Tonight’s game was a very entertaining game. Although these games are pretty much meaningless in regards to the Leafs, the role of spoiler, the entertainment factor, and seeing our youth get to play truly does make these games something special to see. The Leafs have been playing some great hockey as of late, and although their roster lacks talent, no one can argue against the fact they are putting up one hell of an effort. The player of the game without a doubt was Nikolai Kulemin. Is this kid ever turning out to be a dandy. Kulemin is progressing into a great 2-way player with an extreme offensive upside as we saw tonight, plotting the game winner.  Carl Gunnarsson is another young gun who is stepping it up and developing into one of Toronto’s top 4 defencemen. With the way he is playing, Kaberle is becoming more and more expendable. Another big moment in tonight’s game was the first goal for home town boy LUCA CAPUTI. Caputi has been putting on quite a show in his first few games as a Leaf, getting chance after chance. Finally tonight, in front of his family and friends, he potted his first with many more to come.

Up next the Leafs are home to the streaking Tampa Bay Lightning this coming Thursday. Giguere will most likely be getting the start and the forward and defensive corps look to be staying the same.

The Leafs (20-33-12) return home to face the Bruins (29-24-11) for the second time in less than a week. Will Phil Kessel break the curse?

Synopsis:

After splitting the weekend 1-1, the Leafs look to get a streak of some sorts rolling. They fell to the Bruins last week in the shootout, and Giguere had an OK game, but let in a softie to start off. Tonight, the Gustavsson gets the call and hopes to follow up Saturday’s win with another great performance.  The offense needs to start stepping up in order to compliment the defense.

Keys to Success:

• Monster: Just follow up with another strong start, that’s all he has to do. Simple, right?
• Power Play: 0-25. That’s horrible. Phaneuf was supposed to help the PP, and still can but I think our style is off. We have a hard time getting the puck into the zone and getting set up, so obviously something has to change there.
• Penalty Kill: Aside from giving up one against Ottawa Saturday night, and a few yesterday against Philly, our PK has been one of our stronger points as of late. Keep it up, and you only increase your chance of winning.
• Stay with them: Last game we were pretty much neck and neck, if not ahead of them. Thomas stole a point with his amazing goaltending. As long as we can match intensity, we should be able to win. Boston isn’t that great of a team, especially when…
• Marc Savard: Injured, out with a grade two concussion. According to Chiarelli, could be out for the rest of the season. Could be two lottery picks for Boston. Can’t say I predicted that at the beginning of the year, sorry Peter we’re not all fortune tellers.

News/Notes:

• Monster gets the start.
• New line combos: Offense Thanks @Jonas640
• Sjsotrom out for two weeks with a shoulder injury.
• Rosehill sent back down.
• Looks like Exelby will be scratched again. (Guess he only got playtime before the deadline to be showcased. Poor guy)
• Grabovski back into the lineup. Offensive boost? Hopefully optimistic, but won’t be surprised to see him in the giveaway column tonight.
• Puck drops at 7:00 EST on Sportsnet Ontario.

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Join in on some leafs related chatter at the LeafsCentral forums. Look for us under the username, leafswire.

PS: Anyone else upset Brent didn’t get a shot? Or that Ryan Hamilton hasn’t been called up either yet? Let us know below.

Synopsis: The day after a huge shootout victory for the Toronto Maple Leafs, the Leafs are right back at it visiting the Philadelphia Flyers. The Flyers are turning it on as of late and have  a 6-3-1 record in their last 10. Without looking it up, I cannot even remember the last time the Leafs won in Philadelphia. Philly is turning out to be just as bad as playing in Buffalo. However, after a confidence boosting win and a revamped line up, maybe the Leafs can pull out a W in tonight’s match up.

Keys to Success:

• Giguere – J.S. will need to perform like a superstar for the Leafs to have any chance in tonight’s game. Something simular to his first 2 shutouts as a leaf should get the job done.
• Physical Game – With sjostrom injured, Rosehill will be in the lineup for some added toughness against the fighting Flyers. Look for Orr or Rosehill to seek revenge on Carcillo after that last fiasco a few months ago.
• Kessel – Phil needs to continue where he left off from last night. Phil aka “Sens Killer” will need to show what hes got against a tough Philly blue line. He will simply need to produce on the score sheet if we are going to get the W.

News/Notes:

• Exelby presumed scratch
• Mitchell will play after last night’s cheap shot via Chris Neil
• Game time 7 pm et

For the latest updates, follow us on twitter here

The struggling Leafs (19-33-11) try to take advantage of Ottawa’s (36-25-4) flu-depleted roster.

