Leafs win thanks to dull Razor

DENVER-This is the Mile High City; supposedly for the elevation, not the mountain of goals scored here last night.

In a last-shot-wins goaltenders' battle between Vesa Toskala and Andrew Raycroft, Toskala's predecessor in the Toronto net, the Maple Leafs pulled a 7-4 win out of the thin air to snap a four-game losing streak.

Toronto got offence from the unlikeliest of sources - their first and second lines - as several of the Leafs broke out of lengthy slumps.

Nik Antropov scored his first goal in 17 games, Mikhail Grabovski potted his first in a dozen, defenceman Jeff Finger, who used to toil here in the Rockies before striking gold in Toronto, had his first in 18, while Matt Stajan found mesh for the first time in eight games.

Who knew all it would take is Raycroft's presence (or should that be presents) to cure Toronto's scoring woes?

Actually it probably wasn't a huge surprise to Leafs' fans watching on television. They'd seen him swim around his crease like this on many nights in Toronto.

"I didn't know whether to laugh or cry," said the beleaguered goaltender afterwards.

It was a tough night for the good-natured netminder who had actually been playing rather well here - at least up until last night. Toskala wasn't exactly sharp at the other end but this was one of those rare nights when the Leafs' triggermen made his mistakes less significant.

The winner was scored by Toronto's hottest shooter as Jason Blake buried his sixth in the last six games to make it 5-4 early in the third.

"He's been tremendous the last couple of months," said Leaf coach Ron Wilson. "He goes to the net hard. He's killing penalties, on the power play. He's easily been our best player and he's supposed to be."

Dominic Moore had Toronto's other two, giving him a career-high 11 on the season.

The Leafs got a break early in the third when it appeared Milan Hejduk had finished off a hat trick to tie the game at 5-5. The goal was waved off when referee Don Koharski called Ryan Smyth for goaltender interference but replays showed that Toronto defender Luke Schenn guided Smyth into Toskala.

"It was Ryan Smyth and he's known for doing that. He's got a reputation and the referee was watching," said Wilson. "Yeah, Luke bumped him a little bit but (Smyth) had his stick right between the goalie's legs. It's a penalty."

Raycroft, reinventing himself here after being bought out by the Leafs, was initially looking forward to this reunion.

"You want to do well against your former team. It's just human nature," he said before the game, a likely understatement given that Raycroft was often the butt of jokes as his time wound down in Toronto.

But the snickers undoubtedly started again when the first shot he faced went in. That goal was a huge relief for Antropov who, after the puck went in, looked skyward and muttered, likely thanking the heavens that Colorado started Raycroft.

"It helped set the tone," said Antropov, who came up empty despite eights shots Tuesday against Minnesota. "I haven't scored for 16 games. I only got one shot today and it was a good one."

The game see-sawed back and forth and Finger said it wasn't as fun as it looked as it got confusing even for the players.

"During the game, it's hard to remember who has the lead and what the score is after that many goals," he said.

Ex-Leaf Darcy Tucker played 15 minutes but did not pick up a point against his former team.

Wild three minutes nets Leafs a loss

ST. PAUL, Minn. - For the Toronto Maple Leafs, a six-day layoff during the National Hockey League all-star break served only as a brief respite from losing.

As if no time had passed since last Wednesday, the Leafs stumbled into the Xcel Energy Center on Tuesday night and got blasted, 6-1, by the Minnesota Wild.

Not even the presence of rookie goalie Justin Pogge - blazing-hot recently with the minor-league Toronto Marlies - could reverse a trend that has seen the Maple Leafs drop 12-of-15 games since Dec. 23.

A 3-10-2 record in that span has Toronto free-falling to the depths of the overall standings and moving increasingly closer to an anticipated roster upheaval by the March 4 NHL trade deadline.

The locals were scrambling to determine the last time the offensively challenged Wild erupted for three goals in a 2:57 span as they did in the second period to bury the Leafs.
Known for their staunch adherence to goal prevention under coach Jacques Lemaire, the Wild suddenly resembled the Montreal Canadiens of Lemaire's playing days - the dynamic, four-time Stanley Cup champions of the late-1970s.

And it took minimal effort, as the visitors completely fell apart in front of Pogge during the middle period.

After Jason Blake briefly tied the score 1-1 with his 15th goal of the season - equalling his disappointing total in 82 games last year - the Wild began to toy with the disorganized Maple Leafs.

They exploited numerous breakdowns in defensive coverage to score four goals in a period for the first time in 2008-09. But, the quick three-goal eruption - courtesy of Marc-Andre Bergeron, Pierre-Marc Bouchard and Andrew Brunette - all but assured a fourth consecutive defeat for the Maple Leafs by the time 7:47 had elapsed in the second period.

Former Leaf Owen Nolan scored his 12th goal of the season for Minnesota in the final period.

For now, Pogge will return to the Marlies, perhaps with a sigh of relief. Though he was not at all sharp against the Wild - Cal Clutterbuck beat him with a routine shot to the short side and Bouchard completely fooled him on a breakaway - the 22-year-old had little chance in his second NHL start.

Another brutal defensive performance by his teammates offset a 6-2 triumph for Pogge in his big-league debut, Dec. 22 at Atlanta.

With the 22-year-old scheduled to see more action in the NHL as the season progresses, the future of veteran Curtis Joseph becomes increasingly muddled.

Joseph - 1-5-1 with a 3.89 GAA this season - did not dress Tuesday night, has not played since the third period of a 6-2 loss in Montreal on Jan. 8, and has not started since losing 4-1 to Buffalo on New Year's night.

"The Leafs told me last summer I would play a limited number of games and asked if I wanted the job," Joseph recalled. "Of course, I said yes. With this team, you quickly become a mentor to younger players - not just goalies. I'm still enjoying the experience."

Forward Nik Antropov's dreadful slump continued - his scoring famine reaching 16 games - but he had a pair of dandy opportunities in the first period as he was twice rebuffed on clear breakaways by Minnesota goalie Niklas Backstrom.

Defenceman Mike Van Ryn returned to the Leafs' lineup for the first time since Dec. 18, when he suffered his second concussion of the season at Boston. He missed 16 consecutive games and has played in only four of the past 33 matches. Still recovering from shoulder injuries are defenceman Jeff Finger and forward Jeremy Williams.

The Leafs now move on to Denver for a meeting with the Colorado Avalanche on_Thursday night, and a first encounter with ex-teammates Darcy Tucker and Andrew Raycroft.

Maple Leafs' apprentice plan for Pogge

The assessment of goaltender Justin Pogge's future with the Maple Leafs is about to begin in earnest.

Pogge, long viewed as Toronto's top prospect, was called up from the Marlies yesterday. He will start tonight when the Leafs play the Minnesota Wild at St. Paul.

In an odd twist, however, no matter how the 22-year-old performs, the decision already has been made to immediately return him to the AHL after that game. Coach Ron Wilson said Pogge will be called up periodically between now and the end of the season to play games he has pencilled in for the young netminder.

Wilson said Pogge will play "enough to know whether he's an NHL goaltender or not."

The games he has in mind will present Pogge with a variety of experiences meant to give team management a reading on his potential in the big leagues.

"Different tests, different teams, different challenges, different venues; stuff like that," Wilson said.

Pogge has played one previous NHL game, a 6-2 win over Atlanta in which he made 19 saves. He said the confidence he gained in that NHL debut on Dec.22 stayed with him when he returned to the Marlies. In 10 AHL starts since Christmas, Pogge has gone 5-3-2 and allowed only 21 goals overall.

He was solid while making 21 saves in a 3-1 win over Chicago on Saturday.

"Things are just starting to come together, I guess," said Pogge, who struggled earlier in the season with the Marlies. "Our team has been playing really good down there. I can't take all the credit, but I feel like my game has been coming along."

Pogge's apprenticeship will further squeeze out veteran Curtis Joseph, the classy backup who rarely plays. Vesa Toskala likes to start as often as possible. So, with Pogge getting more games, Joseph isn't likely to get many more opportunities to spell the No.1 netminder.

Joseph wasn't available for comment yesterday - the team was hustling to get to the airport after a late-afternoon practice - but Toskala said he can see the wisdom in what the Leafs are planning.

"In many ways, it makes sense to give (Pogge) games and give him a chance to play in this league," he said. "It's easier to play every second night once you find that rhythm, but we have lots of back-to-backs and I understand what the team is doing."

For the Leafs, it is a smart way to take advantage of the proximity of their farm team. They can keep Pogge from becoming stagnant as a backup to Toskala and easily slip him in for games as desired.

"He's a young goalie. He needs to develop, he needs to play," Wilson said. "Because he's right in our own backyard we can get him some games and experience in the NHL as well."

Wilson said starting tonight against the Wild makes sense because his other two netminders have both been off the ice since last Wednesday's shootout loss to the Bruins because of the all-star break. Toskala is expected to start Thursday night when the Leafs finish their two-game road swing against the Avalanche in Denver.

