Leafs Mikhail Grabovski Fights And Kicks Referee?
January 9, 2009
Total Pro Sports - It was a night to remember for Montreal Canadien fans as they honored some of the past Habs greats and Maple Leaf greats. This year is the celebration of the Montreal Canadiens 100th anniversary as an organization.
A night to remember turned into a disastrous one for Toronto Maple Leafs fans as they lost 6-2.
A total of 150 total penalty minutes were handed down in a rough affair at the Bell Center Thursday Night. Even goal scorer Mikhail Grabovski of the Toronto Maple Leads got involved in the fighting. Grabovski went after Montreal Forward and non-fighter Sergei Kostitsyn. A matchup of light weights the two could not get at each other as the linesman were holding each of them back trying to issue them both off the ice. At one point Grabovski drags the linesman with him still after Kostitsyn, but Grabovski is no match for the ref as he body checks him and tackles him to the ice.
The unidentified linesman is rumored to be a retired mixed martial arts fighter, but this still has yet to be confirmed. After getting up Mikhail Grabovski pushed the linesman, kicked his helmet at him turned away and immediately skated off the ice gesturing the crowd with some unknown hand sign.
The Good, Bad And Ugly Of The Bryan Colangelo Era
November 27, 2008
Total Pro Sports - Watching the Toronto Raptors struggle in the first half against the Charlotte Bobcats I finally realized, regardless that Jermaine O’Neal is out with an injury, they quite frankly aren’t that good. Their defence is atrocious, especially in the low post, they don’t have that wing scorer good teams need and there back up point guard situation leaves much to be desired.
Now there have been a few whispers around the NBA that Sam Mitchell is on the hot seat considering next year is his last guaranteed year. The whispers became louder when Eddie Jordan was fired this week by the Washington Wizards after he had brought the lowly franchise to the playoffs 4 times. Now they may have only made it out of the first round once out of those 4 tries, but Eddie Jordan proved that he is a very capable head coach.
Is he a Bryan Colangelo type guy? I have no idea as I don’t know much about him. What I do know is this, in a city like Toronto, where the basketball knowledge isn’t the highest; the way Bryan Colangelo came in was reminiscent of a knight coming in on the white horse. I to drank the kool aid that he would solve all the team’s problems. Just like everybody in Ontario is drinking the kool aid that Brian Burke will be solving all the leafs problems when he signs on to become the President and General Manager of the blue and white.
NHL Power Rankings: Week 6
November 18, 2008
Total Pro Sports - Unlike the last few weeks there wasn't a tonne of movement in this week's NHL Power Rankings as the Sharks, Rangers, Red Wings, Bruins and Penguins make up the top 5. The Sabres dropped 5 spots and end up at #10.
NHL Power Rankings Movers And Shakers
The biggest Shakers in our NHL Power Rankings this week were the Ottawa Senators dropping 6 spots landing them at #27.
The second biggest shaker was the Phoenix Coyotes at #21, moving down 5 spots from last week.
The biggest Movers in our NHL Power Rankings this week were the Nashville Predators moving up 9 spots to land at #14. We also have to mention the Philadelphia Flyers who sit at #20 after gaining 8 spots from last week.
Lets take a look at the rest of the league: NHL POWER RANKINGS for Week 6.
Stop Signs Needed On NHL Jerseys
November 12, 2008
Total Pro Sports - Do you remember back in Minor Hockey everyone used to have stop signs on the back of their jerseys?
When body checking was first introduced in hockey coaches taught their players not to hit players from behind because it could cause seriously injury. Most leagues in Canada had stop signs sponsored by McDonald's stitched on the back of every hockey players jersey. They were put there so other players would remember that if the Stop sign was facing them they should not check.
It seems that the younger hockey players have learned that hitting from behind is wrong and in the NHL they still need to learn. The more that I watch NHL hockey I clearly see no attempt by players to lay off from hitting players from behind.
NHL Power Rankings: Week 5
November 12, 2008
Total Pro Sports - The San Jose Sharks and the New York Rangers are still atop our NHL Power Rankings. This will probably be the same for most of the season and maybe a final match up in the Stanley Cup finals.
