So it has been quite a while since my last Fan Post, forgive the rust.  I wanted to see just how closely Goal Differential equates to the standings.  The obvious thought would be 'The greater the average goal differential for your team the more points you will get.'  That doesn't quite directly correlate into the standings.

Read past the jump if you are interested.

Continue reading this post »

Many people have been trying to qualify what 'Playoff Success' really is.  To me, the only true playoff success is winning the Cup (that means there is the guy in first, and 29 other teams tied for last.)  A lot of fans and all sports journalists don't really like this method of determination and like to make it more complicated. 

This won't be a long, analytical post that delves deeply into anything, really.  It's just something to think about.  (Has this been 'spinned' to present the Leafs in the best light?  Yes, but this IS a Maple Leaf blog, so too effin bad.)

Continue reading this post »

Hello my fellow long-suffering Leaf fans!  This season is done in all but name.  We aren't making the Playoffs, and are unlikely to even play our way out of a Draft Lottery position.  I have been watching the Leafs since 1989 and this is by far the worst season(results wise) that I have ever seen. 

This team is bad, but I think it is actually better than the results show.  I am not going to make excuses or offer reasons for the lousy play.  This season has been Murphy's Law for the team - anything that can go wrong, will go wrong. 

This is one of a series of four posts in an attempt to gain some consensus in the community on how to build next year's team.

The first of the four posts will be 'Pending Free Agents'  in which we will discuss what to do with our UFA's this year.  The debate will center on their trade value, how much we would re-sign them for, or if we let them walk.

The second will be 'Pending Restricted Free Agents.'  The discussion will be based around if we should trade them, sign them(money and term), the possibility of other teams tendering offer sheets, and what role do we see them having on next year's team(Depth placement, another season in the Marlies ETC.)  Also, this is probably the best place to discuss our prospects and if any of them have a chance to make the Leafs out of training camp.

The third post is titled 'Players Under Contract.'  Here we will speculate on what should be done with our signed players - Trade them, buy them out/waive them or keep them.

In the fourth post 'Free Agent Frenzy' we will touch upon what might still be available and who could potentially be a good fit for our team. 

Please be aware that these posts are interconnected.  Although we are focusing on one thing at a time, be mindful that there is a big picture to consider.  This is a discussion on how we would like to see our team built.  Speculation is welcome - crazy deals and flights of fancy are discouraged.  Let's try to stay within the realms of reasonable possibility.

Credit where credit is due:   Basic information(Height, Weight etc) and other league info - NHL.com & various team sites (glovetap to Steve)  Cap and salary figures - nhlnumbers.com Capgeek.com  Statistics - NHL.com  Marlies stats -torontomarlies.com

Continue reading this post »

Hello my fellow long-suffering Leaf fans!  This season is done in all but name.  We aren't making the Playoffs, and are unlikely to even play our way out of a Draft Lottery position.  I have been watching the Leafs since 1989 and this is by far the worst season(results wise) that I have ever seen. 

This team is bad, but I think it is actually better than the results show.  I am not going to make excuses or offer reasons for the lousy play.  This season has been Murphy's Law for the team - anything that can go wrong, will go wrong. 

This is one of a series of four posts in an attempt to gain some consensus in the community on how to build next year's team.

The first of the four posts will be 'Pending Free Agents'  in which we will discuss what to do with our UFA's this year.  The debate will center on their trade value, how much we would re-sign them for, or if we let them walk.

The second will be 'Pending Restricted Free Agents.'  The discussion will be based around if we should trade them, sign them(money and term), the possibility of other teams tendering offer sheets, and what role do we see them having on next year's team(Depth placement, another season in the Marlies ETC.)  Also, this is probably the best place to discuss our prospects and if any of them have a chance to make the Leafs out of training camp.

The third post is titled 'Players Under Contract.'  Here we will speculate on what should be done with our signed players - Trade them, buy them out/waive them or keep them.

In the fourth post 'Free Agent Frenzy' we will touch upon what might still be available and who could potentially be a good fit for our team. 

Please be aware that these posts are interconnected.  Although we are focusing on one thing at a time, be mindful that there is a big picture to consider.  This is a discussion on how we would like to see our team built.  Speculation is welcome - crazy deals and flights of fancy are discouraged.  Let's try to stay within the realms of reasonable possibility.

Credit where credit is due:   Basic information(Height, Weight etc) and other league info - NHL.com & various team sites (glovetap to Steve)  Cap and salary figures - nhlnumbers.com Capgeek.com  Statistics - NHL.com  Marlies stats -torontomarlies.com

Continue reading this post »

Editor's Note: Say *plan the parade one more time*... continues his four part series looking at the upcoming decisions facing Brian Burke. This installment focuses on the pending restricted free agents as well as the prospects that he deems most likely to make the big club next year.