Synopsis: The last time these two teams met, Toronto snapped Ottawa’s huge winning streak decisively. The game was a shutout for Giggy, saw Schenn blast two goals in, and Orr DESTROY Carkner. However, the circumstances have changed. Toronto’s roster is increasingly bare, and we may not have the firepower needed to win. The Monster gets the start tonight, hoping to play a little better than Giguere has of late.

Keys to Success:

• Monster: Has to play good tonight. We need the goalie to perform, especially with a lack of scoring.
• Rookies: The kids (Bozak, Kessel, Caputi, Hanson, Stalberg, Gunnarson, Schenn, Phaneuf) all need to step up and show that they’re going to take hold of this team.
• Keep up the good work on the PK. PP still needs work. Getter done boys.

News/Notes:

• Monster gets the start.
• Exelby is the presumed scratch.
• Ottawa’s scratches/roster moves will be announced at 6:30 PM.
• Puck drops at 7:00 EST on CBC.
• If you haven’t followed us on twitter yet, you can do so here

After tying the game up late, it was all for naught as the Leafs fell to the Bruins in the shootout.

Tonights game started with a little good old fashioned controversy. The TSN panel reported that Chiarelli commented during the day on the radio that he knew Toronto’s pick would be top 10, and turned down the same offer from another team. Apparently, people took offense from this and began to talk about how disrespectful this was. Well, heres some news for you. If you didn’t expect this, then your delusional. I won’t get into why, because that could take thousands of words.

The game tonight started off poorly. Ryder almost opened the scoring by redirecting a puck in with his skate. It was ruled no goal, but the goaltending wasn’t much better afterwards. Tons of bad rebounds, some scary puckhandling situations among other things set us back early on. Miro Satan was able to walk in and slide a weak one past Giggy. Luckily, we kept our effort up and Stalberg ended up bursting down the wing and sniping one past Thomas. Aside from that, Stalberg wasn’t that great tonight. Personally, I think he needs more time in the AHL but the roster is already bare as it is. Keeping with Stalberg, he lost the puck along the boards in the second, and Boychuk was able to blast one past Giggy.

After taking a double minor for “froughing”, Colton Orr accompanied by newly acquired Caputi found themselves in the box. After the time had expired, Caputi jumped out, caused a turnover and led the puck down the ice where he was credited with his first assist in a Leafs uniform. He bodied off the Bruins defender, and got the puck to Kulemin who sauced it to Bozak, and put it away. This made the score deuce-deuce. (Speaking of Caputi, we’re officially starting the Caputi Counter).

Third period saw some chances back and forth (most notably the Bruins missing two glorious chances), and later went to overtime, then a shootout. All three Toronto players missed (Kessel, Lundmark, Bozak) while Satan was able to strike for Boston. Credit Thomas for that, because he was solid during the shootout and game. We were able to steal a point, but lost both of them because we really lack offense.

I have to comment on the play of Lundmark and Sjostrom. I’m going to be honest. These guys seem to be like perfect third liners. A line next year of Lundmark Hanson and Sjostrom would be awesome. Speed and physicality, with the ability to chip in the odd goal. Ah, a third line that plays exactly the way it’s supposed to play. Sign Lundmark Burkie, getter done!

Dion Phaneuf: Given the ‘A’ tonight, and he played deservingly. Logged tons of ice time, played solidly and even had a good shorthanded chance. This trade is gonna be legendary years down the line. Mark my words.

As always, follow us on twitter here.

The day after the deadline, it is the rebuilding Leafs (19-32-11) visiting the 8th place Bruins (27-23-11). Puck drop at 7:00 pm et on TSN.

Synopsis: Coming off yesterday’s trade deadline both the Leafs and Bruins made some changes to their rosters. The bruins got rid of Morris and Bitz and brought in Seidenberg, while the Leafs let go of long time Leaf Ponikarovsky and Stempniak, while bringing in draft picks, Matt Jones, and highly touted prospect Luca Caputi. Tonight the youthful, rebuilding leafs look to prove themselves against a Boston Bruins team which is fighting for its playoff lives.

Keys to Success:

• Phil Kessel – Phil is one of our only top forwards right now, and he will have to go solo for the rest of the season. He has started to drift once again into a slump, and he needs a big game against his former team in his former building.
• Luca Caputi- Caputi will be making his Leaf debut tonight on a line with Hanson and Mitchell. Caputi’s dream has came true at a very early age to wear the blue and white. Hopefully he can come out energized and contribute right off the bat with a point or 2.
• J.S Giguere – Giguere had his worst game as a Leaf on Tuesday night. He will need to rebound and play great to give this weak Leaf team a chance against the Bruins tonight.

News/Notes:

• Caputi will wear jersey number 33
• JS. Giguere and Tim Thomas are tonight’s starting goalies
• Exelby is tonight’s scratch
• If you haven’t followed us on twitter yet, you can do so here

Today we’re gonna take a closer look at newly acquired prospect Luca Caputi who will step immediately into the Leaf’s lineup.