NHL Power Rankings Movers And Shakers
The biggest Shakers in our NHL Power Rankings this week were the Calgary Flames moving down 11 spots to #19.
The second biggest shaker was the New Jersey Devils losing 10 spots in the rankings to #18.
The biggest Movers in our NHL Power Rankings this week were the Phoenix Coyotes and Columbus Blue Jackets both moving up 10 spots in the power rankings to #15 and #16 respectively.
Lets take a look at the rest of the league: NHL POWER RANKINGS for Week 5.
NHL Power Rankings: Week 4
November 4, 2008
Total Pro Sports - Well after three weeks the New York Rangers have finally been knocked off as the #1 team in our weekly NHL Power Rankings.
After winning four games in a row including last Saturday the San Jose Sharks have moved into the #1 spot and the way they're playing now it's hard to tell if anyone will be able to knock them off in the near future.
NHL Power Rankings Movers And Shakers
The biggest Shakers in our NHL Power Rankings this week were the Colorado Avalanche and the St.Louis Blues, both dropping 12 spots.
The Avalanche lost all three of their games against the Flames, Blue Jackets and Sharks while only scoring a combined 5 goals and giving up 12.
The Blues lost both of their games to the Hurricanes and Penguins while getting shutout against Carolina and giving up 6 goals against Pittsburgh.
The biggest Movers in our NHL Power Rankings this week were the Tampa Bay Lightning moving up 11 spots. The Lightning took the Northeast by storm, yes it's supposed to be a joke, by beating the Leafs, Sabres and Senators. Both Vincent Lecavalier, more importantly, Steven Stamkos woke up with Steven getting his first NHL point against Toronto and scoring his first NHL goal against Buffalo.
Lets take a look at the rest of the league: NHL POWER RANKINGS for Week 4.
2008/09 Toronto Maple Leafs Season Preview
October 8, 2008
5. Toronto Maple Leafs Season Preview
Lets just say there's a reason why Mats Sundin didn't rush back to play with this team.
The Leafs biggest weakness is up front. Nik Antropov, Jason Blake, Jiri Tlusty and Alexei Ponikarovsky make up part of the top 6. Newly acquired Mikhail Grabovski and Niklas Hagman will add some offence along with Alex Steen. While forwards like Matt Stajan, Dominic Moore and Jamal Mayers will help out on the defensive side of things. Rookie John Mitchell is an interesting wild card and will start the season on the 3rd or 4th line.
Despite the forwards, their defence is looks pretty good. Tomas Kaberle and Pavel Kubina are the top two while guys like Carlo Colaiacovo, Mike Van Ryn, John Frogren, Anton Stralman and the man himself Jeff Finger add some good depth. Rookie Luke Schenn is starting off the season with the big club and if he continues his sold play from preseason will likely stay with the club, although they wont be relying heavily on him.
In net they have a solid #1 in Vesa Toskala and Curtis Joseph brings some good leadership to the dressing room but is far removed from being one of the top goalies in the league.
It's the start of a rebuild for this team, so unless a miracle happens they'll be on the outside looking in for the playoffs for the 4th year in a row.
2008/09 NHL Northeast Divison Standings Preview
October 8, 2008
For my final post on the division previews I finish off with the Northeast Division in my preview.
Once considered the hardest division in the NHL, the Northeast isn't as competitive now due to the drop off of both the Toronto Maple Leafs and teh Buffalo Sabres.
Lets take a look at where these teams will finish this year in my 2008-09 NHL Northeast Divison Standings Preview
2008-09 NHL Northeast Divison Standings Preview
| Rank | Team | Rec | PRV | Name/Previews |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  |
47-25-10 | - | Montreal Canadiens |
| 2 |  |
43-31-8 | - | Ottawa Senators |
| 3 |  |
42-29-12 | - | Boston Bruins |
| 4 |  |
39-31-12 | - | Buffalo Sabres |
| 5 | |
36-35-11 | - | Toronto Maple Leafs |
Tampa Bay Lightning Interested In Mats Sundin
September 9, 2008
Total Pro Sports - This I think this turning into a big joke now. "Mats, just pick a team and get this saga over with. You know you want to win a cup and in Toronto your gonna have a hard time doing so. Just sign with a cup contender and move on with your career. You deserve it, so do whats right for you and your family. Lord Stanley is calling for you!
