Antropov Suspended

As per TSN's Darren Dreger, Nik Antropov has been suspended for 3 games due to his actions towards a referee last night. Witnesses at the game claim the tall Kazak threw his stick at the referee after captain Rod Brind'Amour scored the game-winning goal in overtime. Abuse of a referee carries an automatic 3 game suspension. Unfortunately for Toronto, they are already dealing with a rash of injuries; add the Leafs' second leading point-getter and you have a recipe for failure. It is yet to be seen if Fletcher will make any depth decisions before the deadline or turn to the "firesale" mode many Leaf fans so desperately crave.

League: Finnish Flash Is Back

Teemu Selanne has rejoined the Anaheim Ducks as expected. It took four months but the Ducks are almost back to their championship roster. Dustin Penner and Andy McDonald are the two significant ripples missing from the "pond" but the additions of Mathieu Schneider and Doug Weight and the emergence of youngsters Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry almost compensates for those losses. Also in the up and coming is Ryan Carter who is taking the faceoff specialist role head-on while contributing on the scoresheet as well. The Selanne and Niedermayer additions only makes the Ducks stronger in their recent resurgence in the West and are poised to be a serious contender for the Stanley Cup a second straight year. The last team to repeat as Stanley Cup Champions were the Detroit Red Wings in 96-97 and 97-98.

Kaberle Achieves Perfection

Tomas Kaberle joined an elite club last night at the NHL Super Skills Competition with his perfect 4/4 shooting in the target shooting segment. He eventually led the East to the victory in that category as he finished 8/9 overall. He joined the only other defenceman to achieve this feat in the legendary Raymond Bourque who did it back-to-back in 1992 and 1993. Not bad for a 204th overall pick, right? Hopefully Tomas can carry this over to the fishtank us fans call the Air Canada Centre where Kaberle is constantly criticized for not shooting the puck enough.

Leafs Win One For The New Guy

Last night the Leafs put on a nailbiting show for the new guy. Mats Sundin scored with 29.2 seconds left in the third period to lift the Buds to a 3-2 victory just minutes after Semin scored to tie the game. Ovechkin was his normal self, shooting, scoring and double-shifting. Many players tend to fade after signing multi-million dollar contracts especially in the length of Ovechkin's but he seems to be relishing in the spotlight. Alexander the Great has a six game point streak in that time since signing on the dotted line. Toronto seems to be treading water for the time being but if these winning ways don't continue expect the heat to be put on Fletcher and the front office to make the changes needed for a playoff push or extensive rebuilding sequence.

Ferguson... FIRED

Today was a normal day in Leafland -- more drama that is. General Manager John Ferguson Jr. was eliminated from his position today. He was replaced with one of the most famous in Leaf history, Cliff Fletcher. The esteemed Fletcher was once quoted, "Draft, Schmaft", not very encouraging news for the prospect-starved club from the GTA. Apparently Fletcher will be taking at least two weeks to evaluate everything from the locker room to the farm team, from there he will make his decisions. Those decisions not only will affect the Leafs future, but the impending full-time GM that is expected to be hired this summer.

As The Leaf Turns

Another chapter has been added to the soap opera. According to TSN's Bob McKenzie, the Leafs will know if they'll have their new interim GM in the next 24 hours. Cliff Fletcher is that man and he's about to go on a Mexican vacation. If he gets on that plane you can bet he isn't taking the job, if not.. well you can figure that out. Right now the Leafs are considered to be the worst team in the league with little upside or future talent in the system so whoever takes over the job will have their have their hands completely tied. As of now, John Ferguson Jr. remains as the Toronto Maple Leafs' GM. Apparently Fletcher will not be the full-time replacement but will be in charge to clear up any mess he can before the deadline that Ferguson has created. Even completing one of those tasks seems insurmountable but Alexei Zhitnik was traded twice last year, was he not? A full time replacement shall be hired in the off-season, the most enticing time for the Leafs if they wish to hire the legendary Scotty Bowman. That remains to be seen but you can bet one thing, GM John Ferguson won't be cleaning his own mess up; if no one is hired before the deadline, nothing is happening.

Leafs Call Up Pogge, Claim Moore

After being humiliated in both of their first two Western road trip games the team has decided there needs to be a shakeup. Youngster Justin Pogge was called up from the Maple Leafs' affiliate the Toronto Marlies earlier today. Also, brother of Steve Moore, Dominic Moore was claimed off waivers from the Minnesota Wild. In 186 games, Moore has accumulated 41 points, hardly the answer they are looking for their latest offensive woes. Apparently Leafs management feels the pieces to the puzzle are there, just not in the right spot; only time will tell as the Leafs try to crawl their way out of 14th spot in the Eastern conference. Surprisingly, they are only five points out of a playoff spot but the team they're chasing, the New York Islanders, have two games in hand. The next month will tell a lot about the Leafs' future. With the trade deadline coming up this February we will see the true direction of this franchise and its approach to creating a winner.

