SB Nation - Matt Stajan

Miller Time and more on head shots

James Mirtle — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 20:45:06 -0000

A couple things from the rink today with the Sabres in town:

Down a few pounds but playing terrific: Ryan Miller with some fun quotes on being thin and beating the Leafs every few weeks
Leafs forward Matt Stajan weighs in on head shots after being head shot Saturday by Johnny Boychuk in a big win over the Bruins

Here's the Stajan blow in case you missed it:

A ton of debate at the rink today about this one, among players, reporters and now readers as the quotes come out. Stajan seemed a bit more outspoken initially when he was speaking to only two or three of us, but when the cavalry showed up, he backed off a little bit.

He clearly didn't enjoy going through the experience above, as you can imagine.

Me, I always come back to the fact that some 70 per cent of players want something done about dangerous checks to the head. Surely that has to count for something here and someone has to start giving that a voice.

Want it Fast & Hard (No, That's Not What She Said...)

blurr1974 — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 10:00:30 -0000

Here's the skinny. At this writing, I've literally just walked in the door from a weekend in San Francisco. I've left my wife to unload the car and put the bubba to bed, as I've got important things to attend to. No, not really...

Anyhoo, here's your links, quick and dirty, fast and hard. To get you in the mood, here's a clip of Tommy Stinson singing today's theme song.

Steve is seeking first line centers. No, not Matt Stajan....
Bloge Salming has a new video up that somehow has been blocked on my computer. That must mean it's double the times of awesome.
Vintage Leafs. Wendel Clark. 'Nuff said.
The Other Vatican is calling it a year.
Kavel kaptions komik. Part 29 of...?
Toronto Mike is getting misty from some MLG memories. Not to mention, the Bruins Saturday night visit.
Frozen Leafs spins a terrible tale of the return of The Monster. Muwahahahahahaha!
Under the Helmet gets us up to date on Leafs scoring chances for the past two games: First the Leafs @ Buffalo, and secondly with the Bruins in town.
The gang at MLHS has a reason for their writing. I didn't know we needed one.
Greatest Hockey Legends is in the spirit of the season. Leafs hockey season that is...

UPDATE

The general gives us a few words for the wise, and the rest of you as well.

Fantasy Hockey Team of the Week: Dec.14-20

Rafal Ladysz — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 02:28:57 -0000

More photos » by Steve Mitchell - AP

8 months ago: Florida Panthers forward Nathan Horton holds his hand up to his right eye after being hit by the Ottawa Senators defenseman Chris Phillips during the second period of an NHL hockey game Tuesday, March 31, 2009, in Sunrise, Fla. (AP Photo/Steve Mitchell)

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Welcome to fantasy hockey team of the week, a series which will be found weekly on Die By the Blade. Our primary objective is to create the finest fantasy squad consisting of a center, left winger, right winger, two defensemen and one goaltender. In other words, just like a normal group regularly on the ice in game action.

We'll in addition herald a young gun, have a laugh at the gaffe of the week, highlight the best goal and more. By the season's end, a count will be undertaken to determine which players showed up in the most weeks. Of course, I'll try to provide some tips, real tips, for those involved in deep fantasy hockey pools.

Tons of scoring took place for the Nashville Predators, 23 goals in four victories to be exact, but it wasn't the expected players taking care of business for the most part. Marcel Goc has been tossed onto a number of lines by Barry Trotz and has blossomed alongside whomever. The German native came over from San Jose and if he can continue to bring the goods, it may allow the Predators to forget about that Rich Peverley character.

Numbers: four games played, two goals, four assists, six points, plus-six rating.

There are some indubitable certainties in life. We live, we sleep, we die and Ilya Kovalchuk will put pucks past goalkeepers. Atlanta's franchise performer, for the time being, has gone pointless on just eight occasions owning the instincts of a sniper. His back-checking and defensive play are another story but Kovalchuk gets paid to shoot the puck.

Numbers: four games played, two goals, four assists, six points, minus-one rating.

