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."

Fans' love-in melts Sundin

A deep bow, a kiss, a mighty heart worn on the sleeve.

For Mats Sundin, it could not have been scripted any better - from a standing ovation at one end of the game to a shootout winner at the other.

And still he had the graciousness not to revel in it, sending the Toronto Maple Leafs to defeat as a Vancouver Canuck yet restrained in celebration: No pumping of the arms, no stick held high, only the smile on his face indicating poignant satisfaction.

"That's the stuff you dream of," he admitted afterward. "Whether you're 38 years old or 7."

On his keenly anticipated return to the Air Canada Centre, Sundin was fittingly the first star of the game. He came out, took those final seconds in the spotlight, bent from the waist in tender mutual recognition and sent out smooches, hand to his lips.

"The ovation from the fans was overwhelming. I'll remember this for the rest of my life.

"There were tears coming."

Earlier in the day, when Sundin came clomping out of the visitors' dressing room for the morning skate, he'd wheeled right, out of long habit.

Wrong way.

Sheepishly, the ex-Leaf captain muttered: "Which way am I going?"

The confusion was only fleeting, a momentary brain cramp.

He is a Canuck, as Toronto finally saw for itself last night.

And bless that crowd for not holding it against him. For, rather, giving Sundin one of the sweetest tributes in the history of the franchise - a two-minute standing O that did, indeed, bring tears to the big Swede's eyes.

Even with Vancouver ultimately 3-2 shootout victors - on Sundin's backhand, no less, too perfect - there was nothing to begrudge the returning star, for 13 years property of the Leafs.

The Sundin Salute began during a commercial break, about six minutes into the game, Sundin on the bench and a short Thanks Mats! video compilation unfolding on the Jumbotron. The audience took it from there, rising as one to its feet, the roar reaching crescendo throttle, Sundin lifting his glove in acknowledgment.

Grasping the moment's significance, Canucks coach Alain Vigneault sent Sundin over the boards, though it was not his shift, and it was then that No. 13 - in blue and white and green - visibly started to crumple, his jaw quivering.

As he moved in to take the faceoff deep in the Toronto zone, Leaf centre Matt Stajan tactfully moved back from the dot, everybody faded away, linesman included, Canucks and Leafs tapping their sticks, and for a stirring minute it was Sundin alone, head bowed and eyes dripping.

"It was his moment," said Stajan. "I wanted to sit back and let him take it all in."

No one will ever know Sundin's relief or how deeply touching was this outpouring of respect and affection. Only hours earlier, he'd told reporters it didn't matter, the reception of Toronto fans, whether there be cheering or jeering. But it did. It most plainly did.

"This game has been in the back of my mind for a long time. I knew, coming back, there would be a lot of emotions."

Despite urging in some quarters - particularly from a handful of self-absorbed media cranks - there was no fan backlash, as had been feared. An assembly of hockey patrons that has routinely booed the best players in the game - from Bobby Orr to Wayne Gretzky - for the singular crime of not being a Leaf, showed honour on this evening, a smattering of huzzahs drowned out by that other stuff, and even old coots in the pressbox were sniffling.

From his next shift onwards, whenever Sundin touched the puck, he got the raspberry - gratuitous hooting mostly, not personal really, any more than that sharp shove in the back from Jason Blake along the boards.

Overall, on the 10th anniversary of the ACC, on Hockey Day in Canada, no less, it was a warm embrace for the man who wore a "C" on his chest for 11 seasons here, if only fitfully afforded the regard he was due across that breadth of service. He wasn't Wendel, he wasn't Dougie, he wasn't Darryl - none of whom led Toronto to a Stanley Cup final either, you may recall.

He was and is Mats Sundin, endlessly courteous - perhaps too mush-mouthed for his own good - and Scandinavian reserved, by temperament and professional training, dignified rather than indignant when attacked, withholding his emotional core and never quite forgiven for that.

Still, the possessor of multiple franchise records: most points (987), most goals (420), most game-winning goals (94). And gobs of them were highlight-reel pretty - wrist shot from the top of the circle, off the rush, on the backhand, best in hockey and a dying art.

A reporter asked of Sundin, at the end of the night, if he'd finally shown that he was a man of emotion.

"Always been."

I was never a traitor to Leafs: Sundin

On a Friday night in the Big Smoke, a city where he had lived for 13 years, Mats Sundin didn't know quite what to do with himself.

It was all wrong. Or, at least, it was all different.

Not home - just another stop on the road. As if. Not the Toronto Maple Leaf captain - just another opposing player. As if.

Landing at the airport at 5 p.m., shuffling onto a team bus rather than his own SUV, trying to decide between staying at the team hotel or bedding down at the Forest Hill mansion he has yet to sell, and undecided about that too.

It was not just another night-before-a-game, any more than this is just another game day at the Air Canada Centre: Visitors' cramped dressing room, alien locker stall, different logo on his chest, crunch of media waiting and tenor of fan reception anybody's guess.

Sundin is back in Toronto but only passing through, the countdown on his much anticipated return - chronicled all week as the Vancouver Canucks swung east, approaching Hockey Ground Zero, centre of the universe (self-proclaimed) - ticking towards zero, or 20:00.

Not since his days as a Quebec Nordique has Sundin had this sort of experience, suiting up in T.O.

"It feels like coming home,'' the big Swede admitted last night, after pulling into his house, where he hadn't been since last fall. "Toronto still feels like home to me.''

He admits to an escalating sense of the "jitters," as curious as anyone else how the crowd will respond this evening, insisting that it won't make a difference. "I don't know if there will be jeers or cheers, probably both."

But for those who do boo, Sundin wants to make one thing absolutely clear: "I was never a traitor to the Leaf franchise. I was proud of being a Leaf. There are so many memories that I will treasure forever - all the ups and downs, the friends I made, the fans who always treated me well.''

No regrets, he says, although there is a hint of poignancy in that declaration.

It does hurt, Sundin concedes, in being portrayed as a turncoat. He wasn't the one who walked away. He was turned away. Nor was it his responsibility to fix the future for Toronto by taking his leave of the club at last year's trade deadline, when he so stubbornly refused to waive a no-trade clause negotiated in good faith.

"I honestly don't understand it, this (accusation) of being a traitor. I certainly don't look at myself that way. When I stayed with the team at the deadline, it was because I didn't think it was appropriate for the captain to leave. We were still fighting for a playoff spot and I honestly believed, at that point, it could happen."

Many will mock that fantasy, just as they've mocked Sundin's earlier and constant refrain of rejecting the rent-a-player role, which he now appears to have assumed. But he doesn't see it that way either.

