In between making appearances in Afghanistan and the Pride Parade Toronto Maple Leafs general manager Brian Burke has been busy attempting to improve the Blue and White. Thus far, Burke has added centre Tim Connolly, forward Matthew Lombardi and defenseman Cody Franson via free agency and veteran defenseman John-Michael Liles via trade. While none of Burke’s acquisitions add up to a Brad Richards signing, there is reason to believe the Maple Leafs have been upgraded, at least on paper. Don’t get me wrong, with Lombardi and Connolly’s health concerns both players could end up on the shelf for parts of the season, that said, if these two guys manage to play the better part of the 82-game season the Leafs should show considerable improvement up front. As a member of the Buffalo Sabres, Connolly earned a 45.9% success rate in

While there is no guarantee that Dallas Stars forward Brad Richards will hit the free agent market there is no denying that if/when Richards does hit the free agent market the competition for his services will be fast and furious. Through 56 games with the Dallas Stars Richards has registered a total of 24 goals and 63 points, good enough for seventh overall in the scoring race and enough to make Richards a very rich man this summer. Unlike many NHL stars that are one-dimensional, Richards brings a unique combination of playmaking ability, goal scoring, defensive prowess and character. Richards ranks 15th in goals (24), fifth in assists, 24th in power play goals, tenth in shots (215) and a faceoff percentage that ranks him 41st in the league at a 51.4% success rate. Clearly, when it comes to this summers

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

While it is still very early in the 2010-11 NHL season there are already more than a few surprises in the overall standings. Teams that were supposed to be world beaters are sitting in the basement, while other teams that were supposed to struggle have come out flying right out of the gate and sit amongst the NHL’s best. Let’s take a look at the Ten Most Surprising NHL Teams Thus Far, for better, or for worse. New Jersey Devils: Ok, so not everybody thought the New Jersey Devils would be world beaters this season, but there sure were a fair amount of experts out there that were suggesting the Devils would be a contender for the Atlantic Division title and/or the Eastern Conference’s top team. Through 13 games the Devils sit dead last in the NHL standings with a

Three weeks and one calender month into the 2010-2011 NHL season, we’ve already begun to be able to pick out the surprises and disappointments of the year. Teams like Buffalo and New Jersey, two top-ranked teams from the Eastern Conference last season, have both struggled to get going and posted a combined 0-8-2 home record, while franchises such as Montreal, Boston, and Tampa Bay have burst onto the stage with a combined 20-7-2 record. Meanwhile, in the West, Nashville, Edmonton, and Dallas started out strongly but have faltered lately, while, on the other hand, youthful squads such as St. Louis, Colorado, and Los Angeles have already begun to prove their legitimacy. But how does the NHL look from a divisional standpoint? Which five-team groups have been the toughest to play in so far, while which divisions have struggled despite their

The NHL has issued a suspension of two games to New York Islanders defenseman James Wisniewski for making an obscene gesture towards New York Rangers ultra-pest Sean Avery during Monday nights game between the Islanders and Rangers. Now, as much as I do not support Wisniewski’s actions, given the fact that he gave the gesture to Sean Avery (who is a complete idiot at the best of times) one has to believe that the NHL may have given Wisniewski a little leeway. Where the suspension becomes laughable is when you consider the actions of Montreal Canadiens forward Michael Cammalleri, who, while provoked by New York Islanders rookie forward Nino Niederreiter during pre-season action, should have received a much longer suspension than just one game for taking a swing at Niederreiter’s face with his stick. So, in a nutshell, the NHL