Crunch time for Maple Leafs' callups from Marlies

Burke unites "old gang" for 2012 NHL playoffs run

With Boyce and Kadri now joining Reimer, Aulie and Crabb on the Toronto Maple Leafs big league roster, the experiment with veterans is currently on the shelf, perhaps temporarily. Injuries to Colby Armstrong, Matt Lombardi, Philippe Dupuis, Mike Brown, Mike Komisarek and now Jean-Michael Liles have opened up the Buds' bench to the very same young players (okay, Boyce is 27 but he does play like it's now or never) who partook in a string of successes in the early months of 2011.

The coming weeks will allow Burke and Wilson to assess the progress of all these callups, decide which veterans can be moved to keep the team stocked with picks and prospects, and begin to prepare for someone like Boston or Philly in the very first round of the 2011-2012 NHL playoffs.

Note to Mr Burke: Ask Mikhail to sign for two years at $3.5 mil per or 3 years at 3.7 mil and then after the paperwork is signed an dry, move him to the first line where he belongs. Phil K is now one of the premier passers in the league, however neither Bozak nor Connolly have ever been goal scorers, so Grabovski is the natural partner for Lupul (also a good passer) and Kessel.

Peace to All,

Joe Trainor

Toronto Maple Leafs may be sellers again

Leafs top 40: Keepers, Bubble and Trade Bait

by Joe Trainor, 10DEC11

After the Maple Leafs traded Tomas Kaberle last year, the youth movement was in full swing and the Buds finished the season with a strong winning streak. Certain players that were part of that, including Matt Lashoff, Nazem Kadri, and Darryl Boyce, are currently with the Marlies, while Aulie has just recently re-joined the Leafs.

I posit that the team has not shown too many signs of being a serious Stanley Cup contender, and that the way to a sustained era of Cup-contending teams likely means being sellers again, in advance of and at the trade deadline. I am also suggesting that the Leafs can be sellers, get younger, improve their record and make the playoffs. If true, who should the Leafs regard as Keepers, who is On-the-Bubble, and who looks like valuable Trade Bait?

Toronto Maple Leafs Top 40 Players

Keepers

1. Kessel

2. Gardiner

3. Phaneuf

4. Schenn

5. Reimer

6. Aulie

7. Franson

8. Frattin

9. Colborne

10. Biggs

11. Scrivens

12. Owuya

13. Blacker

14. Sparks

15. Lupul (oldest keeper, could be available but at very high price eg. two first rounders and a 2nd rounder)

16. MacArthur

On-the-Bubble

17. Bozak (his value could be highest now having had 1st line duty)

18. Liles (hate to see him go, however for an offer like we got for Kaberle ...)

19. Kadri (hometown not always the best place to begin NHL career, plus he won't make leafs into Bruins...)

20. Armstrong (at 29 years old, deserves a shot at a Cup)

21. Gunnarsson

22. Steckel

23. Komisarek

24. Rosehill

25. Kulemin

26. Brown

27. Hamilton

28. Lashoff

29. Mueller

30. Crabb

Best Toronto Maple Leafs trade options:

31. Gustavsson - The oldest goalie in the system at 27, he's unlikely to get better and hasn't shown consistent playoff calibre stretches. Flashes of brilliance, sure, but the leakiness means it may be time to test the Leafs' netminding depth.

OR

32. Rynass - If not the Monster, then Jussi Rynass should be moved to get Mark Owuya back in the AHL. He led the Swedish Elite League in save percentage last year and is the second ranked goalie in the AHL right now. He has little to learn playing for Reading of the ECHL.

33. Connolly - Anything close to what we got for Kabs would see Connolly shipped out, however we'd be best to try him on the top line first, just in case it actually did make sense to bring him here, and to showcase him for buyers. We could trade one of Connolly or Grabovski, but not both.

OR

34. Grabovski - He is the Leafs best center and as he is a free agent at the end of the year, Burke should try and sign him now. I would prefer to see Grabo re-signed than traded, as Bozak doesn't score and Kessel is one of the best passers in the league. Mikhail could easily slide into the top line if Connolly is moved, and it wouldn't be surprising to see the Leafs start the playoffs with a top line of Lupul-Grabovski-Kessel even if Tim C is still with Toronto. If he won't re-sign, his 3-month rental should bring the Leafs a young NHL player plus a pick or prospect, and we can still bid on him in the offseason.

35. Boyce - The Leafs have a winning record with Boyce in the lineup, but at 27 the PEI native is languishing in the AHL and looks to have little future with the big club. Darryl could benefit from a move to a team like the Canucks that needs more grit to protect the Sedins.

Other names the Leafs may move:

36. Orr

37. Lombardi

38. Dupuis

39. Zigomanis

40. Gysbers

I see no reason why the Leafs can't get younger and better, at least this year, building assets that can be spun for final pieces during next two to three years of building consistent playoff team. Having written that, if Rynass and Kadri were the price for Zach Parise, I'd be happy with that as long as Parise was signed to a two year extension as a condition of trade.

It all depends on what's on the table, and with Burke being the sharp tack that he is, listening to offers for Leafs up for grabs may reveal some opportunities that can take Toronto to the next level, without mortgaging the future.

Mark Owuya is the new Reimer, deserves shot with Leafs

Led Swedish elite league in save percentage, now 2nd in AHL

With Optimus Reimer back in the saddle for the Buds, the accepted wisdom of the Leafs netminding depth is as follows:

Reimer

Gustavsson

Scrivens

Rynnas

Owuya

Sparks

Based on their play over the past year or so, Owuya is the fast-rising player to watch.

Maple Leafs backup netminder Gustavsson has rarely appeared to be a playoff calibre goalie, however his recent NHL wins have lifted his market value. The oldest goalie in the system at a just-turned 27, the Monster exceeded my expectations in about half a dozen of the 14 games he's appeared in, at other times looking erratic. As the New Jersey Devils have goalies aged 39 and 38, Jonas may look like a youngster to them... Zach Parise, anyone?

Rynnas struggled in the early season but has recently won four of five, helping the Marlies regain first place. Scrivens has been stellar from day one of camp and deserves to be the goalie leading the Marlies to a Calder Cup.

Mark Owuya deserves a shot at the NHL soon. After leading the Swedish elite league in save percentage last year as a rookie, he is now 5-2 and second in the American Hockey League with a 1.78 GAA, and his .936 save percentage is also second best in the league. If either Reims or Goose stumble in the next few games, it may be time to see how Mark In Da Net plays out in the bigs.