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Category: Toronto-Maple-Leafs

The NHL Gets The 2013 Winter Classic Location Wrong

by Paul on 02/10/12 at 12:15 PM ET
Comments (15)

from Rob Parker at WDIV, It’s official.

The NHL should really be called the NGL, as in National Gimmick League.

It seems like that’s all the National Hockey League is about these days, so much so that it messed up an event that was actually pretty cool.

Somehow, the NHL powers-that-be didn’t believe that Hockeytown was good enough to host the 2013 Winter Classic.

Terrible.

Instead, they scheduled the Jan. 1 game against the Toronto Maple Leafs and Detroit Red Wings to play at Michigan Stadium. The league simply dissed the fact these two Original Six teams having been playing in Detroit for more than 50 years. Instead, they want to set some silly attendance record by using the Big House to sell more than 100,000 tickets.

It’s cheap, it’s tasteless. Especially since a few years ago Michigan and Michigan State did it already in a college

continued

Filed in: NHL Teams, Detroit Red Wings, Toronto Maple Leafs | KK Hockey | Permalink
 Tags: Winter+Classic+2013,

Toronto Needs Goaltending Help

by Paul on 02/10/12 at 10:08 AM ET
Comments (2)

from Mike Brophy of Sportsnet,

So perhaps a No. 1 centre may not be the top priority for the Toronto Maple Leafs at the trade deadline after all.

On a night when Tyler Bozak, who skates between Phil Kessel and Joffrey Lupul on Toronto’s top line, scored two goals, the focus moved off him and directly into the goal crease.

Leafs goalie James Reimer entered the night riding a three-game winning streak—two of which were shutouts—but he struggled in a 4-3 loss to the Flyers in Philadelphia. In a game where the Leafs really needed big saves, he didn’t have enough in his arsenal. And as well as his partner, Jonas Gustavsson, has played when given the chance to start, the Leafs goaltending continues to be an area of concern on a nightly basis.

continued

Filed in: NHL Teams, Toronto Maple Leafs | KK Hockey | Permalink
 

Bringing Up The Old-School Stories

by Paul on 02/10/12 at 05:59 AM ET
Comments (3)

from Mike Brudenelli of the Detroit Free Press,

“When Bill (Ezinicki) turned pro, it started all over again,” Lindsay said. “He was traded to Boston, and one night we were playing in Detroit and he hit me over the brow with his stick, and there was blood all over the place. We didn’t have helmets or face masks then.

“Anyway, I thought I can’t let the guy get away with it, so I took my stick and whacked him where he whacked me. He drops his gloves and stick, and I thought, ‘Lindsay, you’ve created a mess for yourself now.’

“Well, we got going, and I don’t know where Bill’s mind was that night ... but I knocked two of his teeth out and put 22 stitches in him. The officials separated us. Bill was bleeding, and I was happy.”

Ezinicki broke away from a linesman and the battled started again.

“I jumped on him and straddled him ... and started punching,” Lindsay said. “Gordie (Howe) says, ‘Ted, he’s out.’ I said, ‘I’m going to kill the SOB.’

“After taking a shower, I headed into the first-aid room. I poked my head in and said, ‘You all right, Izzy?’

“He replied: ‘I’ll get you, you SOB.’ “

read on for Mickey Redmond’s reaction to the Winter Classic…

Filed in: NHL Teams, Detroit Red Wings, Toronto Maple Leafs, NHL Talk, Old School | KK Hockey | Permalink
 Tags: Ted+Lindsay,

Video- Hartnell Celebrates A Goal With A Fight

by Paul on 02/09/12 at 08:10 PM ET
Comments (4)

Both Scott Hartnell and Dion Phaneuf received 5 for fighting and Hartnell also was given 2 for slashing.

Filed in: NHL Teams, Philadelphia Flyers, Toronto Maple Leafs | KK Hockey | Permalink
 Tags: Dion+Phaneuf, Scott+Hartnell,

What Will The Next 24/7 Bring?

by Paul on 02/09/12 at 05:34 PM ET
Comments (2)

from Justin Bourne of The Score,

So while there’s bound to be a number of surprises as there have been in the past, there’s also a few things we know we can count on being great, as we knew John Tortorella was going to be.

Here are five of those things:

The coaches: Ron Wilson and Mike Babcock

Get this: when Peter Laviolette was asked who he thought could be the breakout star from a Red Wings/Leafs 24/7 he said….Ron Wilson. Insert Tim Allen question-grunt sound here. (James Mirtle of the Globe and Mail got a number of great quotes from Laviolette on 24/7, which you can read here).

“I know Ron – he’ll have fun with it,” Laviolette said of Wilson, who he has coached with internationally with Team USA. “He’s got a good personality [for the show].

I did not see that coming.

What I DO see coming is the enigma that is Mike Babcock. He’s going to HATE having the cameras in his office, in his dressing room and every way he turns. The man is a serious Canadian beauty who puts hockey ahead of all else (and actually reminds me of a likable Bill Belichick, especially in his preparation).

He’s a great guy who doesn’t reveal his personality much over the course of a season, but I think over those four weeks, we’ll get to see it. If he agrees to go through with it, I can see him ending up pretty high on the list of coaches we’ve seen so far.

more

Filed in: NHL Teams, Detroit Red Wings, Toronto Maple Leafs | KK Hockey | Permalink
 

2013 Winter Classic Announcement

by Paul on 02/09/12 at 10:11 AM ET
Comments (5)

If available, I will post a stream of the announcement which is scheduled for 10:30am ET.

