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Tonight, they faced the Toronto Maple Leafs and had their asses handed to them after being beat 5-1.  It was a rough night for Detroit goaltender, Chris Osgood, which only highlighted how stellar Jonas Gustavsson in net for the Leafs.  He made 35 saves and continues to be a major factor in helping the team turn things around.  I’m starting to be more optimistic about their season which is more than I can say about Detroit.

Red Wings coach Mike Babcock said: “We’re obviously not scoring like we have in the past. I think one of the things we had to do is get our head around the fact that we’ve got the same sweaters (but) we can’t play the same way. We’ve got to find a way to win.  One of the things that’s been fun about being a Red Wing the last few years is that we had the puck all the time. We’ve got the puck a lot (now), but we’re not as dynamic offensively at all.”

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The rookie will probably be on the bench for at least a week.  “I was examined yesterday, and they think I pulled it a little bit,” Gustavsson said.  “So I’ll take it easy for a few days.”

Anyone who was looking forward to seeing Vesa Toskala fight to retain his #1 spot with “The Monster” on his ass is going to have to wait.  “Vesa is our number one goalie anyway and he’ll play until further notice,” coach Ron Wilson said.  “This is an opportunity for him to take charge now without looking over his shoulder.”

You said it, Wilson.  Something tells me that Toskala isn’t sending Gustavsson any get well vibes…

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Besides, like the Dany Heatley drama, Kessel wasn’t happy with the team and eagerly signed a five-year deal worth $27 million deal despite the fact that the Nashville Predators and the New York Rangers had expressed some interest.

Leafs GM Brian Burke said: “Bringing Phil Kessel aboard, it’s a statement to our players that we intend to be competitive right away, and I think he gives us a dimension that we need.  This is a free agent that could have signed with other teams, he wanted to sign with us, and I think it’s an important pick up for us.”

What about that huge salary?  Burke continued “it’s a very high price but it’s one we feel makes sense for us and I think what’s made it possible to expend those picks is two focuses: one is that he’s a young player, he’s not even 22 yet.  And second, we think with some of the players we acquired without giving up picks like Tyler Bozak, (Robert) Slaney, (Christian) Hanson and (Jonas) Gustavsson, these are players that were they available on the draft would command a high price like that. We feel by stocking the cupboard we can take some of the cans off the shelf for the future.”

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Bah.  Kinda saw this one coming when they signed Jonas Gustavsson, right?

This is one of those deals that I really barely care about at this point.  The truth is that I believed that Pogge could develop into a pretty decent goalie but Toronto hasn’t been a great place for a developing netminder.  It’s interesting that he was with the Toronto Marlies (AHL) for most of the season and he managed to pull out 26 wins and post a 2.70 GAA in 52 games which is obviously much better than his NHL record.

The Leafs drafted 23-year-old Pogge 90th overall in 2004.

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According to the Globe and Mail, the NHL is investigating some comments that Toronto Maple Leafs coach, Ron Wilson, made in reference to the team’s interest in signing Daniel and Henrik Sedin.

On June 31st, Wilson said (on the Fan 590):  “You’re hearing right now, and this sounds very contradictory but, there’s a real possibility, I would think, that we would be going after the Sedins. Let’s just speculate there.”

Apparently, “an unnamed NHL executive remarked that what Wilson said was a ‘clear-cut case of tampering.’”  The Canucks haven’t filed a tampering complaint and the league won’t confirm the reports but NHL bylaw No. 15 states that tampering is, “the making or causing to be made through any medium, public or private, any statement indicating any intention or desire of or interest in acquiring the services [of a player on another club].”  If you go by that, Wilson really is in violation of this rule.

Of course, complicating matters is the fact that Toronto GM, Brian Burke, happened to be in Sweden at the time and many assumed that he was there to woo the Sedin brothers.  Naturally, the club has an explanation for his trip and said that he was there to talk to Swedish free-gent goalie Jonas Gustavsson.

I know some people don’t think it’s worth wasting time and money on investigating this issue but I think that they need to send a message that this isn’t acceptable.  Otherwise, we’re going to start seeing coaches and players sending out messages through the media more and more.

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Apparently, Gerber didn’t think it should could either because he freaked out, bumped a referee and threw a puck in his direction.  For this behavior, he faces a minimum three-game suspension for category three abuse of the officials – a violation of rule 41.  ”I’m sorry for me, for losing my cool there,” said Gerber. ”I got shoved in the net. That’s why (the puck) went in. I was upset, shot the puck against the boards and after that he tossed me out for I don’t know what.  ‘I shouldn’t have done it. That’s obvious. But there’s not much you can do now.”

Watch Gerber’s tantrum (and the bad goal) here:

After Gerber was ejected, backup goaltender, Curtis Joseph, emerged from the bench at that very late stage in the game and hung on, allowing his team to skate away with a 3-2 victory.  He was hailed as the hero of the game and, all things considered, he really was.  Hopefully, his play will continue to be steady since the Leafs will have to rely on him during the next three games while Gerber cools his heels.

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I’m not going to lie, though, I laughed out loud when I saw Spezza trying to swap his stick around the 51 second mark.  Even better, around 1:40 it showed a replay of the moment when Spezza realized what was happening.  He actually drops his blade to the ice and steps on it, in an attempt to break it before the refs catch it.  Watch this:

Officials found that the blade on Spezza’s stick was below regulation as it approached the toe. "Real dangerous, I guess," said an annoyed Spezza sarcastically. "They told me (the blade) was too skinny. I shave them down to be skinnier."

It’s rare for a team to draw a penalty based on illegal sticks which brings up the question of whether people even care since almost no coaches call players out for using them.  I’d like to know what you think?  Was Wilson justified or was this just lame?

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The 29-year old from Kazakhstan is in the final year of a two-year contract and is eligible to become an unrestricted free agent on July 1, 2009.

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On the anniversary of the incident, Zednik had an amazing night on the ice as his Florida Panthers enjoyed a 5-4 victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs.  At 1:02 in OT, Zednik scored his second goal of the night – the game winner – and secured the win for his team.

"It’s amazing," said Zednik.  "Exactly one year later and to get the game-winning goal, it’s great."

Indeed, it was an incredible game since the Panthers were able to bounce back from a three-goal deficit.  I like to think Zednik’s teammates rallied to win the game for him.

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The disciplinary action comes after the Leafs requested the even be reviewed and alleged that Kennedy came off the Pens bench with the intent of starting a fight with Schenn.

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