Ya, sometimes the leafs do 'almost' win

lol we lost to washington tonight...sigh...well ovie..what better team to play to break out of your slump lol

I stumbled upon this today. It seems reasonably accurate.
http://www.tsn.ca/fantasy_news/feature/?ID=10467
How sad is it that not even one Toronto player makes the list until #87 (Grabovski) and Kessel is after MacArthur and Kulemin? And where is the Captain?
Not even a top 30 player in the largest hockey market on the planet.

i have a phil kessel jersey and even I dont think that he should be at the all star game...i wanted grabo to go

anyway, after the salary cap...we got screwed royally since we can't buy players anymore...and that is the main reason why so many people hate the leafs lol we just buy players

i actually think the leafs are in the right direction...they are the 2nd youngest team in the NHL (in the regular lineup)...i have a hunch we're going to gun for brad richards lol

and kessel is picked last, surprise.... guess he is truly not trade worthy now.

i believe he will play better once we have a center for him...but he himself needs to play better defensively and quit dangling all the time...he needs to get in deep and dirty and get back to his game

I think Kessel is a good player but that's all....good. He's not great, never was and never will be (NHL). Some guys excel in junior and college and simply don't pan out in the NHL the way you expect them to.
His best season, granted he missed 10 games, he had 36G 24A. He had Lucic, a decently skilled and tough line-mate, and Savard setting him up. You don't get much better than Savard for a setup man...Adam Oates doesn't play any more .

I agree that he will get more points when he has a better center but that can be said for almost any player at any level. He has to start making things happen with what he has been given. Thats what the really good players do. Make something out of nothing. They make the players around them better or appear so.
Was Pittsburgh very good right before Crosby. He makes the players better and doesn't rely on them to help make him 'look' better.

3 seasons of 'rebuilding' (more like 44) and this is the team Burke has come up with. They barely have a top 90 player out of ~600 in the league. This means that every other team has 2 or 3 players better than anyone playing for the Leafs. Out of the 600 there is a lot a garbage too so I don't even count the bottom 100 guys as good NHL players.

There have been a few good runs in the 44 years but good isnt good enough for Leafs fans. Enough is Enough!

Interestingly enough, when an interviewer asked Taylor Hall to pick one player in the league with whom he was really impressed, he named....Phil Kessel.

The thoughts of a 19 year old. Ask him the same question next week and see what he has to say.

I do agree with Kessel being a good but not great player. I completely agree that he himself needs to take his game to the next level...if he can do that...he still has the potential to be a great player. Hopefully he matures and gets bigger and faster!

The draft was a great idea but TSN made it lame with the brutal interviews.

yeah...agreed...i LOVED the skating backwards and the goalie thing..that was pure jokes...but the relay was an amazing idea

+1, the relay was the best part of the skills competition IMO

- Burke whines because it's really just another reflection on his screw up.
- Kessel really could care less... he has a thick skin and realizes that he (maybe more than most other) was lucky to be at the All-Star game. I will say, he had a pretty good game. A few other guys seemed completely invisible.

The part that bugs me is giving the last pick a consolation prize. That's what was embarrassing. I'm not speaking about the cash for charity...that's always good and should be done regardless. But giving a car to last pick is silly. If Phil wanted a $30k car he would spend less than half what he gets paid, per game, and buy it himself. The same goes for every other multi-millionaire in the game.

This car advertising has been going on in pro sports for quite a while now (although usually to MVPs and Champions). I think that if you are going to give a pro athlete a car then give him something that he would likely buy. Something that is worth more than one third of his weekly salary.

I wasn't embarrassed for Phil, I was embarrassed for the NHL and/or who ever made the stupid decision to give a prize to last pick.
- Think: It's not a big deal to be last pick but we'll givem' a car and $20k for charity, just in case...because it's no big deal.
While we are at it why don't we invite Chaka Khan back for the next NHL Awards in Vegas?

I awoke on the wrong side of the bed (seems alot lately)

Edit: PS, Did you see the Players Poll during the intermission? Players were asked (among many other questions) which coach they would LEAST like to play for. I'll give you one guess who the great majority said. Link

What, no hint? how about a first or last initial? ...No?