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Toronto Maple Leafs GM Brian Burke entered the off-season with one goal in mind – he was no longer going to watch his team get pushed around.
The Maple Leafs were quick to add Colton Orr, who is among the league’s toughest customers. Entering free agency, the team signed defenseman Mike Komisarek to a lucrative five-year deal. The Maple Leafs then added more intensity to their defensive puzzle, dealing Pavel Kubina to Atlanta for Garnet Exelby.
Burke then added Francois Beauchemin from Anaheim, a move that resulted in two things for the Maple Leafs – its deepest blue-line in years and also an overcrowded one.
The three offseason additions will have spots, as will Luke Schenn, and the club’s only puck-moving defenseman in Tomas Kaberle, who was nearly dealt to Boston for Phil Kessel. Jeff Finger, Ian White, and Mike Van Ryn will fight for the final spot on the blueline.
Mikhail Grabovski found chemistry with Niklas Hagman and Nikolai Kulemin, so those three will patrol the top line. A combination of Jason Blake, Alexei Ponikarovsky, Lee Stempniak, and Matt Stajan will complete the top six.
Toronto is hoping to inject Rickard Wallin, Tyler Bozak, Christian Hanson, and Jiri Tlusty, into their lineup. Bottom-tier duties will be assigned to John Mitchell, Primeau, Orr, and Jamal Mayers, who could be demoted if he does not earn a spot at training camp. Nazem Kadri, the club’s first round pick at this year’s draft, is coming to training camp with his mind on making the team, something that excites Burke.
Shutdown last season with a nagging hip injury, the Maple Leafs are hoping Vesa Toskala, will rebound. Toskala has one year remaining on his contract. If not, the Leafs are prepared with free agent Jonas Gustavsson, who many scouts believe was the best goalie outside the NHL.
Ron Wilson has implemented a solid work ethic in his team, but with so much dependence on young scorers and without the addition of another top-six talent, the Maple Leafs will fall short of their first post-season berth since 2004.
Prediction: 9th in East
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