Leafs ready for intense training camp

If the Toronto Maple Leafs are to have any success this season, they better work hard and compete.

It sounds like a cliché but it is a point that was repeated often Sunday morning, before the Leafs hit the ice for the start of training camp.

“We are going to push guys a little harder. It’s going to be an intense camp,” said coach Randy Carlyle.

“We’re going to have a young group,” said GM Dave Nonis.  “You’re going to see some mistakes from some of the young players. But we can’t take nights off. And if we’re going to have any success at all, we have to be a committed team.”

“You talk about team toughness and being physically combative, it’s about winning one-on-one battles,” stressed Carlyle. “Our expectation is to win a fair share of those one-on-one battles.”

Carlyle said last year the Leafs failed to compete in “all three zones” and that will not be acceptable this year. That will make this 6-day training camp one that will feature plenty of skating drills and lots of attention to special teams and defensive zone coverage.

“We’re going to push this group a little harder in some areas where they normally haven’t been pushed,” said the head coach. “And that means that you’re going to have to win more of a one-on-one battles when you’re expected. That’s the reality of it. That’s where hockey has gone. You have to win the battles in the tight areas.”

Nonis likes the skill level of his team and the depth on defence.

Look for the Leafs first round pick last June, Morgan Rielly to be given a chance to make the team. Cody Franson has been re-signed but Jake Gardiner is not ready yet to start the year as he continues to be shut down by a concussion.

“The other aspect of it is it’s going to be just as important to prevent a goal as it is to score a goal,” said Carlyle. “Recognition of that is not going to be taken lightly.”

As far as the goaltending situation, Nonis gave James Reimer a strong endorsement.

“James is going to have to be prepared to step in and play Saturday (season opener in Montreal),” said Nonis. “We don’t need to make a move. Physically he looks real good, as fit as I’ve ever seen him.”

“There is only going to be a change in goal if we can upgrade without taking away very good players from our reserve list,” stressed the GM.

So as it sits now, it looks like Reimer and Ben Scrivens will be the goaltenders to start the season.

And Nonis has no plans to acquire a player – or players – if that impacts on the future.

“What people want is for us is to put a plan in place that will offer a team that will be competitive for years and to stick to that plan. As that plan is progressing, work as hard as we can to move it along. I don’t think we can do much more than that in terms of the on-ice hockey product.”

Brian Burke offers no excuses

There are a few things that you can always count on: death, taxes and memorable Brian Burke news conferences.

The former President and General Manager of the Toronto Maple Leafs met the media on Saturday, for the first time since he was let go from his post Wednesday. He did not disappoint.

“I was stunned by this turn of events no question about it,” said Burke. “I don’t know if I could feel any worse. This was like a 2 by 4 upside the head for me.”

Burke’s Leafs posted a record of 129-135-42.

Talk all you will about Burke’s questionable free agent signings or his bombastic and combative attitude, there is no denying Burke failed to win enough to keep his job.

“We didn’t win enough, and that’s why we’re here today,” said Burke. “I apologize to the fans that I wasn’t able to deliver more to the on ice product. I did not accomplish what I set out to accomplish.”

Burke admitted going through 10 goaltenders during his time in Toronto will in part define his legacy as Leafs GM.

“Clearly goaltending was an issue here, clearly,” admitted Burke. “It is not for lack of trying we weren’t able to solve it. I still believe if James Reimer hadn’t gotten hurt it wouldn’t have been an issue.”

Burke was told why he was fired, but refused to tell the media.

“I view that as something between me and ownership. I believe some of those things belong in the board room,” Burke said.

It is strongly suggested that the new ownership of Rogers and Bell media didn’t like Burke’s image and that – along with a poor job on the ice – resulted in this surprising turn of events.

“I would like to go to work for a team that doesn’t get sold next time. Someone buys a team they have the absolute right to have their guy. I have to pick better next time. The people that hired me hired Brian Burke. Maybe the new guys don’t like that brand. I’m not changing.”

Burke is a Senior Advisor to the Leafs, but was told not to report to the hockey operations side, but to the board of directors. That doesn’t sit well with Burke who admits he wants to be a GM again “tomorrow.”

“If we won enough games you can be as obnoxious as you want to be if you are in first place. We didn’t win enough games.”

Burke says he never was given a “satisfactory” answer as to the timing of the firing, but stressed his firing was handled with class.

“It’s the Vatican. It’s the biggest stage in hockey.”

A stage that becomes quieter without Burke on the scene.

