Analysis

Earlier this spring, I compared Carl Gunnarsson to Keith Aulie, following the logic that Gunnarsson was more deserving a top pairing role than Aulie. Looks like - for the moment at least - that's how it's shaken out. Aulie was demoted to the AHL's

The Preseason is over, the final demotions have yet to happen (wait until Monday), and the Leafs now have the regular season on the docket.  It looks like some of the injuries to our centres will sort themselves out prior to Thursday's opener against the Habs, but we&

The mainstream press in Toronto (and across Canada) often has a bit of an axe to grind when it comes to things Maple Leaf.  They dislike the way the team is built, or the people running it, or the coach, or the fans, or the colour of their uniforms, etc.

The other day, I did a break down of the comparison between Luke Schenn and Dion Phaneuf based largely on their play last season defensively. That discussion largely focused on which of those two should be "leading" the Leafs defensively, and really the results came out in a

A few days ago, there was a fairly drawn out debate over whether or not Luke Schenn is a superior defender to Dion Phaneuf. Some would argue Phaneuf is "easily" the superior blue liner, and I feel it's quite easy to concede that fact on an

Nikolai Kulemin scored 30 goals for the Toronto Maple Leafs last season, a figure that was good enough for twenty-ninth in the NHL. The young Russian was even better at even strength, finishing twelfth in the NHL with 24 5v5 goals. It should go without saying that those are excellent

The Nose versus ... the new french guy that might rub people the wrong way with his personality. So what can we expect this season out of the two players that are likely to enter camp this year as potential 4th line centres? Darryl Boyce is a hard working, former CIS

In my first post, I took a look at the entire team's shot locations. In this post, I'm focusing solely on shots taken at 5-on-5 while the Leafs were on the road. To a large degree, the patterns are dictated by a players' position, and

No, this is not a Rorschach test. If you see a butterfly or a pelvis in these dots, it's because you're spending too much time doing drugs and not enough time studying the 2010-2011 Toronto Maple Leafs' shot locations. In the chart above, each individual

Yesterday we ran through the first four selections of the Leafs 2011 Draft, describing statistical comparables and running through some ideas of their potential. I may have come across as a tad harsh with respect to the Leafs first of two first round selections, Tyler Biggs. Before the angry e-mails

Ok, I know a lot of these draft picks are being analyzed from various perspectives around the Barilkosphere already. I'm also aware most of you may have already looked into some of this information. That being said, I'm going to attempt to do a bit of

There seems to be a general consensus within the hockey community that Tomas Kaberle has been a disappointment in Boston. Specifically, we're talking about his production on the man advantage. In twenty-four games with the Bruins, Kaberle amassed a measly three assists on the powerplay. He has since

I find it interesting to read tales of greatness.  Often we are given glimpses into the stepping stones, skill sets, and strengths of those conquering geniuses of sports management whenever they reach the pinnacle of their craft.  The local and national Canadian media are likely to fall all over themselves

Much ink (pixels?) is being devoted to the upcoming contract of Leafs D cornerstone Luke Schenn. Little has been devoted to Carl Gunnarsson, who is the only one of the two playing in the World Championships Gold Medal game. Both young men have acquitted themselves well in the NHL thus

How Optimus was Optimus Reim? How often did Reim Time occur? If we check the OR, will we like it so far (pardon the use of a line from a mid-90's Ottawa Rap Group featuring Tom Green... the letters just fell into place). Well, using the Quality Start

With the draft drawing scheduled for TSN later today, Tuesday, April 12th, it seems fitting that the NHL's Central Scouting Bureau has just released it's final rankings for the 2010-11 season, with a few major shifts since the Mid-Term numbers were released.  Ryan Nugent-Hopkins made the

Tyler Bozak is a second year forward playing big minutes. He's a 24 year old playing a bit out of his depth on the top line, but he hasn't shirked his responsibilities all season long. He's likely suffered as a result of the raised

So after a long drawn out debate over the Leafs shut out loss against the Senators last Saturday, I decided that I honestly didn't know enough about where the Leafs were taking most of their shots on goal this season. 10 shots from dangerous parts of the ice

After the Leafs 2-1 loss to the Boston Bruins on Saturday night, a game in which rookie netminder James Reimer produced another excellent outing, questions about the young player's immediate future were all the talk. Ron Wilson walked out on his post game press conference over it, and

Ok 9 - 3. I doubt anyone saw that coming. James Reimer making 42 saves on 45 shots in his 3rd NHL game? Sure why not. Mikhail Grabovski, Clarke MacArthur, Nikolai Kulemin all scoring 2 goals? Sure why not. Tomas Kaberle and Kulemin posting 4 point games? Sure why not.

Youth.  Inconsistency. Promise. Growth. Development. These are all areas of concern for the Leafs fan base.  We haven't seen enough of those aspects in certain corners of this year's club. But in reality - perhaps the over-estimation of results stems from expected quality of play on

Guess what folks, so far this season, it isn't Phil Kessel. Most Leaf fans spend their time arguing over the other "top 3" players we need to skate with Kessel, and whether or not that's a valid assertion is debatable. So far this season

Among the many problems the Leafs are facing right now - from breakouts to special teams to scoring - one that has begun to catch my eye is their faceoffs. Currently, the Leafs win 48.8% of their draws, which is good (or, rather, not so good) for 23rd in

Mikhail Grabovski, Clarke MacArthur, Nikolai Kulemin, Phil Kessel, and Kris Versteeg. That's five players amongst the Leafs top 6 forward group, all of whom are on track to produce 20+ goals. Four of them are on track for a career high in goals. Unfortunately so far they'

Breaking down the Maple Leafs' goal against the Montreal Canadiens.