SB Nation User Blog: Chemmy

Leafs at Bruins: Rivalry? Sorry, no.

Chemmy — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 15:48:05 -0000

2 days ago: Toronto Maple Leafs' Alexei Ponikarovsky, center left, celebrates scoring a goal against Atlanta Thrashers with teammates, from left, Matt Strajan Tomas Kaberle and Phil Kessel during period of an NHL hockey game in Toronto on Monday, Dec. 7, 2009. (AP Photo/The Canadian Press,Chris Young)

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Puck Drop: 7PM Leafs TV

I got an email yesterday from a Bruins blogger asking if I'd contribute my thoughts on the Bruins - Leafs rivalry. My thoughts basically boil down to: what rivalry?

Are we supposed to be rivals because of the Phil Kessel deal? According to the Boston media Kessel is a player who didn't fit the Bruins system. He's lazy, he only scores with Marc Savard around, he fades down the stretch, he doesn't play physically or back check.

Boston didn't want him anymore. They could have actually negotiated with Milan Lucic instead of handing him a blank check and kept Kessel, Savard, David Krejci and Lucic. Boston didn't do that, so they moved him. As far as moving him goes Kessel didn't get offer sheeted, he got traded. Boston gets two firsts for a player they claim to not want, and we're pretty happy to have Kessel. Where's the drama? Where's the beef?

The obvious answer is that despite their assertions Bruins fans wanted Kessel. They're mad that he spurned their city and they're also rooting against Toronto for the pragmatic reason of hoping those two first rounders are really good picks which makes sense.

That doesn't make a rivalry though. Think about our division: Toronto, Buffalo, Montreal, Ottawa, Boston. I'm pretty sure no one here would root for Buffalo, Montreal or Ottawa under any circumstances. Boston? Eh, we don't like them because they're in our division but I'd rather see them win than Montreal.

Rivalries are built in the playoffs. The Battle of Ontario made us change our stance on the Senators from "dimwitted cousin" to "ancient enemy". We all hate Philly because of 2004 and Detroit because of our battles in the Norris division. Boston doesn't register.

Tonight the Leafs head back into Boston to avenge their piss poor outing on Saturday night. With a 7-2-1 record over their past ten the sky won't fall if the Leafs lose to a team picked to win the East handily but like any night we'd like to see Toronto win. That still doesn't make this a rivalry. Maybe three years from now Boston and Toronto will meet in the postseason, but until then it's just not happening on our end.

Team Canada Watch '09: Goaltending

Chemmy — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 18:33:22 -0000

Yesterday we had a lively 700 comment discussion on the finer points of Jeff Schultz's advanced plus minus statistics. Today we can all argue about shot quality in a rousing discussion of who Team Canada's goalie should be. Of course Canada will bring three of these guys just in case but we'll all agree that one guy is the starter and argue accordingly.

Follow me through the jump before voting!

STRONG CANDIDATES:

Martin Brodeur

#30 / Goalie / New Jersey Devils

Height: 6-2

Weight: 215

Born: May 06, 1972

	GP	MIN	W	L	T	EGA	GA	GAA	SA	SV	SV%	SO
2009 - Martin Brodeur	26	1562	18	7			55	2.11	706	651	.922	2

This tubby womanizer left his wife for her sister but tied Terry Sawchuck's shutout record.

Roberto Luongo

#1 / Goalie / Vancouver Canucks

Height: 6-3

Weight: 205

Born: Apr 04, 1979

	GP	MIN	W	L	T	EGA	GA	GAA	SA	SV	SV%	SO
2009 - Roberto Luongo	23	1304	12	10			53	2.44	623	570	.915	2

Roberto Luongo is literally the sole reason why the Vancouver Canucks didn't forfeit their next ten seasons. In addition to posting solid numbers behind a worse defensive team than Brodeur, Luongo won't have to move his equipment out of his locker at GM Place. Think of the time savings!

Marc-Andre Fleury

#29 / Goalie / Pittsburgh Penguins

Height: 6-2

Weight: 180

Born: Nov 28, 1984

	GP	MIN	W	L	T	EGA	GA	GAA	SA	SV	SV%	SO
2009 - Marc-Andre Fleury	26	1517	17	8			62	2.45	653	591	.905	0

Fleury's numbers don't look outrageous but remember that every single defenseman in Pittsburgh is hurt. For a while Fleury was carrying the Wilkes-Barre d-corps on his back and looking good doing it.

NOT A DAMN CHANCE:

Cam Ward

#30 / Goalie / Carolina Hurricanes

Height: 6-1

Weight: 200

Born: Feb 29, 1984

	GP	MIN	W	L	T	EGA	GA	GAA	SA	SV	SV%	SO
2009 - Cam Ward	15	829	2	9			41	2.97	406	365	.899	0

Due to his injury and Carolina's horrible season I just can't see Ward making it onto the team. If he played out of his mind he'd still be a longshot and he just hasn't so far.

