The Official LEAFS NATION Hockey thread
- Thread starter Doc Holliday
- Start date
I totally agree. Phil "The Thrill" Kessel is the REAL DEAL!!! A great teammate, a great player, a great individual, and never complains or gets in trouble off-ice. :thumb:
On another note, Tyler Seguin is off to a very good start with the Dallas Stars. I have a feeling that the Bruins will regret trading him to Dallas for next-to-nothing. They should have been more patient with this young man. After the disastrous Joe Thornton trade, i would have thought they would have learned their lesson.
As a fan you never wish a loss on your team but i think last night's loss to Carolina is not that bad as the young Leafs needed a wake up call and even tho they lost on a blown play and a crazy bounce, it still can be a positive. Now comes a tough test in Chicago. Overall i am still extemely pleased by a 6-2 start with a depleted lineup. Having 5 regulars out to start the season, one would think our record would be 2-6 not 6-2 so all is good. Add Clarkson, Kulie, Jvr, McLaren, and Fraser back on a nightly basis and some stability comes back with those 5. Now possibly Remier can be added to that list but we shall see. Overall, very very good start for not playing at our best yet.
Yup, agreed and last nights game should be a wakeup call to the guys and a much stronger effort will be needed going into Chicago sat night. The good news is it looks like JVR should be back, now all we need is the other 4 regulars who are out. I'd love to see what this team can do with a fully healthy lineup.
The Leafs played valiantly against the Stanley Cup champs. Nice to see Reimer not missing any playing time, as he was Bernier's backup tonight.
The Leafs really need Clarkson in the lineup. They also miss Mark Frasier. I cringe everytime i see either Paul Ranger or Jake Gardiner on the ice. I can't understand why Carlyle pairs them together, considering they're the team's two worst defencemen.
I'm betting that Morgan Rielly won't be sent back to junior & will stay with the Leafs. He's already ahead of Ranger & Gardiner on the team's depth chart.
The Leafs really need Clarkson in the lineup. They also miss Mark Frasier. I cringe everytime i see either Paul Ranger or Jake Gardiner on the ice. I can't understand why Carlyle pairs them together, considering they're the team's two worst defencemen.
I'm betting that Morgan Rielly won't be sent back to junior & will stay with the Leafs. He's already ahead of Ranger & Gardiner on the team's depth chart.
While i had mixed feelings when the Leafs sent Luke Schenn to Philly for JVR, i now considered it one of the Leafs' best trades since the Lupul or Phaneuf trades.
He's a great skater for a big man & has great skill. He's smart, kills penalties (very effectively, i may say) and is a cornerstone on the powerplay.
Schenn meanwhile hasn't progressed as expected in Philly & it was reported he arrived in camp this summer overweight, which is rumoured to have been one of the reasons why Pete Laviolette was let go so early into the season: several players the team counted on arrived to camp out of shape.
Great win indeed last night. This version of the Leafs is a resilient team who can score in bunches at any time when it's on a roll. Nice seeing Phil "The Thrill" get his first hat trick of the season. Had he not been too generous, he could have possibly had his first goal had he shot at the net instead of trying to pass the puck to his buddy Tyler Bozak on a 2-on-1.
Can't wait to see David Clarkson in action on friday night!!
He's a great skater for a big man & has great skill. He's smart, kills penalties (very effectively, i may say) and is a cornerstone on the powerplay.
Schenn meanwhile hasn't progressed as expected in Philly & it was reported he arrived in camp this summer overweight, which is rumoured to have been one of the reasons why Pete Laviolette was let go so early into the season: several players the team counted on arrived to camp out of shape.
Great win indeed last night. This version of the Leafs is a resilient team who can score in bunches at any time when it's on a roll. Nice seeing Phil "The Thrill" get his first hat trick of the season. Had he not been too generous, he could have possibly had his first goal had he shot at the net instead of trying to pass the puck to his buddy Tyler Bozak on a 2-on-1.
Can't wait to see David Clarkson in action on friday night!!
