Toronto Maple Leafs

May 13, 2013; Boston, MA, USA; Toronto Maple Leafs left wing Joffrey Lupul (19) keeps the puck away from Boston Bruins defenseman Zdeno Chara (33) during the first period in game seven of the first round of the 2013 Stanley Cup Playoffs at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Greg M. Cooper-USA TODAY Sports The Toronto Maple Leafs had an excellent chance of getting at least one player in the semi-finals of the EA Sports NHL 14 Cover Vote, but it was not to be. Joffrey Lupul and James van Riemsdyk were both in the final eight of the contest, but neither moved on to the next round. Lupul was defeated by Pavel Datsyuk of the Detroit Red Wings and van Riemsdyk was beaten by Martin Brodeur of the New Jersey Devils. The Leafs were the only team to have two players that made it all the way to the last eight. However, getting by the popular Datsyuk and Brodeur was too much to overcome. The semi-finals now has Datsyuk taking on Brodeur in the one matchup, and John Tavares of the New York Islanders going up against everybody’s favourite goalie Sergei Bobrovsky of the Columbus Blue Jackets in the other. You can have your say on who makes it to the finals by voting up until May 26th at covervote.nhl.com. One lucky voter will win a trip to a 2013 Stanley Cup Final game.

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Over the course of the year I have been tracking the Leafs goals in a spreadsheet, largely for the purpose of looking at primary/secondary assists but also for tracking situational statistics. It was through this spreadsheet that I noticed the most amusing fact of the season; that Tyler Bozak finished the year never having had [more…]

May 13, 2013; Boston, MA USA; Toronto Maple Leafs right wing Phil Kessel (81), defenseman Cody Franson (4), center Nazem Kadri (43) and defenseman Jake Gardiner (51) celebrate a goal during the third period in game seven of the first round of the 2013 Stanley Cup Playoffs against the Boston Bruins at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Bob DeChiara-USA TODAY Sports It’s been almost a week now since the Toronto Maple Leafs made a disastrous exit from the 2013 Stanley Cup playoffs. Although the wounds have surely not yet healed for fans, hopefully the sting is at least not quite as bad. As difficult as blowing a three-goal lead with just over 10 minutes to play was to handle, that small stretch shouldn’t define the entire season for Toronto. Now that we have had a little time to digest everything that has transpired in this lockout shortened season, let’s look at what we’ve learned. Can we please stop worrying about James Reimer now? If Reimer didn’t silence his critics after his first round performance against the Boston Bruins, he probably never will. He just about won games 5 and 6 on his own, and was spectacular through most of the series. Sure his rebound control was suspect at times, but that means he’s at least making the first save more often than not. Reimer had a .924 save percentage this season and has a career record of 53-32-14. For some reason the expectations for Leaf goalies seems to be astronomical these days, but based on the play between the pipes in recent years, fans and everyone in the organization should gladly take Reimer’s numbers any day. Kessel, Lupul, and JVR are bona fide point producers Phil Kessel finished in the top 10 in National Hockey League scoring for the second straight season and showed he is more than just a scorer. He had 32 assists in 48 games and proved he has some slick passing ability. After a strong playoff against his former team, the Tyler Seguin nonsense and comparisons should be a non-issue. Joffrey Lupul proved he can be a consistent producer and emotional leader if he could only stay healthy. His 18 points in 16 games would have equated to a 92-campaign over 82 contests, which would have led the squad. Not only did Lupul put up points, but he was able to score on some great individual rushes that changed the momentum in games. As for James van Riemsdyk, his 18 goals made just about everybody forget about Luke Schenn. With JVR’s skill set and hands, something tells me that trade is just going to get better over time. Leafs have found a solid top four on the blue line If the last few games of the Bruins series taught us anything, it’s that Dion Phaneuf, Carl Gunnarsson, Jake Gardiner, and Cody Franson make up a solid top four. Phaneuf has his critics and one of them has been me on a regular basis, but there aren’t too many defenders who could have done what he did this season. He and Franson both finished in the top 10 in defensive scoring, and Phaneuf averaged over 25 minutes a game playing against the opponent’s best forward group every night. Everyone remembers that bad pinch that cost Toronto Game 4, but overall his play had more of an impact in 2013. If only he wasn’t making $6.5M a year. Gardiner showed what he can do with increased playing time during the playoffs, so hopefully Randy Carlyle sees that once and for all. Then again it is Carlyle, and it felt like he thought Mike Kostka was the second coming of Chris Pronger this season. Who knows what he will have up his sleeve next year. Nazem Kadri has a chance to be great Kadri had a breakout year with 44 points and showed signs that he can be one of the NHL’s best, but he isn’t there yet. He has the skill set to be a top 10 player in this league and if he keeps on developing at this pace, he soon will be. What was perhaps more impressive than his points in 2013, was they way he improved his defensive game. He averaged less than a giveaway per game this year and finished second on the Leafs with a rating of plus-15. These are

The Marlies are on the ropes against Grand Rapids after a 4-1 loss last night in Michigan. They’re down 3-1 in their series headed into tonight. If they can take Game 5, the series would come back to Toronto for Games 6 and 7, so you never know. Also on the upside, Carter Ashton has [more…]

May 12, 2013; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Toronto Maple Leafs center Joe Colborne (32) controls the puck against the Boston Bruins during game six of the first round of the 2013 Stanley Cup playoffs at the Air Canada Centre. The Maple Leafs beat the Bruins 2-1. Mandatory Credit: Tom Szczerbowski-USA TODAY Sports The Toronto Marlies will attempt to tie their series at 2-2 when they take on the Griffins tonight in Grand Rapids. The Marlies dropped a close 5-4 decision on Wednesday night to fall behind in the series. The next two games will be played in Grand Rapids, so if the Marlies want to send the series back to Toronto they have to win at least one of those. The Marlies had some additional help for Game 3 as Joe Colborne and Ryan Hamilton returned from the Toronto Maple Leafs. Colborne was held off the score sheet, but Hamilton was able to find the back of the net in a losing cause. Spencer Abbott also returned from an injury he suffered in the opening round. He chipped in with a goal and an assist. The rest of the series could very well come down to special teams and in that area the Marlies would seem to have the edge. As we have been accustomed to seeing under coach Dallas Eakins, Toronto’s penalty kill leads the AHL in the post-season with a rate of over 90%. The Griffins on the other hand are operating with a power play at just 16.2%. If the Marlies can exploit this matchup, look for them to get back in the series.