Crazy Leaf Game Almost Reminiscent Of A Game A Decade Ago.
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.
My Theory On A Possible Leaf Link That May Be Holding Up The Stamkos Saga.
It appears as though Stevie Y & the Stamkos camp are at an impasse as far as Stamkos re-signing in TB. So it is possible that Stevie Y is at least listening to offers for Stamkos. Teams like LA & Philly have enough depth to offer Stevie Y a decent enoough offer to perhaps entice him to pull the trigger. Likely the problem might be that Stamkos will only play in TB or Toronto and all the Leafs have that Stevie Y likes is Schenn, Toronto has nothing else Stevie Y wants. Toronto won’t or simply can’t put together a good enough package to entice Stevie Y. That might be the reason for the impasse between TB & Stamkos. So if 28 teams can make a decent offer for Stamkos but his desire is to either remain in TB or go to TO. That would create a problem, especially since at this time that TB can’t sign him & Toronto doesn’t seem to be a compatible trade partner with TB at this time or mabie ever in regards to Stamkos.
So if Stamkos is telling Yzerman ” call me when you decide to meet my contract demands to stay in TB or when you can work out a deal with Toronto only” Mabie Yzerman is responding ” well you will be waiting indefinetley cause neither is going to happen at this time.
Who knows, my theory may be way off here & mabie Stamkos re-signs with TB tomorrow. But something is certainly a miss between Stevie Y & the Stamkos camp considering they first met to discuss a new deal back in January & we are now in July, well past the July 1st RFA date for Stamkos. Is it possible that Stamkos desire to play in TO is holding up this entire matter? Is that perhaps the real reason he never re-signed with TB?
Because TB is holding all the cards, untill we hear different from Stevie Y or the Stamkos camp, we still have to assume that some how some way Yzerman finds a way to ink Stamkos. But where the Leafs are concerened, while Stamkos is stil a RFA, Brian Burke must make a serious attempt to get Stamkos if he hasn’t already.
Does Burke Focus Too Much On Truculence Rather Than Talent?
Most drafts are like the Sydney Crosby draft of 2005. There is one franchise player that is in a class all by himself. The rest of the players in the first round range from great to very good. This draft was different unlike any other I can ever recall..
The NHL draft of 2011, there wasn’t one obvious choice for #1. It could have been Larsson or Landeskog or Huberdeau, even Couturier who went 8th possibly could have went #1. Also in most of the drafts of the past, after the 5th pick there is a serious drop off. Not in this draft. I’ve never seen such quality players fall so low. Many GM’s must be doing the dance of joy cause players they thought would never be available to them fell right into their laps.
Did New Jersey think Larsson would be available? Never. The same goes for Philly who got Courtier, Boston getting Hamilton, Colorado getting Siemens, Carolina getting Murphy & Chicago getting McNeil.
Kessel Has The Potential To Be Something Special For The Leafs
In the last 3 seasons, one with Boston & 2 with the Leafs Kessel has scored 36, 30 & 32 goals. You think of everything he has faced in the last 5 years from having testicular cancer, to being a rookie in the NHL, playing in Boston, the uncertainty of not knowing if he was going to re-sign with them. Than getting traded to the hockey madness city of Toronto in a highly controversial trade which only added further pressure on Kessel. He’s gone through two turbulent seasons in Toronto. The first was a disaster for the Leafs as they finished 29th. The second season, they were on there way to another bottom 5 finish but the team got smoking hot & only missed the playoffs because the teams above them also got hot. Obviously with everything Kessel has been through, it’s built his character & this will show as matures even more.
Through all his team’s inconsistencies & with Kessel’s own hot and cold streaky play, he still has put up decent goal totals. Not too many hot & cold streaky forwards can put up 30 goals consistently every season like Kessel. Remember, Kessel is still very young, he’ll only be 24 this Oct. We saw Kessel mature quite a bit in is 2nd season as a Leaf. He began to learn to play an all around game. Kessel has the potential to become a lethal weapon. Leaf fans should be excited with Kessel as their #1 RW. If this guy can score 30 per season without having yet to put all of his game together, just imagine what he can do when he does.
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