MVN - Most Valuable Network

Ryan Hollweg—Come Again?

I trusted Cliff when he acquired Jamal Mayers, because the move brought the team some much-needed grit and leadership—especially if Mats Sundin were to leave.

I trusted Cliff throughout the buy-out period, as well as with the release of Kyle Wellwood, as he seemed to have the mindset of what kind of players (and what age-range for that matter) he needed to build the team around.

I trusted him when he signed Jeff Finger. I didn’t trust the dollar amount, but I trusted the player that he thought he was getting.

Ryan Hollweg? Really? Read the rest of this entry »

Plan The Parade: Leafs Get Hollweg

If Fletcher’s philosophy was to build a team that other teams would hate to play against his latest move will help. With the fifth round pick the Leafs acquired from the Penguins in exchange for Hal Gill they were able to convince the Rangers to let go of  former 8^th round draft pick Ryan Hollweg.

 

Hollweg’s claim to the fame in the NHL thus far is being the recipient of a nasty slash to the face by Chris Simon; that and being one of the dirtiest players in the NHL. I guess the Fletcher and brass felt they needed to bring somebody in to replace the in your face style of Darcy Tucker.

 

Here’s a fun fact to think about. Hollweg has to be one of the only NHL regulars, in the forward position, (he played in 70 games for the Rangers) to have less goals and assists than Hal Gill. Hollweg only recorded 2 goals and 2 assists all season. That’s only 1 assist less than his career high of 5 points that he put up in 2005/2006. Heavyweight fighters like Georges Laraque, and Raitis Ivanans both had more points than him last year.

 

Here’s the Leafs team, thus far, in a nutshell.

 

1. A team with more defenseman than roster places for them.  
2. A team whose greatest scoring threat is Niklas Hagman. (This is based on last seasons scoring statistics)  
3. A team whose backup goalie is more accomplished than the starter.
4. A team whose captain is contemplating between retiring and playing for the Leafs forever rival the Montreal Canadiens. Ok, he could just as well end up back in
   Toronto.

 

Am I being too negative for you? I’m just being realistic. Last season I used the rebuilding plan set fourth by the Philadelphia Flyers to illustrate how quickly rebuilding can be done. The fact is the Leafs couldn’t do what the Flyers did for a few reasons. The first, and most obvious, is that they couldn’t get any young players, old players, draft picks, heck they couldn’t even get a bag of pucks for any of their assets because they all had no trade clauses. When the only players you can move at the trade deadline are Wade Belak, Chad Kilger and Hal Gill, you know there’s a problem. The second, being a farm team that has been beaten and battered by acquisitions of past rental players.

 

I would have liked to see Fletcher go after a few more valuable free agents than he did. I don’t mean the marquee players but if he could have signed a few veterans to one year deals it could help. It would give some of the youth some direction and leadership and come trade deadline they could do it right this time and manage to grab some picks and prospects.

 

As the season slowly approaches all I can say is it’s going to get worse before it gets better. The race for Tavares is on.

Toronto Two-Step: Adding Joe, Tangoing with Jonas

Just as soon as the Leafs seem to be doing one thing right, another move falls by the wayside and requires extra attention.

In a move that had been expected since permission to talk to him was disallowed, Joe Nieuwendyk joined the Toronto Maple Leafs front office this past week, as a special assistant to General Manager Cliff Fletcher.

For the one-time Leaf, it’s just another version of a homecoming—this time with possibly a better result. Read the rest of this entry »

Habs And Leafs Make Trade

When he Leafs traded exclusive negotiating rights to the Montreal Canadiens it wasn’t revealed who the Habs were going to part with if they were able to sign Sundin before July 1^st. We are still in the dark but this latest move is a confirmation of sorts. The Toronto Maple Leafs traded a 2^nd round pick in the 2010 draft and the rights to  Greg Pateryn to the Canadiens for Mikhail Grabovski.

According to reports earlier in the season Grabovski was supposed to be part of a deal that would have sent Mats Sundin to the Canadiens at the trade deadline. If that is true, and if Grabovski was the player involved in the negotiating rights to Sundin than Fletcher really pulled all the stops to grab this speedy center.

It may also explain why the Leafs drafted Mikhail Stefanovich in the fourth round, as both Stefanovich and Grabovski are Belarusian players who have played together in the past.

In his North America career Grabovski had been plagued with injuries; most of them sustained in the AHL where he spent most of his time. This past season Grabovski was tired of playing the AHL and voiced his opinions to the Canadiens front office; forcing their hand into moving him.

Grabovski, who is listed at 5’11 but seems much smaller, is blessed with blazing speed and although he has yet to be successful in the NHL has been able to put up good numbers for the Hamilton Bulldogs.

The way Cliff Fletcher has built the team heading into next year Grabovski could finally hit his stride. The Leafs have enough big bodies back on the defense to protect Grabovski; he could be a good fit playing with a big player—albeit a tad timid—Nik Antropov.

Grabovski is a very entertaining player to watch; with his speed and skill level, the only knocks on him is that he is very easy to knock off the puck and knock off his skates. To be successful at the NHL level Grabovski is going to have to improve his faceoff skills.

He’s still a young player; the next few years will be a learning experience for him; much like it will be for the entire Maple Leafs team. Overall this is a good trade for the Leafs who acquire a young player who should be able to crack the roster for a 2^nd round pick. Fletcher must have obviously seen something in him to try and trade for him 3 times.