SB Nation User Blog: PPP

Chicago Blackhawks' RFAs could become UFAs?

PPP — Sat, 04 Jul 2009 00:25:20 -0000

Chicago Blackhawks' RFAs could become UFAs?

Kris Versteeg, Cam Barker, Ben Eager, Colin Fraser, Aaron Johnson and Troy Brouwer could all become UFAs pending an investigation into the qualifying offer process.

Which one should Burke swoop to sign in a best-case scenario?

No, they didn't get the Sedins, and Mike Cammalleri is a Hab. But Brian Burke is well on his way to...

PPP — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 22:00:11 -0000

No, they didn't get the Sedins, and Mike Cammalleri is a Hab. But Brian Burke is well on his way to putting together his collection of goons, brawlers and about three or four skill players that worked so well in Anaheim -- while completely pissing off his division rivals along the way. Gotta love it.

But when is the team going to upgrade at forward? And when we find out the fates for Curtis Joseph, Olaf Kolzig and Martin Gerber!?

GRADE: C+

Drinking buddy of the blog Greg Wyshynski gives out the early Free Agency Grades.

2009 Free Agency: Toronto Maple Leafs Sign Mike Komisarek

PPP — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 04:08:15 -0000

More photos » by Ryan Remiorz - AP

Well, this I can get behind. Still hate him.

Browse more photos »

The Toronto Maple Leafs' big signing July 1st was stealing Mike Komisarek from the Montreal Canadiens. Knowing that Canadiens fans will have to bend themselves into pretzels to hate and demean a defenceman that they have lauded as being the lynchpin of their defence while having to find ways to like a former object of derision, Hal Gill, makes me laugh. On the other hand, when I heard that the Leafs had signed Komisarek it was very hard to explain to the other churchgoers why I yelling "NOOOOOOOO!!!!" during communion. They insisted on scheduling an exorcism but they can't get this Leaf fandom out of me! Here's what I hilariously wrote before July 1st when I still held out the hope that Komisarek would not sign with the Leafs:

There has only really been one player on the Leafs that made me physically ill to have to watch play, Bryan Marchment, and this summer the Leafs have been linked with TWO of them: Chris Neil and Mike Komisarek.

Komisarek is overrated as a defensive defenceman, he almost matches Neil for cowardice, and hits late every.single.time. Plus he still has the stink of the Habs on him and any aura that he might have had has been completely dashed by repeated decimations at the hands of Milan Lucic. The cheap crosscheck that should have resulted in at least a 10 game suspension just showed how yellow he is.

Oh for cripe's sake. Thank God it wasn't Neil or I'd still be stabbing my gap-toothed voodoo doll. Honestly, it's going to take me a lot of time to get over this signing because not only do I not care what he wears I also don't think that he's cute. But I do cheer for laundry so my gut reaction will be to cheer the jerk when he scores (out of sheer novelty probably) or if he hits or fights someone but only because I care that it helps the other Leafs. In an ideal world he'd get his ass kicked for things like this:

Gutless. Leafs-Bruins games will be interesting next year at least which is a definite upgrade over the debilitating borefests that they have been in the past. So there we go. That's how I feel about Komisarek and I know I am not the only one around these parts to hold those feelings. After the jump I am going to try to talk myself down from the ledge.

I know 'spite' isn't the best way to run a team but I like spite. So the first step towards coming off of the ledge is to realize just how irate Habs fans are at the loss of their former defensive idol to the maudit calise Maple Leafs. Dennis Kane is doing a great job of hiding his pain as he re-writes Habs fan history. The Daily Hab-it tries to pretend that he not only pities Komisarek but also that he doesn't miss Grabovski. And Eyebeleaf unearthed this nutjob. The Four Habs Fans are obviously your source for meth-induced rage filled reactions:

Komi a Leaf. kill me - HF29

Buh-Bye Komo. We miss you already. - HF33

Fuck off and die: Komisarek to Leafs - HF29

The Leafs? Really? Wouldn't want to be Komo those Saturday night's the Leafs are playing at the Bell Centre. You think the fans hated Grabs...