"I can have a couple of good practices and then play games. It's a good plan," Toskala said.

The 31-year-old said over the break he went "somewhere warm ... just to not think about hockey; give the body a little bit of a rest and a little mental break, too."

It's understandable why he wanted to get away. The Leafs have won only three of their last 14 games and Toskala's numbers have been disappointing. It was expected he would be the one solid part of Toronto's game but, facing better shots behind a weaker defence, he has a 3.29 goals-against average and a poor .885 save percentage.

Pogge gets the call

Justin Pogge will get a second shot to prove himself as an NHL goaltender when the Toronto Maple Leafs return to action on Tuesday evening.

Pogge will get the start in goal when the Leafs visit Minnesota for a date with the Wild. Head coach Ron Wilson felt that it was a good time to give the 22-year old another shot in goal because the layoff over the All-Star break kept Vesa Toskala and Curtis Joseph from playing or skating for four days.

Wilson said that Pogge will return to the Toronto Marlies of the American Hockey League following Tuesday's game, regardless of his performance.

Four years after Toronto drafted him 90th overall, Pogge finally got his first shot in the bigs last December when he was called up to replace an injured Toskala. Pogge won his rookie debut, a 6-2 victory over the Atlanta Thrashers.

The Maple Leafs called Pogge up on January 11, 2008, but he saw no playing time before being reassigned to the Marlies the following day.

The Leafs will also welcome defenceman Mike Van Ryn back in the lineup Tuesday evening for the first time since Dec. 18. The London, Ontario native has been sidelined with his second concussion of the season and recently passed a baseline test, clearing him to play.

Other news on the injruy front; Jeremy Williams (bruised left shoulder) and Jeff Finger (upper body) are still not ready for game action, although Finger may be ready for Thursday's tilt against the Avalanche.

Winger Niklas Hagman skipped today's practice, along with defenceman Tomas Kaberle who was given the day off because he didn't get the break over the weekend. Hagman is fighting the flu but is expected to play Tuesday.

A few players high on Brian Burke's To-Move list

Nik Antropov is one of several players who could be moved prior to the NHL trade deadline. Antropov got off to a torrid start this season, but now is mired in a 14-game goal drought. Here are the players expected to be high on the To-Move list.

NIK ANTROPOV

The 6-foot-6 Kazakh's play has dropped considerably since the arrival of GM Brian Burke, believed to be sour on European players. Antropov, 28, is also an unrestricted free agent July 1, so the Leafs may want to get something for him if they're afraid he'll bolt. His $2 million salary makes him an easy fit on any team; his skill and size make scouts drool. Burke might hope for a bidding war that could land him a first-round pick and a prospect.

ALEXEI PONIKAROVSKY

Everything said about Antropov is true for Ponikarovsky, except the 6-foot-4, 28-year-old Ukrainian has another year left on his deal at a very reasonable rate ($2.1 million). That might make him even more palatable to another team. A high-end prospect, or two high draft picks.

TOMAS KABERLE

The puck-moving defenceman landed in Ron Wilson's doghouse, but who hasn't? He is said to be willing to waive his no-trade clause, but won't ask to be traded. Burke has said he won't ask. A cat-and-mouse game going on here. But would it be wrong to keep Kaberle, who, at $4.25 million a year for the next three years, has a reasonable salary, and at 29 is reasonably young enough to be part of a rebuild? But Burke likes tough, not Kaberle's strength. If his price last year was Jeff Carter and a first-round pick, then Burke should say let the bidding begin there: a young NHLer and a top pick.

PAVEL KUBINA

A no-trade clause stood in the way of a trade to San Jose last year, but that was only for salary cap reasons. Ron Wilson liked him enough to convince Cliff Fletcher to trade Bryan McCabe instead of Kubina last summer. There are no salary cap pressures on Burke to move the 31-year-old, who earns $5 million a year and has another year on his contract. His stock has risen with steady play and offensive output. A handful of picks - not necessarily including a first-rounder - would do the trick.

JASON BLAKE

The odds have come down considerably with much-improved play over the last two months by Blake. He's the pesky Blake of old and scoring again. Teams might be fearful about his recent brush with cancer and the fact he still has another three years on his contract. Although the Leafs don't have salary cap worries, they might like to get out from under the length of this deal considering that Blake is 34 years old. The best offer lands him.

VESA TOSKALA

The Finnish netminder has been hot and cold this year. When he's good, he's very, very good. When he's bad, he's awful. Again, keeping Toskala wouldn't be the worst thing that Burke could do. If he turns his game around, all the better. If he doesn't, John Tavares would look good in a Leaf uniform. And Toskala can fill the space until Justin Pogge's ready. But the trade deadline can be a funny thing, and if a Stanley Cup contender finds itself with a goalie injury on the eve of the deadline, then Toskala becomes incredibly marketable. Hey, if Andrew Raycroft could find a steady gig again ...

Leafs suffer fourth straight home loss

TORONTO - The night before their teams played against each other, Toronto Maple Leafs general manager Brian Burke had dinner with Boston Bruins GM Peter Chiarelli.

It was a chance for the two fishing buddies to catch up on old times, share a few laughs and compare managerial philosophies.

For Burke, who has been charged with the task of rebuilding a franchise that has gone 41 years without a championship and has missed the playoffs for past three seasons, there might be no better brain to pick than Chiarelli's.

The Bruins, who defeated the Leafs 4-3 in a shootout Wednesday night, were among the worst teams in the Eastern Conference when Chiarelli was hired in 2006. Three years later, they sit comfortably atop the standings. Though no one expected Boston to improve this quickly, it shows that a rebuild does not have to be a long, painful process.

The question is whether the Leafs can accomplish a similarly swift turnaround.

"Peter Chiarelli's done a masterful job," said Burke. "They've got a multi-faceted team. They've got speed, they've got size, they can move the puck well and they've got good goaltending. This is a formidable team."

Wednesday night, the Bruins did not look so fearsome, but they still managed to hand the Leafs their fourth straight loss on home ice.

Toronto, which had been shut out in its last two games at Air Canada Centre, ended a 41-minute-and-49-second scoring drought on a first-period goal from Jason Blake. Lee Stempniak and Brad May added goals in the second period to put the Leafs ahead 3-1, but Boston, which received goals from Blake Wheeler, Dennis Wideman and Zdeno Chara, forced overtime in the third period.

While Stempniak and Blake both scored for Toronto in the overtime shootout, Boston picked up the extra point on goals from Wheeler, Martin St. Pierre and a nifty wrist shot from Michael Ryder.

The Leafs, who have the next five days off, head into the all-star break at a crossroads: not enough wins to contend for the playoffs and too many points to qualify for the lottery draft pick.

"Obviously, we would rather be in a better position," said Leafs defenceman Tomas Kaberle. "It's a learning process. We have a young team."

For a rebuilding team, the entry draft offers the easiest path to improvement. That is how the Pittsburgh Penguins, Washington Capitals and Chicago Blackhawks all transformed from bottom-feeders to top dogs.

The Bruins, who have only had one top-five draft pick in the last 10 years, chose a different approach.

"When I took the job, I said that we're retooling, not rebuilding, because the Boston market demands a competitive team," said Chiarelli. "Tanking was never a consideration."

Instead, the Bruins surrounded whatever youngsters they had in their system with proven veterans.

Leading scorer Marc Savard, goaltender Tim Thomas and captain Chara were all acquired through free agency. Several others - goaltender Manny Fernandez, defenceman Wideman and winger Chuck Kobasew - arrived via trade. And with the exception of Phil Kessel, who was selected fifth overall in 2006, most of the team's homegrown players were selected in the later rounds of the draft.

"That's the great thing about this salary cap era," said Leafs defenceman Ian White. "It doesn't have to take five or six years. We're making progress."

Constructing a team in this fashion may have worked for the Bruins, but Burke does not believe the Leafs have the foundation to support a similar structure.

"The pattern or the blueprint that I use to rebuild isn't quite like that," said Burke. "I'm not going to look at Boston. Whatever they did has worked and that's good for them. But that's not how I approach it."

This is not Burke being stubborn.

Unlike the Bruins, who had up-and-coming youngsters such as Kessel, David Krejci and Milan Lucic in their system, the Leafs are currently short on blue-chip prospects.

"The cupboard is somewhat bare with us and we have to replenish what's missing in the cupboard," said Leafs head coach Ron Wilson. "You can't, unfortunately, go down to the supermarket and pick stuff off the shelves right now. You have to be patient and do it through the draft."

Schenn a ray of hope amid all the gloom

Hard to say whether Luke Schenn would have been in the NHL this season had Brian Burke been in charge of the Maple Leafs from the start. The guess here is no.

Still, with the NHL all-star break at hand, the decision to let the big kid from Saskatoon turn 19 while finding his way in the tricky waters of the world's best hockey league has certainly not been a disaster.

In a season that is becoming increasingly gloomy, Schenn has been one of the few upbeat stories.

