Burke flexes muscles

The Maple Leafs had better have a pretty good penalty killing unit next season.

They're going to need one with the tough, take-no-prisoners kind of players GM Brian Burke picked up yesterday in defencemen Mike Komisarek and Garnet Exelby and enforcer-winger Colton Orr.

Combined, they've played 963 games, accumulated only 22 goals but have 1,556 penalty minutes.

Indeed, on a day when offensive stars like twins Daniel and Henrik Sedin, Marian Hossa and Mike Cammalleri were making big-money deals, the Leafs opted to go after players who exude pugnacity - exactly the type Burke talked about when he started his reign with the club.

"It was apparent from the time Brian Burke took the job, he wanted the Leafs to be tougher," said assistant GM Dave Nonis. "We wanted players who would not just fight, but play hard. We think we accomplished that."

The Leafs also got younger, with the players acquired yesterday in their mid-20s, while they parted ways with 32-year-old defenceman Pavel Kubina.

"They'll be with this team for the long haul," said Nonis of the newcomers. "We know we need time to make our team into a contender. We wanted guys who could be here when we become contenders."

There is more to come. The Leafs are listening to proposals for defenceman Tomas Kaberle, hoping to flip him for a scoring forward they failed to land yesterday.

Burke was in Sweden, foiled in his attempts to talk to the Sedins, who re-signed with Vancouver moments before they could have opted for unrestricted free agency. It won't be a wasted trip, since he'll get to make another pitch to free agent goalie Jonas Gustavsson.

Komisarek, 27, is the prize blue line acquisition.

An alternate captain with the Habs, Komisarek signed a five-year deal at $4.5 million (all figures U.S.) a season, adding size and toughness to complement Luke Schenn.

Komisarek was 25th in the league in hits, with 191 in just 66 games.

"He's a guy that's just coming into the prime of his career," said Nonis.

"He's a high-end player and plays a hard-nosed style of game, he brings leadership qualities to this team."

The Leafs came close to trading for Exelby - another player who can deliver big hits - during the season and finally landed him yesterday, along with prospect centre Colin Stuart from the Atlanta Thrashers, in exchange for Kubina and minor league forward Tim Stapleton.

"People are going to enjoy how (Exelby) plays," said Nonis. "He's a terrific shot blocker, one of the leaders on hits on his team and his hits are quite violent.

"He's a guy who can put up a hit, which can be a major momentum-changer for his team."

Exelby, 27, earns $1.725 million, much less than Kubina's $5 million annual stipend. Stuart earns $500,000. Both will be unrestricted free agents next summer and give the Leafs a little extra cap room.

"It made it easier to sign Komisarek to a long-term deal," said Nonis. "Kubina played well here, he put a lot of pucks in the net. But we thought bringing a younger defenceman back in that deal, who plays the style we want to play, was important, and we have a lot cap space left to improve our team."

Stuart, 26, scored three short-handed goals as a bit-performer for the Thrashers last season. His brother plays for the Bruins, and his father is a doctor for Burke's Team USA entry into the 2010 Olympics.

Orr, 27, signed a four-year deal worth $4 million and gives the Leafs the kind of drop-your-gloves enforcer the team has lacked.

Offensively, the best you can say is Orr is on a three-year scoring streak. He scored twice in the 2006-07 season, once in the 2007-08 season and once last season. He averaged a little more than six minutes a game last season.

The Leafs continue to lack scoring. They had hoped to go after the Sedins and were frustrated when Montreal scooped up Cammalleri. But Nonis said he's not worried.

"You find out if certain players who haven't been given an opportunity can score," said Nonis. "You would have said last year's team would have had a difficult time scoring as well, but when certain players got the opportunity, they were able to put the puck in the net.

"If we have to start the season with the players we have right now, I'm sure we'll be competitive enough and some of these guys will surprise all of us."

Kaberle price tag is set

It's hard to believe two Harvard-educated hockey executives like Brian Burke and Peter Chiarelli would have, in the famous words of Strother Martin, such a failure to communicate.

There they were on the NHL draft floor Friday night, both poised to consummate a major trade that had been negotiated over the previous two days. Burke wandered over to Chiarelli at the Boston Bruins table and said he planned to wait until after he'd made the seventh pick in the draft, and then announce a deal that would send veteran Maple Leaf defenceman Tomas Kaberle to the B's in exchange for winger Phil Kessel and a 2010 first-round pick.

"What do you mean? I'm making that pick," responded Chiarelli.

The Bruins GM believed the Leafs had included the seventh pick in this draft in the transaction, something Burke didn't think he'd tossed into the mix.

The deal collapsed then and there and the hockey world will have to wait to see if it's resuscitated next week, next month or never.

Both GMs, of course, are stuck in the position of having key players knowing that they were about to be traded away, uncomfortable for everyone involved. That said, Chiarelli shouldn't have a problem trading away a 21-year-old winger who scored 36 goals last year, and likewise Burke expects the market for Kaberle to expand in the coming days.

That belief was buttressed when two high-profile defencemen, Chris Pronger and Jay Bouwmeester, were shuffled to new teams in separate draft weekend deals, which could leave Kaberle as the best available blueliner out there this summer.

The decision by Scott Niedermayer to return to the Anaheim Ducks next season opened the door for GM Bob Murray to move Pronger to Philadelphia for a sizable package of youth, including talented defenceman Luca Sbisa and high draft picks.

"It was a lot to give up for anybody," said Philly GM Paul Holmgren. "Hopefully the ends will justify the means."

The Flyers had been expected to be a bidder for Bouwmeester when he becomes a free agent July 1, but instead chose to lock down Pronger, who has one more year on his contract at $6.25 million.

Calgary, meanwhile, jumped the queue and bought five days of exclusive negotiation rights with Bouwmeester yesterday by sending defenceman Jordan Leopold and a third-round pick to Florida for the big blueliner. Bouwmeester is expected to be looking for upwards of $6 million per season, and his agent, little-known Bryan Baltimore, now has the hammer in negotiations with the Flames.

"I understand the logic, but it's just not something I would do," said Burke. "Was it a good move for Calgary? We'll find out in five days."

If the Flames do sign Bouwmeester to a multi-year pact, it will leave Kaberle out there as an attractive commodity. Burke said yesterday that teams would still have to "knock his socks off" to land the Czech rearguard, but the fact is the price has now been set - a quality, established NHLer and a high draft pick - and it would be difficult to bring Kaberle back in the fall having already come so close to moving him.

"I predict my phone will start ringing on Monday morning," said Burke.

Including yesterday's draft, Burke has successfully added some youth and hope to the Leafs in the form of Christian Hanson, Tyler Bozak and first-rounder Nazem Kadri. He could know as early as today whether Swedish free-agent goalie Jonas Gustavsson will sign with the Leafs, and at noon on Wednesday will begin trolling for free agent help along with 29 other talent-hungry clubs.

If Burke can realize a profitable deal for Kaberle, the club's most talented European, the club's new North American-first direction will be furthered and another younger talent will be added to the pile.

Maybe he and Chiarelli didn't combine their Ivy League educations successfully on Friday. But nothing was lost, with much still to be gained.

Burke drafts 'pick and shovel men' to rebuild Leafs

MONTREAL-K.C. Ryan knows something about iconic teams.

He played football as a linebacker at Notre Dame alongside Joe Montana and proudly wears a gold 1977 national championship ring. The ring includes a small green emerald, emblematic of the famous decision by Irish coach Dan Devine to secretly outfit his squad in green jerseys before a home game against archrival Southern Cal.

One of Ryan's sons went to three Rose Bowls as a kicker/punter with the University of Michigan Wolverines. Yesterday, another son, Kenny, became property of one of hockey's most famous franchises, the Maple Leafs, in the second round of the NHL draft.

"All Kenny said to me before this draft was, `I hope I play in Canada,'" said the Ryan family patriarch yesterday. "Of all my boys, he was the one who wanted to play hockey ever since I started building a rink in our backyard when he was 3. Hockey was his passion, and it's what he wants to do.

"He wants to play for the Toronto Maple Leafs."

The young right winger, part of the U.S. developmental program in Ann Arbor, Mich., was part of the flood of exclusively North American talent harvested from the 2009 draft over the past two days by Leaf GM Brian Burke. Burke, who curiously enough said this draft would be remembered most for the rebirth of serious interest in Swedish hockey prospects, viewed the six players he selected yesterday - two Toronto-born prospects and four Americans - as a statement of intent about where he plans to take the Leaf franchise.

"It wasn't an accident," said Burke, who grabbed London-born centre Nazem Kadri with the club's first-round pick. "European players are important in our league. But the mix has to be right too. To play the way we're going to play, you need pick and shovel men."

That may allow the team's chief scout, Thommie Bergman, to take a few extended vacations in the next few years. The linebacker-like Ryan, meanwhile, will be a leading candidate to be one of those "pick and shovel men" in a few years.