The Maple Leafs have announced that they won't be sending down top prospect Morgan to his junior team. He's staying put. That's great news!
On another note, Joffrey Lupul took a shot off his foot at practice & has gone for x-rays.
On another note, Joffrey Lupul took a shot off his foot at practice & has gone for x-rays.
Leafs recall John-Michael Liles from Marlies
TORONTO — The Toronto Maple Leafs have recalled defenceman John-Michael Liles as they prepare for a three-game road trip through Western Canada.
Liles will likely serve as a seventh defenceman as the Leafs start the road swing Tuesday night in Edmonton.
Liles cleared waivers and sent to the AHL’s Toronto Marlies before the season started, as he often looked like the odd defenceman out in training camp. By sending him to the Marlies, the Leafs saved US$925,000 on his $3.875-million salary-cap hit.
Liles had a goal and four assists in eight games with the Marlies this season.
The 32-year-old from Indianapolis has 77 goals and 236 assists in 621 NHL games with Colorado and Toronto.
JML recalled by Leafs
This is great news since JML is a great person! I'm very happy for him, and it was a disgrace that he was sent down considering the Leafs only saved a fraction of his salary. I mean, he can't be much worse than Paul Ranger, right? Or even Jake Gardiner or Morgan Rielly, who are great offensively, but totally suck defensive-wise. Plus, he can be counted on for his leadership & tutorship skills.
TORONTO — The Toronto Maple Leafs have recalled defenceman John-Michael Liles as they prepare for a three-game road trip through Western Canada.
Liles will likely serve as a seventh defenceman as the Leafs start the road swing Tuesday night in Edmonton.
Liles cleared waivers and sent to the AHL’s Toronto Marlies before the season started, as he often looked like the odd defenceman out in training camp. By sending him to the Marlies, the Leafs saved US$925,000 on his $3.875-million salary-cap hit.
Liles had a goal and four assists in eight games with the Marlies this season.
The 32-year-old from Indianapolis has 77 goals and 236 assists in 621 NHL games with Colorado and Toronto.
JML recalled by Leafs
This is great news since JML is a great person! I'm very happy for him, and it was a disgrace that he was sent down considering the Leafs only saved a fraction of his salary. I mean, he can't be much worse than Paul Ranger, right? Or even Jake Gardiner or Morgan Rielly, who are great offensively, but totally suck defensive-wise. Plus, he can be counted on for his leadership & tutorship skills.
Yeah, it was another of Pierre Gauthier's great moves. Is Kaberle still playing somewhere? KHL maybe?
On a different note, it'll be a tough game for the Leafs tonight in Calgary. They've yet to beat a team this season with a city name that starts with a 'C'.
Indeed, Bernier was a monster in tonight's game. The Leafs stole a win tonight because of JB. Go Leafs Go!! 
Here are my 5 worst leafs trades in the past 25 years
2007 1st Round Pick (St. Louis selected Lars Eller), a 2007 2nd Round Pick (St. Louis selected Aaron Palushaj) and a 2009 4th Round Pick (Nashville selected Craig Smith) to the San Jose Sharks for Vesa Toskala and Mark Bell (June 2007)
Toronto trades Jason Smith to the Edmonton Oilers for a 2nd Round Pick in 2000 (Kris Vernarsky) and a 4th Round Pick in 1999 (Jonathon Zion) (March 23rd, 1999)
Toronto trades Alyn McCauley, Brad Boyes and a 2003 1st Round Pick (Mark Stuart) to the San Jose Sharks for Owen Nolan
Toronto trades Tukka Rask to the Boston Bruins for Andrew Raycroft
Toronto trades Adam Mair and a 2nd Round Pick in 2001 (Mike Cammalleri) to the Los Angeles Kinds for Aki Berg
Toronto Carlo Coliacovo and Alexander Steen to the St. Louis Blues for Lee Stempniak
Toronto trades Larry Murphy to the Detroit Red Wings for Future Considerations
Toronto trades Kenny Jonsson, Sean Haggerty, Darby Hendrickson and a 1st Round Pick in 1997 (Roberto Luongo) to the New York Islanders for Wendel Clark, Mathieu Schneider and D.J. Smith.