Sick of being referred to as enigmatic, Nathan Horton's potential has floated back to him quickly as he sits even with Rick Nash in points. What a sweet relief it must be for the Florida Panthers to witness the third overall selection in 2003 playing the best hockey of his career. The press loves to hound struggling stars but Horton seems like he can do no wrong lately.

Numbers: four games played, three goals, four assists, seven points, plus-two rating.

Two Thrashers make up our back line and we'll start with Tobias Enstrom who has proven to be an influential defender. Covering the ice well, the 25-year-old is dependable in sending that first break-out pass and sneaking into the play. While he could benefit from a bigger frame, Enstrom uses his assets well defensively to shut down the opposing competition.

Numbers: four games played, five assists, five points, plus-two rating.

Rounding out our five-man unit is Pavel Kubina and he's fit in well in Atlanta. With a plus-14 rating, he leads the squad in that regard and still packs a heavy shot which goaltenders will be lucky to stop but won't be able to avoid rebounds on always. The assists will arrive in packages for the former Maple Leaf considering the Thrasher forwards that hover towards the goal.

Numbers: four games played, one goal, four assists, five points, plus-one rating.

On we go to the most important individual on any team. In a far from convincing Pittsburgh display in Buffalo yesterday, Marc-Andre Fleury kept his side in the game with vital stops, none more impressive than his stretch across robbing Clarke MacArthur. As Sabres supporters, we know all about goaltenders being the No.1 star so no hard feelings to the Penguins netminder.

Numbers: three games played, three wins, 1.33 goals against average, .951 save percentage.

Team of the Week

Center: Marcel Goc

Left Wing: Ilya Kovalchuk

Right Wing: Nathan Horton

Defenseman: Tobias Enstrom

Defenseman: Pavel Kubina

Goaltender: Marc-Andre Fleury

Our young gun spotlight goes to Patric Hornqvist for his seven-point effort in Nashville's dominance. The rookie is up to ten goals and will undoubtedly surpass 20 come April. It's not often that Shea Weber and Steve Sullivan aren't overshadowed by a freshman often but the Swede managed to do it.

Matt Stajan had his head down and the body usually follows in those moments. Johnny Boychuk lined him up delivering a perfect open-ice check tucking the shoulder in and taking aim at the body. A little bloodied, Stajan skated off on his own and returned to finish out the match Saturday. That's our hit of the week in case you're wondering.

Drew Miller, younger brother of Ryan, has picked up the pieces in Detroit and gave the Tampa Bay Lightning something to remember him by. Knocking down a long pass out of the air, he managed to contain the puck and make a sweet move to the backhand as Mike Smith went for a poke-check. You can see it below.

Gaffe of the week is automatically handed to Vesa Toskala for his latest glove misusing. Toronto was controlling play up until that mistake which gave Buffalo the lead and really grabbed the life out of the Maple Leafs. Better luck next time Vesa if there is a next time.

Congratulations are in order for Mike Brodeur earning his first NHL win over the weekend in Ottawa. The Canadian has a huge last name to live up to if he looks to resemble the other Brodeur. One victory down, 578 to go.

Finally, a bit of recommendation for fantasy poolies. Do not drop Marc-Andre Bergeron because of Andrei Markov's early return from injury. The defenseman is planning on being used as a fourth-line forward and remaining on the powerplay alongside Markov. This was the type of role Mark Streit excelled in a few years ago before becoming a well-known blue liner.

Bruins look flat as Gustavsson and Maple Leafs shutout B's 2-0

Stanley Cup of Chowder — Sun, 20 Dec 2009 03:43:12 -0000

More photos » by CHRIS YOUNG - AP

2 days ago: Toronto Maple Leafs' Tomas Kaberle, right of Czech Republic, celebrates with teammates Colton Orr, left, and Mike Komosarek after scoring against the Boston Bruins during the second period of an NHL hockey game in Toronto on Saturday, Dec. 19, 2009. (AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Chris Young)

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In his first game back from heart surgery, Toronto Maple Leafs rookie netminder Jonas Gustavsson turned aside 25 shots to record his first career shutout as the Leafs beat the B's 2-0. At the other end of the ice, Tuukka Rask (29 saves) looked sharp all night except for a soft goal by Tomas Kaberle in the second period, but couldn't get any help in the offensive zone tonight. The Bruins looked like a team that played back-to-back games as they were flat from the opening face-off and just could not seem to get anything going offensively.

