Well, if you don’t have tickets for the came, you should come downtown to Shoeless Joe’s at Bloor and Spadina for Fan Appreciation Night!

If you haven’t heard of the Fan Appreciation Night concept before, what Shoeless Joes usually does is, on select Leafs game nights, offer up a pound of wings or a gourmet burger to everybody who came to the location if the Leafs win that night. It’s a pretty cool concept, but Bloor and Spadina wants to build on that.

Basically, here’s the good. If you come by for the Leafs game tomorrow night, beer and mixed drinks are $4. If you’re wearing a Leafs jersey, food is 15% off. If the Leafs win, you win a voucher for a free pound of wings or a gourmet burger. As well, a random person will win $50 in credit, which for most will ensure that this is an enjoyable and free night.

It’s an easy location to get to, as well – walking distance from Spadina station (slightly south). If you need the exact address, it’s 720 Spadina Avenue. Game audio will obviously be on, because it would make no sense otherwise.

The only bad thing about this is that I’ll be around. The bright side? You can chirp me in person! Seriously though, if anyone comes by, I’m looking forward to seeing you there. Look for the Kessel third jersey if you want to say hi!

This is my last article on him unless something actually goes down, which would be much to my dislike. But I want to get these stats out there, and I think an article would be a better place to put them than flooding twitter with it all. Plus, this is more easily linkable if you want to show it to a friend (which, you totally should). I’m not really saying anything one way or another with these stats, and some of them are pretty solid (the giveaway and takeaway comparison particularly), though I will say one thing – I don’t really care if you’re spending time with the Columbus Blue Jackets, you’d expect more than “pretty solid” out of a 7.8M player. Here’s how Rick Nash’s stats would stand up to the Leafs forwards.

Players are bolded if they’ve played 5+ less games than him in a non-percentage stat.

Points: 39 / Rank: T-3
Players Ahead or Tied: Phil Kessel (62), Joffrey Lupul (61), Mikhail Grabovski (39)

Goals: 18 / Rank: T-3
Players Ahead Or Tied: Phil Kessel (30), Joffrey Lupul (23), Mikhail Grabovski (18)

Assists: 21 / Rank: T-4
Players Ahead Or Tied: Joffrey Lupul (38), Phil Kessel (32), Tyler Bozak (22), Mikhail Grabovski (21)

Penalty Minutes: 28 / Rank: 3rd
Players Ahead Or Tied: Mike Brown (50), Joffrey Lupul (44)

Plus Minus: -22 / Rank: 20th
Players Ahead Or Tied: Everyone. (23rd on Columbus As Well)

Powerplay Goals: 4 / Rank: T-3
Players Ahead Or Tied: Phil Kessel (6), Joffrey Lupul (6), Mikhail Grabovski (4), Tyler Bozak (4)

Shorthanded Goals: 0 / Rank: T-4
Players Ahead: David Steckel (2), Joey Crabb (1), Matthew Lombardi (1)

Game Winning Goals: 1 / Rank: T-7
Players Ahead Or Tied: Phil Kessel (5), Clarke MacArthur (4), Joey Crabb (3), Joffrey Lupul (3), Matthew Lombardi (2), Nikolai Kulemin (1), 6 Others (1)

Overtime Winning Goals: 0 / Rank: T-4
Players Ahead: Tim Connolly (2), Clarke MacArthur (1), Mikhail Grabovski (1)

Shots: 219 / Rank: 1st
Players Ahead Or Tied: None

Shooting Percentage: 8.2% / Rank: 15th
Players Ahead Or Tied: Colton Orr (33.3), Clarke MacArthur (18.1), Tyler Bozak (16), Nazem Kadri (16), Mikhail Grabovski (15.4), Joey Crabb (15.1), Phil Kessel (14.6), Joe Colborne (14.3), Joffrey Lupul (13.3), David Steckel (12.3), Tim Connolly (11.3), Matthew Lombardi (10.1), Matt Frattin (9.1), Darryl Boyce (9.1)

Points Per Game: 0.68 / Rank: 5th
Players Ahead Or Tied: Phil Kessel (1.07), Joffrey Lupul (1.05), Mikhail Grabovski (0.75), Tyler Bozak (0.71)

Hits: 82 / Rank: 4th
Players Ahead Or Tied: David Steckel (115), Joffrey Lupul (94), Mike Brown (84)

Blocked Shots: 13 / Rank: T-13
Players Ahead Or Tied: Tim Connolly (55), David Steckel (51), Nikolai Kulemin (38), Tyler Bozak (28), Matthew Lombardi (25), Mikhail Grabovski (23), Joey Crabb (22), Joffrey Lupul (22), Mike Brown (17), Philippe Dupuis (16), Phil Kessel (15), Clarke Macarthur (13)

Missed Shots: 57 / Rank: 4th
Players Ahead Or Tied: Phil Kessel (70), Nikolai Kulemin (62), Joffrey Lupul (59)

Giveaways: 20 / Rank: 8th
Players Ahead Or Tied: Phil Kessel (65), Joffrey Lupul (38), Mikhail Grabovski (35), Tim Connolly (27), David Steckel (24), Clarke MacArthur (23), Nikolai Kulemin (22)

Takeaways: 52 / Rank: 1st
Players Ahead Or Tied: Nobody, by a mile. By far his best stat.

While his stats may be better in Toronto, this is supposed to be a single handedly dominant player on his own – or at the very least, he’s paid like one. Speaking of payment, here’s another bit of stat work for you. The following are Leafs players, divided into groups that have a cap hit of roughly Rick Nash’s 7.8 million. Check it out.

Group 1: Phil Kessel, Nikolai Kulemin (7.75M)
Group 2: Joffrey Lupul, Mikhail Grabovski, Jay Rosehill (7.75M)
Group 3: Tim Connolly, Tyler Bozak, Joey Crabb, Keith Aulie (7.73M)
Group 4: Matthew Lombardi, Clarke MacArthur, Mike Brown (7.486M)
Group 5: Mike Komisarek, Colby Armstrong (7.5M)
Group 6: Dion Phaneuf, Jake Gardiner (7.612M)
Group 7: John Michael Liles, Luke Schenn (7.8M)
Group 8: Carl Gunnarsson, Cody Franson, Darryl Boyce, James Reimer, Jonas Gustavsson, Darcy Tucker’s Buyout (6.975M)

My personal favourite though? Joffrey Lupul, Cody Franson, Jake Gardiner, James Reimer. 7.9 Million.

Just gives you perspective on how much he makes, and what he does compared to the rest of the team.

To make matters worse, the Columbus Blue Jackets have decided that they’re going to give up their 30th place ways and try to discover a way to finish 31st in the NHL, which includes trading the man who has been the face of the franchise for 90% of it’s existence. Nash himself is open to waiving his no trade clause, and since that news has come out (literally within within hours of this article being written), the frenzy has already begun. Here’s what I bring to the table – why?

There are a few fundamental issues with acquiring Nash, that are often forgotten.

First off, lets look at his production in his career. Long past the development stage of his career, Nash has had a whopping one 70 point season, 4 seasons between 60 and 70, 3 between 50 and 60, a rookie year of 39, and is on pace this year for 57, his lowest since 2006-07. Goal wise, he looks better, with a rookie year of 17 goals, two 40 goal seasons (41 in his second year, 40 in 08/09), 4 30 to 40 goal years, a season of 27, and is on pace for 26 this year, his second lowest to date. While good stats for a complimentary player, Nash has been the sophomore guy since his second season. Those are the stats, now lets look at ways they’re defended.