Russ Courtnall to the Montreal Canadiens for Jon Kordic and a 6th Round Pick (Mike Doers)
Toronto trades a 1st Round Pick (Scott Niedermayer) to the New Jersey Devils for Tom Kurvers
2007 1st Round Pick (St. Louis selected Lars Eller), a 2007 2nd Round Pick (St. Louis selected Aaron Palushaj) and a 2009 4th Round Pick (Nashville selected Craig Smith) to the San Jose Sharks for Vesa Toskala and Mark Bell (June 2007)
Toronto trades Jason Smith to the Edmonton Oilers for a 2nd Round Pick in 2000 (Kris Vernarsky) and a 4th Round Pick in 1999 (Jonathon Zion) (March 23rd, 1999)
Toronto trades Alyn McCauley, Brad Boyes and a 2003 1st Round Pick (Mark Stuart) to the San Jose Sharks for Owen Nolan
Toronto trades Tukka Rask to the Boston Bruins for Andrew Raycroft
Toronto trades Adam Mair and a 2nd Round Pick in 2001 (Mike Cammalleri) to the Los Angeles Kinds for Aki Berg
Toronto Carlo Coliacovo and Alexander Steen to the St. Louis Blues for Lee Stempniak
Toronto trades Larry Murphy to the Detroit Red Wings for Future Considerations
Toronto trades Kenny Jonsson, Sean Haggerty, Darby Hendrickson and a 1st Round Pick in 1997 (Roberto Luongo) to the New York Islanders for Wendel Clark, Mathieu Schneider and D.J. Smith.
Russ Courtnall to the Montreal Canadiens for Jon Kordic and a 6th Round Pick (Mike Doers)
Toronto trades a 1st Round Pick (Scott Niedermayer) to the New Jersey Devils for Tom Kurvers
That was the killer
Kurvers had a career year the past year, he was the 4th highest scorer on the team
..who would have known ?
Best Regards
Smuler
Smuler
I would like to post a picture of my brown star fish for the Leafs coming to Alberta and beating both teams.... All is good, waiting for next time
Luongo thought he was going to be a Maple Leaf
VANCOUVER - As Olympic hopeful Roberto Luongo makes his bid to once again don a red-and-white maple leaf on his chest, there was a time not so long ago when he was relatively certain he'd be wearing a blue and white one, as well.
Luongo isn't too shy to admit it all these months later -- he thought he was going to be a Toronto Maple Leaf.
"I was pretty sure I was going to end up there," the personable Luongo told the Toronto Sun in an interview on Thursday. "I was pretty shocked and surprised when I didn't."
When approached by Canucks general manager Mike Gillis prior to the 2012 draft, Luongo has said in the past that he asked that a deal be worked out with Tampa Bay or Florida, teams in the state where he spends his off-seasons.
As time passed, however, there was more and more interest shown by the Leafs. So much so that, 11 months ago, Luongo decided to have some fun with all the Toronto speculation, courtesy of his alleged phantom Twitter account @strombone1.
Back on Dec. 3, a photo appeared on the account showing racks of Leafs jerseys including a blue James van Riemsdyk model. Of interest here: Hanging right beside it was one with the name 'Luongo' stitched on the back along with his familiar No. 1. The stripes on the bottom were altered, but the implication was there -- Luongo Leafs jersey.
Accompanying the picture were the words from @strombone1: "Wow this is so crazy....... You could barely fit JVR's name on the back of that jersey........"
There was far more space to put L-U-O-N-G-O on the adjoining one. Which was the light-hearted message being sent out by Luongo -- or whoever the account actually belongs to (nudge, nudge, wink wink).
"Yeah, I remember that (pic)," he chuckles now. "When did that run? That long ago, eh?"