"I would not call myself a rent-a-player. It's not like I went in and demanded a trade to a better team in the middle of the season. Last summer, I really didn't know if I would ever play in the NHL again.

"If I hadn't signed with Vancouver, I would have retired. That's not being a rent-a-player. But you can argue that stuff until the end of time."

Sundin was sluggish off the mark, as he'd fully expected and warned those scrutinizing his return back in early January. But on a second line, No.13 has steadily brought his game up to par.

"Things were not as good as they could have been, in the beginning. But they weren't the worst either. It's a process and a challenge, especially at my age."

Sundin takes some comfort in not being the be-all and end-all Canuck, appreciating that role belongs to the Sedin twins; that his job is to spread the offence around and boost Vancouver's fortunes in the playoffs. He's thinking no further ahead than that, hasn't even considered what comes next.

Some day, Sundin's Leaf jersey will be raised to the rafters at the ACC. Hopefully, there will be nary a boo then, enough time elapsed to smother any ill will or bitterness. At home in Stockholm, Sundin still has that Leaf sweater, with the "C'' on the shoulder.

As Ottawa's Dany Heatley observed the other night of Sundin: "He's a Leaf for life.''

And it is a life sentence, being Leaf captain, even when the term has been served.

Sundin visit marks start of a new era

In sport, as in politics, religion and literature, symbolism matters. So with the return of the big Swede in the short pants of the Vancouver Canucks tonight, the post-Sundin era truly begins for the Maple Leafs.

To be sure, the first 58 games of this NHL campaign have borne witness to the painful period of reconstruction in which the Leafs find themselves without Mats Sundin in the middle of their lineup, but there's something to be said for closure and the realization there's no going back.

Remember this time last year? There was no shortage of fans who believed the Leafs could simply trade Sundin for a motherlode of youth and draft picks, and then re-sign him again in the summer.

It was about saying goodbye and moving on without really saying goodbye and moving on.

Losing Sundin has been good for the Leafs. Without No.13, the inescapable reality of the Leafs' predicament has been placed in vivid relief, and with that comes clarity.

In fact, while the Leafs are keeping company with doormats like the Islanders, Thrashers, Blues, Coyotes, Avalanche and Lightning these days, you can make the case that the hockey wing of MLSE is better positioned than any of those teams to rebuild effectively and with moderate speed. Why? Consider these factors:

Being terrible hasn't translated into a single unsold ticket for the Leafs. Yes, the MLSE brass can wonder aloud about changing GTA demographics and declining hockey registration numbers, but business is very good for the NHL's most valuable franchise.

The Leafs aren't impervious to larger economic forces, but they are far less vulnerable than the other clubs listed above and showed in 2008 with the hiring of Brian Burke and Ron Wilson that they have resources to do things other teams can't.

For the first time in more than three decades, the Leafs have total philosophical alignment between ownership, management and coaching. Not since the days of the early 1970s, really, when Harold Ballard owned the team but didn't meddle quite so much and left Jim Gregory to run the operation, have the Leafs been so settled internally. Gregory hired his coaches and men like Red Kelly and Roger Neilson produced winning squads.

These days, there's no sense that Larry Tanenbaum and Richard Peddie are sticking their noses into hockey. Burke and Wilson, meanwhile, both appear totally committed to the painful building required. Moreover, there's no confusion over the hard-nosed, aggressive team Burke wants to build.

With uncertainty in the industry these days, it pays to have salary cap flexibility, which the Leafs have. The cap may be going down, and in the next few years that alone may present opportunities for Burke to procure talent because other clubs may find themselves cornered.

The Leafs don't have any nasty long-term salary commitments or players signed to double-digit year contracts. Only five players are signed beyond next season, and the largest salary owed any of them is Tomas Kaberle's $4.25 million.

The team will get its second consecutive top-five draft pick this summer. When it last was in a similar position a quarter-century ago, it was able to draft Al Iafrate and then Wendel Clark, two very talented players. It's not hard to imagine a third consecutive top-five selection lies ahead in 2010, and the quality of players that should be added will form the core of the next good Leaf team.

The Leafs, as bad as they look these days, are positioned well for success down the road if they are willing to absorb this short-term pain for long-term gain. That "if," of course, is always the sticking point when it comes to the franchise founded by Conn Smythe.

Cheers or jeers for the return of Sundin?

OTTAWA-"Once the puck drops, it'll be a game like any other game."

Surely, Mats Sundin doesn't believe that himself, even as the words leave his lips.

Not when the game in question has long been the most anticipated on the Leafs' calendar, circled back in December when Sundin came out of limbo to sign with Vancouver. Not when tomorrow marks the return of the former captain to his adopted city, the place where Sundin grew up as a hockey player, arriving in a deal for Wendel Clark; staying until he was the franchise's all-time leader in goals, points and, possibly, humility.

Not when even his fellow NHLers are curious about how Toronto will welcome him. Will he be feted by the fans, slow to embrace him in the early days, as one of the greatest to ever pull on the Leafs jersey? Or will the jurors at the Air Canada Centre jeer him for refusing to waive a no-trade clause that would have accelerated the team's rebuilding? After all, Sundin said he wouldn't become a rental player then essentially became one anyway? Is it the opportunity to say thanks or thanks for nothing?

"We're asking the same questions amongst ourselves," said Vancouver teammate Kyle Wellwood, who toiled with Sundin for three seasons in Toronto.

"He's been such a good, respectable guy, you hope that the fans in Toronto will cheer him on and give him a standing ovation when he steps on the ice but, playing there, you never know what to expect."

If they cheer Sundin, it will be for what he was, not what he is. This story isn't gaining momentum because the 38-year-old is ripping up the league again, having recaptured the beautiful mix of power and artistry that enthralled during his Leaf days. This Sundin looked nothing like that Sundin last night as he mostly laboured through his role as No.2 centre. He has but two assists in the last five games, the second on an empty-net goal last in Vancouver's 5-2 win here.

"Some nights I feel really good, some nights it's tough," said Sundin of his own game. "I knew it would be a process. I knew it would be tough coming in mid-season. It feels better but there's definitely room for improvement."

Sundin, after a practice in Ottawa today, will step back into the hockey maelstrom of Toronto where, because of media interest, teammate Sami Salo joked there may not be room for the players in the Vancouver dressing room.

"I don't know if you can ever prepare," Sundin said of the return. "I'm going to go out and play a hockey game. I can't worry about what's going to go on around the rink or before or after the game."

