The SteenWhistle

Well, it appears that the Leafs' love for Alex Steen has once again deprived us of some hockey talent. As reported by many sources this week, including the totally fucking obnoxious but sometimes bang on Nick Kypreos, the Leafs were in the hunt for a top draft pick in last week's draft. They came close to landing such a pick - the #2 overall pick from the Philadelphia Flyers.

Here is where Steen comes in. See, the Flyers wanted the #13 pick (the one the Leafs eventually traded away for Toskala) and Steen for the #2. John Ferguson Jr., the Leafs' hook-nosed general Manager, balked at that offer, considering Steen too valuable.

Now, I am not here to argue that Alex Steen isn't a good hockey player, but methinks JFJ values the lad a little too much. He pulled the same shit when Chris Pronger was available. Kaberle + Stajan is what the Leafs offered for Pronger; Edmonton countered with Kaberle + Steen - likely because Matt Stajan is absolutely fucking useless - and JFJ gave the thumbs down.

Hate Chris Pronger if you want. I kinda do. Chris Pronger is fucked. His haircut makes Jaromir Jagr's look fashionable. But he is also a premier defenseman that cannot be duplicated or replaced. And if you have to give up a 3rd liner with 2nd line potential to do so, you fucking do it. Are you fucking listening, JFJ? Your team has a ridiculous abundance of 3rd line hockey players, and an even more ridiculous lack of high-end talent. For fuck's sake, fucking fix this!

FYI: Check out this video of Kypreos' career ending. And the dream is..........over!

2007 Entry Draft

The 2007 NHL Entry Draft took place on June 22 and 23 in mediocre Columbus, Ohio. Likely in an effort to remove any responsibility from their pathetic scouting department, the Maple Leafs traded away three draft picks - which ended up being 2007 1st and 2nd round picks, and a 2009 4th round pick - to San Jose for netminder Vesa Toskala (pictured) and forward Mark Bell. As a result, the Leafs were about as busy during the first two rounds of the draft as a Canucks fan on Friday night.

Puddinhead Leaf fans were quick to talk shit about the trade, but make no mistake: this trade made the Leafs much better. Vesa Toskala has shone in San Jose in a 1/1A platoon with Evgeni Nabokov for a couple of seasons. You remember San Jose, right? It's one of the teams that makes the Leafs look like a pack of autistic 12-year olds. Contrary to what you may have heard, there is no goaltending controversy in Toronto. Vesa Toskala is the #1 guy. Andrew Raycroft is now a back-up goaltender. I feel a little bad for ole Andy, but a better goalie is in town. Such is life.

Mark Bell is a different story. Highly touted as a junior player with the Ottawa 67's, Bell was a total disappointment last season with SJ, scoring only 11 times, and being a healthy scratch during the playoff run. It says here that Bell will get back on track with the Leafs, and flash some of the promise he showed with Chicago. His contract is a little high, but jesus fucking christ did you see him cave in Jon Sim's face last year? Mark Bell can fight. He is huge. And, he'll get 25 goals this year. Fact.

As for draft picks, the Leafs took Oshawa Generals forward Dale Mitchell with their first pick (74th overall). Mitchell netted 43 G's as a sophomore for the Gens last year, so he may one day help the Leafs in that department. Who the fuck am I kidding? He was chosen by the Leafs scouting department, he'll be cleaning truck stop bathrooms in 2 years.

After Mitchell, the Leafs took....ummm....uhh...who fucking cares? The NHL draft shouldn't be more than 3 rounds long, after which all potential draftees would become free agents. As it stands, the draft is 7 rounds. Are you kidding me? Congratulations Trent Vogelhuber, you got chosen in the 7th round, last overall. Now fuck off.

The Big Bang

Fellow Leaf fans:
Today marks the beginning of The Blue & White, the place to come for nonretarded information and opinion on the Toronto Maple Leafs. The Blue & White begins as a response to the huge amount of boring, frivolous, and/or amazingly speculative bullshit Leafs reporting going on. We at The Blue & White intend to establish ourselves as a source of everything Leafs that is meatier than Rosie O'Donnell's ballsack.
Draft day thoughts and 2007/08 season preview coming soon...