J.P. Nikota

News that Jake Gardiner had been recalled from the Toronto Marlies yesterday had a few people scratching their heads, but Brian Burke had this all worked out. Since the Marlies don't play until Saturday, Burke decided that the kid may as well skate with the big team until

Today, I've got a humongous big pile of links for your perusal, and they took me forever to gather. Now, you're going to sit at the table and read them until you're finished, or you're not getting any dessert. Also, it'

Puck Drop: 7:00 TV: Sportsnet Ontario The Toronto Maple Leafs are getting set to kick off the second half of their schedule with a home-and-home against division rivals The Buffalo Sabres. Tonight's game will see the Leafs' at home, and then play in Buffalo on Friday.

Recently, there is plenty of talk in support of our dear friend Jonas Gustavsson. Although I am among the greatest skeptics of The Monster's ability to remain a decent option for the Leafs in goal, numbers don't lie: Even in the organization, few saw this coming,

If you're into advanced statistics, tonight was one of those nights that makes the Leafs' record look less sustainable. The Detroit Red Wings came to town and dominated puck possession for the vast majority of the game, while the Leafs, to their credit, managed to use their

Puck drops: 7:00 TV: LeafsTV, TSN (if you're in Winnipeg) The Winnipeg Jets will be sans Dustin Byfuglian tonight, which is good news for the Toronto Maple Leafs, but for their part, the Leafs will be without Mike Komisarek, Tyler Bozak, John-Michael Liles, and Colby Armstrong, among

Look around you. Look around you. Just look around you. Have you worked out what we're looking for? Correct. The answer is 'Competent Goaltending'. Competent Goaltending can be found in Chapter 10 of the textbook that accompanies this series. Be sure to have your copy books

Win or lose (but mostly win), I enjoy match-ups between the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Tampa Bay Lightning. In recent years, they've been wide-open, high-scoring affairs, and, if I'm being honest, it's refreshing to see a little pond hockey being played every now

Depending on what you decide to call it, there was a heated "debate" or "discussion" yesterday about just where defenders should be standing while killing a penalty. It's good that the Leafs are spending some time sorting out their problems on the PK, but

The Toronto Maple Leafs might have played a tighter game in Florida, but It's a game against the Carolina Hurricanes that they have to look forward to tonight, and they need to pick up points in these games against bottom-rung teams. Currently, the Leafs sit in 7th place,

Things have been a bit lax around here at PPP as we're all on holidays and spending time with family and friends. I just noticed that there wasn't any FTB put up until just now, so I've piled together a few links. It'

But I'm always on time. OK, so by now, it's definitely old news that our dear friend, Ron Wilson, the head coach of our beloved Toronto Maple Leafs, has had his contract extended by another year. Most of you, even though you've been busy

via www.doodleboat.org From all of us here at PPP, we hope that all of you are having a great day with your families at your respective holidays! Of course, today is Christmas, but it's also dab smack in the middle of Hanukkah, and it's

I'm not sure which one of us was slated to do today's FTB, but Chemmy's motto here is usually "blame PPP!" Honestly though, we're only one day away from Christmas, and who could stay mad at this face? In any

When Colby Armstrong (literally) broke into the NHL in 2005-2006 with the Pittsburgh Penguins, he did so in the face of mortal peril. Sadly, not he, nor anyone else in the hockey world yet knew of the dangers of boneitis. Only very recent studies completed by Dr. Birky of the

Alright, everyone. Let's breathe deeply. The Toronto Maple Leafs went into this season a long-shot to make the playoffs, and right now, they sit in a playoff spot. The team may slip into 9th, but things are getting better... slowly. At least, most things are getting better. Let&

Earlier tonight, the Toronto Maple Leafs lost 3-2 in a shootout against the Los Angeles Kings, with Dustin Brown scoring the only goal after overtime. The Leafs, in picking up a consolation point, avoided losing three straight regulation games, but are now only one point ahead of The Winnipeg Jets

Puck drop: 7:00TV: SportsnetRadio: AM640 During a normal day teaching gym, I have to play Coach Bombay. Yesterday, when a grade two kid cried because his friend made fun of him after beating him at soccer, I had to settle the little dispute before sending them back to their

Saying "hate to say I told you so" would be a bold-faced lie. I enjoy being right, even if it's about something that pains me. Since the beginning of the season, Danny Gray's (@ACatNamedFelix) unbridled "PLAYOFFS!!1" optimism has been pitted against

As per James Mirtle, Colby Armstrong is expected to return from his latest bout of bonitis to play Friday against the Washington Capitals. "All you have to do is look at our record with Colby in the lineup," Wilson is fond of saying, going back to last season,

As the blogging world lays siege to the ivory towers of professional journalism (and the dinosaurs therein), there are periodically some noble and righteous men and women caught in the crossfire. You see, it is with great zeal that we, of PPP Amalgamated Heavy Industries and Kitten Ranch LLC, attack

More games against the Florida Panthers and Tampa Bay Lightning? What the hell!? Plenty of links today about last night's game, but naturally, a lot of chatter is about the realignment. Quoth Bettman: "Frankly it's not the seventh and eighth teams that are competing for

Well, it wasn't perfect, but it's nice to see the Buds get back to their (recently discovered) winning ways. Beating the New York Rangers 4-2 is always good news, since we'll probably joust with them in the standings for a playoff spot in the

Felix Potvin was perfect, and the Toronto Maple Leafs' defence played a virtually-flawless game at the Boston Gardens to win 3-0. The high-octane Bruins' offense was ineffectual and superstars Adam Oates and Raymond Bourque were often completely invisible. Nikolai Borchevsky lead the attack for Toronto, scoring two goals

Photo courtesy of Le Greener (via his old post). It was exactly three years ago today that the Toronto Maple Leafs current President and General Manager Brian Burke was hired. That's when the H.M.S. Toronto Maple Leafs began its change of tack, from signing aging veterans