Before that, however, he'll be part of the intensifying tug-of-war between the CHL and U.S. colleges for top-end American talent. As of now, Ryan is committed to attend Boston College next season. But the OHL's Windsor Spitfires own his rights and there appears to be a growing possibility the Spits might be able to lure Ryan away.

Windsor GM Warren Rychel successfully convinced another top U.S. prospect, defenceman Cam Fowler, to forego a full scholarship at Notre Dame to join the Memorial Cup champs in the fall.

"Our mindset right now is that Kenny is going to Boston College," said K.C. Ryan. "We're talking about a scholarship worth about $220,000 U.S. But we've been talking to (Rychel)."

Changes in OHL education plan rules in the past year have allowed teams like Windsor to more aggressively court U.S. players.

"Right now I plan on attending Boston College," said Kenny Ryan. "But we've always kept in touch with Windsor."

Along with Kadri and Ryan, the Leafs took Toronto-born defenceman Jesse Blacker, also a Windsor junior, along with GTHL-trained, 6-foot-5 centre Jamie Devane (Plymouth), RPI-bound centre Jerry D'Amigo from Birmingham, N.Y., and 6-foot-6 Philadelphia Jr. Flyers defenceman Eric Knodel.

Finally, on the same day the sons of former NHLers Ulf Samuelsson and Ray Ferraro and the grandson of the great Andy Bathgate were drafted, the Leafs used their final selection to snare 6-foot-5 Peterborough Petes defenceman Barron Smith, the Illinois-born son of former NHL rearguard Steve Smith.

"Hopefully he won't share the penchant for shooting the puck into his own net," said Burke, with a playful poke at Steve Smith's infamous error while playing for Edmonton in the 1986 playoffs.

"But this shows our commitment to size and toughness," said Burke. "We're not just talking the talk."

Bigger, meaner and more North American. The course has been set.

Newest Leaf's hockey-mad home

MONTREAL - Nazem Kadri - the Maple Leafs' newest reason for hope - is all about family. And the Kadri family is all about sports.

But yesterday they were all about each other. Kadri's 9-year-old sister, Rema, was in hospital after an asthma attack.

She's okay, and the family breathed a sigh of relief as it began to absorb the life-altering changes Kadri will undergo after the Leafs made their historic selection in Friday's NHL entry draft. Kadri will be the first Muslim to play for the Leafs; at seventh overall, it represents the highest a Muslim has ever been drafted.

"It's surreal," said Kadri, a feisty 5-foot-11 centre who plays bigger with good speed and hands. "I've been waiting for this day a long time ... it's definitely special.

"It's going to be a big summer ahead of me, and hopefully I can crack that roster next year. My goal is to be on the Toronto Maple Leafs next season."

Much will be made of Kadri's background - there just aren't that many elite-level Muslim hockey players. Montreal-born Ramzi Abid played parts of four seasons in the NHL before moving on to Europe a couple of years ago, and Justin Abdelkader of the Detroit Red Wings is of Jordanian descent.

Kadri, who's of Lebanese heritage, may inspire youths from other immigrant families from the Middle East to take up the sport, a role he's very comfortable with.

"It's nice to be a role model, and hopefully I can open up some eyes," said Kadri.

The Kadri story reads like a slice of Canadiana. His father, Sam, came to the country in 1968 when he was 3 years old. One of seven children, Sam desperately wanted to play hockey like all the other kids, but his father couldn't afford it.

"I wish I played hockey, but hockey's an expensive sport, and very time-consuming," said Sam.

When he had a family of his own and a successful garage and car dealership in London, Ont., he made sure his son and four daughters could play the sports they wanted. For Nazem, it was hockey.

"He just loved the game so much," said Sam. "He was playing winter hockey, spring hockey, summer hockey, 24-7."

When Kadri was only 2, his father bought him rollerblades. "He tore up my hardwood floors learning," Sam says. "He was unbelievable, for that age. ... My hardwood floors were gone, but I didn't care."

When Kadri got out on the ice at age 4, "he was just skating around kids, so they ended up moving him up two age groups," Sam said.

In high school, Kadri was "Naz" to his classmates and teachers, but he was such a phenomenon on ice that he got the nickname "Phenaz" amongst his hockey friends.

About 100 family and friends were in Montreal two days ago for the NHL draft, cheering him on even as the Montreal crowd booed a Leaf selection. His cousins almost immediately started walking around with Leaf hats autographed by him.

Kadri calls himself a practising Muslim and tries to pray regularly and eat halal, but admits his busy schedule can make that difficult.

"I try my best," he says.

Defenceman Luke Schenn - the Leafs' first-round pick last year - wanted to know all about him. Schenn came away impressed with Kadri's hockey resum?, feeling GM Brian Burke has added the kind of truculent, pugnacious player he believes the Leafs have been lacking.

In 2008, at the Ivan Hlinka under-18 tournament in Slovakia, Kadri was one of the best players on a Canadian squad that featured Steven Stamkos - the No. 1 pick in 2008 - and Cody Hodgson - another 2008 first-rounder. Kadri had four points in four games.

Last summer, Kadri proved to be among the best in the world at the national junior team training camp. A jaw injury 20 games into the OHL season was why he didn't make the team. He got his jaw unwired early so he could go to the December camp, but not having played for a couple of weeks put him behind the other players and he was cut.

"It was an awful feeling," he said. "I set my goal to make that team."

Al Murray, Team Canada's head scout, said Kadri is a better skater than John Tavares, the No. 1 pick in this year's draft.

"He can play all three forward positions, and all roles, from first line to fourth line," said Murray. "He's real versatile."

Kadri was the best player on the London Knights last season, until an OHL trade deadline deal saw Tavares hop over from Oshawa. Kadri gave up his No.1 centre job, and moved to Tavares's wing. He finished with 25 goals and 53 assists in 56 games.

"He's got great skill and he plays with (heart)," said Knights coach Dale Hunter. "He hits hard. And he's a playmaker. He puts up points, and he's a winner.

"I know Burke wants the Leafs to be more aggressive. He picked the right guy. ... He's the type of kid who will run over the best player on the other team hard and score goals and get points. He's unique that way."

Note Hunter's use of "unique." It came up in a conversation with John Caldarozzi, Kadri's coach in bantam and minor midget with the London Jr. Knights.

"He's a unique kid. He's a throwback. He's not caught up in the silliness or ego. He loves hockey," said Caldarozzi.

In Arabic, Nazem means "leader." His father sees him that way.

"He was captain in a lot of his minor hockey teams," said Sam Kadri. "I can see him as captain in the NHL. He's that kind of player."

Leafs settle for 7th

It had started out as a day full of optimism and intrigue. But as the hours wore on, it quickly transformed into disappointment.

The Toronto Maple Leafs did not land John Tavares. They did not trade up for the second straight year to allow top prospect Brayden Schenn to join his brother in the Leafs lineup. And they failed to acquire an extra first-round draft choice or potential 40-goal scorer by moving Tomas Kaberle out of the city.

But general manager Brian Burke, who selected forward Nazem Kadri of London, Ont., with the seventh-overall selection at last night's NHL Draft, does not believe he failed -- even if the sold-out Bell Centre serenaded him with a chorus of boos.

"Could we have moved up? Easily," Burke said. "We could have done it on the floor and we could have done it two weeks ago if we put Luke Schenn in the deal. And, to me, that's a step backwards for our franchise. My ego is not that big where I have to get up there with the first two picks."

Burke said the New York Islanders, who drafted Tavares with the first overall selection, did not entertain any offers for their No. 1 pick. He added that any talks to acquire Tampa Bay's No. 2 pick involved giving up Schenn, who was named to the NHL's All-Rookie Team last season.

"I think for the Toronto Maple Leafs we made a prudent decision to keep a kid who I think we'll be our captain in a couple of years," Burke said of Schenn, "and added another kid [Kadri] who is going to be an important part to our team down the road."

Though a deal fell through to trade Kaberle, the puck-moving defenceman will likely not be in Toronto by the end of the summer.

The exact details of the transaction were unclear. But the Boston Bruins had reportedly offered forward Phil Kessel as part of a package for Kaberle, which involved also involved draft picks.

While Burke refused to divulge what prevented the trade from happening, he repeated that he is in no rush to part ways with Kaberle, whose trade value should escalate after the July 1 free-agency period begins.

"I will only trade Tomas Kaberle reluctantly," he said. "I think he is a good player and a good person and he's at a good cap number. That being said, my job is to improve our team by turning over every stone.

"The sequence, in my opinion, is that now that [Chris] Pronger has moved, the next move will be [Jay] Bouwmeester and then my phone will ring off the hook."

For now, Burke is focused on the player he selected last night and the rest of today's draft. Barring any trades, the Leafs will have two picks in the second round (50th and 58th) and one each in the third, fifth, sixth and seventh rounds.

In Kadri, Toronto adds a 5-foot-11, 175-pound playmaking forward with speed to burn and a nose for the net.

The 18-year-old was believed to be ranked among the top three a year ago when he scored 25 goals and 65 points and helped the Kitchener Rangers reach the Memorial Cup final. But after breaking his jaw with the London Knights earlier this season, he was criticized for his lack of consistency.

