Controversial situation!

Last night, during the first intermission of the Leafs game, the TSN panel held "The Quiz", which is a segment in which the host, James Duthie, asks three hockey analysts their opinions various questions relevant to the hockey world. Last night, one of the questions was, "Should the Toronto Maple Leafs pursue Steven Stamkos?" Steven Stamkos plays for the Tampa Bay Lightning and is one of the leagues best players. He is a Toronto native and has been the subject of controversy after last years playoffs when he expressed displeasure with his coach because of his playing time and position. Two of the three analysts believe that the Leafs should be pursuing Steven Stamkos when his contract is up at the end of the 2015-2016 season.

Early this afternoon, the controversy grew larger when, on the Leafs Lunch radio show, host Brian Hayes pointed out that Steven Stamkos "liked" the question when it was posted on Twitter. Could this mean that Stamkos wants to be a Toronto Maple Leaf? Is he coming home? This is an incredibly exciting prospect for Leafs fans. Stamkos is a former 60 goal scorer and is, arguably, the biggest sniper and purest goal scorer in the league. Adding a guy like Stamkos would expedite the rebuild process for the team. Having a guy like him around would be incredibly beneficial for the Leafs young, upcoming stars like Mitch Marner, William Nylander and Kasperi Kapanen as he could be a great mentor.

There is one thing I am a little worried about, however. I do not want the Leafs to trade for Stamkos. I would be absolutely ecstatic if Stamkos decided to sign with Toronto as a free agent, but I do not want them to give up any of their young talent for him. They need to be patient and they need to do things right. If Stamkos is willing to sign in the off-season, that would be great. If the Leafs trade with them, I will be very disappointed. As much as I want Stamkos to come home to Toronto and lead the Buds to their first Stanley Cup in almost 50 years, I want it to be done in the off-season.

You have to admit, he'd look good in a Leafs jersey.

Quarter Season Update

The NHL season is just over a quarter of the way through, so I wanted to take the time to personally evaluate the Toronto Maple Leafs. I'll discuss how they've done, where they're headed and what I'm hoping for by the end of the season.

The First Quarter:

The Leafs have done pretty much what they were expected to do as of this point in the season. They're one of, if not the most, hard working teams in the league, but they have a severe lack of talent. Their top goal scorer is Leo Komarov, who was on their fourth line last season. The first twenty games have been just the disappointment the doctor ordered for the Leafs; tons of close, one-goal losses. In order for the team to be successful in the future, they need to go through the growing pains now. As painstaking and depressing as it is, it is a necessary stage in the rebuilding process and we just have to keep hoping for next year.

The Short-Term Future:

For me, I want the Leafs to continue at the pace they are at right now. Some games are absolutely brutal to watch, and some games they show youthful exuberance and play outstanding; most recently in St. Louis where they dominated the Blues in a 4-1 win with the help of Nazem Kadri's two goals. Ideally, guys like Brad Boyes, Daniel Winnik, Michael Grabner and the like will earn their keep with the Leafs and get shipped out at the trade deadline for draft picks and young talent.

By the end of the season, I want the Leafs to end up in the bottom three so they have the best chance to pick first and acquire the coveted Austin Matthews.

Reflection

Last night's game went much better than I anticipated. I had an extremely long day and haven't been feeling particularly well for the past few days, so I really wasn't sure I wanted to be going all the way to Toronto to watch a lackluster team play. After the game, I realized that I was pleasantly mistaken.

The Leafs played what was probably their best game of the season. They got off to a bit of a rocky start, going to the penalty kill just a few minutes in to the game. I remember thinking, "oh great, here we go." Needless to say, I was absolutely thrilled when Leo Komarov came in short-handed and absolutely ripped one upstairs on the Colorado goalie. Special teams played a huge role for the Leafs last night, scoring four goals on the power-play and one while short-handed. They took home the win with a convincing score of 5-1 and I was incredibly pleased.

These were our seats!

Aside from the fact that I love hockey and the Leafs, I think the best part of the night was getting to spend some quality time with my dad. It isn't very often that we both have time to just drop everything and do things like this, so when it does happen it's always really special. I think we may have set a record getting home from Toronto after a Leafs game. From our seats in the Air Canada Centre to our front step in Stoney Creek, it took us roughly 50 minutes. It's always a good night when you get to see the Leafs win and get back from Toronto at a decent time!

Game Time

Today I am going to my first Leafs game of the season. At first, I didn't plan on going to any of the games this year, as I feel like it is best for the team to keep losing in order to obtain a top three first round draft pick. However, I cannot help the fact that I am a delusional fan that just wants his team to succeed, so I caved and I am going to a game with my dad tonight. They play the Colorado Avalanche and I'm really hoping there is a lot of scoring, for the Buds that is, and hope they come out with the win. 

As horrible as the season started, they are not doing horrendously when compared to their division. They currently sit last in their division at 5-9-4, but are only five points out of a playoff spot because the rest of the division, excluding Montreal, have not been successful either. The logical part of me really wants the Leafs to tank, and I mean absolutely tank. I want them to finish dead last and have the best chance at getting the #1 overall pick in the draft. But, unfortunately, I can't just not cheer for my team. I can't believe I am so conflicted over a hockey team.

Intro

I've never actually written a blog before, so this is an entirely new experience for me. While trying to decide what I wanted to write about, I tried to think about what I feel the most passionate about and that is, without a doubt, Toronto sports, the Leafs and Jays in particular. This blog will just be a place where I can voice my opinion on all things that pertain to both the Jays and the Leafs.

For my first entry, I wanted to just discuss my opinion on how the teams are trending, both presently and for the future. I'll start with the Jays since they are having the most success right now. About thirty minutes ago, the Jays won game five of the ALCS and have brought the series closer at 3-2 for the Royals. I am optimistic that the Jays can make the comeback as they've got their 1/2 starters available to pitch the final two games. If Price and Stroman pitch gems, I really like the Jays chances. I also feel like the Jays have set themselves up nicely for the future. They have key pieces inked for the next few seasons and will have the money to sign quality starting pitchers. They've also got three great, young pitchers in Stroman, Sanchez and Osuna, which bodes well for the future.

The Toronto Maple Leafs have been such a disappointment over the last ten years that I've been religiously watching. After multiple seasons of not making the playoffs, they blew a 4-1 lead in the last ten minutes and eventually lost in a heart-breaking overtime period against the Boston Bruins, back in the shortened 48 game season. Since that season, the Leafs have not made the playoffs and have produced abysmal results. After the most recent season, the Leafs brass have made solid in-office acquisitions, bolstering the coaching staff with Mike Babcock at the head and adding a solid, veteran general manager in Lou Lamoriello. I really like the future of the Toronto Maple Leafs. It's going to take a while, but we've got the right guys heading the ship. It's going to be a long couple of seasons at least, but I am incredibly excited for what's to come.