"I feel really good about going back. Toronto feels like home for me. I spent 13 years in the city with the Toronto Maple Leafs and the fans there. They were great years and it's always going to be part of my heart."

For the stoic Swede, that is the equivalent of laying his soul bare. But while Sundin is polished at keeping his public emotions in check, others in the hockey world understand tomorrow will be a difficult night.

"It's not just the fans, all the players also saw him as a Maple Leaf through and through," said Sens defenceman Brendan Bell, a former teammate in Toronto. "I know there'll be some extra emotion there for him but I don't know if he'll ratchet it up and score five goals or anything like that but I know he'll be good. Everybody is curious to see what happens."

Sundin's on-ice struggles won't dampen the interest tomorrow and here in the Capital yesterday, Sens forward Jason Spezza was asked which was the bigger story, the arrival of Sundin in eastern Canada or the whirlwind state visit of U.S. President Barack Obama.

"I think Obama," said Spezza. "He might be a little bit of a bigger deal. Maybe not in Toronto but here."

Leafs deal blow to Penguins' playoff hopes

TORONTO - When Sergei Gonchar came off the injured-reserve list this week, the running line was that the Pittsburgh Penguins had made a major acquisition without having to actually give up any players.

After losing 6-2 to the lowly Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday night, the team might actually have to tear up the roster in order to improve.

Gonchar, who missed the first 56 games with a separated shoulder, played his first game of the season, but not even the offensive defenceman's inclusion could help the non-playoff team gain any ground in the Eastern Conference standings.

Instead, it was Toronto's Jason Blake and Nik Antropov - two players who might look good in a Penguins jersey - who further increased their trade value with the March 4 deadline fast approaching, helping the Leafs erase a 2-0 deficit in a come-from-behind victory.

Blake, who leads all Toronto players with 21 goals and 44 points, scored twice in a span of 19 seconds. And Antropov, who is second on the team with 19 goals and 41 points, scored his fifth goal in the last eight games.

"After the first period, we felt we could do it," said Antropov, who had two points on the night. "They got the lead 2-0 early in the first, but we knew one goal was going to change everything, which it did. In the third, we just outplayed them."

While the win did not mean much for Toronto, the loss hurt Pittsburgh's pursuit of a playoff spot. Stanley Cup finalists a year ago, the Penguins remain tied with the Carolina Hurricanes for ninth place in the Eastern Conference standings.

"I don't know when we're going to learn," Gonchar said of the loss, which was the team's fourth in the last seven games.

"We have to learn quick, because every point is important. Like you said, we might miss (a playoff spot) in the end. And there's not that much time left. Every single turnover can cost us the season."

Courtesy of two defensive gaffes, the Leafs gave the Penguins a 2-0 lead (goals were by Matt Cooke and Bill Thomas) in the first period.

First, rookie Luke Schenn accidentally shot the puck in his own net. About six minutes later, the Leafs were on the power play when Pavel Kubina created a two-on-one the other way by turning the puck over at the offensive zone.

In the third period, Schenn would make up for his early mistake as fans cheered him for slamming Sidney Crosby into the end boards.

"He had a huge impact on the game, in terms of shutting down the two guns," Leafs head coach said of Schenn's role on limiting Crosby and Evgeni Malkin to just one assist between them.

With Schenn and company keeping Pittsburgh off the board, Toronto mounted a comeback.

Antropov cut into Pittsburgh's lead by redirecting a Jeff Finger wrist shot in the second period. And less than two minutes into the third period, Blake scored back-to-back goals to give Toronto a 3-2 lead.

The scoring continued, with John Mitchell, Alexei Ponikarovsky and Matt Stajan putting the game out of reach.

"The third, we just fell apart," said Crosby. "We lost momentum there and never got it back. There's nothing we can do but erase that one and move on."

Though Gonchar should help Pittsburgh down the stretch, the team still has a host of problems.

Sure, Malkin (81 points) and Crosby (72 points) are the top two scorers in the NHL, but from goaltending to special teams to secondary scoring, the Penguins have a lot to improve upon.

Where Gonchar is likely to help the most is on the man advantage.

The 34-year-old led all players with 38 power-play assists last season and was second with 46 power-play points. Without Gonchar in the lineup, the Penguins' went from having the fourth-best power play in 2007-08 (20.4 per cent success rate) to 24th (16.3 per cent).

"I don't think I played my best game," said Gonchar, who had four shots and 20 minutes of ice time, but whose team went 0-for-2 on the power play.

"But in the end, I picked it up."

The Penguins may also have to pick up some extra help if they expect to qualify for the playoffs.

Leafs general manager Brian Burke might have decreased Antropov's value by publicly criticizing his play last week. And Blake's annual salary ($4 million US) is hardly attractive. But for a team that lacks secondary scoring, both players might be just what Pittsburgh needs as it heads into the final stretch of the regular season.

"It's up to the players," said Penguins head coach Michel Therrien, whose team has lost eight of the last nine games on the road. "There's a price to pay to win games on the road, and right now we're having a hard time staying focused and executing."

GM's bid to kick-start Leafs is right on

A kick in the arse has never done a Maple Leaf any harm.

What's damaged this franchise is that so few well-placed boots have ever been delivered in the public arena, by them what counts, as if the players were delicate creatures to be cosseted and coddled. That's created a culture of non-accountability and lassitude.

Here's the news bulletin, circa Brian Burke: Play like a pussy and you ain't getting stroked for it.

In the past week, both Nik Antropov and Vesa Toskala have been rubbing their sore backsides. They've been called out by the general manager and rightly, if rudely, so. In each case, the player has responded as desired - putting a little more lead in their pencils, at least temporarily. Antropov has popped a few goals after a prolonged scoring drought. Toskala showed glimpses of last year's form.

It's a risky gambit, embarrassing a player as Burke did in a couple of open-mike forums, including the Conn Smythe dinner. Such tactics might backfire with an individual of different temperament, say a Tomas Kaberle, who found himself coach-whacked earlier in the season when nailed to the bench by Ron Wilson.

Knowing one's personnel, how they'll likely react, is critical. And these ambushes don't come out of the blue. By the time a dis goes public, it's already been addressed privately in chats with the player or his agent, believe you me.

Burke figured he'd seen enough. But the blunt-talking GM has been taken aback somewhat by the reaction to his reaction.

"The most amusing part of the last week is what people have been saying about me supposedly trashing my players," he said this week. "We don't trash players in this organization. I promise, if the day comes when I really blast a player publicly, everybody in Toronto will know it. I have no issue with the English language. I can speak loudly and clearly."

