Rick Osentoski
We now know who will be wearing the blue and white when the puck drops Thursday night on the 2011-12 season, though injuries, suspensions and not knowing how youngsters Jake Gardiner and Matt Frattin will respond in games that count make this a group very much in flux.
Not that anyone comes to this space for great scouting info, but a few questions did spring to mind when the final cuts were announced yesterday: Isn't having both Colton Orr and Jay Rosehill on the roster a tad monotonous? Would it really kill this team to keep Mike Zigomanis around? He kills penalties and is good on the draw - skills that have been in short supply the last few seasons in Toronto. Shouldn't we be concerned about Gardiner's obvious shortcomings in his own end? The kid looked terrific moving the puck and confident in the offensive zone during the preseason, but sure has a lot to work on in the defensive zone.
We'll be talking about the Leafs' outlook this afternoon in our season preview podcast. Mirtle will be there as well as a couple of guests from our favourite Leaf blogs - Michael Langlois of Vintage Leaf Memories and Julian Sanchez of Pension Plan Puppets.
Look for it to be posted in this space tomorrow. Until then, the links:
Mirtle on the final roster cuts.
The Star's Kevin McGrann on James Reimer. The season pretty much rests on him, but no pressure.
Head coach Ron Wilson is already pleading for patience. That's a good sign.
Toronto Sun columnist Mike Zeisberger says Brian Burke deserves a lot more credit for the trade that brought Gardiner to Toronto.
Danny Gray at theleafsnation.com goes with a Bryan Adams inspired headline on his final roster post.
Want to follow Ron Wilson on Twitter? Here you go.
Down Goes Brown posts his season preview, which is always worth a read.