Rigamarole - A Foot In The Crease - Episode 5.2

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When it became clear that Dany Heatley no longer wanted to be an Ottawa Senator, there certainly were not going to be any complaints from the Toronto Maple Leafs knowing they would have to face their Northeast Division rivals six times during the regular season. Heatley - now with the San Jose Sharks - is easily among the top five pure goal scorers in the NHL. His absence from the Ottawa line up and his fifty points in thirty six career games against the Maple Leafs will leave the Senators a far less daunting team.

Phil Kessel, another one of the premier threats within the Northeast, is no longer a concern – his talents having been added to the Toronto arsenal a week ago.

The Buffalo Sabres made no notable roster improvements during the off season nor did the Boston Bruins. In Montreal, Mike Cammalleri, Scott Gomez, Brian Gionta and Hal Gill were brought in but are merely replacing Saku Koivu, Alex Kovalev, Alex Tanguay and Mike Komesarik – another divisional foe turned friend for the Maple Leafs. If anything, the Canadiens will be as good as they were last year but not much better.

Apart from essentially replacing Dany Heatley with Alex Kovalev who is frankly on the decline in his career and who knows if he will “feel like it” this year, the Ottawa Senators did not improve much up front. If Pascal Leclaire can solidify their netminding, then that will bode well but with only one strong season under his belt in 2007-2008, as far as I’m concerned, the jury is still out on him.

No question the most improved team on paper in the Northeast Division is the Toronto Maple Leafs. But the game isn’t played on paper. If the likes of Francois Beauchemin, Mike Komesarik, Jonas Gustavsson, Phil Kessel and some of the youth can play up to their expectations, the Maple Leafs will be a much improved club on the ice as well. But hey, all that was just rigamarole.

Rigamarole - A Foot In The Crease - Episode 5.1

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Four preseason games, three wins, over ten fights and one clear message: this is a Maple Leafs team unlike any one we’ve seen since prior to the lockout. They may not win every game; they may not cruise to a post season berth; they may still be a year away from legitimately contending but understand this, the Maple Leafs are a team that will not be pushed around, will not give opponents an easy ride and for the first time in years, there is finally a bright light at the end of the tunnel.

From a defensive standpoint, it is not remiss to say the Leafs possess a group that is easily in the top five in the National Hockey League. Tomas Kaberle and Mike Komesarik will form one pairing – a tandem that will simultaneously be able to keep the defensive zone under control and with Komesarik’s reliability defensively, it will once again allow Kaberle the freedom to do what he does best: carry and distribute the puck. Francois Beauchemin and Luke Schenn will form another pairing – one that will strike fear into opposing forwards while still providing an above average ability to move the puck.

Take your pick for the last pairing but expect Garnett Exelby to be included – one of the best open ice checkers in the game and if you’ll remember a few seasons back, among the only players to ever catch Mats Sundin with his head down.

Up front, the addition of Phil Kessel will hopefully give the Maple Leafs that bona fide scorer they have long been coveting but even without Kessel, Matt Stajan and Mikhail Grabovski appear ready for prime time campaigns. Additionally, the play of youngsters Tyler Bozak, Viktor Stahlberg, Christian Hanson and Nazem Kadri has shown that even if they are not NHL ready this season, the cupboard is no longer bare when it comes to true blue chip prospects at forward. But hey, all that was just rigamarole.