As Sportsnet leads every commercial break with Rick Nash news people everywhere want Brian Burke to add a "forward with size". Ignoring the enormous cost of both Nash's contract and the likely trading chips to bring him here: it doesn't make sense. Toronto is sixth in the league in goals for per game and twenty second in goals against per game.

To be fair Jonas Gustavsson wasn't horrendous tonight, most of us have certainly seen him turn in worse performances, though saying he played "well" or really even "kinda ok" is a big stretch. At the team level between Gustavsson and Reimer's struggles the Leafs team goaltending is yet again among the league's worst (18th).

Tonight was an absolute horror show by Dion Phaneuf, and the easy jokes for radio call ins will be that Calgary is glad to be rid of him. They only see him once a year now and after the game he turned in I'm not sure he did a lot to disprove them. It's only one game for him, though without Carl Gunnarsson who might be the only defensive d-man on the team the Leafs D is in trouble. Toronto had climbed all the way to 19th in shots against per game, a number sure to get worse the longer Gunnarsson is gone.

This team's issue is the same thing that's plagued the Leafs since the lockout: poor defense and goaltending. These are needs that absolutely have to be addressed if the Leafs want to improve. The Sundin and Raycroft era Leafs scored a ton of goals, bad goaltending means that doesn't matter.

A bright side? This is hopefully the low point of the season. An awful run of games sees the Leafs 1 point up on ninth though the Capitals have a game in hand. Toronto has time to turn it around starting tomorrow night in Edmonton.

Doug and Craig run Puck Buddys, a site "for boys who like boys who like hockey" though I'm guessing you're welcome even if you don't fit that criteria (I mean honestly who'd let hockey fans comment on their blog?). They were nice enough to write this up for us. While reading this, consider donating to the Brendan Burke Scholarship over here at MLHS.

As journalists, we've had the chance to meet and interview genuine heroes - people who did the right thing even in the most difficult circumstances. It's a varied group, but one thing they all shared is their insistence that they were really no different than any of the rest of us, they just did what they had to do. Of course, that's precisely what makes them heroic. We like to think of Brendan and the Burke family just this way. Trailblazers of real courage who did the right thing, but probably see themselves as no different than the rest of us.

We say this because when we think of our heroes - and Brendan and his family are that for us - we like to be reminded that we all begin this life the same way. It's our choices the ultimately distinguish who we are. Because Brendan demanded much of himself, he calls us to be our best selves. Someone we can be like, if only we choose to do the right thing.

The anniversary of Brendan's passing took on an even more poignant significance for us today. Over the last month, we've been doing a series based on interviews with Zach, a gay high school player. On Sunday, we spoke to Zach for the first time in a few weeks and he had some news for us - he's now out to his entire team. Courage. Heroes. The world needs more of both.

Fresh off of putting the boot to Ottawa last night the Leafs playoff odds are up to 85.4% via SportsClubStats.

Boston Bruins 4 (+0.5%) at Washington Capitals 1

This game is pretty obvious: Washington is playing their game in hand right now and are two points behind the Leafs. Since the Leafs are unlikely to win the division: who cares, go Bruins.

Pittsburgh Penguins 2 at New Jersey Devils 5 (-0.4%)

A regulation win in this game is better than it going to OT no matter who wins. If New Jersey wins in OT the impact to Toronto is -0.6% since the Leafs are also chasing Pittsburgh. Go Penguins, but mostly cheer for regulation.

Montreal Canadiens (+0.4%) at Winnipeg Jets (-0.4%)

On this birthday of Scott Gomez's last goal we'll cheer for the pathetic Habs to help keep the Jets in the rear view mirror. Spend some time thinking about signing 30 year old UFAs who used to be elite to big dollar long term contracts.

Philadelphia Flyers 2 at New York Rangers 5 (-?)

I don't think this game has any real impact on the Leafs, but strangely it's not listed at SportsClubStats for Toronto. Cheer for Brad Richards (that guy Toronto should have broken the bank for) to continue his recent hot streak (10GP 1G 1A 2Pts). Richards trails Mikhail Grabovski in the scoring race by four points despite playing three more games.

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5 -

TSN's Bob MacKenzie is reporting that the Leafs have extended John-Michael Liles for four years at $3.875M per. We don't know about any potential NMC/NTC.

