SB Nation - Ryan Hollweg

Less Than Zero or a Hazy Shade of Winter?

blurr1974 — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 10:00:27 -0000

Mr. and Mrs. blurr1974 say hello from California. Not pictured - bubba. (via product.images.fansedge.com)

In my neck of sunny California, the mercury is dipping dangerously close to zero. To compound the issue, there is a storm rolling in with a chance of showers. Depending on how things go, I may be waking up to snow in the morning. Weird. I haven't seen snow on the ground here in over 10 years. Yay?

Anyhoo, despite an off night, there's still plenty to talk about and that's why you're here. Right?

The holidays always bring a flood of festive specials, and the Barilosphere is no exception. Loser Domi kicks off the celebrations with a "Holiday Kesstacular!" Meanwhile, in her other gig, LD is still trying to find out if there is anything Ryan Hollweg is qualified for.
Hungry Leafs Fan took in the Leafs skills competition, and has the pics to prove it!
The reports of jrwendelman's demise have been greatly exaggerated, and he's got the blog post to prove it.
The Far Away Leaf is making a guarantee for the Leafs next game.
Even in a drunken stupor, the Leafs effort level in Boston was still visible for all to see. MLHS' Brad Stowe is still trying to recover. From the game that is...
Kavel Pubina welcomes Philippe Paradis.
Here's a TO Sports article I enjoyed reading. Weird...
A blog can usually be considered one person's unique opinion or perspective on a situation, except Truth & Rumours. I think it speaks for all of us when it asks the Habs to "Cut. It. Out."

Rangers Pregame: Scouting the Leafs

Jim Schmiedeberg — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 19:00:28 -0000

Let's take a look at tonight's opponent, the Toronto Maple Leafs:

Toronto Maple Leafs

Head Coach: Ron Wilson

2008-09 Record: 34-35-13 (did not make playoffs)

Last Season vs. Rangers: 3-1

Stars:

Vesa Toskala

#35 / Goalie / Toronto Maple Leafs

Height: 5-10

Weight: 195

Born: May 20, 1977

More after the jump......

Luke Schenn

#2 / Defenseman / Toronto Maple Leafs

Height: 6-2

Weight: 216

Born: Nov 02, 1989

Who's In:

Francois Beauchemin, Tyler Bozak, Garnet Exelby, Jonas Gustavsson, Christian Hanson, Phil Kessel, Mike Komisarek, Colton Orr, Wayne Primeau, Rickard Wallin, Viktor Stalberg

Who's Out:

Boyd Devereaux, Martin Gerber, Ryan Hollweg, Curtis Joseph, Olaf Kolzig, Pavel Kubina, Brad May, Jaime Sifers, Anton Stralman

Toronto Maple Leafs 2009-10 Season Preview from Pension Plan Puppets, the SBNation Community for the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Maple Leafs Notes:

Daily Notes on the Leafs from Pension Plan Puppets

Peter Pocklington says Oilers-Leafs almost swapped cities (Globe and Mail)

Bold moves could avert Leafs disaster (Toronto Star)

The Coyotes Busy Day... Balsillie Out, TV Contracts and more!

OdinMercer — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 01:09:20 -0000

More photos » by Matt York - AP

Canadian billionaire Jim Balsillie's tears taste delicious.

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So it's been a super busy day in Coyotes land. Let's break down what's happened as fast as I can and there will be more in depth as the night goes on.

First and foremost, WE WIN! (Mostly) More importantly JIM BALSILLIE LOSES! The judge finally ruled today and said that "In the final analysis, the court cannot find or conclude that the interests of the NHL can be adequately protected if the Coyotes are moved to Hamilton without first having a final decision regarding the claimed rights of the NHL and the claims of the debtors and [Balsillie]," He then rejected Balsillie's bid with prejudice, which means he's done. Hopefully this is the last we hear of his name in the Phoenix area. Though what team will be next in his sights is anyone's guess. To think he's through though... but maybe he finally got the point. I doubt it though.

In other news, Fox Sports Arizona has announced a new TV deal with the team. FSN will carry 50 games, all in HD with another 13 on tape delay playing after the games. Radio colorman Tyson Nash moves to the TV side to join Dave Strader.

The Coyotes also added Paul Bissonnette, Signed Matt Watkins and Sent Ryan Hollweg to San Antonio. I'll get more into all of these, but there's the basics folks!

2009-10 NHL Season Preview: Toronto Maple Leafs

James Mirtle — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 12:00:14 -0000

More photos » by Darren Calabrese - AP

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Who's in: Francois Beauchemin, Tyler Bozak, Garnet Exelby, Jonas Gustavsson, Christian Hanson, Phil Kessel, Mike Komisarek, Colton Orr, Wayne Primeau, Rickard Wallin
Who's out: Boyd Devereaux, Martin Gerber, Ryan Hollweg, Curtis Joseph, Olaf Kolzig, Pavel Kubina, Brad May, Jaime Sifers, Anton Stralman

Outlook: Brian Burke's aim was to get bigger, meaner and better in goal, and its hard to argue he didn't accomplish all three over the off-season. And he even found a way to add a 36-goal scorer (albeit an injured one).