Still looking for his first NHL goal, Schenn has made his mark as a minutes muncher in his rookie season and has been noticed enough that he'll be in the NHL YoungStars Game at the Bell Centre in Montreal on Saturday night. He'll be joined by teammate Tomas Kaberle for all-star weekend, an intriguing duo considering the Leafs are among the NHL's worst defensive teams, yet are sending a pair of blueliners.

Schenn, a minus-4 in his freshman season compared to Kaberle's career-worst minus-10 and Pavel Kubina's minus-11, skated 25 minutes and 10 seconds last night against Boston, the 25th time in 35 games he has played 20 minutes or more.

With the constant prodding of strength and conditioning coach Matt Nichol, he's gained a new layer of muscle during the season, jumping to 216 pounds from the 211 he was at in training camp. Full grown, he'll probably play at 230 one day.

"I think I've made progress as the year's gone on," he said last night after a 4-3 shootout loss to the Bruins. "I'm feeling more and more comfortable. I've learned you've got to be consistent and can't take a shift off. If you do, you can get exposed out there."

He hasn't been badly exposed often, although he was inadequately positioned on a penalty-kill situation late in the third period last night, opening a jumbo-sized passing lane in front of Vesa Toskala that Marc Savard exploited to help Zdeno Chara tie the game 3-3. Schenn was eyeballing another Bruin in the slot and it was a situation in which a young apprentice learns from his errors.

"Maybe next time I would take a step down (toward the net)," he said after the game.

What will never be known is what it has cost the Leafs in terms of Schenn's potential to keep him in the NHL this season rather than returning him to Kelowna of the Western Hockey League. Perhaps nothing - and it's true Schenn has rarely looked outclassed in the NHL this season.

At the same time, there haven't been many signs yet of nascent offensive potential, something the Leafs have to be hoping to see eventually after expending first-, second- and third-round picks last June for the right to draft Schenn fifth overall.

Maybe that offence will start to come in his second season. Schenn already makes a good first pass out of his own zone, which is enough to keep coach Ron Wilson happy for now.

"We want him to concentrate on moving the puck faster," Wilson said. "We don't want him to be just a stay-at-home, bang-it-off-the-glass player. We want him to learn to make plays."

Chances are he will. Schenn hasn't been eaten alive by the pressure of playing on a weak team - 17 wins in 47 games, now tied with Tampa Bay - in this hockey-mad city. There's obvious poise and a willingness to play a physical game and stand up for teammates, commodities in short supply on the current edition of the Leafs.

Wilson, headed to South Carolina today for a few rounds of golf, just wants Schenn to go to Montreal this weekend, soak up the atmosphere and observe the professionalism of more established NHL stars.

For his part, Schenn is just looking forward to seeing buddies Drew Doughty and Shea Weber.

Let's face it, the kid has earned himself a holiday.

Home ice no haven for Leafs

Who will be the next Leaf to score at the Air Canada Centre?

Nik Antropov? Niklas Hagman? John Tavares?

The way the Maple Leafs are serving up doughnuts at home, and plummeting in the standings, Toronto might be misfiring just enough to eventually draft the league's next potential offensive star.

All it will take is a few more games like last night, when Toronto was shut out 2-0 by the Carolina Hurricanes, making a winner out of former Leafs coach Paul Maurice in his homecoming.

It was the second consecutive game the Leafs have been blanked on home ice. Nashville won by that same 2-0 score a week ago and the Leafs have now pushed their scoreless drought to more than 127 minutes at home.

"If you don't score, you don't win," Antropov said succinctly.

Antropov knows of what he speaks. His own goalless streak has reached 14 games but he's not alone. Lee Stempniak has one goal in the last nine games. Matt Stajan and Alexei Ponikarovsky have gone five and four games, respectively, without finding the mesh.

"Any time you don't score for three or four games, you feel rattled. That's what I'm feeling right now. It's been more than 10 games," said Antropov, who played only three minutes in the third period, squeezed out as coach Ron Wilson looked for line combinations that might get the offence going.

While the Leafs have often been the authors of their own misfortune in losing 10 of their last 13 games, they had a co-conspirator last night in Carolina goaltender Cam Ward. He was terrific, making 35 saves for his second shutout of the season. He made a handful of exceptional stops, robbing Hagman and Ponikarovsky in particular.

"We tried different things, wraparounds, rebounds, they weren't going in the net," said Ponikarovsky. "I thought on some of them, he got lucky. That's good for him."

Wilson said his team seemed intent on trying to make low-percentage, spectacular plays such as long-bomb passes, something he equated to a golfer trying to sink 60-foot putts "that Tiger Woods can't make."

"It looks pretty but it's totally ineffective. Good teams make five or six passes to come up the ice, not two," he said. "If you've made one long pass, unless you put the guy in on a breakaway, all you've done is maybe isolate one guy on one of their defencemen. Then he has to wait for the cavalry to show up, and by then it's too late."

While scoring is a problem, a couple of brain cramps late in the second period cost Toronto going the other way.

Tomas Kaberle thoughtlessly launched a puck into the stands, taking a delay of game penalty that set up Carolina's first goal, a power-play marker by Joe Corvo. Then, in the dying seconds of that middle frame, Ponikarovsky turned the puck over at his own blue line. Matt Cullen grabbed that gift, fired a pass to Chad LaRose at the edge of the crease and he potted a morale-crusher, making it 2-0 with five seconds remaining.

Wilson called them "inexcusable" mistakes.

The Canes came into town riding a five-game losing skid but they made a winner out of Maurice on his return to Toronto. He was fired by the Leafs at the end of last season.

Early in the game, a tribute to the former coach was played on the replay screen but drew only a tepid response from the fans.

"I've got to be honest with you, it was one of the rare times I did notice something on the Jumbotron and I did appreciate it, even if it was just my wife and kids (clapping). I appreciated it. Very nice, very classy," said Maurice.

Gilmour has come full circle

In two weeks, Doug Gilmour will have his image and jersey number raised to the rafters at the Air Canada Centre.

It will be a chance for the former Maple Leafs captain to look back fondly upon some of his best days playing the sport at a time, really, when his life now is all about new beginnings.

A new relationship with plans to marry for a third time. A new baby. A new and challenging job. A new home, albeit a very familiar one.

"I feel like I've come full circle, right back where I started," said Gilmour.

While still very much a Toronto hockey icon, Gilmour sold his home in the city last year to radio talk show host Bob McCown after splitting from his second wife, Amy. In mid-November, he quit an assistant head coaching job with the AHL Marlies to take over the head coaching post with the OHL's Kingston Frontenacs, heeding an SOS from his former junior coach, Larry Mavety.

"When (Kingston) asked me if I wanted the job last summer I said no," said Gilmour. "Time went on, and then (Mavety) called me and said: `I need you.'"

At the time, the Frontenacs were 5-13-4-1. Since then, under Gilmour, they've won just four of 22 games, sparking suggestions from some that Gilmour had bitten off a little too much and wouldn't be staying beyond this season.

"No way. I'm coming back next year," said Gilmour.

"I know what we need. For me, it's unfinished business. I can't leave it this way."

He now lives most of the time at his lakeside cottage in Kingston, five doors down from where he grew up. He shares the house with his fiancée, Sonja, and the couple's 3-month-old daughter, Victoria.

With sons Jake and Tyson living with Amy in Toronto, he treks back and forth along the 401 every weekend, leaving Sunday afternoons after Kingston home games and heading back on Tuesday mornings.

"It's been good ... the weather hasn't been too bad," joked Gilmour.

After retiring from play in 2003 he dabbled with scouting, player development and then coaching in the minors for the Leafs, but found none to truly be his calling.

"I have to have passion for what I'm doing," he said. "I'm not just here to fill holes. I needed to move on to something else."

Now 45, he admits taking on the junior post hasn't been easy.

"I didn't know the team, I didn't know the league," he said. "It's been a tough learning curve. I've enjoyed it, as much as it has been painful at times to see the players so frustrated. They all want to take the next step. I'm here to teach these kids how to work."

His daughter from his first marriage, Madison, lives in Grand Rapids, Mich., with her partner, Detroit Red Wings prospect Evan McGrath.

All four of his children will be on hand Jan.31 for Doug Gilmour Night at the ACC, along with his parents, Doug and Dolly, his sisters, Debbie and Donna, and possibly his brother, Dave.

Oh yes, and the entire Frontenacs team will also be there.

"I got them all tickets up in the nosebleeds," Gilmour laughed.

He was coaching the night former teammate Wendel Clark had his No.17 honoured earlier this season and can't quite imagine how it will feel to stand on the ice and watch his No.93 raised.

"It's probably the biggest thing to happen to me, even though winning the Stanley Cup was important," he said.

"I almost want to videotape it myself."

He was, of course, an unforgettable hockey hero in Toronto who defied the limitations of his size to nearly lift the team to a Cup on the basis of his indomitable will.

He'll be honoured in a city that wonders when the likes of him will be seen here again.

