The Downward Spiral

The Toronto Maple Leafs have continued on their downward spiral over the past several days, but this was expected by the GM. The team is in the rebuilding process and is still a few key moves from obtaining the components needed to compete at a high level. A well-rounded center and a top defenseman would greatly speed up the process, but we'll just have to wait and see if they come in a trade or the entry draft. Give this team a few seasons to develope and it will be right back up where it was before, but for now...don't expect alot of wins. Because of the recent string of loses, Toronto's marketing team decided to hire hot women as ushers to help draw a crowd. Hell, I would go just to see them.

Late Game Heroics

The late game heroics missing from Toronto's last game appeared on Day #20 against the Boston Bruins. It was a stalemate until early in the 3rd period when the Bruins drew first blood on the power play with Eaton's blast from the blueline, but the Leafs recovered quickly with Lapointe's 3rd goal of the season coming only two and a half minutes later. From that point on Boston started firing the puck from every angle possible, taking a total of 18 shots in the third period to Toronto's 7. With the pressure being put on Toronto's net, it was only a matter of time until someone took a bad penalty, and that someone happened to be Pat Leahy with only 49 seconds left in regulation. The situation was looking bleak, with one of Toronto's penalty killers sitting in the box and Boston having already tallied one on the power play during the game. Even though they managed to make it through the last bit of the third period, Toronto still had to worry about killing off the remainder of the penalty in overtime. At the start of the extra stanza, the Bruins were working the puck down low when Carlo Colaiacovo intercepted a pass and sent Mike Fisher flying down the ice. Fisher had only one man to beat so he deked left and laid a drop pass for the late man joining the play, Daniel Winnik, who blasted a shot from the hash marks, beating Miller on the glove side for the shorthanded game-winning overtime goal. Winnik ended up being the second star of the game because the stellar play of netminder Tomas Vokoun earned him the spot as the first star. Vokoun stopped 37 of 38 shots, 18 of them coming in the third.

On a side note, the Maple Leafs are welcoming their day off on Day #21, because they were hit with yet another injury. Ole-Kristian Tollefsen went down with an upper body injury and joined fellow defenseman, Paul Martin on the scratch list. Toronto GM, Shaun Butler was quoted "This break couldn't have come at a better time. Bernier will have a little longer to heal and by the time we play our next game, Martin and Tollefsen should be ready to go."

Early Reunion

The players involved in the blockbuster trade between Toronto and Ottawa found alot of familiar faces during the first game with their new teams; however, they were all sitting on the other bench. Day #19 brought an early reunion when the Maple Leafs were matched against the Senators. With the pressure on, all the forwards involved in the deal that were dressed for the game found their way to the scorecards.

Gary Roberts was the first to draw blood from his former team with a helper on Ottawa's second goal midway through the second period. Zach Parise worked some tic-tac-toe passing with Fisher and Dumont on the latter's early third period goal. Surprisingly, it was Tomi Kallio who stole the show when he went coast to coast and performed a triple Salchow just before netting an unassisted goal.

The Maple Leafs were hoping for late game heroics after Alexander Frolov netted a goal in the third bringing them within one, but they fell a little short. The Senators took the game 4-3 giving Roberts and Kallio a little bit of bragging rights. Even though the Leafs lost the game they played extremely well. Toronto registered more shots, hits, faceoffs won, passes completed, corner battles won, and puck possession time than Ottawa. Furthermore, Toronto's PK successfully killed off both of Ottawa's power plays, while their PP managed to net a goal. Maybe things are starting to look up for this organization.

Rough Times

While Toronto waits for the arrival of their new players, it is clear that they are desperately needed. The Maple Leafs played the division rival Boston Bruins on Day #18 and were shutout by a score of 1-0 after only being able to register 14 shots. The Bruins had 5 more shots in the 1st period alone than the Leafs had all game.