At least Brian Burke showed his true idiot colours by overpaying for a guy who couldn't score with a fist full of Euros in a Amsterdam brothel. - HF33

I have to admit that that was a lot of fun to read. I asked Robert L of Habs Eyes On The Prize to give us his view on the signing as someone who's watched almost every game of his over his career:

You'll like Mike Komisarek. Of all the teams that could have had him he had to go to the Leafs! Should be fun. Here's an assessment, pro and con.

Komisarek's strengths are solid checks and shot blocking. He's aces playing a rush one on one when he's familiar with a partner who is fleet of foot. While not being a great skater he's fleet of foot enough in traffic to get in and out of tough spots. His size is often a deterrent for opposing forwards. He'll throw the occasional open ice hit in a Phaneuf / Kronwall style and knock an opponent silly should they have their head down. His shot isn't killer but fairly accurate. His first pass is crisp and poised when he's offered a split second look up ice.

Last season just about every area of his game took a dip. Had it maintained it's progression it's a certainty he wouldn't be a Leaf today. The Canadiens were counting on him going forward but, for whatever reasons, the team chose another direction [Editor's Note: They offered Komisarek $20M over 5 years]. In Toronto, if he is paired with Kaberle he should adapt quite easily to missing Markov. I've believed all season long that Komisarek played hurt in 2008-09. He's a tough SOB that way. He'll fit Burke's vision perfectly and is not overpaid at 4.5 per.

Leaf fans will love the guy. Congrats on landing him. The Buds have made a big stride towards gaining a playoff spot with this move.

There ya go PPP....and we get Hal f'n Gill!

True story: Fucking is actually Hal Gill's middle name. Or at least it was what my dad called him during games.

Now, one of my biggest beefs with Komisarek is that he hits players late and does not fight. He is enormous (6'4" 225lbs!) so if he's getting challenged he should be answering the bell. Especially in the years when the Habs had no other fighter or when they had the neutered Georges Laracque. Here's his entire fight card:

March 15, 2003 - Andre Roy - Draw

April 5, 2003 - Dale Purinton - Sounds like a loss

December 8, 2003 - Michal Handzus - Draw

January 3, 2004 - Jean-Luc Grand-Pierre

October 25, 2005 - Donald Brashear - Draw

March 28, 2006 - Eric Godard - Win but only because he jumped Godard

September 26, 2006 - Doug Janik - No Details

November 7, 2006 - Brad Winchester - Loss

February 10, 2007 - Chris Neil - Draw but I at least like the idea behind this one

November 1, 2007 - Scott Hartnell - Win and I approve

November 21, 2007 - Brendan Witt - Win

December 8, 2007 - Scott Walker - Loss and he picked up an instigator

December 28, 2007 - Gregory Campbell - Win

February 19, 2008 - Brandon Dubinsky - Win

November 13, 2008 - Milan Lucic - Hilarious loss

April 22, 2009 - Milan Lucic - Another beating.

That's not exactly a murderer's row of opponents and he doesn't really do well at least based on the descriptions. But what about his defence? Well, Komisarek did face the toughest competition on the blueline so he was out against the opponent's best lines. Then again, he got outscored 2.39/2.50 per 60 minutes at even strength. Montreal had the eleventh best penalty kill last year and Komisarek led all defencemen in ice-time with over 3 minutes per game. Of the top five defenders on the Habs he was the only one who saw the goals against got up when he was off the ice so he was definitely a big part of the strength of the unit. The difference in goaltenders was not as marked as might be assumed either as Price only allowed 0.96 goals fewer per 60 minutes short-handed than Vesa Toskala.