Leafs blow big lead - again - in loss to Thrashers

ATLANTA - This act was separated by 500 kilometres and 24 hours, but it had a different ending for the Toronto Maple Leafs.

A night after escaping with a 6-4 victory in Carolina - recovering at the last moment after blowing a 4-0 lead - the Leafs coughed up a 3-0 first-period advantage at Philips Arena and were edged 4-3 by the Atlanta Thrashers in overtime.

Ilya Kovalchuk made the play on the winning goal, firing a 40-foot slapshot at Vesa Toskala that the Toronto netminder could not control, allowing forward Rich Peverley to put it home. Defencemen Ian White and Luke Schenn got their signals crossed and Peverley swiped a fat rebound into the vacated goal.

It was a tough result for the Leafs, who had every opportunity to come home with a perfect swing through the chilly Southern U.S.

"We're not a good team," snapped coach Ron Wilson, when asked if his players felt the night would be too easy after leading 3-0 edge in the first period. "We talked about it (during the intermission). We hadn't done anything special in the first period, and we took our foot off the gas like we did (on Thursday).

"We have to be focused every single second. We opened the door for them tonight and couldn't screw down the cap once we let it out."

As is his custom, Kovalchuk was the best player on the ice, scoring twice including the game-tying goal with 4:52 left in regulation.

That goal occurred seconds after Matt Stajan missed a golden opportunity to provide the Leafs some insurance. He had Kari Lehtonen at his mercy, but could not beat the Atlanta goalie.

"Yeah, I probably should have brought it to my backhand but it's a bang-bang play and he got across to make a good save," said Stajan.

The Thrashers were as cold as the local climate in the first period. The Arctic air mass that plunged Toronto into a deep freeze this week has made its way south.

In their last visit here, the Leafs opened an early 2-0 lead en route to an easy 6-2 triumph. Friday night, they went one better and erupted for three unanswered goals in the latter half of the initial period.

This was facilitated by a noticeable improvement from Toskala in the past week - an ability to make key saves early in games. His struggle in the opening minutes has contributed largely to the Leafs yielding the first goal on 30 occasions so far this season.

But Toskala came up huge in this match. He stopped Atlanta's first shot - a prime scoring chance by Kovalchuk on a 2-on-1 break after Schenn had turned over the puck near centre ice. Seconds later, Toskala again robbed Kovalchuk on a set-up from behind the goal. He was also sharp on a rebound near the crease that Colby Armstrong tried to convert.

The quick sequence of saves allowed the Leafs to assume temporary control later in the period. Lee Stempniak, Dominic Moore and Niklas Hagman gave Toronto a 3-0 edge heading to the intermission.

Toronto's late explosion prompted an angry crowd to boo the Thrashers off the ice, and it spelled the end for starting netminder Johan Hedberg, who was replaced by Lehtonen to begin the middle frame.

The change had an immediate effect, as Lehtonen made a difficult stop on a backhand attempt by Mikhail Grabovski 55 seconds into the period. Fifteen seconds later, Kovalchuk finally solved Toskala, scoring his 17th goal of the season on a low shot from the left-wing circle.

Atlanta pulled to within one of the Leafs late in the second period when Bryan Little executed a nifty spin-around move past Tomas Kaberle and beat Toskala with a low backhand shot for his team-leading 20th goal.

Bemused Maurice says anti-Leaf cracks were all in good fun

RALEIGH, N.C.-Former Maple Leafs coach Paul Maurice cited his usual tongue-in-cheek humour for a comment he made here that indicated he harboured bitterness toward his former employers.

"The politically correct thing that most coaches would say is that it's just like any other game," Maurice told a radio show here Wednesday, in advance of last night's Leafs-Hurricanes game.

"But it's absolutely not. It's absolutely personal. You get fired, you want to see that team lose every game for the next 10 years."

Maurice, facing the Leafs for the first time since Toronto fired him last May, naturally sparked a monster media scrum yesterday morning, but insisted he was joking in the radio interview.

"Okay, how's this then, I hope (the Leafs) lose every game they play against us for the next 10 years ... people, go home and take some tea, relax and breathe ...," said Maurice, who has never said anything derogatory about the Toronto franchise since his firing.

While Maurice was not surprised by the reaction to his comments, he was mildly miffed that his sense of humour appeared to be forgotten after two years in Toronto where it was part of the daily routine with the media.

In fact, Maurice's humour was often dry and subtle, and was followed by pauses of awkward silence in the media scrums until he explained that he was actually waiting for someone to "get" the intent of his words.

"Sure, you get up a bit for a game like this, but that's a good thing," Maurice said yesterday.

"It'd be a lie to say you want to win this game more than any other game, but at the same time, it would be satisfying. The coach wants the two points against his old team but at the end of the day no one cares what the coach wants."

Leafs coach Ron Wilson concurred with Maurice.

"I'm sure there's always a bit of emotion involved," said Wilson, who admitted as much when he returned to San Jose as Leafs coach back in early December.

"His might be different than what I felt going into San Jose," said Wilson. "I'm sure he wants to beat us bad, but there's only so much a coach can do there.

"You would never place your personal feelings in front of your team and try to get them to play harder, that usually never works."

Blake breaks out as Leafs snap slide

RALEIGH, N.C.-Jason Blake wanted to deflect attention from his personal triumph here last night.

And in the context of the Maple Leafs' crazy 6-4 win over the Carolina Hurricanes, Blake's milestone performance - three goals and five points in total - was essentially part of a team effort to overcome the inconsistencies that have plagued it the past month.

But Blake did have the night of his life in a Leaf uniform.

"I wasn't focusing on that," Blake said of his offensive effort.

"We had this game under control and kind of let up. We took some penalties and got into trouble, but our focus was the same thing we have been talking about - to finish off games - and finally we did."

Blake was talking about an almost unbelievable third period, one which saw the Leafs holding a 4-1 lead before allowing a very flat Hurricanes team back into the game.

Carolina bagged three goals - a soft one by Tuomo Ruutu, a power-play marker by Eric Staal, and the game-tying effort from Scott Walker - all before the period was 10 minutes old.

Suddenly a Leaf team that was poised to snap a four-game losing skid plunged back into the miserable hockey it had so desperately tried to erase.

On the bench, though, there was no letdown. Every player kept supporting the guy sitting beside him, right through the worst of it. Then Tomas Kaberle cranked home the game-winner on a power play.

Blake notched an empty-netter to complete his hat trick. That goal also bent the spotlight back toward him, and to the issues that have surrounded his time in Toronto.

The point was raised last night that he is a "different" player than he was last season, when he signed a five-year, $20 million (U.S.) free-agent deal, but followed up a 40-goal season in 2006-07 with just 15 under then-coach Paul Maurice.

He now has 13 goals - tied for second on the team - but admits that he was the problem, not Maurice.

Training camp was not quite over in September 2007 when Blake stunned the hockey world with news that he had been diagnosed with a rare form of leukemia. With the aid of a super pill, he would play through the ailment, but it was clear he wasn't the high-scoring winger the Leafs had hoped for.

In fact, Blake didn't miss a game all season, but gave the appearance of a selfish player, one who didn't buy into the team concept that Maurice was preaching.

"Paul Maurice had nothing to do with it," Blake said of his underachieving 2007-08 season. "I had some unfortunate health news, I wasn't the greatest teammate, I wasn't the greatest person to be around, and you can ask my wife about that. I'll be honest with you, for three months or so I didn't want to play at all, the only thing that mattered to me was my kids."

Blake said the dark weight has lifted, and the chance to develop chemistry with Dominic Moore this season has helped trigger his restoration.

Still, last night's triumphant performance didn't come before a benching this season from coach Ron Wilson. The ploy worked - Blake returned and started driving the net more, something Wilson "gets on me about every day."

"I played for Ron (on the U.S. entry at two World Cup tournaments) and I know what he wants from me," Blake said.

"He sent a message and I wasn't happy about it, but it's about accountability, to prepare better, and be a better player. It's hard to score in this league and you're going to end up on your butt most of the time if you do score. But that's what I have to do and I'm trying my best to do it every night."

Leafs hang on to beat Hurricanes, former coach

RALEIGH, N.C. - The Carolina Hurricanes couldn't quite provide Paul Maurice the victory he was craving Thursday night, but the veteran coach only has to wait three more days to get another crack at his former team.

Maurice watched unhappily from the Carolina bench as the Toronto Maple Leafs ended a four-game losing streak - and handed the Hurricanes their fourth consecutive defeat - with a nerve-wracking 6-4 triumph at the RBC Center.

Toronto and Carolina hook up again at the Air Canada Centre on Monday night.

A one-timer from inside the right point by Tomas Kaberle allowed the Leafs to escape with the victory. Kaberle whacked Pavel Kubina's cross-feed past goalie Cam Ward on the power play with 5:25 left in regulation time. It was the 200th assist of Kubina's NHL career.

The game appeared to be over as the Leafs barely broke a sweat in fashioning a 4-0 lead by the 15:07 mark of the second period.

Then the Hurricanes woke up.

