There has been a lot of talk about the current Maple Leafs goaltending situation/tandem which is Jonas Gustavsson and James Reimer. Are they enough to get us into the playoffs? Can they get us past a round if we make the post season this year?
Reimer was given the reins to the #1 spot and was playing well to start the season until a concussion in game seven knocked him out of the line up for an extended period of time. He has not been the same since his return as a 4-0-1 record has now become 7-5-4, Optimus Reim he has not been.
Jonas Gustavsson is now in the number 1 role, starting 10 out of 11 games in 2012 and has posted a record of 7-3-0 with three shutouts in this span but all though The Monster has played better of late, he is prone into letting in that bad goal at an inopportune time.
The Toronto Maple Leafs have signed 31 year old defensemen John-Michael Liles to a new 4 year contract extension, avoiding Liles becoming an unrestricted free agent. The deal is worth $15.5 million with an annual cap hit of $3.875 million which is slightly lower then his current cap hit of $4.2 million.
With NHL fighting slowly tampering off as most clubs look for not only a player that can fight but a player that can fight and still play a role with the club. The days of clubs carrying enforcers that play 4 minutes a game look to be coming to an end as the NHL slowly moves in a different direction.
It is hard to argue the NHL's direction, with the league at its highest levels in revenue, TV contracts, attendance and TV ratings. The league is not looking to abolish fighting at this time but for as many that enjoy this practice, there are just as many that feel if they want to watch a fight they will tune into a boxing or mixed martial arts contest.
The Maple Leafs are in an all familiar spot in the standings since the lockout, out of a playoff position once again thanks in part to a dismal month of December that saw the club go 4-6-3 and in a tight Eastern Conference that sees 10 points separating 3rd place from 12th place in the Conference the Buds need to get their game back on track
The team plays nine out of their next ten games at home, in what amounts to a very crucial part of the season, if the Buds can claim the majority of points in these games it should see them vault back into a playoff spot. The one thing that has been glaring in the month of December is a horrible penalty kill and a lack of confidence at times with the lead. This team also needs to stop getting off to slow starts, as playing catch up is a recipe for disaster.