On the offensive side of the coin there has been a lot of talk about how the Leafs have lost so much production in Kubina and they are replacing it with the offensive void that is Komisarek. Interestingly enough, at the suggestion of a Habs fan, I looked at their even strength numbers:

Pavel Kubina
	G	A	PTS
2008-2009	5	13	18
2007-2008	5	17	22
2006-2007	3	10	13

Mike Komisarek
	G	A	PTS
2008-2009	2	9	11
2007-2008	4	13	17
2006-2007	4	15	19

2008-2009 for Komisarek and 2006-2007 for Kubina are depressed because they both missed almost 20 games through injuries and suspensions. I don't imagine Komisarek will get time on the powerplay but as long as we have Kaberle and a defender that can hit the one-timer that lost production will be replaced. Hell, Kubina never did as well as McCabe so if the other defenceman doesn't have their stick break every shift I think that the powerplay production can be replaced internally. I obviously await Steve's analysis suggesting otherwise.

But the guy hits! Right? Well, that part is true. Last season, he was 26th in adjusted hits. Only Luke Schenn (20th) ranked higher. The next Leaf was Jeff Finger at 95th. The year before Komisarek was ranked 4th in the league. So at the very least he'll be hitting in all three zones. If all three are healthy this season we'll at least see some big hits.

The worst part of this is ceding the moral high ground. At least last year the Leafs got rid of Hollweg and everyone hated him. Now we have a 6'4" version of him and sure his defensive skills address a sorely lacking area and his presence might free up Schenn to play the powerplay a bit but it's MIKE MOTHER$&#@ING KOMISAREK! Who didn't cheer like a madman or watch the highlights 60 times when Lucic effectively ended his season? Let's not forget his stupid comments about Grabovski's clean hit or his insinuation that Kostopolous' hit was Van Ryn's fault! Now he gets the same treatment as Grabovski and Luke Schenn! OUR LUKE AND SAVIOUR, the man who can do no wrong, the man whose very smile cures 78 diseases including Habs Fandom!?! Fuck that noise.

At the end of the day I cheer for laundry so if that laundry is more successful because of him then I won't be cutting myself but I won't be happy. At least not until he drills one of the Lollipop Guild or Giggles or Alfie or someone I hate even more. Anyway, I guess I am just saying that I hate the filthy SOB but he might not be as overrated as I thought. You're still on notice.

Poll

Ok, so what is this jerk's name?

That’s how Burke ought to be judged this summer: depth on defence and in goal, something that gives ...

PPP — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 05:25:42 -0000

That’s how Burke ought to be judged this summer: depth on defence and in goal, something that gives his team a chance to steal a few games while it gets a better read on the likes of Tyler Bozak and Christian Hanson. Don’t pay attention to what Burke says. Pay attention to what he does.

While I disagree with Blair's assessment of the Sedin Twins I do agree with his closing sentiment. Not signing big named forwards allows the Leafs assess what they have in the kids. They already have filler to cover the gap between now and that future period when the Leafs will contend.

glovetap Toronto Sports Media

2009 Free Agency: Toronto Maple Leafs Sign Colton Orr

PPP — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 15:21:02 -0000

More photos » by Tom Mihalek - AP

When's it my turn to score a goal?

Browse more photos »

The Toronto Maple Leafs' first free agent signing of the day was Colton Orr who received a four year contract worth $4 million. Colton Orr signing with the Leafs signalled, just as much as Burke's draft day haul, that he was dead serious about making the opposition's trainer earn his paycheque. Burke started the day off by having his main target, the Sedin twins, signed minutes before he was able to give them his best sales pitch.

The Leafs responded by bringing in a player that had 18 fights in the NHL last season and had 36 in a regular season one year in the AHL. Burke can't beat players up on his own so he needs a proxy and Orr's not bad. The Detroit Red Wings were actually in the running for Orr as well so take that for what it's worth. I don't know that he's a great enforcer league-wide but he is a massive upgrade in the role of enforcer for the Leafs. He's certainly not providing the offence with just eleven career points.

If you're a visual person you can see the full Colton Orr collection on YouTube or you can visit Down Goes Brown who has forced himself to watch the fights in order to compile four of the best. It's a testament to his dedication that he would watch these fights.