Coming in are three big blueliners in Francois Beauchemin, Mike Komisarek and Garnet Exelby, enforcer Colton Orr and netminder Jonas Gustavsson. Another key signing could be that of University of Denver standout Tyler Bozak, who has looked good in preseason and could make an impact up front as a rookie this fall.

Toronto may appear lean up front and they will have to make do without Nik Antropov and Dominic Moore but the Leafs biggest woes last season came in goal and on the blueline, and if either Vesa Toskala can have a rebound campaign or Gustavsson can surprise in his first season, that'll make a world of difference in their record this season.

Komisarek and Beauchemin, meanwhile, should also help improve what was a league worst penalty kill in 2008-09, something thats sure to be a target for coach Ron Wilson and Co. in the early going.

As for where the offence will come from, expect the likes of Mikhail Grabovski, Matt Stajan and Niklas Hagman to play plenty of minutes until Phil Kessel's ready for action. It's not out of the question that Toronto has eight players pot 20 goals this season, as while there's not a ton of high-end offence, there's quietly some depth emerging. (Viktor Stalberg, anyone?)

All the changes probably don't add up to a playoff appearance quite yet, but the bottom end of the Eastern Conference is fairly wide open and a climb up the standings isn't impossible. If nothing else, the Leafs should be far better in the goals against department, and that alone will keep them in the race longer than they were last season.

X-factor: Jonas Gustavsson

For a more in-depth Leafs preview, visit Pension Plan Puppets
For more NHL analysis, check out the McKeen's Hockey Yearbook

Poll

Where will the Leafs finish in the Eastern Conference this season?

1

17 votes

2

3 votes

3

5 votes

4

6 votes

5

18 votes

6

40 votes

7

85 votes

8

90 votes

9

48 votes

10

57 votes

11

20 votes

12

25 votes

13

12 votes

14

8 votes

15

35 votes

469 votes | Poll has closed

Coyotes Open Training Camp Practices Start Today

OdinMercer — Sun, 13 Sep 2009 07:00:28 -0000

More photos » by Paul Connors - AP

The Great One won't be the one leading camp this year.

Browse more photos »

Officially camp actually started yesterday, but the first public practices start today at 9:00 am. Here's a look at those invited to camp this year. There are a few names in there that you might recognize from around the league that have not signed with the Coyotes. Ryan Hollweg formerly with Toronto, Aaron Downey from Detroit, Ross Lupaschuk from Anaheim and the KHL and Mitch Fritz from the Islanders. None of them have particularly impressive resumes, but I imagine they're trying out for the position of "Hey someone got hurt, call us up from San Antonio."

Wayne Gretzky, doesn't look to be coming to camp as of today, Ulf Samuellson will be leading in his place. With Wayne's contract situation in the air due to the bankruptcy mess, he simply decided he wasn't going to be there. But I guess Coyotes fans will be getting what a large portion of them had wanted for some time, Wayne out as head coach.

I'll update and repost the list as cuts are made.

Forwards		Defence		Goaltenders
Justin Bernhardt	Mikkel Boedker	Jonas Ahnelov	Nick Ross	Ilya Bryzgalov
Jeff Hoggan	Peter Mueller	Adrian Aucoin	Ed Jovanovski	Joel Gistedt
Kevin Porter	Taylor Pyatt	Shaun Heshka	Michael Stone	Josh Tordjman
Matt Watkins	Scottie Upshall	Chris Frank	Ross Lupaschuk	Jason LaBarbera
David Spina	Francis Lessard	Mathieu Brodeur	Zbynek Michalek	Al Montoya
Vernon Fiddler	Mitch Fritz	Sean Sullivan	Kurt Sauer
Martin Hanzal	Ryan Hollweg	Sean Zimmerman	Sami Lepisto
Lauri Korpikoski	Jordan Szwarz	Tim Billingsley	Keith Yandle
Daniel Winnik	Radim Vrbata	Justin Weller	Jim Vandermeer
Viktor Tikhonov	Andrew Orpik	David Schlemko	Jeff May
Colin Long	Aaron Downey
Shane Doan	Chad Kolarik
Matthew Lombardi	Brett MacLean
Stefan Meyer	Joel Perrault
Petr Prucha	Jared Staal
Kyle Turris

It's The Dog Days of Summer...

PPP — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 17:00:15 -0000

Caption: They say that a little learning is a dangerous thing but certainly not in this case.

