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I thougth he was in some of the practice footage of Dion's first practice...I assuemd he may be close to returning...then I hear all this "season is over' stuff. When they said his spot on Team USA was in jeopardy, I assumed they meant becasue he would be out of game shape from not playing...not becuase the injury was so bad. I'm pretty sure its a shoulder injury, and that hes still been skating so maybe he was just practicing in all the drills except for the ones that involve contact. An article in the star said that Burke originally stated that Komi would have to play at least 5 games before the olympics in order to play. If he is able to play in this next, it will be four games instead and Burke said he'd make an exception to what he said. Apparently he was supposed to see the doctor today, so i guess his olympics are riding on what they say to him.

man, I'm pretty sure chadd, like most sensible people, doesnt expect the leafs to make the playoffs this year. He was probably just pointing out that burke didn't actually say we were going to make the playoffs, but that he wants to and it is still his goal. Should this really be a surprise? Do you expect him to just come out and say, "Yea, our team is way shittier than I had hoped in september, and I've now pretty much fucked them over by sending the majority of our high picks away for the next two seasons." Burke, as long as he's been in Toronto at least, has been very indirect when addressing the media, especially in terms of trades. He's probably 90% sure that he will be a seller at the deadline, so by telling the media he has not decided yet if he will be buying or selling players is not lie, and it also gives the media the least amount of information possible about his plans this march. Hell, I'm not going to play in the NHL in my lifetime (or anywhere close for that matter), but whats wrong with saying I would really love to, and it's my goal to make it?

wow... kaberle looked real soft on that 2nd florida goal... most d-men would at least lay their stick completely flat on the ice if not drop to their stomach to block a pass. Totally killed our momentum/chances of coming back

While one can argue that Phil is a dynamic player, and that the draft picks were "expendable" due to the bozak, hanson and gustavsson signings, I have to say I too think Burke went the wrong path on that trade. The hope was that Toronto would pull a U-turn and come high in the ranking, thus giving Boston shitty picks for the next two years. However, the opposite appears to be happening, and it is highly possible that they could end up with the best player in the draft in Taylor Hall. Don't get me wrong, I think those three we signed plus kessel are all capable of coming into their own, along with hopefully Schenn and Gunnarsson. The Leafs, with the acquisition of a top-line centre for phil, could very well be a playoff team next year. My problem with this whole ordeal is that Burke, like you said, went with a half-ass, temporary rebuild. The whole idea of the new NHL is to draft while you are shitty to acquire top picks, then build around those guys, meanwhile the highest pick we taken since Clark could very well have been the one we gave to Boston. Sure, there have been years where top picks blunder, and sleepers end up being career players (i.e. 1995 - Aki Berg goes 3rd overall, P.J. Axelsson goes 177th overall), but with the amount of money and attention being put into professional hockey scouting, that is far less likely to happen. What I would have done (and probably taken flack for it) is let a team who can afford it sign Kessel. Sure, it would hurt to see him go, but not as much as it would hurt to see Taylor Hall go to the Bruins next year. Trade Kaberle for picks/prospects. YES, Kaberle is the best player on the team right now (IMO), and YES, what he delivers for the price of his contract is and outstanding bargain, but I feel like by the time the leafs are a serious playoff contender in a number (now likely larger than necessary) of years, Tomas will be past his prime anyway. In that sense, the young players we would have received for him would have been just budding into their full potential. Okay, I know it's far easier to look back now that Kessel has stopped performing and say I would have done this, I would have done that, etc, but I'm not a professional General Manager in the NHL. Brian Burke is. One would expect a man of his reputation to have had a little more patience and resist the Kessel deal for something that has far more probability of doing good for your team in draft picks. sigh.. atleast by the time the leafs are back in it, the stupid Blake and Finger contracts will be gone and done with.

I'm liking the vaughns and green and white bauers man... all around nice stuff

btw getzlaf isnt a free agent till 2013/14

good luck getting getzlaf. About the same chances as us landing Kovalchuck IMO. I think this offseason we re-sign poni, white, mitchell and stajan. I'd keep Stempniak and Kulemin if they play to their potential between now and march. We let go of Van Ryn, Exelby, Mayers and possibly Primeau, although I like the way he plays and has proven to be a valuable player for what we pay him. MVR Exelby and Mayers are taking up about 5 M right now, and Id expect Stajan and White to each be expecting a raise of ~2 M next year and probably at least 1 M for Mitch. It looks like Toskala is gone for sure, which is 4 Million in the pocket, but Gustavsson will likely be wanting a raise and we'll need a reliable backup next season. On top of the existing cap room, If we can negotiate some reasonable deals I'd say we only free up about 1 or 2 million in cap space, which according to thehockeygm.com leaves us with somewhere between 6-8 Million. So, if we want a new star player come next year, we'd better either find some cheap grinding forwards and 7-8th string d-men, or buy out Blake/Finger or both.

Nice! bout damn time. I think it would look nice without the "TML" shoulders, but w/e. Awesome game from Vesa and Komi tonight and a glimpse of brilliance from Phil to go along with it. Two thumbs up although that last minute scared the crap outta me

yea hes really been sharp lately.... if he can keep it up does burke trade him at the deadline for a nice return or keep him and re-sign? one guy on sportsnet was saying thers no way he is getting another contract in toronto... I wonder if Gustavsson is capable of being a #1 by next october

The snap shot I had with that curve on a stealth CNT has not yet been met by any combination of curve or stick. Bar-down glove side was like breathing.

Yea I'll agree with you there that Grabo and Poni seem to have found some chemistry. Hagman seems to be doing well no matter who's on his line of late.

I just finished cleanin my undies from the 2nd one

lmfao Orr tried to make the linesman give him a little more time in the fight and bowled him right over, then gets taken down by Parros.

well, to be honest I would commend him for being able to find something about their play that can be complimented other than fighting. I know it's an impossible argument to win, but i really do think the leafs will be fine. We seem to go through a slump every year in January.. I would much rather get it over with now. Every team was bad weeks/months, and I just love how quick people are to start saying things as extreme as what I've read on this page... NO talent left, Worst coach in history. Teams can win under shit management/coaching and they can lose with future hall of famers in the press box. I'm not saying they're playoff bound this year, but i still think it's far too early to say the leafs are done.

Clearly. Leafs may not have played fantastic after the alfredsson goal but that was also stupid, Michalek was clearly diving as he was out a few shifts later, a small cut shouldn't stop you from taking a penalty shot. What he did was smart, however it was kinda greasy. Alfredsoon scored a nice goal but the high stick should have been waved off. I didn't see the play but you should know that a player can't resume play while bleeding. yea, It looked like Schenn got him pretty badly right in the chops.. as for the goal, I personally believe it was a high stick but it certainly was not as clear as you are suggesting. The video angles they had were far from being conclusive and thus they went with the call the ref made on the ice - i have no problem with that. What i will say was a crappy call was making the Michalek play a penalty shot. Schenn looked less than 2 strides behind him to me.