Toronto Maple Leafs fans...What to do now?

[#1BILLSfan]

Obviously this season is already over and more then likely we will be giving a top 3 pick to Boston for Phil Kessel. Who knows if it'll be worth it but they gave ALOT for Kessel and while he may be good at 22 years old he has alot to work on especially in the defensive zone. Vesa Toskala will be gone after this year as well as his contract expires. Will Jonas Gustavsson be the future? He has alot to work on as well and they will definately sign someone in the off-season to compete with The Monster for the job next season. The problem with Gustavsson is he's already 25 years old and pretty much came to North America needing to learn a whole new style. We'll see if he can handle it. I see Stajan, Ponikarovski, Stempniak, and Mayers being traded at the deadline. None of them will be Leafs again next season. Ian White is also a free agent but I think we need to sign him. He may cost 3.5 M but he's our best overall defenseman. Word is he may be traded as well as negotiations aren't going so well. Who do we sign in the off-season? I hate Finger and Exelby as well I hope we get rid of them somehow. Beauchemin and Komisarek haven't impressed me for what there making. Will the Leafs have a chance at Ilya Kovalchuk? They definately need a goalie and some firepower. Your thoughts?

[patsfan84]

they need some solid goaltending, a top line to go with kessel, a second line for that matter, and about 5 defencemen. how anyone thinks ian white is the best is beyond me (not directed at you) but so many commentators, the guy is 5 foot nothing and never wins a battle in the corner ever!!! he is a good powerplay defenceman for his puck moving abilites and shot, but i think is better suited as a forward just my opinion, and he prob is the best the leafs have which isnt saying too much. and dont know how to say this again but they need a goalie big time!!!!! cant win games when the goalies keep giving up weak goals. is giguere the answer??? i dont think so but burke the genius might. shoulda kept tuuka

[scla6986]

First and foremost they need a big bodied star. They should have a Thornton or Nash or something along those lines. They have to name someone captain but who? If you look at some of the previous captains they don't have anyone in that class. Personally I would keep Kaberle (unless something good comes along), do whatever it takes to sign White, keep Schenn and a couple others and trade everyone else off for some stars. You can always replace depth but if you establish something good on your first line then you've done something that hasn't been done since the 90's. I'm not worried about Kessel, so he's not a solo star, not too many players are. If they can get him even one more player at his skill level or better then you will start to see his points go up. I'm not a strong believer in the monster, he has some impressive clips on youtube but I haven't seen anything like that in the nhl and also why does Toskala look better in net then Jonas lately? The Leafs need lots of help and maybe this time during the off season they should consider buying a team. Sign some big fa and even if you don't want them on your team you can trade them for something you need. The bottom line is they are the not going to be out of the playoffs this year and probably next year and don't expect things to change if things don't change. These are truly tough times to be a Leafs fan.

[patsfan84]

which is why i became a ducks fan in 95 :) i learnerd young toronto just dissapoints.

[MasonRaymond0320]

There only star is Phil Kessel. They don't have any experinced goaltending, no great goal scorers, and hardly any defence. The only defensemen I heard during tonights game was Ian White. Thats about it. Didnt hear anything about Schenn. And I only heard about Beauchamin because he got a couple of penalties. They don't have any future by giving up draft picks and not having the 1st overall pick for years to come.

[patsfan84]

There only star is Phil Kessel. They don't have any experinced goaltending, no great goal scorers, and hardly any defence. The only defensemen I heard during tonights game was Ian White. Thats about it. Didnt hear anything about Schenn. And I only heard about Beauchamin because he got a couple of penalties. They don't have any future by giving up draft picks and not having the 1st overall pick for years to come.

which is why burke is a complete genious thank god he is out of anaheim. but like i have said before the way toronto drafts i think getting kessel was the right move, i mean i doubt kadri will be a star minus the shoot outs, he isnt even a super star in junior and imo if your drafted in the top 10 of the nhl draft you had better be a future star. i could be wrong though. like i said they need about 5 d to play, kaberle,white,shenn are good, beauchamin is decent he will come around he had a major surgery done last season and missed a bunch of games. they desperately need a goalie and another star if they got kovalchuk that would be amazing, but they would still need a good center to play with them. i wouldnt be too worried about the loss of the pick in the 1st rd unless it is taylor hall or seguin. if they can get a 1st rd pick with any roster player they should move him.

[#1BILLSfan]

If Kovalchuk falls into the off-season free agent market IMO the Leafs will do everything they can to sign him. The problem is I don't think he will. I don't see Atlanta signing him but I think he'll be traded. If Atlanta can't sign him they'd be stupid not to trade him and end up getting nothing for him. I like Kessel and he'll obviously be a Leaf for years to come and I like Hagman but he isn't a big goal scorer. They'll need a center reguardless if they sign Kovalchuk or another star anyways. Maybe they think Kadri will be. It's to hard to determine what he'll be now. I like White alot actually and Schenn will be good eventually as well. Beauchemin like you guys have said is decent. Bsides that, I don't like Komisarek, Exelby, or Finger at all. I really hope Kaberle stays as well he's one of the best offensive D in the NHL. Dan Ellis or Giguere are possibilities in goal but with Burke's background in Anaheim I wouldn't be surprised if Gigure was a Leaf next year and that wouldn't exactly make me thrilled.

[oilfan10]

At least least the Leafs have won a game in 2010...unlike a certain Western Conference team who can't do anything lately except become an embarrassment to the city yet I still cheer for them against my better judgment but am happy to see they might get a top draft pick.

But in all seriousness, the Leafs just need to learn how to play a 60 minute hockey game. They've actually beaten some pretty good teams this year: Washington, Pittsburgh, Detroit... Over the course of a few games, they've shown that they can play, and can compete, but every time they give up a bad goal, they flatten out and the wheels fall off. In my eyes, the team lacks confidence, but then again I'm no Leaf fan and don't really analyze the team. They're just on every Saturday night so I watch them a lot haha

Does anybody know why Christian Hanson didn't make the team?

[#1BILLSfan]

Hanson is slow and more of a grinder..They have those already so they took other young players like Stalberg and Bozak instead. Now Stalberg is back down to

[patsfan84]

oilfan to answer you i am guessing because jason blake, colton orr, and jamal meyers, are just way more skilled than hanson oh wait i got that backwards lol. as for the oils my wife is a fan of them, funny two people from toronto who cheer for other teams lol, and they are out their best 2 players easily which doesnt help. at least you got eberle and probably hall or seguin. but i must add it was said on city tv news last week or the following and the bottom 3 teams, edmonton, carolina and toronto are all coached by the leafs last 3 coaches is that a coincidence?