Maple Leafs Team Report

INSIDE SHOTS

The Maple Leafs and Blackhawks are shadowing each other as they deliberate a possible trade to get Toronto back a high draft pick and Chicago some cap relief.

The crux of the matter is multi-year extensions for Chicago star forwards Patrick Kane(notes), Jonathan Toews(notes) and defenseman Duncan Keith(notes). The deals have been worked out, but they can’t be announced until the club has created enough cap room to fit the salaries under next year’s cap.

Chicago needs to shed a couple of million dollars in salary, and that could mean defenseman Brent Sopel(notes), who has a $2.33 million US cap hit and is not as valuable to the Hawks as a top-six defenseman as he would be to as a potential top-four in Toronto.

The Leafs would only have room to fit Sopel if they dropped one of their third- or fourth-line type salaries, but if they put in a better caliber player, such as two-way center Matt Stajan(notes), they might be able to get Chicago’s second-round draft pick.

The Leafs are without a first- or second-rounder because of the Phil Kessel(notes) trade with Boston, which led to heavy criticism of general manager Brian Burke, especially when the Leafs sank to 30th in the league in early November.

Sources say two potential trades between the clubs did not come to fruition over the course of three days. Burke is under pressure to get a pick back. Chicago counterpart Stan Bowman is under pressure to make a deal so the Hawks can make a media splash with the triple signings.

The Leafs are spinning their wheels in 30th place, though they took three of a possible four points the last two games. They open a two-game road trip to Florida with a game in Tampa on Wednesday.

Islanders 4, Maple Leafs 3  (OT): The Leafs should have had more to show for a record-tying 61-shot effort Monday. But they were stymied by Dwayne Roloson(notes) of the Isles, who made 58 saves, surviving a three-goal Leafs comeback.

The Leafs tied their record of 61 shots set in a Feb. 26, 1976 game when they routed Detroit 8-0. Every Leaf except RW Colton Orr(notes) had a shot on goal. “I don’t know what to say,” said winger Phil Kessel, who had 12 of the Leafs’ shots but just one goal. Kessel, Wayne Primeau(notes) and Niklas Hagman(notes) scored, but Roloson shut the door from the middle of the third period on.

He made 26 stops in the third period and overtime, when Josh Bailey(notes) won it in the last minute on just New York’s 21st shot.

NOTES, QUOTES

• G Vesa Toskala(notes) was replaced by Jonas Gustavsson(notes) during Monday’s 4-3 overtime loss to the Islanders. On the second of three goals that gave the visitors a 3-0 lead, Toskala hurt his groin. Gustavsson came in and made 5 of 6 saves.

• G Joey MacDonald(notes) has been called up from the AHL Marlies for the coming week’s road trip.

• C John Mitchell(notes) will have an MRI on Tuesday for a knee injury suffered Monday. Early indications are he could miss some time.

• D Tomas Kaberle(notes) is upset at constant questions about giving up his no-trade clause. He’s been linked to a deal with the Chicago Blackhawks. Though the Leafs did try to move him during the spring when a window in his contract opened, they have not approached him about the subject since. “Where is this coming from?” Kaberle said of the rumors. “I’m the wrong guy to be asking (about a trade).”

• The Leafs have had 30 or more shots the past seven games, but scored just 18 goals.

Quote To Note:   “I took a peek (at the board) … when we got near 40, we figured some had to start going in.”—D Ian White(notes) on the Leafs’ 61-shot effort in Monday’s 4-3 loss to the Islanders.

ROSTER REPORT

Goaltenders:   Jonas Gustavsson, Vesa Toskala.

Defensemen:   Luke Schenn(notes), Ian White, Tomas Kaberle, Francois Beauchemin(notes), Garnet Exelby(notes), Carl Gunnarsson(notes).

First Line:   Alexei Ponikarovsky(notes) Matt Stajan, Phil Kessel.

Second Line:   Jason Blake(notes), Mikhail Grabovski(notes), Niklas Hagman.

Third Line:   Nikolai Kulemin(notes), John Mitchell, Lee Stempniak(notes).

Fourth Line:   Jamal Mayers(notes), Wayne Primeau, Colton Orr.

Player Notes:  

• D Garnet Exelby returned to the lineup Monday after missing four games, replacing D Jeff Finger(notes), who left Saturday’s game against Washington with a lower body injury.

• RW Alex Foster(notes), who played three games for the Leafs two seasons ago, was AHL Player of the Week with six points in three games, including five goals.

• C Wayne Primeau had a goal and won 7-of-9 face-offs Monday.

Medical Watch:  

• D Mike Komisarek(notes) (torn quad muscle) should return around Dec. 1.

• D Mike Van Ryn(notes) (knee) is out for the season.

• D Jeff Finger (lower body bruise) is day-to-day.