Maple Leafs get role model

MONTREAL-The Toronto Maple Leafs drafted more than just a hockey player in Nazem Kadri with the seventh overall pick last night.

They drafted a symbol of change.

Kadri, a solid two-way centre with the London Knights, is of Lebanese heritage, and the first Muslim drafted by the Maple Leafs. That he grew up a Montreal Canadiens fan only adds to the mix for multi-cultural Toronto.

"Being a role model is an important thing for me," said Kadri, who hopes Muslim kids are inspired to take up hockey because of him. "Hopefully these kids can look at me and use me as a role model."

Kadri is likely to remain with the London Knights for another season. His arrival in Toronto coincides with a time when some teams in the GTHL are struggling with enrolment. In Scarborough, the youth from a heavy immigrant population aspire to play cricket and soccer, leaving youth hockey rosters barren and teams forced to fold or merge.

"A lot of Muslim kids are going to start playing hockey because they see someone like them be successful in that area," said Kadri.

There are about 250,000 Muslims living in Toronto, and the drafting of Kadri was welcomed.

"That's good news," Wahida Valiante, chair and national president of the Canadian Islamic Congress told the Star's Kenneth Kidd. "I hope he plays well, because we'll be cheering."

But while Kadri's faith is important, he's also "just Canadian," she said. "It speaks very loudly that we live in a healthy society."

Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment worried in 2008 that hockey might lose its grip as the top sport in the city with the changing demographic.

GM Brian Burke acknowledged Kadri has leadership skills - he was the president of the Muslim Student Association in his high school - and the teenager's maturity showed in pre-draft meetings. Burke said he'd be happy if Kadri's career as a Maple Leaf inspired others to take up the sport.

"If this has a ripple effect on the young players in the Muslim community to take up hockey, then that's a wonderful side effect. If that increases our player pool in a part of society we're not touching right now, that's great."

Until now, Ramzi Abid has been known as the greatest Muslim hockey player. The Montreal-born left winger played 68 games in the NHL over four seasons with four teams.

"It's nice for my community to be recognized as a pro hockey player," said Kadri. "There's a lot of stereotypes about Lebanese, like they don't set foot on ice, but here I am."

Burke insists he drafted Kadri for hockey reasons and turned down trade offers for the seventh pick in order to get him.

"Our scouts think he's creative and explosive," said Burke. "He's intense. They like his physical play even though he's not a big guy."

Kadir said his father, Sam, put him on skates when he was 2 in his home town of London, Ont. He played on a team at 4 and was in the elite level by 6. Kadri's father, mother Sue, four sisters and about 40 other relatives were in the Bell Centre to hear his name called.

It was his father, who owns an auto dealership in London, who was the big Habs fan. Kadri said his dad would probably buy Leaf season tickets now and expected his family at just about every game.

Peter DeBoer, now coach of the Florida Panthers, coached Kadri with the Kitchener Rangers two seasons ago, Kadri's first in the OHL.

"I love him," said DeBoer. "He's a fierce competitor. He's got fantastic skill.

"He's got passion for the game."

Leafs add speedy Kadri with seventh-overall pick

Brian Burke got his man. Thing is, that man was not Brayden Schenn or John Tavares.

For weeks, reports had the Toronto Maple Leafs general manager trying to move up from the No. 7 slot in Friday's NHL entry draft in Montreal to grab Tavares, the OHL scoring sensation who went first overall to the New York Islanders, or Schenn, a rugged forward with the WHL's Brandon Wheat Kings and brother of Leafs defenceman Luke Schenn who went fifth overall to the Los Angeles Kings.

Instead, Burke landed Nazim Kadri, a speedy sniper from the OHL's London Knights.

"We could have had (Tavares)," Burke told TSN. "But we didn't want to deal Luke Schenn (to move up in the draft to select him). We're not frustrated at all. We think we got an excellent young player.

"We're very excited about this young man. It's a great day for Toronto."

Kadri, who grew up a diehard Montreal Canadiens fan, will have no problem suiting up for the Habs' historic rivals.

"I feel great," Kadri said. "It's a great feeling to be part of the Toronto Maple Leafs."

And by taking Kadri, Burke stuck it to the rival Ottawa Senators, who had designs on taking Kadri with the ninth-overall pick. Moments before the selection, TSN captured Burke and Senators GM Bryan Murray in a brief discussion about a possible trade involving the pick.

"Kadri is the kid we're going to take," told Murray. "Is that the kid you want?" Burke asks Murray.

"Yes," Murray responded.

"Well, we're going to take him," Burke replied.

"OK," Murray said.

End of conversation.

It wan't all bad news for Murray. With the ninth pick, he selected Jared Cowen, a six-foot-five shutdown defenceman from the WHL's Spokane Chiefs. Cowen could join Eric Karlsson, a puck-moving Swedish defenceman Ottawa selected in the first round of last year's draft, to one day bolster the Senators' blue-line.

The Edmonton Oilers followed Ottawa by selecting speedy Swedish forward Magnus Paajarvi-Svensson.

"We think he plays Oilers hockey," Edmonton GM Steve Tambellini told TSN. "He drives to the net. He's an emotional player and we're so excited to have him.

"To come to the Edmonton Oilers. That's a classic club. There's great hockey history there, with Mark Messier, Wayne Gretzky, Kent Nilsson. I feel great to be here."

The Canadiens, slammed in recent years for snubbing Quebec players in favour of U.S. high school prospects, thrilled their fans with the 18th pick, selecting centre Louis Leblanc of Kirkland, Que., a Montreal suburb. Leblanc, who played last season with Omaha of the USHL, will play next season at Harvard University.

"It's important to have that element or have that flavour on our team," Canadiens GM Bob Gainey told TSN for drafting a Quebec-born player. "The Canadiens are really a part of the city, the province, the francophone culture. I really think Louis fit into our wheelhouse. We're all really happy with him as a player. We got a good, competitive player."

Leblanc told TSN he had hoped the Canadiens would call his name.

"You never know what team's going to pick you, but I was hoping it was the Canadiens," said Leblanc, who hopes to play two seasons at the Ivy League school before making the jump to the NHL. "It happened tonight, and there aren't really words to describe it."

The Calgary Flames traded their 20th-overall pick to the New Jersey Devils and ended up with pick No. 23. They selected Swedish defenceman Tim Erixon, son of former NHLer Jan Erixon.

The Vancouver Canucks - with star goalie Roberto Luongo, a Montreal native, announcing the pick - selected University of Minnesota defenceman Jordan Schroeder with the 22nd pick.

Leafs prepared to trade up for Tavares

TORONTO - For the second straight year, the Toronto Maple Leafs are slated to select seventh overall at the NHL entry draft. But when Brian Burke was asked whom he intends to choose, the general manager said John Tavares.

t sounded more like a warning than wishful thinking.

Though Tavares is expected to be chosen no later than second overall, Burke believes he has the resources - and reputation - to pull off a major coup and land the potential franchise forward.

"We're going to talk to everyone between us and the first pick and see what the landscape is," he said in a season-ending news conference at the Air Canada Centre on Tuesday. "We're going to see what it costs, and we're going to try to move up."

The New York Islanders, who finished with the worst record in the regular season, won Tuesday night's draft lottery. They will pick first at the June 26 draft in Montreal, followed by Tampa Bay, Colorado, Atlanta, Los Angeles and Phoenix

The Leafs had the seventh overall pick last year, but were able to trade up and draft defenceman Luke Schenn at No. 5. Of course, improving by two positions is easier than six.

Burke's history of swinging successful draft-day deals - while GM of the Hartford Whalers in 1993, he moved up from sixth to second overall to select Chris Pronger - is the reason why he is being so candid about his intentions this summer.

"We're not going to ambush anyone," he said. "I've done this a couple of times. I'm not going to be able to sneak up on anyone, so we're just going to announce it today. If I thought there was a tactical advantage to doing this quietly, I wouldn't be telling you guys what the strategy is."

Burke's strategy is pretty straightforward.

Anyone not named Schenn is likely up for grabs. So, too, are the two second-round draft picks he acquired at the trade deadline. And, with Toronto operating well below the salary cap, the Leafs might also be willing to take back costly contracts.

"It's like farming," Burke said. "A lot of work goes into farming and the harvest only takes a couple of days. Well, it's like that with the draft."

Before Burke starts planting seeds, he first needs to find out whether teams prefer Tavares or six-foot-six Swedish defenceman Victor Hedman.

"I'm not confident that everyone has John Tavares at No. 1," he said. "If they're going to take a different guy, then you don't have to get the first pick. You have to talk to the people involved and see how candid they will be."

"We'll see what we can do."

Leafs in transition: So, now what?

The Maple Leafs are going to empty their lockers today, having missed the playoffs for the fourth season in a row. Coach Ron Wilson believes some of the building blocks of a winner have been put in place. Changes are sure to come. GM Brian Burke has said he wants the 2009-10 Leafs to challenge for a playoff spot. Wilson has warned there could be stretches next season that could be worse than this one, with the team expected to add anywhere up to six rookies.