The Tampa Bay Lightning are believed to be the latest club interested in obtaining free agent Mats Sundin – if he decides to play again.
While the NHL community awaits Sundin's decision, his agent, J.P. Barry, confirmed two more clubs have recently expressed interest in his client.
Barry would not reveal the two new teams that have joined the Toronto Maple Leafs, Montreal Canadiens, Vancouver Canucks, New York Rangers and Philadelphia Flyers in the pursuit of the veteran centre, but one is believed to be the Lightning.
Sundin not only met with Leafs general manager Cliff Fletcher last Friday and Canadiens boss Bob Gainey on Saturday in Toronto, he also played in the Right to Play charity game with his old buddy, new Lighting forward Gary Roberts, as well as new Tampa Bay owner Oren Koules.
True, the Lightning are close to the NHL's $56.7-million (all currency U.S.) salary cap and therefore don't have room to add Sundin's salary, which is expected to be in the $7-million neighbourhood. But the Lightning could save some valuable cap space if injured forward Jeff Halpern is unable to play this season because of his injured right knee and rookie Steven Stamkos is returned to junior.
Read the rest of this article here: The Globe And Mail
NHL Rumors, Who’s On Their Way Out?
August 24, 2008
August is usually the slowest time of the year for rumors, but there have been a few flying around the last few days that I think we should talk about.
Bryan McCabe waives his NMC to go to Florida
I don't doubt for a second that he has waived it, however there is a clause in his contract that says at the beginning of September he will receive a bonus of $2 million from the Toronto Maple Leafs. So unless something can be worked out where the team trading for him agrees or is allowed to pay him that bonus, don't expect a trade to be made official until September. Also, don't expect Jay Bouwmeester to be coming to the Leafs in return. This guy is going to be a Norris trophy candidate one year and the Leafs just don't have enough assets to trade for him. In fact, expect this trade to be more of a incentive for Bouwmeester to stay in Florida because the only reason he wants to leave is he feels that they aren't playoff contenders. They have a good starting goalie with a solid defense core, all they will need to work on is putting the puck in the net. The addition of Stillman should help, I can see him doing well as the go to guy and with an expanded roll, expect Horton to thrive.
Mark Parrish is Vancouvers' "Plan B"
There is no surprise here as he would never have been their Plan A. Vancouver needs a player to be "THE GUY" on that team. They have some guys that can be secondary scorers but lack the consistency and presence to be a #1. The twins are probably the closest to fit that mould but seeing as they haven't been able to take "the next step" since taking over from the famous Naslund - Bertuzzi era..has the Canucks organization concerned.
Mathieu Schneider to Ottawa
The Sens only have five defenseman under contract and one of them is the rookie Brian Lee. Mezsaros is asking for a ton of money and Ottawa won't budge. That's not a situation that the Sens are comfortable with. I can see them dangling Chris Neil as bait and I think he would be a good fit with Anaheim's aggressive style of play. If this rumor comes to fruition, it would be a good trade for both teams.
Hemsky/Higgins deal and Nylander on the move
I can see the Edmonton Oilers being interested in Chris Higgins as he is an Oiler type of player, but I don't know why the Habs would be interested in Hemsky. If this is true, it has to be a plan B incase the habs don't land Mats Sundin, in which case I totally understand. As for the Nylander rumor, maybe he likes to invest and flip homes in his spare time...Not likely! After the Capitals played extremely well without Nylander during the second half of the season, and the re-signing of Sergei Fedorov, I think the writing is on the wall for Nylander's departure. Will the Oilers have any hard feelings after they thought they had signed him during the off-season before he bolted to Washington for more money?
hmmmm....Things could get interesting in the coming weeks.
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