“He’s got nobody around him! There’s always an okayish winger, and at best a decent center with him.” This happens a lot as a defence mechanism, but reality is this also happens a lot in the NHL. The best example would probably be Jarome Iginla, who’s never really had much of anything to help him out. In Iginla’s last nine seasons, he’s been between 60 and 70 points three times, 70 to 80 just once, two years between 80 and 90 points, and at his peak, had a pair of 90+ point seasons. Even this year, he’s on pace for 64 points, at 35 years old. Perhaps Iginla is too high of a comparison? Well, other than the fact that Iggy makes and almost a million dollars less, that’s fine. What other skilled forwards are in the NHL right now, lacking a true centre and has an above average, albeit complimentary winter as his only significant support?

I’ll give you a hint. He was a top 5 draft pick, has scored 60 points in 3 of his last 4 seasons, is 24 years old, and already has more goals and points this season than Rick Nash is on pace for. Sound familiar? Because that’s Phil Kessel.

I’m not saying that Phil Kessel is definitively better than Rick Nash, but at this stage, the argument can be made. To go with that, Nash coming onto the Leafs roster would mean you either a) Break up the chemistry laden Lupul-Bozak-Kessel line (if parts of it aren’t in the deal itself), b) Make that the second line, or c) Put Rick Nash on the second line. If he’s not getting full minutes, how exactly will he get the boost he supposedly is due for?

Actually, forget the minutes – that scenario makes Nikolai Kulemin and Mikhail Grabovski his likely linemates. In terms of feeding him offence, that’s not a ton better than Kristan Huselius and your choice of Antoine Vermette or Jeff Carter.

Moving further on, the next factor you have to look at is salary. Rick Nash has a cap hit of 7.8 million dollars this year. Steep, right? It’ll be the same then next year. And the year after, and four years after that. Yes, Rick Nash is signed until he’s 34 years old. People were appalled with the concept of signing John-Michael Liles until his 34th birthday, and he signed for a dollar figure that is lower than his production and play would’ve indicated him getting. Rick Nash lived up to those dollar figures once in his career, and he wasn’t even making that much at the time. Production wise, his sensible cap hit is closer to half of what it is than its actual number. And people want to take a risk on that for six more seasons? Go back to Phil Kessel – when he’s on a cold streak, his contract gets ripped. He also has two years left at 2.4 million less a season. Just imagine what would happen when Nash proves to be, you know, what he actually is.

Well, this isn’t a big deal, you say – all the Leafs have to do is throw salary back the Blue Jackets way! A little Mike Komisarek, a little Tim Connolly, and…

No. It doesn’t quite work that way. There are teams where Nash actually makes sense to be on, and they’ll be more than happy to either give meaningful, non-negative salary, or have enough space to take him on outright. Toronto would have to give up roster players worth their price, which is when the Grabovski, Lupul, Kulemin, and even Kessel conversations start, and since they would just be starting points, proposals and talks get ugly really fast.

So we’ve come to the point where we’ve realized that he can’t carry a line on his own, and needs the support of others to truly flourish. Also, that salary just won’t line up. But he’s solid two ways, and you want guys like that, don’t you?

The myth that Rick Nash is in any way a two way player is something perpetuated to make excuses for him. For a guy that’s supposedly a two way player, why is he 10th in penalty kill time on Columbus amongst forwards? He’s 10th in Columbus forwards in blocked shots, 6th in hits, and 3rd in giveaways. He is, however, first in takeaways for his teams forwards, I’ll give him credit for that. “But these are better stats than, say, Kessel!” that’s fine. It’ doesn’t mean he’s a particularly amazing two way forward, just that he’s not a liability. Most of the time, at least – he’s had his spurts of laziness, but I’ll cut some lack with the fact that I’d be lazy too if I was on Columbus, being blown out.