The scoreboard isnt the only place where the Leafs suffered a lose; their top scorer, Steve Bernier, managed to suffer a lower body injury during the pregame skate after colliding with fellow teammate, Tomi Kallio. It is reported that Kallio may have caused the incident intentionally due to bad blood from this pending trade. Causing the injury to the Maple Leafs top player on purpose can be debated, however, Kallio's play on the ice cannot. Kallio sabotaged Toronto's efforts with every shift. Wagner, who is also involved in the trade, did not openly sabotage the team on the ice, but it is believed that he may have urinated in the gatorade bottles. Gary Roberts refused to to play after coming back from his injury, stating "You guys want to trade me so why should I risk reaggravating the injury to help you win. I'll take this time to rest up for my new team."

The Toronto Maple Leafs organization is exhibiting some rough times right now and hopefully when this trade is completed we'll see a difference. We really look forward to seeing what Parise, Coburn, and Ryan will have to contribute to the team.

Quest for the Fountain of Youth

To Toronto:

Parise, Coburn, and Ryan

To Ottawa:

Roberts, Kallio, and Wagner

The last game against the Ottawa Senators didn't turn out to be a total loss after all. Both general managers had a chance to sit down in the VIP suite and discuss the plans for their teams. It turned from idle chit chat to intense wheelin and dealin and ended with a trade being made. Toronto GM continued his quest for youth by adding Zach Parise, Braydon Coburn, and Bobby Ryan to the Maple Leafs organization. This deal sent Gary Roberts, Tomi Kallio, Steve Wagner, and Toronto's 2nd and 4th round picks in season 15's entry draft to the Ottawa Senators.

Zach Parise has not been playing well as of late with only six (6) points in 15 games, but maybe all he needs is a change of scenery to turn things around. Braydon Coburn, with the same point total as Parise, will slide into the teams second D pairing with Martin and will also be assigned to the PP and PK. Bobby Ryan is the only player aquired that will not have a spot on the team right away but the GM will patiently wait for this young talent to develop and come into his own.

The downside to this deal for the Maple Leafs is that they lost Gary Roberts, their second leading scorer who also happened to be a vital member of the penalty kill. This is the second trade in about a week that brought youth at the cost of excellent defensive forwards. The PK has fallen to 79.5%, landing them at 23rd overall on the PK. Watch for more trade activity that might bring a defensive center north of the border.

Shoot the Puck

The Toronto Maple Leafs faced the Ottawa Senators on Day #15 and could not get the job done. They were outshot by the Sens 36 to 19 and let in two costly power play goals within a minute of each other in the second period. Ottawa went on to win the game by a score of 5-2.

The shots are just not coming for the Leafs. In 16 games this season they have only outshot their opponent twice. Toronto has registered 394 shots so far and their opponents have bombarded them with 515 shots for a difference of 121! Vokoun has seen more rubber than a truck owner's ass at a gas pump.

Letting the Lead Slip Away

Day #13 brought heartache to the diehard Toronto fans when the Maple Leafs fell to the New Jersey Devils and then to the Montreal Canadians by a score of 3-2 in both games. On each occassion the Leafs were ahead early and just let the lead slip away. Gary Roberts was back in the lineup, but Alexander Frolov was still out. Toronto also lost Martin Lapointe to injury in the game against the Devils, making him the 7th player injured in 7 days for the club. This injury problem has everyone skating on thin ice wondering if they will be the next to fall in; everyone except for Ryan Malone. He is playing with no fear and it showed during the game with the Habs. At 18:27 into the second period Clowe and Mitchell squared off and Malone paired up with Hulse. Clowe managed to squeak by with a draw due to the linesmen jumping in early, but Malone proceeded to beat Hulse like he was a dog that just ate his Xbox 360 controller. Toronto GM, Shaun Butler, appreciated the heart that Malone was showing but not the brains. The severe pummeling costed Malone the rest of the game and in return costed the whole team the game. Malone has 6 points and 49 PIMs in 13 GP; the organization is considering anger management classes but will hold off for the time being.