Brian Burke out as Leafs GM

Why was Brian Burke fired?

Plenty of reasons are out there, such as:

- He was reluctant to acquire Roberto Luongo in a trade with Vancouver, as Sportsnet has reported?
- The team has a large payroll, and have never been in the playoffs during Burke's time as GM?
- The Phil Kessel trade haunts the Leafs and will continue to do so for years?
- New ownership wanted a GM who was less vocal/confrontational?
- New ownership wanted the players to be the face of the franchise, not the loose tie wearing GM?
- A combination of all of the above?

Whatever the reason, Brian Burke's time has GM of the Toronto Maple Leafs is over.

When he was hired in 2008, Burke called Toronto the Vatican of hockey cities - if one is a Catholic - and that running the team was "one of the most important jobs in hockey on the planet."

Now less than 5 years later Burke is out of a job.

Burke's hiring November 28, 2008 was met by enthusiasm. After all, he won a Stanley Cup with Anaheim just a year prior. But when the bombastic Burke took the job, he warned it wouldn't be easy to turn a franchise - one that last made the playoffs in 2004 - around.

"Rebuilding this team is not going to be easy," said Burke at the time of his introduction (he  signed a six-year, $18-million US deal). "Changing the general manager doesn't change the team. It is going to take some time and some patience. Changing the general manager does not change the roster we are going to dress tonight. It doesn't change the record of our team and it doesn't change the chapters of history with unfulfilled expectations that preceded today. What it does represent is the turning of the page."

On the day he was hired, Burke talked about having a tougher team "We require, as a team, proper levels of pugnacity, testosterone, truculence and belligerence. That's how our teams play."

But at the end of the day his teams were more finesse than physical and while he always said he would build the team from the net out, he never has his goaltending situation settled.

That leads us to all the Roberto Luongo trade speculation, and while rumours persist that his reluctance to bring in Luongo was the last straw for the new ownership contingent of Bell and Rogers media, it is fair to say the Leafs problems run deeper than just questionable goaltending. (It should be noted new Leafs GM Dave Nonis acquired Luongo from Florida when he was in Vancouver)

Since Burke was hired in Toronto, the Leafs have a record of  129-135-42, tied for 26th among the 30 NHL teams during that stretch. They have not made the playoffs and during Burke's time, the Leafs rank 30th in goals against per game and 30th on the penalty kill.
It was Burke who made the bold (you could say franchise altering) move of acquiring Phil Kessel for draft picks (who have turned out to be Tyler Seguin and Dougie Hamilton, two players who have star written all over them.)

Burke's critics will say his inability to be patient (the Leafs haven't won a Stanley cup since 1967) and his desire to make a push now has cost them a chance to rebuild in the mode of the Pittsburgh Penguins and/or Edmonton Oilers.

He also was quite indignant about the matter when he was asked about taking a more patient approach and building the Leafs through the draft when he barked at the media, “What’s the Pittsburgh model? They got a lottery. They won a goddamn lottery and they got the best player in the game (Sidney Crosby). Is that available to me? Should we do that? Should we ask the league to have a lottery this year, and maybe we pick first? Pittsburgh model, my ass. I mean, they got the best player in the game in the lottery. Ray Shero’s done a good job. He’s an excellent GM and he’s a friend of mine. But I love when people talk about the Pittsburgh model. The simple fact is, they got the best player in the draft. We came in second that year in Anaheim. We got Bobby Ryan out of that — impact player, good player. They got Sidney Crosby in the lottery.”

To be fair to Burke, he has been able to get some top quality young players via trade and free agency and drafts. Among them, defenceman Jake Gardiner, Matt Frattin and Nazem Kadri.

Did Burke have a fair shot in Toronto? To be a GM for four-plus years suggest yes. But the timing of the deal is odd, just days before training camp is to start.

But the Leafs haven't shown much improvement and while the minor league team (Toronto Marlies) are better (in the AHL final a season ago) does that mean players from that team will be able to step in and help the Leafs anytime soon? Most likely no.

Apparently ownership felt it was time for a new voice (one less bombastic).

You get the feeling this was a decision made weeks ago and not even another season would have made a difference in the eyes of Leafs ownerhsip.

Mats Sundin - Inducted to the Hall of Fame

As Mats Sundin wrapped up his Hall of Fame induction speech, he looked up into the crowd and said to Maple Leafs fans everywhere, “I will never forget what you have given me.”

It was typical Sundin.

In his first year of eligibility, Mats Sundin joined Pavel Bure, Adam Oates and Joe Sakic into the Hall.

