It’s not very often that an NHL team gets a shot at selecting in the top-five of the NHL Entry Draft. If Toronto Maple Leafs general manager Brian Burke had elected to pass on  Phil Kessel and keep his first-round draft choice the Leafs would be doing exactly that, in fact, the Leafs would be drafting second overall. Recent reports from various news outlets suggest that Burke is in hot pursuit of the Columbus Blue Jackets’ first round draft pick, which would be the fourth overall selection. In order to get the Blue Jackets coveted first-rounder the Leafs would have to give up veteran all-star calibre defenseman Tomas Kaberle and perhaps a forward such as Mikhail Grabovski or Nikolai Kulemin—who has yet to sign a long term deal with the Leafs and is in the middle of a contract squabble.

Taken by the New York Islanders with the fourth overall pick in the 1997 NHL Entry Draft, Roberto Luongo was widely viewed by scouts and NHL general managers alike as a Can’t-miss prospect, who many expected to be a franchise goaltender someday. As Canada’s go-to goaltender, Luongo would win a Silver Medal at the 1999 world Junior Championships, taking Best Goaltender honors with him. Luongo made his NHL debut during the 1999-200 season with the Islanders. Hampered by a very thin team in front of him, Luongo struggled in his first season, posting a 7-14-1 record in 24 games played with a 3.25 goals against average and a less than stellar .904 save percentage. New York Islanders GM Mike Milbury drafted American goaltender Rick DiPietro with the first overall pick at the 2000 NHL Entry Draft, all but signaling that

Written By: Mark “The Hard Hitter” Ritter With the addition of the salary cap the NHL has seen a record number of players changing uniforms each offseason. The days of a player making one NHL team his home for his entire career are all but gone, in fact, more often than not, an NHL player can bank on switching teams upwards of five times. The Toronto Maple Leafs are no exception to these rules, there will be change this offseason, in fact, there will be plenty. Heading into the summer the Leafs will need to address numerous unrestricted free agents, including Garnett Exelby, Wayne Primeau, Rickard Wallin, Jamie Lundmark and Mike Van Ryn. Add that to a list that includes restricted free agents Jonas Gustavsson, Nikolai Kulemin, John Mitchell and Christian Hanson and you have a team that will undergo

Written By: Mark “The Hard Hitter” Ritter The Flyers have had what can only be called an up and down season thus far. Injuries, coaching changes and inconsistent goaltending have been the major factors behind the Flyers’ lack of success as has the teams overall chemistry, or lack thereof. No question about it, the Flyers number one priority this off-season will be bringing an adequate goaltender into the fold. Given the Flyers have a total of $48,610 (all numbers courtesy of nhlnumbers.com) already devoted to 16 players it will be tough for them to acquire said goaltender unless they are able to unload a large contract as part of a trade. Another issue facing the Flyers is the number of restricted free agents they have. Daniel Carcillo, Darroll Powe, Brayden Coburn and Ryan Parent are four players that will be

Written By: Mark “The Hard Hitter” Ritter Given the Philadelphia Flyers salary cap restrictions it will be tough for them to land a goalie via free agency this summer. In fact, landing a goaltender like unrestricted free agents Evgeni Nabokov, Marty Turco, Jose Theodore, Chris Mason or perhaps even Ray Emery will be next to impossible. Sure, there are quite a few “average” free agent goaltenders available next season (Dan Ellis, Marty Biron, Alex Auld, Vesa Toskala), but the Flyers have already lived the nightmare that is signing second rate goalies and paid the price. Simply put, the Flyers cannot make the same mistake again, they need to get a solid goalie next season. Perhaps the best way for the Flyers to address their goaltending woes will be to entertain a trade with another club, perhaps the Boston Bruins? The

Tomas Kaberle has a no-trade clause, this much we know. What we don’t know is just how close Toronto Maple Leafs GM was to trading Kaberle at today’s deadline. Both Kaberle and Burke know that Kaberle’s no-trade clause will be null and void once the summer roles around—assuming the Leafs miss the playoffs, which they undoubtedly will. In a news conference broadcast on TSN this afternoon, Burke stated that he was approached by Kaberle’s agent, Rick Curran, who “whispered in Burke’s ear” a couple of teams that Kaberle was interested in joining, teams he would be willing to waive his no-trade clause for a chance to play for them. True to his word, Burke has never asked Kaberle to waive his no-trade. That said, when a player of Kaberle’s clout and skill level asks you to explore a couple of