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Toronto Maple Leafs: Monday Morning Leaf Points

By Jon Stamos

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As the summer begins to wind down and we begin to edge closer to training camp for NHL teams, Hockey related news is few and far between these days with the hockey insiders enjoying their summer break. Although most news has slowed down to a trickle, this is Leafs Nation and there is always something to talk about.

Here are the stories circulating through Leaf Land right now, this is ‘Monday Morning Leafs Points’

PTO IN T.O?

The week started off with news of a Devin Setoguchi interview with CTV Calgary where he stated that he has signed a PTO with the Toronto Maple Leafs and will be joining the team during training camp and going into the pre-season.

Setoguchi, a former first round, 8th overall pick of the San Jose Sharks has slowly slid into obscurity after a strong start to his career where he managed 84 goals and 159 points during 3 and a half seasons with the Sharks.

His play has declined since those years and it’s no secret that Setoguchi has struggled during his career with substance abuse issues up until recently where he’s managed to clean himself up and has just gotten married a week ago. Setoguchi is a guy looking to start fresh and is looking to find the love for the game of hockey that he once had.

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Although there has been no official announcement from the Toronto Maple Leafs yet regarding Setoguchi joining the team on a PTO it’s worth mentioning that Mason Raymond who is a friend and teammate of Setoguchi’s this past season in Calgary was once granted a tryout from the Leafs which then turned into a 1 year deal which turned out to be a great opportunity to showcase himself.

He had a bounce back year and earned himself a three year 9.5 Mil contract with the Calgary Flames this past season. I really hope Setoguchi is able to do the same here and get his playing career back on track because he was a promising young player who managed three 30+ goal seasons to finish off his junior career.

Hall of Fame Assignment

The Toronto Maple Leafs announced this week that Jacques Lemaire has joined the team as a “Special Assignment Coach.” If you aren’t entirely certain what that means, don’t worry you aren’t the only one still trying to figure out how exactly he will fit into the teams coaching/management structure.

Lemaire brings with him a wealth of experience and a proven track record of winning when it counts. He is a former Montreal Canadiens forward who won an astounding eight Cups with the organization.

Lemaire was a good player in his playing days, he wasn’t just a ‘plug’ on a very good Montreal Canadiens team. Lemaire was counted on to be a regular contributor during his 11 seasons as a player for the Canadiens racking up 366 goals & 835 points.

After retirement, Lemaire went into coaching and after a brief stint in Europe and a stopover in the QMJHL he then came back to the NHL and served as an assistant coach for the team he spent his entire professional playing career with, the Canadiens before taking over as the bench boss for 2 season.

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After taking a little hiatus from the sport he then returned to the NHL as a head coach for the New Jersey Devils and served as head coach from 1993 to 1998 and won his first Stanley cup as a head coach in 1995. His next stop was with the Minnesota Wild where he spent 8 seasons trying to build up a new franchise to respectability before returning to the Devils for one final tour as head coach between 2009-2011.

Jacques Lemaire has a established himself as a winner and along with 9 Stanley Cup rings, he also brings to Toronto a few other prestigious accolades such as; winning the Jack Adams award twice as the top coach as well as an Olympic Gold medal with Team Canada. Lemaire’s career has been highlighted by all these great achievements and this was recognized in 1984 when he got the call to be inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame.

Lemaire brings an impressive resume’ to Toronto and no matter how he is utilized by the organization, one thing is certain. He will be an excellent addition to the Leafs revamped front office along with Brendan Shanahan, Lou Lamoriello, Mike Babcock, Kyle Dubas & Mark Hunter.

Owning the Crease

RDS had released an article this past Thursday where they sat down with recently resigned Toronto Maple Leafs goalie Jonathan Bernier where he made it clear that his intentions going into camp are to continue where he left off last season as the starting goalie “I was the number one goalie last year and I played over 55 matches (58).

In my head, I’m going into camp with the mindset that my status hasn’t changed” Bernier continued  “It is for me to find the consistency to elevate myself to the highest level possible throughout the season.”

I know many fans were rather weary of the idea of the team needing to go through the arbitration process in order to hammer out a deal and feared that this could possibly cause a rift between the player and the team but during this interview he shed a little light on this by making a point of saying “by offering me this two year contract and the amount.

They’ve shown that they have confidence in me” Bernier feels this deal is a ‘show us what you are capable of” type of deal and I have to believe he is going to come into camp in top shape to do just that.

The Leafs goaltending tandem of Bernier and Reimer have a lot to prove this season and I feel that Reimer will have to make the most of the few chances he gets because my money is on the team riding Bernier all year and James could end up as the odd man out at the end of the season unless something drastic happens that forces him into the starters role.

Toronto Maple Leafs Tweets of the Week

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