Kaberle Trade Watch: All Hands On Deck
Published August 15, 2010 @ 08:30 in Toronto Maple Leafs

I've asked all staff to give up their respective Sundays so all hands are on deck for today's Tomas Kaberle trade watch.

The window in Kaberle's trade clause closes at midnight. That leaves us with only 15.5 hours to pull the trigger on a deal. Everyone here will be hammering away at the phones, their Blackberries and email in an effort to sniff out Burke's plans and bring you this Leafs news before the competition.

We're calling this Kaberle Trade Watch 2010. Clever, eh?

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Jenny Quit Because of Kerry Fraser
Published August 10, 2010 @ 18:40 in Humour, Toronto Maple Leafs

I'm guessing you've all seen this by now. Jenny supposedly quit her office assistant gig via dry erase board and it's pretty amusing stuff, even if it is probably fake.

Here's one of her grievances:

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KesselySnipes' Dion Phaneuf Video
Published July 14, 2010 @ 09:24 in Toronto Maple Leafs

I haven't written about the Leafs in a while. The countdown clock tells me there's still 85 days, 9 hours, 35 minutes, and 35 seconds left until the Maple Leafs opener.

This awesome video is from KesselySnipes. You should watch it.

[via Pension Plan Puppets]

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Brett Lebda Signs With Maple Leafs
Published July 7, 2010 @ 21:05 in Toronto Maple Leafs

Brian Burke made a huge splash in the free agent pool by signing unrestricted free agent defenceman Brett Lebda to a two-year contract, worth $1.45 million per season.

Lebda, 28, has appeared in 326 regular season games amassing 18 goals, 50 assists, and 201 penalty minutes. But he's a #5 or #6 defenseman on a team that desperately needs help up front. And we already have Dion Phaneuf, Tomas Kaberle, Jeff Finger, Francois Beauchemin, Luke Schenn, Carl Gunnarsson and Mike Komisarek.

I take it the signing of Lebda means Kaberle is as good as gone. Either that or Burke has completely lost his mind.

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Maple Leafs 2010/2011 Season Countdown Clock
Published July 4, 2010 @ 10:38 in Toronto Maple Leafs

If you click on over to http://www.torontomike.com/countdown.html you'll learn there are 95 days, 8 hours, 23 minutes, and 22 seconds left until the Maple Leafs opener against the Habs.

That countdown clock will track the seconds remaining until we drop the puck for real once more. I've done this every summer for eight years and there's always at least one fan who checks it daily.

I recommend checking it hourly.

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Colby Armstrong Signs With Maple Leafs
Published July 1, 2010 @ 13:38 in Toronto Maple Leafs

Brian Burke has pulled the trigger on his first free agent signing of 2010. He's signed Colby Armstrong, who played with the Atlanta Thrashers last season. He'll make $3 million a year for the next three years.

He's a tough 27-year old with with 78 goals, 100 assists and 317 penalty minutes in 360 career games. Burke sure likes the players that are tough to play against, but at some point he's going to have to add a skilled forward or two or we're in for another long season.

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Kris Versteeg Traded to Maple Leafs
Published July 1, 2010 @ 09:49 in Toronto Maple Leafs

On the eve of this free agent frenzy we call Canada Day, Brian Burke pulled the trigger on a trade with the Chicago Blackhawks that has Kris Versteeg coming to town.

The Leafs get the 24-year-old Versteeg along with the rights to left winger Bill Sweatt, Chicago’s 38th choice in the 2007 entry draft. Toronto give up winger Viktor Stalberg and prospects Chis DiDomenico and Philippe Paradis.

I'm sorry to see Stalberg go but delighted we landed Kris Versteeg, and not just because I took him in this year's playoff pool. He played in 79 games last season, picking up 20 goals and 24 assists to place sixth in team scoring.

Today should be fun.

Update: Versteeg raps!

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Damien Cox, Why Do You Hate Us So?
Published June 26, 2010 @ 12:48 in Toronto Maple Leafs

As a sports fanatic who is also a long time reader of the Toronto Star, I've been reading Damien Cox for what feels like forever. Sometimes I disagree with him, sometimes I agree with him, but I always read what he has to say.