“I dedicate my induction to everyone that supported me in my hockey career,” said Sundin.

When you consider how Sundin was for much of his career in Toronto the best player by a wide margin, Maple Leafs fans often wonder how much more team team success Sundin would have had if he had more support around him.

Sundin was able to lead the Leafs to the conference finals twice in his career. He did it with class, grace and humility. He was also a tremendous leader, cared for his teammates and never shied away from the intense pressure of playing in Toronto.

“It’s a special place to play, it adds pressure to the team, the city cares so much about the team and it’s great," Sundin said Monday prior to his induction. "It’s great when you win, but when things aren't going as well as they should, it affects the team and you get more pressure from the outside. A 10-game losing streak in Carolina, no one’s going to notice. But you lose 10 games here, the guys on the team don’t really want to go out and have dinner. It affects it a lot more."

Joe Sakic was impressed by Sundin’s ability to stay calm under pressure in the so-called capital of the hockey universe.

"He did it with nothing but class. What a tremendous leader," Sakic said Monday, prior to his induction. "When you thought of the Toronto Maple Leafs, you thought of Mats Sundin. He really carried this team."

Sundin’s achievements speak for themselves: He was the first European to be taken first overall in the NHL draft; he was the longest-serving non-North American captain in NHL history; he scored 564 goals, 754 assists (1,349 points) in 1,346 games.

Sundin may not have won a Stanley Cup but he did win 3 world championships, an Olympic gold medal and was an 8-time All-Star.

“He was the ultimate competitor,” former Leafs general manager Cliff Fletcher told ESPN.com. “He was so durable. He was so consistent. He wasn’t a streak scorer or a streak player. He was everything a coach would want because you could count on him, game in and game out.”

Sundin wasn’t as flamboyant as Doug Gilmour. He lacked Wendel Clark’s infectious attitude. Following in their footsteps as captain was no easy task, yet Sundin was able to finally become a Leafs fan favourite, through a work ethic that was unmatched on the team.

“It is easy to like Wendel Clark or Doug Gilmour, the played a different game from Mats,” said Pat Quinn, Sundin’s coach in Toronto (1998-2006). “Yet, as a big guy, Mats made things look pretty easy. I thought he was a great captain.”

 “Incredible consistency,” said former teammate Curtis Joseph to ESPN.com. “We would take some of that boring consistency on the Leafs right now, wouldn’t we?”

Sundin is the Leafs leader in points (987), goals (420), game-winning goals (79) and powerplay goals (124).

Never winning a Stanley Cup is missing from his resume. To his teammates it doesn’t take away all he accomplished.

"I used to have coaches that would say, 'You only remember the guys you won with.' Well, I've had really good teammates that were absolutely soldiers and they never won [a Cup]," said Gary Roberts to ESPN.com, a Cup winner with Calgary in 1989. "Does that mean they weren't good people? Ah, no. Mats Sundin was a wonderful teammate, a great person, and I don't think any more or less of him because he didn't win a Stanley Cup."

During his induction speech, Sundin said: Playing professional hockey, being on a team, also taught me a lot about life. You find out who you are, what your strength is, and what your weaknesses are. It’s a great game where you develop skills, your character and your passion. Many coaches claim there is no I in the word team. But Pat Quinn always claimed the opposite. As an individual, you’re responsible for your own work, your own development as a player, don’t hide behind the group, look at someone else to get the job done. So I agree Pat, there is an I in team and that mentality helped me develop as a player and take responsibility for my own game.

When I landed in Toronto on Thursday afternoon, I came home. Driving in from the airport, reflecting on 13 years in Toronto: Living in the city, the friends I made over the years, teammates that I played with.

I thought of the fans — the incredible loyal fans — that bleed Blue and White.

I recall years ago driving down the Air Canada Centre, going down to a playoff game and passing people going to their offices. They’re wearing suits, with a Leaf jersey on top of it. Leaf fans that filled the Air Canada Centre to cheer us on, I will never forget what you have given me. I will never play an NHL game again. The great memories I get to keep forever. Thanks for everything.

 

 

 

 

Maple Leafs hit the links at annual charity golf tournament

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 – 122^nd 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 6^th overall! Yes the same team that has been rumoured to be on the move for years was voted the 6^th best franchise in North American pro sports.

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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 22^nd, 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.

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Nazem Kadri can’t wait to get on the ice for training camp. The 7^th 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.

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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.

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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.”

