30 Teams In 30 Days: A Tougher Toronto In '09

Hello Toronto, this is Brian Burke. He's here to fix the cataclysmic series of bad events happening here in recent years and end a near 45-year drought.

Upon the arrival of the 2008-09 NHL season, the Maple Leafs were without a familiar face in not just Toronto, but all of Ontario. Putting a name to the face leads you to 38 year old forward Mats Sundin. The Leafs all-time point leader, Sundin left Toronto, a place he called home and captained for 13 seasons and was officially a free agent. Sundin was still chasing the ever elusive Stanley Cup, a goal he's yet to even come close to in his entire 18 year career.

Following Sundin's departure, fellow Leafs teammates Andrew Raycroft and gritty forward Darcy Tucker left the club through free agency and after a trade that sent Bryan McCabe packing for Florida, the Leafs seemed to be in serious trouble heading into their 91st year of hockey.

The additions to the Maple Leafs in 2008 included defensemen Jeff Finger, Stars forward Niklas Hagman and Montreal-castaway Mikhali Grabovski. Despite these additions, the Leafs couldn't compete in this year's Eastern Conference. The team's lack of a solid goaltender was undoubtedly their biggest downfall as Vesa Toskala spent significant amounts of time on the injured reserve while Curtis Joseph continued to provide loss after loss. This lack of goaltending put the Leafs in the unfortunate situation of rushing Justin Pogge to the NHL along with trading for veterans Martin Gerber and Olaf Kolzig to try and sure up the holes in the crease.

Heading into the summer of 2009, Leafs fans were anxious to see how Brian Burke was going to put his stamp on the club as this was his first real off-season with the club. Burke wasted no time in drafting Nazem Kadri, despite his apparent desire to create another brother combo in Toronto like he did with the Sedin's in Vancouver and Niedermayer's in Anaheim with his interest in drafting Brayden Schenn.

Burke's biggest splash was ultimately made through free agency with size being a major need for the Maple Leafs in his eyes, something he has preached about for years. Addressing this issue, the Leafs signed Mike Komisarek away from their rival Montreal Canadiens with a four year contract worth four and a half million dollars a season. To complement the signing of Komisarek, the Leafs were also able to add former Anaheim defensemen Francois Beauchemin to the roster through free agency. In what was a somewhat expected move, the Leafs then sent defensemen and alternate captain Pavel Kubina to the Atlanta Thrashers in exchange for Colin Stuart and Garnet Exelby.

In true Burke fashion, the Maple Leafs now had a large set of bigger defensemen with great physical styles of play. Adding to the bigger squad, the signing of Colton Orr to a four-year contract had the Leafs already looking to be a far grittier team in 2009.

The biggest problem remained in the crease of the Air Canada Center. The Leafs goaltending was simply horrid in 2008-09 and Vesa Toskala (and his deceptive record of 22-17-11) was a headache to watch every night and Curtis Joseph, or what's left of him anyhow was no relief. The idea that the Leafs still needed a legitimate number one goaltender for the future remained.

Insert Jonas Gustavsson. Also known as "The Monster" in Sweden, the 24 year old goaltender simply dominated the Swedish Elite League yet again in 2008-09 with his 1.96 GAA and even more impressive and record setting 1.03 GAA, .961 save percentage and 5 shutouts in the SEL Playoffs. Although many rumors indicated Gustavsson was heading to Vancouver to replace former Boston College goaltender Cory Schneider, the Monster signed a one year deal with the Toronto Maple Leafs and will become a restricted free agent at the end of the 2009-10 season.

If Gustavsson is to falter, which has become a relatively more common thing involving European goaltenders who dominate their leagues overseas the Leafs have insurance policy Joey McDonald waiting down in the AHL with the Toronto Marlies.

As it stands right now, the Maple Leafs have just over two million in cap space and with the reacquiring of their 2010 second round pick from the Chicago Blackhawks it appears as if Brian Burke is preparing to make a big run at Boston sniper and restricted free agent Phil Kessel. If Boston and Toronto are to work out a deal involving the 21 year old forward, Toronto would gain a first line type player they desperately need while Boston would likely obtain the Leafs first three draft choices from the 2010 Draft.