Burke's always done that, is notorious for it. But Toronto, hockey-wise, hasn't seen/heard such no-bull-spoken-here commentary since the Pat Burns coaching era and a lot further back than that for front-office frankness without a forked tongue.

"It's been 90 days," said Burke of his front office tenure. "I've left everyone alone during that time. But we've got to start being a little more candid around here. Sure, players don't like being called out but that's part of the job. Being challenged is part of being a professional athlete.

"At some point you've gotta say, the emperor has no clothes. Our fans and our sponsors deserve better than this."

The argument can be mounted that Burke's timing was in fact not so wise, with the trade deadline looming and Antropov, a free agent this summer, one of the club's few assets, his $2.1 million contract absorbable. Emphasizing the guy's drawbacks can only make him less attractive on the market or lower his value in terms of what can be fetched in return.

But the truth, well-known across the league as GMs start to work the phones, is that Antropov had just about zero trade appeal as of a fortnight ago.

While Burke won't admit it, there's been no bite on an Antropov dangle. If embarrassing the player has sparked even an iota of improved performance, with the clock ticking, that's all to the good. He's a markedly - and marketed - more attractive acquisition today than he was two weeks ago.

However brutal on the ice, these are interesting times for the Leafs. The pith of what they might become, eventually, starts now, with a reversal of culture.

Losing can be forgiven, on the learning curve.

But doing it half-assed can't.

Price is wrong as Habs ripped by Leafs

MONTREAL - Vesa Toskala was called out by Toronto general manager Brian Burke and coach Ron Wilson last week but nobody could fault the goaltender's performance against the Montreal Canadiens Saturday night.

Toskala made 31 saves, including 26 in the final two periods as the Maple Leafs beat the Canadiens, 5-2.

"He made some saves but I'd rather talk about our game," said captain Saku Koivu. "We have to do a better job of getting people in front of him, getting the puck in deep. They were just hungrier than we were tonight."

While Toskala was solid, Montreal goaltender Carey Price was distraught after the game. He faced 41 shots and was beaten high on the glove side three times as he lost for the sixth time in eight starts since he returned to action from an ankle injury.

But teammate Christopher Higgins said it would be a mistake to heap all the blame on the goaltender, who was named as the last-minute starter after Jaroslav Halak came down with the flu.

"We gave them a lot of odd-man rushes," said Higgins. "We didn't give (Price) a lot of help."

Head coach Guy Carbonneau didn't let the goaltender off the hook.

"We're not doing anything right," said Carbonneau, whose team is clinging to fourth place in the Eastern Conference after losing seven of its last nine games. "We're having trouble scoring goals and it seems that whenever we make a mistake, the puck's in our net."

When asked what he didn't like about Price's performance, Carbonneau said: "Where do you want me to start? He let in five goals."

Price kept the score close through the first two periods but the Leafs blew the game open in the third when Jason Blake scored twice and Jeff Finger restored the Leafs' three-goal lead after Tom Kostopoulos closed the gap to 4-2.

The Canadiens had one of their trademark slow starts and were outshot 18-5 in the first period. Price let a shot by Luke Schenn through his pads at 14:37 but he was the reason the Leafs were held to a single goal.

The Schenn goal came 20 seconds after referee Eric Furlatt disallowed an apparent Toronto goal, ruling that Nikolai Kulemin used a high stick to bat home the rebound of Pavel Kubina's shot. For the rookie Schenn, it was his first NHL goal.

The Canadiens did have a couple of chances in the first period but Francis Bouillon hit the crossbar when he had an open net and Kostopoulos hit a post.

"If Francis scores, we go ahead 1-0 and maybe it's different game," said Carbonneau.

Montreal picked up the pace in the second period and Matt D'Agostini tied the score while the Canadiens were enjoying a two-man advantage at the 51-second mark. Andrei Markov set up the play when he faked a shot and then passed to D'Agostini at the side of the net.

Kulemin restored the Leafs lead when he beat Price with a 20-footer to the glove side at 2:37 and the remainder of the period belonged to Toskala. He stopped Christopher Higgins on a breakaway and deflected another Higgins shot from close range over the crossbar.

The much-anticipated battle between Belarusians Sergei Kostitsyn and Mikhail Grabovski never materialized but Georges Laraque scored a decisive win over Brad May in a first-period scuffle.

The Canadiens will open a six-game road swing Monday in Calgary. They will visit Edmonton, Colorado, Vancouver, Washington and Pittsburgh before returning to the Bell Centre to play the Ottawa Senators on Feb. 21.

Controversy aplenty as Leafs head to Montreal

And now for a quiet Saturday evening with the Montreal Canadiens - not.

The Leafs jetted to Montreal this afternoon to renew their timeless rivalry with Les Canadiens, but not without some fireworks surrounding their morning practice.

Goalie Vesa Toskala defended himself today in the wake of a series of critical remarks from GM Brian Burke, who called out his No. 1 goalie while addressing an audience at the Conn Smythe Sports Dinner Wednesday.

In addition, the Leafs, having summoned veteran blueliner Staffan Kronwall from the Marlies, wound up losing him on recallable waivers. The 26-year-old, who was either injured or to far down the depth chart to make a career of it in Toronto, was claimed by the Washington Capitals today just before the noon hour waiver deadline.

The Leafs were also on the defensive after the past couple of days of media hype surrounding Toronto center Mikhail Grabovski and his apparent vendetta with Montreal forward and Belarussian countrymen Sergei Kostitsyn.

Several players flatly rejected the notion that the two forwards - who went at each other's throats in the Leafs previous visit to Montreal in January - were going to renew hostilities tomorrow night.

"Nah, who cares, and honestly, it's a dumb question ... I'm sure Montreal would love to play the whole game on the powerplay ... this has nothing to do with how we're preparing for the game," Leafs forward Brad May said.

Toskala, meanwhile, downplayed Burke's remarks, claiming he wasn't exactly sure what Burke had said. But when pressed on Burke's contention that as a goalie, he doesn't practice hard enough, Toskala revealed indirectly that he is pacing himself against a series of injuries.

"That's something we can talk about after the season," Toskala said in reference to his health problems.

While Toskala backed away from discussing his injuries, it's well known that he has been battling groin muscle trouble for much of the season. He has started 44 of the Leafs 52 games this season and is second in minutes played among NHL goalies.

It's also believed he is battling problems with his hips, which directly affect his mobility.

Burke, in a no-guff mood Wednesday, essentially called out his top goalie.