The focus is making everybody better," said Wilson. "We want to be better than we were this year." Here's a thumbnail look, on a player-by-player basis, at how the team did this season; and its prognosis for next season. All contract figures are in U.S. dollars and expire after 2009-10 unless otherwise noted

GOALTENDERS

VESA TOSKALA

Contract: $4 million

Status: Gets a mulligan for playing the year hurt, but needs a strong start next season to keep his job.

MARTIN GERBER

Contract: Unrestricted free agent

Status: Played well enough down the stretch to land an NHL contract, but did himself no favours by getting suspended. Not likely to be back.

CURTIS JOSEPH

Contract: Unrestricted free agent

Status: Ever popular, but Leafs will look for a backup to push Toskala for the No.1 job.

JUSTIN POGGE

Contract: Restricted free agent

Status: Needs a strong playoff run with the Marlies to regain confidence of management.

DEFENCEMEN

PAVEL KUBINA

Contract: $5 million

Status: Puzzling penchant for forechecking explains his minus-15, worst among Leaf defencemen. Good offence, but if Tomas Kaberle's not moved it will be Kubina who's sent packing.

TOMAS KABERLE

Contract: $4.25 million per year until 2011

Status: Still the one Leaf who'd garner the biggest return on the trade market despite uneven season. ... Averaged 23:27 of ice time to lead the team.

JEFF FINGER

Contract: $3.5 million per season until 2012

Status: Erratic at times, but solid enough in own end. ... Led team with 158 blocked shots.

MIKE VAN RYN

Contract: $2.9 million

Status: The Leafs were 12-9-6 when he was in lineup and Wilson doesn't think that's a coincidence. Van Ryn is brittle, having last played a full season in 2006-07.

LUKE SCHENN

Contract: $2.975 million per year until 2011

Status: Here's hoping solid rookie avoids sophomore jinx. ... Led team in hits (206), giveaways (74).

JONAS FROGREN

Contract: $1.065 million

Status: Learned great deal in first year. ... Needs to stay healthy.

IAN WHITE

Contract: $850,000

Status: Won over the coach with solid play. Could replace Kaberle on power play. ... His plus-6 was tied for best on team; was only defenceman on plus side.

FORWARDS

JASON BLAKE

Contract: Three years remaining at $4.5 million, $3 million, $3 million.

Status: Rebounded from cancer, rediscovered his gritty side, learned to score again. ... Unmovable contract, will return. Wilson has to get him to be less selfish (302 shots again led team by wide margin.)

NIKLAS HAGMAN

Contract: $3 million per year until 2012

Status: Decent scorer, solid work ethic, good character. ... Can fill a gap on offence and, when someone better comes along, can be solid third-liner.

LEE STEMPNIAK

Contract: $2.5 million

Status: Figured out by Game 79 he has to work harder. Will be on a short leash next season.

ALEXEI PONIKAROVSKY

Contract: $2.105 million

Status: Thrived once Nik Antropov was traded and had career-high in points (61). ... Good one to keep around to help Grabovski and Kulemin.

MATT STAJAN

Contract: $1.75 million

Status: Stature rose in Wilson's eye, but best suited for third-line duty.

NIKOLAI KULEMIN

Contract: $1,487,500

Status: Loves to play in front of the net.

If he keeps doing that, he'll easily build on

his 15-goal rookie campaign.

JAMAL MAYERS

Contract: $1,333,333

Status: Wasn't quite the presence expected.

... Led team in faceoff circle, winning 57.3

per cent of his 429 draws.

CHRISTIAN HANSON

Contract: $875,000

Status: A year with the Marlies would help

him adjust to life in the pros.

JOHN MITCHELL

Contract: $487,500

Status: Had trouble keeping his game at a high tempo, but team brass see top-6 forward potential. ... His minus-16 would make him the clubhouse leader in golf but leaves something to be improved upon.

MIKHAIL GRABOVSKI

Contract: Restricted free agent.

Status: Has heart to go along with that talent. ... Tries to do too much by himself. ... Won only 44.5 per cent of faceoffs. ... Could use Kontinental Hockey League as bargaining chip.

BOYD DEVEREAUX

Contract: Unrestricted free agent

Status: Hard-working role player with speed should land a job somewhere.

BRAD MAY

Contract: Unrestricted free agent

Status: Popular in dressing room and Burke loves him, so don't be surprised if 37-year-old is back.

SUBS AND GRUBS

Jeff Hamilton, Tim Stapleton, Anton Stralman, Jamie Sifers,

Phil Oreskovic, Erik Reitz

Leafs sign top college prospect

The Toronto Maple Leafs haven't won much this season, but they have landed the services of Tyler Bozak.

Bozak, considered one of the top free agents to come out of university hockey, signed with the Leafs on Friday, ending several days of speculation where the talented centreman would end up.

The 23-year-old native of Regina had eight goals and 15 assists in 19 games this season with the University of Denver Pioneers, his second season with the NCAA school. He missed more than half the year with a knee injury.

More than 20 National Hockey League teams were reportedly interested in signing Bozak, who went undrafted. Reports Thursday suggested he'd narrowed his choice to Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal, Colorado and Anaheim.

Toronto GM Brian Burke said he was happy with the acquisition.

"We are absolutely thrilled that Tyler has chosen to sign with the Maple Leafs today," said Burke. "He is a young man that was coveted by a large number of teams in our league and it's our goal to help him reach his potential with our organization. He's a responsible player at both ends of the ice and he has shown the ability to put points on the board with his quickness at the collegiate level."

Bozak, who spent three seasons with Victoria of the British Columbia Junior Hockey League prior to joining the Pioneers in 2007-08, had 18 goals and 16 assists in his rookie college season.

Considered a strong two-way centre, Bozak is considered to have the potential to step into the NHL next season.

Hanson jumps up as Stempniak struggles

While there was much ballyhoo over Christian Hanson preparing to make his NHL debut tonight - mostly due to his father's fame as a Slap Shot Hanson Brother - Lee Stempniak quietly went about his business.

Hanson was a bundle of nerves as he packed his things for his first NHL road trip.

"I'm ecstatic right now, but getting on the ice and playing the game will be another level," said Hanson. "I've got some butterflies in the stomach and I think it will really hit me when I get on for that first shift."

Hanson has suddenly been saddled with some high expectations. GM Brian Burke identified him as a top-six forward - a big deal for the kind of team Burke wants to build - and Hanson will start on one of the Leafs' top lines with John Mitchell and Jason Blake.

"I think that shows they have confidence in me," said Hanson. "I hope to fill those expectations."

Stempniak knows all about expectations. He has some pretty high ones for himself that he's failed to meet. Stempniak has just 15 goals this season, well short of his career-best 27 in 2006-07.

"I definitely expected better," said Stempniak, who had a goal and an assist in a rare two-point performance on Wednesday. "I put a lot of pressure on myself to do well. I expected better numbers and to contribute more offensively."

That was the idea when the Leafs surrendered forward Alex Steen and defenceman Carlo Colaiacovo for Stempniak in a 2-for-1 trade with St. Louis.

"I had no idea what to expect coming to a new team," said Stempniak. "I'd never been traded before. I just wanted to fit in as quickly as possible and try and help the Leafs win games."

The question is will he have a place next season? Stempniak has another year on his contract, due to earn $3.5 million (all figures U.S.) next season, a year in which the Leafs already have $44 million committed to 17 players.

"He's been inconsistent," said coach Ron Wilson. "We brought him in to score and he hasn't scored as much as we hoped. He hasn't been a defensive liability, and he's competed hard every night."

He's moved from line to line, rarely staying with the same centre for more than a handful of games.

Lately, he's been paired with Matt Stajan, whose offence has tailed off, and will be joined tonight by Niklas Hagman with Boyd Devereaux shunted down the depth chart.

Hanson a late bloomer

New Maple Leaf Christian Hanson isn't a budding prospect with fond memories from draft day.

"I was extremely disappointed," he recalls of being passed over by the NHL as a teenager.

"The worst part of it was the NHL had camera crews in my house. They ended up making a TV show out of it. Aside from the fact I didn't get drafted - which was a pretty big bummer to begin with - from the next year on ... before the game of the week there'd be an NHL draft special and half of it would be about me."

Hanson, now 23 with a Notre Dame education to fall back on, was signed as a free agent to a two-year entry level contract by the Maple Leafs yesterday.

"It's almost like getting a free first-round draft pick," said Leafs coach Ron Wilson.

Hanson wasn't drafted in 2005 despite being ranked 66th among North American skaters by NHL's Central Scouting. Instead, as a heavily recruited centre, he joined the Fighting Irish.

Oddly enough for a son of one of the famed Hanson brothers, Christian wasn't tough enough.

Not at first anyway.

A classic late bloomer, it was in Hanson's junior year, after finally following through on coach Jeff Jackson's urging to play more physical around the net - something you'd expect from a 6-foot-4, 230-pounder - that he burst out with some decent production.

