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

With Chris Drury expected to accept a buyout from the New York Rangers on Friday, New York looks to be positioning themselves to take a good run at the NHL’s premier free agent, Brad Richards. Richards is expected to have as many as 20 different NHL teams interested in him, but in the end there are only a few teams that have the cap room and competitive roster in place to attract the likes of Richards. At 31-years old Richards is no spring chicken. That said, there is no other free agent player in the class that Richards is. That is why Richards is expected to garner a contract in the $6.5-$8.0 million range with a term as high as nine years. Richards looks to be set on playing for a Stanley Cup contender, regardless of the money thrown at

With my Eastern Conference playoff predictions out of the way, it’s time to set my sights on the Western Conference. Parity is alive and well throughout the NHL, but nowhere is it more apparent in the Western Conference where the difference between fifth and tenth place was just five points. Looking at the four Western Conference matchups there is not much to choose between most of the teams, that said, a few favorites should emerge, with the Vancouver Canucks and Detroit Red Wings garnering a lot of attention from poolies and fans alike. With all this in mind, let’s take a look at the first round matchups and how it should all pan out. (1) Vancouver Canucks Vs. (8) Chicago Blackhawks Given the fact that the Chicago Blackhawks have ended the Vancouver Canucks playoff drives in each of the past

With only a few more games to be played before the NHL starts it’s playoffs, there are a few teams that are emerging as the definitive favorites to win the Stanley Cup. Goaltending is often key to a teams playoffs success, that said, the Chicago Blackhawks took home Lord Stanley’s Cup last year—even with inconsistent goaltending from Antti Niemi. Power play and penalty kill success also comes into play, as does a teams ability to gel at the right time. With all this in mind, let’s take a look at the NHL’s eight most dangerous playoffs teams of 2010-11. Philadelphia Flyers: Key Stats: Current Record: 46-22-10 (102 points)—Second in Eastern Conference GF: 245 GA: 207 Diff: +38 PP: 16.4% (20th overall) PK: 83.8% (Ninth overall) Key Players: Mike Richards (F) Jeff Carter (F) Chris Pronger (D) Sergei Bobrovsky (G) The

Quietly, Toronto Maple Leafs general manager is righting the wrongs that he made in off-seasons past. Gone is veteran defenseman Francois Beauchemin, as is speedy forward Kris Versteeg, with a real possibility of more changes to come. At Monday nights press conference Burke announced that the Maple Leafs would receive the Philadelphia Flyers first and third round draft choice in 2011 in return for Versteeg. Along with that announcement Burke stated that he already had the Flyers third round draft choice in play in hopes of landing another forward to help fill the void left by Versteeg. When you look at next years payroll the Maple Leafs have a total of 12 players under contract at a cap hit of $35,170,000. That leaves Burke with $24,230,000 with which to sign ten players, one of which must be a top six forward,

The Time for Toronto Maple Leafs general manager Brian Burke to trade Tomas Kaberle was never better than last summer. Void of his no-trade clause, Kaberle was susceptible  to a move but Burke failed to pull the trigger on a deal, suggesting the returns being offered up by opposing GM’s were underwhelming. Given the lack of interest in Kaberle from NHL circles, Burke happily held onto Kaberle, where he has watched his veteran defenseman have an ordinary season on a team that has once again fallen short of expectations. Even with Kaberle struggling at times this season, in a league with few defenseman that can play upwards of 25 minutes per night, make a terrific outlet pass, run the power play and play with poise, Kaberle is expected to be sought after by several NHL teams. The Boston Bruins, New