View full size photo »

In the past, when an article like Aaron Portzline's preview of the Leafs' upcoming season was written we'd whip out the Cox Bloc sign and 24 hours later we'd be laughing at their ability to relate everything to classic 80s WWF storylines and the many ways in which they were able to point out a writer's flaws. Sadly, disillusionment at the mittenstringers' ability to continue producing the same content in the face of Cox Bloc's withering ripostes combined with the fear that they had met their match when I got press credentials has led Jorn and Till to look for other projects.

Their absence has led out-of-town mittenstringers becoming emboldened and offering their half-baked impressions on the local hockey team. This article by Aaron Portzline is exhibit A in the argument against ever telling reporters that media critics are pulling out of the internet. They'll just lie in waiting until they know that the coast is clear before attacking. But Cox Bloc didn't leave us completely unequipped:

We did 2 years, it’s someone else’s turn.

That’s right, Cox Bloc is ALL OF YOU.

/slowclap

So without further ado I'll put on my Cox Bloc mask and pray that Till cleaned it out after the going away party:

Now in the 43rd year of a rebuilding process, the Toronto Maple Leafs have turned to American-born general manager Brian Burke to bring the Stanley Cup "home" for the first time since 1966-67. He's the 11th Leafs GM since the Cup was hoisted in Hogtown.

Dear God. Is that really how you are going to start this out? Are you that sure that the Leafs won't win the Stanley Cup this season? You might do well to read this post and then you can compare that to the Blue Jackets' playoff record. I am obviously not a fan of the idea that you can't criticise other teams when yours has been a laughing stock for almost its entire history otherwise we'd never hear from senators fans and that's some good comic relief that we'd lose. However, four conference finals in a decade suggests that at some point a team of some quality was built.

But while the Leafs have gotten noticeably tougher they also added forward thumper Colton Orr they still have a massive shortage of goal-scoring.

The Leafs' were 10th in goals for last season. It's true. I know that because I can navigate NHL.com which I can do because I don't live in Columbus.

Toronto fans would bitch about the Leafs if they went 80-0-2.

If they got 80 wins then why couldn't they win those other two? I think that's a fair complaint. Good thing for the Blue Jackets that their fan is so understanding.

But the expectations have been lowered a tad by the club's failing to make the playoffs since the lockout that wiped out the 2004-05 season.

Mostly, the folks are glad to have a club with a little swagger. And they're glad to finally be headed in the right direction.

Hey, if you can't beat 'em, beat 'em up, right?

First, why is every sentence a new line? Is there a new style guide that bloggers are not allowed to read that does away with paragraphs? Not to mention that it's not about beating them or beating them up. It's about reviving Conn Smythe's dream to do both:

You can't beat them on the ice if you can't beat them in the alley

But yes, overall we are pretty happy that the Leafs might not serve as bodychecking practice dummies for the rest of the league.

There are some candidates to move up Mitchell, Kumelin and prospect Jiri Tlusty, for instance but scoring goals is going to be a major issue for this club.

10th overall in goals scored. It's still true. Over/Under on the number of reporters that mention this fact during preview season: 2.5. I am taking the under.

The third and fourth lines are no problem. Lots of grinders and heart and soul types, especially if they can resign restricted free agent Ryan Hollweg.

That sentence started out so insightfully and then he mentioned Ryan "don't turn your back to me" Hollweg.

The bottom two lines will have to chip in some scoring, but they'll also have to provide some intimidation. Outside of Ponikarovsky, who plays smaller than his 6-5, 220 pound frame, the Leafs are tiny on the top two lines.

Here's a one-word explanation for why the top six have nothing to worry about: Truculence. In fact, that should read "TRUCULENCE!!!1". The additions of some really big men to flank Our Luke and Saviour will hopefully deter teams from their current practice of taking numbers before lining up to run over our smaller forwards.

The shocker as of July 29 is that Burke hasn't been able to unload Kaberle via trade. There was talk a year ago that Philadelphia would have traded get this Jeff Carter and a No. 1 pick for Kaberle, but Kaberle wouldn't waive his no trade clause. Ugh.

Low blow Portzline. Low blow. The real shocker isn't that Burke hasn't been able to unload him (hint: he could do it anytime) but that no team that fancies itself a contender has come up with a good enough offer.

That he's still in Toronto makes it possible for the Leafs to have a truly special blue line. Komisarek and Beauchemin are physical and mobile, and Schenn is quickly joining that group. Kaberle, Van Ryn and Finger are regarded as puck-movers. That's three good pairs right there.

Exelby figures to be the No. 7, which is a pretty good set-up. Frogren and/or White is expendable.

Hey, I like what this guy is selling. Maybe I was a bit hasty is picking this article to give the old Cox Bloc'ing.

A .891 save percentage last season simply wasn't good enough. The NHL median save percentage was .905. If Toskala had sustained that save percentage, he would have allowed 22 fewer goals last season.

That would have brought the Leafs down from 286 goals against to 264 before counting the impact of an improved penalty kill and better defence. Hmmmm...

Gustavsson is a beast, at 6-3, 195 pounds. He's had two very good seasons in Sweden's top league, and many think he's ready to be the next Henrik Lundqvist.

I feel like this optimism on his part is a trap so that he can write a 'look at what the dummy Leaf fans believe" story.

Burke never rests, never stops looking for another move, so it's reasonable to assume more could be on the horizon.

Well, except for those back-to-back vacations he never rests. I hope that he doesn't end up like Dubya with almost half of his tenure being spent on vacation. Well, I guess he could earn it as long as the other half of the time isn't spent being incompetent.

The Leafs need to move another defenseman. If it's Kaberle, they could get a top six forward in return, which would be a huge help.

Actually, the Leafs do not need to move another defenceman. They probably want to do so but with Stralman gone (dammit) it's much easier to fit all 15 of their defencemen into the lineup.

The Leafs are probably one year away from being playoff caliber, and at least that from being an Eastern Conference playoff threat.

So that's why he led with the extra year of futility...

Don't expect lots of wins or high-scoring games for these Leafs. But with the infusion of big, competitive players, there will be fireworks. The Leafs won't be pushed around.

The Maple Leafs were 10th in the league in goals for last season. That means that 20 teams scored fewer times than them. I don't think that I can emphasise that enough.

The rebuilding has spread into its fifth decade. But the Leafs finally appear to have a plan in place, and they seem to be going in the right direction.

Lazy, lazy, lazy...but for reasons that will be clear soon enough I heartily endorse that conclusion. Aside from his inability to recognise that the Leafs were 10th in league scoring (it's true) Portzline doesn't actually do too bad of a job for someone that lives in Columbus. He didn't use any ethnic slurs or lose a title game in embarrassing fashion so maybe he commutes. So what if Portzline starts out weak with the usual 1967 barbs and some typical rips on the team's fanbase for their devotion. It's always sad to see writers have to resort to those kinds of crutches but then again they tend to hold onto those tighther than Wellfed holding on to a drumstick.

2009 NHL Free Agency / Teams by Cap Space / Unsigned UFA's and RFA's

Robert L — Sat, 04 Jul 2009 19:19:41 -0000

This is a listing of NHL teams by order of remaining cap space as of July 4. The Islanders top the list with approximately $23M left to spend. The Sharks have just under $2M remaining. The list is helpful in determining which team are closest to filling out their 2009-10 lineup. As one can see, there is much work to be done at both ends of the spectrum. The numbers figures are based on totals given by NHL Numbers.com.

1 - New York Islanders: $23.265 (18)

UFA: Andy Hilbert C 28, Dean McAmmond C 36, Mike Sillinger C 38, Thomas Pock D 27, Yann Danis G 28, Joey MacDonald G 29.

RFA: Nate Thompson C 24, Jeremy Colliton C 24, Jamie Fraser D 23, Jack Hillen D 23.

2 - Phoenix Coyotes: $21.972 (18)

UFA: Brian McGrattan R 27, Dmitri Kalinin D 29, Ken Klee D 38.

RFA: Nigel Dawes L 24, Joakim Lindstrom C 25, Enver Lisin R 23, Scottie Upshall R 25, Daniel Winnik C 24, Keith Yandle D 22.

3 - Atlanta Thrashers: $19.599 (15)

RFA: Eric Perrin C 33.

UFA: Kari Lehtonen G 25, Colby Armstrong R 26, Jim Slater C 26, Boris Valabik D 23.

4 - Nashville Predators: $17.913 (16)

UFA: Radek Bonk C 33, Scott Nichol C 34, Greg de Vries D 36.

RFA: Ryan Jones R 25, Antti Pihlstrom L 24,.

5 - New York Rangers: $16.436 (13)

UFA: Blair Betts C 29, Mark Bell L 28, Patrick Rissmiller C 30, Paul Mara D 29, Derek Morris D 30.

RFA: Christopher Higgins R 26, Ryan Callahan R 24, Brandon Dubinsky C 23, Lauri Korpikoski L 22, Nikolai Zherdev L 24, Corey Potter D 25.

6 - Anaheim Ducks: $14.295 (17)

UFA: Rob Niedermayer F 34, Todd Marchant C 33, Francois Beauchemin D 29, Bret Hedican D 38.

RFA: James Wisniewski D 25.

7 - Tampa Bay Lightning: $14.295 (17)

UFA: Matt Pettinger L 28, Wade Brookbank L 31, Jason Ward R 30, Marek Malik D 34, Josef Melichar D 30, Cory Murphy D 31, Noah Welch D 26.

