With the trade deadline now in it’s final hours it appears as if Toronto Maple Leafs general manager would like to make a couple of moves, but given the lack of movement thus far, Burke may not be able to make anything of significance happen. A top-six forward (Rick Nash) and a goaltender (Evgeni Nabokov), look to be Burke’s biggest needs, but neither one of those players will be easy to pry away from their current teams. The names of Mikhail Grabovski (who is a UFA this summer), Clarke MacArthur (who has some value on the trade market) Nikolai Kulemin (who has struggled this season) and defenseman Luke Schenn look to be the three most likely candidates to be traded from the Maple Leafs, but don’t expect any of them to be had unless Burke’s asking price, which is likely

The recent signing of Ales Hemsky by the Edmonton Oilers brings to mind a quote from Forest Gump. “Stupid is as stupid does”, and the Edmonton Oilers look to have made a stupid move by signing Hemsky to a 2-year, $10 million deal. Hall of Fame forward Mike Modano let his feelings be known via twitter last night when he tweeted “2 yrs/10 million for Hemsky. Scored over 20 goals twice in 9yrs.. WTF..!!?”. Mr. Modano, I think you said it best and I must concur with your sentiments…”WTF..!!?” With Monday’s trade deadline fast approaching, there has been a lot of talk about Mikhail Grabovski’s future with the Toronto Maple Leafs. Initial reports indicated that Grabovski was looking for a long term deal that would see him make upwards of $5 million per season, which seemed out of line at

Fresh off the heals of acquiring Jeff Carter from the Columbus Blue Jackets for Jack Johnson and a conditional first round draft choice, Los Angeles Kings general manager Dean Lombardi is said to be facing cap issues and may be willing to deal captain Dustin Brown. Originally drafted in the first round (13th overall) of the 2003 NHL Entry Draft, Brown stands 6’0” and weighs in at just over 200 pounds. A gritty forward with a measure of offensive punch, Brown has registered 14 goals (including five power play markers) and 17 assists through 61 games this season. Brown has five game winners, which ranks him 15th overall and is a plus six on the season. While Brown’s offensive total’s are a little south of where they probably should be, he more than makes up for those shortcomings with defensively

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

There has been a lot of talk lately about the future of both of the Toronto Maple Leafs goaltenders. Jonas Gustavsson is an unrestricted free agent this summer which brings into question whether or not Maple Leafs general manager Brian Burke will attempt to re-sign the Swedish goaltender, while James Reimer’s future with the Toronto Maple Leafs has been slightly compromised due to injuries and some sub-par numbers this season. Brought over from Sweden via free agency, Gustavsson has amassed a record of 38-40-12 through 97 career starts, including a 16-12-1 record this season. Gustavsson’s rookie season saw his post a 16-15-9 record, but he struggled in his second season, amassing a paltry 6-13-2 record. A heart ailment and the death of both of his parents were key factors in Gustavsson’s struggles. That and a change in goaltending style that

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