March 3rd trade deadline looms...

One of the most exciting times of the year for any NHL fan is the trade deadline. Expectations are at an all-time high and no one really knows exactly what is going to happen...unless you are a team that sits 15th place in your respective conference.

Ah yes, the Toronto Maple Leafs, without a first round selection (for the next two seasons) sit in that very lowly position. While Taylor Hall and Tyler Seguin continue to build on stellar seasons in the OHL, and Peter Chiarelli waits in the shadows in anticipation of nabbing one of these two fine prospects at the draft, Burke and Nonis (along with the rest of the managerial squad) prepare for a very pivotal trade deadline.

It's pivotal for one simple reason really - future. Yes, Maple Leaf fans have been talking about 'building for the future' since Fletcher came on board, but with Burke assembling his team in the summer time and now it falling flat on it's face due to what appears to be a lack of high-quality talent (who would have known!?) he'll need to do what's best to position this team for future success by any means necessary.

Burke has no safety-net any longer in Leaf Land. He gambled on Kessel at the start of the year in favour of his draft picks. Had he not traded his first round picks, Maple Leafs fans would be more than willing to put their feet up and wait for the entry-draft to roll around. The only reason the mobs have died down in recent weeks is because Burke landed a potential corner stone defender in Dion Phaneuf for a relatively low price -- thank god for that. But Burke can not afford to let his own ego get in the way of doing what is necessary at the deadline.

The worst thing Burke can do at this deadline is worry about where that pick will end up, and try to acquire useless veteran talent at the expense of more future. Burke has already dealt away some pending UFA's in the Phaneuf deal, but he still has a few on the roster that he can parlay into draft choices that he currently does not have.

Alexei Ponikarovksy is their main chip in play, and as mentioned by Darren Dreger about a week ago, there have been offers of a 2nd round pick and a prospect. Who the prospect is could be anyone from a future career AHL'er to a top-line talent, realistically the prospect probably falls in between those two types of players.

Behind Ponikarovsky are Lee Stempniak, Wayne Primeau and Garnet Exelby who all should be able to bring back some sort of draft selection at the deadline ranging from a 3rd round picks to 6ths. And make no mistake about it, all three of those players should be dealt as they are all replaceable.

Other UFA's such as Rickard Wallin, Mike Van Ryn, and Jonas Frogren have minimal trade value at best. Wallin hasn't been impressive in any specific category, although his play was picking up towards the Olympic break, Van Ryn is on long-term injury reserve, and Frogren has been AHL bound all season.

But after the obvious main targets who else is left that would have any market value? Tomas Kaberle is a name well known in trade circles, but his NTC is in effect until he wants to lift it. Media reports state it won't be lifted, but others believe it just may be a case of him wanting to hold off until the Olympics are done, so that it doesn't cast a shadow over him and Burke until the games are finished (Czech's were already knocked out).

Mikhail Grabovski is another name that could be on the move at deadline time if the right deal presents itself. He showed last season he can produce in a 2nd line role at the NHL level. Likely, he tops out as a 20-25 goal, 50-60pt player maybe hitting 60pts with the right team. Burke has been adamant about having Bozak develop in a second line spot, so that may spell the end of Grabovski's tenure in Toronto if they can find a willing trade partner.

All of these are viable options at the deadline, with a few potential surprises possibly thrown into the mix. If Burke can move all of the UFA's for draft selections and/or prospects then I'd say it will be a successful trade deadline for him. Regardless of what does happen, it should be a very interesting March 3rd for the entire NHL, as teams load up their respective rosters for a long playoff run.

Aulie out with season ending surgery

As mentioned in a previous blog, it looks like defender Keith Aulie will miss the remainder of the season due to shoulder surgery.

Unfortunate end for his rookie season in the AHL.

Maple Leafs Top 20 prospects, Spring 2010

Nazem Kadri remains atop of the Maple Leafs prospects list and Carl Gunnarsson rockets up the charts in the 2010 spring update of the Maple Leafs Top 20 prospects. Newly acquired prospects Keith Aulie and Philippe Paradis also make their debut in the top 20.

The article can be found here

Prospect Information: D - Keith Aulie injured

Unfortunately, the 20-year-old's time with the Marlies, at least for this season, will be cut short due to an injury suffered Friday night.

Aulie fell into the boards after being tripped up by forward Michael Grabner of the Manitoba Moose, and subsequently injured his shoulder.

Aulie's shoulder will require surgery, and the time frame for recovery is uncertain at this point.

Maple Leafs claim Jamie Lundmark from Calgary

While the 'Olympic trade deadline' came and went with the Maple Leafs standing pat, they weren't entirely inactive.

On Saturday the Maple Leafs claimed forward Jamie Lundmark from the Calgary Flames. Lundmark is a 29-year-old forward who is in his 5 season in the NHL. Once a highly regarded prospect, taken 9th overall in the 1999 draft, Lundmark has been unable to establish himself as anything more than a reserve forward.

He has four goals and five assists in 21 games this season with the Flames.

On the surface, many question why a claim for Lundmark was made. But looking a bit deeper, it seems it could be a move to satisfy the roster once play resumes in the NHL. The trade deadline is March 3rd, and with the Maple Leafs having four pending UFA forwards, they could be short in capable NHL bodies after the deadline.

Lundmark's contract also expires at years end and unless he can provide the secondary offense he's been unable to provide so far in his career, he'll be a player that walks on July 1st.

What's next for the Maple Leafs?