He scored 13 goals, picked up 22 points, and demonstrated he might be able to take his game to a higher level.

"I prodded him for two years to get him to play with a little bit more jam," recalled Jackson yesterday.

"He came in and he relied on his skill and a kid that size is going to be challenged, so he had to learn to play with a little bit more edge to his game from an offensive perspective. He had a tendency to sit back and play more on the perimeter and I really pushed him hard to try to get more involved."

Hanson finished with 16 goals and 31 points in 37 games in his senior year, totals aided by Jackson's decision to use him as a big man in front of the net on power plays.

Six of his goals came on the power play.

"We watched a lot of film of (Detroit's) Tomas Holmstrom and tried to get an idea how (Hanson) could use his reach and his size and his hands in tight, and he did a really good job of that," said Jackson.

But there is no guarantee his growth as a player in South Bend, Ind., will translate into success in the NHL.

But the fact the Leafs are aggressively pursuing college free agents such as Hanson, University of Denver's Tyler Bozak and defenceman Matt Gilroy, once Boston University's season is over, can only be viewed as a positive.

Especially when Hanson chose Toronto ahead of at least a half dozen other suitors.

"If you sign two or three college players and one of them develops to the point where he's good enough to contribute at the NHL level, it's a real bonus," said Leafs advisor Cliff Fletcher, who had three college free agents - Jamie Macoun, Colin Patterson and Joel Otto - on his Calgary team when the Flames won the Stanley Cup in 1989.

Jackson believes Hanson has a "legitimate chance" to make it as an NHLer "if he can get that mental toughness to be a consistent thing for him."

Though Wilson said patience will be important - "Christian is not going to come in and play five games and score 15 goals or points" - an indication of his potential will come when he makes his debut, possibly as early as Friday in Philadelphia against the Flyers.

Burke drafts his plan for Leafs

As with any major construction project, it takes a while to see the results.

But, yesterday, as general manager Brian Burke continued the teardown of the Maple Leafs, he added some valuable bricks and mortar for the foundation of a squad that will eventually be more competitive, possibly as early as next season.

Burke didn't get the No.1 draft pick he coveted; an austere market didn't allow for that kind of home run. But, by moving out Dominic Moore and Nik Antropov, two players headed for unrestricted free agency, the GM bulked up his stock of draft picks.

He also didn't take on any additional contracts that carry into next season, so he should have about $17 million (all figures U.S.) to spend this summer even though he already has 16 players under contract. That should allow for some quick rebuilding either through free agency or the ability to trade for contracts.

"We're positioned well from a cap standpoint. I think you folks know I'm not big on doing nothing. We intend to be aggressive this summer on a lot of different fronts," Burke said.

The Leafs also shut down red-hot goaltender Vesa Toskala for the rest of the season so he could undergo hip and groin surgery. He'll be replaced by ineffective Senators netminder Martin Gerber, who was claimed on re-entry waivers as a stop-gap measure.

Toronto, then, has weakened itself considerably by removing two of its top four scorers and its No.1 goaltender.

That, despite Burke's protests that his team will strive to win every game, will make victories difficult down the stretch.

But it should lift the value of Toronto's No.1 pick, possibly giving the team a shot at top prospect John Tavares in the lottery.

Beyond that top pick, the draft will hold much intrigue for Leaf fans this year. Toronto went from having two picks in the first four rounds to having five, with the possibility of a sixth.

"This is an opportunity to put some draft picks back into the hopper. It was an important part of the rebuilding process here," Burke said.

He sent Moore to Buffalo for a second-round pick and Antropov to the New York Rangers, also for a second-rounder. There is the possibility of an additional fourth-round pick coming Toronto's way in the Antropov deal should the Rangers win two playoff rounds.

In one of the more creative deals of the day, Burke essentially traded cap space to Tampa for a fourth-round pick. The Leafs sent the Lightning minor-league defenceman Richard Petiot for three injured players with expiring contracts (goaltender Olaf Kolzig, Jamie Heward and Andy Rogers) plus a fourth-round pick. For covering off the remainder of those contracts, an amount in the area of $500,000, the Leafs get that additional pick.

"The trainer is not going to have to tape my wrists from doing cartwheels, but I'm pleased with what was done," Burke said.

In addition to claiming Gerber, who also has an expiring contract, the Leafs picked up hard-nosed defenceman Erik Reitz on re-entry waivers from the New York Rangers. The 26-year-old from Detroit played 42 games for Minnesota and New York this season, picking up a goal, an assist and 65 penalty minutes.

Reitz is currently wearing a walking cast after taking a shot off his ankle. He could be ready to play as early as this weekend, but his absence gives a temporary reprieve to Jonas Frogren who was going to be demoted yesterday. Reitz becomes a restricted free agent this summer and the Leafs will have a chance to evaluate him down the stretch.

The Leafs did send forward Tim Stapleton back to the Marlies yesterday.

The team also announced that defenceman Tomas Kaberle will be out 10 days to two weeks after suffering another injury in his right hand. He's just back from missing a month with a broken bone in that hand.

Leafs' prospect blossoms in NCAA

It is the great Canadian dream, to grow up to be an NHL star. But there are hockey dreamers in other countries, and Viktor Stalberg was one of them.

Little Viktor, and he was little back then, used to imagine leaving Sweden for a life in the National Hockey League. It was all he wanted to do. Kids, though, become teenagers. Expectations change. And Stalberg's dreams grew less grand as the years passed. Playing for Frolunda in Sweden's top junior league, his teammates and his opponents kept getting bigger while little Viktor stayed small.

"Until I was 16 years old, I was probably one of the better players in my region, if not in all of Sweden," Stalberg says. "But I just didn't grow. Guys I played with were all 6-foot-3 and 185 pounds, and I was 5-foot-7."

Size matters, even in Sweden, and so Frolunda cut the pint-sized forward loose. Stalberg downgraded his dreams from wanting to play in the best league in the world to hopefully, with some luck, landing a scholarship to an NCAA Division III school.

But while he was waiting for a U.S. college to call, little Viktor began to grow. Now, Viktor Stalberg is a 6foot-3, 200-pound Division I star at the University of Vermont, and a candidate for the Hobey Baker Award given to the top player in the U.S. college game. He is also dreaming again, about playing in the NHL.

"Do I think Viktor is ready to play in the NHL right now? Probably not," Vermont's head coach Kevin Sneddon says. "But the bottom line is, he is 6-foot-3 and the fastest skater in college hockey. He has a quick-release shot, and there are a lot of parts to his game that are already at the NHL level. I think the Leafs are going to be very happy to have him some day. I just hope that day isn't too soon."

The Toronto Maple Leafs picked the late blooming Swede in the sixth round of the 2006 NHL draft. Sixthround draft picks are not supposed to pan out. They are hockey's 100-1 shots. When the talking heads make declarations about the Leafs' cupboards being bare, the sixth-round picks are not even considered.

But maybe on the bottom shelf in the back corner of the Leafs' cupboards there is a big Swede waiting. Dallas Eakins, Toronto's director of player development, has made multiple visits to Vermont this season to watch Stalberg play.

"I think it was Viktor I went to see my very first weekend on the road," Eakins says. "What struck me was that you'd be sitting there, and Viktor would come out for his first shift and you'd be like, 'Oh man, this is a very good player at the college level.' And then you'd be sitting there and thinking, did I just miss three rounds of shifts, because you wouldn't see him. He would disappear, and then he would come back and give you another teaser shift."

Eakins told Stalberg to stop being a tease. He wanted him to be assertive, and to believe that he was the best player out there every shift - and not just every fourth shift - because he was the best player out there when he wanted to be.

It was the same message Stalberg kept hearing from his coach.

"They want me to keep using my speed as much as possible and to really focus on being a threat every time I step on the ice," says the 23year-old.

Stalberg has a 3.6 grade point average, and is majoring in business administration - not basket weaving - and so he took the instructions to heart. As soon as he did, the pucks started going in and Vermont began climbing in the NCAA polls. Stalberg currently leads the Hockey East Division with 20 goals and 36 points in 32 games.

"This is my first year here where I have had a player that is so dominant," Sneddon says.

The Leafs know about big, dominant Swedes. In fact, Mats Sundin is Stalberg's favourite player.

But big Viktor Stalberg, the late bloomer, may need a few more years to grow.

"He is a standout player on his team, and he is somebody if you went to a game you would notice him, and he is on the right track," says Eakins. "But development for these guys is like climbing a mountain. You don't just go straight up. You go up a little bit, and then you go down through a valley to get to the next rise. And he has had his ups and downs, but he continues to climb that mountain."

Gerber wins debut with Leafs

WASHINGTON - On a night when a rare no-show by Alexander Ovechkin should have been the main story, it was the appearance of a nondescript goalie that stole the show at the Verizon Center.

Despite missing the National Hockey League's top gunner with a bruised heel, the Washington Capitals were able to pepper the Toronto Maple Leafs with a bevy of prime scoring opportunities, but it took them almost the entire game to fool Martin Gerber, who had a memorable debut in blue and white.

