The Quiz - Blue N White Edition

What's going on Leafs Nation? Below is a video of me sitting down with captain of the Tropics, Eric Bauer, and captain of WWGRD?, Marc Berthiaume, to talk all things Leafs. Check it out! 

Leafs Trade Deadline

With the NHL's trade deadline vastly approaching on Monday, February 27th, I will review the Leafs needs and potential players they may bring in.

The Leafs are currently out of the playoff picture, sitting in 10th place in the Eastern Conference. They have a record of 29-25-7, which is good for 65 points. Although only one point out of the highly prestigious 8th playoff spot, a position Florida is currently holding, the Leafs have an abysmal record of 3-6-1 in their last 10 contests. This recent poor play has raised speculation that General Manager, Brian Burke, may be busy come Monday's deadline in a final effort to improve his club.

Needs:

- More fire power up front to take some pressure off the Leafs top line of Lupul-Bozak-Kessel
- More grit up front to make the Leafs a tougher team to play
- Although it may be tough to solve, the Leafs goaltending is definitely an area that needs to be improved

Potential Targets:

Dustin Brown: Brown is a 27 year old right winger who is currently playing for the Los Angeles Kings. Brown is exactly what the Leafs are looking for. He has the size and physicality, as well as the offensive ability needed to help this team score more goals. His contract is also very reasonable, $3.175 million, running to the 2013-2014 season. With the addition of Jeff Carter and the loss of top defenseman, Jack Johnson, it would seem as if the Kings would be willing to move Brown for a solid defenseman. Look for Brown to attract a great deal of attention come deadline day.

Steve Ott: Ott is a 29 year old centreman who is currently playing for the Dallas Stars. Although not as offensively gifted as Brown, Ott is that agitator that every player hates playing against. Ott has the ability to get the opposition off their game and win some fights here and there.

Jonathan Bernier: Bernier is a 23 year old goaltender who is currently playing for the LA Kings. Although it seems very unlikely that Burke would be able to upgrade his goaltending by Monday, Bernier is definitely a goalie who seems available. Although Bernier is a solid goaltender, he is a backup for the Kings and, in my mind, would not provide a big enough of an upgrade to the Leafs goaltending situation to make a deal for him worthwhile.

Leaf Talk Podcast

Below is the link to the chats I had with Leaf head coach Ron Wilson following the Buds 2-1 lost to the Winnipeg Jets on February 7th as well as the talk I had with Mats Sundin following his honoring on Saturday night, a game the Leafs lost 5-0.

http://www.box.com/s/uliy0h4lax3kj16ai0p1

Mats Sundin Top 10

Here is a Mats Sundin Top 10!

Leafs Land Winter Classic

 Rink at Michigan Stadium

Hello readers, I'm going to drop in here for a quick little update on the great news that was brought to Leafs Nations attention Thursday morning. After weeks of speculation, the rumors have finally been confirmed, the Leafs will be squaring off against one of their Original Six rivals, the Detroit Red Wings for the 2013 Bridgestone Winter Classic. The game is set to be played on New Years Day and at Michigan Stadium, or as some refer to it as, "The Big House." Michigan Stadium is home to the University of Michigan Wolverine's football team and is the largest stadium in North America, with a capacity of around 115,000. This Winter Classic has potential to break the record for attendance at a hockey game. 

"Even with 115,000 or more tickets available, we still won't have enough to satisfy the demand," said commissioner Gary Bettman.

Not only will the infamous Winter Classic be held in the Detroit area, there will also be a slue of other events that will be sure to catch the eyes of hockey fans galore. The NHL is calling these other events the Hockeytown Winter Festival at Comerica. Comerica Park is the field that the Detroit Tigers call home. The ballpark rink will be hosting an American Hockey League game between the Toronto Marlies and the Grand Rapids Griffins, the two AHL affiliate organizations of the Leafs and Wings. Also, the Ontario Hockey League's Winter Spitfires, Saginaw Spirit, Plymouth Whalers and London Knights will also be taking part in games at that same rink. College, high school and sledge hockey games will be played as well. Public skating will too be available at the Comerica rink.

Needless to say this event will be a crazy one that you will not want to miss. I think general manager Brian Burke sums it up nicely:

"It's Hockeytown versus the centre of the hockey universe"

Leafs Reaction:

Brian Burke:

Dion Phaneuf:

Optimus Reim Shines Again

  Battle of Ontario   

Pre-Game Facts:

- This is the fifth of six meetings between these provincial rivals
- The Leafs won the first installment of the Battle of Ontario but the Sens have taken the last three
- Ottawa is looking to end a five game losing skid while the Leafs are looking to improve their record to 4-0-1 in their last five games.
- Toronto's Mikhail Grabovski has three goals and five assists in his last four games
- Injuries: Toronto forward Daryl Boyce (back spasms) and Ottawa forwards Peter Regin (shoulder) and Jesse Winchester (concussion)
- Starting Goalies: James Reimer (TOR) and Craig Anderson (OTT)
Leafs goaltender James Reimer was all smiles after his team trumped the Ottawa Senators in their own building on Saturday night, 5-0. The sophomore netminder stopped 49 Senator shots to record his third shutout of the season and his second in as many games. The Leafs opened the scoring at 13:47 of the first period when Phil Kessel buried his 27th goal of the 2011-2012 campaign. Kessel followed up his own shot, that was originally blocked by defenseman Matt Carkner, to beat Anderson high glove. Shortly after, at 17:02 of the first, captain, Dion Phaneuf scored his eighth of the year on the powerplay off a beautiful feed by Kessel. The Leafs fired 16 shots on Anderson after the first while Ottawa mustered 12 on James Reimer. The first period ended 2-0 Leafs.

The second period seen the Senators register way more shots than the Maple Leafs but Reimer stood his ground, not letting any get behind him. Optimus Reim made 21 saves in the frame. Although out shot in the period, the Leafs were the only team that got one behind the opposition. At 8:25, centreman, Tyler Bozak scored his ninth of the season off another great dish by Phil Kessel. The period ended 3-0 Leafs.

The Leafs were looking to just hold onto this lead in the third and gain a much needed two points on a team within reach in the Eastern Conference standings. Toronto got an insurance marker 5:39 into the period from an unlikely source. Defensive defenseman, Luke Schenn, got his second goal of the season on a great wrist shot that alluded Craig Anderson. Another defenseman got into the fun as Cody Franson added another tally for the Leafs on the powerplay at the 12:17 mark. That was the final goal of the game as it ended 5-0 Leafs. Toronto finished with 15 shots in the period for a grand total of 40 for the game. Ottawa finished with 16 shots in the period for a grand total of 49 for the game. The Leafs now hold down 8th spot in the Eastern Conference, only one point back of the Senators with three games in hand. 

Leafs goaltender James Reimer celebrates a 5-0 shutout win in Ottawa on Saturday night

James Reimer after the W:

"I really wanted to step it up a bit and the only way I know how is to work hard and do what I think is right and so I went home and got in a little better shape (during the all-star break). I never could have guessed that it would come with back-to-back shutouts; that's a lot of fun to experience.''

Phaneuf commented on the fans in Ottawa after the game:

"Any time we come here the fans are great supporting us. The fans are so loud and it's a great atmosphere to be a part of. It had a playoff type atmosphere."

Three Stars:

James Reimer (TOR): SV%: 1.00 GA: 0
Phil Kessel (TOR): 1 G, 2 A, +3, 6 SOG
Tyler Bozak (TOR): 1 G, 2 A, +3, 1 SOG

Highlights of Saturdays game: