It has been another long off season for Ontario's Favorite hockey team missing the playoffs for the 5th straight year. Having all this time off has given Leafs GM Brian Burke a lot of time to fine tune his machine. From the starting line up, to the assistants behind the bench there seems to be a new vibe taking flight in the players and fans. I will be giving you a few predictions on how I feel this new and improved team will fair in the eastern conference.The mastermind (Burke) was up to his antics again in this years entry draft trading away picks 30th & 39th for Canadian jr heart breaker, Tyler Biggs. Time will only tell, but I feel this is a great move for the team. Burke is almost where he wants to be with his leaf team in my eyes. This off season Brian fired assistant coaches Tim Hunter and Keith Acton, leaving an opening for new coaches Greg Cronin and Scott Gordon to step in. Burke said "There needed to be a change, the bench was getting stale". Who couldn't agree more with that statement. It seemed like these guys were just walking in to their office, doing enough to get by, collecting a pay check and fucking off. Glad to see these bums off the bench. It's lack of faith that makes people afraid of meeting challenges. I feel a minor coaching change was needed to give Kessel a little more life and energy coming off the bench, and maybe he will be that 50 goal man we are all waiting to see. I'm very happy Brian Burke has stayed true to his word and kept head coach Ron Wilson. Nothing is friendlier then a wet dog, this is how most of leafs nation feels about the relationship with Wilson and Burke. Does no one remember this guy has 1400+ games and over 600 wins as an NHL head coach. By no means does this automatically give Ron Wilson a golden key to success. When your given seeds today and expected to produce fruit tomorrow, success will never come. Leafs nation needs to remember when Burke said he was re-building this torn apart franchise, I don't think he was joking. Just because he pre-maturely ejaculated all over Phil Kessel doesn't mean the re-build is off and we are in the play-offs.
So the top line is set, the play-offs are in sight...............Hold the fuck on, lets break the top line and supporting lines down before we go talking play-offs. It looks as if our top 2 lines are pretty much set in stone for the start of the season. Kessel, Connolly, & Lupul should get the nod in the 1st slot and Grabby, Kouly, and MacArthur sitting pretty on the 2nd line. This being said, doesn't mean the leafs wont switch first and second lines depending on the opponent that night. The Questions will be answered this season, "will Kessel ever be a 40-50 goal scorer". The leafs management brought in top line center Tim Connolly to support Kessel and Lupul in this upcoming season. I can see this line really turning some heads this year, of course that is if they all stay healthy. Knock on wood. They should have a real advantage on the PP having Connolly's versatility playing the point, and Lupul's ability to retrieve pucks on the end boards. Leaving our man Kessel wide open and ready to be an elite 50 goal man..The second line looks to pick up right where they left off last season with all players feeling secure and locked in to a leafs uniform until at least the end of the '11-'12 season. Grabovski, Macarthur and Kulemin were the back bone of Toronto's offense last season with the line combining for 172 points. For a line with low expectations they achieved a much better grade then critics would have given them from the start. I see this line not having as big of an impact as last season maybe taking a more suitable back seat type role (finishing with 150pts combined). Now to the most controversial line going in to training camp, because there really isn't a definitive solid 3 man line seen by the coaches. I'm going to play head coach right now and save us all an argument. I see the 3rd line shaping up like this; Nazem Kadri will crack the line up and make the 2011-2012 maple leafs roster. This kid is everything a leaf use to be, he plays with heart, he's highly skilled and I feel he has taken the proper guidance and steps from the AHL coaches and has matured into the player Brian Burke is going to hate. The kid takes risks and plays on the edge for a little guy. Which at times can put him in a bad position. I think Burke has finally prepared the team defensively for the" Kadri" type of player.You will see him on the Left wing to start the season. Joining Kadri on the right wing will be Colby Armstrong. If Armstrong can stay healthy for most part of the season look for the leafs to improve on their record. Last season the Leafs were 20-16-3 with Armstrong in the lineup and only a 3-11-3 record when he was hurt. If that is not an impact player I don't know what is. Now comes the tricky part, center. Tyler Bozak will never see the kind of ice time he saw last year and will only get the start on the third line if the newly acquired Matt Lombardi is still feeling the effect of his concussion late last season. I feel he will be ready and Lombardi will start as the third line center. The forth line should be Mike Brown on the right wing and look for Rosehill and Orr to exchange nights with in themselves on the left side.You can also never rule out the chance of a rookie making his debut. Now this is where I wish I could have been penciling in Tyler Bozak last season, on the 4th line center position
The defense has been built like the Berlin wall and defense wins championships. I'm not saying start up the parade plans but I think we are headed in the right direction with the new faces. (John Michael Liles and Cody Franson) Look for Komisarek to be the odd man out and maybe get a start early in the season to see if he can be the player he was. Here is how I see the defense man pair up.
Keith Aulie & Dion Phaneuf
John Michael Liles & Luke Schenn
Cody Franson & Carl Gunnarsson
Mike Komisarek
And then there was one. Well that is one man back, and that man will be Optimus-reim. He lead the team with his "never quit" attitude. The whole team really played hard for the rookie goalie when he got the call up. James Reimer finished last season with a .921 save % and a GAA of 2.6, and I feel this kid is the real deal. The one good move by John Ferguson Jr was putting some good goalies in our system. I will never give up on a goalie and that is why Jonas Gustavsson will be a great back up. Jonas hasn't really put up the numbers to be a legit #1, and at this point doesn't deserve the number 1 spot.With that all being said the Leafs may make the play-off in some sort of fairy tale way, but I don't see them finishing any better than 9th. The team has improved but not to the quality of the eastern conference. Every team that was in the post season last year has improved leaving the leafs on the out side, golfing again.