Matt Cullen scored with 1:29 left in the period, giving Carolina its first breath of life. Momentum carried over into the final frame, when Tuomo Ruutu, Eric Staal and Scott Walker brought the Hurricanes back to even with goals in the first 8:40 of play.

Maurice sparked quite a buzz when he told a Raleigh all-sports radio station on Wednesday that he hopes the Leafs "lose every game they play for the next 10 years." He suggested Thursday the quote wasn't as biting as it sounded, and he was surely expecting a more robust effort from his players.

Instead, the Hurricanes were sluggish for almost 40 minutes - indifferent to the burning desire of their coach, who was hoping to exact a small measure of revenge from the team that fired him last spring. Lazy defensive play led directly to three of the first four Toronto goals as the visitors built an apparently safe lead with their second-period tallies.

Jason Blake paced the attack with two goals and an assist. He now has 12 markers on the season - only three shy of his disappointing total in 2007-08. It was the Leafs' first road win since Dec. 22 in Atlanta, and Toronto improved to 3-8 in its past 11 games.

Maurice and Leafs coach Ron Wilson last opposed one another a year ago this week in San Jose. The Leafs finished a disastrous trek through California by losing to the Sharks, and general manager John Ferguson was fired 10 days later. Cliff Fletcher was summoned to replace him and he fired Maurice in April.

Wilson was dumped in San Jose after a second-round playoff exit, and then was quickly scooped up by the Leafs.

"I haven't talked to Paul since the (hiring) process was underway," Wilson said Thursday. "I called him when he was let go, and he called me after I was fired. He's an excellent coach and I'm sure he wants to beat us badly."

Apparently, more so than his players. Based on recent results, this was hardly a clash of freight trains. It was more like a couple of cotton balls brushing past one another. Toronto and Carolina had combined to lose their previous seven matches and 13 of their past 15.

The Leafs opened the scoring for only the 14th time in 44 games. Walker was serving a roughing penalty for the Hurricanes when defenceman Ian White cleanly beat Ward with a low slapshot from inside the left point. It was White's first goal in 14 games, dating back to Dec. 12, when he scored the winner in a 2-1 Toronto victory in Buffalo.

The Hurricanes were terrible in the middle frame, allowing the Maple Leafs a free and easy path to their goal. Blake effortlessly danced past defenceman Joni Pitkanen behind the net and scored on a forehand wraparound as Ward was slow moving to his left.

A turnover by Joe Corvo and a sloppy clearing attempt by Tim Gleason led to a bang-bang play that ended with Niklas Hagman chipping a direct giveaway past Ward for a 3-0 Toronto lead. It broke a seven-game scoreless drought for Hagman.

Blake's second goal was partly the result of good fortune, as linemate Dominic Moore fanned on a shot and the puck went directly to him for an easy re-direction.

Cullen finally brought the crowd out of its stupor when he cleanly beat Vesa Toskala with a quick shot from 25 feet to give the Hurricanes some life heading into the dressing room.

Leafs tweak lines to spark some offence

The Maple Leafs shuffled their lineup and their lines before shuffling off to Raleigh, N.C. for a game with the Hurricanes tomorrow night.

Toronto demoted defenceman Jamie Sifers, who had played 14 games with the big club, and called up Anton Stralman from the Marlies. Stralman played 21 games with the Leafs earlier in the season, picking up a goal and six assists.

"Hopefully (Stralman) will be able to move some pucks quick and help out on our power play," said coach Ron Wilson.

Wilson also changed his lines. Nik Antropov was dropped from the first line where he had skated with Matt Stajan and Alexei Ponikarovsky, and replaced by Lee Stempniak. Antropov is now on a line with John Mitchell and Niklas Hagman.

Centre Dominic Moore will stay together with Jason Blake, with recent call-up Jiri Tlusty on the other wing. The fourth line is the troika of Brad May, Andre Deveaux and Jamal Mayers.

"Just trying some tweaks to get a couple of guys going. Maybe a different look is what they need," said Wilson.

Antropov has gone 11 games without a goal; Stempniak has just three goals in 24 games since being acquired from St. Louis.

Jeremy Williams had his first full practice with the team since he injured his shoulder on Dec. 30. He travelled to Raleigh but isn't expected to dress tomorrow or Friday when the Leafs visit Atlanta.

Burke feels fans' pain but has no short-term relief

It was a night for even optimistic Maple Leafs fans to feel despondent, a night when it seemed abundantly clear just how their favourite club has fallen.

The Leafs were so non-competitive and so unexciting in a 2-0 loss to Nashville on Tuesday night that it seemed after the game as if the entire city's shoulders sagged with hopelessness.

Hundreds of miles away, Brian Burke felt that sag.

"I understand the frustration of our fans," the Leafs' president and general manager said yesterday. "We weren't good enough in our last two home games, not by a mile."

Prior to the loss to the Predators, the previous Leafs home start had produced a desultory effort in a 4-2 loss to Florida. In both games, there seemed very few players in Toronto jerseys determined to prove to their new hockey boss that they want to stay with the club.

Burke, set to move into his new Toronto house in the next two weeks, caught only the third period of the Nashville loss, having spent most of the evening in Boston carefully watching defenceman Matt Gilroy of the Boston University Terriers, probably the most sought-after U.S. college free agent available this spring.

If fans wonder what exactly Burke is doing these days, there's your answer. Looking for players.

Along with Tyler Bozak of Denver University and Notre Dame centre Christian Hanson, son of Dave Hanson of the famed Hanson Brothers from the movie Slap Shot, the 24-year-old Gilroy might be ready to step right into an NHL lineup this spring.

That, of course, is the kind of opportunity only a weak sister like the Leafs can offer, although it didn't help them lure Swedish free agent Fabian Brunnstrom last summer.

"The way we've drafted, we've got to try and sign as many college free agents as we can," Burke said. "The idea is, sign five and hope two make it."

On the NHL front, Burke's just starting to get some trade nibbles. Anton Stralman's back with the parent club, perhaps to be showcased. The Leafs were toying with the idea of putting in a waiver claim for Vancouver goalie Curtis Sanford, but probably won't.

And bigger moves? Well, if you're expecting Burke to get in on the bidding for Vinny Lecavalier, if there is bidding to be had, you can forget it.

The Leafs aren't in a position to be offering a package of futures for the Tampa captain and every team should be leery of enormous contracts when the salary cap could be going down in a year.

There will be those, of course, who will remember how Cliff Fletcher turned a very bad Leafs team into a competitive one partway through the 1991-92 season by acquiring Doug Gilmour in a blockbuster trade.

But that was before the salary-cap era and NHL trades in general, let alone monster deals, seem to have all but evaporated these days.

"Significant trades do not exist in the NHL until much closer to the trade deadline," Burke said.

"We have to wait for the market to work in our favour."

The trades Burke has in mind, of course, are those that will see assets from his NHL roster - Nik Antropov, Tomas Kaberle, Pavel Kubina, Alexei Ponikarovsky - converted into draft picks.

Demand for experienced help won't noticeably increase until February, however, so right now there's not much Burke can do except wait and scout.

That won't provide much solace to Toronto fans, some of whom are already growing restless, perhaps expecting Burke's thunderous arrival in late November to have paid more obvious dividends by now.

But this franchise is in too big a hole and the NHL is now a league in which major transactions appear only rarely.

Burke wishes he had a different message to send to Leafs fans, a stronger message of hope.

Defeat not resting lightly with Nik

The impact of the ongoing rebuild is in full evidence with the Maple Leafs now: four consecutive losses, two wins in the last 10 games, 17 goals in those 10 games.

The illusion of competitiveness was only going to last so long.

But even if the downward spiral seemed inevitable, it doesn't mean a player can't rage against it.

"Even if you're rebuilding, it doesn't mean you have to lose every single game," Nik Antropov said yesterday. "We have a lot of pride on this team. It's the Toronto Maple Leafs. We can't just lose every game, you know."

In that spirit, coach Ron Wilson yesterday shuffled the resources he does have in an effort to kick-start the offence and his squad.

For starters, Antropov was dropped from the top line where he had been skating with centre Matt Stajan and Alexei Ponikarovsky. He has been replaced by Lee Stempniak for tonight's game at Carolina. Antropov drops back to a line with John Mitchell and Niklas Hagman.

"Just trying some tweaks to get a couple guys going," Wilson said. "Maybe a different look is what they need."

The two principals in the underachieving department are Antropov and Stempniak, though modest expectations for the latter are based on a 27-goal season two years ago rather than anything he has achieved this campaign.

Antropov's scoring slump reached 11 games in Toronto's 2-0 whitewashing at the hands of the Nashville Predators on Tuesday. Stempniak has only three goals in 24 games since arriving in a trade from St. Louis.

Wilson also demoted defenceman Jaime Sifers, who has looked jittery in recent outings, and called up Anton Stralman from the Marlies. Stralman stuck with Toronto out of training camp and played 21 games as a semi-regular, picking up a goal and six assists, before he was demoted in mid-December.

