Why Twitter will endure

Twitter has become the go-to medium in my opinion. Strictly using the sports world as an example, Twitter blows other social media sites out of the water.

The up to the minute reports on happenings throughout the NFL and NHL cannot be matched by any other medium. Whether it is lineup changes, suspensions, or injury reports, Twitter is far away the best medium for the sports world.

Although I do enjoy reading long detailed articles, when I want current information that is relevant, I always go on my Twitter account.

Of course, Twitter also provides entertainment, and I would be lying if I said I strictly visit Twitter for only news worthy material.

Staying in the hockey world, @BizNasty2point0 (Paul Bissonnette, Forward for the Phoenix Coyotes), has one of the funniest Twitter accounts I follow. Although he is not a well-known hockey player, he is followed by thousands of people, strictly because of his comedic tweets.



Being an avid sports fan and knowing other sports fans, the quicker we can get information on our sports teams, the better. There are some cases where Twitter is in fact quicker than live TV when it comes to updates.

For example, last week James Reimer left the game with a head injury. Before CBC even noticed, several beat reporters for the Toronto Maple Leafs already put on their Twitter accounts that Reimer was being looked at.

The slowness of CBC to confirm Reimer's absence could be due to a number of reasons including the fact that Coaches Corner doesn't do in-game updates or the fact that Glen Healey never shuts up. Regardless, we are in a time where Twitter beats Television to the punch.

This is why Twitter will endure the constant changes in social media. We want the most up-to-date news we can attain. Although Twitter can be wrong occasionally, it supplies us with our demands, and until another medium can do the same, Twitter will remain at the top of the social media world.

Picking the team apart

Am I over critical of the Leafs? Most likely. I can't help but feel very disappointed, even though they are 4-1-1. Here is my "realistic" blog post, although I'd say most would call this a pessimistic view. Not focusing on the positives at all tonight.

The Bad:

Special Teams: Same story every friggin' year. Power play sucks. Penalty kill sucks. Every year. The players change, but the results stay the same. What is the problem? Ron Wilson. His specialty teams are horrible. After so many roster changes, it cannot be just blamed on the players. Ron Wilson is the problem.

Cody Franson - Playing just as bad as Mike Komisarek. What are you doing out there? Slow, lack proper decision making skills and very soft on the body. He has shown absolutely nothing at all. Hopefully he is packaged and traded to a team who needs a dman.

Mike Komisarek - A scrub. Can't skate; takes bad penalties, and is constantly out of defensive position. Shown nothing in his two years as a Leaf. Horrible signing, horrible contract.

Jonas Gustavsson - Giving up over 3.5 goals per game his last 15 starts. He won't be resigned because he underachieves. He is not a "Monster."

Thankfully, James Reimer will be back in net Saturday. Hopefully Keith Aulie is called up to replace both of the defensive scrubs. As for the special teams...well, that won't change until Wilson is gone.

The Dreaded First Loss

The sky is falling! Well not really, but that is the typical reaction from Leaf Nation after a loss, especially the first one of the year.

The Leafs played absolutely horrible. They were dominated in the faceoff circle and the defence turned the puck over way to much. I must give credit where it is due; the Avs have a great young team. They forecheck very well, and they are very big on the backend, as four of six defenceman are over 230 pounds.

Phil Kessel continued his hot streak with his sixth goal of the year, but it was not enough.

The shocking play of Cody Franson, Mike Komisarek and Luke Schenn, was quite frightening. All three were slow to make decisions, and turned the puck over numerous times. Most notably would be Cody Franson leaving his man open in front of the net in overtime, leading to the game winning goal. I would like to see Jake Gardiner back in the lineup, Wednesday night.

I've said it before and I'll say it again - The Leafs will live and die with James Reimer. Was he horrible tonight? Not at all. But he did leave a lot to be desired, as his rebound control was suspect, and all three goals could have been stopped.

I must remind myself that this is a long season and these games will happen. The fact the Leafs were able to steal a point shows that they will not quit.

Ron Wilson once again cannot run a proper NHL power play. The Leafs have now gone 17 straight power play attempts without a goal. A similar trend of the last three years.

Up next for the Leafs are the Winnipeg Jets. I wouldn't be surprised to see Jonas Gustavsson play Wednesday night, while Reimer would play Thursday against the Bruins. Now it is time to see how the Leafs will react to losing.

The New and Improved Phil Kessel

Yes, I know it is only three games into a very young year. Many things can and will change over the next 79 games, but there is no doubt in my mind that Phil Kessel is a changed hockey player.

