http://www.640toronto.com/Blogs/EatSleepLeafs/Home.aspxEat Sleep Leafsen-usCopyright 2010, CFMJ-AMFri, 03 Sep 2010 03:17:57 GMTThu, 02 Sep 2010 19:18:47 GMT1http://emmisinteractive.comTORONTO - Training camp is still about two weeks away but Leaf players are slowly making their way back to Toronto.  Dion Phaneuf, Phil Kessel, and Mike Komisarek joined a group of about twenty Leaf and Leaf hopefuls at the Mastercard Centre Thursday morning as the team gets set to begin the 2010/2011 season on September 17th. Tyler Bozak was among those skating informally with teammates and the second-year centre wasn't shy to profess his desire to be the number one centre in Toronto this season. "That's my goal coming in," Bozak said. "You want to be the best you can be at every level so my goal is to have that position." Bozak certainly impressed as a rookie last season. The 24-year-old totaled 27 points in thirty-seven games and appeared comfortable in a front-line role with 30-goal man, Phil Kessel. Meanwhile, a Leaf last season but still unsigned as of Thursday, 17-year NHL veteran Wayne Primeau was ...http://www.640toronto.com/Blogs/EatSleepLeafs/BlogEntry.aspx?BlogEntryID=10136844info@640toronto.com (Jonas Siegel)http://www.640toronto.com/Blogs/EatSleepLeafs/BlogEntry.aspx?BlogEntryID=10136844Thu, 02 Sep 2010 19:18:47 GMTJonas Gustavsson or J.S. Giguere? The starter lacing up the new blue and whites remains a mystery as the days count down to opening night on October 7th against the Montreal Canadiens. Will it be the up and coming Swede or the former Cup champ? Each has his fair share to prove. The way people talk about the guy, you’d think J.S. Giguere was fifty years old and light years away from his best playing days in the NHL. Except he’s 33 and posted stellar numbers just two years ago with the Ducks. Hardly a peep is made about Miikka Kiprusoff’s age as his game declines and he’s actually a full six months older than his former Western Conference foe. Still the chatter is out there and the challenge for Giguere will be to hush it into nothing more than a peep.   The Montreal native saw his numbers jump across the board when ...http://www.640toronto.com/Blogs/EatSleepLeafs/BlogEntry.aspx?BlogEntryID=10130257info@640toronto.com (Jonas Siegel)http://www.640toronto.com/Blogs/EatSleepLeafs/BlogEntry.aspx?BlogEntryID=10130257Fri, 06 Aug 2010 19:19:31 GMTWith little available at the proper price-point in the free agent market and few moveable assets to speak of (not named Tomas Kaberle), Brian Burke did reasonably well in his efforts to land Kris Versteeg, Colby Armstrong, and Brett Lebda among others this summer. But what still remains on the Leafs roster--as was the case to close last season--is a glaring lack of experience up front.  Consider that no Leaf forward has ever totaled more than 60 points in a season (Phil Kessel tallied 60 with Boston in 08/09). Tampa Bay for comparison's sake has four players (Stamkos, Lecavalier, St. Louis, and Gagne) who've notched 70+ point at least once. Or that outside of Kessel, Versteeg, and Mikhail Grabovski, no Leaf forward has amassed more than 40 points in a season (Armstrong hit 40 twice: with Pittsburgh in 05/06 and Atlanta in 08/09). Or that grouped together, the Leafs forwards have amassed just six seasons of at least ...http://www.640toronto.com/Blogs/EatSleepLeafs/BlogEntry.aspx?BlogEntryID=10128031info@640toronto.com (Jonas Siegel)http://www.640toronto.com/Blogs/EatSleepLeafs/BlogEntry.aspx?BlogEntryID=10128031Tue, 27 Jul 2010 16:21:21 GMTNazem Kadri is up to a buck eighty-five, ten pounds heavier than at the end of last season and about eight pounds short of his goal for training camp this fall. But while the soon-to-be 20-year-old