The Maple Leafs got on the board first 2:24 into the second period when Tomas Kaberle put a shot on goal from the left circle. Tuukka Rask seemed to be in position to make the save, but somehow the puck trickled through his legs for the 1-0 Toronto lead.

Jason Blake made it 2-0 when he roofed a shot from the slot that got past a diving Adam McQuaid and goalie Tuukka Rask with 10:17 left in the third period.

Things got a little interesting with just under 7 minutes remaining when Johnny Boychuk lined up Matt Stajan for a BIG open ice hit. The Maple Leafs took exception to what looked like a clean hit and a 5 on 5 scrum ensued. No real punches were thrown and the Bruins ended up on the power play after Alexei Ponikarovsky was tagged with a roughing call for his actions during the altercation. Michael Ryder was whistled for a boarding call just a few minutes later and it looked as if a powder keg was about to erupt, but cooler heads (or a lack of emotion) prevailed.

Final - 12.19.2009	1	2	3	Total
Boston Bruins	0	0	0	0
Toronto Maple Leafs	0	1	1	2

Complete Coverage >

Notes:

- I thought Johnny Boychuk's hit was clean. He only left his feet after the initial contact . Stajan got caught with his head down in the neutral zone and unfortunately in the path of a big kid who is trying to make an impression at the NHL level. You decide:

- Mike Komisarek always acts his toughest when he is being held back by two linesmen.

- Derek Morris missed the game with an undisclosed injury.

- When Andrew Ference is logging 28:22 of ice time, you know you have injury problems.

- Adam McQuaid was a -2 with 2 shots and 2 blocked shots. He got formally welcomed to the NHL when he was on the receiving end of a big hit by Colton Orr on his first NHL shift.

- Byron Bitz, was a -2 tonight and is -7 over his last 4 games.

- I wouldn't be doing my job if I didn't tell you how Phil Kessel did: 21:48 TOI, 4 shots, 3 give-aways, 4 for 4 on face-offs, even.

- The Bruins need to put this game behind them and focus on Monday's game against the Senators in Ottawa.

- The only remedy for a loss like that is some good old fashioned Phil Kessel mockery: Phil Kessel is softer than an 85 year old man watching a Rosie O'Donnell nude scene. For more Kessel mockery follow me on Twitter (@cupofchowdah).

Game Preview: Toronto Maple Leafs @ Buffalo Sabres

Rafal Ladysz — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 19:27:09 -0000

More photos » by Fred Chartrand - AP

5 days ago: Buffalo Sabres goalie Ryan Miller (30) looks back as teammate Henrik Tallinder, (10) of Sweden, clears the puck from the net during third-period NHL hockey game action against the Ottawa Senators in Ottawa on Wednesday, Dec. 16, 2009. The Senators won 2-0. (AP Photo/The Canadian Press,Fred Chartrand)

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It was uncharacteristically depressing Wednesday as the Buffalo Sabres were almost exhausted by the Ottawa Senators leading to defeat. The announcement of several players competing through food poisoning made the lack of fighting spirit comprehensible. With Toronto up next, the Sabres are setting their sights on a return to the win column against the Maple Leafs.

Having already claimed two wins from the blue and white, Buffalo's luck against this Canadian squad contradicts what they receive with Ottawa. Pension Plan Puppets has interesting statistics at the start of their article to share. Ryan Miller, like he's done flawlessly, was the story in the first two matches as Toronto outshot them 73-59 combined. Mentioning how disappointed he became with the team's work two days ago, the Sabres will be determined to make up for it.

Five thoughts on both combatants below.