While the jersey pic was all in good fun, Luongo understands that Leafs general manager Dave Nonis was very serious in his efforts to land Team Canada's 2010 gold-medal winning goalie,
It wouldn't have been the first time. During his tenure as Canucks GM, it was Nonis, after all, who fleeced the Panthers in a 2006 trade by bringing Luongo to Canada's left coast for a package that sent Todd Bertuzzi, Bryan Allen and Alex Auld to Florida.
From the 2012 draft to the 2013 trade deadline, it is no secret that Nonis attempted to land Luongo yet again, this time for the Leafs. Whether it was the Canucks' refusal to pick up $1 million of Luongo's salary or Vancouver's penchant of raising the asking price, the deal, for whatever reason, never materialized.
Unable to move Luongo in the end, the Canucks ended their goaltending circus by shipping Cory Schneider to the Devils at the 2013 draft.
All the while, Luongo is quite open in his appreciation of Nonis and the efforts his former GM made to try to acquire him. Again.
"Its flattering that somebody holds you in that high regard," Luongo said. "It's appreciated, of course. I respect Dave a lot. It's nice sometimes to hear things like that from around the league about you, especially guys higher up top like general managers."
Unable to swing deals for either Luongo or Calgary's Miikka Kiprusoff last season, Nonis, determined to strengthen the Leafs' goaltending situation even with James Reimer's career on the upswing, pulled the trigger on a summertime swap that sent Ben Scrivens, Matt Frattin and a second-round pick to the Los Angeles Kings for highly coveted Jonathan Bernier.
Through the first month of the season, the goaltending situations in both Toronto and Vancouver have worked out quite well. Outshot in 12 of their 14 games, the Leafs are off to a 10-4 start, largely due to the sizzling play of Bernier (6-4, 2.31, .933) and Reimer (4-0, 1.99, .949). Luongo, meanwhile, is 7-4-1 (2.46, .909) for the 9-5-1 Canucks -- not bad for a guy whose team tried so hard to move him and the 12-year, $64-million contract he signed in 2009.
"A lot has happened over the past year and a half, two years," said Luongo, who actually in the summer explored the option of having his contract voided. "To be honest, I'm just excited to be playing again and to play every night."
Still, you have to wonder if, at some point during the Leafs-Canucks game Saturday night here in beautiful Vancouver, Luongo will look down at the guy guarding the Leafs net and think: "That could have been me."
In the mind of Roberto Luongo, it very well could have been.
A year ago Luongo thought he'd be a Leaf
VANCOUVER - As Olympic hopeful Roberto Luongo makes his bid to once again don a red-and-white maple leaf on his chest, there was a time not so long ago when he was relatively certain he'd be wearing a blue and white one, as well.
Luongo isn't too shy to admit it all these months later -- he thought he was going to be a Toronto Maple Leaf.
"I was pretty sure I was going to end up there," the personable Luongo told the Toronto Sun in an interview on Thursday. "I was pretty shocked and surprised when I didn't."
When approached by Canucks general manager Mike Gillis prior to the 2012 draft, Luongo has said in the past that he asked that a deal be worked out with Tampa Bay or Florida, teams in the state where he spends his off-seasons.
As time passed, however, there was more and more interest shown by the Leafs. So much so that, 11 months ago, Luongo decided to have some fun with all the Toronto speculation, courtesy of his alleged phantom Twitter account @strombone1.
Back on Dec. 3, a photo appeared on the account showing racks of Leafs jerseys including a blue James van Riemsdyk model. Of interest here: Hanging right beside it was one with the name 'Luongo' stitched on the back along with his familiar No. 1. The stripes on the bottom were altered, but the implication was there -- Luongo Leafs jersey.
Accompanying the picture were the words from @strombone1: "Wow this is so crazy....... You could barely fit JVR's name on the back of that jersey........"
There was far more space to put L-U-O-N-G-O on the adjoining one. Which was the light-hearted message being sent out by Luongo -- or whoever the account actually belongs to (nudge, nudge, wink wink).