RFA: Martins Karsums R 23, Radek Smolenak L 22, Matt Lashoff D 22, Matt Smaby D 24, Mike Lundin D 24, Karri Ramo G 22, Mike McKenna G 26.

8 - Columbus Blue Jackets: $13.313 (20)

UFA: Chris Gratton C 33, Manny Malhotra C 29, Michael Peca C 35, Jason Williams C 28, Christian Backman D 29.

RFA: Jiri Novotny C 25, Marc Methot D 24, Ole-Kristian Tollefsen D 25.

9 - Dallas Stars: $13.193 (19)

UFA: Sergei Zubov D 38, Brendan Morrison C 33, Joel Lundqvist C 27, Mark Parrish R 32, Landon Wilson R 34, Tobias Stephan G 25, Darryl Sydor D 37.

RFA: Mark Fistric D 23.

10 - St. Louis Blues: $12.295 (22)

UFA: Trent Whitfield C 32, Dan Hinote R 32, Jay McKee D 31, Manny Legace G 36.

RFA: Brandon Crombeen R 23, Chris Porter C 25, Steve Regier L 24, Roman Polak D 23, Jeff Woywitka D 25, Marek Schwarz G 23.

11 - New Jersey Devils: $12.129

UFA: Brendan Shanahan L 40, Kevin Weekes G 34, Niclas Havelid D NJ.

RFA: Travis Zajac C 24.

12 - Toronto Maple Leafs: $12.022 (20)

UFA: Brad May L 37, Bates Battaglia L 33, Andre Deveaux C 25, Boyd Devereaux C 31, Jeff Hamilton C 31, Kris Newbury C 27, Ben Ondrus R 27, Jay Harrison D 26, Jamie Heward D 38, Martin Gerber G 34, Olaf Kolzig G 39, Curtis Joseph G 42.

RFA: Jeremy Williams R 25, Justin Pogge G 23, Jaime Sifers D 26, Ryan Hollweg C 26.

13 - Chicago Blackhawks: $11.797

UFA: Aaron Johnson D 26.

RFA: Cam Barker D 23, Troy Brouwer R 23, Ben Eager L 25, Colin Fraser C 24, Kris Versteeg R 23.

14 - Colorado Avalanche: $11.654 (15)

UFA: Joe Sakic F 39, Ben Guite R 30, Brian Willsie R 31, Andrew Raycroft G 29.

RFA: Kyle Cumiskey D 22, David Jones R 24, Cody McCormick C 26.

15 - Montreal Canadiens: $10.454 (16)

UFA: Alexei Kovalev F 36, Saku Koivu C 34, Alex Tanguay L 29, Robert Lang C 38, Mathieu Schneider D 40, Tom Kostopoulos R 30, Mathieu Dandenault D 33, Patrice Brisebois D 38, Francis Bouillon D 33, Marc Denis G 31.

RFA: Tomas Plekanec C 26, Matt D'Agostini R 22, Guillaume Latendresse R 22, Kyle Chipchura C 23, Gregory Stewart L 23.

16 - Los Angeles Kings: $10.285 (21)

UFA: Derek Armstrong F 36, Denis Gauthier D 32, Kyle Calder L 30.

RFA: Jack Johnson D 22, Teddy Purcell R 23.

17 - Washington Capitals: $9.720 (15)

UFA: Viktor Kozlov C 34, Alexandre Giroux C 28, Bryan Helmer D 26, Brent Johnson G 32.

RFA: Jeff Schultz D 23, Shaone Morrisonn D 26, Milan Jurcina D 26, Eric Fehr R 23, Boyd Gordon R 25.

18 - Buffalo Sabres: $8.976 (16)

UFA: Matt Ellis L 24, Dominic Moore C 28, Andrew Peters L 29, Teppo Numminen D 40, Maxim Afinogeno F 29,

RFA: Andrej Sekera D 23, Drew Stafford R 23, Clarke MacArthur L 24, Patrick Kaleta R 23.

19 - Florida Panthers: $8.405 (18)

UFA: Ville Peltonen L 36, Richard Zednik L 33, Jassen Cullimore D 36, Nick Boynton D 30.

RFA: Anthony Stewart C 24, Steve Eminger D 25, Tanner Glass L 25.

20 - Carolina Hurricanes: $8.083 (18)

UFA: Ryan Bayda L 28, Dennis Seidenberg D 27.

RFA: Tuomo Ruutu C 26, Anton Babchuk D 25.

21 - Vancouver Canucks: $7.282 (18)

UFA: Mats Sundin C 38, Jason Krog C 33, Rob Davison D 29, Ossi Vaananen D 28, Curtis Sanford G 29, Michel Ouellet R 27.

RFA: Shane O' Brien D 25. Kyle Wellwood C 26, Jannik Hansen R 23.

