Episode 7 - Leo to Rangers: Get Stepan'

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Welcome Back to the Family Uncle Leo

The Toronto Maple Leafs made a few offseason moves this past summer. Signing a veteran defenseman to help bring stability to the defense, bringing in a terrifyingly large and intimidating defender in Roman Polak, and bringing back Matt Frattin for no aparent reason at all. however, perhaps the best artillery the Leafs decided to arm themselves with this offseason was a Russian heat seeking missle, and of course one of the greatest parody Twitter accounts ever created.

hey, @Senators, guess who back? #yousuck
— Corporal Komarov (@CorporalKomarov) July 1, 2014

 Leo Komarov spent last season with Dynamo Moscow of the KHL ( 52GP, 12G, 22A, 34Pts) much to the shegrin of Leafs nation Komarov was not re-signed after the lockout shortened campaign of  2013/14 which of course saw the Leafs make the playoffs for the first time in 8 seasons. Komarov was a pivotal piece of the Leafs roster that season, in terms of energy and what he brought to the club. Many factors contribted to the dismal results of last season for the Leafs, perhaps one of the most impactful was the loss of Leo Komarov.

 Since returning to the Leafs this season Komarov has been lights out (15GP, 1G, 9A, 10 Pts, 176 Hits) he has not only seen great results in his individual play, he has elevated the play of those around him, mainly David Clarkson. Clarkson is off to a solid start in his second stint with the buds (15GP, 4G, 1A, 5Pts) now, of course last seasons numbers will not be hard to beat, however Clarkson deserves credit not only for the points he has manageed to put up, but watching him on the ice this season he looks far more comfortable and is adapting well to his 3rd line role. A good portion of the credit must go to uncle Leo, he has effectively removed pressure off of Clarkson's shoulders and allowed him to play a mroe relaxed game. Both Clarkson (48.51) and Komarov (46.03) have pretty solid corsi stats which is key for a role playing line, and also something the Leafs lacked desperately last season .Komarov was (unfairly) labelled a "third line plug" which created the narrative of "if the Leafs losing Komarov has that much of an impact, this team is in trouble" a statement that so far, Komarov is causing those who subscribe to that theory to very much eat their words.


  Saturday November 8th, the Leafs played host to the Rangers, and more importantly, Leo Komarov showed us all exaclty what he is capabale of and why the Leafs never should have let him go in the first place, also providing the internet with one of the cutest pictures ever. at 15:11 of the first period on a shorthanded opportunity, Komarov came down the right wing with Matts Zucccarello draped over him like a wet blanket, proceeded to dump Zuccarello off like a high school girlfriend, drop a glove just for fun, then dish it off to Peter Holland in front of the net for his 2nd goal of the season. Uncle Leo wasn't quite finished there, he ended up scoring the game winner with 5:34 remaining in the 3rd period, and if a goal and assist aren't enough to prove his worth, cap it all off with 8 hits. Komarov's inspiring performance had the crowd chanting "LEO, LEO, LEO" for a large portion of the 3rd period and even following the final horn.

   To have a player on your team that can elevate the play of the guys around him is a special thing. To have a player who can; score, hit, make plays and energize the entire roster is that much more unique. The Toronto Maple Leafs have one heck of a "third line plug" in Leo Komarov, and for those who annointed him with that underwhelming title, I am enjoying watching this man prove you all wrong. Leo Komarov is more than just a player who goes out and hits people (something he does extremely well) he is a skilled player that the Leafs are lucky to have, and we as fans are lucky to be able to watch on a nightly basis. So, let's all raise a glass, here's to uncle Leo, the family member the other 29 NHL teams wish they had.


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Planning the Parade; Next Stop! . . .Mimico?

$5.25 million + 7 years + 71 = David Clarkson falling down.... A lot.

  Whether it was the Wendel Clark comparisons, or the awful "He's coming" commercials , last seasons David Clarkson signing was set up to explode in the Leafs faces right from the get go.