"Yeah, I remember that (pic)," he chuckles now. "When did that run? That long ago, eh?"
While the jersey pic was all in good fun, Luongo understands that Leafs general manager Dave Nonis was very serious in his efforts to land Team Canada's 2010 gold-medal winning goalie,
It wouldn't have been the first time. During his tenure as Canucks GM, it was Nonis, after all, who fleeced the Panthers in a 2006 trade by bringing Luongo to Canada's left coast for a package that sent Todd Bertuzzi, Bryan Allen and Alex Auld to Florida.
From the 2012 draft to the 2013 trade deadline, it is no secret that Nonis attempted to land Luongo yet again, this time for the Leafs. Whether it was the Canucks' refusal to pick up $1 million of Luongo's salary or Vancouver's penchant of raising the asking price, the deal, for whatever reason, never materialized.
Unable to move Luongo in the end, the Canucks ended their goaltending circus by shipping Cory Schneider to the Devils at the 2013 draft.
All the while, Luongo is quite open in his appreciation of Nonis and the efforts his former GM made to try to acquire him. Again.
"Its flattering that somebody holds you in that high regard," Luongo said. "It's appreciated, of course. I respect Dave a lot. It's nice sometimes to hear things like that from around the league about you, especially guys higher up top like general managers."
Unable to swing deals for either Luongo or Calgary's Miikka Kiprusoff last season, Nonis, determined to strengthen the Leafs' goaltending situation even with James Reimer's career on the upswing, pulled the trigger on a summertime swap that sent Ben Scrivens, Matt Frattin and a second-round pick to the Los Angeles Kings for highly coveted Jonathan Bernier.
Through the first month of the season, the goaltending situations in both Toronto and Vancouver have worked out quite well. Outshot in 12 of their 14 games, the Leafs are off to a 10-4 start, largely due to the sizzling play of Bernier (6-4, 2.31, .933) and Reimer (4-0, 1.99, .949). Luongo, meanwhile, is 7-4-1 (2.46, .909) for the 9-5-1 Canucks -- not bad for a guy whose team tried so hard to move him and the 12-year, $64-million contract he signed in 2009.
"A lot has happened over the past year and a half, two years," said Luongo, who actually in the summer explored the option of having his contract voided. "To be honest, I'm just excited to be playing again and to play every night."
Still, you have to wonder if, at some point during the Leafs-Canucks game Saturday night here in beautiful Vancouver, Luongo will look down at the guy guarding the Leafs net and think: "That could have been me."
In the mind of Roberto Luongo, it very well could have been.
A year ago Luongo thought he'd be a Leaf
I agree that the Leafs are currently Canada's top team. Vancouver is also very close, and if they dominate & win tomorrow night, they could re-claim the title.
Ottawa has been a disappointment this season. Giving up nearly 50 shots a couple of nights ago, and over 50 tonight and losing again.
Montreal has been better than expected, but thanks to one line only. The Galchenuk/Eller/Gallagher line has carried the team. P.K. Subban started well, but has slowed down recently, and the addition of George Parros will hurt the team, as we've witnessed against Minnesota (he was -3 in barely 5 minutes of ice time).
Calgary has been somewhat surprising since many picked them to finish last. Edmonton has been a huge disappointment and is in a free-fall. Winnipeg has been disappointing again and is likely to miss the playoffs again.
Ottawa has been a disappointment this season. Giving up nearly 50 shots a couple of nights ago, and over 50 tonight and losing again.
Montreal has been better than expected, but thanks to one line only. The Galchenuk/Eller/Gallagher line has carried the team. P.K. Subban started well, but has slowed down recently, and the addition of George Parros will hurt the team, as we've witnessed against Minnesota (he was -3 in barely 5 minutes of ice time).
Calgary has been somewhat surprising since many picked them to finish last. Edmonton has been a huge disappointment and is in a free-fall. Winnipeg has been disappointing again and is likely to miss the playoffs again.
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