Conference: Ovechkin Signs Huge Contract

So the trend of "longterm" deals seems to be catching on. In the last two years we've seen more than a few ten-plus year contracts, most recenly Mike Richards for twelve. Now Ovechkin has given up his first UFA freedoms for the foreseeable future to stay with the Washington Capitals for thirteen years. The contract is expected to be worth more than $120 million, the richest contract in NHL history. It has been reported by TSN's Bob McKenzie that the contract is mildly backloaded, the first six years to be worth $9 million per year while the final seven will be worth $10 million per year. So much for all the speculation that the Leafs or Habs would be signing him to an offer sheet this summer.

Sundin On The Block?

Many sites and newspapers have recently been reporting Mats Sundin may be considering waiving his no-trade clause despite his constant denial of wanting to leave the greater Toronto area. It is yet to be seen if Sundin actually would waive his contract but with the recent play of the Maple Leafs he may change his mind even with his incredible season so far. It is believed that the Detroit Red Wings will be the frontrunners if he does decide to test the waters so he could join many of his Swedish linemates. One would assume the interest would pick up when and if Forsberg either joins a team or decides not to return to the NHL this season. The Red Wings lost a key prospect last year in the acquisition of Todd Bertuzzi in that of Shawn Matthias so they may drop out of the running altogether despite all of the speculation -- once bitten, twice shy.

Leafs Are Falling

The Leafs are now 2-7-1 in their last 10 games. With Vesa Toskala still not ready for game action it doesn't get much easier especially with their Western roadtrip on deck. Toronto will be traveling to Anaheim, Los Angeles then finally San Jose to finish their trip. If Toskala is not ready before then don't expect to see him until after the road trip. Twenty-seventh... they now are 4th last in the league during their latest freefall. If the team doesn't pick up its play soon expect changes to the team or front office.

Kyle Wellwood Looks For Answers

Centre Kyle Wellwood has been the latest scapegoat for Leaf Nation during their latest slump. Just before Kyle returned, the talk in Leafland was the spark he was going to bring to the lineup when he returned from his injury. Wellwood sustained a mysterious "lower body injury" that took a suspiciously long time to recover from; he was supposed to be back early in the season but didn't return until almost quarterway through the season. Unfortunately, when he returned, there was a controversy at the centre position. At the time, the tall Kazak Nik Antropov occupied the number two centre spot; Wellwood was supposed to fill that slot when he returned. Therefore, Paul Maurice was forced to move Antropov to the wing while he was on his unbelievable hot streak. Since Wellwood's readdition to the lineup neither Antropov or Wellwood have been the same. Kyle has been a healthy scratch the last two games but was placed on a line centering the tall cans, Alexei Ponikarovsky and Nikolai Antropov. Head coach Paul Maurice hopes this will give the spark he needs so he can get back to his normal point-per-game production.

NHL Boasts Highest Ratings In Over A Decade

The Winter Classic did not disappoint; the NHL, NBC and even the audiences claim the event to be a success. According to NHL.com the event achieved the highest viewer ratings for a regular season game since 1996. If you're trying to think back to the Wayne Gretzky days, this also surpasses his final NHL game in 1999. When will the NHL put on another outdoor game? No one knows. You can count on another one taking place but it just depends on the opinions of the owners. Do they think having one annually will streak some of its luster? That remains to be seen but one thing you can count on is that the NHL has gained some notoriety among the American fan base.

Clemmensen Ends Leafs' Skid

Since Toronto netminder Vesa Toskala went down, the Leafs goaltending has been questionable at best. Youngster Scott Clemmensen was given a chance tonight at the Air Canada Centre and didn't disappoint. Put on a show? No, but he got the job done. One could argue that the Maple Leafs have the Lightning's number, but stopping two of the league's best players in the shootout (Brad Richards and Martin St. Louis) is not a simple task. The Lightning tied the game with 41 seconds left in regulation and eventually sent it to a shootout where Clemmensen shined. Tampa Bay started fellow youngster Kari Ramo on the opposite end of the rink, mainly because of his strong performance the last time these two eastern teams met. I'm sure if you asked him, Clemmensen would be giving a lot of credit to ex-teammate Martin Brodeur for his strong performance in the shootout.