The Leafs hope Phaneuf can return to his old form
For the Toronto Maple Leafs, what a difference a day makes.
Fresh off their all-too-predictable collapse Saturday night vs. the Canucks, it was painfully clear that the Leafs, led by GM Brian Burke, needed to shake things up. Up until Sunday, much of Leafs nation had spent the majority of the year resigned to the fact that the season was a complete bust, Burke had completely mortgaged the future to get Phil Kessel, and “hope” was a word only used in phrases like “I HOPE we don’t finish dead-last in the NHL this season.”
Then the unthinkable happens. The announcement early Sunday morning of a 7-player swap between the Leafs & Flames, with Toronto landing blue-chip defenceman Dion Phaneuf in exchange for the not-so-fantastic four. Flames GM Darryl Sutter and Burke decided to take a little trip down memory lane, turning back the clock some 18 years to the last time Toronto and Calgary teamed up for a 10-player blockbuster deal. Of course, that deal saw the Leafs steal away Doug Gilmour, who almost single-handedly returned a league doormat into an instant contender (ironically, the Leafs pulled the trigger on the Phaneuf deal exactly one year to the day they honoured Gilmour and his #93 at the Air Canada Centre).
The big question remains – can Phaneuf find his game and emerge as the leader and stalwart defenceman many experts around the league both predict and expect him to be?
If history can repeat itself, Brian Burke and the Leafs may just have stolen away another Flame and taken a huge step towards a return to respectability in the process.
For a peek at my cameo appearance on Monday’s Breakfast Television on CityTV, scroll ahead to the 0:40 second mark!
nice analysis dan. you really went for it in that tv spot. awesome
Emery shutout. I guess that’s a good way to start the new season. Well buddy we’ll measure the offseason considerations based on finals performance.
keep pounding the posts dan. the least important thing right now is choosing the template. you need to post to this thing all the time. and link to other sports blogs. that’s how you will get links back to your blog and build a readership.
if you take my advice and do this for a year you will have a career with the internet as your office buddy.
you are going to regret the autopost comments once the spammers find your website dude.