In a nail-biter of an ending tonight the Leafs edged out the Sens 5-4. In the dying seconds with Ottawa coming on strong the post saved the Leafs from heading to overtime with .01 seconds left on the clock. With those two points the Leafs now have 80. Meanwhile, the Bruins also put up a point and the Panthers put up two, meaning the Leafs are still in 12th in the Conference and essentially no closer to a playoff spot. However, on a league wide stage, the Leafs have no surpassed the Black Hawks, and if the ‘Yotes lose to the Ducks tonight, the Leafs will jump another spot.
Can anyone else feel it? We’ve all speculated on it but now you can feel it and smell it in the air. A completely fruitless season about to culminate.
The Leafs are pushing hard for 8th, but as we all know, they’ll end up in 9th. They won’t make the playoffs, and they’ll end up with a first round choice putting them well outside the highly touted group that should make up the first six or seven picks in this years draft.
Can we stand it again? Will anyone else want to vomit if the Leafs find themselves repeating last year and missing the playoffs by a point, yielding them neither an extended season or any building blocks for the future?
Mark my words, if the Leafs keep winning it will happen. This team will NOT, repeat, will NOT make the playoffs.
So I ask again, who among us has the courage to take out Vesa Toskala? A simple kidnapping will due. He can be returned to the team once the Leafs are mathematically eliminated. If anyone can think of a better way I’m open to suggestions. Something needs to be done though
The Star gives an update on Sundin’s status. Maurice insists they won’t rush Sundin back. Thank God, the last thing the Leafs need right now is someone else to help them win.
The Leafs go into Long Island tonight, the same place where Dubie struck the final blow to seal the Leafs out of 8th place. Now the Leafs are again on a “playoff run”, but as most of us understand, it’s less of a run for the playoffs and more of a run from a good draft pick.
However, with Sundin on the bench, and now Antropov out as well, things are starting to look up for the Leafs possible draft hopes for this summer. The fact of the matter is, the Leafs are still well within a very good finishing place if they can seriously screw up the remaining 9 games. So the question now is, is it wrong to hope that the fate of Mats and Nik strikes some other key players?
The most obvious would be Vesa Toskala. If Toskala were unable to play, the Leafs would more of less have 9 guaranteed losses. Is it wrong to hope that for some reason Toskala can’t take the ice? No one is hoping for a career ender or anything, but lets say he was to hurt his foot or twist his ankle. Something insignificant overall, but significant enough in the time being to keep him out of the net.
Personally, I’m undecided. I don’t like the idea of enjoying someone else’s pain, but at the same time, it could be the only hope we have left of drafting one of the big names in the upcoming draft.
The real question though is not if it’s alright to hope Toskala can’t play, but who has a crowbar and is willing to do the dirty work?
Andrew Raycroft is not among the group of players protected by no-trade clauses or no-movement clauses. There is nothing written on paper saying the Toronto Maple Leafs are legally obligated to keep Andrew Raycroft on the team. So the question that begs an answer is why the hell is he still here?
You might have thought they were keeping Raycroft to use him down the stretch for the tank that would bring us a high draft pick. I think we’ve all come to the realization that this isn’t going to happen. After seeing Vesa Toskala play what seems like the 300th game in a row on Saturday it’s pretty clear that the Leafs don’t plan to use Raycroft in any significant way. So why keep him?
It certainly isn’t because of his stellar play. The guy is easily the biggest flop on the team and maybe one of the biggest currently playing in the league. If the Leafs are in fact going on a “playoff drive”, as it appears they are attempting to, then Raycroft’s seive-like nature almost ensures he’ll be riding the pine almost the entire time.
So if the Leafs simply aren’t going to play him, then why keep him? The team has pretty clearly given up on Razor. It is probably safe to say he is no longer part of the team’s view of the future. So why is he still taking up space on the team?
What the team should do, and should have already done, is admit Raycroft is an expensive mistake and …Read the rest of this entry →
Sorry for the late notice, but tonight will be a Guaranteed Loss Night as the Leafs head into Boston to play the B’s.
The prizes from the last GLNs are still up for grabs, namely your choice of two Leafs flags (one sharpened to a point) or an Official Leafs puck signed by Fredrik Modin.