22 - Minnesota Wild: $6.296 (20)

UFA: Stephane Veilleux L 27, Krys Kolanos C 27, Marc-Andre Bergeron D 28, Kurtis Foster D 27, Martin Skoula D 29.

RFA: Dan Fritsche C 23, Benoit Pouliot L 22, Kyle Brodziak C 25, Josh Harding G 25.

23 - Edmonton Oilers: $6.404 (20)

UFA: Ales Kotalik R 30, Dany Sabourin G 28.

RFA: Liam Reddox L 23, Gilbert Brule C 22, Ryan Potulny C 24, Rob Schremp C 22, Denis Grebeshkov D 25, Ladislav Smid D 23.

24 - Detroit Red Wings: $5.554 (16)

UFA: Darren McCarty R 37, Aaron Downey R 34, Chris Chelios D 47.

RFA: Jiri Hudler C 25, Ville Leino L 25.

25 - Boston Bruins: $5.340 (18)

UFA: Stephane Yelle F 35, P.J. Axelsson L 34, Manny Fernandez G 34.

RFA: Phil Kessel F 21, Matt Hunwick D 24.

26 - Ottawa Senators: $4.649 (22)

UFA: Mike Comrie C 28.

RFA: Brendan Bell D 26, Brian Elliott G 24.

27 - Pittsburgh Penguins: $3.137 (19)

UFA: Mike Zigomanis C 28, James Connor L 26, Miroslav Satan L 34, Petr Sykora R 32, Janne Pesonen L 27, Philippe Boucher D 36.

RFA: Paul Bissonnette R 24, Tim Wallace R 24, Ben Lovejoy D 25, John Curry G 25.

28 - Calgary Flames: $3.053 (19)

UFA: Todd Bertuzzi R 34, Andre Roy R 34, Rhett Warrener D 33.

RFA: Dustin Boyd C 22.

29 - Philadelphia Flyers: $2.125 (20)

UFA: Josh Gratton L 26, Boyd Kane L 31, Andrew Alberts D 28, Lasse Kukkonen D 27, Martin Biron G 31, Antero Niittymaki G 29.

RFA: Jared Ross C 26, Danny Syvret D 24.

30 - San Jose Sharks: $1.774 (16)

UFA: Claude Lemieux R 43, Jeremy Roenick C 39, Tom Cavanagh R 27, Alexei Semenov D 28, Mike Grier R 34, Marcel Goc C 25, Tomas Plihal L 26, Lukas Kaspar L 23.

RFA: Torrey Mitchell C 24, Thomas Greiss G 23, Brad Staubitz R 24.

2009 NHL Free Agency: What The Toronto Maple Leafs Might Do

PPP — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 01:45:08 -0000

More photos » by Jeff McIntosh - AP

Mike Cammalleri turns his back on the Flames for the last time. Will he walk all of the way to Toronto?

Browse more photos »

Someday I'll have to shake the hand of the guy that decided that it made sense to schedule the draft three days before the start of free agency. It's not like this day is so important that it's a national holiday in Canada. As a conversation starter because I still have a tonne of draft stuff to come I have a short cheat sheet to help us with a starting point.

Pending UFAs: Martin Gerber, Brad May, Bates Battaglia, Andre Deveaux, Boyd Devereaux, Jeff Hamilton, Kris Newbury, Ben Ondrus, Jay Harrison, Erik Reitz, Jamie Heward, Curtis Joseph, Olaf Kolzig, Jaime Sifers (Thanks Mirtle!)

Calling this a list of notable free agents would have been insulting to players like Eric Christensen. From that list I could see Boyd "SchennBlocker" Devereaux, Brad May, and one of Kris Newbury or Ben Ondrus getting re-signed. The first two would be great veteran influences on the younger players and the latter two could fill up roster space while kids learn on the farm.

Pending RFAs: Mikhail Grabovski, ~~Jaime Sifers~~ ~~(NHL Numbers has him as an RFA and Hockey Buzz as a UFA. I am looking into this)~~, Phil Oreskovic, Tim Stapleton, Jeremy Williams, Ryan Hollweg

Justin Poggegot qualified today so he's not on this list. I am actually pretty surprised that guys like Sifers and Oreskovic have not been qualified. Hollweg is gone and we'll never know what that fifth rounder could have brought. Other than knowing it wasn't going to be a European. Williams seems to not be a Wilson favourite, he's not good enough to play on the top two lines when the team is good again and he's past the stage where he should have established himself. We'll always have the 82 goals/season projections!

Based on my inability to find any news thus far I don't think any of the other guys have been qualified. Grabovski is likely going to arbitration which I think will mark the end of his time in Toronto. I get the sense that Burke will move him if he goes that route.