Right off the bat I like this guy – we share the awesome name of Luca. He’s my Italian brethren, and I look forward to cheering with him for World Cup 2010.. Enough with the silly stuff, and on to business. Luca clocks in at 6′2″, 184lbs and is currently 21 years of age. He definitely fits the Burke model, but will be encouraged to beef up and get closer to the 200lb mark. His game has been described as t hat of a power forward, “Has a nose for the net, solid offensive instincts, grit and versatility. Does his best work around the net.” via FSS. They also note his defensive game isn’t very impressive, and that he needs to fill out his frame. The most exciting part about Caputi is that he can score. Let’s take a look at some of his statistics:

2006-2007 with the Missisauga Ice Dogs (OHL) : 27 goals, 38 assists, 65 points in 68 games played.

2007-2008 with the Missisauga Ice Dogs (OHL) : 51 goals, 61 assists, 111 points in 66 games played.

2008-2009 with the WBS Penguins (AHL) : 18 goals, 27 assists, 45 points in 66 games played.

2009-2010 with the WBS Penguins (AHL) : 23 goals, 24 assists, 47 points in 54 games played.

In 9 career games with Pittsburgh (NHL) he has 2 goals and 1 assists.

He has also accumulated tons of PIM’s in his career, so hes a gritty guy.

Looking at his statistics, we can see that he has put up pretty good numbers, but most importantly hasn’t stalled – he’s plowed forward in terms of production. This is promising, it shows he has the drive to improve himself, and has been progressing as planned. Most people are torn on what his potential could possibly be, some say he could pan out to be a top six forward, some middle six, some say he’ll never stick it in the NHL. Personally, it’s most realistic to say he’ll end up a middle six forward, but being optimistic we can hope he’ll turn into a top six winger.

It’s obvious Burke and company like what they see from this young man, turning down draft picks for him. The reasoning behind this is that Burke felt that Caputi was ready for the big show, and less of a crapshoot than two draft picks. He want’s to accelerate Toronto’s retooling, and believes Caputi will help this greatly. There’s no denying that Caputi has a glorious opportunity in front of him, but what he does with it will determine his tenure in Toronto, and the quality of the Ponikarovsky trade.

Caputi will wear #33 tonight (was looking for Wendel’s 17, denied) and will skate with Mitchell and Hanson. Looking forward to tonight’s game!

Here are some videos of Caputi that will help you to understand who he is and what he does:

So thats our take on the newest Leaf prospect, Luca Caputi. Let us know what you think!

]]> http://leafswire.ca/2010/03/leafs-player-spotlight-luca-caputi/feed/ 0 http://leafswire.ca/2010/03/2010-leafs-trade-deadline-review/ http://leafswire.ca/2010/03/2010-leafs-trade-deadline-review/#comments Wed, 03 Mar 2010 22:41:13 +0000 Luca Vacca http://leafswire.ca/?p=537 At the end of the 3:00 deadline, the dust had settled and the Leafs were two forwards short, but laden with future talent. Find out everything that happened, including our analysis after the jump.

I don’t really know what to describe the day as. I could say it was a letdown, but then I couldn’t really have asked for more. I could say it was a success, but then who knows what could have been. These are the dilemmas faced by fans everywhere year after year, deadline after deadline. You could argue that the “deadline” wheeling and dealing began on January 31, 2010. That’s when the Leafs shipped out Stajan, White, Hagman, Mayers, Toskala, Blake in exchange for Phaneuf, Sjostrom, Aulie and Giguere. It’s clear Burke was unhappy about how the team was playing, and he wanted it to be “his team” so, he got rid of the incumbents and brought in his own lackeys, if you will. That’s kind of why today we saw minimal movement from the Leafs.

It began last night, while the Leafs were getting destroyed by the Hurricanes on the ice. Poni was sat out, and was subsequently dealt to playoff contender Pittsburgh in exchange for highly touted prospect Luca Caputi and veteran defender Martin Skoula. Many were initially puzzled by the deal, including myself. Burke cleared the air today, explaining they had an offer from another team (presumably LA, who later acquired Modin LOL) of a 2nd and 4th round pick. He declined that offer, and went with Pittsburgh’s instead because he was very high on Caputi, and tought of him as a player who could step into the lineup right away. Burke prefers a step in player now, as opposed to a draft pick 3-4 years away because he want’s to accelerate the RETOOL and not engange a REBUILD.

The second part of the deal, Martin Skoula, was a throw in so Pittsburgh could “make the body count work”. There were rumblings that he would be insta-flipped, and that was consummated this morning. He was dealt to New Jersey for a 5th round pick in 2010.

