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

James Reimer and the Toronto Maple Leafs will hit the ice tonight to face Sam Gagner and the Edmonton Oilers. Reimer and Gagner represent the NHL’s third and first stars of the week, respectively, as both players had huge performances with Reimer (who is expected to get the nod between the pipes for the Maple Leafs tonight) earning back-to-back shutouts against the Pittsburgh Penguins and Ottawa Senators, while Gagner pulled off an incredible eight-point game against the Chicago Blackhawks, followed by a three-point effort against the Detroit Red Wings. The Oilers enter tonight’s contest with a 4-0-1 record in their past five games, while the Maple Leafs have also gone 4-0-1 in that same five game stretch. With the Maple Leafs recent success the Blue and White have managed to put themselves into a playoff spot, occupying eighth in the

The Toronto Maple Leafs will have a couple of familiar faces in the lineup tonight when they face off against the Pittsburgh Penguins at the Air Canada Center. Both Colby Armstrong and John-Michael Liles are expected to be in the lineup Wednesday night, which should give the Buds an element of grit in the form of Armstrong and a shot in the arm offensively in Liles. Armstrong has suffered through a number of injuries this season, limiting him to just nine games. Meanwhile, Liles will be coming back from a concussion that saw him miss five weeks of game action. To the Leafs’ credit, they have found a way to keep their offense and power play hot in the absence of Liles, but the team has sorely missed the physical game that Armstrong plays for most of the season. With

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

Sunday Afternoon team Chara took on Team Alfredsson in what was supposed to be a fun-spirited All-Star event. For the most part, the players had fun, enjoyed themselves and put on a good show for the fans, but one incident will leave a bad taste in the mouths of many NHL fans and the fans of the Toronto Maple Leafs. With many players wearing microphones for the duration of the game the odd bout of questionable language was bound to be heard. That said, nobody was prepared for what Hartnell said after Maple Leafs defenseman Dion Phaneuf gave away the puck in his own zone, which led to a team Alfredsson goal when Henrik Sedin tipped one past goaltender Jimmy Howard at the 12:51 mark of the first period. Hartnell, who was added to the All-Star roster when several NHL

On January 25th the Toronto Maple Leafs announced they were signing veteran defenseman John-Michael Liles to a four-year $15.5 million contract extension, and with that announcement came more rumors that defenseman Luke Schenn was going to be on the trading block. We have already discussed the good, bad and the ugly of trading Luke Schenn, with the majority of Leaf fans feeling that, if the return was great enough, i.e.: a top-six forward, then Burke would have their blessing to trade Schenn—a player that was thought to be untouchable as little as last season. In the case of Schenn, at just 22-years of age, he has tremendous upside. To a team in need of a legitimate top-four defenseman with the ability to be a top-tier defenseman one day, Schenn offers hope that he can evolve into that stud defense-first D-man.