Colton Orr

New York Rangers

Height: 6-3

Weight: 222

Born: Mar 03, 1982

	GP	G	A	P	+/-	PIM	PPG	SHG	GWG	GTG	SOG	PCT
2008 - Colton Orr	82	1	4	5	-15	193	0	0	0	0	40	2.5

It's hard to ever get consensus on a signing especially when the player doesn't necessarily bring a tangible skill beyond punching people's faces in. At the very least, Colton Orr had a winning record last year in his truculent travails with 12 wins, 4 losses, and 2 ties. I think that we all remember how the other team's big hitters (and even some middle and lightweight hitters) would tee up on the Leafs. Or recall that the reason for Grabovski's outbursts were because freaking Saku Koivu and the Kostitsyns were alternately taking runs at him.

Let's take a look at what SBN's own Jim Schmiedeberg of Blueshirt Banter has to say about Colton Orr:

When Colton Orr came over from Boston, he was little more than a slab of meat on skates, and I was often reminded of what John Davidson used to say about Craig Berube early in his career, "this guy has zero hockey skills". But to Orr's credit, instead of relishing that role, he worked on his faults, improved his skating ability, and in Tom Renney's system became a serviceable checking forward, capable of creating a spark with his physical play, or when all else failed, dropping the gloves. Any true offense you see from Orr will be purely accidental, but he is a hard working guy, and Toronto fans will enjoy watching him play for the next four years.

Compared to some other players in similar roles I'd say that Orr's contract fits in well. Todd Fedoruk, Aaron Voros, Jordin Tootoo, and Derek Boogaard are close in age and all make around the same amount. Boogaard and Tootoo are UFAs so it'll be interesting to see what deals they get. Not to mention that if Orr turns out to be a dud as an enforcer he can always take the streetcar down to Ricoh for the life of his contract. As long as he hits like this though no one will care what he makes:

Poll

What are your thoughts on the Colton Orr signing?

Toronto Maple Leafs Sign Mikhail Grabovski

PPP — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 20:11:39 -0000

Grabovski uses visualisation to keep from committing horrible acts of violence on the ice.

View full size photo uploaded July 2, 2009

The Toronto Maple Leafs have re-signed their restricted free agent centre Mikhail Grabovski before he could make his way to arbitration. For those that only hear when Brian Burke says that he wants to get tougher this signing is already coming as a shock (read the tsn.ca comments at your own peril). What they forget is that Burke wants the top six forwards to be skilled and Grabovski is definitely skilled. Whether he can build on his 48 point season is another question but at the price and term the Leafs will have enough time to evaluate his long-term potential without taking too big of a gamble.

Grabovski is definitely a popular character around these parts. It all started when he came over around a year ago as one of Cliff Fletcher's best trades during his second run. Turns out, Habs fans hate him with a passion. In fact, the feeling is pretty mutual. Before the season started I was a little skeptical about Grabovski's desire to play in the NHL if he wasn't receiving the playing time he thought that he deserved. Turns out that he would get it and he took full advantage as he became a mainstay on one of the Leafs' best lines. He even got his own Barilkosphere meme after Chemmy unearthed some of the world's most ridiculous pictures. He also starred in my favourite series of fanposts: The Adventures of Grabbo Weeble. Grabbo Weeble searched high and low for Sisu Weeble before returning home.

But what did he do on the ice to make him worth $8.7 million over 3 years?

	GP	G	A	P	+/-	PIM	PPG	SHG	GWG	GTG	SOG	PCT
2008 - Mikhail Grabovski	78	20	28	48	-8	92	6	0	2	1	120	16.7

Those numbers do not look out of this world. There is no doubt that a part of that contract is paying for Grabovski's potential. He meshed well with Niklas Hagman and Nikolai Kulemin for most of the season. Grabovski allied his offensive instincts to excellent skating, a surprising amount of jam for a player his size, and superb strength on the puck. Grabovski also provided Leaf fans with some of the more memorable nights of the year from his work with Ponikarovsky in destroying the Habs to his antics in defence of his honour:

He actually tied for the team lead in penalty minutes which is probably what spurred Burke to get in players that were actually tough. One of my friends mentioned that he can't wait to see how big Grabovski will play now that he has the goon squad behind him. Some people were not impressed with his Montreal outburst but I think we can all agree that his double peace sign exit from the Bell Centre was indeed high comedy. Grabovski might agitate his own teammates but I'd rather a guy that's trying too hard in practice over a loafer.