"If you want to be a No. 1 goalie in our league, you have to be able to handle the workload and play 60 games at a high level, and Vesa Toskala hasn't shown he can do that yet," Burke told the Conn Smythe audience.

"He's given us some great games, and he's given us some clunkers, and from my perspective, that's not the definition of a starting goalie.

"And to me, being good every third night isn't good enough, so I think he's got to change his practice habits a bit, I don't think he practices hard enough, and we need better goaltending. But we need lots of things, it's not just that one."

Leafs coach Ron Wilson agreed with his GM's points of view. With regards to Toskala's injuries and the fact he may not have been 100 per cent healthy for much of this season, Wilson said "at the end of the day, Vesa tells me he can play."

In other words, if you say you can play, and you're in the lineup, there's no excuses.

Toskala will start tomorrow night in Montreal in what should be the most important "response" game for the Leafs this season.

Caps claim Kronwall off waivers from Leafs

Arlington, VA (Sports Network) - The Washington Capitals have claimed defenseman Staffan Kronwall off waivers from the Toronto Maple Leafs, the club announced Friday.

Kronwall has spent all of this season with the Toronto Marlies of the American Hockey League, posting seven goals and 18 assists in 42 games. He was the Marlies' highest-scoring defenseman.

The 26-year-old did not record a point in 18 games with Toronto last year, posting a minus-two rating. A ninth-round pick by the Maple Leafs in 2002, Kronwall has just one assist in 52 NHL games.

Leafs pay price for loss to Sabres

TORONTO - Jason Blake was too tired to move. He was curled up on all fours at centre ice, either praying for the strength to move or thanking someone above for bringing practice to an end. His face looked like a stoplight, and he was not alone.

Hours after they were blown out in Buffalo, the Toronto Maple Leafs were put through an agonizing 75-minute workout at Air Canada Centre. Head coach Ron Wilson claimed his aim was conditioning, not punishment, even though what he put his players through looked and sounded an awful lot like punishment.

"I don't want to talk about it anymore," Wilson growled at reporters. "You guys will beat this, and you can't even beat an egg. So stop beating this one up. We had a hard practice today, and we'll leave it at that. Tomorrow's another day."

And tomorrow will beget another tomorrow and, eventually, a whole new week. For the Leafs, marching into February with all the accumulated wear and tear of a regular-season schedule without the carrot of a post-season appearance at the end, daily motivation could become a challenge.

They sat 11th in the Eastern Conference standings yesterday, having lost 14 of their last 19 games. With the National Hockey League's trade deadline now less than a month away, rumours have already begun to swirl, creating the prospect of players competing for a team they could soon be watching in the rearview mirror.

"It shouldn't be an issue, at least to the guys who have been in the league," Leafs forward Niklas Hagman said. "With the younger guys, the older guys should tell them that, 'If you want to play in the league, you've got to show up every night. You can't take days off, because that comes to bite you in the ass in the long run.' "

In the short run, it can lead to days like yesterday. Players were on the ice just after noon, beginning with a drill that had them weaving the puck through traffic. Wilson then had them skating laps with the puck on their sticks, followed by a series of physical drills with forwards chasing defencemen into the end boards for loose pucks.

Within 30 minutes, there was no chatter on the ice.

Defenceman Jonas Frogren, freshly recalled from the American Hockey League, had his left wrist taped on the bench after a collision with forward Jamal Mayers. By the end, after a quarter of an hour spent skating hard laps, just about everyone was on a knee.

The Leafs had been flat against the Sabres, leaving rookie goaltender Justin Pogge on his own against Buffalo's forwards. Toronto fell 5-0, its second blowout loss in five games, after suffering through a 6-1 rout in Minnesota on Jan. 27.

"Everybody knows the season is long, and it has some tough times," Hagman said. "But you've just got to fight through. You've got to have pride when you put the jersey on, and you've got to be accountable for the guys that you sit next to."

Some of those players might not be sitting in Toronto for much longer, according to TSN, which has already begun its countdown to the March 4 trade deadline. A story posted on the network's Web site has suggested defencemen Pavel Kubina and Tomas Kaberle could both be on the market, along with Blake and fellow forward Nik Antropov.

Veteran defenceman Mike Van Ryn downplayed the potential for distractions.

"It shouldn't be, we're all professionals," he said. "If guys get moved out, they get moved. We've all been traded. There's nothing you can do about it. It's easier said than done, but the more you worry about it, the more you're going to hurt yourself. The sun always comes up the next day, and you've got to remember that."

And in case anyone forgets, Wilson suggested he has taken an interest in "conditioning," saying it is an area of concern he plans to address. Some players could interpret the new "conditioning" regimen as a means of motivation.

"It depends who you are, but for me, I think it does, yeah," defenceman Jeff Finger said. "You don't want to go through it again. Simple."

Bad blood, Belarussian style

Mikhail Grabovski doesn't really need any extra motivation to face the Montreal Canadiens. They are, after all, the team that drafted him, kept him in the minors and traded him away.

They're also the team that feature his Belarussian compatriots - the Kostitsyn brothers -whom he just happens to hate. The younger one - Sergei - especially.

But Leaf coach Ron Wilson provided Grabovski with extra motivation with a trip to the press box Wednesday as a healthy scratch.

"He needed to watch a game and understand what he wasn't doing," Wilson said yesterday. "When you're on for a lot of goals against, and the goals are the result of some of your poor decisions, with a young guy, sometimes it makes sense to not play a game.

"I'm sure he'll be pretty energized for this game. Obviously, he has a thing going for Montreal, and vice versa. So he'll be motivated."

Grabovski has one goal in his last 13 games and has been a minus-five in his last seven. His benching was a first for Grabovski in a Leaf uniform.

"I've struggled for a few games now," said Grabovski, through his broken but improving English. "Last game, I don't play. Coach gave me a day of rest. I feel good now. I know what I have to do, I'm ready to play in Montreal."

That means another meeting with his archrival, Sergei Kostitsyn, as the two add a Belarussian flavour to this historic Leafs-Habs rivalry. Neither player is known for fisticuffs - both are better known for their skill and speed. But they've been feuding all season.

In Toronto, in a 6-3 Leafs win Nov.8, Kostitsyn received a 10-minute misconduct after taking a run at Grabovski. The Habs thought Grabovski was showing them up by pointing to the scoreboard. Even Habs captain Saku Koivu had words with Grabovski as time expired.

In the Leafs' visit to Montreal - a 6-2 loss Jan.8 - Grabovski ended up with a three-game suspension for shoving a linesman in an attempt to fight Sergei Kostitsyn. Grabovski called the incident "history" and said he put it behind him.

