi sitting on the edge of his seat. It was a frosty Tuesday night in Wilkes-Barre, Pa., and Caputi, a member of the AHL's Penguins, was loving every minute of this no disqualification tag-team bout between the Westies and the dastardly duo of Acid and Cannon. Caputi and his friends had come to the local arena for the highly anticipated card put on by Action Unlimited Anthrocite Wrestling, which is run by the Pens head trainer. They weren't disappointed. "Chairs were being tossed, guys were being thrown through tables," Caputi said. "It was great." Life couldn't get any better than this, could it?"
Is there anyone left who can score?
Comment
March 4
Toronto Sun
 
"The Maple Leafs offence took another hit with the trades made the past 48 hours, but the scouting department was doing high-fives after Wednesday's deadline. The dealing of Alexei Ponikarovsky and Lee Stempniak took 33 goals out of an offence already ranked 24th, but in a lost season, that's not going to matter much. Toronto did end the day with two extra picks, its series of small deals bringing the 2010 total to one third-rounder, three in the fourth, two in the fifth and two in the seventh. "I'll take a plus-two," amateur scouting director Dave Morrison said with a laugh. The hole remains in the first and second slots, now owned by Boston after the Phil Kessel trade. General manager ..."
Burke's methodical madness
Comment
March 4
Toronto Sun
 columnist Bill Lankhof
"Some people look at the Maple Leafs and see scorched earth. Brian Burke looks at the scorched earth and sees a blossoming sniper and a defensive corps comparable to the best in the National Hockey League. Of course, he gets paid to say stuff like that. Some people look at the Leafs and see a team spinning its wheels in last place. They see an offence that needs a seeing-eye dog to find the scoresheet. Aside from Phil Kessel, the only forward in double figures in goals is Nikolai Kulemin. They can't kill penalties and, Jean-Sebastian Giguere - with two shutouts in his Leafs debut - has gone from the second coming of Johnny Bower to tripping over his own shadow, allowing 12 goals in the ..."
Tale of two GMs
Comment
March 4
Toronto Sun
 columnist Mike Zeisberger
"Some 165 days after The Trade, the omnipresent shadow of the Phil Kessel swap continues to hover over Brian Burke and Peter Chiarelli. Even on trade deadline day. Kessel, of course, was shipped to Burke's Maple Leafs back on Sept. 19, a controversial deal that netted Chiarelli's Boston Bruins two first-rounds and a second-round draft pick. For weeks after the transaction was made, the debate raged in Toronto as to whether Burke sold the farm to acquire the young enigmatic forward. And rightly so. But as the weeks and months have passed, you would think other subjects would have taken over. Like the Olympics, where Burke's Americans almost upset Team Canada. Like the blockbuster deals ..."
Kaberle deal nixed
Comment
March 4
Toronto Sun
 
"For a tantalizing 24 hours, Brian Burke had the valued card that he had so badly wanted to play in the months counting down to Wednesday's NHL trade deadline. Tomas Kaberle and agent Rick Curran put themselves in the big game, letting it be known they'd relent and waive his no-trade clause, pending Burke's exploratory talks with threeclubs. But Burke either could not make something happen with such a limited field or had too little time, and the day ended with Kaberle aboard the flight to Boston with the rest of the Leafs for Thursday's game. Kaberle has been singin' in the rain for the five years the Leafs have missed the playoffs, convincing himself that sunny skies were coming back. ..."
NHL trades did little to alter power structure
Comment
March 4
Toronto Star
 columnist Damien Cox
"It wasn't a day for the seeds to be planted for a Maple Leafs rebirth. Never was going to be, so no surprise there. Another veteran forward, Lee Stempniak, left town. Martin Skoula departed after about 12 hours as Leaf property and after making the same contribution as Olaf Kolzig did last year. Minor-league goalie Joey MacDonald, useful as an emergency fill earlier this season, headed west on the well-worn Anaheim-Toronto rail line. And Tomas Kaberle stayed put. Twice in two years he has given the Leafs the names of teams he would agree to join, and once the Leafs have tried to trade him when his permission wasn't required."
Leafs GM Burke hopes fire sale pays off down the road
Comment
March 4
Toronto Star
 
"All things considered, Maple Leafs GM Brian Burke doesn't want to see another trade deadline like this one again. It wasn't the quality of the players involved in transactions that underwhelmed him. It was that he was a seller. "Being a seller sucks," said Burke. "I'd much rather be a buyer.""
Caputi thrilled to join Leaf youth core
Comment
March 4
Toronto Star
 
"He grew up in Toronto, loving Doug Gilmour while wearing Wendel Clark's number. Yes, Luca Caputi bleeds blue and white. Now, the newest member of the Toronto Maple Leafs will get to find out what it's like to wear blue and white."