This was Grabovski's first full campaign in the NHL and it was clear from some of his slumps that he needs work on his long-term fitness even if he played almost 30 minutes(!) a game for Belarus at the World Championships. One thing that has endeared me to Grabovski is his willingness to work. Even in March he knew that he had to improve some aspects of his game. The Leafs provided him with a workout plan prior to the summer:

Based on Monday's fitness tests, each player will be given a personalized workout plan that they will be expected to follow this summer. Anyone who does not show improvement, Wilson said, will not be in a Leafs uniform next season.

I would assume that, based on the emphasis that Dave Morrison placed on the workouts at the draft, that Grabovski is progressing well. I thought I was putting pressure on him to even match Sergei Berezin's impact as a Leaf but if he fails it looks like it won't be for lack of effort.The community was confident that Grabovski would re-sign despite Burke intimating that asking for arbitration was a nuclear option. We also seemed pretty confident that Grabovski is most likely to improve among the forwards from last year's team. I think that's pretty clear in everyone's reaction. We'll learn a bit about the wisdom of crowds after these three seasons. I don't think that he'll develop into a first line centreman but he certainly has the tools to potentially anchor the second line going forward. We'll have three years to find out if he can reach his potential.

Poll

What do you think of the Grabovski signing? Share your thoughts in the comments.

Atlanta Thrashers Sign Nik Antropov

PPP — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 15:41:20 -0000

Atlanta Thrashers Sign Nik Antropov

It's a four year deal worth $16M so it looks like Mark Gandler, while being a horrible human being, wasn't completely insane.

Toronto Maple Leafs Trade Pavel Kubina, Tim Stapleton to Atlanta Thrashers for Garnet Exelby, Colin Stuart

PPP — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 02:46:11 -0000

More photos » by Gregory Smith - AP

Exelby's already read Burke's "How To Hurt the senators" manual.

Browse more photos »

Yesterday the Toronto Maple Leafs traded defenceman Pavel Kubina and minor leaguer Tim Stapleton to the Atlanta Thrashers for defenceman Garnet Exelby and forward Colin Stuart. The Leafs do free up some cap space this season as all of the contracts save for Stapleton's expire at the end of the year. With this move, the Leafs cleared up about $3.124M in cap space according to NHL Numbers which they then promptly turned around and used to sign Mike Komisarek. However, the biggest consideration is probably a desire to have Kubina's minutes go to defenders that will form the future of the Toronto Maple Leafs rather than a player at the end of his contract. Steve thinks that the overloaded blueline means that the Leafs might still be looking to make more trades.

To tell you the truth, this deal doesn't pass muster in terms of what we previously expected from a Kubina trade. Part of that is likely that we saw Glen Sather dump salary and receive the Habs' top prospect. Now, obviously not everyone can be a terrible GM (Habs still suck no matter what you say) but Burke was trading with Don Waddell. DON WADDELL! He gave away Braydon Coburn for a shot at getting swept out of the playoffs. Adam Gretz points out just how rare it is to see Waddell come out on top:

As for the Kubina-to-Atlanta aspect: It's not everyday that we get to say this, but it's a hell of a trade by Don Waddell and the Atlanta Thrashers. To land a legitimate, proven top-four NHL defenseman, while only giving up, essentially, a couple of spare parts/fourth-liners is nothing short of a steal.

Not to mention that the Leafs didn't really need to give away salary. They had tonnes of cap space but what they did not have in spades was roster spots. This trade opens up a spot on the Marlies top two lines. We'll see what the Leafs do with the extra cap space since Burke said that he would be spending to the cap AND make the playoffs.