This is not to discount Nash as a player overall. He’s still in the upper tier of players in the league, and is a very creative, 65-70 point winger that loves holding the puck. With a great centre who likes to dish, he can do even better on a good team’s first line. The Leafs roster doesn’t suit him – its a better version of what he has now, and there are better options. If he wants a competitor? Pittsburgh (Malkin or Crosby if he returns. Especially Crosby), the New York Rangers (Richards+Gaborik), Detroit (Datsyuk OR Zetterberg) would suit his needs much better. If he’ll join a team in a rebuild, the Islanders (Tavares), Senators (Spezza), or Hurricanes (Staal) would compliment him more. Most of these teams would be more likely to give up useful salary, and are in a better position to give more targeted prospects. There’s less suitable destinations that are still more sensible too. Imagine if the Capitals really wanted to shake things up? While I don’t think he’d work all that well on the same line as Ovechkin, imagine if the Caps offered Semin+?

In short, Leafs fans want Rick Nash because they want a dominant, carry the team forward. One who doesn’t need surroundings to be great. Unfortunately for them, that isn’t Rick Nash. I have no doubt he can make a leap, he just won’t do it on his own. He needs the support. The Leafs don’t have the right kind of support, and will likely have to give up a significant part of the core to see this realization.

And that’s without considering the fact that the team doesn’t have scoring, and isn’t at the “swing for the fences with late season upgrades” yet. I know you guys love the local boy, but trust me – this is one where you sit back and watch the damage it does to the team that thinks it’s the “victor”.

However, some are less than amused by him, and feel forever scarred by an action of his that has many fans in debate to this day. No, I’m not talking about his body’s decision to deny us his graceful head of hair. I’m talking about the infamous “Muskoka 5″ scenario of the 2008 deadline.

For those of you who are too new to Leafs Nation to remember, first off, welcome and I’m incredibly sorry this was the route you chose. Secondly, I guess you need a filling in on this. Essentially, shortly after the Leafs fired rookie burnout GM John Ferguson Jr, Cliff Fletcher was brought in for a second tour of duty as the clubs GM, though this time on an interim basis. The goal of this lap? To blow the team up, essentially the opposite of the last go-around. A lot of the team was easily replaceable – veteran plugs who’s contracts were expiring and could be flipped for minor picks in a flash. However, there were eyes on five guys, who shared two things in common.

For one, they were the indisputable core of the team talent wise. Five players that were top three defencemen, or top six forwards on many teams. All with cap hits of over three million dollars. The players were Darcy Tucker, Bryan McCabe, Tomas Kaberle, Pavel Kubina, and of course, Mats Sundin. The issue with shopping them? The second thing they shared in common – their no trade clauses. They had to be convinced to leave. Suddenly, the eyes of the fans, management, and four of the players were on Mats Sundin. What would he do?

Ultimately, Sundin spent a lot of time weighing whether he’d be alright with jumping ship, or wanted to stay with the Leafs. Despite a trade being essentially finalized to send him to the surging Montreal Canadiens, Mats stayed pat. This, combined with the Leafs playing arguably their best game of the season just before the deadline, lead Kubina to block a trade to San Jose, Kaberle to block a trade to Philadelphia, and Tucker to block a trade to Edmonton. Nobody bit on McCabe, though its never been known if the assumption that he wouldn’t waive interfered with things.
To this day, a lot of people vilify Mats for blocking the trade, saying that leaving would’ve been the ultimate sacrifice for the Leafs. But that’s such an unfair statement.

First off, you’re asking arguably the greatest Toronto Maple Leafs player of all time to take a trade to his arch rival, to attempt to win them a Stanley Cup. In hindsight, that sounds incredibly dumb. As much as I’m sure Mats would like to have a ring right now, winning it with the Habs would’ve likely been bittersweet for him.

Secondarily, the final return for him didn’t turn out to be very significant. Chris Higgins, Mikhail Grabovski, and a 1st round pick sounded like an insane return at the time, but in hindsight, here’s the reality – Higgins almost entirely burned out from almost that exact moment. Grabovski? He looks really, really good right now. It’s a shame the Leafs didn’t get him. And by didn’t get him, I mean he’s been a Leaf for several years anyway, at the cost of a pick the Leafs ended up getting back anyway (at the cost of two picks Chicago used on a couple of project players), and Greg Pateryn, a prospect that doesn’t really matter.

