We're back!  Finally...a team to watch with the right coloured Maple Leaf on their jersey.  Congratulations to Team Canada for their thrilling OT win over the Americans yesterday afternoon...I can definitely tell you my life expectancy was decreased by at least 5 years.  What a game.  What an Olympics. 

While I'm at it - and because I'm such a good sport - congrats to Brian Burke, Ron Wilson and Phil Kessel for a great and surprising tournament.

Well done Vancouver.  Now it's back to pointing out to Canucks fans every time they chirp the Leafs that even though the Leafs are re-building and at the bottom of the standings, the Canucks have never won a Stanley Cup.  I never get tired of that.   I just don't know what it is about Canucks fans...must be the weather in BC.

So here we are - less than 48 hours from the second trade deadline of the 2009/2010 season.

Fact:

Alexei Ponikarovsky, Lee Stempniak, Garnett Exelby, Wayne Primeau and Tomas Kaberle are all still current members of the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Most, if not all, won't be able to say that Wednesday after 3:00PM.

With the buzz at the Olympics being that Kaberle had changed his mind (again) and would be willing to consider a deal at the NHL trade deadline, reports began surfacing yesterday and today that this is not the case.  Anyone else grossly disappointed?  Love Kaberle's ability; don't love his intensity and willingness to accept underachieving.  Do you want to control your own destiny Tomas, or leave it BB and Dave Nonis this summer at the draft?

A big thank you goes out to Florida Panthers for increasing the trade value of big #23 - a second round pick for Leopold?  Gotta love having assets in a seller's market.

I would have taken a face off in the opposing zone and a tank of Zamboni propane for Wayne Primeau and/or Garnett Exelby 3 weeks ago - now I'm not so sure that's enough.  Could the Leafs get some value at the deadline?

Just because I am so nice - thanks again to the Flames organization for bailing the Leafs out.  Have fun with Matt Stajan the next four years.  Gotta love our Alberta brothers - every 15-20 years they love lobbing us a grapefruit to know out of the park - grapefruit #1 Dougie Gilmour.  #2 - our friend Dion.

So what's going to happen Leafs Nation?  Who stays?  Who goes?  Who will find themselves in the fold and in the plans of Burke and Co. as they re-build "Big Blue"? 

Buckle up - Burkie's obviously been hanging out with David Blaine and Chriss Angel (his 15 minutes went by fast didn't they?) a lot of late...let's see if he has anymore new magic tricks to show us this week.

MD27

Counting down...                            

With just under 3 hours (ET) to the pre-Olympic trade deadline, players across the league are anxiously keeping one eye on the clock, the other on their cell phones.

Earlier today, Ottawa shipped defender Alex Picard and a 2^nd round pick to Carolina for Matt Cullen, the first of many moves expected to go down for the re-building Hurricanes.

Last night, Montreal shipped a 2^nd round pick on 2011 to Florida for C Dom Moore.  I couldn't help but chuckle at this deal.  It seems John Ferguson Jr.'s crowning achievement as GM of the Leafs was plucking the plucky C off the waiver wire from the Minnesota Wild, ironically enabling incoming GM Brian Burke to flip him to Buffalo at last year's deadline for...you guessed it, a 2^nd round pick.

On its face, neither of these deals are earth shattering, but I do selfishly have a Spockian eyebrow raised at the return for the two most recent players dealt in the NHL and how it impacts what the blue and white may fetch for some of their expiring contracts - Alexei Ponikarovsky and Lee Stempniak first and foremost amongst them.

Let's have a look at the stats:

Recently Traded Rental Players:

Dominic Moore

GP          G             A             PIM        +/-

48           8              9              35           -7

Matt Cullen

GP          G             A             PIM        +/-

60           12           28           26           E

Maple Leafs Available:

Alexei Ponikarovsky

GP          G             A             PIM        +/-

60           19           22           44           +5

Lee Stempniak

GP          G             A             PIM        +/-

60           14           15           18           -8

Moore garnered a 2^nd round pick in 2011, while Cullen received a serviceable defender and a 2^nd round pick in the 2010 entry draft.

Both scenarios are as close to 'apples to apples' comparisons as I can think.

If you apply similar values for the Leafs available, you may consider Lee Stempniak worthy of a future 2^nd rounder - but you have to take into consideration a couple of factors:

• -Stempniak's $2.5 million cap hit (pro-rated) makes him a tougher deadline acquisition to fit into a team's existing salary structure.
• -Stempniak has similar numbers to Moore, however has played in 12 additional games this season.

Turning attention to Alexei Ponikarovsky, here is where I think the true value lays, and I believe a better return should be expected than what we saw in the Cullen deal:

• -Younger
• -Bigger
• -Attractive salary
• -More goals
• -VERY defensively responsible

...these are obvious factors considering the big Ukraine's value.  

With PIT rumoured to have interest, look for a player (Kennedy, Dupuis?) and a second round pick + coming back. 

In Stempniak's case, I think the most Leafs Nation can hope for is a 3^rd rounder.

Time will tell - I'll be back with more if the Leafs make any moves.

Tha begs the question:  What would you do?

MD27