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

With trade rumors swirling that Toronto Maple Leafs general manager Brian Burke is looking to acquire forward Rick Nash from the Columbus Blue Jackets, Burke’s team was embarrassed by the Vancouver Canucks by a final score of 6-2 on Saturday night. You cannot judge the Maple Leafs netminding and defense based on one game, but when you consider the Blue and White currently sit 27th overall averaging 3.00 goals against per game there is plenty of evidence that this team needs to upgrade on the backend. A quick look at Toronto’s goaltenders reveals James Reimer is ranked 41st in goals against average (2.98) and 36th in save percentage (.903), while Jonas Gustavsson is ranked 37th in G.A.A. (2.85) and 34th in SV% (.906). Truth be told, neither one of these goaltenders has been all-world this season. That said, when you

With the NHL trade deadline just nine days away Columbus Blue Jackets forward Rick Nash continues to be in high demand by many NHL teams. The Vancouver Canucks, New York Rangers, Los Angeles Kings and Toronto Maple Leafs are said to be in the running for Nash’s services, along with the Philadelphia Flyers and San Jose Sharks. The Sharks and Flyers seem to be getting the least amount of press in the Nash Rumors, while Vancouver, New York, Los Angeles and Toronto seem to be the most logical destinations—all things considered. When evaluating what the Blue Jackets could potentially net in trading Nash one must consider Nash’s hefty $7.8 million salary which could potentially play havoc with any team Nash joins. According to capgeek.com, the Vancouver Canucks will have $407,359 available at the deadline. The Los Angeles Kings will have

TSN’s Bob McKenzie is reporting that at least two sources, (TSN’s French language sister station) reporter Renaud Lavoie and Columbus Dispatch reporter Aaron Portzline have reported that Columbus Blue Jackets forward Rick Nash is on the trade market. In order for any of these claims to be true, Nash, who owns a No Movement Clause, would have to give the Blue Jackets a list of teams he would like to join, which means, despite the trade rumors, Nash is very much in control of his future. Of course, just because Nash has presumably given the Blue Jackets permission to listen to trade offers, there is no guarantee that he gets moved. Clearly, a player with Nash’s impressive resume would command a large return, a return which few NHL teams are willing or able to offer the Blue Jackets. Let’s face

With the NHL trade deadline just four weeks away, plenty of rumors have surfaced, including the likes of Columbus Blue Jackets forward Jeff Carter joining the Toronto Maple Leafs. While no Maple Leaf players have been mentioned as possible candidates to join the Blue Jackets, the names of Clarke MacArthur, Luke Schenn and Mikhail Grabovski have been front in centre in just about every rumor involving the Maple Leafs. So, will Toronto Maple Leafs general manager Brian Burke attempt to land Carter? At first glance, Carter, who stands 6’3” and weighs in at just under 200 pounds, has the size that Burke so desperately needs down the middle. That said, Carter is hardly known as a physical player, which is what Burke needs most. A former first round draft choice of the Philadelphia Flyers (11th overall) in the 2003 NHL

On paper the Columbus Blue Jackets 3-2 loss to the Dallas Stars doesn’t look too bad. First of all, Columbus managed to out-shoot Dallas by a margin of 24-11 in the first two periods and 40-18 overall. Second, the Blue Jackets outhit the Stars by a margin of 32-20 and third Columbus did manage to capitalize on one of their five power play opportunities, but when you consider the Blue Jackets are now a combined 0-5-1 on the season, it’s time to start panicking, isn’t it? Long time captain of the Dallas Stars Mike Modano tweeted (@9modano) “Rick Nash please ask for a trade..!” after the Stars victory, leaving many NHL fans wondering if Modano is right—maybe Nash should ask for a trade out of Columbus? This summer, Columbus Blue Jackets Executive Vice President of Hockey Operations and General Manager