Third, you can’t blame Mats for others following in his footsteps. What, you actually want to say its his fault that he was so respected as a leader that his teammates also decided to go the loyalty route, heading down with the ship? It’s nothing short of an absurd argument.

Besides, none of those deals really bite either. As bad as Jeff Carter and a 1st sounds, if Joe Colborne keeps developing, Kaberle trade 2.0 may be better than the first, or at least make up for it in some respects. Steve Bernier and a 1st for Kubina would have been nice too, but Bernier fanned out as well. Besides, the Sharks backed out of that deal soon as they heard Brian Campbell was on the market, leaving their end of the day offer at Kyle McLaren and some extra picks. Not that much of an upgrade on taking Garnet Exelby for a year. McCabe didn’t get an offer, and was dumped on Florida in the off season. The only one that stings is Tucker – though we never got confirmation of what the offer was, some say it was a second round pick, others say it was Raffi Torres. Neither were massive offers. Both, however, were better than a buyout.

You could make the argument that the Leafs would’ve trailed off worse at the end of the year, but a bunch of kids with something to prove and tons of expiring contracts may have lead to the team playing even harder, and opposing teams putting in less effort. I highly doubt it would’ve brought the team’s pick to Stamkos or Doughty levels.

So at the end of the day, as lucrative as it all looked at the time, perhaps the Muskoka 5 scenario wasn’t the huge destruction of the Leafs rebuild that it was made out to be. However, to put a positive spin on things, it was the ultimate show of loyalty, spearheaded by a man who defines his franchise wanting to stay with it. You may not like how it happened, but you can’t hate an man who saw loyalty in staying with his team through the bad instead of going to his arch rival, rather than to listen to the guys at front office stating “trust us, this makes sense, we think”.

PS: You may notice there’s nothing in there about him signing with the Canucks afterwards. That’s because if you blame him for not retiring because the Leafs wouldn’t offer him a contract, you’re honestly not worth my words.

“He’s making too much money!”

This is easily the weakest of the arguments. I’ve seen a lot of people worried about the actual dollar figure that he’s making per season, which as stated above is under 4 million a year. To put that in perspective, the deal he’s coming off of right now pays him 4.2 million a year over 4 years, signed at the end of the 2007-08 season. At that point, LIles had come off of down season, earning himself just 32 points in 81 games with the Colorado Avalanche. Since that point, his output has improved on a year by year basis, inching closer to his career high in 2005/06 of 49 points. In fact, he was on pace to break it and gain 50 over 82 games if it wasn’t for injuries this year. Even still, over 35 points in this injury-shortened year isn’t unrealistic. So his overall output is on an upswing instead of a downturn right now. To go with that, the Salary Cap is higher now, meaning he could have the same percentage of a dent while earning more money.

But no. Instead, Liles, who’s been said to be very happy with being in Toronto (and with a 4 year commitment, it shows), took over $300,000 less per year, with the contract still not being a “retirement” contract – he’ll be signing at least one more before the end of his career (where that is remains to be seen). In terms of dollar figure’s, its fantastic for a 45 point defenceman – one could imagine he could’ve gotten himself a deal along the lines of 5 years, 25 million if he actually hit the market on July 1st. While Leafs fans debate how much the team overpaid him, hockey fans across the NHL seem to be reacting in amazement at how little he signed for. Particularly for a guy who gave up his first chance at Unrestricted Free Agency.

“What about his concussion?”

This is admittedly of some concern. After all, he’s still not back in the lineup. At the same time though, I’m sure if there was any problems that concerned the Leafs long term, they would’ve probably checked on such a thing before signing him to a 4 year extension in the middle of January. If they didn’t, it would be nothing short of one of the most ridiculous oversights I’ve ever seen for anyone, ever.

“The contract is too long!”

