The Toronto Maple Leafs traded away Ian White, Jason Blake, Matt Stajan, Jamal Mayers and Niklas Hagman accounting for 38 percent of their offense.  What will the team do to replace the four missing forwards?

When questioned GM Brian Burke mentioned the one forward acquired, Fredrik Sjostrom, as one of the players likely to fill the void.  Known mostly for his penalty killing ability Sjostrom will probably play more than in Calgary, where he found himself a healthy scratch on numerous occasions.

Recent healthy scratch John Mitchell also should be reinserted into the lineup and can hopefully keep his job with a return to his early season form.  The other two players needed most likely will be Viktor Stalberg, Rickard Wallin or Christian Hanson.

Needless to say these four players will not make up the scoring lost.  The Leafs lose their top goal scorer and their fourth, sixth and eighth leading scorers putting a gigantic hole in the offense.  The return of Mikhail Grabovski should help but it will not be the answer.

Burke mentioned the shop being open for business which should mean a forward or two needs to be acquired at some point.  If the Leafs have serious interest in making the playoffs they must also improve their forward core.  Listed below are the expected forward lines after both trades.

Alexei Ponikarovsky – Tyler Bozak – Phil Kessel
Nikolai Kulemin – John Mitchell – Viktor Stalberg
Wayne Primeau – Lee Stempniak – Christian Hanson
Jay Rosehill/Fredrik Sjostrom – Rickard Wallin – Colton Orr

Probably the weakest forward core in the League with a lot of room for improvement.  Nazem Kadri looks like a reasonable candidate to make this roster out of training camp next season at this point.

Alexander Monaghan
NHLHS Editor
amonaghan@nhlhotstove.com
Twitter: @NHLHotStove

Brian Burke stepped into the Maple Leafs organization promising to build a contender. His theme of truculence has not paid off.  The Maple Leafs currently sit in 14th place, nine points out of a playoff position.

Off-season acquisitions Mike Komisarek, Francois Beauchemin, Phil Kessel, Wayne Primeau and Jonas Gustavsson signed to substantially upgrade the Leafs roster.  Spectators could only describe the reality of it as failure. From Gustavssons health issues to Toskalas “7-11″ five hole the team fell far from expectations.

Burke must now understand the time arrived to build around “Franchise” Kessel.

Of the aforementioned, only Komisarek would gauge the best return.  However, based on his play this season and inflated 4.5 cap hit he would certainly become a tough sell.

The issue with this Leafs club: UFA central. Lee Stempniak, Alexei Ponikarovsky, Rickard Wallin, Matt Stajan, Vesa Toskala, Jamal Myers, Mike Van Ryn, Garnett Exelby and Primeau all expire at seasons end.  Veteran wing Jason Blake and powerplay quarter back Tomas Kaberle omit themselves from trade talk with a NTC and immovability, respectively.  Burke believes Kaberle reserves the right to stay with his hard work in the organization and thinks Blake to be the hardest working player on the team, which makes him not worth trading at his value.

The question is are these players good players due to being on bad teams or are they held back by being on a bad team?

C: Matt Stajan, 26 – UFA with 734,456 million remaining

Is Stajan case of glorification or actual top line talent? Either way Stajan would make a useful edition for a playoff bound team as his two-way abilities, scoring touch and occasional grit solidifies most team’s top-six. When challenged he proved capable of stepping up his game but will any other team than Toronto bother?

W: Alexei Ponikarovsky, 29 –  UFA with 883,446 million remaining

As an original Leaf, sentimental attachment need not apply. This year the 29-year-old proved he can score without Nik Antropov, certainly a boost in value.  Comparable to Antropov he should fetch at least a second round draft pick and a conditional pick at the trade deadline.

W: Lee Stempniak, 26 – UFA with 1,049,223 million remaining

The lesser of the cast, Leafs fans often regard Stempniak negatively.  Only eclipsing the 20 goal mark once in his career fans hoped he would regain his scoring touch.  This year he may come close to 20 but nothing compared to the dominant power forward he projected to be.  At this point his game lacks great value and would not merit a substantial return.  Stempniak could be moved but low will Burke go?

D: Mike Komisarek, 28 – Signed through 2014 with a 4.5 million cap hit

The Leafs brought in this 6’4″, 243 lbs blue liner to add size. Unfortunately, Komisarek carries a hefty cap hit with very little return besides a physical presence.

