Fletcher is the interim General Manager, and he said himself that the hiring of the new coach would be left up to the teams new permanant GM. Unfortunately for Cliff, the incompetent organization he’s affiliated with hasn’t been able to find a new GM, or President, and as such, Cliff is stuck trying to find a coach for this awful team.

I don’t know if I’m just being negative, but to me it isn’t a good sign that the Leafs have managed to screw up the very first step of their ‘rebuild’, namely find a General Manager who will find a coach and then start working on the team.

Two possibilities exist. Either 1) the Leafs are holding off, hoping to god that trader Cliff will stick around full time or 2) the management side of the organization really is completely useless, and haven’t even been able to find someone who could do a better job than the last guy, which in reality makes about 90% of the population a candidate.

I see another fun season on the horizon.

Pogge didn’t get the games he should’ve, but lets hope that he stays on the Marlies for next years playoff run, as there’s no point in putting him on the bench behind Vesa Toskala for a season.

Let’s just hope that when draft day comes, the Leafs can add another solid player or two to help the Marlies (or even the Leafs, but let’s not get ahead of ourselves) come next season.

http://www.petitiononline.com/chabot01/petition.html

Get ex-Leafs tender Lorne Chabot in the HHOF!

Donny Chabot!

Congrats Donny, we’ve sent you an email to verify your email address and the $40 shop.NHL.com giftcard will be in the next email!

Thanks to all who left a comment! Keep your eyes peeled for the next contest.

To Mats Sundin, congratulations on sticking with your guns and doing what you felt was best for you.

To Paul Maurice, congratulations on guaranteeing a playoff appearance in the preseason. If you guarantee you still have your job next year you should see a similar accuracy rate.

To Bryan McCabe, congratulations on a season that reeks of mediocrity.

To Tomas Kaberle, congratulations on showing us all that you have the most accurate shot in the league, but simply choose not to use it in game situations.

To Andrew Raycroft, congratulations on going from starting goalie to the worst backup in the league. If there was an anti-Vezina you’d win it hands down.

To Vesa Toskala, congratulations on finishing the first of what should be many frustrating seasons with the Toronto Maple Leafs.

To Kyle Wellwood, congratulations on working on your beer gut more than on your game.

To Jason Blake, congratulations on 15 goals, you only missed our hoped for total by about 25!

To John Ferguson Jr., congratulations on leaving such a poweful legacy with this team.

To Richard Peddie, congratulations on proving to the league you’re the most incompetent hockey executive there is.

To the entire Toronto Maple Leafs organization, congratulations on another year of leaving your fan base feeling fed up, unsatisfied and generally fucked.

On the surface this might seem like a good thing, but is it? Antropov, out with a knee tear, and Sundin, out with a groin tear, would be coming back before their injuries are actually all healed up. They both said that if their swelling is down and they feel good, they’ll take the ice. That doesn’t sound like a couple of 100% players to me.

So the question is, with the Leafs now chasing what is essentially an impossible dream, is it really worth it to risk further injury to two key players? Right now the Leafs have two players with manageable injuries, although Antropov’s will require surgery in the off-season. Why send those two guys out and risk turning manageable injuries into serious ones all in the name of chasing a pipe dream?

While there is speculation that Sundin may retire in the off-season, it is completely possible that he will be back with the team. However if an already injured Sundin were to go out and get even more hurt, that could severely increase the chances of Mats hanging up the skates this summer. Antropov has become a key member of the Leafs and is important to the teams future. Knee injuries are not something to screw around with. Is it worth the risk of sending him out on a bum knee just go miss the playoffs again?

Paul Maurice, if you’re reading this (and I know you are), sit these guys. It’s over Paul, it’s over. Your job is gone and at this point nothing is bringing it back. Don’t risk further injury to two of the teams best players.

Boston has six games left, giving them a game in hand. If Boston was to win only one of their next six games, moving to 88 points, the Leafs would have to win all five of their remaining games to move ahead of the Bruins. The Bruins are also ahead of the Leafs in the season series by one. This means that if Boston beats Toronto in their next match up, even if the Leafs then won their following four games and Boston won none, the tie at 88 points would still see the Buds be mathematically eliminated.

So now the question is this, with things looking so grim for the Leafs, all but out, hanging on by a finger nail, will Maurice continue to ride Toskala, or will we see our favourite backup take the ice for the first time in what seems like the entire season?

Based on the fact that the Leafs seem to really want this last playoff spot despite the fact they’d likely be murdered in the playoffs, my guess is that Maurice will play Toskala in the next game against Boston, hoping to God that the Leafs can pull it out and then somehow sneak into 8th by magic or miracle or whatever.

At this point, draft-wise, the damage is more or less done. The Leafs are sitting at 23rd in the league and are 10 and 12 points ahead of the bottom three teams. Each of those three teams would have to win everyone of their remaining games with the Leafs winning none just to meet Toronto at 80 points. The Leafs are more or less mathematically eliminated from finishing in the bottom three spots, and even the fourth and fifth last spots are looking out of reach.

In true Leafs style, they’ve found themselves at a point that (more…)

The Star reviews the Leafs win over Ottawa. I’d just like to remind everyone of how the Sens used to beat up on the Leafs in regular season games and then get spanked in the playoffs. Just because we can pull games out against these teams now doesn’t mean we’re going to beat them in the playoffs.