So Long, Mats!

Mats Sundin ended his 18 season career season quietly in Sweden. With that, one of the greatest players to ever play for the Toronto Maple Leafs and one of the best from Sweden left the game of hockey.

Sundin accomplished many milestones during his career. He was the first European born player to be drafted first overall in the draft and went on to prove himself worthy of that pick over his career. Sundin was the first Swedish player to score 500 goals in the NHL and is tied for the lead in overtime goals. His 564 goals ranks 20th overall in the NHL. Mats also captained Team Sweden to a gold medal in the 2006 Winter Olympics in Torino.

Personally, Mats Sundin is still my favourite player of all time. He was a great leader for the Maple Leafs, setting franchise records in goals and points. He led the team deep into the playoffs, and he gave us plenty of exciting moments while with the team. His time spent with Vancouver last season hurt some fans, but I believe he is one of the best Leafs ever and deserves a spot in the rafters of the Air Canada Centre.

For me, I will always remember watching Mats score his 500th goal against the Flames, finishing off a hat-trick in overtime while shorthanded. I believe Mats will be in the Hockey Hall Of Fame and I hope he is remembered by all Leafs fans for the years of entertainment he gave us.

So long, Mats!

The Monster Has Arrived!

After watching tonight's preseason game, it is easy to see why Jonas Gustavsson is nicknamed "The Monster". In twenty minutes of work Friday night in Detroit, Jonas looked solid. Tonight, with two periods of work, Gustavsson looked excellent. He was very aggressive when challenging the shooter and made a terrific cross crease save to rob the Red Wings on a two on one scoring chance. The fans in the ACC gave him a standing ovation for his effort.

"The Monster" is able to use his 6'3 frame to block a large portion of the net off. When he comes out of his crease to challenge a shooter, there is very little net for the shooter to work with. He is also an incredible athlete, as seen in his acrobatic cross crease save.

Vesa Toskala continues to look better then he did last year, but a weak goal tonight against him makes it look like he may be challenged by Gustavsson this season. It happened all throughout last season for Toskala, with weak goals getting past him and taking the wind out of the sails for the rest of the team.

Another stand out tonight was, once again, Viktor Stalberg. He has impressed everybody with his speed and offensive ability this preseason and could make the team after scoring his 5th goal so far.

Gustavsson's big save.

My Thoughts And Predictions...

Next Thursday, the Leafs begin the 2009/10 season with a new line-up against an old rival in the Montreal Canadiens. With all the changes to the roster, fans of the Leafs from all around once again look hopefully into the future. We all hope for a miracle season with the Leafs making the playoffs then grinding through the playoffs, finally grabbing the Cup and breaking the long, long, long, long drought.

Is this version of the blue and white an improvement over the teams from the last three seasons? Brian Burke came into the organization midway through the 2008/09 campaign, but did not put his stamp on the club until the off-season. It started with the signings of college players like Christian Hanson and the talented Tyler Bozak, and continued at the draft where Burke added skill with the first pick and toughness with the rest. With free agency came true change. Mike Komisarek, Francois Beauchemin and Garnett Exelby add a new level of toughness and grit to the defence while Colton Orr is the true heavyweight the Leafs have missed since trading away Wade Belak. "The Monster" was also brought into the organization, giving us a goaltender who should be able to push Vesa Toskala and provide us with depth in goal.

With the recent addition of Phil Kessel (out until mid-November after shoulder surgery) to the forward corp, the Leafs have a little bit of firepower to go along with the fire added during the summer. Are these Leafs better then those of years past?

I think that the Leafs will be a harder team to play against. I also think that with Komisarek and Beauchemin added to a group that includes Luke Schenn and Jeff Finger, the penalty kill should be much improved. In goal, a healthy Vesa Toskala has looked quicker and more flexible in the preseason and should play better then he did last year. Up front, the Leafs lost some offensive punch when they traded away Nik Antropov at the trade deadline, but the addition of Phil Kessel and improvements from Mikhail Grabovski and Nikolai Kulemin should have the Leafs in the middle of the pack. If given a chance, I think the three young college players (Bozak, Hanson and Viktor Stalberg) that have looked great in preseason play could also have an impact by adding an element of speed that the Leafs have lacked.

If Toskala is healthy now, I think the Leafs have improved enough to have a good chance at 5th to 8th in the Eastern Conference. Boston didn't improve (although they are the best team in the division), Montreal shook things up and could go either way, Buffalo didn't improve and Ottawa is full of question marks between the pipes and on the blue line.

I am excited for this season. I really believe this team has improved and should be much better then the team that played last year. I can't wait for the opener on Thursday! GO LEAFS GO!

The Future

After last nights preseason game, I just wanted to share the highlight - the play of our first round pick this year, Nazem Kadri. Not only did he tie the game late in the third, but he scored the shootout winner! If you missed it, here is the video.

Kadri scored tying goal then wins the shootout!

He might not make the team at the end of the preseason, but the future is very bright for Nazem Kadri and for the Toronto Maple Leafs. For a team that has been missing a true offensive player, Kadri looks like he could fill that role perfectly.

A Few Videos I Enjoy...

Below are a few links to some videos I really enjoy. Some commercials and some cool moments I just feel like sharing. Enjoy!

Mats Sundin Nike Commercial #1

Mats Sundin Nike Commercial #2

Mats and Wayne McDonald's Commercial

My Favourite Leafs Moment!

Wade Belak...SCORES?!

Luke Schenn ERASES Malkin then fights Tyler Kennedy!

If you have any videos you'd like me to see and share, just e-mail me the link at bradleyhutchison@hotmail.com or post a comment below!

Welcome to my blog!

Hey everyone out there!

My name is Bradley Hutchison. I am a 23 year old college student from the Kitchener/Waterloo area and I am a huge Maple Leafs fan.

With this blog, I want to share with you what I think about the team. If I think they just made a sweet deal, I'll say it. If I think they made a huge mistake sending someone to the Marlies, I'll post that. I'll even post things that aren't about the Leafs, like things I like about video games and politics.

I'll start this off by explaining my love for this team. I wasn't the biggest hockey fan growing up. I loved to play NHL 94, but watching it? I thought it was boring! I had some hockey cards and I liked Dougie, but I was never loyal to one team or another. This all changed with the lockout. I suddenly missed hockey. When it came back, I watched every game I could. It wasn't long before the Leafs emerged as my team. I know about the 40 years and I know all the history surrounding this team. I also watched as the Leafs missed the playoffs by one point two seasons in a row. I cheered as my favourite player of all time scored his 500th goal in overtime....shorthanded. Now, I am the most loyal Leafs fan that I know.

I hope that everyone comes back and reads my thoughts and, more importantly, gives me feedback and responds. I am more then willing to debate any issue!

Thanks for reading,

Brad