"Hopefully (Stralman) will be able to move some pucks quick and help out on our power play," Wilson said.

While the situation has turned ugly for a Leafs team that saves its worst performances for home ice, an upside has been the emergence of Antropov as a team leader. The good-natured forward has repeatedly gone public with his desire to stay in Toronto, although his name is frequent fodder for the rumour mongers ("It's the centre of the hockey universe; why would I want to leave?") and his ease with the language now has made him a go-to spokesman for the team and a beacon of optimism in the dressing room.

But yesterday he conceded the weight of his scoring slump was getting to him.

"It's not as easy as you think to push it aside when you go 11 games without a goal," he said. "I'm always hard on myself. I don't think it's the right thing to do. The harder you're pushing yourself, the harder it gets to get scoring chances."

Stempniak figures the line shuffling is just a coach's attempt to "create a spark, to change things up." But to do that, Antropov has been pushed out of the comfort zone he had working - and working very well in the past - with Stajan and Ponikarovsky.

"The coach has to do what he has to do. It's not unusual," Antropov said. "Hopefully we can get some chemistry going."

Another mainstay on the team who will be a frequent source of trade speculation this season, defenceman Tomas Kaberle, didn't practise yesterday.

He said he had a "lower body" issue but expects to play tonight against the Hurricanes and tomorrow in Atlanta.

"I'm feeling good. It was just for precautionary reasons with two games coming back-to-back," he said. "I didn't want to make it worse. I'm expecting to play."

Several scouts watch Leafs lose fourth straight game

TORONTO - It was moments after the Toronto Maple Leafs lost 2-0 to the Nashville Predators that a fire alarm sounded inside Air Canada Centre.

For a team that might be preparing a fire sale, it was a foreboding omen.

The NHL trade deadline is less than two months away, but with the Leafs sitting well out of a playoff spot, teams have already begun to hover over the 11th-place club like hungry vultures preparing to pick apart its carcass.

Pro scouts from 15 different teams - including three from the Florida Panthers, two from the Chicago Blackhawks and one from the Vancouver Canucks - attended Tuesday night's game.

Most of them were there to see defenceman Tomas Kaberle, who announced last week that he would be willing to waive his no-trade clause. But with the Leafs on a four-game losing streak, few Toronto players may actually be in high demand.

Leafs general manager Brian Burke said Tuesday that he had received several trade offers since he took over on Nov. 29. So far, none have been worth pursuing.

After Tuesday night's game, the offers are not likely to improve.

"We haven't been able to find a way (to win) in the last few weeks," Leafs centre Matt Stajan said. "We just have to go back to basics. Hopefully, we can get a few early goals in our next game and get out of this."

In what was a goaltending duel between two Finnish netminders, neither the Leafs nor the Predators could find the net in the first two periods. At 5:33 of the final frame, Radek Bonk finally broke the scoreless tie with a power-play goal.

Nashville went up 2-0 less than eight minutes later on a goal from David Legwand as the Leafs wasted one of Vesa Toskala's better performances.

"I feel bad for him," Leafs forward Nik Antropov said of Toskala, who stopped 21 shots. "He was holding us there almost to the point where they scored the first goal. As I said, we just have to shoot the puck more."

The Leafs directed only 17 shots at Nashville goalie Pekka Rinne.

Toskala, who has been wildly inconsistent this season, may have been the only Toronto player who increased his trade value Tuesday night, stopping all 16 shots in the first two periods. Though most of Nashville's attempts appeared to come from the periphery, Toskala made a crucial save on a partial breakaway opportunity by J.P. Dumont.

The Predators were on a power play when slick-skating Steve Sullivan moved around a fallen Jamal Mayers, and stutter-stepped past Stajan before firing a wrist shot that Bonk deflected.

"It hit his pants," Toskala said of Bonk's goal, which was initially credited to Sullivan.

Toronto, meanwhile, could not solve Rinne.

The Predators goaltender, who headed into Tuesday night's game having won his previous two starts, recorded his fourth shutout of the season. Of course, he was not challenged much.

The Leafs' 17 shots marked their the lowest output of the season. In the third period, when the game was up for grabs, Toronto could muster only four.

"In the last five to 10 games, we have struggled with that," defenceman Pavel Kubina said of the Leafs, who have scored just nine goals in the last six games.

"We have to go back to how we played in the first 25 or 30 games of the season, where we outshot every team and pretty much were shooting over 35 shots every game . . . it doesn't have to be fancy."

MID-TERMS

It was a month before the season began when the Toronto Maple Leafs' then-general manager invited the city's hockey reporters to Air Canada Centre for an informal state-of-the-union address.

In an attempt to temper expectations, Cliff Fletcher stated the obvious: Nik Antropov was the only player to be considered a top-six forward; its stable of youngsters might not develop into anything more than middling NHLers; and management was not budgeting for the playoffs.

"There are rocky days ahead," Cliff Fletcher warned. "The key for us is patience."

After 41 games, the team has lived up -- or, rather, down -- to expectations.

The Leafs, who completed the first-half of the season with a one-sided 6-2 loss to the Montreal Canadiens, are 16-19-6. They have two fewer points than they did at this point last year. And they are now closer to a lottery pick than a playoff spot.

Not that anyone in the Leafs' dressing room is particularly surprised.

"We have to be patient," centre Dominic Moore said. "We knew all along that there was going to be ups and downs in the season. There's plenty of time to continue to improve. That's what we have to do."

Aside from whether they will continue their downward spiral to the bottom of the standings, here are five questions as the Leafs enter the second-half of the season:

WHO WILL BE PACKING HIS SUITCASE?

After five weeks on the job, Brian Burke's sole move has been acquiring Brad May. But with his team lacking a second-and fourth-round selection at the June draft, the Leafs general manager is expected to be a very busy man by the time the March 4 trade deadline approaches.

Defenceman Tomas Kaberle, who refused to be traded last season, told reporters on Thursday that if was not in the team's long-term plans than he would be willing to waive his no-movement clause. Pavel Kubina has hinted that he might follow suit.

The question is whom will Burke keep?

Rookie defenceman Luke Schenn is considered untouchable. And Vesa Toskala's erratic play may have cooled any interest. But every other person in the dressing room should be essentially up for grabs -- unless they fit the GM's long-term plan.

"[Dominic]Moore might be a guy he keeps," said Blackhawks assistant GM Rick Dudley. "He may end up as a Sammy Pahlsson-type player. Guys like that are valuable."

WILL THE KIDS GROW UP?

The Leafs are supposed be rebuilding with youngsters. But with a roster where the average age is 28, little ground has been broken.

Sure, Mikhail Grabovski is amongst the top six rookies with 12 goals and 23 points. And first-round pick Schenn has already established himself as Toronto's most physical and defensively responsible player. But the rest of the team's prospects have given little hope for future.

After starting the season with the Leafs, defenceman Anton Stralman and forwards Nikolai Kulemin and Jiri Tlusty have all been assigned to the minors.

"Everybody keeps saying we're a young team," head coach Ron Wilson said. "I don't even know if we're in the top 10 of young teams."

Mixed emotions saddle Pony

PHILADELPHIA-Alexei Ponikarovsky is in a unique situation.

As he gets his offence in gear, he may be increasing his trade value on a Maple Leafs team that is bent on reinventing itself. A tough thought for the winger when his preference is to remain in Toronto.

"It all depends on how our management looks at it," he said after a 4-1 loss last night. "Basically, I go out and play and whatever happens, happens."

With his third goal in the last four games, Ponikarovsky last night passed Nik Antropov for the team lead in goal scoring with 14.

Ponikarovsky's ability to score consistently and a relatively modest contract - he earns $2.24 million (all figures U.S.) this season - would make him an easy fit for a contending team looking for another big body up front. But it is that size and his strength in cycling the puck that makes him a player general manager Brian Burke might like to keep as a building block. He has another year on his Toronto deal at $2.5 million.

Ponikarovsky would rather not go anywhere. He lives in Toronto year-round and he met his wife, who is also Ukrainian, in Toronto. They have three children and are entrenched in the community.

He also has the personality to deal with living in a hockey hotbed, with an ability to shrug off rumours and criticism.

"Being in Toronto, there's always a lot of pressure. Over the years you learn how to deal with it. For me, I just have to go out on the ice and produce," he said. "If you get sour and stuff, it's not going to help your team and it's not going to help you."

But he also understands that he might have to move at any time.

"I'm not really nervous. Basically, it's a part of the business. I can't control what's going to happen there," he said. "The only thing I can control is my game so I just try to do my best on the ice."

Ponikarovsky is on pace to score 25 to 30 goals this season, which would be a career high. What makes that interesting is that the left winger often, in the past, played with centre Mats Sundin but now the 28-year-old is finding his touch with Matt Stajan in the middle, largely by driving to the edge of the crease.

"My job basically is to get in front of the goalie and use my body there," said the 6-foot-4, 220-pounder. "I go hard for rebounds and try to get the puck out from the corner and create chances for my linemates."

