Leafs add former 2nd round pick TJ Brennan to bolster D

Signing 24-year old Brennan to a one year deal provides depth on the back end for the Buds, while also protecting against potential holdouts by any of Gardiner, Gunnarsson, Franson or Fraser.

The former Buffalo Sabres prospect was traded to Florida Panthers this year and scored 9 points in 19 games. At a reported 600k for a single season, look for Toronto to bump that up and add a year or two if he plays big minutes at NHL level. TJ also had 35 points in 36 games for Rochester Americans this past season, playing for the Sabres' AHL affiliate.

3 Biggest mistakes Leafs GM Brian Burke made this season

With the Toronto Maple Leafs sliding precariously down the standings and hope for a 2012 playoffs run all but vanquished, let's take a look at three moves (or lack of same) by General Manager Brian Burke that may have cost us the 2011-2012 NHL season.

No experienced goalie

A) Not trading for a vet goalie when it became clear that Monster was not good enough to be a #2 and Reimer wasn't recovered enough to be a #1- this was becoming clear in December and was more than evident by mid-February. Jonas G has had only two stretches in 3 years (10 games in his rookie season and mid-to-late-November 2011) where he appeared to be a NHL calibre goalie, yet he has never shown the consistency required to be a #1 goalie let alone a Stanley Cup playoffs standout netminder.

Burke's claim that Gustavsson "saved the season" when Reimer was injured rings true only if you believe barely adequate goaltending behind a powerful offence makes him a savior. He's a free agent at the end of the year and will likely return to Sweden.

Secretive signing...

B) Secretly signing Wilson to an extension and then letting him decide when to announce it, as if the players had no right to that info; wtf? A better idea may have been signing him when the Leafs had mathematically guaranteed a playoff spot, or waiting until after the season to assess the overall situation. Now MLSE will be on the hook for millions to Ron Wilson even if Randy Carlyle or Dallas Eakins is hired to helm the Buds for the 2012-2013 season.

Four year contract for oldest dude on the team?

C) Signing Liles to a multi-year dela at $4 mil plus per year. With five young defencemen on the Buds roster (Schenn, Gardiner, Gunnarsson, Franson and Phaneuf), why lock in the sixth guy for years at a huge price tag. Since when is a guy that just got traded for a 2^nd round pick worth $4mil per year??? I like Liles, however a four-year, $15.5 million contract extension for a guy turning 32 this year seems out of place. I really hope J-M proves me wrong on this one.

If Gustavsson goes on a hot streak and inspires Wilson and Liles to take the Maple Leafs deep into the post-season, I will retract my claim that these were mistakes; if not, there's always next year, where youth and hope springs eternal.

Kadri to skate with #1 line tonight against Ottawa

Nazem Kadri centering Lupul and Kessel versus Senators

When Tim Connolly banged himself up crashing into the boards at practice yesterday, that noise was the sound of opportunity in the Leafs camp and it is Nazem Kadri who has been called upon to fill the whole on the potential number one line for the Toronto Maple Leafs.

As the song says, for Kadri, Tonight's The Night....


This evening's projected lineup against Ottawa Senators:

MacArthur - Grabovski - Kulemin
Lupul - Kadri - Kessel
Armstrong - Boyce - Frattin
Rosehill - Dupuis - Crabb/Orr

Gunnarsson - Phaneuf
Liles - Schenn
Aulie - Franson

Reimer

Toronto Maple Leafs and Brad Richards, a potential 5-year deal

The Leafs need a bona fide #1 NHL centreman, and Brad requires a team that will keep him young and competitive for years to come. Maple leafs GM Brian Burke can certainly afford to sign Burke for 2011-2012, and here's a typical 5 year contract for a player of Richards' caliber:

NHL Season - Salary

2011-2012 - $9 mil
2012-2013 - $9 mil
2013-2014 - $8 mil
2014-2015 - $7 mil
2015-2016 - $7 mil


That's 40 million over 5 years, however the stipend is declining over time, allowing the Leafs to continue to be able to re-sign talent or acquire new players as the contract runs on.

What if Brian and Brad were to get really creative, and come up with a contract that would land Richards, plus allow the Buds to stay competitive over the full five years of the deal? Here's how that may look:

2011-2012 - $10 mil
2012-2013 - $10 mil
2013-2014 - $9 mil
2014-2015 - $6 mil
2015-2016 - $5 mil

It requires biting hard on the bullet for the next few seasons, then frees up some stretching room as Brad reaches his mid-30s and we may need more support up the middle, or elsewhere on the team to stay among the NHL's elite (I mean that).


Canada Day, please come soon!