packs on the pounds in anticipation of sticking with the Leafs in October, a spot on the big club is anything but guaranteed. Last fall at training camp, Kadri dazzled. He scored three times in six games and added a pair of assists to go with a (+6) rating. He was exciting. He was dynamic. He appeared to be everything the Leafs were missing up front. But he was, in the eyes of Ron Wilson, not ready to phyiscally handle the tooth-and-nails grind of an 82-game NHL regular season. He was sent back to London with two goals/priorities: 1) Dominate the Ontario Hockey League, and 2) Get stronger, a lot stronger at that. He nailed the first, finishing in a tie for fourth in OHL ...http://www.640toronto.com/Blogs/EatSleepLeafs/BlogEntry.aspx?BlogEntryID=10124899info@640toronto.com (Jonas Siegel)http://www.640toronto.com/Blogs/EatSleepLeafs/BlogEntry.aspx?BlogEntryID=10124899Fri, 09 Jul 2010 20:20:30 GMTBrian Burke had a sneaking suspicion his Leafs might come up empty on July 1st.   But in signing former Thrasher and Penguin Colby Armstrong to a three-year deal worth $9 million, Burke was able to add what he considers to be a major piece of the puzzle. “I told Dave Nonis before we started today that I thought we’d get shut out on any major moves and I consider Colby a major move,” Burke explained via conference call early Thursday evening. After scoring in a deal with Chicago for Kris Versteeg on the eve of free agency, Burke said he was pleased with the additions to his forward group, but emphasized that his work was not yet complete. “Would I be happy going into the season with this group? We may have to but we’re going to continue to try to upgrade,” Burke said. The addition of Versteeg—20 goals last ...http://www.640toronto.com/Blogs/EatSleepLeafs/BlogEntry.aspx?BlogEntryID=10123652info@640toronto.com (Jonas Siegel)http://www.640toronto.com/Blogs/EatSleepLeafs/BlogEntry.aspx?BlogEntryID=10123652Fri, 02 Jul 2010 04:33:01 GMTIt’s hard not to like the Colby Armstrong signing. Belligerence? Check. Truculence? Check. Pugnacity? Check.   Armstrong seems to fit the Brian Burke model Maple Leaf to a T. Like Kris Versteeg, he’ll do a lot of little things well and that includes killing penalties, causing chaos physically and scoring a bit as well. Two seasons ago, the 27-year-old Armstrong scored 22 goals with Atlanta and as a rookie with Pittsburgh in 05/06 he lit the lamp 16 times in forty-seven games alongside Sidney Crosby. There’s some sandpaper to his game, some grit, and some nastiness, all elements lacking in the Leafs forward group last season. Armstrong will fit nicely on a checking unit with a player like Fredrik Sjostrom on the other side, but he’s also capable of playing in the top six if the need arises. Point is, Ron Wilson can move him around and feel comfortable with ...http://www.640toronto.com/Blogs/EatSleepLeafs/BlogEntry.aspx?BlogEntryID=10123606info@640toronto.com (Jonas Siegel)http://www.640toronto.com/Blogs/EatSleepLeafs/BlogEntry.aspx?BlogEntryID=10123606Thu, 01 Jul 2010 19:11:17 GMTWith the Tomas Kaberle trading chip still on deck, Brian Burke hit what looks to be a home run with his acquisition of Hawks forward Kris Versteeg and prospect Bill Sweatt on the eve of July 1st. Parting with the speedy Viktor Stalberg, along with prospects Philipe Paradis, and Chris DiDomenico, the Leafs added a gritty, 24-year-old winger who can legitimately play in their top-six next season. Quite clearly, this is a big score for Burke and the Leafs. With little in the way of high-end talent available on the free agent market, Burke’s only means for acquiring top- six talent was through trade and in the Hawks he found a partner who had little choice but to part with the hard-nosed