Slumping Leafs no match for Flyers

Philadelphia, PA (Sports Network) - Martin Biron made 41 saves and Jeff Carter scored twice, including the game-winner, as Philadelphia got past Toronto, 4-1, at the Wachovia Center.

Mike Richards and Andrew Alberts lit the lamp for the Flyers, who have won two in a row and improved to 4-0-2 in their last six games.

Alexei Ponikarovsky scored for the Maple Leafs, who have lost three in a row and seven of nine. Vesa Toskala stopped 26 shots in defeat.

Ponikarovsky's backhanded poke through the crease 41 seconds into the third period produced a 1-1 tie, but that was as close Toronto got to a win.

Carter broke out of a four-game goal slump and gave the Flyers a 2-1 lead, streaking down the right side and lifting a backhander under the crossbar for a power-play goal at 5:59.

Alberts then snapped a 163-game goal drought with 8:59 left in regulation. Scottie Upshall carried down the right wing, turned at the bottom of the right circle and dished to the defenseman at the inner edge of the left circle for a snap shot through Toskala's pads.

"I do remember," said Alberts of the last time he scored. "It was short-handed off a pass from Glen Murray and it was against Marty Biron. The guys were hassling me in the dressing room and it was good to get it over with."

Toskala went to the bench with a little over two minutes to play and Carter picked up his second of the game into the empty net with 1:48 remaining.

"I felt we played very well. The difference in the game was their goalie," said Leafs head coach Ron Wilson. "It wasn't Vesa's fault by any stretch of the imagination. We scored that one goal at the start of the third and I thought we were going to completely control the game. Unfortunately, we made a mistake on the penalty kill and that was about it."

Richards connected off a cross-ice feed from Simon Gagne for a power-play goal and 1-0 Flyers lead 6:41 into the contest.

In a scoreless second period, Biron made 18 saves and Toskala had 11 stops. The Toronto netminder had more quality chances to halt, including several short-handed opportunities by Carter along with twin stops on a Richards breakaway and follow-up from Gagne.

"I think our team does a good job of getting to the net," Flyers head coach John Stevens noted. "It's not always perimeter stuff. There's consistency in the way we play. We probably had more good chances short-handed than any other way in the hockey game but we didn't put them away. Toskala played great in those situations but I'd like to see us shoot the puck more."

Game Notes

The triumph extended the Flyers' home win streak to eight and they improved to 12-0-2 in their last 14 home games, after a regulation 2-1 loss to Tampa Bay on November 8...Carter broke a tie with both Thomas Vanek of Buffalo and Washington's Alex Ovechkin -- both of whom were held scoreless on Saturday -- and leads the NHL with 29 goals...Alberts' last goal came as a member of the Boston Bruins on March 12, 2006...Philly improved to 17-1-5 when scoring first.

Grabovski suspended three games

TORONTO - Toronto Maple Leafs forward Mikael Grabovski was suspended by the National Hockey League on Friday for three games for abuse of an official.

Grabovski made contact with linesman Scott Cherrey in the third period of Thursday night's game against the Montreal Canadiens, while Cherrey attempted to restrain the Leaf from going after Canadiens forward Sergei Kostitsyn.

A three-game suspension is the NHL's automatic penalty for inappropriate contact between a player and an official. According to TSN.ca, the Leafs won't appeal the league's decision.

Grabovski, who played for the Canadiens last season, has been at odds with his former teammates all season. But, tensions flared between them on Nov. 8 when Grabovski got away with a butt-end on Canadiens goalie Carey Price.

The younger Kostitsyn brother was tossed from that game for going after the Leafs' centre.

After Thursday's game, Kostitsyn implied that tension will remain between the Habs and their nemesis when they meet again on Feb. 7 in Montreal.

"He talks too much in the Russian papers about me and my brother," he said.

Canadiens crush Maple Leafs

The Canadiens crushed their one-time archrivals, the Toronto Maple Leafs, 6-2 at the Bell Centre Thursday night in a game that featured 140 penalty minutes, including eight 10-minute misconduct penalties and four fighting majors.

"It was a classic Original Six matchup," said Maxim Lapierre, who's too young to remember when these teams did produce classic games.

This one was a one-sided mismatch after Sergei Kostitsyn scored a power-play goal at 2:35 of the first period and Lapierre stepped out of the penalty box and made it 2-0 at 4:59.

"We wanted to get a quick start and we did," Lapierre said. "We played last night, but we didn't think about being tired. We knew this was a big game."

There were lots of things to like about this game - if you were a Canadiens fan.

There was another example of the team's depth. With six regulars out of the lineup, the Canadiens are playing some of their best hockey of the season. Six different players scored and they included third-liners Lapierre and Guillaume Latendresse as well as rookie Max Pacioretty, who has two goals and assist in the four games since he was called up from Hamilton.

There's the power play that is trying to prove it's better than its ranking of 27th in the NHL.

After going 2-for-4 in Wednesday's 6-3 win over the Rangers in New York, the Habs were 2-for-8 against the Leafs. Sergei Kostitsyn scored with the extra man in the first period and older brother, Andrei, scored in the second. Andrei also had two assists.

Veteran Alex Kovalev scored for the second time in as many nights and added an assist to share the team scoring lead with Robert Lang.

They each have 31 points.

Patrice Brisebois collected assists on each of the first three Montreal goals and moved into fifth place on the all-time Montreal defence scoring list with 364 points, one more than J.C. Tremblay. And Jaroslav Halak turned in another solid performance, stopping 32 shots to run his record to 8-6-1.

Halak was struggling a week ago, but goaltending coach Rollie Melanson said the netminder has tweaked a few things in his technique and that has made the difference.

That's good news, because the Canadiens need Halak as Carey Price has been slow recovering from an ankle injury. He tried skating Wednesday with little success and Melanson said there was no sense rushing him.

Tomas Kaberle and Matt Stajan scored for the Leafs.

It wasn't a sweet homecoming for Mikhail Grabovski, who was traded to the Leafs in the offseason. He was booed by the fans and was involved in altercations with Latendresse and fellow Belarusian, Sergei Kostitsyn.

He received two misconducts.

"He was trying to get something going, because they were down," Latendresse said. "But I didn't want to fight him, because there's a difference in our size."

The Kostitsyns and Grabovski were once friends, but Sergei said Grabovski has been bad-mouthing the brothers in the Russian press.

"He talks too much," Sergei said.

"Any time (Sergei) wants to fight, we can go out on the street," Grabovski snapped.

The recent surge in scoring is welcome, because the Canadiens haven't had much success scoring against the Capitals.

Kaberle will waive no-trade clause if asked by Leafs

MONTREAL - A year after he refused to be dealt at the trade deadline, Tomas Kaberle said that he would agree to move on if management asked him.

The Toronto Maple Leafs defenceman, who has a no-trade clause in his contract, added that he hoped to stay with the team that drafted him 13 years ago. But if he is not in the long-term plans, he said would accept a change of scenery.

"Obviously, I want to stay here and be a Maple Leaf," Kaberle said prior to Thursday night's game against the Montreal Canadiens. "But if (Leafs general manager) Brian Burke comes to me and he doesn't want me on the team any more, than obviously it would be a different story.

"If someone doesn't want you on the team, then you don't want to stay obviously. I love to play for the Maple Leafs. I'll always want to."

Kaberle, who was selected 204th overall in 1996, has blossomed into one of the Leafs' top players. The puck-moving rearguard, who has 25 points this season, was named Thursday to his fourth all-star game.

But with the team in a rebuilding stage, the 31-year-old might be seen as a valuable asset on the trade market.

Last season, it was reported Kaberle nixed a deal that would have sent him to the Philadelphia Flyers in exchange for Jeff Carter, as well as a first-round draft choice. Now that Carter is tied for first in the league with 27 goals, the Flyers are probably thankful for that.

Kaberle is not the only Toronto player who might finish the season in another jersey. In the last few weeks, Nik Antropov, Dominic Moore, Vesa Toskala and Pavel Kubina, who has a no-movement clause, have all been mentioned in trade rumours.

Burke, who acquired veteran Brad May on Wednesday, has not indicated whether he would move Kaberle or any other player, but it's no secret that Toronto, which currently does not have selections in the second or fourth rounds in the June draft, needs to stockpile draft picks.

Still, Kaberle would prefer to continue growing with the team.

"I think we have lots of young kids here, and they've been showing a lot in the first half of the season," he said. "They have a lot of good seasons ahead of them. Obviously, it's not something that's going to happen overnight. And I hope I'm part of the rebuilding."

The Leafs headed into Thursday night's game in 11th place in the Eastern Conference. Though fans might be hoping for Toronto to drop further in the standings - and conversely higher in the draft - the team was still only seven points out of a playoff spot as it entered the midway point of the season.

"We just want to make the playoffs," Kaberle said. "That's the key. We don't want to be in the bottom eight spots. We have a long way to go, for sure. I think we're seven points behind right now and we have to get on a roll to be on a playoff spot."