The beleaguered goalie - buried in the minors when he was claimed off waivers from Ottawa at the NHL trade deadline Wednesday - stopped 37 shots in a 2-1 victory for the Leafs, and had a strong bid for a shutout ruined by Alexander Semin with just 38.6 seconds left on the clock.

"It would have been nice to finish off the shutout, but I'm very pleased with the victory on an emotional night," said Gerber, thrilled to get another chance in the NHL. "I was kind of nervous going into the game, but I settled down and the guys did a good job allowing me to see most of the shots. The win was very rewarding."

Gerber, the first Toronto goalie since Felix Potvin to wear jersey No. 29, looked poised and confident throughout the match, displaying what coach Ron Wilson described as his "Quebec" style.

"(Gerber) was unbelievable tonight, but I've seen him play plenty of games like that," said Wilson. "He's a butterfly goalie with a big upper body, and I'm just sad that he didn't get the shutout."

The Swiss netminder, who Wilson said will start Saturday's game against the Edmonton Oilers, made a variety of difficult stops to lead the way for the Leafs. He thwarted the Capitals' Tomas Fleischmann on a clear breakaway early in the middle frame, then began the third period by robbing David Steckel with a remarkable stick save, as the Washington forward only had to lift the puck over the sprawled netminder into a yawning cage.

Goals by forward Lee Stempniak and defenceman Pavel Kubina in a 3:42 span midway through the final period broke a scoreless deadlock and sent the Leafs to their fifth victory in six games. It was Toronto's first regulation-time result in eight starts, dating to Feb. 17.

Though the Capitals cleared Ovechkin to play after the morning skate, the 46-goal shooter felt he couldn't dress for the game, having blocked a shot with his foot in practice on Wednesday.

"I made the decision after the skate," he told a swarm of media in the press box during the first intermission. "It wasn't bad enough to have an X-ray or MRI and I hope to be able to play on Sunday (against Pittsburgh). But, it definitely needed a rest tonight."

Ovechkin had missed only one prior match with injury - in his rookie season, 2005-06 - and had feasted on the Maple Leafs, with 13 goals in 14 career meetings.

"It's hard to watch your teammates once every thousand games or something," Ovechkin cracked. "I just have to sit and cheer for them."

It didn't work.

"He's not their only talented player," Wilson scoffed at reporters. "They have a few other guys that can put the puck in the net, and we don't have anyone close to Ovechkin. So, don't use his absence as an excuse (for the Capitals losing)."

Stempniak broke the ice by sneaking a shot past Jose Theodore on the short side at 6:05 of the final frame. Kubina then one-timed John Mitchell's pass from behind the net to give the Leafs some insurance.

Gerber glad for shot as Leaf

WASHINGTON-A travel-weary Martin Gerber landed in the lobby of the glitzy Ritz Carlton hotel last night, the end of an all-day journey that began with the prospect of him finishing his season as a minor-leaguer and ended with him as the No. 1 goalie for the Maple Leafs.

"I didn't expect it," said Gerber. "This is a big opportunity for me. I'm really glad to be here. I'm happy someone decided to give me a shot."

Gerber - a failure in two-plus seasons in Ottawa - gets a shot at NHL redemption because the Leafs' top goalie, Vesa Toskala, is heading to an operating table in Vail, Colo.

Toskala will have hip surgery performed by specialist Dr. Marc Philippon that will shut him down for the duration of this season. That will be followed, at an unspecified time, by groin surgery.

Toskala should be ready to begin full workouts in mid-summer.

"The decision to have the surgery now is based on the recovery period, to maximize the possibility of recovering for next year," Leafs GM Brian Burke explained.

With his No. 1 netminder out of the picture until training camp, Burke claimed Gerber from the Ottawa Senators on re-entry waivers. Gerber is expected to start tonight, and get the bulk of the assignments the rest of the way as he tries to salvage his reputation as an NHL goalie. He faces unrestricted free agency July 1 after an unremarkable stint with the Senators.

Gerber struggled so badly with the Sens - he had a 4-9-1 record with a .899 save percentage - that he was banished to the AHL's Binghamton Senators. Gerber didn't want to talk about his time with Ottawa, a team that has had continued trouble settling on a goalie.

"There's no reason to talk about Ottawa, it's over; doesn't matter who was right or wrong," said the 34-year-old Gerber. "It hasn't been fun so far. I have to take this opportunity and give it a shot."

The Leafs also acquired netminder Olaf Kolzig from Tampa yesterday but, since Kolzig is out for the season with an injury and has an expiring contract, it was just a paper transaction that also brought Toronto a fourth-round draft pick. Gerber also has an expiring contract and the Leafs and Sens will split what is left on the $3.7 million (U.S.) he is owed this season.

Toskala, playing his best hockey in recent weeks, said the decision to go under the knife was made in concert with management with an eye towards next season.

"The recovery might take quite a long time," said Toskala. "It kind of makes sense in many ways so I don't have to rush back. I can get myself ready for the next season. It's a big year for me and hopefully for the Leafs and with the Olympics, so it just makes sense.

"I'm going to be 100 per cent next year. No excuses."

Burke and head coach Ron Wilson both publicly criticized Toskala for his poor practice habits earlier this year and yesterday Burke said he apologized to the netminder if it was indeed health issues that were holding him back.

"We are on the same page now so that's the only thing that matters," said the 31-year-old Toskala.

Both Burke and Wilson expressed confidence in Toskala as Toronto's No. 1 goaltender going forward.

"I'm still a big Vesa guy. He hasn't been healthy and he's still been playing great," said Wilson.

Burke said the Leafs could have just gone with prospect Justin Pogge for the rest of the season but they opted to get a proven NHL goaltender to keep the team more competitive.

"We don't want to pull Justin Pogge out of the minors and force him to play here," said Wilson. "It's very important to us that (Pogge) continues to develop with the Marlies and that he gets to play in the playoffs with the Marlies."

Mixed emotions for N.Y.-bound Antropov

TORONTO - Nik Antropov, the lanky Toronto Maple Leafs forward and a lifer with the team since that drafted him 10th overall in 1998, settled in Wednesday to watch TSN's coverage of the National Hockey League's annual trade deadline day swap meet just like he always does.

Antropov watched the names of the traded players popping up on his television set. There was Mikael Tellqvist, a former teammate, getting shipped from Phoenix to Buffalo, and Olli Jokinen leaving the desert, too, for Calgary.


And on it went. The deals kept rolling in, and Antropov was still watching until about 2:40 p.m. ET when the 29-year-old's afternoon was interrupted by a phone call from his boss, Leafs general manager Brian Burke.


"I was just treating it like another deadline that I have watched, like it was nothing special," Antropov said. "And then I see my name come up there on television. (Burke) called me about three minutes before they announced the trade on television. This is something that I have never been through. I can't really describe it."


It is a confusing thing, being traded. Especially for the first time, especially after nine seasons of loyal service to the only NHL team on his resume. Antropov knew the trade was coming. He had anticipated it for weeks.


Even so, one minute Antropov was a Toronto Maple Leaf and the next minute Burke was on the phone telling him he was a member of the New York Rangers, thanking him for his years of service and wishing him good luck.


Was Wednesday, then, a happy day or sad day?


"It is a little bit of both," Antropov said. "I have been here long enough to make this city my home, but then the organization decided to go in a different direction. So I am excited that somebody wanted me."


Antropov netted the Leafs a second-round draft pick and a conditional selection from New York. Glen Sather, the general manager that wanted him, called Antropov - who will jump to the top of the Rangers' stat sheet with 21 goals and 46 points without having played a game for them - 15 minutes after Burke. Sather welcomed his new addition and told Antropov he would see him later Thursday in Long Island where the ex-Leaf will make his Rangers debut against the New York Islanders.


"He's a gifted goal-scorer," Sather said on a conference call. "I think he will help us in the goal-scoring department, and he's a talented guy."


Antropov harboured mixed emotions about the trade. But his wife, Lena, had one: she was sad. The couple has two young children and the road trip Antropov was about to be going on to New York would be different than all the rest.


Antropov had not even started packing yet when a reporter reached him at home about an hour after the deal.


"My wife's pretty sad," he said. "But the March break is coming up soon, so my family will be coming to New York for a visit."


Antropov is an unrestricted free agent on July 1, so he is not sure how long the move to Broadway will be for. And beyond this season, who knows? He could sign anywhere. It is an exciting possibility, and scary, and definitely different. But no matter where the road leads for Antropov, who became a Canadian citizen during his time with the Leafs, he will always return to the city where he got his start.


"I love Toronto," he said. "It is a great place and it is always going to be home. It doesn't matter where I am playing. Toronto is where I will retire.


"Toronto is my home."

Leafs hurting draft status with late-season wins

UNIONDALE, N.Y. - As is customary, the Toronto Maple Leafs are playing the role of spoiler late in the season, but it is proving to be little more than self-inflicted damage.

