The Toronto Maple Leafs are in the midst of a rebuilding mode at the present time and have shed a number of players in an attempt to give youth more ice time. Some of the players who have been let go over the past year include Bryan McCabe, Nik Antropov, Dominik Mora and Darcy Tucker. There has also been a shift in terms of General Manager and Bryand Burke has been brought in to try to turn around the franchise that has missed the playoffs for the past several seasons. Despite tons of rumors other names such as Tomas Kaberle and Pavel Kubina have remained part of the organization and appear to stay for the long term to be part of the rebuild.
Maple Leafs Roster
Forwards
Defenseman
Goalies
Jason Blake
Niklas Hagman
Lee Stempniak
Alexei Ponikarovsky
Matt Stajan
Jamal Mayers
Nikolai Kulemin
Mikhail Grabovski
Anton Stralman
Boyd Devereaux
Brad May
Phil Oreskovic
John Mitchell
Ben Ondrus
Christopher DiDomenico
Jeff Hamilton
Pavel Kubina
Jeff Finger
Mike Van Ryn
Ian White
Jonas Frogren
Luke Schenn
Tomas Kaberle
Vesa Toskala
Curtis Joseph
Martin Gerber
Blue Jays Rumors and News
Are the Jays good enough to Keep Halladay? Jon Paul Morosi of Fox Sports has done an article reflecting on Doc Halladay. The main question of the Article is Are the Jays good enough to Keep Halladay? "I hope he wears the Blue Jay uniform for life. But you've got to respect the fact that he's going to want to play for a winner. I hope this team will prove to him that they're on the right path to the World Series."
Every day, the Jays have a new chance to do that. Right now, the standings say they're a contender. Sooner rather than later, though, they need to become more than that. Mere respectability doesn't get the ring that Doc wants to order.
Long gone are the halcyon days of the Blue Jays Jon Paul Morosi reporter for Fox Sports is reporting where are the numbers at Skydome. The numbers are staggering, somewhat daunting, and unlikely to be approached again.
In 1991, the Toronto Blue Jays drew more than 4 million fans to their new retractable-roof home.
They did it again the next year. And the year after that.
"That was the honeymoon for the SkyDome," said Tom Valcke, president/CEO of the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum. "Let's face it: A spaceship dropped in Toronto."
Moves That Burke Should Make Post July 1st I want to focus on moves the Leafs should make post July 1st, as the acquisitions of Orr, Exelby and Komisarek have already been readily discussed, admired and/or scrutinized. In short though, I LOVE the moves made by Burke yesterday - the Leafs get tougher which allows their speedier offensive-type players to feel a little more protected. I don’t think the big name offensive players like the Sedin Sisters, Cammelari, Hossa, Gaborik, etc. that were out there yesterday would fit into the Leafs future plans and/or we don’t want them anyway for various reasons which I won’t get into here.
Also, to all you Leaf-Haters that roll their eyes about another “What the Leafs Should Do Article”…as indicated by the title, this is OBVIOUSLY a Leafs article so don’t read it if you hate the Leafs…it’s quite annoying when you gripe about it in the comments section and you just end up sounding like a knob…we Leafs fans love to speculate about our team so why not just let us have our fun? I don’t see the big issue, if you don’t like the Leafs, then don’t read Leafs articles…it’s that simple. Anyway, having said that, here’s my two cents on what the Leafs should do….
So far, the trades have been minor and draft picks are just long-term investments in the future.
But today, Leafs president Brian Burke and his staff take their latest stab at landing an impact player (or players) who can be part of both the short and long-term future of the struggling franchise.
Burke has promised to be active when the NHL free agency period opens for business at noon.
Bertuzzi In Toronto Todd Bertuzzi attended yesterday's Blue Jays game. Could this mean Brian Burke has an offer for him? Think about it. Burke traded for Bertuzzi in 1998, signed him in 2003 (still with the Canucks) and signed Bert two years ago with the Ducks. Is Big Bert going to be a Leaf?
Nazem Kadri- What Do You Think? & Leafs. Growing up in London, Ontario with parents of Lebanese descent was hard for Nazem Kadri. When his parents first came to Canada it was hard for them to make money and especially put him into hockey but they faught their way to put him in. He started skating when he was two in a backyard rink his dad made him and starting playing ice hockey at the age of 4.
MY 2CENT OPENION. I Everyone, the following is not a rumour Its just my opinion about the draft, Free agents and of course my 2cent idea of what Leafs plans are for coming up summer.
Future in the Making As draft day roles around more and more rumors of trades are talked about. Especially talks about Leafs all-star defenceman Tomas Kaberle. Burke has already let his intentions known as he is still after London sniper John Tavares, with Brayden Schenn being his backup.
Boston-Toronto Blockbuster Boston has offered RFA Phil Kessel to Toronto in exchange for Tomas Kaberle and the 7th overall draft pick.... Toronto is holding out to see any better offeres
Burke prepared to move down in draft Brian Burke stated on TSN (video All Quiet) he was prepared to move down a few spots if the player they want to draft is still available.
Could Burke be pulling a Snow? ........ .... and, like the NYI GM Snow did last year with the Isles top pick- trade down a few times this year with the Maple Leafs pick?
Actually, Burke would still be pullin' a Burkie, because that's exactly what he did last year with the Ducks 1st rounder when he traded down twice and picked up a few extra picks in the process.
Yankees Ink 16 year old Catcher The NY Post is reporting that the Yankees have signed 16 year old Dominican catcher Gary Sanchez today in a deal that includes a signing bonus in the neighborhood of $3 million. The deal was locked up on June 20th but they were not allowed to finalize the deal until today.
Mariners waiting until after All Star break to make deals Jon Paul Morosi of Fox Sports is reporting that the M's are waiting to see how the team does before the all star break before they decide to make any moves. The Mariners, running a close third in the American League West, will probably wait about two weeks before moving definitively on the trade market.
Already, though, they have engaged in preliminary discussions with the Padres about third baseman Kevin Kouzmanoff, according to one source with knowledge of the talks. The person added that the chances for a deal — at this point, at least — are not strong. But San Diego officials have made clear to other clubs that Kouzmanoff is available.
