Here’s what we learned from the Toronto Maple Leafs
charity golf tournament on Monday:
-
Brian Burke hates ESPN.
-
Nazem Kadri – facing a critical season
ahead - is in the best shape of his career thanks to a former Maple Leaf.
-
Joffrey Lupul is thinking about playing
in Europe if there is a labour stoppage.
-
And James Reimer is THE man, according
to the GM.
First things first: Brian Burke has little time or
use for ESPN.
Of course the Toronto Maple Leafs President and
General Manager said the same thing about Sports Illustrated when they
criticized Captain Dion Phaneuf and called him the most overrated player in the
NHL.
“I don’t think ESPN knows a single thing about
hockey,” Burke told the media at the team’s annual charity golf tournament. “I
think their hockey coverage stinks and I don’t think they know anything about
Canada.”
What has Burke so fired up?
ESPN the Magazine ranked the Leafs last – 122nd
out of 122 teams – in terms of the worst organization in pro sports in North
America.
Not making the playoffs since 2004 (the only team
that hasn’t made the playoffs since the 2004-05 lockout) didn’t help.
That survey was based on a number of factors from
ticket prices to team success to players and coaches.
Leafs fans probably don’t like it but they can take some
comfort in the fact that the Phoenix Coyotes – the team with no ownership –
finished 6th overall! Yes the same team that has been rumoured to be
on the move for years was voted the 6th best franchise in North
American pro sports.
-
Burke also used the golf tournament to say the team
he has now is what he will be going with once the season starts (whenever that
may be).
“We’ve made a couple of changes we think are
important. James van Riemsdyk and Jay McClement are worthy additions to our
team and we’ll go from there.”
He also again sang the praises of James Reimer, his
number 1 goalkeeper – for better or for worse.
“We believe in James,” Burke said. “We said from the
get-go that if we get an opportunity to upgrade we will. But it’s not a frantic
search for a goaltender. He’s a guy who started off great last year, got run
from the side and struggled with injuries and confidence issues. We see no
reason he can’t be the guy we think he can be.”
With rumours the Leafs are interested in Roberto
Luongo – although Luongo seems more interested in Florida – Reimer wasn’t
bothered by all the talk.
“Luckily where I was living (Morweena, Manitoba) I
was kind of sheltered,” Reimer said Monday. “It’s something I can’t really
control. I trust Brian and what he thinks he needs to do. He says he has faith
in me and that’s fine with me.”
Funny what a difference a year can make. Last year
at this time, Reimer was coming off an impressive half season with the Leafs
and when he started the year 4-0-1 Leafs fans were talking playoffs.
Then Brian Gionta ran into him in a game October 22nd,
and Reimer was never the same player.
“The beauty of going through adversity and having a
crappy season, if you can call it that, was that you learn so much. It’s only a
disaster if we don’t learn from it.”
Reimer was 14-14-4 last season with a .900 save
percentage and a GAA of 3.10.
-
Nazem Kadri can’t wait to get on the ice for
training camp. The 7th overall pick in the 2009 NHL draft has heard plenty
of criticism since he joined the team.
They’ve included: He isn’t big enough, doesn’t play
both ends of the ice to he is far too selfish.
That’s why the 21 year old Kadri is so excited for
the season: It will be a chance to prove his critics wrong.
“This is the best I’ve ever felt, I’m so excited,”
Kadri told reporters.
That’s due in large part to former Leaf Gary
Roberts, who has taken a number of young players under his wing in a demanding
nutrition-fitness regime that has worked wonders for the likes of Steven
Stamkos and Jeff Skinner.
Kadri hopes it will work for him as well.
“I feel a lot better than I have,” said Kadri. “My
lower-body strength is where I have improved the most. I think I’m faster,
especially the first couple of steps. That’s something I’ve improved on.”
And just think, Kadri got involved with Roberts
thanks in part to a tweet the former NHL’er sent out in mid-April.
“Think
if @MapleLeafs @43_Kadri trained (with) me this summer Burke would let him on
the big team?
Kadri saw the tweet and got in contact with Roberts.
From working out to watching what he ate Kadri had a busy and what could turn
out to be a life-changing summer.
“It was a pretty tough 10 weeks,” Kadri said, as he
enters the final year of his 3-year entry level contract.
10 weeks the Leafs hope will pay off for Kadri this
season.
-
In past years Brian Burke has signed some well-known
free agents: Colby Armstrong, Tim Connolly and Mike Komisarek just to name a
few.
Let’s just say they haven’t worked out as well as
Burke and Leafs fans had hoped.
So this off-season, Burke really signed just one
free-agent: Jay McClement, who played last season with the Colorado Avalanche.
He agreed to a 2 year deal worth $1.5 million a
season.
He won’t be asked to score 40 goals or be the team’s
long sought after #1 centre.
No McClement will be asked to help on the penalty
kill, a problem for years in Toronto and be the guy to take key face-offs.
Last year, the 29 year-old ranked third in the
league among forwards in short-handed ice time (3:06 per game) and was second
on the Avs with 54 blocked shots.
“All of a sudden I’m a veteran, so I’m excited also
to step in that role,” McClement said to the National Post recently. “In
Toronto, I’m one of the older guys. It’s a great opportunity for me to be a
leader, a quiet leader. Being a part of that is being a good pro and doing the
right things on and off the ice and kind of setting an example.”
By the way McClement will wear # 11 this year.
Why? Because the low-key McClement said it was
available.
-
Joffrey Lupul already lost a season to a lockout and
doesn’t want to lose another as he enters the final year of his deal with free
agency looming.
But if there is a lockout the Leafs forward who
picked up 67 points in 66 games before he was injured, is looking at playing in
Europe.
“I have made some calls and there are definitely
some options to go play there,” said Lupul to reporters at the Leafs charity
golf tournament. “I want to play in Toronto. But on the other hand I have
missed one year of my career to a lockout already and it would be tough to sit
out a second year.”
Lupul is in the final year of a deal that is to pay
him $4.25 million this season.
“Sweden won’t be taking any guys unless it was for
the whole year, but other leagues are open to it,” said Lupul.
Meantime, Captain Dion Phaneuf told reporters he
hasn’t looked at playing overseas this year just in case.
“My focus is to prepare here, and get ready for the
start of training camp. There are no other plans,” said Phaneuf. “I have not even
thought of other options, that’s for
sure.”
