- Team Outlook from McKeen’s Hockey Guide:
Maple Leafs GM Brian Burke’s Toronto Maple Leafs finally made the playoffs, mere months after he was fired. Although, to be fair, new GM Dave Nonis also played a role in Toronto’s first postseason trip since 2004.
For one, he didn’t trade for Roberto Luongo and, more importantly, Luongo’s contract. Instead, he put his faith in James Reimer and for the most part Reimer was able to bounce back from his rough sophomore campaign. Though clearly it didn’t completely convince Nonis that Reimer was a sure thing moving forward.
After Toronto’s late and improbable collapse in Game 7 of their first-round series against the Boston Bruins, Nonis decided to acquire up-and-coming goaltender Jonathan Bernier from the Los Angeles Kings. Bernier’s potential is sure to excite Maple Leafs fans, although his playing time in the NHL has been limited behind Jonathan Quick. Ultimately though, this move was more about hedging their bets than replacing Reimer. The two young netminders are expected to spend the 2013-14 campaign fighting tooth and nail for starts.
Offensively, Toronto will be led by Phil Kessel and, if he can stay healthy, Joffrey Lupul. Given that Kessel is entering his contract season, there will be an extra level of intrigue surrounding him, even by Toronto standards, and if the team struggles early, the trade rumors will be oppressive in their volume.
This is also the final season of captain Dion Phaneuf’s contract. Phaneuf has been a solid offensive defenseman during most of his tenure with Toronto, but at this point the Maple Leafs have a number of solid young blueliners to offer support and, if necessary, take on bigger roles.
Toronto isn’t a remarkable team in most regards, but they also aren’t one with a lot of glaring weaknesses and they have just enough youth to make them seem promising without looking inexperienced. The end result is a middle-of-the-pack team with the potential to surprise.
- Team Fantasy Outlook from Dobber Hockey’s 2013-14 Fantasy Guide – Over a 150 pages of fantasy goodness:
Dobber’s lowdown on: David Clarkson – Take advantage of the hype. Granted, Clarkson will become a fan favorite because he dishes the big checks and he can and probably will score 30 goals in a season. But he’s not the second coming of Christ and his upside is limited. The 60 that I have for his upside in the chart was being generous. He’ll be a steady guy in 40- to 55-point range, score consistently and pile up the hits and PIM. It’s just what the Leafs need and fans will love him. But ‘adoration’ isn’t a category in fantasy hockey, he’s still the same guy that he was in New Jersey. He had five goals and eight points in the last 34 games.
Bozak was Kessel’s centerman for 101 of Kessel’s 134 points over the last two seasons. And Kessel has been a Top 10 NHL scorer for two years running. Bozak may not be the ideal No.1 center, but if he can keep his winger among the Top 10 scorers then he’s doing an alright job. Look at this way, if Bozak isn’t an ideal No.1 center and the Leafs brought one in, would that mean that Kessel would lead the league scoring? Because that’s really the only step that’s left.
Last season, Kessel produced just as many points with Lupul in the lineup (16 games) as he did with him out.
Prior to ending the season with two points in 11 games, Kulemin was having a pretty good year. His best results came on a line with Kadri and Lupul – five of his 23 points were with those guys, which is unexpected when you consider that Lupul was only around for 16 games. Kulemin’s projection is one of the wider-ranging ones on this team. So much will count on who is plays with.
Liles was a healthy scratch 14 times last season, plus another three times in the playoffs. Coach Randy Carlyle is not his biggest fan and he is a risk in fantasy hockey as long as he stays in Toronto.
Ranger is a potential 40-point defenseman, but he gets hurt often and so will never see such a number. After taking three years off for personal reasons, he returned to hockey last year and by midseason he was the Marlies’ (AHL) best defenseman. His presence really hurts Brennan’s chances.
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Additions: G Jonathan Bernier, F Troy Bodie, F David Bolland, D T.J. Brennan, F David Clarkson, G Christopher Gibson, G Drew MacIntyre, D Paul Ranger, F Mason Raymond, F Trevor Smith.
