It’s becoming obvious that the Leafs #1 problem is goaltending.  Nor Reimer or Gustavsson are  coming up with key saves at the critical times in the games.   It’s obvious that the combo of Riem & Gus is not going to be good enough to get us into the playoffs.

I look at the St.Louis goaltending situation.  Elliot is playing incredible. They have 2 great goalie propects on the very near horizon. Perhaps Burke can make  an enquiry to see if Halak can be pryed from the Blues.  He’s been a #1 b4. He’s  played in the East. He certainly would be an upgrade over Reim & Gus.   I’d say if we can get Halak, see what the market  is for Reim. If it’s soft, than keep Reim & either trade Gus for whatever u can get or just let him walk away as a UFA next July, but if you can package Reim for something really good, re-sign Gus to keep him next year with Halak.

I have to believe that with consistent goaltending, the Leafs could  be  sitting very nicely even with Pittsburgh & Ottawa. Instead the Leafs are  just very lucky to be  barely hanging on to the 8th spot with Washington, Winnipeg, Montreal & Tampa on our heels.

Honestly I’m surprised the Blues with 2  number  one goalies, they wouldn’t be looking to move Halak for something else that can help him rather than have  a #1 goalie sitting on the bench.  Remember Fletcher in 1992? Due to having a great young Potvin in net, he traded Fuhr for two time 59 goal scorer in Andreychuk.  The Blues should be thinking this way.

I would love to see Halak in a Leaf uniform, sooner than later.    Don’t wait till the Leafs fall to far  too behind in the East.

If Halak is available, go get em Burke!!!!!

Of course the Leafs have lots of depth to make minor deals by the 27th of February but I’ve gone through the NHL rosters of 29 other teams & unfortunately the “big” deal for the Leafs isn’t very unlikely at least for that proven commodity that will for sure help this team.

I’m sure plenty of marginal players will be available like Penner & as well as young guys with great  potential but who have yet to prove themselves playing on a regular basis.  Neither of these two types of players are likely to make the Leafs any better this year. Obviously I don’t want the Leafs to mortgage the future for anybody.  The only thing Burke can do is try to make a smart trade like the  Phanuef trade only this time getting a top 6 center or a goalie who is proven & can help the Leafs now & for the future.  Unfortunately what the Leafs need to really help them just isn’t  available.  Ya the Leafs could try to get a young center like Cody Hodgson or the young goalie  Cory Schneider but they are in the middle of a playoff race, Leafs already have 2 goalies who lack experience,  they are going to put another inexperienced goalie in the mix?  Plus the Leafs already have enough centers who aren’t exactly pure #1 centerman. Too risky for the Leafs to gamble on guys who aren’t proven  or ready to be thrust into the crazy limelight of the Toronto market as #1 everyday players.

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The Dion Phanuef trade was a thing of genius for Brian Burke. He got a top 4 d-man, our leader, our captain in Dion plus a great up coming d-man in Aulie for basically expendable parts WITHOUT giving up any picks or prospects.

This trade really helped shape the Leafs.  It’s quite obvious that the Leafs are lacking maybe that one piece of the puzzle to push them over the hump & into the playoffs.  Not if  but when Buffalo & Washington get their A game going, the Leafs as they are today are going be in real danger of falling further in the East.  Hard to believe but even with the log jam on the Leafs D,  they not only need an upgrade for a top 6 center but they need  to get  shutdown D man.  We have the offensive  guys in Liles,  Franson & Gardiner. Phanuef, Schenn & Aulie are the shut down guys but  Schenn is inconsistent, Aulie needs to still develop & Phanuef is hot & cold. I  see Gunnarsson as the odd man out if a trade happens.

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It’s quite obvious that the Leafs achilles heel this year will be offence.  It’s likely that the Leafs will lose  a lot of close games due to   an inconsistent offence.  Connolly will probably be in & out  of the lineup all season.  Bozak going into his second full season is again having a golden opportunity to take the #1 center job but thus far, a center playing on the top line with  just one  goal is simply not good enough   So what’s the answer?  A trade? That sounds like the easy  answer but  any center you acquire  must be head over heels better than Bozak & Connolly cause he’s being brought  in to play with Kessel.  The two points on that are: a) any center who is better than the above mentioned is  simply either NOT available or the price is simple too ridiculous  & b) centers who are available,  if your unsure he’s going to be an upgrade, it’s pointless to bring in a  guy like that.

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The  6-5  Leaf win  in game  # 2 of the season  vs the Sens was totally crazy. Here we are, half way through the 3rd, Leafs on their way to their second win, Reimer looking like a  good bet  for back to back shutouts, than the wheels fell off.   This was an eerie reminder of almost 10 years ago, when the Leafs at home vs the Blues, blew a 3rd period 5-0 lead & lost 6-5 in OT.    Well thanks to a terrific performance by Phil Kessel, history was thankfully not repeated. Much like  that Blues game, I never thought they would pump the great Cujo for 5 straight goals. And much like this game vs the Sens, no one could have predicted the Sens could produce this much fire power in such a short span.

Positive points for the Leafs from this game with the Sens is A) it’s only game 2, so hopefully they’ve already played their worst game of the season & they will certainly learn from this & get better & B)  They won the game!  Sure the Sens game was an exciting thriller but the Leafs cannot afford lapses like this against the better teams.  But I do love the character of our beloved Leafs as  they did not fold up & panic like in the past. In fact, Kessel’s line was amazing in the last minute as they hemmed Ottawa in their zone for the remaining time. Great character win for the Leafs.