Four years is absolutely fine. The Leafs are a team that is completely lacking a veteran presence – there are exactly two players that have a 3 to start their age, in Liles and Tim Connolly. Connolly will likely move on after next season. If Liles will be a Leaf until he’s 35, that’s cool. In fact, if this team wants to take a run, adding a few guys who are older is probably a good thing. Simply put – veteran presences are crucial to the development of your younger players. Kevin Shattenkirk even mentioned on twitter today how much of an influence he was on him in Colorado – imagine what Liles is doing for the likes of Gardiner and Gunnarsson? Most of all, vets win championships. For all the hype of having young core players being important to winning a cup in this day and age, those cores had veterans surround them. Don’t believe me? Check out this pic I made for Tumblr (and reblog it and follow me if you’d like, obviously)

..you gotta click it though! /plug

With those rosters looked at – yes, there’s a chance that Liles isn’t as good at the end of his contract as he is right now. But he’s also a skilled defenceman, not a rugged defensive type that starts to wear. And he’s a skilled defenceman that keeps in shape and plays independent of system, not exactly a Tomas Kaberle, who vanished from reality the second he left the blue and white. If a declining Liles is like a declining Rafalski or Gonchar, I’d be more than happy with that.

Players aren’t useless at 35, anyway. I get that the internet wave of Leafs nation is younger than the former outspoken crowd, and that the former outspoken crowd doesn’t want to see the old days where the team is stacks of veterans on top of each other trying to find their way. But you have to inject older presences into a successful team. It’s just reality.

“He’s not very good!”

Tell that to the powerplay unit, that’s doing so good without him. “But it’s not ac-” that was the point. As well, he’s proven to be plenty capable in his own end. Is he at Dion Phaneuf’s level? No, but that’s not easy to do. Is he probably the second best defenceman on the team? I’d say so.

“He’s going to get in the way of people!”

Saying you don’t want to sign a player of Liles’ caliber because you’re worried that he might get in the way of Jake Gardiner or Carl Gunnarsson possibly becoming a Liles-type is pretty sort sighted. It’s not like avenues can’t be looked at to ship somebody out when the time arises. As well, you’re also risking these guys doing well. What if the young kids burn out? Then you’re stuck chasing for someone of his talent level. Better to keep what you have and worry about having too much depth than possibly not having enough. And people throwing Jesse Blacker into the mix? He looks good on the Marlies…but can we wait until he’s at least played a game up here before declaring his talent level?

That said, if Luke Schenn would probably be wise to stay around his phone right now – I wouldn’t be shocked if this means he’ll be on the block. But that’s for a different article all together.

What I guess I’m getting at is…

Having somebody like Liles for as long as the Leafs now do is better than it’s made out to be. He’s a very solid player, looks like he won’t be slowing down just yet, and has a lot to contribute to developing the kids. If they become competition to him, that’s something we can worry about when it actually happens. Until then, this is a superb signing that’s sure to make many GM’s around the league envious, and ensure the Leafs remain a solid team on the rise for the next little while. Let’s see where Burke goes from here.

However, this year, it seems that swinging for the fences is the goal of everyone. When James Van Reimsdyk is the lowest profile player in trade speculation, that speaks volumes. Most of it seems to default to the big three in Anaheim, Rick Nash, and to some extent, Eric Staal and Paul Statsny. In other words, the usual suspects.

The Anaheim bunch have their rumours stemming from a quote from Anaheim GM Bob Murray, stating that the only two players on the team that absolutely won’t be traded are Saku Koivu and Teemu Selanne. As such, this was rather quickly interpreted as “we’re selling everyone”. Oddly enough, when Brian Burke repeats on the radio on a freqent basis that every player has a price and that he’d take an overpayment for a core player, nobody bats an eyelash.