Probably unlikely to be traded, but Burke should reconsider when looking at his effect on the current roster.  He does not throw his weight around appropriately which should be his strength.  A change of scenery might benefit the Long Island native.  Would the Islanders be interested in bringing in this hometown boy?

If history repeats itself Stajan’s abilities will show their true colors but not immediately. Observing the careers of other young players who left Toronto, Carlo Colaiacovo and Alexander Steen took over a full year to recover their confidence.  A full season away from a judgmental hockey city, who often find themselves on the losing end of the spectrum, should elevate a player’s game once more.  Ponikarovsky may not fit into this mold but Stajan and Stempniak seem a prime candidates to produce consistently elsewhere.

Anthony Curatolo
NHLHS Senior Writer
acuratolo@nhlhotstove.com
Twitter: @HockeyGuy_AC

Earlier this afternoon, Toronto Maple Leafs GM Brian Burke discussed numerous topics on Leafs Lunch – Leafs Nation Edition with Dennis Bayak.  With the Leafs playing much better than their winless start, they may make some noise during the trade deadline or as Burke alluded to before it.

Personally I have always admired Burke’s honesty in discussing his teams.  He usually gives his fans a perspective on what he plans to do while playing his cards close to the chest.  The GM of the 2010 Team USA program also announced he will release the roster on Monday, December 28th.

Lets break down some of the topics discussed.

On the State of the Team

• Thinks the playoffs are realistic and notes the team work ethic has been great to date.
• Reemphasized not winning their first seven games really hurt their chances of climbing the standings.
• Would like to see both goalies healthy and in rhythm.  Wants two weeks with both Jonas Gustavsson and Vesa Toskala healthy so he can assess the situation and rely on one of them down the stretch.
• Thinks the team shows strong character.  He signed and traded for character and therefore did not ship out players during the beginning of the season.

On Specific Player Personnel

• Likes the added offense of Niklas Hagman, noting the Finn already scored 16 goals, a total he did not make until February of last year.
• Feels Nikolai Kulemin will not be a top six forward but makes a great shut down player and “has third line written all over him.”
• Discussed Jason Blake as the hardest working player on the team.  Does not mind the salary owed to the veteran.
• Will honor the NTC of Tomas Kaberle noting he deserves it with his excellent career performance as well as loyalty to the team.
• Thinks Luke Schenn needs to sit out to teach him lessons.  Last year they did not have the dept to do so.
• Disagrees with Rickard Wallin scoring goals at the NHL level.  Believes he is a fine bottom six player capable of winning face offs but is not nearly strong enough on the puck.
• Believes Matt Stajan plays great with Phil Kessel, filling the first line center position admirably.

Trade Talks and Trade Rumors

• During the losing streak, there were two vulture trades which Burke would have entertained had they continued losing.
• Felt Jiri Tlusty would be an NHL player but not in Toronto.  Thinks Philippe Paradis could be a power forward eventually but was taken too high.  There was one more offer for Tlusty but offered significantly less value.
• No contract talks with Gustavsson.  Still unsure what he has with The Monster.  Prefers not to talk during the regular season but understands it may need to happen.
• Spoke with the Philadelphia Flyers numerous times but nothing regarding Jeff Carter.
• Regarding the Kessel trade, noted how he cannot wait for the stars to align just to make a move for a valuable piece.  Clearly will build around the talented right wing.
• Nobody is untouchable but Burke will not trade a young player who is playing hard.
• The Leafs hold an advantage in the ability to take on salary both on their cap and budget. Burke will try to swing something to that effect before the deadline, but otherwise will make according buy or sell moves depending on the team’s playoff positioning.

On Prospects

• Gave us an update on Chris Didomenico, noting he should be back in six weeks.  Burke mentioned that the injury sustained to his femur could be career threatening but not in this case.
• Expressed excitement to see Nazem Kadri at the World Juniors starting this weekend.  How he performs will be crucial to this kid’s projection.  Kadri scored twice in Team Canada’s 16-0 drudging of Latvia today.
• On OHL overager Jacob Muzzin, the GM showed interest but was not nearly as high on him as other teams.  If you are unfamiliar with Muzzin, we discussed his signing with the Los Angeles Kings last week.

That pretty much sums up the variety of topics discussed.  Some interesting talks in the trade rumors section, as Burke seems to feel Carter will stay in Philadelphia.  The Leafs do hold a competitive advantage with some added cap space and this general manager seems willing to use it at his discretion.   Despite the teams record, the building blocks are there with what could be a very solid core down the road.

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-Alexander Monaghan
NHLHS Founder
thehotstove@gmail.com