Vesa Toskala was too deep in his net often on Wednesday and the Phoenix Coyotes jumped out to a 5-1 lead that Toronto couldn't recover from. The Finnish goaltender is 3-3 lifetime with Buffalo and hasn't won on the road yet this season. A 4.77 goals against average and .848 save percentage explain why that's the case.
Tremendous news on the injury front because Paul Gaustad is all healed up and eager to get back into action. Face-offs, energy, a presence in front of the net, Goose's return makes the group much stronger. Patrick Kaleta could be out with a sore neck, Nathan Gerbe is questionable and Chris Butler will not participate.
Toronto's powerplay is clicking at just above 20 per cent and Gaustad will help Buffalo's that is now 1 for 16 in three games. While the Sabres are seventh in penalty killing, their opponents are at the bottom behind 29 teams.
Four points out of a playoff spot, Phil Kessel, Matt Stajan and Alexei Ponikarovsky have found chemistry as a unit providing the bulk of Toronto's offense in the last week or so. Each member has points in three consecutive contests.
Jason Pominville whose 94 shots lead the team, has seven goals and is witnessing his total drop for the third straight season possibly after posting 34 in 2007. I've lost count of the amount of times he's fanned on a shot, broken his stick or missed the net.
At 7-0-2 when scoring first, the Maple Leafs are a good bet to come out the superior side with that advantage but the problem is they've only been in that position nine times. They're 5-15-5 if they fall behind first and Buffalo is 15-2-2 when striking first. The first goal could be the deciding factor.
Defenseman Tomas Kaberle's 31 points surpass all of Buffalo's forwards in production. Wow.
I did some number crunching like I did for the Ottawa preview. The Sabres are 23-8-1 against Toronto since the lock-out, outscoring them 115-78.
Thomas Vanek has 16 goals and 29 points in 30 tries with Toronto. With one goal in December, he must start finding the net more.
Toronto is one of four Eastern Conference clubs to have hit triple digits in goal-scoring and are part of a seven-team group to have surrendered 100 goals or more.

Rest assured that the Maple Leafs will have strong support in HSBC Arena as they often do. A win for Toronto keeps them in the thick of the postseason scrum. A win for Buffalo extends their Northeast Division conquest. The Maple Leafs have scored massive upset victories already and this would add to that compilation.

Coyotes at Maple Leafs - Game #34 Preview - We're Just Visiting

OdinMercer — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 22:07:54 -0000

More photos » by John Smierciak - AP

about 1 month ago: Chicago Blackhawks players celebrate their first goal by Patrick Kane in the first period of an NHL hockey game against the Toronto Maple Leafs in Chicago, Ill., on Friday, Nov. 13, 2009. (AP Photo/John Smierciak)

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Just in case there was any confusion amongst the general hockey public, this is only a brief stop in Ontario. We're not staying. Just wanted to clear that up real quick like. Your Phoenix Coyotes will take on the oft schizophrenic Toronto Maple Leafs in their only meeting of the year. As one would expect the media is swirling with the boys in town what with all the mess over the summer and now the impending sale. I would think that by this point the guys aren't going to be influenced by that much and can hopefully just focus on the game and prevent what happened on Monday from occurring again.

Toronto has been up and down in the standings this year getting off to a terrible start. Though as of late they've really turned their game up a few notches and have climbed back within reach of a playoff spot. The Leafs are 7-3-0 over the last 10 games and have won the last five games they've played at Air Canada Centre (re? Really?) The Coyotes aren't too shabby themselves at this point with a 6-3-1 over the last ten, but the Coyotes need to improve on their road record. treading water at 7-7-2 is alright, but if we want to make a push in the standings we need to collect more road points.

Five for Winning

Bryz Needs to be Solid Early
At the beginning of the Detroit game Ilya Bryzgalov was "fighting the puck" as Tyson Nash repeatedly stated on the broadcast. He was all over the place and didn't seem to have vision of the puck at all with 2 of the 3 goals against beaing really awful goals. He needs to be the anteater and collect any and all pucks in his vicinity early on to get his confidence up. Though if his behavior in the locker room with the media today was any indication, hes loose and hopefully ready to go.