The reality is, Getzlaf, Perry, and Ryan won’t come cheap, or anything close to it. The overpayment it will likely take would gut the Leafs roster to levels that would set the team back as a whole both short term and long term. While all three of these guys are fantastic talents, you’re easily giving two current players of a high quality, at least one or two higher level prospects, and draft picks just to acquire one. If any of them get moved, it’ll be to a team that’s willing to give them a player of a similar calibre as a shakeup. Unless everybody’s cool with trading Phil Kessel for Bobby Ryan, we need to stop talking about this.

Next up is Rick Nash. To be honest, every trade rumour round up until he’s been dead for at least six or seven years will have Rick Nash to the Leafs on it. Forget the fact that while good, he makes a ridiculous amount of money. Forget the fact he doesn’t have much of anything in terms of a two way game. He’s tall and he’s from the GTA and occasionally gets the TSN highlight of the night, so in Leafs Nation’s mind, he’s about up there with a prime Gretzky. It’s outrageous – this is a guy that despite his skill set and size, almost never throws a hit, rarely sees a penalty kill, and has been point per game a whopping once in his career. At 28 years old, I wouldn’t expect any massive breakouts. Yes, he’d get a boost by being on a line with quality linemates (theoretically – working with Jeff Carter appears to be a bust), but players who get hyped up as much has he does should be able to put up elite points in spite of who they have, not because of them. And at 7.8M a year long term, with a definite overpayment of talent required to get him (he is after all, the all time face of the Blue Jackets, and their captain).

In fact, putting those two paragraphs above me together – maybe Rick Nash should go to Anaheim for one of Perry or Ryan. It would probably suit both teams better than a deal with Toronto.

Eric Staal is similar to Nash, except he actually did have a gargantuan year where he did carry his team on his back. The issue is – it’s been 5 years since then, and he’s playing like a shell of himself now. Reclamation project? Sure. But do you throw 8.25 PER SEASON at a reclamation project? Especially one who is, yet again, probably the face of the Hurricanes since the team moved from Hartford, even though he’s only been around for about half the years? This one isn’t even as unlikely, it’s just extremely risky. This is a market where you get ripped to shreds for not performing to your dollar figure starting at around a 2.5M contract. Staal makes triple that, and his play this year reflects a guy who makes half that, if not less.

Stastny of all options seems the most logical, but even then, Colorado is in no rush to rid themselves of him, and he still makes over 6 million. Which begs the question – when people want to trade picks, prospects, and young players, where is this cap money coming from? The Leafs aren’t exactly the Jets or Islanders.

Personally, I feel even if you get rid of overpayments and salaries and all of that, going after the above players doesn’t fit the teams actual needs right now. After all, when a team is 7th in goals for and 4th in powerplay percentage, perhaps the problem isn’t in how good at scoring your top forwards are? Yes, it’s easy to say that Toronto can score away their problems if they stack every line up as a scoring line, but this also isn’t NHL12, and I’m saying that strategically, finacially, and accounting for player values.

Toronto’s key need is to fix the fact that they’re 25th in goals against and 30th on the penalty kill. The penalty kill being so bad that it’s affected to overall goals against. Toronto is a below average 19th in even strength goals against, 28th in 4-on-5 goals allowed, and 30th in 3-on-5 goals allowed.

Personally, my solution isn’t in the top six. I’m fine with the idea of not getting big name first line wingers right now, considering the Leafs have, you know the highest scoring 1st line winger combination in the league. The first line centre market is non existant, and there’s been a fair bit of support scoring. Basically, the solution isn’t goals. It’s trying to fix the goals against.

At the same time, one has to remember this is a team with a young core, and you don’t want vets to get in the way long term – this is a low-cost, quick fix scenario. Players that will help the current situation out a bit, then leave it up to Burke if he wants them around longer or if the kids can take their place.

On forward, the guy I want to go for is a penalty kill specialist. While not the player he used to be while a member of Brian Burke’s cup winning 2007 Anaheim Ducks, he’s still a very effective player that racks up significant PK time for his team and is easily their best forward in that regard. He’s not a liability 5-on-5, though his production isn’t that high. He’s a UFA at the end of the year, and he’s playing on a team that was expected to do well this season but failed to reach those expectations, at miserable porportions.

