Monday, June 25, 2007

Leafs Looking Strong for 2007-2008 Season

Hello Folks,

After reading the editorials put forth by TheDarkRanger and his bias towards the New York Rangers I felt required to present a different point of view on the coming season...The Toronto Maple Leafs ("TML")

The TML had a great day draft over the weekend in Columbus. The Leafs went in and came out with 2 great players ready to contribute day 1 without losing anyone from the current roster.

Vesa Toskala (26 wins in 38 starts last season) will push Andrew Raycoft (38 wins last season) for the number one starting role. This platoon scenario has worked well in Carolina and Anaheim for the past couple of seasons with Lord Stanley as its prize.

Mark Bell had a couple of great seasons in Chicago and was a key part in the trade which landed Havlat in Chicago. Mark did struggle with the San Jose Sharks last season as he ran into some off ice problems prior to the begining of the season. Doug Gilmour has taken Mark under his wing and is a huge fan of this 6"4 220lbs power forward. I remember Cam Neely and Todd Bertuzzi taking several years to develop? The Anaheim Ducks took this model of big young Canadian players and won the cup just a short while later.

The TML are deep with offense and defense. I project a minimum of 6 20-25 goals scorers for next season. It will be difficult for teams to stop the Big Blue Nation rolling 4 lines.

Antropov Sundin Ponikarovsky
Tucker Wellwood Bell
Deveraux Stajan Steen
Belak Kilger Pohl

Kaberle Kubina
McAbe White
Gill Colaiacovo

Toskala
Raycroft


This is one deep team on paper and the Leafs if you believe the "rumor mill" will be landing a top six forward who can score via trade for a defencemen. The TML are also in the running for Captain Canada Ryan Smyth. I feel that Paul Karya would be a better fit on Sundin's wing and trade Kubina to Edmonton (looking for scoring D-Men) for Jeffrey Lupol/Raffi Torres/Stoll.

The TML have missed the playoffs for the past two seasons but will make it this year and be a serious contender for Lord Stanley!

Regards,

Leafs2007-2008

6 comments:

  1. May the Force Be With You and how dare you invade my land of Rangers?

    Ah, kidding aside, with all of the Maple Leafs coming to the site, I figured it would be well balanced to let TML post some comments.

    Looking good on paper doesn't mean a thing, as between 1995 - 2003, my very own New York Rangers looked terrific on paper and never made it more than that. Youth and high-priced All-Stars never made the right chemistry. So there.

    I actually have a dislike of the Leafs, so this should be interesting.

    Raycroft needs some competition, so with Toskala coming into the mix (a very good move by Toronto) it will raise the bar. Raycroft is an inconsistent, but very good goalkeeper and the number one spot is his to lose...

    The trades in general are so far-from-now, but it appears Toronto, Pittsburgh and especially the Blueshirts on Broadway made off with some damn-good picks.

    Hey TML, that's a mighty nice looking team ON PAPER....looking forward to the first match up of the season.

    More to come and welcome to the blog....KA -POWWWWWEY!!!!!! Tucker - again - hits the ice. Thanks Avery!

    tdr

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  2. Hey Leafs2007=8, I have 2 point out u r on a Rangers site so there isn't bias. the Leafs are a good team and will be a good team next year. raycroft is a good player. the rangers do suck. The devils achieved glor 12 years ago and this team has risen to the top.

    GoDevils!2007

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  3. I'll make a comment since I hate the Leafs like the Leafs hate winning.

    It would be nice if a Maple Leafs' fan could (a) spell his/her players' names correctly; (b) look beyond the paper to see how paper-thin the depth is of this team; and (c) realize that the current version of the Maple Laughs needs serious help.

    "[A] minimum of 6 20-25 goal scorers" won't help the Leafs one bit. Last season, they had five guys with more than 18 goals, and they still missed the playoffs.

    They need better defensemen, and less guys that turn invisible when the heat is on.

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  4. TML -

    Are you crazy? The Leafs had 3 players hit 20 goals plus last year. Sundin 27 in 75gp, Ponikarovsky 21 in 71gp, Tucker 24 in 56gp. When you consider Antropov hit 18 in only 48gp is amazing! Add Mark Bell to this list and cross our fingers that the injury bug doesn't hit the lineup and things look good. The TML have enough cap room and budget to bring in another top 6 forward. The Leafs are known for their depth at D and will try and swing a trade for another top 6 forward. How about Mcabe for Shanahan and Callahan?

    TML

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  5. I am pleased you know how to spell The New York Rangers players names correctly, as one is a world-class All Star and the other the youth of MSG and, most importantly, not for sale (trade).

    Don't mess with my Callahan or Girardi -- Shanny serves a purpose in NY in his later years.

    As far as McCabe...(correct spelling), watch this:
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ssOohskwZ7U

    We don't want 'em!

    tdr

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  6. McCabe for Callahan straight up is a deal the Sather wouldn't swing. And "Trader Glen" has never been one to shy away from an offensive, defense-phobic defenseman.

    Toronto needs to step back for three years and start developing players. The Rangers ran into the same problem about five years ago where they had nothing but aging stars. Now, guys like Callahan and Girardi have developed and the Rangers are picking up steam once again.

    See how that works? Tampa Bay develops their young players - they win a Cup. Carolina develops their young players - they win a Cup. Anaheim develops their young players - they win a Cup.

    Do I detect a pattern?

    ReplyDelete

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