For those of you who watched last night's game, you will know that the Leafs lost yet another game in Overtime. However, the Leafs had over 61 shots on goal! A tie for their record for most shots on goal in a game...however when they set that record, they beat the Detroit Red Wings, 8-0; in last night's game: they lost 4-3 in OT.
The problem is secondary scoring! Not that the goaltending was great last night, however Toskala is improving and Gustavsson can only get better, the Leafs need another guy to finish. Kessel is doing great, however he cannot carry this team.
Rumors are Brian Burke is in the works of making a trade with the Chicago Blackhawks. Chicago will be in salary cap trouble next season. Rumors are it will be Brent Sopel leaving the Blackhawks. Brian Burke essentially, will be selling cap space. Hey, whatever works. Sopel is a solid defenseman, he won't give you many points, but with 164 career assists, you may see him throw the puck to Kessel once in a while. Perhaps he would work well with Komisarek, or Schenn.
But who on Toronto would be heading to Chicago?
Lee Stempniak - A speedy player again, however since coming to Toronto, he's done nothing. He is good in shootouts, maybe he will play well on a line with Toews and Kane.
Rickard Wallin- Signed by the Leafs as a free agent this season. He has not produced anything. However, he is a solid two-way player, and Chicago may find some use for him.
Anyways, that's all for now, hopefully Burkie will do SOMETHING to shake things up. Until next time, Go Leafs Go.
Nicholas Porretta
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
Friday, November 13, 2009
From Hamilton to Quebec City
Yesterday, in my JN 229 class, we were doing our blog presentations, and one of my fellow students is writing his blog on the possible re-location of Phoenix to Hamilton. So I decided to comment on it.
As we all know, Phoenix is not coming to Hamilton, I wanted to weigh in on the positives and negatives on a team in Hamilton if that happened, and like my classmate Kyle, I'll look at the proposed Quebec City location and weigh in on the pros and cons, I will do this in the view of a Leafs fan.
Pros:
- For one a 7th Canadian hockey club, besides Bettman, who would complain about that?
- You would attract fans from outside the Hamilton area. Living in Brantford for school, I can understand how it would be a pain in the arse to get to a Leafs game, however, a short little drive down the 403 and you're in Hamilton to watch the Hamilton Coyotes. Hamilton could take advantage of this Leafs fandom an attract fans who may not get to see many NHL games.
- It would bring Western Conference teams we rarely see here in Southern Ontario. Since the Leafs move to the Eastern Conference, it's been increasingly more rare to see teams such as the LA Kings or the Dallas Stars. Hamilton would end up being in the Western conference and therefore we would get to see these teams more often.
- If the Leafs play like crap, we could drive over to see Hamilton, this would force the Leafs to actually play well, or else they may actually lose some fans too.
Cons:
- The purported 2nd battle of Ontario would never be a "battle." With Hamilton in the Western Conference, the Leafs and Coyotes would see each other once maybe twice a year if we're lucky. Which doesn't make sense seeing as it's closer to their other rivals in Ottawa, Montreal, Buffalo, and Philadelphia.
- No rivals. One of the issues with the Phoenix Coyotes is that they have no rivals! I feel Hamilton would be no different. Their closest rival would be the Leafs...in the opposite conference. The next closest team to Hamilton is Detroit, and I highly doubt we will see a Hamilton-Detroit rivalry as big in caliber as the Detroit-Colorado rivalry.
The Divisions would be divided like so if Hamilton made it to the NHL:
Central:
Hamilton
Detroit
Chicago
Columbus
Nashville
Pacific:
San Jose
LA
Anaheim
St. Louis
Dallas
Northwest:
Would stay the same
As you see, Hamilton would kick St. Louis out of the Central division and push them into the Pacific Division
Quebec City
Now what would happen with Quebec City, we already know that Bettman is talking to Quebec City mayor Regis Lebaume. This one seems possible guys, but what are the pros and cons?
Pros:
- QC has a fan base. I'm sure some of the Nordiques fans that bit the bullet and became Habs fans may go back to the Nordiques.
- A renewed rivalry. Montreal and QC...watch out folks these ones are beauties.
- History. Since the Nordiques already have some history, they will not be starting from scratch.
- A team name. They already have the team name, Quebec Nordiques has a better ring to it than Hamilton Coyotes.
Cons:
- What would happen to the attendance at the Q? We all know that Quebec City is home to the Quebec Ramperts of the QMJHL, would their attendance suffer? The attendance skyrocketed since the departure of the Nordiques.
- The Leafs would move once again into the Western Conference. And as a result, we would lose such great rivalries as: "The Battle of Ontario, The Leafs-Habs rivalry, "The Battle of the QEW," and Leafs-Flyers rivalry.
Here's what the divisions would look like:
Eastern Conference:
Northeast Division:
Quebec City
Montreal
Boston
Buffalo
Ottawa
All other Eastern divisions the same
Western Conference:
Central Division:
Toronto
Detroit
Chicago
Nashville
Columbus
Pacific:
St. Louis
San Jose
LA
Anaheim
Dallas
Northwest Division would stay the same.