Steve Mason

#1 / Goalie / Columbus Blue Jackets

Height: 6-4

Weight: 212

Born: May 29, 1988

	GP	MIN	W	L	T	EGA	GA	GAA	SA	SV	SV%	SO
2009 - Steve Mason	23	1307	9	8			75	3.44	660	585	.886	0

I really like this kid so I'm hoping he's not the next Andrew Raycroft, but Columbus seems to have a ton of young goalies who dominate the league... for one year. No chance at all Steve Mason gets to the Olympics without buying a ticket this year, sorry kid.

WEREN'T INVITED TO CAMP... BUT SHOULD THEY HAVE BEEN?

Chris Mason

#50 / Goalie / St. Louis Blues

Height: 6-0

Weight: 195

Born: Apr 20, 1976

	GP	MIN	W	L	T	EGA	GA	GAA	SA	SV	SV%	SO
2009 - Chris Mason	21	1254	8	9			51	2.44	619	568	.918	0

Chris Mason is quietly having a great season in St. Louis. His .918 SV% is second to only Brodeur among Canadian goaltenders.

Marty Turco

#35 / Goalie / Dallas Stars

Height: 5-11

Weight: 185

Born: Aug 13, 1975

	GP	MIN	W	L	T	EGA	GA	GAA	SA	SV	SV%	SO
2009 - Marty Turco	22	1330	9	6			55	2.48	651	596	.916	2

Third in Canadian goaltender save percentage, Turco has a bad rep for not winning in the playoffs despite putting up solid numbers there.

Have at it folks, who do you want in net for Team Canada?

Poll

Who's your choice for Team Canada's goaltender?

I’m not looking and haven’t looked for [Schenn] to get top four minutes all year because we’ve got m...

Chemmy — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 18:11:19 -0000

I’m not looking and haven’t looked for [Schenn] to get top four minutes all year because we’ve got more veterans deserving of that ice time.

Ron Wilson

Islanders at Leafs

Chemmy — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 15:33:00 -0000

More photos » by Nathan Denette - AP

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Yesterday we wrote that Chris Pronger would bring a mean streak that Team Canada needs in the Olympics and last night Chris Pronger lived up to his billing by drilling Tavares into the glass from behind. Pronger received a two minute penalty and Tavares lost one of his front teeth so that he can now rock the Dany Heatley look.

No one from the Islanders started a fight with Pronger. No one on their team stood up to a guy who intentionally drilled their star player, their 19 year old wunderkid. Let's hope that streak continues for tonight, because I watched an Islanders team put their tail between their legs last night when faced with physical play. The Leafs don't have Carter, Richards, Briere, Giroux and Van Riemsdyk, but we've got Phil Kessel and a mean streak. Let's make this an unpleasant game for a team that was banged up before last night.

Martin Biron started last night but got torched by the Flyers so I'm guessing we'll see Dwayne Roloson in net tonight. This will be a good chance for the Leafs to exorcise the demons of last week's soul crushing loss to Roloson. I'd say "the Islanders" but that wouldn't be very accurate.

Toskala should be starting for the Leafs, he played very well in the Atlanta game before our defense gave up in the third once the game was well out of hand. However the Leafs play in Boston tomorrow so Joey MacDonald might get the start to save Toskala for tomorrow night. I don't like any of these scenarios to be honest. With Toskala I feel like he plays well just long enough to make you say "oh, maybe I was too harsh" before he shits the bed in a spectacular soul crushing display of aloof ineptitude.

The preview's up early today because we're going to have a bunch of content this afternoon so stay tuned. Remember your SPG picks, check out the excellent Lighthouse Hockey (where we'll make a 2nd period field trip tonight) for Islanders coverage and go Leafs go!

Who Should Be Canada's Olympic Defenders?

Chemmy — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 18:56:47 -0000

The question is simple; who are your seven guys to play defense for Team Canada at the Olympics? The defenders invited to the Canada camp are:

Francois Beauchemin, Jay Bouwmeester, Dan Boyle, Brent Burns, Drew Doughty, Mike Green, Dan Hamhuis, Duncan Keith, Scott Niedermayer, Dion Phaneuf, Chris Pronger, Robyn Regehr, Stephane Robidas, Brent Seabrook, Marc Staal, and Shea Weber. Click a player's name for stats.

I discussed my picks with Godd Till of Zambonic Youth and PPP, check out our picks after the jump.