Test Toskala Early
Vesa Toskala has been suspect in goal for the Leafs at the best of times this year. Toronto fans go back and forth on wanting to drive him out of town with pitchforks and then loving him and wondering who the heck the new goalie in net is when he does well. Hopefully we see swiss cheese Toskala and not not the one doing flips to make saves.

See Just How Truculent the Leafs Are
Truculence was one of the buzzwords that seemed to stick on this now Brian Burke built team. THe idea was that they were going to be a really tough group of guys to play against. While at times the Leafs have shown spurts of that toughness, they've also had a great deal of games where they simply get pushed around. Not only that, but the Coyotes seem to have their best games when they are out there hitting. We need to get out there and put the body on a few guys early to set the tone.

The Curse of the Toronto Born Player
According to many Toronto fans the worst thing in the world is to have a Toronto born or Toronto traded player come back to play against them. It's very often a harbinger that the player will score a couple goals or do something else spectacular against them. Well tonight resident "enforcer" Paul Bissonette gets to play his first game in front of his family in Toronto. Already SkinnyFish of Pension Plan Puppets said:

Since Bissonette is a fighter, I’m calling the Gordie Howe hattrick for him tonight. Book it. Done.

We'll see soon SkinnyFish.

Do the Small Things Right
We couldn't get anything going against the Wings on Monday. Our Faceoffs were awful, we turned the puck over all the freakin' time. It was UGLY. Those are typically the things that we've had locked down that have helped us win so far this year. We win the faceoffs and control the puck. We've been pretty responsible in our own zone and kept teams from entering cleanly. Hopefully the practice that Tippett had them run through yesterday reenforced that as we just have to get back to basics.

Key Players

Radim Vrbata

#17 / Right Wing / Phoenix Coyotes

Height: 6-1

Weight: 190

Born: Jun 13, 1981

Had a laser to beat Jimmy Howard on Monday and leads the team in goals. It seems like his scoring touch from a few years ago hadn't completely evaporated and the move to get him fro Todd Fedoruk and David Hale was a great one.

Matt Stajan

#14 / Center / Toronto Maple Leafs

Height: 6-1

Weight: 200

Born: Dec 19, 1983

In case you didn't know he's the Leafs #1 Center. Seriously. I expect hate mail just for talking about this. Check out Bloge Salming for more information about this.

The Owie List

Phoenix Coyotes Injuries

Out (IR / Out / Suspended / Physically unvailable)

Player	Injury Type	Injury Date
Kurt Sauer	head	10/07/2009

Toronto Maple Leafs Injuries

Probable

Player	Injury Type	Injury Date
Colton Orr	eye	12/16/2009

Out (IR / Out / Suspended / Physically unvailable)

Player	Injury Type	Injury Date
Mike Van Ryn	knee	09/30/2009
John Mitchell	knee	11/24/2009
Carl Gunnarsson	elbow	12/01/2009

GO YOTES GO!

I've Been Busy Making Other Plans

blurr1974 — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 10:00:28 -0000

More photos » by Frank Gunn - AP

WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1

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So it is another short and sweet FTB. Well, short anyways...

Our very own Bitter Leaf kicks things off first. Is John Mitchell's injury the best thing to ever happen to the Leafs (Stajan in particular) so far this season? Speaking of Matt Stajan, how much money is he going to cost come July?
Toronto Mike was the latest blogger invited to the press box by the Leafs. It's a day late but here is his take from press box seat #67 of the Ottawa at Toronto game.
Under the Helmet of Slava Duris has been tracking the Leafs scoring chances each game. I suck because I keep forgetting to link it. So, hopefully, that's been rectified.
The problem with winning (if you can call it a problem) is that players once deemed a waste of space, suddenly don't look so bad. The question is, what to do? The Bud Blog was kind of hoping you might know...
No one wants to be held accountable when the chips are down and life is rough, but win a few games, and suddenly leaders are crawling out of the woodwork. Frozen Leaf takes a look at who those players are this season.
Although much of our talk has centered around Team Canada, there are in fact other countries playing hockey in the winter Olympics as well. No idea why though. Anyhoo, HockeyCentric runs down the Leafs potential Olympic hopefuls, and shockingly Stajan isn't one of them.
UPDATE: Down Goes Brown continues to go through the product of a well spent youth. Today it results in the latest Great Obscure Moments in Leafs History.

