Offseason Review: Maple Leafs

Well... Brian Burke certainly did not waste much time making the Maple Leafs "his" team. After finishing last in the league on the penalty kill mostly due to their porous defense, their defensive make up was in need of a change (too bad they cannot shed that atrocious Jeff Finger contract). It remains to be seen if Burke actually made the Maple Leafs better, but he certainly made them tougher.

The Leafs re-signed forward Mikhail Grabovski to a three deal. Grabovski was in his third year in the league, second with the Leafs, and put up 20 goals and 48 points on the season. He should continue to develop for Toronto and produce more in the coming season.

There have been many discussions about the Leafs apparent lack of scoring ability, but if you look back to last season they ranked 11th in the league (9th in the conference) in goals scored with 250. That is not exactly a lack of scoring potential. Yes, the Leafs lost Antropov in the trade with the Rangers (now in Atlanta) but the departure of him and Dominic Moore leaves more space for the Leafs younger talent to step in and show what they are made of. Let's be honest... Toronto is not winning the Stanley Cup this season. They do not have a team that is likely to get by Pittsburgh, Washington, or Boston in the East. Giving the younger kids time to play and show whether or not they are ready for the NHL would be another good step forward for a franchise was has not won a Cup in 41 years (second longest drought in the league). And with other 20 goal scorers such as Hagman and Blake still on the roster, the Leafs should be in decent shape going into the season.

Once dub as a future savior, Justin Pogge was shipped of to Anaheim for a conditional pick. Pogge never even came close to living up to the hype, but perhaps was throw into the fire too soon. After a less than stellar season it seemed as though the time was right, as Pogge did not seem mentally tough enough to play in Leafs Nation. Remember that trade that sent Rask to the Bruins for... Andrew Raycroft? Compared to Raycroft, Pogge was a stud.

Pogge became expendable once Burke got Swedish sensation Jonas Gustavsson's name on a contract. Nicknamed "The Monster" Gustavsson was said to be the best goalie in the world who was not in the NHL. He will start the season as Vesa Toskala's back up and will most likely be thrust into action as soon as Toskala falters... or has another trip to the IR. The Leafs have the potential to have an outstanding goalie duo if Toskala can stay on the ice and if Gustavsson can live up to the hype. The Leafs also chose not to re-sign veterans Gerber, Kolzig and Curtis Joseph, all of whose best days seem to be long behind them. To add to their goalie depth the Leafs signed Joey McDonald. He looked decent in spot starts down on Long Island and should be able to perform well if called upon with the defense he'll have in front of him.

If the NHL suddenly adopts Mutant League Hockey rules (great Sega Genesis game), they'll win a lot of games this season. Unfortunately, that is not likely to happen.

The Leafs had a huge defensive make over this off season. New faces on the blue line include Francois Beauchemin, Mike Komisarek and Garnett Exelby, who join a crowded defensive core that already include All-Star Kaberle, Ian White, Van Ryn Luke Schenn and Jeff "I still can't believe they paid me this much" Finger.

The three new comers added some much needed toughness to the Leafs line-up. Burke has gone on record saying he thought his team was too "soft" last season and imported some bruisers. Beauchemin is slick, probably under-rated, puck moving defenseman who knows how to use the body. Komisarek isn't going to light up the scoreboard but he's good at shutting down opposing team's offense and is feisty... sometimes dirty. Combining the new acquisitions with stand out Kaberle and young star in the making Schenn should greatly improve the Leafs penalty kill and perhaps generate more scoring chances on the rush. Toskala must also be thrilled, as the chances of him facing 100+ shots a night have now greatly diminished.

Toronto fans to also look forward to a lot of this when Boston comes to town:


The Leafs also signed Colton Orr, a forward who is not afraid to drop the gloves or use the body. With Orr on the ice, opposing teams will constantly have to be on the look out, unless they want to end up like Lindros. Orr is usually the first to step in for a team mate as well. Going with the theme here, Leafs Nation can also look forward to a lot of this:


The rest of the Northeast division might want to take notes to skate with their heads up as they cross the neutral zone.

Toronto also acquired Wayne Primeau in a trade. Primeau is way past his prime (if he ever really had one) but may be able to provide some more veteran leadership for the younger forwards.

Burke tried hard at the draft to trade up in order to re-unite the Schenn brothers, but ultimately was not able to. The Leafs instead drafted Nazem Kadri. Kadri has shown a lot of offensive potential and a willingness to play the defensive side of his game. Some scouts say he may be ready to step into the NHL right away, but regardless he will be a player to pay attention to in Toronto in the near future.

Toronto will definitely be more competitive this season. They are a lot more physically imposing and on some nights may just wear their opponents down. After finishing 12 points out of the playoffs last year, the Leafs may need a little more to get over that hump, but they are a team on the rise and will be interesting to watch.