Regardless of which players comprise the roster, who manages the hockey club, and who is standing behind the bench, the Leafs can be relied on to grow blazing hot as February turns into March. At some point in the future, such a renaissance will abet the club's playoff standing. Right now, it serves only to impair draft lottery aspirations.

The Leafs availed themselves of the cellar-dwelling New York Islanders on Thursday night at Nassau Coliseum, battling to yet another extra-time victory, this time 5-4 in a shootout.

Though they coughed up leads of 2-0 and 4-2, the Leafs prevailed when farmhand Tim Stapleton - recalled only Thursday from the American Hockey League's Toronto Marlies to make his NHL debut - beat goalie Joey MacDonald with a well-placed wrist-shot in the third round of the shootout.

"I was plenty nervous out there, and it was nice to see that puck go in," said Stapleton, who is tied for the American League in shootout goals this season with seven in 10 tries.

Having endured a fifth consecutive overtime result, the Leafs improved on a valueless stretch of proficiency in the past two weeks that adds up to a 4-1-2 mark - or 10 of a possible 14 points in the standings. It is threatening to lift the club solidly into competitive limbo for the third consecutive season - with no chance of making the playoffs, and little opportunity to garner one of the top three selections at the June NHL draft in Montreal.

"I can't put my finger on why we always seem to play better at this time of year," said Leafs veteran Ian White, who opened the scoring at the 1:27 mark of the first period. "I mean, we go out and try to win every game, yet it seems to happen easier for us right about now. Obviously, as players, we can't worry about draft positions. There's a lottery anyway."

Last season, a frantic, determined coach Paul Maurice led his club to a 10-4 run between Feb. 23 and March 22. The reward? A 12th-place anchoring in the Eastern Conference and the necessity to trade up two positions at the draft in order to secure defenceman Luke Schenn. Then-GM Cliff Fletcher yielded second and third-round picks to the Islanders in the transaction. And Maurice lost his job anyway.

Two seasons ago, an 11-7-3 spurt from Feb. 15 to March 31 held some promise as the Leafs entered the final day of the regular schedule still in playoff contention. The Islanders, however, beat New Jersey in a shootout, relegating the hot streak to ill-timed futility. GM John Ferguson then traded the club's first and second-round picks in 2007 to San Jose for goalie Vesa Toskala.

Ironically, it is Toskala who personifies the Leafs' meaningless revival of 2008-09. Suddenly impenetrable after allowing countless weak goals earlier in the season, the Finnish-born netminder is a dazzling 7-0-4 since Jan. 19, when he was last beaten in regulation time by Carolina.

Moreover, he seems to have temporarily mastered the art of the penalty shot.

Consecutive shootout victories over the Rangers and Islanders were highlighted by a commanding moment in the second period Thursday night.

Islanders left-winger Sean Bergenheim was blatantly hooked from behind on a clear breakaway by Leafs defenceman Anton Stralman - also called up Thursday from the Marlies. Referee Brad Watson immediately signalled for a penalty shot with the Leafs holding a 2-0 lead.

Bergenheim approached Toskala on his solo rush, but had no chance. The Leafs goalie confidently darted out his left pad and thwarted the 20-foot attempt.

The Leafs, who improved their record to 24-26-12 for 60 points and are threatening to vault as high as 21st in the overall standings, lost forward Niklas Hagman early in the final frame on a devastating hit by Brendan Witt. The Islanders defenceman received a five-minute major penalty for elbowing and Hagman left the ice in a wobbly state, but was walking around alertly after the match.

Dominic Moore, Pavel Kubina and Nik Antropov had the other regulation-time goals for the Leafs, who flew to Ottawa immediately following the game for Saturday night's encounter with the Senators.

Bergenheim, Mark Streit, Jon Sim, Dean McAmmond -_acquired from the Senators earlier this week - replied for the Islanders.

Tortorella shot down in Rangers debut

TORONTO - New coach. Same results.

It was after losing 3-2 in overtime to the Toronto Maple Leafs on Sunday that John Tortorella replaced Tom Renney behind the New York Rangers' bench. In a rematch three nights later, it made no difference.

Though the Rangers may have been the better team, they were still defeated 2-1 by the Leafs in the shootout Wednesday night.

Goaltender Vesa Toskala earned Toronto the win. The 31-year-old Finn, who made 31 saves, stopped all three attempts in the overtime shootout. Nikolai Kulemin scored the Leafs' only goal.

"Obviously, we've had good success against (the Rangers) the last two games," said

Toronto forward Niklas Hagman, whose team faces the New York Islanders on Thursday.

"Hopefully, the luck continues against another New York team."

Though Tortorella wanted to get off to a winning start, his impact will be gauged over the next six weeks, not 60 minutes. If first impressions are anything to go by, the former Tampa Bay Lightning coach has his hands full.

Sure, defenceman Wade Redden snapped a four-month and 57-game scoring drought. And winger Markus Naslund showed passion by fighting for the first time in 15 years. But the Rangers, who are dangerously close to falling out of a playoff spot, still lost their ninth straight game on the road.

"We have to finish," said Tortorella, whose team has averaged less than two goals in each of the last 16 games. "I know the guys are trying. It's just that last thing to score a goal."

The Leafs' win came at a cost. Toronto lost forward John Mitchell and defenceman Jeff Finger to upper-body injuries.

"Ninety-nine per cent they won't play (Thursday)," said Wilson, who added that the team has recalled forward Tim Stapleton and defenceman Anton Stralman from their American Hockey League affiliate, the Toronto Marlies.

After a scoreless first period, the Rangers took a 1-0 lead on a power-play goal from Redden. It was the offensive-minded defenceman's third goal of the season - and first since Oct. 10.

But the Rangers, who outshot the Leafs 32-24, could not put away their opponent. And three nights after he scored the overtime winner, Hagman tied the midway through the third period game with his 19th goal.

"I just think we lack confidence when it comes to scoring a goal," said Tortorella. "I look at us on a three-on-two, a drop pass to Chris Drury hops over his stick. We have a couple pucks in the crease, we fan on one with an open net. It's just the way it's going right now."

Part of the Rangers' difficulty Wednesday night had to do with the opposing goaltender.

Ever since he sat out for two games to rest his injured groin, and then was publicly criticized by general manager Brian Burke, Toskala appears to be a changed man. He has allowed just five goals in his last three starts. And was once again the reason why his team picked up two points Thursday night.

"You guys ask the same question after every win," Toskala said of whether he is feeling better these days. "Nothing's changed."

Hagman, who disagreed with his teammate's assessment, said, "You can see the confidence is building."

New York's confidence, however, still needs a little work.

The Rangers headed into Thursday night's game in sixth place. But having lost 11 of their previous 13 games, they are only two points ahead of the ninth-place Carolina Hurricanes.

"Again, I haven't seen the whole year with this club, but obviously it's been a struggle to score goals," said Tortorella. "I thought we had some good offensive pressure, but we just can't make that next play."

Price is high for Maple Leafs' Kaberle

EDMONTON - Brian Burke has one of the better chess pieces on the National Hockey League board heading into the March 4 trade deadline, but he's not about to move blue-liner Tomas Kaberle - unless he can get a package deal.

"The minimum would be a first-round pick, a guy who could play on our team right now and a top prospect," said the Toronto Maple Leafs president.

Burke surrendered a package (two first-round draft picks, forward Joffrey Lupul and blue-liner Ladislav Smid) when he acquired Chris Pronger from the Edmonton Oilers in 2006.

"I'm not putting a price on it that I haven't paid myself in the past," said Burke.

Burke is lukewarm to moving the 30-year-old Kaberle, mainly because there aren't many players with his skill level around and he makes a very comfortable $4.25 million US for another two years.

The cost of acquiring Kaberle is also pretty high considering he has never won a Norris Trophy.

But the Vancouver Canucks could certainly use a puck mover, and Burke said he wouldn't have any trouble dealing with his former club because "all the guys (who no longer wanted him there) are gone."

"Tomas has made it clear to me, right to my face, that he doesn't want to go anywhere, though . . . he wants to be part of the turnaround," said Burke. "But he wants some degree of control if we do decide to trade him. He asked us, through his agent, Rich Curran, if he could give us a list of teams, and I said it had to be no fewer than 10.

"A guy gives me three teams and you're handcuffed. You can't make a good deal for a hockey club. But, like I said, he wants to stay here."

Kaberle's no-trade clause is a question mark for next Wednesday's 3 p.m. ET deadline, but it disappears briefly after the 2008-09 season.

"The mechanics of Tomas's no-trade clause are such that if the Toronto Maple Leafs miss the playoffs, the no-trade goes away starting with the commencement of the NHL entry draft (late June) until Aug. 15," said Burke.

Burke, who has normally had quiet deadline days during his stints in Vancouver and Anaheim, could be the busiest seller this time. Nik Antropov is the most likely to move, and fellow unrestricted free agents Dominic Moore and Alexei Ponikarovsky are also in play.

Unless Pavel Kubina, who would be a valuable pickup on the backend, suddenly waves his no-trade clause, Burke might not have his phone on speed dial.