Stuart Percy hopes he is still in the Leafs future plans

Just like Toronto Maple Leafs fans everywhere, Stuart Percy watched last month's NHL draft eager to see who the Leafs would take.

So when Toronto selected a pair of highly skilled defenceman in Morgan Rielly and Matt Finn in the first two rounds, Percy would have had every reason to have been bothered. After all, Percy was a Leafs 1st round pick last year.

But the 19 year-old insists he has no trouble it.

"I'm not too worried about it," said Percy, who was captain of his Ontario Hockey League team in Mississauga, Ontario last year and is expected to be the leader on the team again this season.

"Teams are going to draft or sign a handful, if not 10 more defenceman, before I get to the system. We got a couple of great young defenceman. It's great to have all that skill on the back end."

“You just kind of expect it,” added the Oakville, Ontario native. “You just have to keep an open mind and enjoy the competition.”

Percy is a smooth skating highly skilled blueliner who struggled with injuries in his third Ontario Hockey League season.

A knee injury and a concussion limited him to just 34 games in which he scored 5 goals and had 20 assists. But he got healthy towards the end of his junior season and was called up to the American Hockey League’s Toronto Marlies where he played a regular season game and 3 more in the playoffs.

“I was hesitant in putting him in,” said Marlies coach Dallas Eakins. “They had been kind of pushing me to give him a try. He surprised me with his play.”

“Guys like Korbinian Holzer (expected to make the Leafs this season) and Ryan Hamilton (Marlies captain) really showed me what it takes to be a pro. Hopefully I can bring that back to Mississauga.”

“It was a great experience and I really know more now how I need to work both in season and off season.” 

Percy knows the odds of cracking the Leafs lineup this fall will be a difficult one so he is focusing on the OHL and looking at being a key member of Canada’s defence corps at the world junior hockey championship.

Of course he will have his eye on the Leafs – hoping sooner rather than later he gets the call to the NHL club on a permanent basis.

For now it’s getting bigger, stronger and faster for what will likely be his final season in junior.

“The season ended June 10, I took a week off and then went back to the gym. You have to take advantage of every moment in the gym.”

James van Riemsdyk willing to play centre in Toronto

He stood in the middle of the dressing room on a hot July day, and James van Riemsdyk must have wondered what he was getting himself into it.

In came 8 television cameras, countless microphones and note pads as the Toronto media anxiously filed into the room, to hear from the Toronto Maple Leafs forward, who just moments earlier stepped off the ice of a hockey school run by the team.

“It’s a little different,” said van Riemsdyk as he looked around the large media gathering. “Obviously is it still July but you sense the excitement over hockey here.”

That you do.

In his first face to face meeting with the Toronto media, van Riemsdyk seemed calm, poised and ready to handle the pressure of playing in the so-called “capital of the hockey universe.”

He also seemed quite open to playing center, a position Leafs coach Randy Carlyle said he would like to see the 23 year-old play in training camp.

“It is something that would be a good opportunity for me,” said van Riemsdyk, who will wear # 21 with the Leafs this season. “I’ve played a little bit in the past. It can help me be a bit more versatile as a player and I think that is always a good thing. I’m definitely excited by the opportunity.”

Van Riemsdyk played center in college, but with the Philadelphia Flyers loaded up the middle, he never played the position during his time in Philadelphia. So to feel better about the position, van Riemsdyk has been spending his down time watching video.

 “I kind of asked for some stuff that he (Carlyle) would like to see out of a centermen so it’s a little bit easier of a transition when I get here for camp,” said van Riemsdyk who had 47 goals and 52 assists for 99 points in three seasons with the Flyers. “It’s a good challenge. The added responsibility of playing 200 feet of the ice is something I’m definitely excited about. “

He’s also excited at the thought of playing with Phil Kessel and Joffrey Lupul and being on the Leafs top line.

“You want to be in those key moments on the ice when the game is on the line,” said van Riemsdyk. “Those are the moments I love being a part of and being out there for. I can be out there in those kind of opportunities it would be great.”

In his three seasons in Philly, van Riemsdyk took 10 face offs. He won just 2 of them.

Injuries have been something van Riemsdyk has had to endure during his NHL career, as he looks to put that past him this year.

As far as an ailing hip – a hip that the Flyers allegedly wanted van Riemsdyk to have surgery on – it’s feeling better.

“It’s all good,” said van Riemsdyk. “That’s what the summer time is for to get everything straightened out. We found a way to strengthen it (exercise program) and keep things feeling good and that’s what I’m going to continue to do.”