Looking around the league there are a number of teams that are close to going over the cap while still needing a number of signings. There are still three months until training camps open which means that Burke has a lot of time to look for trading partners that need to do some cap manoeuvring. The Leafs are still very well positioned to act as a salary dump for a team looking to free up some space in order to improve their team. The question is which teams are running out of cap space and still have roster spots to fill? Here's a list based on numbers courtesy of NHL's Cap:

Team	Cap Space	Players Needed
Philadelphia	$1.83M	3
Calgary	$2.06M	4
Boston	$2.27M	4
Pittsburgh	$4.76M	4
San Jose	$4.85M	7
Edmonton	$6.64M	4

Let's take a look at the individual pieces of the trade after the jump. Share your thoughts in the comments.

	GP	G	A	P	+/-	PIM	PPG	SHG	GWG	GTG	SOG	PCT
2008 - Pavel Kubina	82	14	26	40	-15	94	9	0	4	0	184	7.6

Pavel Kubina leaves the teams three years after being one of John Ferguson Jr.'s marquee free agent signings. Though Pavel had a no trade clause there was a window open where it was voided because of the Leafs' failure to make the playoffs. As he makes his way to Atlanta he will likely think back to the vetored/rumoured trade to San Jose that never happened. Then again, maybe he'll like his reunion with the Southeast Division. Over the past season Kubina faced the 4th toughest competition at even strength and still managed to finish -15. Maybe we were just overrating him a tad? Not knowing the market for a defender making $5M a year perhaps a salary dump was the best deal that Burke thought that he could make.

	GP	G	A	P	+/-	PIM	PPG	SHG	GWG	GTG	SOG	PCT
2008 - Tim Stapleton	4	1	0	1	-3	0	0	0	0	0	9	11.1

Stapleton is 5'8" and used to run the Finnish SM-liiga for Jokerit Basically, for him to play for Brian Burke he had to fulfill one of the top six forward spots with the Leafs or the Marlies. He was never going to do it for the Leafs so why bother having him clog things up with the Marlies?

To get to know the players coming from the Atlanta Thrashers I asked The Falconer of Birdwatchers Anonymous to provide us with some insight on the newest Maple Leafs:

Colin Stuart

#49 / Left Wing / Atlanta Thrashers

Height: 6-2

Weight: 205

Born: Jul 08, 1982

	GP	G	A	P	+/-	PIM	PPG	SHG	GWG	GTG	SOG	PCT
2008 - Colin Stuart	33	5	3	8	3	18	0	3	0	0	54	9.3

Colin Stuart: Brother of Mark Stuart and Brad Stuart. Father works at Mayo Clinic and will be a doctor for Team USA at Olympics in 2010.

Stuart has ++ speed and +size. Not much in the way of hands so he's a checker. He scored a couple of shorthanded goals but don't be fooled, he basically just threw the puck at the goalie's feet and each SH goal allowed was an ugly goal.

Already 27 he's as good as he's ever going to be right now but he should make the Leafs roster out of camp as a checker. He could be a serviceable PK guy for the next 5 years.

So he sounds like a player that could replace Jamal Mayers at the end of the year.

Garnet Exelby

#2 / Defenseman / Atlanta Thrashers

Height: 6-1

Weight: 210

Born: Aug 16, 1981

	GP	G	A	P	+/-	PIM	PPG	SHG	GWG	GTG	SOG	PCT
2008 - Garnet Exelby	59	0	7	7	-2	120	0	0	0	0	42	0.0

Garnet Exelby: I'm not a fan at all. Even at his peak he tended to get out of position going for the bit tattoo hit and created a lot of 2-on-1s for the opposition in the process. You're not going to intimidate many teams if they're celebrating a goal after you ran over their teammate along the boards.

He's toned down the hitting lately and reduce the odd man rushes against but lacks NHL passing skills. If he has the puck in the neutral zone he will just dump into the offensive corner. If he has the puck in the defensive zone he usually just chips it out allowing the opposition to re-group in netural and attack again. Did I mention that he's a poor penalty killer.