Kessel has been active in a three zones this year and not only is that helping the team, but I think Kessel realizes that it also creates scoring chances for him. I'm not saying he is a great two-way forward, but he is a respectable defender now. I honestly think this will be Kessel's breakout year, that will solidify him as a top 10 NHL player. Call me crazy, but I think 40 goals is in his realm of possibility.

Kessel has recorded five goals, three assists for 8 points to start the season, but oddly enough that is not his most impressive fact. The fact that Kessel has not been on the ice for a goal against and he is a +7 is quite astounding. That also points to the dominance of the line as a whole. Lupul and Bozak have had great starts to the year as well.

Now with Connolly returning sometime this soon, do we want to break up such a good line? Personally I wouldn't, because the chemistry looks superb. But that debate is for another blog.

It's funny how Kessel was scoring with Joey Crabb as his linemate last year, but once he got a respectable power forward to play opposite of him (Lupul), Kessel has been on fire.

In his last 32 games, Kessel has recorded 18 goals, 19 assists for 37 points and a +6 rating.

Kessel does disappear for periods of six or seven games, so I will be watching to see if that continues into this season. The Leafs have six games in the next eight nights, so we must hope Kessel continues to play well, and the Grabovski line can find its groove.

The Avalanche are in town Monday night; look for Giguere to get the start against his former team. It will be a game with two young teams, who play a run and gun style of hockey.

Until then, Go Leafs Go

Taking Candy from a baby...I mean Darryl Sutter

I remember it like it was yesterday. I woke up around 11 am Sunday morning to a ton of texts saying, "Dion Phaneuf to Toronto." I really didn't believe it. I went running to my TV like a little kid on Christmas morning and saw TSN reporting the deal as completed.

Slowly the details came in, and my excitement turned to sheer pleasure. That's it? Darryl Sutter must have been drugged.



I thought the deal was a steal then, and two years later, I still believe this.

Lets do a breakdown of this trade:

The Leafs get Dion Phaneuf, Fredrik Sjostrom and Keith Aulie.

Dion Phaneuf was so-so last year, but he excelled the last 40 games showing why he deserves to be Captain - and that play has continued into this year. He is a first pairing defensman who can play against all first lines and he has become quite underrated, but that tends to happens to players when they are traded to the Leafs.

Fredrik Sjostrom was a non-factor in this deal. He played a decent role as a PKer for just over a year. He became a free agent this summer and still remains unsigned.

Keith Aulie is the steal of the deal. A big stay-at-home defensman who played with Phaneuf last year on the top pairing for thirty or so games. Although he did not make the team out of camp this year, he is still only 20, and most certainly will be back with the Leafs. He has great potential; and although I don't see him as a first pairing defensman, he is most certainly a great second pairing defensman.

The Flames receive Ian White, Matt Stajan, Nik Hagman and Jamal Mayers.

Well, the Flames basically got hosed. Ian White and Jamal Mayers made little impact for the Flames and are not on their roster anymore.

Matt Stajan has been a colossal failure. Before being traded to Calgary, he recorded 15 goals in 55 games that season for Toronto. Since the trade, Stajan has scored ten goals in over 100 games as a Flame. The worst part of this deal is that Calgary signed Stajan to a multi-year deal at 3.5 million per year. Essentially, they are paying their fourth line centre 3.5 million. Not smart cap management by former GM, Darryl Sutter.

The same can be said for Nik Hagman who was considered a 20 goal scorer. Since being traded to Calgary, Hagman has 15 goals in just over 100 games played.

It is clear Brian Burke won this deal. It is one of the Leafs most lopsided trades since the Sundin or Gilmour deals of the 90's.

Thanks Darryl!

Return of MacArthur and the Calgary Scrubs

After a week off, the Toronto Maple Leafs will be in action tonight against the Calgary Flames. There will be two additions to the lineup as forward, Clarke MacArthur will rejoin the team, playing with Mikhail Grabovski and Nikolai Kulemin.


I am excited to see the full Grabovski line back in action. Yes, Matt Frattin did an admirable job filling in for MacArthur, but even then I felt like something was missing. Hopefully MacArthur can find his legs early and create some scoring chances.

The other addition will be defenseman, Cody Franson. Franson is most likely taking Jake Gardiners spot on defense, meaning that he will get paired with Mike Komisarek.