The next deal to occur was the trading of Lee Stempniak to “playoff contender, buyers extraordinare” for a 4th in 2010, 7th in 2010 and defenseman Matt Jones. I initially thought Stempniak could have fetched a greater value, based on some other trades we had seen earlier, but alas I was sadly mistaken. Still, a decent deal for someone who would have left after this season, due to his unrestricted status. Might as well get something, right?

Next, which was kind of surprising, was the trade of Joey MacDonald to the Anaheim Ducks. Also, very surprising was how Anaheim traded both Justin Pogge and Vesa Toskala today as well. In one fell swoop, Anaheim ridded themselves of our goaltending junk, and got some more. Anaheim is such a generous team, giving us a 7th in 2011 for the “Mac Attack”.

Last deal of the day, saw Toronto trade a 6th round pick in 2010 for Penguins prospect Chris Peluso. A defenseman, he’s in his last year of NCAA hockey. The exact reason for this trade is still a mystery to me, but I guess the organization feels as if they need depth at that position, acquiring both Peluso and Jones in trades today.

So there it is, a brief overview of today’s events. Look for a prospect spotlight blog on all prospects acquired today and perhaps a look at our roster going forward for the rest of the season. Hope everyone had a blast today, have a good night!

]]> http://leafswire.ca/2010/03/2010-leafs-trade-deadline-review/feed/ 0 http://leafswire.ca/2010/03/hurricanes-walk-over-leafs-5-1/ http://leafswire.ca/2010/03/hurricanes-walk-over-leafs-5-1/#comments Wed, 03 Mar 2010 04:16:58 +0000 Mark Teofilo http://leafswire.ca/?p=530

On the eve of trade deadline day, the Leafs were clearly rattled. They did not show up at all, and got walked on 5-1 by the streaking Hurricanes.It was the first game back after the long 2 week Olympic break, and the Leafs did not disappoint… they played like a team that hadn’t played together in 2 weeks. It was ugly. Whether it was due to fear of tomorrow’s deadline, or some other unknown reason, The leafs simply did not come to play. Everyone was bad, although newcomer Jamie Lundmark did provide some energy in the early get go and had numerous scoring chances. If he can play like this he can be quite the 3rd liner down the stretch for a rebuilding Leaf team.

Enough of the game, because no one really cares to be honest. Everyone is anxious for tomorrow, and I am at the top of the list. Not too long ago word broke out that Ponikarovsky’s days in TO are over. He is now a member of the Pittsburgh Penguins. In return we received prospect Luca Caputi, a Toronto native, and defencemen Martin Skoula. At first reaction I will be honest, I was shocked and disappointed to not see a draft pick coming back in return (at least a second), but after analyzing it a bit more, Luca Caputi can be a huge part to this organization in the coming years. He currently has 47 points in 54 games in the AHL and is doing way better then prospect Tangradi whom everyone projected to be way ahead of Caputi. I think Caputi will get a great look at this year in the Leafs lineup giving him the chance to prove what hes got. In regards to Skoula, the Leafs will try to flip him for a draft pick, and if that is not possible Exelby and perhaps Finger will be on the way out. We will have to wait until tomorrow.

The excitement is only beginning. Tomorrow lets hope for a great day for the Leafs and the NHL with lots of movement. The deadline is at 3 pm et.

Those who are at work or school or unavailable to watch TV for the latest news, follow us on twitter here for up to the minute trades as they happen.

Also check out our trade deadline preview post here, if you haven’t done so already.

GET EXCITED LEAFS NATION WE ARE LESS THAN 16 HOURS AWAY.

The pre-deadline Leafs (19-31-11) host the ‘Canes (24-30-7) tonight before their roster’s are presumably altered tomorrow.

Synopsis: Coming off the Olympic break, both teams are eager to get back into action. The question is, how many of tonight’s players will be members of their current clubs past tomorrow’s 3:00 PM EST deadline? Is tonight the final hurrah?

Keys to Success:

• Tonight’s game is hard to analyze in terms of what needs to happen in order to succeed. The last time these two teams played an NHL game was several weeks ago, and it’s hard to determine what needs improving to win. Instead, we’ll just hope to see a good game from the building blocks of the franchise moving forward. If Kessel, Schenn, Phaneuf, Bozak, Kulemin et al, have good games tonight, we’ll be happy.

News/Notes:

• Giguere presumably get’s the start.
• There’s a good chance a player who might be traded tomorrow is a scratch tonight. That being said however, we can’t scratch 5-6 guys; we’d have no roster to compete with. I see only Poni being scratched, and probably Finger as the usual defence scratch. Will try to update via twitter exactly what it is.
• If you haven’t seen our trade deadline preview, you can find that here.
• If you haven’t already, follow us on twitter here.

This might be a final game for a few players, so make sure to cheer hard (or not) for them. Cheers!