TheStar.com - Sports - Blake gives Maurice options at forward: "Combining Kyle Wellwood and Jason Blake on the same line drummed up a wonderful offensive scenario for Leafs coach Paul Maurice yesterday – and the two won't be on the same sheet of ice for another month or so.
'Bringing in a guy with 40 goals (Blake), you're expecting he'll play a bit with Mats Sundin, but we see him playing with Kyle as well,' Maurice said yesterday, casting a glance forward while the Leafs ran their annual kids summer hockey camp at Lakeshore Lions Arena."
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Happy days of summer nearly finished: "We're not saying that Paul Maurice is ready for the season to start, but with July barely half over, the Toronto Maple Leafs coach has already mapped out training camp, which is three months away. And we're not saying Maurice took the end of last season hard -- watching the New York Islanders win a shootout that left the Leafs one point short of the playoffs -- but let's just say that his smile didn't immediately accompany him on vacation."
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Gary Bettman, cast as a hater of all things Canadian. Jim Balsillie portrayed as a zillionaire maverick, bordering on kook.
On both sides of the fence, some very fine and sophisticated fiction has been spun around the potential sale of the Nashville Predators and their move to Southern Ontario - a deal that now seems dead in the water."
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The board of directors of Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment is interviewing candidates for a hockey operations job that doesn't yet exist. They want an adviser, or a consultant. Ideally, he'll be some sage hockey mind, someone perhaps in his retirement years, who either is or isn't a direct threat to GM John Ferguson's job, depending upon whose side you're on.
According to Star sources, the former New Jersey Devils goaltender has signed a two-way contract with the Leafs and is expected to be the club's No. 3 goaltender this season, working with the AHL Toronto Marlies alongside youngster Justin Pogge."
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The Leafs signed former New Jersey Devils goaltender Scott Clemmensen to a two-way contract yesterday.
The 29-year-old will play for the Toronto Marlies of the AHL, alongside youngster Justin Pogge.
In other Leaf activity, fired Ottawa Senators general manager John Muckler was in town yesterday to chat with Toronto brass about working in concert with current GM John Ferguson Jr."
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Muckler was to meet with MLSE president Richard Peddie and MLSE chairman Larry Tanenbaum to discuss the new mentor position they want filled to assist Toronto Maple Leafs general manager John Ferguson."
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As much as Ottawa Senators fans might be loath to praise the Toronto Maple Leafs for anything, it appears the wide gap between the organizations has narrowed in the past week."
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RealGM Hockey: Wiretap Archives: Maple Leafs Sign Ling To One-Year Deal: "This will be Ling’s second tour of duty with the Maple Leafs organization. During the 2004-05 season he led St. John’s, the Maple Leafs former AHL affiliate, in scoring with 88 points on 28 goals and 60 assists, along with 152 penalty minutes.
Not the one with Leaf fans. That ended somewhere around January. This is his real one. The Leaf goalie got married over the weekend and is on his honeymoon with his bride, Erin, at an undisclosed location, said his agent, Jordan Neumann.
Whether he returns from his nuptials a Leaf remains anyone's guess. The $2 million (U.S.) a year goalie is rumoured to be on the Leaf trading block as GM John Ferguson finds his club's finances pressed up against the salary cap while carrying two capable goalies."
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The Finnish netminder agreed to terms on a two-year extension that will kick in after next season. The 30-year-old will earn $1.375 million (all figures U.S.) in the final year of the deal he signed with San Jose, then will get a pay hike to $4 million a year for the two seasons that follow."
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If Vesa Toskala turns out to be the same type of steal from the San Jose Sharks that Miikka Kiprusoff was for the Calgary Flames, JFJ will have cemented himself atop the Maple Leaf hockey pyramid for a long time.
As reported in Thursday's Globe and Mail, a source confirmed yesterday that the 73-year-old Muckler is interested in the new senior adviser position, and will stop by for an interview session with MLSE president Richard Peddie and possibly MLSE chairman Larry Tanenbaum in the next two or three days."
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A source confirmed yesterday that the 73-year-old Muckler is interested in the new senior adviser position that team owner Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment wants to fill this summer to give Ferguson assistance in rebuilding the struggling National Hockey League franchise into a playoff team.
ADVANTAGE MAPLE LEAFS: "t's not something we're used to from the Toronto Maple Leafs, but the quiet, laid-back approach has served them well these last few weeks.
Did you hear Word 1 from the Leafs when Blackberry magnate Jim Balsillie was moving to set up shop down the street in Hamilton these past few weeks? Undoubtedly there was some dialogue between chairman of the board Larry Tanenbaum and NHL commissioner Gary Bettman, as there is little doubt the Leafs opposed the intrusion into the southern Ontario territory they monopolize."
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New Leafs netminder saying all the right things: "Vesa Toskala presumably moved to the top of the Toronto Maple Leafs depth chart when the team acquired the goaltender from San Jose in June.
He has better numbers than the incumbent, Andrew Raycroft. He came at a price, with the Leafs giving up three draft picks to acquire Toskala and forward Mark Bell hours before the NHL entry draft. And, after agreeing to a two-year, $8-million US contract extension with the Leafs on Wednesday, Toskala is making more money than Raycroft."
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Leafs laud Ferguson's recent moves: "When John Ferguson acquired goaltender Vesa Toskala and forward Mark Bell from the San Jose Sharks at last month's NHL Entry Draft, the Maple Leafs general manager received a congratulatory phone call.
It was from Mats Sundin's European-based agent.
'He said Mats wanted me to pass this along: 'He thinks it's an excellent deal and he's excited,' ' Ferguson said.
TheStar.com - Sports - Leafs won't break bank with Blake: "Of all the unrestricted free agents on the market this summer, none scored more goals last season than Jason Blake. In fact, only nine NHL players lit the lamp more often than the little roadrunner last season. But that doesn't necessarily mean that the Maple Leafs need Blake to repeat those numbers next season or beyond for their decision to sign him yesterday as a free agent to be a success."
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'What I like about Jason is that I really didn't like him,' said Maurice. 'I didn't like coaching against him. I didn't like how hard he competed. He's a guy that you're cursing.'
Now, thanks to a five-year, $20 million (all figures U.S.) free-agent contract signed last night, Blake is a Leaf, not a New York Islander. Maurice believes fans at the Air Canada Centre will be singing his praises instead of hurling insults."
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Battaglia re-established himself as an NHLer with a solid performance last year, starting on the fourth line but getting some first-line time on occasion alongside Mats Sundin."
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League sources confirmed yesterday the Maple Leafs have asked the Senators for permission to speak with to 73-year-old Muckler about an advisory role with the club, but they've been put on hold."
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Leafs re-sign Battaglia: "The feeding frenzy apparently over and most of the big names snapped up, Day 2 was much slower than Day 1 for the NHL’s unrestricted free agents as 30 players changed teams over a 24-hour period.
TheStar.com - NHL - Leafs re-sign Battaglia: "The Toronto Maple Leafs have re-signed hard-nosed winger Bates Battaglia to a two-year deal worth worth $650,000 a season, according to TSN.
Unless there's a change of heart later this summer, forwards Yanic Perreault, Travis Green, Jeff O'Neill, Bates Battaglia, Michael Peca and goaltender Jean-Sebastien Aubin are finished in Toronto."
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After some excitement that they'd be able to afford Ryan Smyth, the Leafs settled last night for a 40-goal man who out-pointed Smythe 69-68 last year, the pride of Moorhead, Minn., Jason Blake."
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