Subtractions: F Tyler Brenner, F Tim Connolly, F Matt Frattin, F Mikhail Grabovski, D Simon Gysbers, F Ryan Hamilton, D Mike Komisarek, D Mike Kostka, F Clarke MacArthur, D Mike Mottau, D Ryan O’Byrne, G Mark Owuya, G Jussi Rynnas, F Greg Scott, G Ben Scrivens.
Promotion candidates: C Joe Colborne, D Morgan Rielly
Player salaries: $62,696,434 (22)
Cap Number: $63,604,167
Bonuses: $300,000
Cap Space: $995,833
Forwards: $38,700,000 (14)
Defensemen: $17,704,167 (7)
Goalies: $4,700,000 (2)
Source: CapGeek
Forwards
Joffrey Lupul – Tyler Bozak – Phil Kessel
James van Riemsdyk – Nazem Kadri – David Clarkson
Mason Raymond – Dave Bolland – Nikolai Kulemin
Frazer McLaren – Jay McClement – Colton Orr
Trevor Smith – Joe Colborne
Defensemen
Dion Phaneuf – Carl Gunnarsson
Jake Gardiner – Paul Ranger
John-Michael Liles – Mark Fraser
RFA Cody Franson – Korbinian Holzer
Goalies
James Reimer
Jonathan Bernier
2013 Toronto Maple Leafs Draft Results
| Rd. | Draft # | Player | Team | Pos. |
| 1 | 21 | Frederik Gauthier | Rimouski (QMJHL) | C |
| 3 | 82 | Carter Verhaeghe | Niagara (OHL ) | C |
| 5 | 142 | Fabrice Herzog | Zug Jr. (SWISS-JR. ) | RW |
| 6 | 172 | Antoine Bibeau | PEI (QMJHL ) | G |
| 7 | 202 | Andreas Johnson | Frolunda Jr. (SWE-JR. ) | LW |
Toronto Maple Leafs Top Prospects
| NHL.com | Hockey Prospectus | Dobber Prospects | Hockeys Future | The Hockey News | |
| 1 | Morgan Rielly | Morgan Rielly | Morgan Rielly | Morgan Rielly | Morgan Rielly |
| 2 | Joe Colborne | Joe Colborne | Joe Colborne | Frederik Gauthier | Frederik Gauthier |
| 3 | Petter Granberg | Frederik Gauthier | Carter Ashton | Joe Colborne | Matthew Finn |
| 4 | Frederik Gauthier | Matt Finn | Tyler Biggs | Josh Leivo | Tyler Biggs |
| 5 | Matthew Finn | Stuart Percy | Greg McKegg | Matt Finn | Joe Colborne |
| 6 | Tyler Biggs | Josh Leivo | Frederick Gauthier | Stuart Percy | Stuart Percy |
| 7 | Carter Ashton | Tom Nilsson | Jerry D’Amigo | Carter Ashton | Jesse Blacker |
| 8 | Stuart Percy | Tyler Biggs | Korbinian Holzer | Jesse Blacker | Josh Leivo |
| 9 | Josh Leivo | Jesse Blacker | Garret Sparks | Jerry D’Amigo | Carter Ashton |
| 10 | Greg McKegg | Greg McKegg | Josh Leivo | Tyler Biggs | Greg McKegg |
2012-13 Toronto Maple Leafs Player Stats
| Player |
Pos
|
GP
|
G
|
A
|
P
|
+/-
|
PIM
|
PP
|
SH
|
GW
|
OT
|
S
|
S%
|
| Phil Kessel |
C
|
48
|
20
|
32
|
52
|
-3
|
18
|
6
|
0
|
4
|
0
|
161
|
12.4
|
| Nazem Kadri |
C
|
48
|
18
|
26
|
44
|
15
|
23
|
5
|
0
|
1
|
0
|
107
|
16.8
|
| James van Riemsdyk |
L
|
48
|
18
|
14
|
32
|
-7
|
26
|
5
|
0
|
3
|
0
|
140
|
12.9
|
| Cody Franson |
D
|
45
|
4
|
25
|
29
|
4
|
8
|
3
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
70
|
5.7
|
| Tyler Bozak |
C
|
46
|
12
|
16