"I don't think about players," said Grabovski. "I think about beating the team in Montreal."

Still, Grabovski has managed only three goals and five assists since coming back from suspension. He said his recent poor play has nothing to do with l'affaire Kostitsyn.

"It's my first year in the NHL and maybe I'm a little bit tired," said Grabovski. "Maybe I think too much, but I can score. I will play better."

In Montreal, Kostitsyn sounded gleeful when informed Grabovski had been a healthy scratch. "Scratched? Good," he said.

Habs enforcer Georges Laraque laughed at the suggestion of a bout between what he called "two little midgets," but added, "I think it would look really funny."

Leaf defenceman Mike Van Ryn figured it would be much ado about nothing. "They're just going to play hard. Guys are going to try to blow it up in to something that it's not."

Wilson sounded more worried about how Grabovski would respond from his first benching and doesn't want a sideshow, but sounded as if he was rallying his troops to Grabovski's side.

"We need to help him out in some of these situations," Wilson said of Grabovski. "He's not out there alone and he has to understand that. It's not him against the Kostitsyns, it's the Leafs against the Canadiens and if any of this stuff happens, we need to have people riding shotgun with him to make sure he gets through safely."

Leafs waivers move good news for Kronwall

The Maple Leafs have put Marlies defenceman Staffan Kronwall on waivers for the purposes of promoting him to the NHL.

The fourth-year pro can be claimed by any other team until noon Friday. If he clears, he'll be able to join the Maple Leafs.

"Hopefully we'll see what he can do Saturday night," said Leafs coach Ron Wilson. "He's been the best Marlies defenceman. We think he deserves a chance.

"If he gets picked up (by another team), good for him. He'll get to play in the NHL. He's done everything we've asked of him in the minors. Hopefully he'll be able to get the job done for us."

The 26-year-old Swede has seven goals 18 assists in 42 games with Marlies. The 6-foot-4, 209-pounder has one assist in 52 career NHL games.

Leafs leave rookie Pogge hanging in 5-0 loss

BUFFALO, N.Y. - Justin Pogge has not yet graduated from the minors. But like someone fresh out of college, the Toronto Maple Leafs rookie goaltender is in search of worldly experience.

In December, he travelled to Atlanta where he had an easy night against the league's second-worst team in his NHL debut. Last week, he hopped on a plane for Minnesota, where he was humbled by a team in the hunt for a playoff spot.

Wednesday night, the 22-year-old boarded a bus for Buffalo where he encountered his first openly hostile crowd and an even more hostile opponent.

Pogge faced 32 shots in a 5-0 loss against the Buffalo Sabres at HSBC Arena, but the result was not as important as the experience. For the second straight time, his teammates left him to his own devices. But the youngster never stopped competing.

While Leafs coach Ron Wilson had told Pogge that he would be returned to the Toronto Marlies of the American Hockey League Thursday regardless of his performance, the head coach was impressed by his goaltender's effort.

"Thank God for Justin Pogge," said Wilson, whose team managed just 16 shots.

"He had an outstanding game. He made a number of saves, or it could have been really ugly."

Though he was unable to stop the first shot he faced, Pogge looked more NHL-ready in his third career start. The problem was that his teammates played as though they were auditioning for roles in the minors.

The Sabres, who had just returned home from a six-game road trip, had every reason to be jet-lagged. Instead, it was the Leafs who appeared road-weary as they sleepwalked their way through their second game in two nights.

Toronto, which took nearly 11 minutes before registering a shot on net, managed only nine shots through the opening two periods. By then, the team had given up 24 shots and a 3-0 lead.

"We didn't show up for him," defenceman Jeff Finger said of the young netminder. "You don't want to say you feel bad for the kid, but you have to have a better effort for him."

Indeed, Pogge had no chance as the Leafs gave up countless odd-man rushes, second chances and point-blank scoring opportunities. On the Sabres' second goal, Drew Stafford undressed defenceman Mike Van Ryn with a gorgeous between-the-legs deke then picked the top corner on a partial breakaway. In the second period, no one accounted for Thomas Vanek, who swept in a rebound for the third goal. It's hard not to account for Vanek defensively, since he is now tied for second in the league in goals with 32, thanks to his hat trick. Tim Connolly also scored.

For Pogge, who had hardly been tested in a 6-1 win against the lowly Thrashers on Dec. 22, Wednesday night's game mirrored the 6-2 lopsided loss he suffered to the Wild.

"I didn't let in six goals this time, so I'm pretty happy about that," the six-foot-three netminder joked. "It wasn't too bad out there. It wasn't a bashing. It was a respectable score, I guess."

Pogge is able to laugh off the loss, because at least it did not happen in the American Hockey League. Sure, he has allowed 11 goals in his last two starts. But it has been a learning experience.

And if his three games in the NHL have taught him anything, it is that he wants to remain in the NHL.

"I'd rather be here than anywhere else," he said. "I'm happy to be here."

Drafted 90th overall in 2004, Pogge has been trying to prove he belongs in the NHL for the past two seasons. In 34 games with the Marlies, the Fort McMurray, Alta., native has a 16-14-4 record and a 2.63 goals-against average. He is now 1-2-0 with the Leafs.

Wilson has not said when - or how many times - Pogge will play this season.

But with six more back-to-back games remaining on the schedule, the Leafs should have ample opportunity to evaluate whether he might be capable of making the full-time jump to the NHL next season.

Gilmour: 'All-time Maple Leaf'

Rick Wamsley fancies himself a bit of an historian. Not on Civil War tactics. Or the Curse of the Kennedys. Or Italian Renaissance art.

His major lies in the legends, the lore, of hockey.

In the late fall of 1989, he and the Calgary Flames trooped into Moscow for the final stop of their behind-the-Iron-Curtain "Friendship Tour" for a game against the KLMpaced Soviet Red Army billed as the world club championship. Most of Wamsley's buddies were grumbling about the demands of a pre-training camp odyssey of such magnitude, weary of the mysterious food groups and nearly driven mad by the insistent scuttle of adventurous hotel-room roaches.

As the bus pulled up to the rink for practice, though, Rick Wamsley rushed into Luzhniki Arena, the scene of the most indelible, Where-Were-You? moment in Canadian sports, like a nun visiting the Vatican for the first time, and demanded to know from an understandably befuddled Soviet guard at which end Paul Henderson had scored that goal 17 years earlier.

Now, most hockey players don't get interested much beyond the official stats sheet and their bank balance (the two being incestuous bedfellows). If pressed, more of them than you'd imagine might confuse Howie Morenz with Howie Mandel.