Salary cap space (courtesy NHL Numbers): $13-million

Now, if you look at NHL Numbers the Leafs have some ridiculous cap relief coming online after next season. They only have $18M committed. On the flip side, they only have five guys signed but one of them is Luke Schenn so I think that means that only need to sign a goalie. Either way, there are a couple of ways that Burke can approach this free agency period.

Scenario One

He can fill out the roster with the myriad of RFAs that are getting axed left and right or the lower end of the free agency pool. Burke would then keep any of the kids that cannot play in their proper role on the team with the Marlies. This would be akin to the Red Wings' policy of developing kids in Grand Rapids but with our NHL team stocked with scrubs and waiver-tied prospects instead of Hall of Famers. This one is tough because the idea would be to have UFAs on one year deals so that the cap space is still available next year.

Scenario Two

This is the one Burke has said that he wants to pursue but he also wanted to trade for more first rounders at the deadline and for Tavares and Schenn at the draft. So far he's 0-for-2 (and I'll have a post about why that's not entirely his fault) so even then there's no guarantee that this will work. This strategy can work long-term if he makes the right decisions. Mike Komisarek at $4m-$5M is a bad move. The Sedins at $5.25M is a great move. We'll see how much he has to overpay to get players to come to Toronto.

Projected budget: $56.8-million less $1. Whether he spends to it will be a function of the UFAs' receptiveness to his deal.

Key needs: Everything is the short answer. The longer one is that the Leafs' most pressing need is their goaltending situation. James Reimer and Justin Pogge will hold down the fort with the Marlies but Vesa Toskala is coming off of three major surgeries. If Burke really thinks that this team can make the playoffs he needs a competent backup.

In terms of defence, the Leafs have two years of Kaberle, one of Kubina and Van Ryn, and then 20 of Luke Schenn. After that, they'll need to look at how to replace Kubina and Kaberle. If they can do it this summer then they can cash in those assets. If all of the king's men and all of the king's horses put Van Ryn together again properly over the weekend even he might get something for the Leafs. Or he could be part of the team going forward. Burke, however, is really loathe to let Kaberle go. I am hoping that by the deadline Burke gets his doors blown off by a deal.

Looking at the forwards, there is obviously a dearth of skill forwards that are NHL-calibre. There are guys that have the potential to fill that role at some point but no one is a sure bet. I hear that there are a couple of interesting ginger twins available...

Potential targets: It might be easier to list who isn't a target. Take one part cap space, add a dollop (actually, more like a cup) of Burkian hubris, a pound of media speculation, mix well, and you get every big-ticket player being linked to the Leafs. Daniel Sedin and Henrik Sedin are getting their retirement plan from the Leafs. Francois Beauchemin, Travis Meon, and Samuel Pahlssonare being re-united with their former GM. Jonas Gustavsson is coming over to be the next Henrink Lundqvist while Mike Cammalleri is going to live up to the expectations that come with a 40% raise. I look forward to watching him score 60 goals a year for five years.

As I noted above, there are two scenarios and it sure looks like Burke is going through door number two. I think that the Sedins are going to be his main target. I've heard The Monster is ready to be unveiled July 1 and I would imagine that Burke looks at Beauchemin. The rumours of Komisarek and Chris Neil sicken me so I will pretend that I've never heard of them.

What our rivals want:

Colorado Avalanche: A real starting goalie and defence that can keep the puck out of the net. Also, a new medical staff to keep their players in one piece.
LA Kings: A sniper to play with their young forwards and a defensive defenceman.
Atlanta Thrashers: Defence and goaltending. The only year they made the playoffs was the one year that they weren't in the bottom 4 or 5 of the league in goals against.
NY Islanders: I'll tell you what they don't need: a franchise scorer (sigh). Other than that, they could use a goalie on a 15 year contract that actually plays hockey, and defencemen.
Phoenix Coyotes: A new owner. Zing! Actually, as Godd Till noted in a private e-mail, they need to get a new coach in order to escape from the mad clutches of the Friends of Gretzky. Did you know that the best man from his wedding, Eddie Mio, is the Director of Player Development and his brother Keith is the Head Scout. Failing that they could use some veteran leadership since the average age of that team is about 12.

SBN has once again put together a massive hub to coordinate the writing from 30ish blogs. You can find it by clicking on this button.

a href="http://www.sbnation.com/nhl/freeagency">

Decision '09: The all-star campaigns you haven't heard of

James Mirtle — Sat, 22 Nov 2008 15:00:07 -0000

Sure, the move by Habs fans to get six Canadiens as starters in January's all-star game has had all sorts of coverage. And there's been talk, too, of some of the write-in campaigns, although none have truly caught on to this point.

But have you heard of the even less successful 'Vote for Raycroft' movement? Or how about the sudden spike in support for Wade Belak? And which goaltender who has played in fewer than 60 minutes this season has more than 1,600 votes?

Luckily, the NHL has unlocked the mystery.