The upside of this deal is that Liles' cap hit decreases though given his age and term (though it likely should have), and he's been a valuable part of the Leafs this season. My issues surrounding this deal are:

• Between Liles, Luke Schenn and Mike Komisarek the Leafs are spending $12M for #4, #6 and #7 defenders on a team that has a lot of trouble on defense. Obviously Komisarek is the boat anchor there but that's tough to swallow.
• Offensive production for 35 year olds is horrific. If Liles can't be buried in the minors due to an NMC and if his contract isn't mega front loaded for a future trade then it's not great.

So, is someone on the move in Toronto?

Welcome to a new feature we're trying out here. You've noticed the name of it, "Building the Narrative", by now. This feature is going to be a place for us to share fond memories of the Leafs or things tangentially related to the team, something we hope is either funny or poignant but not always either. Got something you'd like to fill this space with? You know how to reach us.

I wasn't very tall growing up. In 1994 I was in fourth grade just outside of Hartford, CT and was the shortest kid in my grade by six inches easy. My parents both worked at the time and so after school I went to daycare until they could pick me up.

Those of you who've frequented the site or even better played hockey with me will likely guess (correctly) that I got into more than my fair share of trouble as a kid. Being stuck somewhere with nothing to do was always a good time to get into mischief.

I don't remember the day anymore and I don't remember the kid who did it. He might have been tall or short, fat or skinny, I don't know. What I remember is that I was playing Blades of Steel on my original grey brick Game Boy wearing the only Toronto Maple Leafs memorabilia I owned: a ratty old Leafs baseball hat.

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There's an absolute gem of an article in the Vancouver Sun (cited at the bottom of this article) this morning:

And let's face it: the Leafs have been so long out of the loop as an actual hockey-playing force, it's hard to imagine a large chunk of America's sports viewing public turning eagerly to a match that features a team that last won the Cup when most TVs were still black and white.

This is a good point. Vancouver's Stanley Cup win last summer was a joyous occasion celebrated responsibly and with great restraint by the locals. You can take a look at the image in this post to see Daniel Sedin or maybe Henrik Sedin celebrating the Cup they must have won taking a 3-2 series lead into game six.

Vancouver's Stanley Cup Drought dates to 1970 which is probably the exact date everyone bought a color TV according to the Sun. Unfortunately for the Canucks their Cup Drought isn't since their last Stanley Cup: they've never won one.

I know that'll come as a shock to the people of Vancouver whose team won a single playoff series between 1996 and 2006, just as the Sun's inability to fact check and realize that CBS' broadcast of "The Wizard of Oz" in color in 1956 likely means that given an 11 year head start color TV adoption was doing fine in 1967.

And so, finally, our Cup Drought is 45 years. It's true. It sucks but I didn't run the team into the ground for decades. One wonders though, if Vancouver's so fucking great where's their Cup? Clock's at 42 years and ticking Vancouver.

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I didn't watch the third period, and from the box score it doesn't seem like I missed any Leafs hockey. I'd like to be clear that tonight's game wasn't a terrible one for the Leafs; they generated a lot of shots (final tally Leafs 39 Sens 21), they generated a lot of chances, and they didn't win.

The game tonight is a terrible example of what's wrong with the Leafs. The second goal on Reimer should probably have been goaltender interference and that's probably the only thing representative of the Leafs: harping on bad bounces.

The Leafs have a team PDO well over 1000. They've been getting the bounces. They're ahead of where they should be. The Leafs get outshot and out puck possessed most nights and sometimes win anyways. This is the opposite: sometimes you're better than the opposition but it doesn't matter because Craig Anderson shuts the door.

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As I sit on the couch watching the Packers - Giants game on Sunday afternoon it's 0-0 between Washington and Carolina. A Capitals win knocks Toronto down to 9th place and since I've been a Leafs fan for a long time I'm pretty sure you're reading this tomorrow morning while I'm asleep on the West Coast saying "what the fuck Toronto?".

There are some things that bug me, for sure, the Kessel-Lupul duo has been the benefit of some puck luck and their recent three game power outage has shown us how ugly it can get without them lighting the lamp constantly. Jonas Gustavsson's past two starts are something I hope he forgets despite his recent run of incredible play.

That said there are some good things for the Leafs.

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Drafted fifth overall in 2008 Luke Schenn was Toronto's first big name first round draft pick in a long time. His arrival was a ray of hope for Leafs fans wondering when their playoff drought would end (spoiler: not for a while). Schenn stepped into the lineup immediately as a 19 year old as part of a defensive group that incluced Pavel Kubina, Ian White, Jeff Finger, Tomas Kaberle, Anton Stralman, Jonas Frogren and Mike Van Ryn.

That season the future of the Leafs was only Schenn, Justin Pogge and Jiri Tlusty.