But the game, its makers and its magic, matters to Wamsley.

He doesn't treat the past lightly, which makes him able to put the present into perspective.

"Oh, Dougie rates up there," he is saying from St. Louis, where he works as goaltending coach for the Blues.

"With Sittler and Armstrong and Keon and Horton and those guys. There've been a lot of fine players there over the past few decades, the Wendel Clarks and Rick Vaives. But Dougie, I think, goes above that.

"He's an all-time Maple Leaf, in my humble opinion."

The Toronto Maple Leafs tonight honour Doug Gilmour at Air Canada Centre by raising a banner in his honour, the 17th such tribute, linking him forever with Bower, Broda, Salming, Teeder Kennedy and Syl Apps, among others.

Here in Calgary, we think of Doug Gilmour as the final piece in Cliff Fletcher's magnificent Stanley Cup puzzle (imagine a 5,000 piecer from Ravensburger of a polar bear ambling along in an Arctic whiteout, and missing a single chunk of the border to complete it); the man whose two decisive goals drove a stake into the hearts of the Montreal Canadiens in Game 6 at the fabled Forum in the spring of '89.

He took his unique brand of tenacity to seven cities over 23 years, and celebrated his only championship as a Flame.

Still, Maple Leaf zealots think of him only as their own.

"When Cliff made the trade," reminds Wamsley, a component of the 10-player blockbuster that moved Gilmour east, along with Ric Nattress, Jamie Macoun and Kent Manderville, "they didn't have a Hakan Loob there. Or a Joey Mullen. Or a Joe Nieuwendyk. Or an Al MacInnis. They really didn't have much there at all. Oh, I guess there were some what you'd call solid 'pros' around. But that was the extent of it.

"In Calgary, he was a very good player in a team full of very good players -- the best player among the very good players, in my mind. But still just one of a group. In Toronto, be became the focal point. The go-to guy.

Luke Schenn's fight with Tyler Kennedy in the second period last night was a crowd pleaser, but the Leafs were far less enamoured with Kennedy's actions prior to the bout.

Toronto GM Brian Burke phoned NHL disciplinarians last night seeking a review of the incident at 9:36, which the Leafs feel was instigated by Kennedy.

"(Burke) called the league and they are investigating," Leafs coach Ron Wilson said after the Leafs' 5-4 win over Kennedy's Penguins.

"In my opinion, he (Kennedy) came off the bench and instigated the fight, so we'll see what the league's investigation finds."

Kennedy, the Leafs charge, left the bench to seek out Schenn after the Leafs rookie laid a thunderous hit on Penguins star and league-leading scorer Evgeni Malkin.

According to the Leafs, Kennedy also instigated the ensuing fight, which saw Schenn twice topple the Pittsburgh centre. Both acts, should the NHL decide in Toronto's favour, are punishable and could net Kennedy as much as a 10-game suspension.

"He (Kennedy) ended up scoring," Wilson said, referring to Kennedy's tying goal in the third period, one that, in the Leafs' view, should never have happened. "It's a tough situation for the referees, there were a lot of bodies on the ice."

Schenn and Kennedy were handed five-minute majors for fighting. No other penalties were handed out in relation to the incident.

"I was on my way to the (Leaf) bench but he kind of bumped into me ... and he said, `You can't treat our players like that,'" Schenn said. "One thing led to another and then we (were fighting)."

Neither Kennedy nor Malkin commented on the incident, and coach Michel Therrien ended his post-game press conference before addressing the matter. But the Penguins maintain Kennedy was on the ice as part of a line change.

The league rule book outlaws players entering the game (leaving the bench) and instigating a fight after a whistle stoppage or during live action. There is, however, an apparent grey area regarding such actions during a line change.

According to sources, the NHL is reviewing the incident.

If the league hands Kennedy a suspension, it will come either today or before the Penguins' next game, Feb.3 in Montreal.

Leafs' Gilmour Guys reminisce about younger years

It's Doug Gilmour's night at the Air Canada Centre, and - judging by this conversation - it's a pretty big night for a couple of Maple Leafs, too. John Mitchell was being asked about how he felt about the Leafs fêting Gilmour - his favourite player - by raising No. 93's jersey to the rafters tonight when Jeremy Williams interrupted:

Williams: He can't be your favourite player, he's my favourite player.

Mitchell: He's your favourite player too?

Williams: It was either Doug Gilmour or Mario Lemieux.

Mitchell: Did you wear Doug Gilmour's number in minor hockey?

Williams: I wore it in Triple A.

Mitchell: So did I.

Williams: When I was on Team Saskatchewan I wore No. 93. (Williams explained he usually couldn't get the number on his club team.) I lived in a small town and you couldn't pick your number. They just gave you a ratty jersey from 10 years before.

Mitchell: When I played in Hamilton in Triple A, for four years I wore 93. Ninety-three, tucked the jersey in the side. Used the Titan stick. I was a big fan, big supporter.

Williams: Big geek.

Mitchell: No. I was a kid.

Williams: Sure. Dweeb.

Mitchell: I was a kid who idolized his favourite player. What's wrong with that?

Williams: You got picked on.

Mitchell: No, I didn't. I was looked up to, because I wore No.93.

(He now wears No. 39.)

What former teammates say

There might be no better way to measure Doug Gilmour's impact on the Toronto Maple Leafs than by having a conversation with one of his former teammates. While others debate where No. 93 fits on a list of the franchise's all-time performers, the men who played alongside him think he should be right near the top.

Former linemate Dave Andreychuk:

"I've played with bigger players and maybe more talented players, but to me this is a guy that did everything he could to make the team win and to make people around him better. There was nobody better at that, that I've ever played with. I think it's a deserving honour after what he's done for that organization. Those years he was there, he put them to the next level. He provided the excitement for the fans, for us as players, to watch him every day. Why shouldn't they? I see no reason why they shouldn't and I see thousands of reasons why they should."

Wendel Clark, who says Gilmour might have been the NHL's top player shortly after arriving via trade midway through the 1991-92 season:

"I don't know if there was anybody better playing in the game at that time. Those two years he was unbelievable offensively, defensively, the tenacity, everything. All facets of the game. He played with real emotion."

Mike Kitchen, the Leafs' assistant coach at the time of the 10-player trade that brought Gilmour to the Leafs from Calgary:

"The trade gave us an identity. He was terrific in his own end. He would position himself in such a way where he could pick off a lot of passes. By doing that, he was able to get the puck - and who would you rather have the puck?"