Trutfully, I am not sure what will come of this pairing. They seem to slow and mistake prone to be a good bottom pairing, but that could change. Komisarek has played respectable hockey and I have only seen Franson a handful of times, but he seems to get beat by speed. This pairing will have to bring their A game tonight. Also, expect Franson to get some power play time with Carl Gunnarsson. He has a very heavy and accurate shot, that should help the second line PP.

As for the game itself, the Flames will be entering Toronto after winning their first game of the season against the Montreal Canadiens. Looking at the Flames roster, they remind me of the 06-08 Leafs; so many bad memories.

Names such as Nik Hagman, Matt Stajan, and Lee Stempniak all bring me back to the days of mediocrity. Are they horrible players? Not at all. With that being said, they were the dead weight on those Leafs teams. Not players you want if you are deciding to build a contending team.



In a side of Leaf Nation that I hate, I vividly remember some people wanting Matt Stajan to be our captain. Yes, I know that is hilariously funny. Who in their right mind would want that. Leaf Nation puzzles me greatly sometimes.

As for the game, the Leafs will need to score the first goal. Last year, the Leafs were scored on first 2/3's of the time. That would explain their bad record last season. When they did score first, they had a winning record, as did every other NHL team. Obviously the Leafs still have to play a full 60 minute game, but you cannot deny the importance of scoring the first goal of the game - It's a must.

The Leafs should use their speed to attack Calgary's defense. They are not a relatively fast group, and Jay Bouwmeester is not the same player he was in Florida. Look for the Grabovski line to dominate play most of the night.

The Leafs lineup with me slightly altered tonight at the forward position. The defense will remain the same except for Franson taking Gardiners spot with Komisarek. Here are the forward lines:

MacArthur-Grabovski-Kulemin
Lupul-Bozak-Kessel
Armstrong-Lombardi-Frattin
Brown-Steckel-Dupuis

I am loving the depth the Leafs have. A week ago, the fourth line was basically our third line. With bodies slowly coming back into the lineup, the Leafs are showing their depth. All four lines can score, and the third line is filled with very good players.

I am expecting another Leafs win. I feel they will be the better team tonight, but they will not dominate. I expect Reimer to make key, timely saves and the Leafs will feed off that. With three more home games before a four game road trip, the Leafs have to take a minimum 4 of 6 points.

I have Phil Kessel scoring twice and Kulemin scoring his first of the year. 3-2 Leafs.

The Bottom 6; Tim Connolly Update

With Clarke MacArthur rejoining the lineup, the Leafs bottom 6 forwards will receive a nice make-over. According to many analysts, the Leafs third line will consist of Matt Frattin, Matthew Lombardi and Colby Armstrong. This third line is vastly different from that of the first two games, which included David Steckel and Philippe Dupuis.

What to expect? Well, the major difference is speed and scoring. Lombardi and Frattin are fast and they can create scoring chances. They are not limited to offense though, as both are considered to be decent two way forwards. This third line should be able to attack other teams slower defensive pairs, as well as face other teams best lines. They are the best of both worlds.



The fourth line will receive the most significant upgrade as Steckel and Dupuis will be placed there with winger Mike Brown. With these three guys together, they provide the Leafs with one of the most serviceable fourth lines in the league. All three are effective forecheckers, but individually they all bring something unique and different to the ice.

David Steckel as we already know is the faceoff specialist. Winning 70% of his faceoffs is crucial to the Leafs transition game.

Mike Brown is speedy. He will fight and also has an unknown playmaking ability that is needed on the fourth line.



Philippe Dupuis forechecks with the best of them. He will hit anything that moves, which creates space on the ice for Steckel and Brown.

Now obviously the fourth line won't make a huge impact every night. What I am excited about is the fact that all three play good defensive hockey and they have the ability to create offense if needed. As long as they control puck possession when playing other fourth lines is my concern.

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Don't expect injured centre, Tim Connolly to play Saturday. He is still nursing an upper body injury that he suffered early in the preseason. Although there is an outside chance of him playing, I don't see Ron Wilson rushing him back into the lineup, as this game is not of major importance.

Tim Connolly needs to get healthy. There is a point where I can understand he is hurt, but for a day-to-day injury to extend into two weeks is quite ridiculous. Connolly has a long injury history which was a main reason why Buffalo decided not to resign him.

If Matthew Lombardi can step up as a third line centre and Tyler Bozak continues his good play with Phil Kessel and Joffrey Lupul, how can you insert Connolly into the lineup? At the risk of killing chemistry built, Connolly better be in the lineup against Winnipeg, on Wednesday at the very latest.