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Jason Blake and Leafs? |
Playoff team?? Will mark bell be another 20 goal guy ? Will Jason be as good as he was last year? Will Vesa Toskala prove to be a starter? Will Raycroft be traded? Will Clemmensen back up or will raycroft? I'd say Leafs will be in contention for a playoff spot again. First off, there has been a LOT of movement in the eastern conference, but apart from Buffalo, the major changes have all been outside the Northeast division. The Habs should have been a playoff team last year if not for the major flu bug they ran into. Before that, they were in 4th place, so it will be interesting to see how they do this year. I'd say NYR, Ottawa, Tampa Bay, Atlanta, and Pittsburgh are all safe bets to make the playoffs. The other three spots are wide open. Personally, I'd put in New Jersey, Buffalo, Carolina, and maybe even Philly if they get good goaltending from Biron, before I consider the Leafs, but it's a big crapshoot every year, pretty much. No one saw Carolina and Philly missing last year. As for your other questions, not a fan of Mark Bell; he started last year with Thornton and Cheechoo and played himself down to the 4th line and a 9 goal season while earning 3.5. Jason Blake would be a safe 25-30 goal scorer, haven't seen him much but everyone I've talked to says he won't get 40 next year; take that for what it's worth. Toskala, yes, he's great, he will be the starter, I'd expect him to put up good numbers despite the Leafs lackluster defensive play of the last two years; can't blame your goalie if you give up 5 Grade-A chances a game along with 35 shots. Raycroft will not be traded before the season starts, they want competition for the starting job. He might be traded later on if Toskala wins the job. Clemmenson will not be the backup unless one of the other goalies melts down. He's probably for the minors, he has been playing 5-6 games a year behind Brodeur. Maybe Yea Yea Yea Yea Clemmensen Just don't get too excited. Go Leafs. i think it's important to remember that the leafs were third or so in terms of the most man games lost to injury in the league last year, and they managed to make the playoff race interesting near the end. i'm not saying they'll be taking the president's trophy or anything like that, but this team can be contenders if it stays healthy... |
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