For the curious, the league has added a feature whereby you can check the vote tallies of any player in the NHL this season, everyone from Jeff Finger (121 votes) to Darren McCarty (47) and Ryan Hollweg (22). Try as I might, I wasn't able to find a single player, no matter how obscure, that didn't have a single vote, but there are some with only a couple. (I didn't have the patience to check everyone's totals, however.)

Here's an incomplete list of pluggers, backups, injured players, rookies, goons and NHL nobodies and how they stack up in terms of votes so far:

Players	Votes
WARD, Jason	2
LACOUTURE, Dan	2
MATTHIAS, Shawn	3
RYAN, Michael	3
POWE, Darroll	4
ROSS, Jared	5
MOJZIS, Tomas	6
BOULERICE, Jesse	6
HALISCHUK, Matt	7
RADUNS, Nate	7
BROWN, Mike	7
DAVIS, Patrick	8
CAMPBELL, Gregory	8
TARNASKY, Nick	9
NOKELAINEN, Petteri	9
PICARD, Alexandre	10
WELCH, Noah	10
MCLEOD, Cody	11
DORSETT, Derek	11
MCGINN, Jamie	11
FROLIK, Michael	11
GRATTON, Josh	13
STAUBITZ, Brad	13
MCGRATTAN, Brian	14
KOCI, David	14
VRANA, Petr	14
PELTONEN, Ville	15
PESONEN, Janne	18
PRUST, Brandon	19
FRITZ, Mitch	19
YELLE, Stephane	20
HJALMARSSON, Niklas	21
HOLLWEG, Ryan	22
HORDICHUK, Darcy	24
BROUWER, Troy	24
BROOKBANK, Wade	27
BISSONNETTE, Paul	28
EAGER, Ben	28
LETOURNEAU-LEBLOND, Pierre-Luc	29
SALMELA, Anssi	31
SANFORD, Curtis	34
LACOSTA, Daniel	37
MCELHINNEY, Curtis	38
RINNE, Pekka	39
RYAN, Bobby	39
STORTINI, Zack	40
TIKHONOV, Viktor	40
JANSSEN, Cam	42
NORRENA, Fredrik	43
SCHWARZ, Marek	44
MACINTYRE, Steve	44
STEPHAN, Tobias	45
MCCARTY, Darren	47
HUNWICK, Matt	53
BISHOP, Ben	56
MALIK, Marek	56
GODARD, Eric	61
CLARKSON, David	65
LAPERRIERE, Ian	66
BOLL, Jared	71
COTE, Riley	72
PETERS, Andrew	75
CLEMMENSEN, Scott	89
SHELLEY, Jody	94
THORNTON, Shawn	96
SCHNEIDER, Mathieu	105
HNIDY, Shane	106
RAYCROFT, Andrew	115
FINGER, Jeff	121
BLAKE, Jason	151
BYFUGLIEN, Dustin	153
NODL, Andreas	179
JOSEPH, Curtis	191
STAMKOS, Steven	192
BOOGAARD, Derek	283
LEIGHTON, Michael	395
PARROS, George	541
DROUIN-DESLAURIERS, Jeff	746
LARAQUE, Georges	1217
BROOKBANK, Sheldon	1630
DANIS, Yann	1648
BELAK, Wade	1676
YANDLE, Keith	2106
DIPIETRO, Rick	4894

Yann Danis's really only 39,000 votes back of making an appearance on the leaderboard, so maybe his supporters just need to get a bit more organized. They could talk to the Belak people, maybe, and form a tag team of sorts.

You do wonder who the poor, misguided souls are logging in to vote for Nate Raduns and Darroll Powe, but I say more power to them.

See any other quirky vote-getters I missed?

Game Preview: The Leafs Go on a Trip!

Chemmy — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 19:00:06 -0000

Pre-Game: 9:00 p.m., Leafs TV
Broadcast: 9:30 p.m., Sportsnet, AM640
Post-Game: 12:00 a.m., Leafs TV
Post Video: mapleleafs.com

REMEMBER YOUR SPG PICKS

Toronto heads to Calgary after their exciting win against Montreal. The Flames are battling the flu. Jarome Iginla may be a game time decision and Dion Phaneuf has swelling around his eye from the above stick incident. This could bode well for the Leafs if they skate hard all night. Hopefully they're not jet lagged.

Let's hope Grabovski keeps his four game goal streak going and the Leafs get a good effort out of Toskala. Taking two out of three is going to be very difficult if the Leafs need to win in Vancouver later this week against Luongo.

Update: Since the Leafs are playing the rough and tumble Flames Jason Blake and Anton Stralman will be scratches with Ryan Hollweg and Jonas Frogren taking their places. If Hollweg hits someone from behind tonight I'll burn an effigy of him in front of the ACC before a game. Hockey Viking will be on the prowl for more big hits.