Damien Cox, I just have one question for you. Why do you hate Leafs fans so much?

I've noticed this more and more lately. Damien Cox seems to have a serious hate-on for fans of the Toronto Maple Leafs. Just this morning I was reading his blog entry from yesterday entitled "A Face to Match a Trade". He opens this entry with the following.

So Leaf fans can finally stop obsessing about losing out on Taylor Hall.

It was Tyler Seguin.

That's fine, the Phil Kessel trade will be debated for many years and we'll be talking about Tyler Seguin as one of the players we gave up. But it's this idiotic statement later in the same entry that pops out as a moronic and naive viewpoint of Leafs fans.

Phil Kessel? To those worst afflicted, he's barely an afterthought, even if he wins the Rocket Richard Trophy the next five seasons.

Really, Damien? Is there a single Leafs fan who would complain about Burke's deal for Kessel if he wins the Rocket Richard Trophy the next five seasons? Are you trying to be an asshole or do you really believe this ridiculous nonsense you're spewing?

I follow Damien Cox on Twitter, and the night the Blackhawks won the cup, there were these precious tweets.

In reality, most of us are proud to own this record. The drought fuels our passion. And the distinction regarding the Kings and Blues is just fair and full disclosure. They too haven't won during our drought.

It seems the Pension Plan Puppets guys struck a nerve with Damien that night, because he tweeted this sucker punch a few days later.

But then again, Damien Cox never really got Twitter.

I'm not sure why Damien Cox hates us so, but I sense he feels threatened. Suddenly you don't need to work for the Toronto Star to have a publishing platform to voice your opinions. Suddenly your detractors can do more than simply write a letter to the editor. We can harness the power of Twitter, Facebook and blogs to be heard.

Damien's comfortable world is dying. You can almost understand why he's lashing out.

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When Your Google Juice Haunts You
Published June 25, 2010 @ 18:17 in SEO: Search Engine Optimization, Toronto Maple Leafs

Go ahead and Google Tuukka Rask trade. Do it... I'll wait. One of the top results, if not the very top result, is Leafs Trade Tuukka Rask for Andrew Raycroft | Toronto Mike's Blog.

I bring this up for a couple of reasons. Firstly, that entry was written exactly four years ago today. Happy birthday, Rask for Raycroft trade entry! Secondly, due to my Google ranking, that entry continues to haunt me. Whenever Rask has a good game, I see visits to that page from Google spike. I hate the fact that four years later my ridiculous thoughts on that absolutely brutal trade are read over and over and over again.

Bloggers, be very careful what you publish. With a little Google juice, your words could come back to haunt you.

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The Secret MLSE ~ Barilkosphere Summit
Published June 20, 2010 @ 00:06 in Toronto Maple Leafs

Last December, after watching a Maple Leafs game from the press box at the ACC, I wrote Barilkosphere Call to Arms: Our Time is Now.

The digital space belongs to us. It's our blogs, our forums, our podcasts and our content. MLSE would have no editorial privilege and no veto power. MLSE would give us access normally reserved for the traditional mainstream media, and would empower us with tools, funds and some degree of promotion, but we would be the stars of this show. This is where our biased but realistic voices would be heard.

Following the entry, I had further discussions with Jonathan from MLSE. Then, during halftime of a TFC match, we agreed on what the next move had to be. We needed to get MLSE and a few key members of the Barilkosphere in the same room. I spent the last few months putting that together.

Last night, at Wendel Clark's Classic Grill and Sports Lounge, I joined Jonathan and Down Goes Brown, Bloge Salming and one of the two founders of Pension Plan Puppets for some good eats and a hearty discussion about how MLSE currently manages their digital space and what, if anything, the Barilkosphere needs from them.

I won't divulge the juicy details, because what happens at Wendel Clark's, stays at Wendel Clark's. I've been enjoying Down Goes Brown, Bloge Salming and Pension Plan Puppets since I first discovered their respective sites, so it was a great pleasure meeting the people behind the personae.

The fact MLSE wanted a sit down with the Barilkosphere is a huge step for this organization. The wheels are in motion...

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