The Toronto Maple leaves were dealt a major blow this week after their #1 defenceman, Morgan Rielly broke his foot and is now out for 8 weeks. GM, Kyle Dubas has continued to talk to teams about acquiring a defenceman over the past several weeks, and it appears he's zoned in on the Anaheim Ducks.
The Ducks, as stated by Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet, are willing to make some moves and take on some money if need be. The Ducks are dead last in the western conference and have begun to shift their focus to a long-term plan.
The Maple leaves have inquired about defencemen, Michael Del Zotto and Erik Gudbranson. Both would provide some veteran leadership to a depleted d-core for the leaves. Del Zotto is from the area and a Stanley Cup champion, while Gudbranson is under contract for next season, and would fill some needs for the leaves regarding toughness and physicality.
The leaves have offered the Ducks, young forward Dmytro Timashov and pending RFA defenceman, Cody Ceci.
These two teams have a rich history of transaction and GM, Kyle Dubas is ready to pull the trigger to upgrade his club.
Do it Dubas. “Doiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiit” - Arnold Schwartznigger
”This was how twentieth-century Fascism began: with a magnetic leader exploiting widespread dissatisfaction by promising all things.” - Madeleine K. Albright - Fascism: A Warning
Capt squeekers coming back to pass the gayness torch to the next wave of failures
DION PHANEUF RETURNS TO THE TORONTO MAPLE leaves
In a rare appearance that has caught everyone off guard, Dion Phaneuf was seen at the Scotiabank Arena on Thursday night as two of his old teams were battling it out. The PEI native, was spotted 'shadowing' leaves President, Brendan Shanahan, and rumor has it, they are grooming Phaneuf for life after playing hockey.
Bob McKenzie of TSN reported, that Phaneuf was invited in by Shanahan, to shadow his job for a few days to get a feel for the business side of the game. Phaneuf hasn't played a game since he was bought out by the LA Kings, and by all accounts, has retired (unofficially) as a player.
The 34-year old, played 1048 games, with 4 clubs, finishing with 494 points and 1345 minutes in penalties.
Good for Dion, to want to stay busy as given his circumstances, it would be really easy to put your feet up and enjoy the company.