I can't tell you how happy I am to see him depart. My wife was laughing at how insanely pleased I am tonight. Sorry, to be the bearer of bad news.

Oh brother. I wish there was a video that could make me feel better about this trade...oh, here's one:

Obviously no one is going to be encouraged by seeing this trade. We all had hoped that Kubina would bring back a decent return and two players that could fill out the team's fourth forward line and the third pairing for the next few years isn't as bad of a return as draft picks that might turn into nothing. Then again, at least they'd have a chance to be something better. In the end, Kubina was taking up far too much ice-time that could have been better used for developing other players.

Poll

What was your original reaction to the Kubina-Stapleton for Exelby-Stuart trade?

Toronto Maple Leafs Sign Windsor Spitfires' Richard Greenop

PPP — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 03:57:29 -0000

Greenop Mashes Faces: Coming soon to a Ricoh Coliseum near you.

View full size photo uploaded July 2, 2009

On July 1st the Toronto Maple Leafs were not only looking to sign players to make the big club more truculent, pugnacious, and other words that are fun to say. Brian Burke, despite jetting over to Sweden, was able to get Richard Greenop's signature on a contract in order to make the Toronto Marlies a more entertaining team to watch as well. If I had one piece of advice though it might be to get a new agent:

A sixth-round pick by the Chicago Blackhawks in 2007, the NHL club opted not to sign Greenop and allowed him to become a free agent.

"I honestly have no idea what happened with Chicago," said Scott Norton, who is Greenop's agent.

Greenop was actually on the list of players headed to the prospects camp being held July 5-10 in Etobicoke and it was pretty clear that Burke wanted to get his hand on the Memorial Cup Champion:

"I had five phone calls after the draft and we were able to get a contract before he ever stepped into a camp."

As noted in the article, it will be a two-way deal but what the article doesn't delve too deply into is why Brian Burke would want to sign an overaged OHL player. The picture might be a hint but come with me over the jump and we'll crack the case together.

Hockey's Future actually has a profile on Greenop and it reads like a Brian Burke help wanted ad:

Talent Analysis

Greenop is a hulking forward who plays an intensely physical game.

He's also rated a 6.0D but that might as well be farsi for the average hockey fan. Actually, it's pretty clear that a 6 out of 10 is nothing to get excited about so let's check out their explanation to confirm:

6 - Third line forward -- generally speaking, players whose game is defensively-oriented, or whose abilities aren't quite good enough to land full-time duty on the 2nd line. Think Kris Draper or Stephanne Yelle.

WOW! That is amazing! That D must stand for Delirious because that's how happy we'll be when a un-signed OHL overager turns into Kris Draper. Let's just make sure:

D - Unlikely to reach potential, could drop 3 ratings - a player who has a chance to reach his potential but is unlikely to do so.

Crap. So what the hell is he going to do on the Marlies?

Turns out that Richard Greenop is quite the scrapper. I wonder if he puts up points like Milan Lucic? Let's take a look:

	GP	G	A	PTS	PIM
Windsor Spitfires	168	9	16	25	499

At least the skilled players on the Marlies will be protected I guess.

The Toronto Maple Leafs made qualifying offers to Mikhail Grabovski and minor leaguers Darryl...

PPP — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 01:17:32 -0000

The Toronto Maple Leafs made qualifying offers to Mikhail Grabovski and minor leaguers Darryl Boyce, Alex Foster, Ryan Hamilton, Justin Pogge and Tim Stapleton to keep this group six restricted free agents.

This means that Toronto Marlies players Andre Deveaux, Jay Harrison, Ryan Hollweg, Erik Reitz, Andy Rogers, Jaime Sifers and Jeremy Williams will be free to sign with other clubs this summer or re-sign with the Leafs/Marlies.

Tim Wharnsby finally delivers the news that Leafs fans were waiting to find out. It only took until about 18 hours after the deadline to find out.