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Toronto's won four in a row, the second best winning streak in the NHL right now.

Jonas Gustavsson is up to a .908 overall with a .921 EV SV% good for 30th in the league.

The Leafs head to Buffalo on Friday and could really put a dagger in Buffalo's season.

Feels good man.

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WHO WANTS A GIF PARTY?

On the back of two games in which Jonas Gustavsson allowed a combined three goals while the Leafs put up 11 the Toronto Maple Leafs are now one of only six teams in the East with a positive goal differential. That list is: Boston, New York, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, Washington, and the Toronto Fuckin' Maple Leafs.

GIF party while we wait for news about Phaneuf's chops.

I saw this link come across Deadspin last night:

Doctors at Hennepin County Medical Center say Benilde-St. Margaret’s sophomore Jack Jablonski has a severed spinal cord – the result of an accidental check from behind that sent him into the boards and down to the ice during a hockey game Friday in St. Louis Park.

We're a hockey blog. All of us watch hockey and are thankful for players who sacrifice a lot to entertain us, some of us play hockey and skate despite knowing the risks out there.

Jack Jablonski may never walk again, and as a hockey community it'd be a nice gesture if we donated money to him and his family for medical bills and family expenses. The hospital he's at set up a donation page that's available right here. (Edit: link removed, see comments).

Once you've done that, if you have a twitter account help spread the word and tweet:

I donated to Jack Jablonski at (link removed) #donatetojack

I don't know him, but I'm sure he'll appreciate it.

Alternate Title: LUCA CAPUTI SLEEPS WITH THE FISHES

g/t to @SBPopOffValve

The Leafs have made a minor league deal sending Luca Caputi to the Anaheim Ducks for minor league forward Nicolas Deschamps. Deschamps turns 22 on Friday and last season put up over half a point per game in the AHL. (80GP 15G 31A 46Pts). Caputi has been sidetracked by injury ever since joining the Leafs but didn't do anything to impress in the AHL. I know one person who will be upset he's leaving Toronto but that's probably the complete list.

Like Caputi it's doubtful that Deschamps will ever be any sort of meaningful player in the NHL but this is a chance for two young kids to get a fresh start in a new market. Since this is the Toronto Maple Leafs I'm sure Mr. Deschamps will have 10,000 twitter followers by dinner time.

The Sun's Lance Hornby also had the following:

@sunhornby @KyleTheReporter has 12 moves for Burke with Ducks since taking over, I think I have seven since the Pogge deal in 2009.

Interesting. The trade deadline this year is February 28th, so about two more months of wild speculation on Burke's roster moves starts now. Enjoy!

Via Corey Pronman:

Caputi still has a chance at a 4th line role in the NHL maybe, but injuries have seriously derailed his career. I think despite Deschamps not having great counting numbers this season in the AHL, he is the better prospect.

Hold on to your nuts!

The biggest surprise of 2011 wasn't Phil Kessel's unbelievable start to the 2011-12 season, it was the emergence of James Reimer in January. The Leafs, propelled by having an actual NHL goaltender, went on an enormous run and since last January are playing 95pt pace hockey over about a full season's worth of games.

Reimer started out red hot last year before settling to a well above average .921 save percentage. This year he sits at .901. What changed? Was it the concussion? Was it the inevitability of being a Leafs fan, that everything we hope for turns to shit?

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To the surprise of no one at all John-Michael Liles has been placed on the IR with "concussion like symptoms" after being diagnosed with a "sore neck". If this sounds familiar to you that's because it's exactly what happened earlier this season after Brian Gionta kicked James Reimer in the head.

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On XM radio last night Bill Watters claimed that Jim Rutherford and Brian Burke had a deal in place involving Eric Staal that was on hold because of Brian Burke's roster freeze. Bill Watters went on to claim that the deal would be completed after the roster freeze was lifted.

This is nonsensical for about twelve reasons, but most notably if Brian Burke has a roster freeze for the holidays he isn't talking about trading players. No NHL GM is going to agree to a trade and then keep playing the guys he moved for weeks; it's poor risk management. If Eric Staal gets hurt, despite it being a short term effect on the deal, the trade is likely off.

Bob McKenzie did what an actual media member with access should do and went to the source. He asked Jim Rutherford about a potential Eric Staal trade:

"I have no interest whatsoever in trading Eric Staal or Cam Ward. That's not going to happen." -- Jim Rutherford

Nice try Billo. It seems when it comes to rumors, much like Eklund or Incarcerated Bob, Bill Watters is a first of April credibility kind of guy.

Your links over the jump. Thanks for reading PPP.

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