Hello my fellow long-suffering Leaf fans!  This season is done in all but name.  We aren't making the Playoffs, and are unlikely to even play our way out of a Draft Lottery position.  I have been watching the Leafs since 1989 and this is by far the worst season(results wise) that I have ever seen. 

This team is bad, but I think it is actually better than the results show.  I am not going to make excuses or offer reasons for the lousy play.  This season has been Murphy's Law for the team - anything that can go wrong, will go wrong. 

This is one of a series of four posts in an attempt to gain some consensus in the community on how to build next year's team.

The first of the four posts will be 'Pending Free Agents'  in which we will discuss what to do with our UFA's this year.  The debate will center on their trade value, how much we would re-sign them for, or if we let them walk.

The second will be 'Pending Restricted Free Agents.'  The discussion will be based around if we should trade them, sign them(money and term), the possibility of other teams tendering offer sheets, and what role do we see them having on next year's team(Depth placement, another season in the Marlies ETC.)  Also, this is probably the best place to discuss our prospects and if any of them have a chance to make the Leafs out of training camp.

The third post is titled 'Players Under Contract.'  Here we will speculate on what should be done with our signed players - Trade them, buy them out/waive them or keep them.

In the fourth post 'Free Agent Frenzy' we will touch upon what might still be available and who could potentially be a good fit for our team. 

Please be aware that these posts are interconnected.  Although we are focusing on one thing at a time, be mindful that there is a big picture to consider.  This is a discussion on how we would like to see our team built.  Speculation is welcome - crazy deals and flights of fancy are discouraged.  Let's try to stay within the realms of reasonable possibility.

Credit where credit is due:   Basic information(Height, Weight etc) and other league info - TSN.ca  Cap and salary figures - nhlnumbers.com Capgeek.com  Statistics - NHL.com  Marlies stats -torontomarlies.com Prospect information forcaster.faceoff.com

Continue reading this post »

Editor's Note: Say has a good summary of the Toronto Maple Leafs' pending unrestricted free agents as well as his thoughts about their possible value. Share yours in the comments.

Hello my fellow long-suffering Leaf fans!  This season is done in all but name.  We aren't making the Playoffs, and are unlikely to even play our way out of a Draft Lottery position.  I have been watching the Leafs since 1989 and this is by far the worst season(results wise) that I have ever seen. 

This team is bad, but I think it is actually better than the results show.  I am not going to make excuses or offer reasons for the lousy play.  This season has been Murphy's Law for the team - anything that can go wrong, will go wrong. 

This is one of a series of four posts in an attempt to gain some consensus in the community on how to build next year's team.

The first of the four posts will be 'Pending Free Agents'  in which we will discuss what to do with our UFA's this year.  The debate will center on their trade value, how much we would re-sign them for, or if we let them walk.

The second will be 'Pending Restricted Free Agents.'  The discussion will be based around if we should trade them, sign them(money and term), the possibility of other teams tendering offer sheets, and what role do we see them having on next year's team(Depth placement, another season in the Marlies ETC.)  Also, this is probably the best place to discuss our prospects and if any of them have a chance to make the Leafs out of training camp.

The third post is titled 'Players Under Contract.'  Here we will speculate on what should be done with our signed players - Trade them, buy them out/waive them or keep them.

In the fourth post 'Free Agent Frenzy' we will touch upon what might still be available and who could potentially be a good fit for our team. 

Please be aware that these posts are interconnected.  Although we are focusing on one thing at a time, be mindful that there is a big picture to consider.  This is a discussion on how we would like to see our team built.  Speculation is welcome - crazy deals and flights of fancy are discouraged.  Let's try to stay within the realms of reasonable possibility.

Credit where credit is due:   Basic information(Height, Weight etc) and other league info - TSN.  Cap and salary figures - nhlnumbers.com  Statistics - NHL.com  Marlies stats -torontomarlies.com

Continue reading this post »

Hi everyone, I was going to post this in 'The Dasher' thread about visiting other blogs in SB nation, but it turned into kind of a Monster (no relation to Jonas) so I turned it into a fan post.

Enjoy.

Continue reading this post »

The above is the title of the article on a Montreal Sports radio station Team 990

Let me explain the situation.

Continue reading this post »

Hello fellow fans!  I have been kicking around an idea for a post, but the more I thought about it the more ground I wanted to cover.  Instead, I'll be putting out a series of posts to try and show the possible routes to Lord Stanley.  Hopefully, this will help mitigate our reaction to our disastrous start this year as I tend to take the long view of things.  I may post multiple parts on Fridays and I might not be able to post too often during the rest of the week.  This is mostly a mental exercise to examine the options of the Leafs both now and for the next 5 years.  Speculation based on information.  Please contribute your ideas and insights.

Continue reading this post »

Hello fellow fans!  I have been kicking around an idea for a post, but the more I thought about it the more ground I wanted to cover.  Instead, I'll be putting out a series of posts to try and show the possible routes to Lord Stanley.  Hopefully, this will help mitigate our reaction to our disastrous start this year as I tend to take the long view of things.  I may post multiple parts on Fridays and I might not be able to post too often during the rest of the week.  This is mostly a mental exercise to examine the options of the Leafs both now and for the next 5 years.  Speculation based on information.  Please contribute your ideas and insights.