  Clarkson, coming off two solid seasons with the New Jersey devils (128GP, 48G, 25A, 73Pts), one of course highlighted by 30 goals. Although his numbers are solid, they weren't mind blowing, Clarkson was a hot commodity on the free agent market last offseason, drawing interest from multiple teams including the Edmonton Oilers and of course our Toronto Maple Leafs. The Leafs "won" the sweepstakes and gave Clarkson a massive 7yr $5.25 million dollar contract, potentially leading Dave Nonis to receive the prestigious;  "most crippling and horribly crafted contract in the history of paper and pens" award. A contract that if he were still around Brian Burke would have never in his wildest dreams offered a player who over his previous two seasons was a 0.57 point per game player, but apparently Dave Nonis gets distracted by shiny things like one single 30 goal season.

  There is no doubt that some blame has to be placed on the player when they have a train wreck season like Clarkson did in 2013/14 (60GP, 5G, 6A, 11Pts) especially when you decide to take the number, or a variation of the number of the legendary player you are being compared to, and start the season with a shiny new 10 game suspension, earned in meaningless preseason hockey. The contract and player were the laughing stock of the league, and will probably continue to be until the contract ends in the 2019/20 season......oh god.

  Fast forward to this season, Clarkson had been playing on a line alongside Leo Komarov and Mike Santorelli (as well as getting his fair share of PP time) a line which was arguably the most effective and productive in terms of the role the line needed to play. Clarkson is off to a blazing start with 3G 1A and 4Pts in 11 GP this season (yes that scentence is full of sarcasm). Numbers aside Clarkson has looked far more comfortable and effective in his third line checking role, not to mention him and uncle Leo appear to have some great chemistry. Now, it's awesome to see him playing at a higher level, and I want nothing more than to see him succeed and play well, however his 4 points in 11 games has seen some fans acting like Clarkson is going to live up to every penny of his massive contract, which leads to the following statement; David Clarkson will never again score 30 goals in a season, nor will he ever live up to anywhere close to the expectations associated with his massive contract. By all means get excited that he has 4 points in 11 games when it took him 60 to get 11 last year, all I'm saying is let's temper the expectations, a solid season for Clarkson in my mind would see him continue to embrace his checking role and be effective by playing like a pest, and maybe scoring 12-15 goals along with maybe 20 assists, are those $5.25 million dollar worthy stats, not at all, but the expectations placed on this mans shoulders when he signed here last offseason were only setting him up to be a dissapointment in the eyes of Leafs nation.

 Long story short, I want nothing but success for David Clarkson as a fan of this team, and as a fan of underdog stories, but let's not include Mimico on the parade route just yet. Also Dave Nonis is the worst, and his decisions are questionable to say the least. So here is to a great season for David Clarkson, hopefully he keeps up with the play we have seen so far from him this season, one final thing to mention, for the analysts who think the reason behind Clarkson's play is the face shield..... I can't even.

 What would a successful season for David Clarkson be in your eyes? Let us know in the comment section below ! Also don't forget to check out our website thefrancisreport.ca for links to our podcast, Twitter and Facebook !

Episode 6 - Voodoo Magic

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La Di Da Di, What to do about Kadri

You can't help but have an uneasy feeling about a player when the Ottawa Senators are desperate to draft him.

     

 Heading in to last offseason there was much speculation that the Leafs would try and move either Jake Gardiner or Nazem Kadri, some reports had the Leafs trying to move both players. Now personally I think Gardiner will be a stud once he gets a coach that won't bench him every other night and actually allow him to play and make mistakes like a young player should be allowed to do. For a while I have been on the "DON'T TRADE KADRI YOU IDIOTS HES GOING TO BE AMAZING" side of the argument, after a bit of soul searching and observing his less than stellar start to the 2014-15 season, it had me thinking... Would moving Kadri be such a bad idea as he is due for another contract at this seasons conclusion.

    

   Many arguments can be made for both points of view on the issue; Kadri hasn't had enough opportunity to play a 1C role, Kadri has been given opportunities and never seized them, he had his time to develop in the AHL had one solid NHL season and has since disappeared, he is still too young to give up on and the Leafs will regret trading him etc. You can’t help but wonder if under a different coach Kadri would see more production. Perhaps all Kadri needs to get going is the opportunity to start the season as the 1C and let him run with it for more than 3 or 4 games here or there, who knows. On the flip side, is it time to move Kadri? Seeing has how he hasn’t matured in to the player we had all hoped he would be, he has shown flashes of brilliance in his time with the Leafs. In the lockout shortened 48 game season Kadri was unreal (48 GP 18G, 26A, 44Pts) now some may debate this was caused due to the fact it was a contract year for Kadri, however he looked dominant nonetheless.