Recap: Maple Leafs 6, Caps 3

J.P. — Sun, 13 Dec 2009 03:51:26 -0000

More photos » by Frank Gunn - AP

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[AP Recap - GameCenter - Game Summary - Event Summary]

As well as the Caps played over the first twenty minutes of Saturday night's 6-3 loss to Toronto, they only held a 2-0 lead heading into the first intermission, having failed to convert on at least a trio of other prime scoring opportunities (chances for Brendan Morrison, Alexander Semin and Alex Ovechkin immediately come to mind). Cash in on any of those, and maybe the Leafs go away. Convert on two or three and the rout would've been on.

That's not what happened, of course, and by the start of the second period the team's fatigue began to show (this was the Caps' third game in four nights and the second of back-to-backs that included some travel headaches in between games). Before the period was six minutes old the game was tied, and only a soft Nicklas Backstrom goal nearly halfway through the period broke up a string of a half dozen consecutive Leafs goals that concluded with a tally that you'd hope Michal Neuvirth can somehow forget.

Ten more notes on the game:

The last time a Caps goalie gave up six goals in a game was the last game of last season, and Neuvirth probably had the worst sixty-minute performance by a Caps netminder since then. Yes, he had his moments, but on a night when his teammates needed him to steal a game for them - or at least keep them in it - he wasn't up to the task.
That said, he didn't get much help, as the team in front of him allowed 36 Toronto shots on goal, gave the Leafs a lengthy 5-on-3 power play (of which they only needed 17 seconds to score), and repeatedly failed to tie up opponents in front of the net.
On a positive note, the Caps' top line dominated the first half of the game, combining for all three goals, a trio of helpers and a plus-six rating. They fell off a bit after that (and Backstrom's failure to win a key draw in his own zone - or at very least to tie up Matt Stajan - led to the game-winning tally), but the Ovechkin-Backstrom duo was as good as it gets early.
It's tough to stand out amongst a group of blueliners who collectively had an awful night, but that's exactly what John Erskine did. Ersky was credited with four giveaways and a penalty, but the scoresheet doesn't even begin to tell the story of how bad he was. Dishonorable mention here goes to Mike Green, who didn't impress any Team Canada reps tonight.
Over their last three games, the Caps power play has scored once and been scored upon twice. That's not good, but neither is this: the power play is now 18.6% successful in the games AO has played and 40.6% in the eight games he's missed.
Mike Knuble and Brooks Laich were each minus-two tonight, following up a minus-one apiece Friday night. Given that Laich has one goal in his last 11 games and Knuble has only lit the lamp in one of his past eight games (which includes his time on IR, of course) and that the Caps have looked more like a one-line team over this past week, perhaps it's time to put Knuble back up on the top unit and push Alex Semin to the second line.
Backstrom's goal made him the Caps' fifth double-digit goal scorer on the season. Morrison's in the on-deck circle with nine and Eric Fehr's in the hole with eight.
No Cap played less tonight than David Steckel, who got only 9:14 of ice time (but did manage to be on the ice for three goals against... ouch).
Not to keep harping on Erskine, but given the recent schedule and the back-to-backs, why not dress Tyler Sloan in his place? At least he's got legs. Oh, Toronto's truculent. Nevermind.
No one in the game had more hits than Chris Clark's three. Really?

Over the past two nights, the Caps have played the two worst teams in the entire NHL (point-wise, at least), and they needed overtime to beat one at home and got beaten handily by the other on the road. And yet there they still sit atop the League standings. Funny what can happen on any given weekend in the NHL...

