There have been a number of controversial NHL trades over the years. The deal that sent Wayne Gretzky from the Edmonton Oilers to the Los Angeles Kings immediately comes to everyone’s mind, while others remember the Joe Thornton trade that saw Jumbo Joe traded from the Boston Bruins to the San Jose Sharks. In their own way, each trade changed hockey. In Los Angeles, Gretzky put the Kings on the hockey map, while in San Jose, Thornton lifted the franchise from also-ran into perpetual Stanley Cup contender. While not on the same level, the deal that saw Phil Kessel traded from the Boston Bruins to the Toronto Maple Leafs has also been deemed highly controversial—especially here in Toronto where, prior to this season, many Maple Leaf fans deemed the trade to be a disaster. On September 9th, 2009, Toronto Maple

The Toronto Maple Leafs continued their charge towards a playoff birth, defeating the always tough Boston Bruins in their own barn by a score of 4-3 in a shootout. The game was a chippy affair, complete with some pretty offensive plays, a nice tilt between Milan Lucic and Jay Rosehill and a tremendous shootout winner from Leafs rookie Nazem Kadri. To be fair, there were several hero’s last night for the Maple Leafs, including the likes of Joffrey Lupul who scored two goals (one of which was on the power play) and registered an assist on the opening goal of the night. Luke Schenn, James Reimer and Phil Kessel (two assists on the night) also had good games in their own way, helping to lift the Maple Leafs within five points of the eighth place Buffalos Sabres who occupy the

The Globe and Mail is reporting that Toronto Maple Leafs general manager Brian Burke has given Maple Leafs’ head coach Ron Wilson a vote of confidence by stating that Wilson will be back behind the bench for the 2011-12 season. “I said back in the fall, we would not consider a change, even when all the hounds were baying,” Burke told The Globe. “I feel the same way now. Ron is coaching this team next year.” Burke’s comments did not come without its fair share of criticism from the Leafs Nation, many of whom feel that Wilson has overstayed his welcome with the Blue and White. The Leafs Nation’s main point of contention seems to be Wilson’s inability to elevate the Buds special teams to “respectable” as, under Wilson’s guidance, the Maple Leafs power play and penalty kill have been

For the fans of the Toronto Maple Leafs, it appears as if their beloved Buds will be on the outside looking in when the 2010-11 Stanley Cup Playoffs roll around. While a few key players stand out, there is plenty of blame to go around when it comes to determining why the Blue and White will be missing the playoffs…again! Let’s take a look at the top 10 reasons the Maple Leafs will not be playing in this years playoffs… Poor Goaltending: When the 2010-11 season began just about every Maple Leaf fan felt it was only a matter of time until Jonas “The Monster” Gustavsson would overtake J.S. Giguere as the Blue and White’s number one goaltender. Instead, Gustavsson struggled all season long while Giguere was equally inept on more nights than not. If not for the spirited efforts

With the 2010-11 season winding down it appears as if our beloved Toronto Maple Leafs will be hard pressed to make the playoffs. For the fans of the Blue and White, the fact that the team is not making the playoffs is hardly out of the ordinary, what is different this season is that there appears to be a number of players that deserve being mentioned as the teams’ Most Valuable Player. Prior to the first puck drop in October most Leaf fans were looking for Dion Phaneuf, Jonas Gustavsson or Phil Kessel to be the team MVP’s. Hard luck, inconsistent efforts and ailments have conspired to eliminate all three from the conversation, although Phaneuf has been lights out of late. A quick look at the points leaders shows Phil Kessel as the teams goal scoring leader (29) and points

With the 2010-11 NHL season winding down and with the Toronto Maple Leafs looking like they will once again miss the playoffs, Maple Leafs general manager Brian Burke has some tough decisions to make with regards to the roster he wants to send over the boards for the 2011-12 season. While it is tough to speculate on which players Burke will bring into the fold via free agency this summer, there are more than a few players within the organization that appear to be on their way out. With that in mind, let’s take a look at Seven players that will not be wearing the Blue and White of the Toronto Maple Leafs next season. J.S. Giguere, Goaltender, Toronto Maple Leafs: When Brian Burke traded for J.S. Giguere it was thought that he could help bring along goaltending prospect Jonas