So as you can see, Quebec would kick out Toronto and Toronto would kick out St. Louis who would replace Phoenix in he Pacific division. I guess the bright side if the Leafs moved to the West would be a renewed rivalry with Chicago and Detroit, fellow Original Six teams. Anyways, that's all for now, until next time friends.
As we all know, Phoenix is not coming to Hamilton, I wanted to weigh in on the positives and negatives on a team in Hamilton if that happened, and like my classmate Kyle, I'll look at the proposed Quebec City location and weigh in on the pros and cons, I will do this in the view of a Leafs fan.
Pros:
- For one a 7th Canadian hockey club, besides Bettman, who would complain about that?
- You would attract fans from outside the Hamilton area. Living in Brantford for school, I can understand how it would be a pain in the arse to get to a Leafs game, however, a short little drive down the 403 and you're in Hamilton to watch the Hamilton Coyotes. Hamilton could take advantage of this Leafs fandom an attract fans who may not get to see many NHL games.
- It would bring Western Conference teams we rarely see here in Southern Ontario. Since the Leafs move to the Eastern Conference, it's been increasingly more rare to see teams such as the LA Kings or the Dallas Stars. Hamilton would end up being in the Western conference and therefore we would get to see these teams more often.
- If the Leafs play like crap, we could drive over to see Hamilton, this would force the Leafs to actually play well, or else they may actually lose some fans too.
Cons:
- The purported 2nd battle of Ontario would never be a "battle." With Hamilton in the Western Conference, the Leafs and Coyotes would see each other once maybe twice a year if we're lucky. Which doesn't make sense seeing as it's closer to their other rivals in Ottawa, Montreal, Buffalo, and Philadelphia.
- No rivals. One of the issues with the Phoenix Coyotes is that they have no rivals! I feel Hamilton would be no different. Their closest rival would be the Leafs...in the opposite conference. The next closest team to Hamilton is Detroit, and I highly doubt we will see a Hamilton-Detroit rivalry as big in caliber as the Detroit-Colorado rivalry.
The Divisions would be divided like so if Hamilton made it to the NHL:
Central:
Hamilton
Detroit
Chicago
Columbus
Nashville
Pacific:
San Jose
LA
Anaheim
St. Louis
Dallas
Northwest:
Would stay the same
As you see, Hamilton would kick St. Louis out of the Central division and push them into the Pacific Division
Quebec City
Now what would happen with Quebec City, we already know that Bettman is talking to Quebec City mayor Regis Lebaume. This one seems possible guys, but what are the pros and cons?
Pros:
- QC has a fan base. I'm sure some of the Nordiques fans that bit the bullet and became Habs fans may go back to the Nordiques.
- A renewed rivalry. Montreal and QC...watch out folks these ones are beauties.
- History. Since the Nordiques already have some history, they will not be starting from scratch.
- A team name. They already have the team name, Quebec Nordiques has a better ring to it than Hamilton Coyotes.
Cons:
- What would happen to the attendance at the Q? We all know that Quebec City is home to the Quebec Ramperts of the QMJHL, would their attendance suffer? The attendance skyrocketed since the departure of the Nordiques.
- The Leafs would move once again into the Western Conference. And as a result, we would lose such great rivalries as: "The Battle of Ontario, The Leafs-Habs rivalry, "The Battle of the QEW," and Leafs-Flyers rivalry.
Here's what the divisions would look like:
Eastern Conference:
Northeast Division:
Quebec City
Montreal
Boston
Buffalo
Ottawa
All other Eastern divisions the same
Western Conference:
Central Division:
Toronto
Detroit
Chicago
Nashville
Columbus
Pacific:
St. Louis
San Jose
LA
Anaheim
Dallas
Northwest Division would stay the same.
So as you can see, Quebec would kick out Toronto and Toronto would kick out St. Louis who would replace Phoenix in he Pacific division. I guess the bright side if the Leafs moved to the West would be a renewed rivalry with Chicago and Detroit, fellow Original Six teams. Anyways, that's all for now, until next time friends.
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
The Monster and the King of the Kessel!
Before I get on with my blog, I would like to congratulate the HHOF class of 2009: Steve Yzerman, Brett Hull, Luc Robitaille, Brian Leetch, and Lou Lamoriello. The following is from TSN's daily Top 10 segment. This is the top 10 moments of the HHOF 2009 inductees.
Now to continue. So how 'bout them Leafs? Well, a new month means a new start and the Leafs have shown that thus far. In the month of November, so far they are 2-0-1. And since their first win, the Leafs are 3-0-4. You don't need to be a mathematician to know that's better than their 0-7-1 start. A new month also brings a new player: the hopeful savior Phil Kessel. Kessel has three points in three games with the Leafs, two of them coming on Saturday's 5-1 win over Detroit. In Kessel's first game, I'm pretty sure Burkie needed a defibrillator after Ohlund's massive hit on Kessel.
You could almost here the ACC gasp and hear the thoughts "here we go again." But the Leafs beat Murphy's law and Kessel was back at it, proving his shoulder was alright.