Continue reading this post »

I have often read comments on multiple sites where the main goal is to denigrate the Leafs or its fans.  I have always wondered why these people waste so much of their time (and hate) on us.  Obviously, most of these very same people would keep their mouths shut or moderate their tone if they were not anonymously posting from their bedroom (parent's basement?)

Veiled behind their hackneyed and rote ravings about '1967' and 'Plan the parade' are other, more vitriolic attempts at humour.  Although jealousy has been an over used reason for hatred, I honestly think it applies in this case.  Read on, or take off, either way I don't give a shit.  I am writing this for my benefit, not yours.

Continue reading this post »

Hello All!  First, what this post is not.  It is not about firing RW and it is not about Burke dismantling the team(just yet.)

This is about the Burkian philosophy of NHL teams.  6 forwards with the talent, 6 plumbers,  4 defencemen bearing most of the work load, 2 guys who will do the dirty work.  Obviously, it is not as cut and dried as that as you need to have some guys who can step up to that top 6 role on occasion, but lets be honest: 

The Leafs don't have that.  The Leafs are a team full of third liners and borderline 2nd liners(Kessel excluded.)  We have some major issues and our current roster and future prospects don't lend themselves to Brian Burke's model.

Continue reading this post »

Editor's Note: The tampering whining is ramping up once again and that can only mean one thing: The Heroes are making a trip to come to the rescue of all of the blue and white exiles. In order to get in the mood Plan The Parade has compiled an exhaustive list of Kyle Wellwood jokes. Read 'em, love 'em, write your own.

So I suggested someone should search for all of the 'Wellwood is fat' jokes that have appeared on this site.  I guess I'm the guy going to do it (too long between Leafs games...)  If I missed anything, let me know cause I will probably miss some.  I'm not going to link to all of the articles, but I will give credit where credit is due. 

Some Provisos:

This was a lot more work that I thought it would be...also the comment made by Wellwood's trainer shortly before he was found half eaten behind GM Place.  Please note that any follow up comment that needed too much setup and wasn't rec'ed like crazy was not included.  I did not delve into the CC - the chaos, the utter chaos.

I only went back as far as January, so sue me.  I did not use links to other blogger's sites (although I do suggest you check them out because there are TONS of fat jokes there, pun definitely intended.)

Continue reading this post »

In 1967ers "Leaf of the day" post on October 7th, 2009 there were a few comments made - notably by DGB and HockeyAnalysis about possibly increasing the size of the nets.  I totally disagree and I think we need to go another way.  I started to write a response, but soon realized this would stand better as a fan post.

Continue reading this post »

This is just a continuation of the discussion held in this thread.  No need to comment here, I just didn't want to clutter up that discussion with my massive post.

Continue reading this post »

Many people - media, fans, Hockey execs - always seem to debate on who 'won' this or that trade.  Judging these things can be difficult and it usually falls to history to answer the question.  People can debate player stats and the meaning each player had to their team etc.  But how do you judge a player-for-picks deal?

Read on for my perspective.

Continue reading this post »

Ok, we all talk about fans of different teams in multiple sports leagues all over the world and how they react to situations.  Many  people talk about their hate for the Canadiens fans and rubbing their 24 cups in your face... Yankee fans for their total obliviousness to anything outside of New York -  and many others.

Continue reading this post »

As I was reading my newly purchased copy of the Maple Leafs Annual(Schenn levels of awesomeness) I decided to use the tune from Stompin Tom's classic 'Hockey Song' to create a version for this years Leafs.  It is an extended version with a few extra verses.

I hope you like it.

Continue reading this post »

When I signed in Ottawa two years ago, I felt it was to be an integral part of the team (I WAS the team, Spezza couldn't carry my Jockstrap - kept dropping it behind him, and Alfie still has post traumatic Bell Disorder.)  Over the last two years and more recently over the past year, I feel my role was diminished.(Everyone stopped bowing to me!) This past season, it diminished a lot more.(They told me I couldn't fire any more coaches!  My agent told me it really wasn't in my contract... what the hell??)

This is a straight hockey decision.(I'm not getting what I want, and it's sure as hell not about the money - Cha Ching!) I have nothing against the fans of Ottawa(If you can call these wishy washy bandwagoners fans), or the city of Ottawa(But I hate KANATA - who puts a Hockey stadium in the middle of buttfuck nowhere?). I would like the opportunity to go somewhere where I can play to the best of my capabilities and be the player that I can be(I need to play somewhere that lets me do whatever the hell I want).

Continue reading this post »

Since the Leafs haven't signed a player in almost 17 hours, I was getting bored.  So, here are some hockey related 17's for you.

Continue reading this post »