Game highlights:

On the First Day of Leafsmas, My True Love Gave to Me....

blurr1974 — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 10:00:22 -0000

A pretty kick-ass Leafs stocking. (available here. via images.footballfanatics.com)

It's officially "holiday season" and I am in full swing. Enjoy the links, and have some Leafs-nog (aka-beer.)

Down Goes Brown and Bloge Salming manage to make me feel better about the Leafs loss to Boston.
Vintage Leafs with a picture of two icons colliding.
I missed Archi's post for the previous FTB, but it's not like it could go out of style.
Speaking of misses, Jared's recap just happens to be the top item on the Barilkosphere's wish list this year.
Steve takes a look at Nikolai Kulemin and discovers another Poni.
MLHS notes that one of the bonuses of the Leafs improved play could be inflated trade values come the deadline. Do I hear a "Matt Stajan for Nathan Horton" in our future? (Hint, the answer is "no.")
Newest member of the Barilkosphere, the Blue (and White) Chip Defensemen starts us off with an easy post: Total Roster Analysis.
With a win at home out of the way, Leafs Fan Forever is feeling worried.
Are the Leafs world-beaters, or also-rans? Frozen Leafs was kinda hoping you'd know...
Kavel has a curious list of Leafs up for your vote on "Leaf of the Decade."
The Strangest One of All thinks Pierre Turgeon is as good as Mats Sundin. Should they both be Hall of Famers?

UPDATE!!!!!!1

Jared lets the music do the talking.

Leafs Slay the Juggernaut!

blurr1974 — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 10:00:20 -0000

More photos » by CHRIS YOUNG - AP

Vesa Toskala - "Guys! Hey guys! Check this out. Look what I can do! I can stop the puck. Watch! No seriously, check this out! That's some wacky stuff, right?"

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I'm still recovering from Millen's (correct) assertion that the Atlanta Thrashers are an "offensive juggernaut." That phrase seems counter-intuitive to the Thrashers entire history. I've been watching hockey for a long time and never in all those years have I heard that phrase. Parity, it seems, does work.

With all that said, and I may be in the minority, I want to tell the Thrashers fans that I'm happy for them. I like competitive hockey. I like having a league of 30 teams, and I fully support fans of all the other 28 franchises (that's right Ottawa, you get no love from me!)

On to the links. Either it's a quiet night, or everyone still hasn't fully grasped the Leafs win. If I've missed you, then as always, please drop a direct link to your post in the comments.

Progress! It's not just a political catch phrase, it's what the Leafs are making. Steve breaks it down.
Is it crazy to prefer hearing Pierre McGuire call a game? Zamboinc Youth's Godd Till doesn't think so. Not when there are so many lesser lights you could be tortured by instead.
At Heroes in Rehab, jrwendelman is spitting fire...err, make that talking Spitfires. However, the man can bust rhymes with the best of them, so step off.
Leafs Fan Forever went to his first Leafs game last night and he made one special request that our heroes were happy to oblige.
Were the Tampa Bay Lightning open to trading Vincent Lecavalier, would that make Tyler Bozak expendable? Newcomer to the Barilkosphere, Hart Ross, seems to think so.
Kavel kaptions Kabby (and Matt Stajan, but that doesn't jive with the whole "k" thing we've got going.)
Jean-Sebastien Giguere's name gets tossed about quite a bit in trade rumors lately, and the Leafs seem to be tied to most of them. The question is: Is Giguere still worth the $6M per? Hockey or Die gives you the answer.
Vintage Leafs Memories is recalling another highlight: Scott Garland.
From the "YIPEEE! YAHOO!!" files, Jonas Gustavsson is back practicing, with plans for a quick return.
PPP Update: Head over to vote in this poll. In case you were wondering, the correct vote is: Hal Gill.
Space Weed kind of likes Luke Schenn
Archi shows why he is the pre-eminent NHL suit examiner