Versteeg. Playing mostly alongside Dave Bolland and Andrew Ladd this past postseason, Versteeg notched 8 goals and 14 points in 22 games en route to a Stanley Cup ...http://www.640toronto.com/Blogs/EatSleepLeafs/BlogEntry.aspx?BlogEntryID=10123468info@640toronto.com (Jonas Siegel)http://www.640toronto.com/Blogs/EatSleepLeafs/BlogEntry.aspx?BlogEntryID=10123468Thu, 01 Jul 2010 03:30:39 GMTIlya Kovalchuk might be the only one left. A true game-changer in this summer’s free agent class. Last July 1st, the big guns were in play. Marian Hossa, Mike Cammalleri, Marian Gaborik, Martin Havlat, all available on July 1st. This summer it won’t quite be the same, but that doesn’t mean the Leafs can’t have an effective July 1st. Quite the opposite, in fact. Picking apart the top six from the bottom six last season was much like solving a Rubix cube. Near impossible for the untrained eye. Too many players not quite fit to score consistently, but not ideal for checking line duty either. Kind of a recurring theme in Toronto the last five seasons. We know all about Brian Burke’s top six, bottom six theory and if there’s one thing he can do this offseason it’s make a clear distinction between the two. While the top six might get ...http://www.640toronto.com/Blogs/EatSleepLeafs/BlogEntry.aspx?BlogEntryID=10123461info@640toronto.com (Jonas Siegel)http://www.640toronto.com/Blogs/EatSleepLeafs/BlogEntry.aspx?BlogEntryID=10123461Thu, 01 Jul 2010 01:32:20 GMTSigning even perennial 50-goal man Ilya Kovalchuk on July 1st wouldn’t change one unmistakable conclusion. The strength and ultimate fate of the 2010/2011 Leafs rests not on how many goals they score but instead on how many pucks they keep from finding twine. I’ve always glowed with admiration at the success of the Nashville Predators. A regular amongst the league’s lowest spending clubs, the Predators—led by GM David Poile and Coach Barry Trotz—are as consistently thrifty as they are successful. The Preds have made the playoffs in four of the five seasons since the lockout, registering 100+ points three times. While they’ve yet to actually win a round, Nashville at the very least remains in the postseason hunt year after year.   With fluid internal development and strong leadership from Poile and Trotz, the Predators are a model for small market clubs everywhere. Anchored by a strong defense—led by Canadian Olympic ...http://www.640toronto.com/Blogs/EatSleepLeafs/BlogEntry.aspx?BlogEntryID=10122921info@640toronto.com (Jonas Siegel)http://www.640toronto.com/Blogs/EatSleepLeafs/BlogEntry.aspx?BlogEntryID=10122921Mon, 28 Jun 2010 21:33:22 GMTWith Dion Phaneuf, the volume is constantly hiked up to eleven. Enthusiastic? Yes. Incessant? Yes. Potentially annoying? Also yes. And that will have to change. Top to bottom--from management right on down to the coaches--the Leafs were pleasantly surprised when they first experienced the enthusiastic Phaneuf up close and personal. He was loud, he was emotional and he injected a spark into a somewhat subdued dressing room. He was in the eyes of the team, exactly what was missing at the head of a rudderless ship. But while that jolt of enthusiasm proved wonders in a 26 game span at the conclusion of yet another early exit, the long term success of the marriage doesn't bode well if Phaneuf fails to manage his emotions properly. Chirp with fury for an hour and a half at practice, for minutes on end before, after and during games, with more still to come on the bus, on the plane, and damn ...http://www.640toronto.com/Blogs/EatSleepLeafs/BlogEntry.aspx?BlogEntryID=10118570info@640toronto.com (Jonas Siegel)http://www.640toronto.com/Blogs/EatSleepLeafs/BlogEntry.aspx?BlogEntryID=10118570Tue, 15 Jun 2010 03:36:15 GMT