The Toronto Maple Leafs playoff hopes took another hit last night as they were downed 5-3 at the hands of the Florida Panthers. With the distractions of the trade deadline finally behind them, the Maple Leafs got off to a horrible start when defenseman Luke Schenn fanned on a clearing attempt which ended up on the stick of Woitek Wolski, who set up teammate Marcel Goc for his sixth goal of the season just 13 seconds into the game. Florida made it 2-0 at the 02:21 mark of the first period, when Mike Santorelli beat Toronto goaltender James Reimer with a snapshot. For Reimer, Santorelli’s goal joined a long list of goals that he should have had and all but took away any chance of his team (who has struggled offensively of late) getting back into the game. Both Phil

Toronto Maple Leafs general manager Brian Burke has traded stay-at-home defenseman Keith Aulie to the Tampa Bay Lightning for power forward prospect Carter Ashton. Originally acquired in the Dion Phaneuf deal from the Calgary Flames, Aulie had two assists in 17 games this season for the Maple Leafs. After a good rookie season in 2010-11 with Toronto Aulie had fallen out of favor at times this season finding himself in the press box or with Toronto’s AHL affiliate more times than not this season. At just 22-years of age Aulie has a ton of upside. His 6’6”, 217 pound frame will be a welcome addition to the Lightning lineup as they are in dire need of a young, tough defenseman. In Ashton, the Toronto Maple Leafs get a former 2009 first round draft pick (29th overall) that plays a tough

With the trade deadline now in it’s final hours it appears as if Toronto Maple Leafs general manager would like to make a couple of moves, but given the lack of movement thus far, Burke may not be able to make anything of significance happen. A top-six forward (Rick Nash) and a goaltender (Evgeni Nabokov), look to be Burke’s biggest needs, but neither one of those players will be easy to pry away from their current teams. The names of Mikhail Grabovski (who is a UFA this summer), Clarke MacArthur (who has some value on the trade market) Nikolai Kulemin (who has struggled this season) and defenseman Luke Schenn look to be the three most likely candidates to be traded from the Maple Leafs, but don’t expect any of them to be had unless Burke’s asking price, which is likely

The recent signing of Ales Hemsky by the Edmonton Oilers brings to mind a quote from Forest Gump. “Stupid is as stupid does”, and the Edmonton Oilers look to have made a stupid move by signing Hemsky to a 2-year, $10 million deal. Hall of Fame forward Mike Modano let his feelings be known via twitter last night when he tweeted “2 yrs/10 million for Hemsky. Scored over 20 goals twice in 9yrs.. WTF..!!?”. Mr. Modano, I think you said it best and I must concur with your sentiments…”WTF..!!?” With Monday’s trade deadline fast approaching, there has been a lot of talk about Mikhail Grabovski’s future with the Toronto Maple Leafs. Initial reports indicated that Grabovski was looking for a long term deal that would see him make upwards of $5 million per season, which seemed out of line at

Fresh off the heals of acquiring Jeff Carter from the Columbus Blue Jackets for Jack Johnson and a conditional first round draft choice, Los Angeles Kings general manager Dean Lombardi is said to be facing cap issues and may be willing to deal captain Dustin Brown. Originally drafted in the first round (13th overall) of the 2003 NHL Entry Draft, Brown stands 6’0” and weighs in at just over 200 pounds. A gritty forward with a measure of offensive punch, Brown has registered 14 goals (including five power play markers) and 17 assists through 61 games this season. Brown has five game winners, which ranks him 15th overall and is a plus six on the season. While Brown’s offensive total’s are a little south of where they probably should be, he more than makes up for those shortcomings with defensively

There are times in an NHL season that your team really lets you down. The Toronto Maple Leafs continued their downward spiral on Tuesday night, losing a hard fought game to the New Jersey Devils by a final score of 4-3 in overtime. Maple Leafs sniper Phil Kessel tied the game with 44 seconds left in the third period, beating Devils’ goaltender Martin Brodeur with a slick wrist shot which eluded the future hall of fame netminder. Despite Kessel’s heroics,Torontowas unable to close the deal, as Devils’ defenseman Mark Fayne put a weak shot pastTorontogoaltender Jonas Gustavsson at the 01:18 mark of overtime. For Gustavsson, Fayne’s shot resulted in one of three questionable goals on the evening. Soft goals and poor positioning for their goaltenders and a lack of overall defense is killing the Maple Leafs chances of making the