Leafs acquire May in deal with Ducks

TORONTO - Brian Burke's extreme makeover of the Toronto Maple Leafs began with the general manager adding what is to him a familiar face.

In Burke's first trade since his late November introduction as the Leafs GM when he said his new team required "proper levels of pugnacity, testosterone, truculence and belligerence," the 53-year-old swung a deal with his former team in Anaheim to acquire veteran winger Brad May for a sixth-round draft pick.

"Brad will provide character, toughness, and he is a proven winner," Burke said in a statement. "We look forward to the veteran leadership that he will give our team."

The 37-year-old May, who has 126 goals, 245 points and 2,121 penalty minutes in 963 career games, played for Burke in Vancouver and helped Burke's Ducks win the Stanley Cup in 2007.

"Obviously Brian Burke knows him really from the leadership that he provided that team," head coach Ron Wilson said. "It's just another guy who can bring a little bit more sandpaper to our lineup."

Wilson said May, who was celebrating his son's 13th birthday in California on Wednesday, was expected to take a red-eye to Montreal and be in Toronto's lineup Thursday against the Canadiens.

The coach made it clear he hoped May might stiffen a team that Wilson feels has been too meek, particularly in a 4-2 loss to Florida on Tuesday night.

"In a game like we were going through (Tuesday) night, I'd like somebody to stand up and express a little anger whether it be with his own play or his teammates' play," said Wilson. "I'm not sure, to be honest with you, if Brad May is that kind of a guy. But we do need some more vocality - or whatever the word would be - in our locker-room. It can't be as quiet as it is sometimes."

May's arrival in Toronto makes him a teammate of Dominic Moore, whose brother Steve had his career ended by a hit from Todd Bertuzzi, a former May teammate in Vancouver.

Bertuzzi's hit on Steve Moore came after May allegedly put a bounty on the former Colorado forward for his hit on former Canucks captain Markus Naslund.

"That's the past, simple as that," said Wilson. "He's a good guy and everybody who's played with him loves playing with Brad. That's more important than anything."

To make room for May on the roster, Toronto sent struggling rookie forward Nikolai Kulemin to the Toronto Marlies of the American Hockey League.

"He hasn't been playing very well," said Wilson of the 22-year-old Kulemin, who had 14 points in 40 games this season, but just three in his last 15 games. "Hopefully he'll earn his minutes down there and he'll improve his play and we can call him back."

McCabe booed lustily as Panthers top Leafs - Panthers 4, Leafs 2

TORONTO - Motivational carrots were everywhere Tuesday night.

There was a pre-game ceremony honouring Canada's recent gold medal victory at the world junior championship. There was the home crowd booing the highly anticipated return of a former defenceman. And, most importantly, there was an important two points to be gained in the standings.

But, for whatever reason, the Toronto Maple Leafs came out flat in what was an uninspiring 4-2 loss to the Florida Panthers.

"There's no reason," said Leafs forward Nik Antropov. "We had the crowd there for us. It was a good opportunity to catch them. We can't play at home like that."

Despite a pre-game warning from their head coach, the Leafs sleepwalked through the first period. Florida scored the opening two goals as Toronto trailed 2-0 for the 16th time this season. The team is now 5-9-2 when down two goals to none.

It was not until the third period, when the Panthers were up 3-0, that the Leafs began to mount a comeback. By then, it was too late.

"We didn't show up for most of the game," said Leafs head coach Ron Wilson. "I was not very happy with the effort . . . we've got to find a way to find the passion and the energy."

While Leafs rookie Luke Schenn came back after missing 12 games with torn ligaments in his knee, the Toronto crowd welcomed back longtime Leaf Bryan McCabe. Unlike Schenn, who was cheered during the pre-game introductions, McCabe received a not-so-warm homecoming.

Not that it was totally unexpected.

Once a popular Leaf who had scored 19 goals and 68 points in 2005-06, McCabe had served as the whipping boy for the team's failures in his final two seasons in Toronto. Despite changing jerseys, fans still treated him with scorn.

McCabe was booed when he first stepped on the ice. He was booed whenever he touched the puck. And he was booed when his name was announced for assisting on a Florida goal.

"It was fine. I got it much worse when I played here," joked McCabe. "All in all, it was a good trip."

It was not until the centre ice video screen thanked McCabe by showing some of his on-ice accomplishments that the crowd managed a spattering of applause. Those may have been the only cheers heard in a first period that saw the Panthers take a 2-0 lead after outshooting the Leafs 16-8.

Toronto goaltender Vesa Toskala, who made 20 saves, was tested early and often.

The Panthers had outshot Toronto 10-0 when they had a goal disallowed because a video review showed that the net had become dislodged on the play.

Florida, of course, kept attacking. And at 10:16, Stephen Weiss ripped a wrist shot on the power play over Toskala's glove hand. Florida went up 2-0 about seven minutes later on a wrist shot from Ville Peltonen.

"Coach was saying, 'Make sure you're mentally ready,' " said Toskala. "And we weren't. We just didn't have our legs. They came with speed and had a good cycle game in our own end. And we were chasing them around."

In an attempt to spark his listless team, Wilson juggled all four of Toronto's forward lines in the second period. But the Leafs, who went down 3-0 on a goal by Michael Frolik, failed to wake up.

It was not until the final period when the Leafs finally found the back of the net.

Five minutes after Toronto's Alexei Ponikarovsky scored on a power play, Florida's Gregory Campbell answered back. The Leafs scored again on a short-handed breakaway goal by Jason Blake.

Leafs win feisty battle with Senators - Leafs 3, Ottawa 1

TORONTO - It has been five years since the Toronto Maple Leafs and Ottawa Senators last met in the post-season.

Based on where the two teams are in the standings, a rematch is not likely to happen anytime soon. But the provincial rivals, who probably have a better chance at the draft lottery than the playoffs, still found plenty to fight about on Saturday.

In what was a heated game that featured 60 hits and 48 penalty minutes, the Leafs earned bragging rights by defeating the Senators 3-1 at Air Canada Centre. Toronto now leads the season series 2-0-1.

"Both teams are fighting pretty hard to compete for playoff spots," said Leafs forward Dominic Moore, who scored his eighth goal of the season. "They came out with a good competitive edge. I thought it was good to match it."

As usual, Toronto gave up the first goal in the opening 20 minutes, but the Leafs tied the game in the second period and scored twice in the final frame.

The win gives the Leafs 38 points in 40 games. The team, which is still in 11th place in the East, is now five points out of a playoff spot. Though the Senators are right behind in the standings, they trail Toronto by seven points.

"I think we saw it tonight that Ottawa suddenly realized that they better start acting desperate if they want any shot at making the playoffs at all," said Leafs head coach Ron Wilson. "I don't know what we are (in the standings) . . . but they've got a heck of a mountain to climb. I think they showed some intensity tonight. And that was good for us. We responded."

In a pre-game ceremony, the Leafs honoured the Canadian Forces. It seemed appropriate. As soon as the puck dropped, Toronto and Ottawa waged their own war.

A mere 17 seconds into the game, Jason Spezza speared Moore in the midsection. Several open-ice hits and post-whistle scrums followed. And at one point in the second period, a combined six players were sitting in the penalty box with roughing penalties.

"The rivalry brews," said Moore, who was surprised that Spezza was only penalized for a minor slashing penalty. "It was a spear. But again, you can't complain . . . to the refs."

Vesa Toskala was nearly perfect after having the last two games off. The 31-year-old goaltender had allowed four goals in each of his last two starts, but on Saturday he seemed to be moving around in his crease with ease as he stopped 30 shots for his 14th win of the season.

"He bounced right back," said Wilson. "He's mentally fresh and physically probably felt as best as he has in a month."

Daniel Alfredsson put the Senators up 1-0 lead on a power-play goal at 7:05 in the first period. Ottawa might have had padded its lead, but the team had difficulty burying its chances.

On a two-on-one opportunity in the opening frame, Spezza slid a pass to Chris Phillips, who had a wide-open net but shot wide. Another example of why the Senators headed into the game having scored only 83 goals - the fewest in the league.

Phillips' night managed to get even worse in the second period.

The snake-bitten defenceman, who has a team-worst minus-19 rating, somehow managed to miss the puck on a defensive clearing attempt. And as luck would have it, Moore grabbed the loose puck and tied the game on the power play.

The Leafs took a 2-1 lead on an even-strength goal by Alexei Ponikarovsky at 10:03 in the third period.

Pavel Kubina had just exited the penalty box after serving a holding infraction when he raced behind the Ottawa defence for a loose puck. The Toronto defenceman then slid a pass in front of the net to Ponikarovsky, who beat goaltender Martin Gerber with a wrist shot. It was his 12th of the season

Blake added an insurance goal with 4:09 remaining in the third.

"I saw (Kubina) coming out of the box and thought, 'OK, we have a two-man advantage,' " said Ponikarovsky. "I yelled that I was open . . . and we got a goal."