Another player the Leafs looks to to help solve their woes is Jonas "the Monster" Gustavsson, and he has not disappointed. Stopping 30+ shots two games in a row (versus Carolina and Detroit) and holding the Leafs in the game by providing the big save when they needed it, something that hasn't happened since Toskala's first season with Toronto. In the month of November Gustavsson has posted a 2-0-1 record with a 1.67 GAA; the minuscule numbers he had with Farjestad. Gustavsson will get the start in tonight's game versus the Wild. The Leafs played the Wild last year and lost a wild one, with rookie Justin Pogge in net. The Wild are dead last in the West (however still ahead of the Leafs in points). Until next time folks, I think we can start taking the bags off our heads, but do so cautiously, we do not know what will happen in the rest of the season.
Nicholas Porretta
Now to continue. So how 'bout them Leafs? Well, a new month means a new start and the Leafs have shown that thus far. In the month of November, so far they are 2-0-1. And since their first win, the Leafs are 3-0-4. You don't need to be a mathematician to know that's better than their 0-7-1 start. A new month also brings a new player: the hopeful savior Phil Kessel. Kessel has three points in three games with the Leafs, two of them coming on Saturday's 5-1 win over Detroit. In Kessel's first game, I'm pretty sure Burkie needed a defibrillator after Ohlund's massive hit on Kessel.
You could almost here the ACC gasp and hear the thoughts "here we go again." But the Leafs beat Murphy's law and Kessel was back at it, proving his shoulder was alright.
Another player the Leafs looks to to help solve their woes is Jonas "the Monster" Gustavsson, and he has not disappointed. Stopping 30+ shots two games in a row (versus Carolina and Detroit) and holding the Leafs in the game by providing the big save when they needed it, something that hasn't happened since Toskala's first season with Toronto. In the month of November Gustavsson has posted a 2-0-1 record with a 1.67 GAA; the minuscule numbers he had with Farjestad. Gustavsson will get the start in tonight's game versus the Wild. The Leafs played the Wild last year and lost a wild one, with rookie Justin Pogge in net. The Wild are dead last in the West (however still ahead of the Leafs in points). Until next time folks, I think we can start taking the bags off our heads, but do so cautiously, we do not know what will happen in the rest of the season.
Nicholas Porretta
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
The Piggies and the NHL
So, today I've decided to step away from talking solely about the Leafs and talk about something else, but still hockey related: the Swine Flu! You know when I heard about the Piggy Flu, I thought it was a bunch of BS like SARS or Global Warming. Well, I still think that way, however, it is affecting the NHL, something I never thought of in the dog-days of summer when piggy flu was coming out.
Now as far as I know about the Swine Flu: it is less harmful than the normal flu, it was the flu prior to the 1960s (people born prior to 1958 have a better immunity to it), and it is named after the pig. Now I will not deny that yes, tragically H1N1 has killed some people, and my thoughts and prayers go out to the families affected by it, however, that being said, it is nowhere near a pandemic.
Now back to the NHL, we all heard of the tragic death of Evan Frustaglio . The 13-year-old hockey player who got a cold over a weekend and was killed as a result of H1N1. Well, Maple Leaf Jason Blake used to be his neighbour. When Blake was signed to Toronto, his first house was next to the Frustaglio family, whom "became good friends" with the Blakes. Evan would play street hockey in the Blakes' driveway with their children. "It's a tough deal," says Blake.
One thing we have to remember is that NHL players are real mortal beings too. As of October 31st, 2009 there are three confirmed cases of Peter Budaj . The are also being hit hard. They have implemented a rule: no sharing towels or water bottles. You figure other NHL teams will be implementing this soon.
With the shortage of vaccines, it is hard for NHL teams to get the shots (not that I think the shots are effective anyways); as the season progresses, we will see how the swine flu affects the NHL. Anyways, stay safe, and wash your hands people! Until next time...
Nicholas Porretta
Now as far as I know about the Swine Flu: it is less harmful than the normal flu, it was the flu prior to the 1960s (people born prior to 1958 have a better immunity to it), and it is named after the pig. Now I will not deny that yes, tragically H1N1 has killed some people, and my thoughts and prayers go out to the families affected by it, however, that being said, it is nowhere near a pandemic.
Now back to the NHL, we all heard of the tragic death of Evan Frustaglio . The 13-year-old hockey player who got a cold over a weekend and was killed as a result of H1N1. Well, Maple Leaf Jason Blake used to be his neighbour. When Blake was signed to Toronto, his first house was next to the Frustaglio family, whom "became good friends" with the Blakes. Evan would play street hockey in the Blakes' driveway with their children. "It's a tough deal," says Blake.
One thing we have to remember is that NHL players are real mortal beings too. As of October 31st, 2009 there are three confirmed cases of Peter Budaj . The are also being hit hard. They have implemented a rule: no sharing towels or water bottles. You figure other NHL teams will be implementing this soon.
With the shortage of vaccines, it is hard for NHL teams to get the shots (not that I think the shots are effective anyways); as the season progresses, we will see how the swine flu affects the NHL. Anyways, stay safe, and wash your hands people! Until next time...
Nicholas Porretta
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