Streaming should be from both Comerica Park at 10:30am followed by a conference at 11:15am from The Big House.

Stream can be watched below when available…

added 10:26am, Stream is now live below…

Continue Reading »

Filed in: NHL Teams, Detroit Red Wings, Toronto Maple Leafs | KK Hockey | Permalink
 Tags: Winter+Classic+2013,

The Schenn Brothers Together In Philadelphia?

by Paul on 02/08/12 at 11:06 PM ET
Comments (0)

from Lance Hornby of the Toronto Sun,

Luke Schenn has a natural inclination to watch out for his kid brother Brayden.

And while that task would be a lot easier if both were on the same bench for the Philadelphia Flyers, that’s not quite the close proximity that Luke is thinking of right now. While gainfully employed by the Maple Leafs, there continues to be speculation Luke will somehow join Brayden in orange and black by the Feb. 27 trade deadline, if not elsewhere.

Something with the Leafs and Flyers was cooking a few weeks ago for forward James van Riemsdyk, before the Flyer winger suffered a concussion. He remains out of their lineup, while Philly is still looking for depth on defence after losing Chris Pronger.

For Thursday at least, the Schenns will be on opposite sides of the Wells Fargo Center. The six-foot, 200-pound Brayden’s place on the Flyers was unclear in the first meeting back in November.

“Knock on wood, he’s playing (regularly) there now and he’s healthy,” Luke said. “That’s good to see. I’m excited to be going down there and looking forward to having dinner with him (Wednesday night).”

continued

note 11:55pm, The original title was a human error by me, I had Toronto instead of Philadelphia.  Sorry for getting Leafs fans excited.

Filed in: NHL Teams, Philadelphia Flyers, Toronto Maple Leafs | KK Hockey | Permalink
 Tags: Brayden+Schenn, Luke+Schenn,

The Big House Will Host The 2013 Winter Classic

by Paul on 02/08/12 at 12:38 PM ET
Comments (5)

from Paige Percy and Matt Slovin of The Michigan Daily,

The NHL will pay the University $3 million to rent the Big House and will require use of the stadium from Dec. 1, 2012 to mid-January, according to a communication to the regents from Athletic Director Dave Brandon and Timothy Slottow, the University’s executive vice president and chief financial officer. The Winter Classic game will take place on Jan. 1, 2013 and has an alternate date of Jan. 2, 2013.

During the meeting, Brandon said the NHL is expected to donate a “significant” amount to student scholarships at the University from its charitable foundation….

Brandon said he expects the event to draw in excess of $14 million in economic activity to Ann Arbor.Newman added that the economic boost is one of the key reasons the regents approved the lease.

“One of the factors that we discussed when considering this was the economic value to the city of Ann Arbor and the surrounding community and the goodness this would do for restaurants and hotels and shops and other activity in the area,” Newman said. “I think that at a time of year where it’s otherwise quiet, doing something like this makes a lot of sense.”

more

Filed in: NHL Teams, Detroit Red Wings, Toronto Maple Leafs | KK Hockey | Permalink
 Tags: Winter+Classic+2013,

Leafs Looks Like A Playoff Team

by Paul on 02/07/12 at 10:35 AM ET
Comments (0)

Scott Burnside and Pierre LeBrun discuss whether the Leafs’ playoff push, the Oilers’ trade options and the Lightning’s decisions at the deadline.

Scott Burnside: Greetings, mon ami. You saw a pretty interesting hockey game last night in Toronto as the Leafs bested the streaking Edmonton Oilers (OK, streaking is a relative term when it comes to the Oilers) by a 6-3 count. What I found interesting is that in the past this was the kind of game that always seemed to trip up the Leafs. Toronto had won two straight, but the plucky Oilers had won three and been the object of much attention with Sam Gagner’s eight-point explosion against Chicago last week. And sure enough, they gave up a goal 21 seconds in (scoring dynamo Sam Gagner drawing an assist on Jordan Eberle’s 23rd of the season)....

LeBrun: Scotty, this is the best stretch (11 of 12 possible points) I’ve seen the Leafs play under Ron Wilson as head coach, at least when the games still matter.

Last Tuesday night in Pittsburgh, you wondered how the Leafs would react after blowing a 4-1 lead and losing in a shootout. Well, they’ve won three straight games, outscoring their opponents 12-3 and showing signs that this club should be playoff-bound…

more plus other topics too at ESPN….

Filed in: NHL Teams, Toronto Maple Leafs | KK Hockey | Permalink
 

Leafs May Not Make Any Big Moves

by Paul on 02/06/12 at 09:46 PM ET
Comments (2)

from Bob McKenzie of TSN,

Three weeks to the deadline, and Toronto Maple Leaf fans will hate to hear this but there is a very real chance the team doesn’t make a significant move between now and the trade deadline.

Of course, things can change at a moment’s notice but the Leafs’ wish list is very specific, they want a top six forward with size who can score.

And there just aren’t too many of them floating around right now.

James van Riemsdyk has a concussion, he’s not a factor for the Leafs at this point.

Jeff Carter has a contract that Leaf GM Brian Burke would have difficulty taking on, especially when the Leaf GM has been so vocal against those long-term deals with the bogus years at the end.

Anaheim isn’t moving Bobby Ryan or any of their big boys right now.

continued

Filed in: NHL Teams, Toronto Maple Leafs | KK Hockey | Permalink
 

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