Chris Pronger

#20 / Defenseman / Philadelphia Flyers

Height: 6-6

Weight: 214

Born: Oct 10, 1974

	G	A	P	+/-	PIM
2009 - Chris Pronger	4	14	18	9	41

Pronger can score points, shut down talent even at age 35 and has a documented mean streak. Pronger's the grit and the jam that dominant teams need to make playing against them no fun at all.

Shea Weber

#6 / Defenseman / Nashville Predators

Height: 6-4

Weight: 230

Born: Aug 14, 1985

	G	A	P	+/-	PIM
2009 - Shea Weber	6	9	15	-4	4

Nashville's Shea Weber is an excellent defender in his own end who can also put up points. He hits as hard as your January credit card bill and isn't afraid to drop the gloves.

Duncan Keith

#2 / Defenseman / Chicago Blackhawks

Height: 6-1

Weight: 196

Born: Jul 16, 1983

	G	A	P	+/-	PIM
2009 - Duncan Keith	5	18	23	6	16

Fresh off of inking a lifetime deal that was well earned Duncan Keith is having a fantastic season. Another guy who can put up points and plays well in his own end Duncan Keith is an obvious lock for this team along with...

Brent Seabrook

#7 / Defenseman / Chicago Blackhawks

Height: 6-3

Weight: 218

Born: Apr 20, 1985

	G	A	P	+/-	PIM
2009 - Brent Seabrook	3	10	13	8	15

... his defensive partner Brent Seabrook. In addition to being an excellent player on his own, having Keith's defensive partner will give Canada an elite d-pairing that are familiar with each other. This is a huge advantage in a tournament where players are hastily thrown together.

Robyn Regehr

#28 / Defenseman / Calgary Flames

Height: 6-3

Weight: 225

Born: Apr 19, 1980

	G	A	P	+/-	PIM
2009 - Robyn Regehr	0	10	10	5	23

The definition of defensive defenseman, Regehr hits good hockey players hard and often. He's on this team to hit Ovechkin, Kessel and Parise.

Dan Boyle

#22 / Defenseman / San Jose Sharks

Height: 5-11

Weight: 190

Born: Jul 12, 1976

	G	A	P	+/-	PIM
2009 - Dan Boyle	6	19	25	4	20

Dan Boyle's our pick for puck mover / PP specialist on the back end. If you'd prefer Bouwmeester or Mike Green go ahead, I'm not too concerned with any of the three.

Drew Doughty

#8 / Defenseman / Los Angeles Kings

Height: 6-0

Weight: 211

Born: Dec 08, 1989

	G	A	P	+/-	PIM
2009 - Drew Doughty	7	15	22	9	18

Is Drew Doughty the seventh best Canadian defender in the league? Honestly he might be, but what's important here is the future. Doughty will be the seventh guy and only see action if guys get hurt. Obviously you could do a lot worse than Doughty as an injury fill in which speaks to Canada's enormous depth at defense.

I picked Doughty looking forward to 2014. Doughty will be 25 and about to hit his prime. He got an invite to Olympic camp this year based on his ability as a player and I think bringing him along to Vancouver would be a big step for a young kid in the NHL. Let him have a taste of the team he's going to need to be a big part of in four years.

Those are our picks, let us know yours in the comments.

Thrashers at Leafs

Chemmy — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 17:45:11 -0000

Puck Drop: 7:00PM ET Sportsnet Ontario

Leafs' coach Ron Wilson says he hopes former players Nik Antropov and Pavel Kubina won't be feted with a ceremony tonight. - Jonas Siegel

Tonight marks the return of a player who wasn't fully appreciated in Toronto even after he left. He had issues with his knee while he was here and was a solid player but didn't fit Burke's idea for a rebuilding team and was shipped out. That player of course is Pavel Kubina.

I think we were all expecting to replace Kubina's offense with Francois Beauchemin's. Obviously that hasn't happened. What's odd is that Happy Trails dropped a 102.2mph bomb in the hardest shot competition, capping what must have been bizarro weekend as Rickard "They Glue A Stick To My Hands Because I Can't Be Trusted Not To Drop It" Wallin won the shot accuracy contest.

Other promising ex-Leafs with knee injuries playing for the Thrashers include Nik Antropov, who has only 2 goals this year (yikes) but has 21 assists to give him 23 points in 26 games. I don't think anyone here saw Antropov as a setup guy, but I'm assuming he plays with Kovalchuk and that should boost his assist total. Strange though, Antropov played very well down the stretch for the Rangers last year including scoring a bunch of beautiful top shelf goals from the faceoff circles, he'll probably find his game tonight knowing our luck.

