For those of you familiar with the Toronto Blue Jays organization you’ll remember a time when Blue Jays general manager Pat Gillick was referred to as “stand pat” for his long standing refusal to make a move at the deadline, or at least refusing to make a deal of any consequence. To all the haters, Gillick always contested that he would make a splash on the trade market when the right opportunity came around and not before, which is exactly what Gillick did when he shipped Tony Fernandez and Fred McGriff to the San Diego Padres in return for future Hall of Famer Roberto Alomar and home run hitting World Series Hero Joe Carter. The New York Times called the deal “one of the most stunning trades in years”, and deservedly so. Of course McGriff and Fernandez failed to live

January 2nd, 1992—Toronto Maple Leafs general manager Cliff Fletcher pulls off what many fans of the Toronto Maple Leafs refer to as the best trade in Maple Leaf history, acquiring Doug Gilmour, Jamie Macoun, Ric Natress, Kent Manderville and Rick Walmsley in return for Gary Leeman, Alexander Godnyuk, Jeff Reese, Michel Petit and Craig Berube. Gilmour quickly made his mark with the Maple Leafs, winning the Selke Trophy and finishing runner up for the Hart Trophy after the 1992-93 season which saw the feisty forward put together the greatest season in Toronto Maple Leaf history, scoring 32 goals and racking up 95 assists for a total of 127 points. In the end, this trade was all about Gilmour, nothing more, nothing less. Jamie Macoun proved to be a serviceable defenseman for the Maple Leafs, while Leeman, Godnyuk, Reese, Petit and

Ahh, the Stanley Cup Playoffs. A place where some players ‘bring it’, while others fall well short of the so-called “experts” expectations. Heading into the 2011 Stanley Cup Playoffs several reports were calling for Nashville Predators goaltender Pekka Rinne to have a huge playoff; others were a lot more realistic about his talent and the talents of the team in front of him. Rinne brought a career playoff record of 2-4 to go along with a marginal .911 save percentage and a goals against average of 2.68 into this years playoffs. Needless to say, with those kind of numbers it would be hard to suggest that Rinne was going to catch fire against an offensively explosive team like the Anaheim Ducks, yet there were still some reports out there that suggested Rinne would do exactly that. Through four playoff games

We are just twenty games into the 2010-11 season and already we have seen a number of players stepping up for the Toronto Maple Leafs and a few that need to pick it up. Over the summer Maple Leafs general manager Brain Burke made a number of acquisitions that, when combined with last seasons late moves, were supposed to turn last seasons 29th ranked team into a playoff contender. Injuries and a sub-par offensive attack have combined to thwart the Maple Leafs playoff aspirations thus far, but there have been a number of positives that point to the Blue and White having an improved season. Up front free agent signee Clarke MacArthur leads the team in points with 18, ranks second in goals (seven), assists (11), power play goals (two) and third in plus/minus at plus three. MacArthur signed a one-year

This weekend one of the best coaches in NHL history passed away after a long battle with cancer. While there is no question that hockey has lost a great coach, as good a coach as Pat Burns was, from all accounts he was an equally fine individual. As a lifelong Toronto Maple Leaf fan I can recall the announcement that Burns was joining the Leafs, I was estatic. For many, it was the turning point in an otherwise lethargic franchises lineage, for, in Pat Burns, we all believed our team would be better. Known for his hard work, ability to communicate with players, fairness and gruff demeanor behind the bench, Burns was the kind of coach that players would go through a wall for. Like a super star player, Burns was as much of an icon in Toronto as anyone, in

The 2011 NHL All-Star Game is only just over three months away, and as the young 2010-’11 NHL season ages by the minute, the All-Star Game grows closer and closer. This past week, the NHL opened up the balloting on their website, nhl.com, for all fans to vote for their favorite players. The ballot includes 100 players to chose from (53 forwards, 29 defensemen, and 18 goalies) but the ballot also includes a write-in vote. Under the new system, fans vote for three forwards, two defensemen, and one goalie per ballot, and the top six vote-getters will be automatically named All-Stars. There won’t be many concerns from the top superstars, though, even when they’re not voted in at first; following the voting, the NHL will choose 36 more players to name All-Stars. The NHL hasn’t released the leaderboard yet, but we