Interesting Quotes Coming out of Toronto

Going through a few things this morning I found some interesting quotes coming from coach Ron Wilson after the loss to the Sabres on Saturday. First on the Leafs season:

“It was an exhibition game – it didn't bother me at all,” Wilson said Sunday. “What bothers me is being asked asinine questions while you're trying to give young players a chance.

“We're not going to win the Stanley Cup this year. There's a news flash for you.”

Second on goaltender Justin Pogge:

"Yeah, he played," Wilson said after his team's 3-2 loss. "But he made mistakes at the end. He allowed what looked like a great effort to dribble right down his chin.

"Obviously you wish he had the last goal back and that's kind of why he's not ready to play in the NHL. You have to be able to play poised all the way."


Coach Wilson is just spitting it out for the Toronto media. Never one to be the media friendly type, Wilson is already showing signs of cracking under the media pressure. Granted the expectations of this season are low for the Leafs, but you don't already proclaim the season done before it starts. In the case of Pogge, I thought he played pretty well except for the last five minutes. Pogge is going to be a good goaltender for the Leafs down the road but I wouldn't hold that start fully against him. The Leafs defense broke down in front of Pogge and allowed some easy feeds in front of the net.

Free Preseason Game

Yep, the Leafs are offering tickets to their September 22nd game against the Sabres for free. Apparently only 20,000 tickets are going to be given away for the game. Some already have with those going to the lucky people who showed up to the press conference and the rest are going to be given away through promotions with Coke Zero and the Leafs.

Apparently though, the giveaway is only for our Canadian friends. So if you really want to make a trip up there, find a buddy who could win the tickets for you.

Here is the link to the contest

Sabres/Leafs Preview

The last game of the QEW rivalry is tonight in at the ACC. The Leafs have been mathematically eliminated from the playoffs a couple of days ago and because of that, the Toronto Star is reporting that Andrew Raycroft is playing tonight in place of Vesa Toskala. Raycroft over his career has a 3.06 GAA and a .891 SV% against the Sabres. He last played on February 5th against the Panthers when he allowed 4 goals on 11 shots. Since then, Toskala has gotten on a hot streak going 17-11-2 in the last 30 games that he has played in.

The Sabres are going to need help to get into the playoffs with the 7th and 8th spots each having 91 points with 3 games left. If the Sabres win out, they will have 92 points. There is only one game on the scoreboard watching front and that is the Capitals vs. Hurricanes starting at 7. In terms of the Sabres hopes, we really want the Hurricanes to win. The Capitals have 88 points with only 3 games left. The Sabres hopes of making this race are very, very slim. But it never hurts to hope.

Here's to game time at 7:30 on MSG. Of course he would be a Leafs fan.