  

   Best case scenario for both the Leafs and Kadri would be for Carlyle to allow Kadri to assume the 1C role for the 2014-15 season, unless he proved himself to be unable to perform on the team’s top line. There is some evidence to suggest that Kadri plays at a higher level when accompanying Phil Kessel on the top line, both in traditional stats (G,A,Pts) and advanced stats as both Kadri and Kessel experience a jump in their Corsi possession numbers, which is something the Leafs first line (criticized for its lack of defensive play) could stand to dramatically improve.

   

No question about it, the Leafs have a tough decision to make at the end of this season when Kadri’s agent comes calling looking for a new deal. Assuming his play picks up and he proves he is worth a big contract, Kadri is off to a less than stellar start to the season (10  As far back as the 09’ draft when the Leafs used the 7^th overall selection to take Kadri I was mildly skeptical, to me he just didn’t seem like he would fit with the Leafs, and so far, that assumption has proved correct. Most recently Kadri has been on the hot seat for his comments following the Leafs less than inspiring performance against the Boston bruins, a game in which the Leafs looked like they could have been outworked by a timbits hockey team. Kadri has had a few memorable interviews already this season, the first in which he sort of kind of compared himself to John Taveres (also drafted in 2009), and the most recent where he commented on how the team needs to compete at a higher level, and start caring more. Kadri is a significant member of the team from the media’s point of view, and quotes like that often leave him in hot water, especially when he is seen as one of the faces of the franchise. Media aside, Kadri must get some kudos for trying to be a leader and speak up about the way the team is playing.

GP, 2G, 0A, 2Pts) and has been practically invisible most nights.

  Hopefully Kadri is given the chance to prove his worth this season, and given the opportunity to play on the first line with Kessel, believe me, I would love nothing more than to see Kadri turn in to the stud we all hope he will be, when he is on he is a game changer. However, if the trade deadline rolls around and he has had another middle of the road season, I think testing the waters to see what sort of return he would command might not be a bad idea. Although, knowing the Leafs they will trade him and he will turn out to be a perennial 40 goal scorer in the NHL.

 Let us know what you think, would you trade Kadri? Am I a fool for even considering the Leafs move him, what would you want to see in return for a player like Kadri. Post your comments below !

Game 9 - Leafs Host Sabres - Predictions

Leafs are not looking good.  After a 4-1 loss to the Bruins Saturday, it seems like the world is caving in around them.  Half the people are calling for the Leafs to Fire Carlyle.  Another 2/3 wants the Leafs to trade Phaneuf and Kadri.  The other 1/3 wants to see Kessel run out of town.  I do not see the Leafs doing much on the trade front.  Carlyle is probably the next to go.  But does it matter?

The Leafs fire Randy Carlyle.  Coach "B" comes in. Then what? What happens if this roster isn't good enough. You have to think another playoff miss would be the end of Nonis.

Buffalo's Record: 2-7-0, 8th in the ATL, 15th in the East
Leading Scorers: Stafford 0-4-4, Ennis 3-0-3, Girgensons 2-1-3
Leaf's Record: 3-4-1, 7th in the ATL, 14th in the East
Leading Scorers: Kessel 4-4-8, Bozak 3-5-8, van Riemsdyk 3-2-5

Mike (0-8): 4-2 Sabres - 3rd jersey toss of the season!
Jeff (0-8): 3-2 Sabres - Leafs continues to lose.  This will be loss 2 in a series of 5 straight losses.  Once the Leafs lose to the Coyotes next week, Carlyle will be FIRED.
Jessie (0-0) 3-1 Leafs - Rielly with the game winner 

Check out Mike's latest article - Toronto, Where NHL Stars Never Shine Their Brightest
The latest episode of The Francis Report - Solidarity & Strength
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The Francis Report - EP5 - Solidarity and Strength

The newest edition of The Francis Report is out!