****UPDATE***
Nazem Kadri has been recalled by the Leafs and is practicing with the club this morning.
The recall was necessitated by the injury of forward Phillipe Dupuis, who has been placed on the IR with an undisclosed upper body injury.
******
The month of December has not been a particularly joyous one for the Toronto Maple Leafs, as they have fallen in the Eastern Conference standings, mostly due to porous team defense and a league worst penalty killing unit. Leafs Nation is wondering what can be done.
Here are some of their questions:
@gbowie22 asks: Clearly this isn’t working for the Leafs. A trade or coaching change is imminent. Which happens first?; and how significant?
A: Unless the Leafs lose 10 games in a row or have a player’s revolt, there is no way that Ron Wilson gets fired before the end of the season. It is not because of his friendship with Brian Burke, it’s more to do with the fact that the talent level of this team has been sorely lacking. Burke made four major deals in 2011(Versteeg, Beauchemin, Kaberle and the Nashville heist) that have greatly improved the quality depth and youth of the organization, but he has yet to make that impact move to bring in a franchise player/first line center.
If I were asked to wager which will happen first, my money would be on the big deal, which based on Burke’s modus operandi will be made well before the trade deadline.
@ledpoet14 asks: When will they call up someone to replace Dupuis?
A: There have been players over the years that have puzzled me as to how they have a job in the league. The last Leaf that fit that description was Rickard Wallin, someone who did not excel at any aspect of the game but was brought over from the same Swedish Elite League club that Jonas Gustavsson played for, which led me to calling him “The Monster’s Valet”. Before last season’s 74 games with the Colorado Avalanche, Phillipe Dupuis had played only 12 games of his pro career in the NHL. He was supposedly brought in as a penalty killing specialist, but they are in dead last in the league and has contribution in other areas are reflected in his stats: 30 games, 0 goals, 0 assists, 0 points, 16 PIM’s.
Darryl Boyce was just called up to replace injured winger Colby Armstrong and could more than adequately replace Dupuis as a penalty killer and fourth line center and Don Cherry’s favorite Mike Zigomanis is also a possibility.
@joeymwilson asks: Realistically, what are the chances we land Staal or Ryan? Why would either team give them up, especially Staal???
A: The coaching change in Anaheim from Randy Carlyle to Bruce Boudreau has effectively ended any chance of a Bobby Ryan deal, at least until the off-season. With Eric Staal, the situation in Carolina seems to lend itself to the possibility of him being dealt. Canes owner Peter Karmanos will never be mistaken for an owner willing to spend to the cap ceiling. Staal is making $8.25 Million per season, just under the stratosphere of Alex Ovechkin and Sidney Crosby. They have just hired Kirk Muller and signed him to a four year contract, which would indicate that the Canes are going to rebuild with a coach who communicates well with young players. Carolina is strong up the middle with Jeff Skinner and Brandon Sutter and will likely have to pony up big bucks for Skinner after his entry level expires after next season. They also have to factor in the addition of another potential franchise player in the draft next June, so moving the expensive Staal with four years left on his deal for a package of younger, cheaper players makes a lot of sense.
@tonytalkssports asks: Do the Leafs need to trade a defenseman to acquire forward help??
A: Mike Komisarek has been out with a broken arm for about a month and is expected to be out another two or three weeks. Once he returns to the lineup, the Leafs will have eight NHL defensemen and will be in an enviable position to make a deal, since defensemen are a much desired commodity. Cody Franson, Keith Aulie or Luke Schenn are the most likely to be moved, but Burke will not move them for anything less than an impact forward, which could mean a package of two or three players and/or draft picks.
@noename09 Is this the end of Kadri? The team can use some secondary scoring and yet Boyce gets the call...what gives?
A: The Armstrong injury lent itself to calling up a player who plays a bottom six role; checking, penalty killing, being a disturber, which does not fit with Kadri’s ample offensive skill set and defensive shortcomings.
My personal feeling is that Kadri is being kept down at the AHL level to round out his game, providing him plenty of ice time and opportunity to mature. The solid numbers he is putting up in the AHL put him in prime position to fill the spot of Mikhail Grabovski if he leaves via free agency next July or they could be used by Burke as a selling point to teams interested in making a deal before the trade deadline.
Best guess….if there is a big deal to be made for the likes of Zach Parise, Rick Nash, or Eric Staal, Kadri will be part of that deal.
For Those on Twitter:
KINDLE USERS: Please sign up for Maple Leafs Buzz, which includes a free-of-charge 14-day trial and is just 99 cents per month afterwards. For more information
click here.
Toronto Maple Leafs Blogger • 
Join the Discussion:
»