TML Central - Toronto Maple Leafs coverage year round

What Should We Expect of Kessel?

Peter Morrow — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 18:34:13 +0000

Phil Kessel makes his debut as a Toronto Maple Leaf tonight against the Tampa Bay Lightning. He joins a team that won only one game in October and sits last place in the entire National Hockey League. Unsurprisingly, the belief in Leafland is that Kessel is our last hope if we want to turn this season around. [...]

The Kessel Effect

Jason Adair — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 23:54:08 +0000

As anticipation grows over seeing Phil Kessel suit up in the blue and white, everyone is curious as to how good the Leafs could have been with him in the 12 games already over in this 2009-2010 season. With only one win over these games, Leaf fans are anticipating a new, more dynamic offence with [...]

Thursday Thoughts

Peter Morrow — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 23:13:49 +0000

The posting has been slow here, but we’re beginning to poke out of our caves now that the Leafs are starting to pull things together. Here are some random thoughts. Not surprised Jiri Tlusty was called up. Stalberg goes down after just 1 assist and a -5 in eight games, while Tlusty has 6 goals and [...]

TMLRI: October 26th - 6-3 Win @ Anaheim Ducks

Christopher Lee — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 20:58:13 +0000

The Leafs finally won their first game of the season. After going down 1-0 early in the game, rookie goaltender Jonas Gustavsson made some key saves to keep the game within reach. The team began to build momentum with strong puck pursuit and recovery in the Ducks zone, leading to the Ducks taking several undisciplined [...]

TMLRI: October 13th - 4-1 Loss vs Colorado Avalanche

Christopher Lee — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 20:58:52 +0000

The Leafs, sporting a slightly shaken up roster, came out with a lot more energy than they displayed in previous outings, and even carried the play for most of the first period. Unfortunately, they were unable to score early on and eventually their lack of discipline and lackadasical play in their own zone crept up. [...]

TMLRI: October 12th - 7-2 Loss @ New York Rangers

Christopher Lee — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 15:11:09 +0000

Another tough loss for the Leafs. Tough in that they seemed, once again, incapable of generating any sort of sustained momentum. Tough in that Vesa Toskala, once again, showed that he is a not a capable starter, as he allowed bad goals to derail any positive energy the team worked to achieve and quite simply [...]

Keep Your Head Up, Leafs Nation

Peter Morrow — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 22:45:01 +0000

Last night, working class Howard wrote a scathing criticism of the Toronto Maple Leafs players, fans and organization. While his comments that the Leafs are a disaster this year and haven’t done a thing towards improvement, his overall negative chime is highly unwarranted. Here’s why: Gustavsson, our new acquisition, has only been able to show his [...]

TMLRI: October 10th - 5-2 Loss vs Pittsburgh Penguins

Peter Morrow — Sun, 11 Oct 2009 19:59:36 +0000

Pittsburgh 5 vs Toronto 2 There was more truculence and maybe a little more effort, but the Leafs went down 2-0 early and never really found their game. This loss keeps the team frustratingly winless through four games. The team’s penalty kill percentage fell to 30th in the league. Goaltending Toskala(5) There were a few saves Vesa [...]

The Captaincy Debate

Peter Morrow — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 21:26:26 +0000

What’s missing this season? Well, though it’s pretty hard to put it into any tangible worth, hockey fans can all admit that leadership is essential to not just regular season fruition but also playoff success. And right now, the Leafs are in dire need of a captain. Ron Wilson divvied up the leadership onto three blueliners - [...]

TMLRI: October 6th - 2-1 Loss vs Ottawa Senators

Christopher Lee — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 02:52:18 +0000

Ottawa 2 at Toronto 1 The Leafs returned home, but didn’t exactly get the result they were looking for. The forward group seemed unable to generate chances through forecheck or on the rush until it was too late. Although not as bad as on Saturday, the defense corps were still visibly struggling to find a comfort [...]