Former Colorado Avalanche defenseman John-Michael Liles and the Toronto Maple Leafs will play host to the Avalanche tonight in what will surely be a close contest. It will mark the first time Liles will face his old team since being acquired from the Avalanche this summer. Liles has looked good early on, notching one assist and bringing an element of veteran leadership and offensive flare to the Maple Leafs roster. Despite a lot of pre-season predictions saying the Avalanche would struggle this season, the Avs have started the season with a 4-1 record. The Avs are a perfect 4-0 on the road thus far, their only loss coming at home to the Detroit Red Wings. Colorado goaltender Semyon Varlamov has been leading the Avs winning streak, posting a 3-1 record to go along with a stingy 2.17 goals against average

A quick look at the Toronto Maple Leafs roster and you just have to know that Maple Leafs general manager Brian Burke is looking to make a trade—especially on the backend. Burke acquired defenseman Cody Franson from the Nashville Predators this summer as part of the Matthew Lombardi deal. Franson spent the first two games of the season in the press box before finally making his debuts in Saturday nights 3-2 victory over the Calgary Flames. Franson’s early season absence speaks to the depth that the Maple Leafs have on defense, both at the NHL level and on the farm where Keith Aulie is playing with the Toronto Marlies. The emergence of rookie Jake Gardiner has also contributed to Burke’s “problem” as Gardiner has looked good thus far and, being a rookie, comes with a small price tag. Ideally, Burke

January 2nd, 1992—Toronto Maple Leafs general manager Cliff Fletcher pulls off what many fans of the Toronto Maple Leafs refer to as the best trade in Maple Leaf history, acquiring Doug Gilmour, Jamie Macoun, Ric Natress, Kent Manderville and Rick Walmsley in return for Gary Leeman, Alexander Godnyuk, Jeff Reese, Michel Petit and Craig Berube. Gilmour quickly made his mark with the Maple Leafs, winning the Selke Trophy and finishing runner up for the Hart Trophy after the 1992-93 season which saw the feisty forward put together the greatest season in Toronto Maple Leaf history, scoring 32 goals and racking up 95 assists for a total of 127 points. In the end, this trade was all about Gilmour, nothing more, nothing less. Jamie Macoun proved to be a serviceable defenseman for the Maple Leafs, while Leeman, Godnyuk, Reese, Petit and

In what can only be referred to as “shocking” news, Toronto Maple Leafs off-season signing Tim Connolly announced today that he expects to be out of the lineup for an extended period of time, or what is officially being referred to as “day-to-day” status. “I know it’s (the injury) been day to day for a while, but it’s a little more significant than originally expected,” Connolly said to reporters earlier today. When Maple Leafs general manager Brian Burke signed Connolly (30) to a two-year, $9.5 million (all currency U.S.) contract everyone involved knew there would be risks associated with the signing– especially when one considered Connolly’s injury-prone past. Despite the warning signs, Burke signed Connolly for better or for worse, and we are currently seeing the “for worse” part. Speculation has Connolly suffering from a neck injury or shoulder injury,

Unless you were living under a rock last season you would have witnessed the line of Clarke MacArthur, Nikolai Kulemin and Mikhail Grabovski dominating the NHL at times last season. The “Misfit” line as I like to call them, established themselves as a dangerous unit throughout the 2010-11 season, combining for an impressive 77 goals and 97 assists, for a total of 174 points on the season. The Misfits’ effort was good enough to emerge as the 11th most dangerous line in the NHL, not bad for a line that was often the Toronto Maple Leafs second line of attack. Perhaps even more impressive was this trio’s ability to play defense, emerging with a combined plus +18 rating, proving once and for all that despite the criticism and trade rumors surrounding these players that all three could play at both

Originally drafted in the Third round (62nd overall) of the 2010 NHL Entry Draft by the Toronto Maple Leafs, Greg McKegg looks to be head and shoulders above many prospects drafted before him, which is sure to have Toronto Maple Leafs general manager Brian Burke grinning from ear-to-ear. Projected as a complementary scoring winger by Hockey’s Future, McKegg looks to be exceeding expectations, notching 37 goals and 85 points in his draft year, followed by a 49 goal effort (92 points) in 2010-11. Through six games with the OHL’s Erie Otters this season McKegg has amassed a total of two goals and eight points, including a six assist effort against the Owen Sound Attack- McKegg received OHL Player of the Week honors for his efforts. As great as McKegg has been offensively over his career, his overall game still needs