Garnet Exelby back in against his former team. Jeff Finger scratched. Rickard Wallin in as well. - Jonas Siegel

Christian Hanson has been returned to the Marlies in what I hope is a planned move; bring the kids up to get a taste and then send them back down to work on problems. Hanson looked good aside from his first game up and I didn't see the Boston game (thank god), so he should understand what he needs to do.

The puzzling move here is Exelby for Finger. Burke needs to shit or get off the pot with Finger; he's a better defenseman than Exelby hands down but with a bigger cap hit. If we're not going to waive Finger we might as well use him rather than have his cap hit in the press box.

Gustavsson couldn’t pinpoint an exact return date—he’ll need the incision in his groin area to heal—but he said that this time around was definitely better than last.

"Feels like I have more power now after this procedure than after the last one," he said. - Eat. Sleep. Leafs.

Gustavsson will probably be out more than a week while the incision in his groin heals and Joey MacDonald got shelled in Boston which means in addition to Rickard "Useless" Wallin coming back into the lineup Vesa Toskala will be in net.

The Thrashers come in to tonight's game at 15-8-3, the Eastern Conference's #6 seed. I have no faith whatsoever in Toskala or Exelby and combined with the return of Kubina and Antropov as well as this being a weekday home game against a Southeast opponent tonight is going to be terrible.

Don't forget your SPG picks, and no you can't pick Antropov, check out Bird Watchers Anonymous for Thrashers coverage and go Leafs go!

Skills Competition Twitter

Chemmy — Sun, 06 Dec 2009 17:40:08 -0000

Skills Competition Twitter

Mirtle is tweeting from the skills comp.

Leafs 6 Jackets 3: Boston Can Have Taylor Hall We Don't Care

Chemmy — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 02:34:27 -0000

More photos » by Jay LaPrete - AP

Oh hell yeah

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The best part about tonight's game was Phil Kessel pulling Russell's jersey over his head and dumping him, followed closely by Phil Kessel laughing when Orr came into the box shortly after.

Kessel with a pair, Jason Blake (!!!) with a pair both set up on beautiful feeds by Grabovski, Stempniak gets one and Kulemin grabs a shortie.

Leafs let off the gas at the end which is why Columbus scored two, Joey MacDonald was absolutely stellar all night and deserves the start against Boston after stopping 34 of 36. Excellent work by the Leafs let's hope they keep it up.

Jiri Tlusty Traded

Chemmy — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 20:31:46 -0000

Jiri Tlusty is stopped by Carolina's Cam Ward, his new team mate.

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According to TSN's Bob MacKenzie we've swapped Jiri Tlusty with Carolina for their 2009 first round pick Philippe Paradis. From Hockey's Future:

A mixture of physical presence and scoring skill, Paradis is an attractive prospect. He possesses a hard shot and has the ability to make room for himself and his teammates on the ice. Paradis isn't a player to back down from a challenge. Already an intriguing medley of grit and ability, if Paradis gets faster and stronger, he could become a dominant force in the QMJHL.

Honestly I'm going to have to try hard to trust Burke on this one. Jiri Tlusty was a point per game in the AHL last year and has 15 points in 19 games (though with a -7 rating). I think a lot of us were waiting for Tlusty's breakout season and maybe Burke's feeling is that Tlusty won't be able to make it in the NHL.

The trouble is that Paradis was a 27th overall pick meaning he went almost in the second round. What's more, Carolina went off the board to get him. Paradis is described as a Burke type player and yet his QMJHL numbers don't paint a very flattering picture (via HockeyDB):


Season	GP	G	A	Pts	PPG	PIM
07-08	45	11	12	23	0.51	44
08-09	66	19	31	50	0.76	74
09-10	26	8	11	19	0.73	43

0.73 PPG in the QMJHL isn't exactly setting the world on fire. I'm not going to count but looking at the QMJHL's stats page he's approximately two millionth in scoring there.

Canes Country's take on Paradis from the draft this summer doesn't make it seem like they were thrilled with the pick then:

But as they say, the draft is just step one in the careers of these players, and Paradis is a talented player that obviously caught the eye of the Hurricanes scouts.

What this most likely boils down to is that Tlusty is an RFA at the end of the year. Perhaps he made it clear he wouldn't sign in Toronto and forced Burke's hand? It's unlikely we would have gotten a first for him if he walked, so perhaps Burke liked grabbing Paradis instead of a second. Still it's rough that we traded a 13th overall pick who had a lot of promise for a 27th overall pick who doesn't look great at first glance.

Tlusty Traded to Carolina

Chemmy — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 20:29:40 -0000

Tlusty Traded to Carolina

Toronto trades Jiri Tlusty to Carolina. Details to follow.

blurr1974 edit:

Per Bob: Tlusty to Carolina. 2009 first rounder Philippe Paradis to Toronto.