"I don't think the changes will be as widespread or radical as people expect. We have two (high-end) players with no-trades (clauses) and one has given us a list of teams, but I can't imagine a deal that would make sense for one (Kaberle) and I've met with Kubina and he's not interested in giving us a list. That's been turned on players in the past, with people saying they're selfish, but I'm not asking them to waive the no-trade. Just because there's a shift in the GM, does that mean I can break John Ferguson's word?" said Burke.

Most deadline trades involve rentals - players in the last years of their contracts. It's a small price to pay for the buyer, small return usually for the seller. Few of the unrestricted free-agent rentals re-sign with the clubs that got them at the deadline, like the two most prized ones - Marian Hossa (Pittsburgh Penguins) or Brian Campbell (San Jose Sharks) - last season.

But that doesn't mean teams will be any more wary to take a shot.

"The pressure on our group doesn't change from year to year. It's historical that we, as a collective (GM) group, make more mistakes at the trade deadline than we do the whole rest of the year," said Burke. "It's unrelenting, unremitting.

"The temptation to tinker, regardless of price, is always there for teams."

With so many teams still in the hunt for playoff spots, especially in the Western Conference, there are many more buyers than sellers out there.

But Burke still feels this will generate plenty of activity.

"The more teams in the horse race means they'll be wanting to add (bodies) . . . we've got parity in our league. That's good for our business, but it's still horrible math. Any mathematician will tell you that we're all crazy (again, we, the collective pronoun)."

"There are 30 teams and just one parade. After the first round, there are only eight teams still playing. Twenty-two teams on the sidelines. The notion that you are going to add and win a round, the math defies that.

"But the human element is such that we all believe we're missing that one piece and your players also expect that the team will add weapons for the last part of the race . . . so we all get sucked in."

Burke doesn't anticipate Leafs 'fire sale'

NEW YORK - Fans of the Toronto Maple Leafs expecting a fire-sale of veteran players at the National Hockey League trade deadline next week could be disappointed. That's the word right now from president and general manager Brian Burke, who is preaching caution amid a frenzy of anticipation leading up to the trade cut-off on March 4.

"I'm not nearly as anxious to get rid of people as the media thinks I am," Burke said as the Leafs knocked off the New York Rangers 3-2 in overtime at Madison Square Garden Sunday night. "We've got some guys who I think will be important parts of what we're doing as our team improves. So, I don't anticipate a large number of players moving from our organization. Obviously, we'll have to see what comes up in the next week or so."

The Leafs and Rangers were scoreless heading into the third period, then erupted for three goals in a 2:24 span early in the final frame. Toronto rookie John Mitchell banged in a rebound to start the flurry. Scott Gomez knotted the score with a solo dash less than two minutes later, only to have Leafs defenceman Ian White beat Henrik Lundqvist with a wrist shot 25 seconds after the Gomez tally.

Michal Rozsival tied the game with just 40 seconds remaining to send it to overtime.

Burke, watching from the Garden press box with assistant David Nonis, has made it clear he hopes to begin recouping draft picks that were yielded in recent trades for players such as Vesa Toskala, Mikhail Grabovski and Jamal Mayers.

"We're in a good position because we have cap room and cash, so we can take players back," said the GM. "That's why I'm not anticipating a fire sale. We're also looking to improve our club."

In the NHL's current economic climate, it's unlikely Burke will be able to acquire draft choices without assuming salary from his trading partners. But, he knows he has to be prudent.

"So far, all that's been thrown at me for taking money back are mistakes - bad contracts," Burke said.

"The key here is not next year. Where we have to be alert and careful is (taking on contracts that extend through) the 2010-11 season. If there is an impact, financially, on our league, that's when it's going to happen. But, if we get a quality player with a contract that runs through that season, we're going to take him."

Burke confirmed that Tomas Kaberle's agent, Rick Curran, has talked with him about a list of NHL cities the defenceman might consider in waiving his no-trade clause, but he said fellow blue-liner Pavel Kubina - who wound up firing a one-timer from the point that Niklas Hagman deflected for the overtime winner - is not similarly inclined.

"Kubina wants to stay; he doesn't want to waive his (no-trade) clause or give me a list of teams and that's fine with me," said Burke. "I like the way he's played the last while and he's a quality person. With Tomas, his agent wants to keep some control over the process.

"(Former GM) John Ferguson was smart is assuring these no-trade clauses are lifted if we miss the playoffs. Kubina doesn't want to provide me a list and he'll take his chances over the summer. Kaberle's agent wants to maintain some control, but it's highly unlikely Tomas is going anywhere. I've said that a number of times"

Burke insisted the broken hand that has sidelined Kaberle since Jan. 29 has not impacted trade discussions involving the veteran defenceman.

"No one's asking for an injury discount and they wouldn't get one if they did," said the GM.

Burke caused a minor fury two weeks ago by saying that Nik Antropov will not be offered a contract extension, but he admitted Sunday night the veteran forward has impressed him in recent games.

"He has certainly responded, though that's not why I said what I said - it was out of frustration (over Antropov's play)," Burke confessed. "But, he's done well since then, so we'll have to wait and see."

Antropov remains a strong candidate to be traded, which would obviously negate the contract issue. The native of Kazakhstan has seven goals in 12 games since Jan. 29.

The match Sunday was a skirmish between a couple of ice-cold teams - the Leafs and Rangers combining for four wins in 20 games prior to Sunday night. Patience is running razor-thin in the Big Apple for a team expected to be a Stanley Cup threat this season; boos frequently rained down from the Garden gallery during the encounter with the Leafs.

The game was preceded by a stirring ceremony in which the Rangers retired the jersey numbers of former players Harry Howell, No. 3, and Andy Bathgate, No. 9. Ironically, it was 45 years ago Sunday - Feb. 22, 1964 - that the Rangers traded Bathgate to the Leafs in a multi-player swap that sent Bob Nevin, Dick Duff and Arnie Brown to New York.

Perfect ending for Sundin

It was the kind of magic - the wonderfully unscripted kind - that made Mats Sundin such a force in this city during his 13 seasons and, apparently, kept the fans on his side even during controversy.

The ending Sundin delivered last night seemed so perfect, so deep in drama, it's hard to believe it wasn't scripted somewhere.

On the night the former captain returned to the Air Canada Centre, making his first appearance here in that iconic hockey stick Canucks logo, the game came down to the shootout.

And who else but Sundin had the puck on his stick to end it?

Sundin, Vancouver's third shooter, broke in on Toronto goaltender Vesa Toskala and, to the surprise of none of the 19,500 onlookers, went to his backhand.

As he'd done so often in a Leaf jersey, the 38-year-old lifted in the game-winner as Vancouver won its eighth in the last nine - this one by a score of 3-2.

"You dream about getting chances like that, being a deciding shooter, having a breakaway at the end of the game," he said. "When you grow up playing, you dream about chances like that. I'll take it."

It was probably what Sundin didn't dream about, the defining emotional moment of the former captain's association with the Leafs, that most fans on hand will remember long after the score is forgotten.

A touching first-period tribute had Ol' Mats choking back tears and made a mockery of the pre-game debate about whether Sundin would be jeered or cheered.

At the first TV timeout, a photo tribute to Sundin began on the big screens over centre ice. That brought the crowd to its feet to begin what was a thunderous two-minute ovation.

Sundin, at first, tried to get away with a wave of thanks from the bench but Vancouver coach Alain Vigneault sent him over the boards.

"I had to tell Mats to stand up. I don't think he was quite sure how to react there," said Vigneault. "It was a good moment to be part of."

Sundin, clearly choked up, drifted around the ice awkwardly until he finally settled over the faceoff dot to the left of Toronto goaltender Vesa Toskala.

Everyone else on the ice backed away, including Toronto centre Matt Stajan, on tap to take the draw against Sundin.

For about another full minute the appreciation was thunderous and Sundin, tears welling in his eyes, listened to how much he meant to the fans here.

"I was probably crying a little bit," he conceded. "Thirteen years in the city, a lot of ups and downs and emotions, a lot of great teammates, a lot of great fans. It was a very emotional ride."

Pretty much was for anyone in the building.

"There were a few guys on our team who have only known him for a month who were pretty emotional on our bench," said Canuck Kyle Wellwood, another ex-Leaf.

It was one of the most heartfelt acknowledgments in recent memory involving the Leafs and certainly one of the most touching at the Air Canada Centre, celebrating its 10th anniversary this weekend.

There were questions coming in about whether Sundin - accused in some quarters of being selfish for not allowing himself to be traded at last year's trade deadline - might be the subject of booing. Was there a chance the franchise's all-time leading scorer, both in goals and assists, would be ridiculed for, in his mind, remaining loyal?

"It's a special feeling, despite what happened last season at the trade deadline, they really showed me respect. It was amazing," said Sundin.

Jason Blake and Stajan scored for Toronto but the night was Sundin's.

"The ovation from the fans was very special," he said. "I'll remember that the rest of my life."