Someone has to win these fine items, it could be YOU!
As with last week, to qualify for the GLN prizes just make a comment in this post and if the Leafs win, a winner will be chosen at random.
Kilger was suspended Wednesday for failing to report to the team after being acquired from the Leafs on deadline day. The suspension is indefinite and without pay.
I can sort of understand where Chad is coming from. You’re on the bottom feeding Leafs, deadline day comes around and you’re lucky enough to be moved. Your mind is racing with all the possibilities! Detroit maybe? Anaheim? Could this be your year.
Sorry Chad you’ll be heading to Florida! Send us a postcard.
Trade deadline day has come and gone and Mats Sundin remains a Leaf, much to the disappointment of many Leafs fans who seem to forget all he’s done for the team. The real problem that needs to be examined though isn’t Sundin’s refusal to leave, but the entire concept of a rental player and why the league needs to put some countermeasures in place to make “rentals” a thing of the past.
First let’s define a rental. In a rental situation, the idea is that a player going into unrestricted free agency from team X is traded away at the deadline to team Y. Then, in the summer, the player re-signs with team X. In essence, team X gets something for nothing.
There are multiple problems with this. First of all, it could technically be done multiple times. Mats Sundin for instance has voiced that he is only interested in one year contracts. That means that in theory, had he been willing to be a rental, the Leafs could have rented him out over and over again, each time gaining without loss, until they were in a position to make a good playoff run. The real problem however is that in rental situations, it is very likely that the team acquiring the rental could essentially be getting cheated. If a team tells a player about to go UFA that he’s being traded as a rental, but he’s “welcome back next year, wink wink, nudge nudge”, then that is tampering. A rental situation in which a player is traded only to return to the team that traded him reeks of tampering and …Read the rest of this entry →
Today Mats Sundin announced that he will not waive his no-trade clause and will remain with the Maple Leafs. Sundin said, as quoted from TSN, “I have carefully considered the team’s request that I waive my no-trade clause,” Sundin said in a statement. “I have always believed I would finish my career as a Toronto Maple Leaf so the actual request was still a very difficult one for me to contemplate.”
“I have spoken to and listened to my family and those closest to me about this issue. In the end, there is no right decision in a situation like this one.”
“I cannot leave my teammates and join another NHL Club at this time. I have never believed in the concept of a rental player. It is my belief that winning the Stanley Cup is the greatest thing you can achieve in hockey but for me, in order to appreciate it you have to …Read the rest of this entry →
Today Sundin talked to reporters about the pressure he’s been under to waive his no-trade clause. If I was Sundin I’d do two things. First I’d tweak and take out that entire crowd of reporters, and then second I’d tell the Leafs to go screw themselves. I’d be so fed up with the team, the media and the fans trying to push me out, that I’d refuse to waive my NTC out of spite and then sign with a new team next year and play the best season of my career. I can’t believe the crap this guy is getting. He’s clearly fed up with the whole issue.
Thanks to Jeff at FaceOffCircle.net for putting the video on YouTube.
The Leafs will host the 9th place Buffalo Sabres tonight at the Air Canada Centre at 7:30 in the p.m. The buds currently sit in 14th in the Conference, 2 points ahead of Tampa, and are tied with the Oilers for third worst league wide. Lately though he Leafs have been jeopardizing their lowly status, and subsequent drafting position by playing slightly above .500 for the last 10 games! Luckily for Toronto the other teams in contention for the first overall draft choice - namely L.A., Tampa and Edmonton - have also all been playing .500 or better. It would be foolish for the Leafs to expect their competition to play this well for the remainder of the season, so in the name of drafting, Toronto needs to quit while they’re behind!
Buffalo currently sits in 9th place in the East, sharing 66 points with 8th place Philly and 7th place Boston. The Sabres should be out for blood tonight hoping to leap from at least one of those two teams, which bodes well for the Leafs who after winning two, are due for another less.
According to the team Andrew Raycroft is sick and Scott Clemenson will be coming up to take his place. In our opinion Vesa Toskala should be the one getting the night off. Clemenson can still ride the pine and Raycroft can sweat off his cold flailing around the net pretending to be a goalie. Everybody wins!
Introducing the LeafsAreTrash.com Guarunteed Loss Program!
