Ultimate Hockey Warrior

Ron Wilson has agreed to become the head coach of the Toronto Maple Leafs. His deal is for 4 years at around $6.5 million a season. While the contract has not been signed by Ron Wilson, he and Fletcher verbally agreed on the deal and Ron Wilson is currently traveling to Toronto to sign the contract that will make him the next Maple Leaf’s head coach.

Ron Wilson going to Toronto also appears to be a sign that Brian Burke will take over the General Manager position in Toronto next year when his contract with the Ducks expires. Wilson and Burke have a long history together and I’m sure they would be very happy to work with each other again. Expect the signed contract from Wilson tomorrow at the latest.

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The Toronto Maple Leafs and Ron Wilson have come to an agreement and Wilson will be named Head Coach next week.  The terms of the deal are still being finalized, but the basic structure is complete.  Ron Wilson has agreed to a 4 year deal to coach the Toronto Maple Leafs and the official announcement will be made at the beginning of the week.

Initially Cliff Fletcher gave Ron Wilson a firm deadline by which he had to give his response to the head coaching offer.  Obviously it was a good ultimatum for the Maple Leafs because Ron Wilson will become their head coach.

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The Maple Leafs have announced that Head Coach Paul Maurice has been fired.  Maurice still had one year left on his contract, but that didn’t stop Cliff Fletcher from releasing Maurice.  The Maple Leafs have a press conference set for 12 noon pst/3 pm est to discuss the firing and the future.

Maurice never made the playoffs in his two seasons with the Maple Leafs.  He was 76-66-22 as head coach of the Leafs but was never able to really pull the team together.

This story will be updated as more info is released.

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The Maple Leafs will get Mats Sundin and Nik Antropov back from injury tonight when they face the Boston Bruins for the final game in a home and home series.  The game has serious implications for Sundin and the Leafs tonight, because if the Maple Leafs lose, they will be eliminated from the playoffs.

Sundin has missed the last 5 games due to a groin injury, and will return for one final stand with the Boston Bruins, who are currently clinging to the last playoff position in the Eastern Conference.   The Leafs currently trail the Boston Bruins by 6 points with games remaining on the season.  The Leafs did beat the Bruins in the 1st game of the home and home series, but if they can’t complete the sweep their season will be over.  The Leafs have given a nice effort towards the end of the season, but the problem is that if they don’t make the playoffs (and they won’t) then they will have taken themselves out of good drafting position for the 2008 NHL Entry Draft.  The game is at 7pm eastern.

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Mats Sundin’s groin injury is taking longer to heal that Maple Leaf fans would like.  Sundin will probably miss both games this weekend as Sundin’s groin still hasn’t healed.  The Maple Leafs are playing the Sabers and Senators this weekend and both teams are hungry.

The Maple Leafs are currently sitting 6 points out of the playoffs with 8 games remaining this year.  The Maple Leafs are 3-1 in their last 4 games, but they are going to have pretty much win out to have a shot at the playoffs this year.  Without Sundin I don’t think the Leafs have a chance.

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Mats Sundin left the game on Wednesday against the Flyers with a groin injury and didn’t return. Sundin’s groin injury will keep him off the ice until Saturday at the earliest, and Sundin’s status for the game on Saturday night is not known.

In my opinion, Sundin is the only worth anything on the Maple Leafs, and he is the sole driving force on the Leafs. If he misses even 1 game, I think you can count the Leafs as out of the playoffs. As it is, I think it is highly unlikely that the Maple Leafs will be making the playoffs and they have now blown their shot at a high draft pick by playing better as of late.

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The Toronto Maple Leafs manhandled the Boston Bruins tonight 8-2.  The Maple Leafs have now moved to within 6 points of the playoffs behind the Flyers.

The score was 1-1 after the 1st period.  But from then on out, it was all Toronto scoring 7 of the final 8 goals.  After the 2nd the Maple Leafs led 5-1.  And the Maple Leafs went on to make it 8-1 before the Bruins scored the final goal.

Seven Maple Leaf players ended up with multi-point nights.  Leading the way with 4 points was  Bryan McCabe with a goal and 3 assists, Blake, Sundin and Steen all had 3 points and Antropov, Kaberle and Tucker had 2 point nights. In the game, goalie Tim Thomas was chased after allowing 5 goals on 23 shots.  Alex Auld replaced Thomas, and let in 3 goals on 17 shots.  Vesa Toskala recorded the win for Maple Leafs and made 27 saves on the night.

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The Toronto Maple Leafs are in danger of missing the playoffs for three years in a row. The Maple Leafs have 14 games left in the regular season and are 6 points out of the 2008 NHL playoffs. Experts are saying that for the Maple Leafs to have a realistic chance of making the playoffs, they will need to earn 22 points out of the remaining 28 points.

13 of the remaining 14 games for the Leafs are against teams that are currently in the NHL 2008 playoffs, if the playoffs were to start today. Out of their last 14 games, they will play Boston 3 times, Buffalo 3 times, Ottawa twice, Montreal twice and the Flyers twice. Toronto has been playing better of late, going 6-3 in their last 9 games. Mats Sundin has led the way with 9 points in his last 5 games. But it will still take a lot from a very inconsistent team to make the 2008 NHL playoffs. In fact, a lot of Toronto fans are upset that the team has played better of late, taking themselves out of the bidding for draft pick Steve Stamkos. Keep an eye on the Maple Leafs the rest of the season to see if they have enough heart and grit to fight out a spot in the 2008 NHL Playoffs.

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