However, with 2010 expected to be one of the poorer draft classes in recent years the idea of Boston matching the offer in order to work out a trade with Toronto seems likely. This will definitely be a story to keep your eyes on as the NHL season draws closer.

Here is how the Leafs line-up should shake up come October 3rd.

Jason Blake - Mikhali Grabovski - Lee Stempniak

Niklas Hagman - Matt Stajan - Alexei Ponikarovsky

Nikolai Kulemin - Jiri Tlusty - Jamal Mayers

Colton Orr - John Mitchell - Wayne Primeau

Extra Skater: Rickard Wallin

Mike Komisarek - Tomas Kaberle

Luke Schenn - Francois Beauchemin

Jeff Finger - Ian White

Extra Skaters: Mike Van Ryn, Garnet Exelby

Vesa Toskala
Jonas Gustavsson

This team essentially needs a superstar forward in order to make a serious run for the playoffs. Is Kessel that player? It's entirely possible, but still may not be enough and will be a total non-factor until he's officially out of Boston and into Toronto. The defense for the Leafs may be stronger, but it may be a great idea for Burke to look to shop Kaberle for some help on the forward front. It's still too early for the Burke Plan to become a plan lasting into mid-April and will continue to be in process of building a complete team in Toronto this season.

Players To Watch: Luke Schenn, it'll be interesting to see how the 19 year old performs in his second season in the NHL. Him being a prized possession of Brian Burke only tells you good things about his future. Jonas Gustavsson is also an obvious player to be watching for Toronto this season, just how does the Monster handle the NHL? Will he be the next Henrik Lundqvist, or the next Hannu Toivonen?

Prediction: 4th in Northeast Division. 9th in Eastern Conference.

30 Teams In 30 Days: Quickly On The Rise In L.A

Could we be about to witness the next Columbus Blue Jackets circa 2008-09? Although the 2008-09 campaign didn't go as successful as planned for the Kings as they finished with the second fewest points in the Western Conference, there were many positives to take with the defeats. For one, the club finished just 12 points out away from the eighth seeded Anaheim Ducks and Kings fans were able to witness their goaltender of the future, Jonathan Quick.

The 23-year old UMass alum got his first real taste of the NHL in 2008-09, starting in 41 games for the Kings after beginning the year in Manchester. Before getting the call to the City of Angels, Quick was in the midst of posting seemingly average numbers for the Monarchs with his 6-5-2 record and goals against average just under 2.70 before an injury to seemingly solidified starter Erik Ersberg struck and Quick got the call. Quick went on to steal the job away from Ersberg and finished with a 21-18-2 record with a 2.48 goals against average and 4 shutouts.

Going into 2009, he is undoubtedly the starter for the Los Angeles Kings and should continue to develop into a number one goalie for the Southern California based hockey club.

Other than Quick, it seemed that the team was lacking an added edge. Perhaps it was Sean O'Donnell's team leading +2 (yes, the highest +/- on the team was a +2.) or maybe it was the lack of depth on the entire roster. Whatever it was, it can be argued that the Kings are now looking to continue building off what they've already gained this summer.

Firstly, the team continued their additions to what appears to be a strong future when they drafted Brayden Schenn with the fifth overall pick in this year's draft. Schenn, brother of Maple Leaf defensemen Luke Schenn has been billed by scouts as a forward who possesses strong two-way capabilities along with a great work ethic. Schenn is coming off his best season with the Brandon Wheat Kings of the Western Hockey League where he scored 88 points in 70 games and finished his season with 18 points in 12 playoff games.

Schenn will be added to an already strong group of future Kings players of tomorrow and will be classified in the same breath as Thomas Hickey, Colten Teubert and Oscar Moller.

Following another successful draft, the Kings were entering the NHL off-season with more money than any team in the Western Conference to spend on additional scoring, blue-line help and possibly another goaltender to complement Jonathan Quick in the event of a Raycroft-like collapse.

