After the Deadline

On February 15th, I went to every Leaf fans paradise….CentreSports! I was extremely angry when I left. There, on the wall of jerseys were Crosby, Ovechkin, Sabres, even Sens jerseys! Why would they sell the jerseys of other teams?

On March 3rd, I went back to CentreSports and it was remarkably different. All the other team jerseys were gone. What was funny is that the wall of jerseys had tons of blank jerseys, a handful of Kaberle jerseys, and nearly a full row of #2 Schenn’s. Evidently the merchandising team at the Air Canada Centre got the memo that for trading purposes, it was anybody but Schenn! What was interesting was all of the blank jerseys; a clean slate of jerseys for the future players names and numbers to be crested.

Let’s take a look at the fallout of the trade deadline for the Marlies and the Leafs:


Dominic Moore and Nik Antropov Jerseys Priced to Sell!
Any remaining Dominic Moore and Nik Antropov merchandise will be priced to sell at CentreSports since they’re on their way to Buffalo and New York respectively. This was a good deal for both the teams and the players, but particularly beneficial for the Leafs organization who have 2 second round draft picks and a conditional out of the deal since neither player would have likely been re-signed.

For Marlies fans, it would be nice to see the picks they’ve been traded for play a season or two with us since we’ve missed the pleasure of Luke Schenn and only had limited exposure to Kulemin (thank heavens for the playoffs where we’ll hopefully get to know him WELL).


Stralman and Tlusty Jerseys Remain On Sale at the Regular Price at Blue Line!
It was nice to see that the trade rumours involving Jiri Tlusty and Anton Stralman never materialized and that they’ll be back in the blue and white for the rest of the season! We would have never seen any benefit out of those deals if we traded solid prospects for little in return. Giving up Tlusty and Stralman for picks would be like saying, “let’s not go to Dollarama because they’re cheaper at Everything for a Dollar”. After another exciting night where Tlusty racked up another 6 points against Providence on Wednesday night, it is clear that Burke has made the right decision.


New Name Between the Pipes
I think the bad news has to be on the goaltending front. The loss of Toskala for up to 4 months with his groin/hip injury will prove to be a real challenge for the Leafs. Personally, I am not a big Toskala fan (and would like to see him off the roster) but it has meant that we’ve had to pick up Martin Gerber on the wires.

Why Gerber? Pogge isn’t ready to make the transition. This was supposed to be Pogge’s big year and I think it has been. Pogge has had to face pressures, losses, and the reality of the fans, media, and scouts in Toronto….harsh!

After Sunday’s pull from the net against the Griffins, Pogge was quoted as saying, “It was a bad goal…You shouldn't let a goal in from there. We turned it around after that, but I'm at fault. We lose by one goal and it's pretty much because of that." Marlies Head Coach Greg Gilbert also commented on Pogge, "He's got to continue to work through his weaknesses and get better…We're going to keep supporting him and playing him and working him and making him better." Pogge needs to clear his head and focus on the task at hand…stopping pucks!


We Are Leafs Nation, Not TANK Nation (Don’t Expect Tavares!)
At the end of the trade deadline, hopefully Leafs fans have heard loud and clear what Burke has said from day one…..that he doesn’t like to finish last! The rebuilding has officially begun in earnest and if you think the trade deadline was interesting, just wait until the off-season when the UFA season starts and we make our picks at the draft. By then, those blank jerseys at CentreSports will be flying off the walls to be crested with the names and numbers of new players in the dressing room and some of our favourite Marlies could be leading the pack!


Next Wednesday, March 11th we’ll see who’ll be sent down and who’ll be called up for the Marlies playoff run on Clear Day Roster deadline day. That is when we will really see Burke’s desire to win in Toronto. He told us at the meeting with him for season seat holders that he’s on board with the Marlies and he’d like another Calder Cup (he got one as a player with Springfield in 77-78), so look for a competitive Marlies team to challenge opponent in the playoff run.

Expect great things between now and the fall because we’ve got a lot of hockey left in Toronto! When you only need 16 wins and 12 or less losses, anything is possible.

GO MARLIES GO!!!

You can email Chris with comments and questions about the blog, Duke’s Dog Pound Supporters Club, or the Marlies anytime to dukesdogpound@yahoo.ca.