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March Madness - The Post Lockout Leafs

By Steve Dangle - March 18, 2010

March Madness: The Post-Lockout Leafs

Warning: If you're a Leafs fan, this blog will make you pretty upset. Everyone else - I hope you rotten jerks enjoy this.

As many Leafs fans have noted, Toronto seems to play better once "the pressure is off" and the playoffs are out of reach. Oddly enough, despite a couple lemons, the Leafs are enjoying another productive month of March (and not just productive by the league's 2nd-worst team's standards, either).

So I got to thinking - exactly how good have the Leafs been in March?

Burke Makes His Mark

By Jon Levett - January 31, 2010

Years from now when Brian Burke is no longer in control of the Maple Leafs, January 31, 2010 will be a day that many look back on as one of the defining moments during the president and GM's tenure. Only time will tell whether it's looked upon fondly or negatively but one thing is for certain: the man has officially put his stamp on this hockey club.

As you know by now, the Toronto Maple Leafs have acquired defenseman Dion Phaneuf, forward Fredrik Sjostrom and prospect Keith Aulie from the Calgary Flames for forwards Matt Stajan, Jamal Mayers and Niklas Hagman and defenseman Ian White. In the second blockbuster of the day, the Leafs sent goalie Vesa Toskala and forward Jason Blake to the Anaheim ducks in exchange for goalie J.S. Giguere.

Leafs Just Not Good Enough To Get The Breaks

By Barry Davis - January 10, 2010

How bad have things gotten for the Leafs? They get awarded a penalty shot and the other team scores!

So much for that 9-3-2 run that got them within three points of a playoff spot. The players continue to talk a good game and point out there are still plenty of games left and if they keep working hard the breaks will come.

The problem is they're simply not good enough to get those breaks. If you're keeping track you know that they could potentially finish with the worst penalty kill since the league began keeping track in 1967.

Home Sweet Home

By Jon Levett - December 16, 2009

The bandwagon is getting mighty crowded but as Mike Komisarek said Monday night after the Leafs 3-2 win over the Senators, there is still plenty of room on board. As far as bandwagons go, the Leafs generally have one of the biggest in pro teams. Four straight home wins and eight wins in their last 11 games will create quite a buzz in the "Centre of the Universe" though.

I will be the first to admit though I've jumped right on board this thing. The Leafs are hard working, exciting and generally a hard group to dislike. After winning just one game on home ice over the course of the first month and a half of the season, the Leafs have reeled off four straight at Air Canada Centre. The jeers for this team have quickly turned into cheers.

Kessel's Return Makes Me Ponder...

By Barry Davis - December 7, 2009

The near sold out crowd at the Garden did a great job of getting on Phil Kessel Saturday night and it will likely be just as loud when the Leafs return to Boston Wednesday.

Having had the oportunity to see hockey in just about every NHL city in the US, I'd expect no less. While the size of the crowds may vary from full to just a few thousand, the ones that do show up never lack when it comes to supporting their team and creating an amazing atmosphere.

That being said, there are times when I shake my head at the lack of brain cells some of these fans have. For exsample, a loud chant of U.S.A U.S.A broke out Saturday night. Do these people have any clue that the Leafs have more Americans than their Bruins, including Kessel himself. Then there's the idiots that actually boo our National Anthem. While that didn't happen in Boston Saturday night, I've witnessed it on more than a few occasions, especially during the playoffs.

Dwayne F***ing Roloson?!?

By Jon Levett - November 24, 2009

What more could a team possibly do to win a hockey game? Oh yeah, actually put the puck in the net. That's how it works!

By now, I don't need to tell you that the Maple Leafs peppered Dwayne Roloson with 61 shots last night and still lost 4-3 to the New York Islanders in overtime. Before we digress into rage and anger over the loss, let's remember one thing: the Leafs trailed 3-0 in the later stages of the 2nd period so salvaging at a point looked next to impossible at one time during the game. It's not all bad, but this is apart of a larger issue in which we've talked about before, this time however was the extreme example of the larger issue.

The Dangle Top 10: Rejected Theme Night Ideas

By Steve Dangle - November 16, 2009

Just like the 80's were for the Leafs, the 80's theme night turned out to be a disaster as the Flames triumphed 5-2. Considering just how bad the 80's were for the Leafs, the whole choice of the 80's as a theme was puzzling. Perhaps they need some new ideas for theme nights? Well here's some suggestions I have that haven't been used... yet! : The Top 10 Rejected Leafs theme night ideas.

10. "Kerry Fraser Appreciation Night." The Leafs will try phoning Fraser repeatedly to drop the puck in the ceremonial faceoff, but like he did with Gretzky's highstick, he'll miss the call.

It's Not A Matter Of Truculence

By Jon Levett - November 16, 2009

Just when it looked like the Maple Leafs were beginning to turn things around, they came out and completely laid an egg last week. Aside from their sluggish performance on Tuesday against the Wild, it wasn't for a lack of effort though. Herein lies the problem with this year's edition of the Toronto Maple Leafs: the effort and desire is there, but there simply isn't enough skill and enough players up front that can finish for this team to win on a consistent basis.

Yes, Jonas Gustavsson was completely off his game in the first period on Saturday night against Calgary, but the Leafs played well enough to beat the Flames. The Leafs out shot Calgary 40-22, including a second period in which they held a 20-4 advantage in that department. Miika Kiprusoff was excellent for the Flames and Calgary was very opportunistic late in the game. The effort certainly was there and so were the chances, but the Leafs have continually out shot their opponents in their losses this season. In their 15 losses this season (that of course includes OT and shootout losses) the Leafs have out shot their opponents in nine of those games and in one (an OT loss to Dallas) they equaled their opponent. The Leafs are averaging 33 shots per game this season and are allowing 29 shots per game on average.

The Celebrity Vaccine

By Barry Davis - November 6, 2009

Being the father of a 9 year-old, I like many of you, am waiting patiently for the H1N1 vaccine to be available for him. Being that he's over 6 and in good health he's not considered high risk. Of course when we get the word we will stand in line for however long it takes to get him the shot. I anticipate a very long day standing in line.

Hearing the news that some NHL and NBA players have already had their shots has me sick to my stomach. As angry as I am that they have jumped to the front of the line, I'm not surprised at all. Should anybody?

Optimism? Seriously, Optimism

By Jon Levett - October 24, 2009

Okay, it's been three days. Now I can sit down and explain my thoughts rationally.

Everyone is trashing the Toronto Maple Leafs right now. Print columnists, radio and TV analysts and hosts, bloggers, die-hard fans, casual observers, corporate platinum seat holders, cab drivers who awkwardly engage you in conversation when you're coming home late from a night out and even my mother who probably can't name more than one Leaf on the roster right now (I think she could name Kaberle, but that's about it). It's pretty easy to trash the team right now and it doesn't take a genius to figure out why that is and why they are so bad.