The Kings wasted no time adding help on the woeful blue-line when they signed Pittsburgh Penguins defensemen Rob Scuderi to a four year deal worth over 13 million dollars. The 30 year old Scuderi set career highs in assists (15), points (16) and +/- (+23) in 2008-09 and led the Pens in blocked shots with 164. Scuderi is expected to bolster the Kings already strong penalty kill, which finished with the seventh best penalty kill in the NHL.

After adding Scuderi, the Kings still needed another offensive threat to be able to score goal for goal with divisional foes such as the San Jose Sharks and Anaheim Ducks, who possess two of most feared offensive units in the National Hockey League today. As time went on, the Kings couldn't keep sitting on their hands and striking out on free agent after free agent as they went out and grabbed Ryan Smyth away from the Colorado Avalanche in a trade.

The arrival of Smyth meant the departure of defensemen Kyle Quincey, a solid offensive defensemen but with the addition of Smyth the Kings are hoping to have created a very solid top six. Despite the large contract Smyth brings to Los Angeles, the 33 year old is coming off a rebound season where he scored 26 goals for the Av's.

Even with these additions, the Kings rumor mill kept on buzzing about one superstar on the block, Dany Heatley. The disgruntled Ottawa forward has publicly stated his desire to be traded repeatedly and seemingly the Kings are on a short list of clubs with the cap space available to add Heatley without sacrificing a pivotal player of today such as Anze Kopitar or Dustin Brown. However, it appears unlikely that Heatley will be bound for L.A and it's questionable as to whether he'd even accept a trade to Los Angeles after blocking a move that would've sent him to Edmonton, a better club.

For Los Angeles, the future of the crease seems to solely be on Jonathan Quick, but with Erik Ersberg being the current back-up option, the idea of adding a veteran netminder as an insurance policy should be on the agenda for Kings GM Dean Lombardi.

Two names that stick out are Blues goaltender Manny Legace and Bruins butterfly goalie Manny Fernandez. Despite both player's recent injury history, they remained unsigned and can likely be had for cheap money at this point. Fernandez is coming off a revival in Boston where he posted a 16-8-3 record with a .910 save percentage which included a torrid stretch of success in November and into December. For Fernandez, the downside comes with his injury history as an aggravated back held him to minimal playing time from January and onward.

Legace, the former All-Star netminder experienced a fall from grace in 2009 when he was placed on waivers and subsequently demoted to the Peoria Rivermen of the AHL. Before the demotion, Legace went 13-9-2 with a goals against average over three and a save percentage under .900. Although contracts for either seem very unlikely and foolish as of right now, an invitation to Kings training camp could prove to be helpful for the Kings.

When the Kings return to the ice for their 42nd season in the NHL in their quest for their first Stanley Cup in club history, their line-up should go as follows.

Ryan Smyth - Anze Kopitar - Dustin Brown

Alexander Frolov - Michal Handzus - Justin Williams

Brad Richardson - Jarret Stoll - Wayne Simmonds

Raitis Ivanans - Oscar Moller - Teddy Purcell

Extra Skaters: John Zeiler, Trevor Lewis

Jack Johnson - Rob Scuderi

Sean O'Donnell - Drew Doughty

Matt Greene - Thomas Hickey

Extra Skater: Peter Harrold

Jonathan Quick

Erik Ersberg

The additions of Scuderi and Smyth will certainly help the Kings as they begin to incorporate their youth and add veterans at the same time. Although they've upgraded since last season, the Kings still aren't deep enough to compete with the elite of the Pacific.

Players To Watch: The most blatantly obvious name is Jonathan Quick, who's looking to avoid an Andrew Raycroft like sophmore slump this season for the Kings. Another player to watch will be Ryan Smyth, who stumbled in Colorado for two seasons before being moved to Los Angeles. Smyth is expected to log top-six minutes with the Kings and will undoubtedly get his chances.

Prediction: 4th in the Pacific Division. 12th in the Western Conference.