Former Leafs forward Mike Foligno:

"He was part of a couple of teams before in St. Louis and Calgary where he wasn't really recognized as being one of the go-to guys and the leaders. When he came to Toronto, I think it was his opportunity to put his stamp on that team for a couple years."

Leafs' Schenn shows off his Killer instinct

On a night when the Maple Leafs feted Doug (Killer) Gilmour and in a season when Wendel Clark was accorded the same honour, it was not difficult to imagine rookie Luke Schenn one day earning fan adoration similar to what those Toronto icons enjoyed here.

Perhaps he'll even follow in their skate strides as the eventual captain in Toronto.

No one is yet reserving a spot in the grey girders of the Air Canada Centre for the defenceman, nor sewing a "C" on his sweater, but he continues to show poise, leadership and grit - the kind of heart to which Toronto fans always respond - beyond what you'd expect from a 19-year-old.

In a 5-4 win over Pittsburgh last night, Schenn laid a thunderous, momentum-grabbing hit on Evgeni Malkin, defended himself in a subsequent fight and made an impressive dash in from the blue line to set up a key goal.

It was more than 23 minutes of dominant, the-future-is-now hockey from what one radio voice called "The Human Eraser" as Schenn was matched up against the NHL's two top scorers in Malkin and Sidney Crosby most of the game.

"I thought in the second and third period, he ended up being the difference in the game," said coach Ron Wilson.

"The play he made put us ahead again, the hit, the fight, just the overall physicality ... for a 19-year-old kid to dominate a game physically like that was unbelievable."

The fans in this city tend to get ahead of themselves, always yearning for the next name to chant as they did when "Luuuuuuke" skated out as the game's first star. The media too is often anxious to anoint the next big star. Whatever happened to Eric Fichaud and Alexei Kudashov anyway?

But Schenn, at a time when many rookies taper off, is coming of age and his teammates are openly touting his leadership capabilities. Heady stuff for the prairie kid with an awe-shucks attitude.

"He definitely doesn't play like a rookie at all," said frequent blueline partner Mike Van Ryn. "Something you guys don't even know is how vocal he is in the room. He's definitely got the makings of a leader, he's got the makings of a future captain. He definitely does."

On the ice, it was Schenn's actions that spoke the loudest as the Leafs dispatched the Penguins to earn their second win in a row. He absolutely hammered Malkin midway through the second, almost putting him through the boards into the Pittsburgh bench.

Tyler Kennedy came off the bench on a supposed line change and challenged Schenn - a move that the league is reviewing for potential supplemental discipline.

"He pretty much said, `You don't touch our players like that,'" recounted Schenn. "One thing led to another and we just kind of dropped the mitts. Sometimes it needs to be done. I don't go looking for it but if the opportunity presents itself like it did there, you don't want to back down."

Early in the third, Schenn made a smart play carrying the puck down from the blue line and driving the net. The rebound popped out to Matt Stajan for a key goal that made it 4-2 for the Leafs.

Schenn says his NHL initiation has been "a big learning curve" but his confidence is blossoming.

And that's left the sense among his teammates that, as good as Schenn was last night, it's only a hint of what he is going to become.

"I'm not going to say he's been a big surprise but he's been awesome back there. He does it all," said teammate Jason Blake, who potted the winner in the third after Pittsburgh rallied to knot the game up.

Kaberle trade isn't top priority for salary cap-strapped Burke

Really, this broken hand doesn't change a whole lot. At least, it doesn't dramatically change Tomas Kaberle's future in a Maple Leaf uniform, which is yet to be decided.

Kaberle's fractured right mitt, of course, does alter the state of the Leaf roster significantly in the short term. Last night, for example, it left the club without a single left-handed shooting defenceman in an entertaining outing against Pittsburgh as the club shot the lights out for a second straight game, winning 5-4 while reverting to their gunslinger personality of the fall for the second straight game, again on a night when Vesa Toskala was rather shaky.

Going without Kaberle will mean more playing time in different situations for others, and Luke Schenn seemed to be the first to respond last night. The Kid from Saskatoon was the best player on either team last night, decking Evgeni Malkin with a thundering check partway through the middle period and later making a terrific play to set up a third-period goal by Matt Stajan.

Maybe the Leafs will be better, maybe they'll be worse. But it's the trade possibilities involving Kaberle that are really of interest, not the Leafs' win-loss record without him for the next few weeks, right?

GM Brian Burke, you should know, hasn't necessarily been that hot to trot on trading Kaberle all along, although he certainly can't have been thrilled with the veteran blueliner's play, either. Let's face it, Kaberle's been okay this season, but just okay, not surprising for a talented defender who has watched the team around him deteriorate steadily over the last four years.

However, Kaberle's not exactly a greybeard at 30 years of age, and his contract is more than acceptable, with two more seasons left at $4.25 million (all figures U.S.) per. So there are certainly reasons to keep him, and he'll be just as valuable a poker chip this time next year.

Still, other teams surely covet him. The Penguins, currently sitting outside the playoffs, have no idea whether Sergei Gonchar, who has just started practising again after serious shoulder surgery, will return at anywhere near full strength this season.

The teams that like Kaberle know what he can do, and they know he'll be back in three to four weeks. The trade deadline is March 4, but even if Kaberle isn't back by then, there would certainly be teams interested in acquiring his rights, with lots of time left before the post-season begins.

Burke, then, would still move Kaberle before the deadline if a team knocks his socks off with a deal. That means a first-round pick and a top prospect.

But if the Leafs can't get it for the Czech now, why not hang on to him?

It's a different situation for Nik Antropov, who's an unrestricted free agent at season's end. The good news for Burke is that Antropov has scored in two straight games now, and Alexei Ponikarovsky scored last night as well. Geez, with Jason Blake now looking like he's headed for a 30-goal season, he might also suddenly be more attractive to other clubs, and his contract ($4.5 million next year, then $3 million for each of two more) doesn't look so ugly.

Interestingly, last night was Doug Gilmour Night, an evening to replay his famous goal against Curtis Joseph in the '93 playoffs and other career highlights. Eleven years ago, of course, Gilmour was also a key figure in one of the better trade-deadline deals the Leafs ever made, with GM Cliff Fletcher moving the centre and rearguard Dave Ellett to New Jersey on Feb. 25, 1997 for youngsters Jason Smith, Steve Sullivan and Alyn McCauley.

That's the kind of transaction Burke would like to make now, much more difficult to do, of course, in a salary-cap world. If he can do it with Kaberle, he'll still do it, broken hand or not.