Toronto Maple Leafs: EIL Content Roundup – July 30th

The season is officially over for the Toronto Maple Leafs.

But that doesn’t mean the content must stop. Yes, although the Maple Leafs may not be playing actual hockey games anymore, the Editor in Leaf staff have been working around the clock to ensure that every angle from every offseason topic has been covered.

With so many pieces hitting the wall all at once, it’s natural that a few may have fallen through the cracks. So, let’s take a look at some of the past week’s most intriguing pieces.

Toronto Maple Leafs Countdown to Camp: Jeremy Bracco

Jeremy Bracco is a truly intriguing hockey player. Drafted in the second round of the 2015 NHL Entry Draft, his best trait clearly pertains to passing, where Bracco finished atop the AHL assist leaders in his sophomore pro season.

But Bracco’s skills also limit him, to an extent. He’s not particularly big or boisterous, and therefore it is unclear to whether Mike Babcock will actually play him on his preferred fourth line. The fourth line is where Bracco will end up if he manages to crack the Leafs out of camp.

So, could these limitations hold him back from becoming a full-time Leaf? Kyle breaks this down and more in his latest piece.

“Bracco had an intriguing rookie season in the AHL in 2017-18. In a depth role, he failed to find the scoresheet often enough to earn promotion up the lineup. When Andreas Johnsson and Kasperi Kapanen found themselves in the NHL, however, Bracco excelled, posting point per game totals down the stretch.

Still, it wasn’t enough to keep him in the lineup for the Calder Cup Playoffs, which he watched from the press box as the Marlies went on to win the championship.

With the number of graduates up front, Bracco was going to be tasked with becoming a dynamic offensive scorer for the Marlies in 2018-19 if they were to have any reasonable amount of success.”

Toronto Maple Leafs: The Perplexing Martins Dzierkals Situation

Speaking of intriguing prospects, Martins Dzierkals is more or less an international man of mystery. He’s barely played at a level above the ECHL throughout his time in the Leafs’ organization, and had recently fled to the KHL.

And yet, Dzierkals remains without a contract at the moment. He’s not signed by the Leafs, and it doesn’t appear that he factors into their long-term plans. Why?

Well, Spencer gets to the bottom of it in his latest piece.

“Interesting to note here is that Dzierkals seemed to have a rough time in trying to prove his worth to the Toronto Maple Leafs, which explains his move to the KHL. What is not explained is the Leafs supposed lack of interest in Dzierkals.

Despite some underwhelming production, Dzierkals has never been bad. The playmaking winger has a solid offensive skill set complete with strong puck control and handling ability as well as slick skating. This can be seen in this video courtesy of ‘Leafs Prospects Vidyas’.”

The Unfortunate History of Toronto Maple Leafs Goaltending Decisions

Did you know that the Maple Leafs traded Garret Sparks last week? They sure did.

Sparks spent over seven years in the Leafs organization before his ultimate exit. He finally cracked the NHL on a full-time basis last season and it went about as poorly as anyone could’ve imagined, with Sparks being more or less cut from the team prior to the Leafs heading into the playoffs. He was so bad, they wouldn’t even let him sit on their bench.

But Sparks is not the only former goalie who struggled as a Leaf. Heck, he’s not even the only backup. As Jeff gets into in his latest piece, some puck stopper have fared much, much worse.

“The Leafs had two very promising young goalies in their system, Justin Pogge and Tuukka Rask. There was no need to keep both of them so a decision was made to send one to the Boston Bruins in exchange for the former Calder Memorial Trophy winner, Raycroft.

This misstep is only made worse with the knowledge that the Bruins were planning to release Raycroft that off-season if they were unable to find a trading partner. That would have allowed Toronto to have signed their man without giving up a future star.

It has also since been discovered that the Bruins would have been willing to make the deal for Pogge instead of Rask. As it turned out, Peter Chiarelli, who had one month of experience as the general manager, fleeced the Leafs.”

Thanks for reading!