|
28
|
-1
|
6
|
4
|
1
|
3
|
0
|
61
|
19.7
|
| Dion Phaneuf |
D
|
48
|
9
|
19
|
28
|
-4
|
65
|
3
|
0
|
1
|
1
|
88
|
10.2
|
| Nikolai Kulemin |
L
|
48
|
7
|
16
|
23
|
-5
|
22
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
72
|
9.7
|
| Clarke MacArthur |
L
|
40
|
8
|
12
|
20
|
3
|
26
|
2
|
0
|
1
|
0
|
62
|
12.9
|
| Joffrey Lupul |
R
|
16
|
11
|
7
|
18
|
8
|
12
|
3
|
0
|
3
|
0
|
42
|
26.2
|
| Jay McClement |
C
|
48
|
8
|
9
|
17
|
0
|
11
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
48
|
16.7
|
| Mikhail Grabovski |
C
|
48
|
9
|
7
|
16
|
-10
|
24
|
0
|
0
|
1
|
0
|
80
|
11.3
|
| Carl Gunnarsson |
D
|
37
|
1
|
14
|
15
|
5
|
14
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
28
|
3.6
|
| Matt Frattin |
R
|
25
|
7
|
6
|
13
|
6
|
4
|
0
|
0
|
3
|
1
|
42
|
16.7
|
| John-Michael Liles |
D
|
32
|
2
|
9
|
11
|
-1
|
4
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
47
|
4.3
|
| Leo Komarov |
C
|
42
|
4
|
5
|
9
|
-1
|
18
|
0
|
0
|
3
|
0
|
51
|
7.8
|
| Michael Kostka |
D
|
35
|
0
|
8
|
8
|
-7
|
27
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
49
|
0
|
| Mark Fraser |
D
|
45
|
0
|
8
|
8
|
18
|
85
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
33
|
0
|
| Frazer McLaren |
L
|
35
|
3
|
2
|
5
|
0
|
102
|
0
|
0
|
2
|
0
|
20
|
15
|
| Colton Orr |
R
|
44
|
1
|
3
|
4
|
4
|
155
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
13
|
7.7
|
| Jake Gardiner |
D
|
12
|
0
|
4
|
4
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
12
|
0
|
| Korbinian Holzer |
D
|
22
|
2
|
1
|
3
|
-12
|
28
|
0
|
0
|
1
|
0
|
16
|
12.5
|
| Ryan O’Byrne |
D
|
8
|
1
|
1
|
2
|
4
|
6
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
5
|
20
|
| Ryan Hamilton |
L
|
10
|
0
|
2
|
2
|
1
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
6
|
0
|
| David Steckel |
C
|
13
|
0
|
1
|
1
|
-2
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
4
|
0
|
| Mike Brown |
R
|
12
|
0
|
1
|
1
|
1
|
70
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
2
|
0
|
| Mike Komisarek |
D
|
4
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
2
|
2
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
1
|
0
|
| Joe Colborne |
C
|
5
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
-1
|
2
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
4
|
0
|
| Player |
GP
|
GS
|
W
|
L
|
OT
|
SA
|
GA
|
GAA
|
Sv
|
Sv%
|
SO
|
G
|
A
|
| James Reimer |
33
|
31
|
19
|
8
|
5
|
995
|
76
|
2.46
|
919
|
0.924
|
4
|
0
|
1
|
| Ben Scrivens |
20
|
17
|
7
|
9
|
0
|
542
|
46
|
2.69
|
496
|
0.915
|
2
|
0
|
0
|
| Jussi Rynnas |
1
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
6
|
0
|
0
|
6
|
1
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
Some info, stats and video taken from NHL.com’s 30-in-30 series.