Cor's Toronto Maple Leafs BAGM
Season Review
The Toronto Maple Leafs had an interesting season this year. They began the season terribly, then turned it around, then fell again, and then finished the season in a mad race to the playoffs. They went into the post-season against the Senators, and fell down 3 games to 0, and got shutout all 3 games. Jonathan Bernier comes back and shuts out the Sens in game 4, and then the Leafs fall in game 5, by a score of 3-1.
Hardly the season the Leafs expected entering the year.
"Yeah, I mean we expected the team to make the playoffs this season, so in terms of that, we expected it. However they way we got their wasn't as designed" joked GM Pat Quinn, who recently signed a 3 year extension with the team.
Here are some quotes from Kevin Dineen's year end press conference. Dineen has also been retained for another 3 years.
"Yeah, you know what, we took a step forward this year, our power play was the best in the NHL compared to 19th last season, but our PK was terrible, 6th last. Again, we need to find this balance on this team when it comes to our special teams."
"Phil had a great year, career high in assists (53) and points (87) and added 34 goals to go with it. He has stepped up his game the past few seasons, this year especially."
"Bozak really had me thinking of whether he should be back on that top line, he was arguably our most consistent player. He posted career highs in every category, it was nice to see."
"Naz fell a bit from last year, he got 10 less points than last season I believe, but we sorta anticipated that coming in, he just needs to work hard over the summer and get back to where he was."
"I can't say enough good things about Morgan Rielly, Evngeny Kuznetsov and Jake Gardiner. Here are three very young players that work their ***** off. Kuz gets better every year, he posted 57 points this season, which are solid numbers for a 24 year old second line winger. If he didn't miss 5 games, he probably hits 60. Gards struggled early, but he bounced back strong. He had 34 points in 72 games, compared to 38 in 82 last season. So despite the slow start, his numbers improved. "
"Morgan Rielly is our best player. Had 11 goals and 47 assists, and is tremendous defensively. It's not often you see a guy elite at both ends of the ice, but this kid is just that. You forget he is only 22 years old."
Dineen also once again noted that he believes that Jon Bernier needs to improve his game over the summer. He mentioned that he is a goalie who picks up his game come January, but needs to start performing better in the early months.
The Ottawa Senators defeated the Edmonton Oilers in 6 games to win their 2nd Stanley Cup in 3 years
Major Retirements:
Teemu Selanne (ANA) 1,617(GP) 732(G) 812(A) 1,544(P)
Jarome Iginla (BOS) 1,478(GP) 598(G) 672(A) 1,270(P)
Daniel Aldredsson (DET) 1,415(GP) 474(G) 755(A) 1,229(P)
Marian Hossa (CHI) 1,252(GP) 518(G) 634(A) 1,152(P)
Patrick Marleau (SJS) 1,404(GP) 493(G) 550(A) 1,043(P)
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The Draft!
Jason Rioux is the highest rated goalie, at number 6.
The Scout told me to aim for the following 5 players;
LW, Bokondji Imama (64)
G, Jason Rioux (6)
RW, Nick Magyar (16)
RW, Julien Gauthier (5)
C, Antoine Dufort-Plante (53)
@DarrenDreger: Leafs deal LW Black Clarke (14th Overall Pick last year) along with the 20th Overall Pick to the Sabres for the 5th Overall Pick.
@TSNBobMcKenzie: Sabres were looking to move down, and the Leafs were their first call. They coveted Clarke.
With the 5th Overall Pick, The Maple Leafs select, G Jason Rioux!
@DarrenDreger: Detroit acquires D Bryan Allen from the Ducks for RW Zach Nastasiuk and D Will Petschenig
@Real_ESPNLebrun: LA gets C Vernon Fiddler from the Stars. C Jake Marchment and D Kurtis MacDermid head to Dallas.
@DarrenDreger: Leafs deal D TJ Brennan to the Caps for the 44th Overall Pick.
With the 44th Overall Pick, The Maple Leafs select, C, Antoine Dufort-Plante!
@DarrenDreger: Leafs scouts were raving about this kid, GM Pat Quinn said this is a pick he got for them.
With the 80th Overall Pick, The Maple Leafs select, D, Austin Clapham!
@MapleLeafs: The Leafs also drafted RW Maxim Lazarev(110), RW William Bower(140), D Dysin Mayo(170), D Travis Sanheim(200)