New faces Dion Phaneuf and J-S Giguere are set to debut for the blue and white tonight against the New Jersey Devils. Christian Hanson has also been recalled and will play his first stint at the center position in the NHL.

But aside from the game action, the question of "what is next for the Maple Leafs" continues to swirl.

As I mentioned before, the Maple Leafs will have to decide on a few players who are free-agents this summer. Alexei Ponikarovsky, Wayne Primeau, Lee Stempniak, Rickard Wallin, and Garnet Exelby are all looking to find their place on the team long-term, but with the recent activity on the trade front it seems unlikely any of them will be on the team next season so expect all to be dealt between now and the deadline.

Burke also may be active on the "taking on salary" front, maybe before the Olympics. According to Darren Dreger he has 1.5m to play with, and has two extra contract spots open under the 50 player contract limit. That means the Maple Leafs will be able to take on an expiring contract in the 4m range, or two contracts in the 2m range (at least before he moves anyone else out).

What we could see if maybe a Jonas Frogren for a teams contract dump + a pick. Similar to when the Maple Leafs moved Richard Petiot last season to Tampa Bay in the Kolzig deal. Nothing crazy, but something along those lines.

Expect Burke to be active, but temper expectations that the forthcoming deals will not be as groundbreaking as the ones made on Sunday.

It should be an exciting few weeks until the Olympic break.

Blockbuster deals on Sunday have Maple Leafs hopefully pointed in new direction

After a day to really digest the latest Brian Burke move, Maple Leaf fans can't help but be ecstatic for what they possibly obtained.

In a seven player deal on Sunday that sent Niklas Hagman, Matt Stajan, Jamal Mayers and Ian White to Calgary for Dion Phaneuf, Fredrik Sjostrom and prospect Keith Aulie, the Maple Leafs officially started selling off their major team assets. But this move wasn't just a sellers move, the Maple Leafs were able to acquire a top-pairing, young (24 years-old) talent in Dion Phaneuf, a young (26) serviceable defensive-forward in Fredrik Sjostrom, and a towering prospect in Keith Aulie.

Calgary was in the market to shake up their team, and Burke made the ideal trading partnet. Sutter wanted to take the cap space from Phaneuf (6.5 million) and try and disperse it among other holes on the team, mainly offensive forwards.

While the deal looks one-sided at first glance, it actually helps Calgary be a bit more rounded. They acquired two top-six forwards, a second-pairing defender, and a grinding forward. Not bad for a team who wants bodies and flexibility, and with three of the four players free agents (White being an RFA) it gives Sutter options on who he wants to keep.

The Maple Leafs on the other hand lost a ton of offensive punch, which they hope will be filled by the likes of Tyler Bozak, Viktor Stalberg, Christian Hanson, and Mikhail Grabovski (when he returns from injury in a few weeks). They are primed to lose even more offense with the likely departure of long-time Maple Leaf Alexei Ponikarovsky.

What the Maple Leafs get in Phaneuf is something they haven't had in a long time, a player with tremendous talent to build around on the back end. At only 24-years-old, Phaneuf is one of the most feared open-ice hitters in the game, and has great offensive prowess. He's big, and he's nasty. His short-comings are in his defensive game, which in time should round out.

As much of a cornerstone player Luke Schenn can be, he isn't that type of player right now. He's smart, but lacks the high offensive game that a Dion Phaneuf has.

Along with Phaneuf is under-appreciated defensive-forward Fredrik Sjostrom. He brings some size and speed to the bottom-six for the Maple Leafs, and likely takes over the role that Jamal Mayers was expected to bring when he was acquired from St. Louis. At only 26, he fits into the teams future and is under contract for one more season. He should assist on the teams dreadful penalty-kill.

The Maple Leafs also acquired towering rearguard Keith Aulie, who was apart of the WJs at the '09 games. At 6'6, he's a fridge on skates. He's already playing, and contributing in the AHL, and seems to be just a nice sprinkle on top of the trade for Maple Leaf fans.

While the Maple Leafs dipped into their team depth in this trade, they were all parts that were deemed expendable by fans and management alike. Jamal Mayers had asked for a trade, and Sjostrom should provide an equal or greater contribution to the team. Most Maple Leaf fans would have been happy to deal Matt Stajan for prospect Keith Aulie at the trade deadline if they could. And then it boils down to Niklas Hagman, who's been a productive yet streaky scorer for the Maple Leafs and Ian White the prize departure on the Maple Leafs side. What may be lost in all of this is the fact Hagman already makes 3m against the cap, and with White's contract running out at seasons end he's ready for a raise into the 3m range. Those two player salaries will likely equal or be close to Phaneuf's cap hit for the remained of his contract.

It's a risky trade for Toronto, but an easy one to make given the Maple Leafs traded depth players in exchange for a potential elite talent.

As for the other move of the day, the Maple Leafs shipped out goaltender Vesa Toskala and forward Jason Blake to Anaheim for the expensive Jean-Sebastien Giguere. A move that looked like pure genius on Burke's part, as most believed Blake and Toskala to have negative value. Giguere isn't all that valuable himself, but should be a much more stable goaltender then that of Vesa Toskala who's time in Toronto was a disappointment. Adding Jason Blake frees the Maple Leafs out of a terrible contract over the next two seasons. And while Giguere's cap hit is not cheap, the gamble on Giguere is much more worthy of taking on at this point than another two seasons of Blake.

No one knows how these moves will play out, but Maple Leafs can't help but feel excited for what these four players can bring to the organization.