If your guess was Columbus Blue Jackets Centre Samuel Pahlsson, you’re correct! If you’re sitting there, going “wait, I thought it was Montreal Canadiens Left Winger Travis Moen!” then fear not, because you were also spot on in this regard. Both players could probably had at a minimal expense and would be a huge boost to a struggling penalty kill. Pahlsson leads Columbus in penalty kill time, whereas Moen is 2nd to Tomas Plekanec on Montreal. Despite the teams they’re on having horrible seasons, Pahlsson has managed to have a +2 at this piont in the year, and Moen’s got a decent enough -1. As well as having the ability to help out now, these two would be fantastic mentors to the ones who will eventually take their place in the position – remember that this is a team with literally zero over-30 presence in the roster. They’ve got their cup rings, and they have a wealth of knowledge. Why not tap in to that for a few months?

Next up is the defence. At first glance, bringing Hal Gill back into Blue and White doesn’t seem like the worst idea in the world, seeing as he eats up some of the top penalty kill numbers in the league (ask Pittsburgh how crucial he was for them after he was sent their way), but with all of that said, he’s anotehr large, immobile defencema, which the Leafs have plenty of. I’d rather have someone who while not offensive, still has a bit of mobility to them. Again, without sacrificing much long term, having them to help out and mentor temporarily before the decision is made whether they’re needed. That’s where Barret  Jackman seems perfect, another solid defensive defenceman who is a pending UFA, but seeing St. Louis’ success this year, I have my doubts that he’d be pried from their hands easily. Willie Mitchell could be another potential target for the same reason, though this would require Los Angeles to fall off in the coming weeks. Similar is the case of Bryce Salvador out of New Jersey. Really, the search for a quality defensive defenceman who doesn’t get in the way of Toronto’s long term plans may be a tough one, with most options either having several yers left on their deals, or being part of teams that would prefer to keep them at this point.

Which leads to to the only big-swing option that makes some sense to me, and that’s Ryan Suter. Suter is a UFA this year, and Nashville has a lot of decision making to make between him and Shea Weber. Unlike the others, he’s a better overall player, and a younger one as well. If there’s anyone who’s worth paying a lot in terms of assets for that could be on the market, it’s him. Rather that supplementing a strength, he repairs a need.

At the same time, though – if the lower cost guys can’t be had, maybe it’s worth holding our breath a little on the defensive core? There’s a lot of talent throughout the system that’s progressing nicely. A playoff push is a luxury at this point, not a requirement, and if it breaks the bank on the teams long term chances, it’s just not worth it.

The last area to look at is in net, but as consistantly inconsistant as everybody has been this year, I think that’s a closer to the deadline issue, after you work on shoring up the penalty kill. Removing the penalty kill from the equation, Reimer becomes a top tier goalie statistically, and Gustavsson remains mediocre – but that’s decent-ish if he’s going to the backup. If a veteran backup could be had at for a low cost (hey – maybe somebody believes in Jonas enough to give a pending UFA of their own up in exchange so they can work on signing him), then it may be worth looking into.

In short, the position the Leafs are in right now is a luxury more than a requirement, when the teams youth is considered. Drastic measures could be disasterous, especially if taken in the wrong direction, which seems to be what going all in on highly paid scoring talent would be. If you have an achillies heel, it makes more sense to protect that weakness than to further strengthen your fists. Not only do people prefer the fist-strengthen strategy, they’re willing to rid of ALL of the leg armour to do it. But forget the metaphors – the point is that acquiring some temporary defensive ability, especially up front is the best chance the team has at enjoying some short term benefit without risking a lot in the the long run.

Then again, Burke is about as predictable as 20 sided dice. I guess we’ll see the outcome in a few weeks.

PS – Dion Phaneuf has mind blowing plumber swag.