GetRealHockey wants a Maple Leafs Blogger

As our readers know, we are getting ready to launch GetRealHockey.com.  This site will feature the best NHL experiences in the business and one of our biggest sales markets will be Toronto.  Hockey fans in Toronto love the Maple Leafs and the NHL.

GetRealHockey wants to make sure that the Maple Leafs are well represented when we re-launch GetRealHockey.com. We are looking for a Maple Leafs blogger to join the team @ GetRealHockey.com.  If you check out this link you will see we have big plans for the site.  If you are a blogger and you love the Leafs this could be a great opportunity.

http://www.getrealhockey.blogspot.com/2012/01/getrealhockeycom-community-is-almost.html

The Maple Leafs are the face of Canada.  Leaf fans thrive in the harshest of circumstances.  The Buds had real issues making the playoffs in the past but the 2011 -2012 edition of the Leafs looks ready leave their mark in this spring's race to Lord Stanley's Cup.  Players like Dion Phaneuf have helped the Leafs turn the corner.

We want to hear you take on the Maple Leafs and if you are a blogger we will publish your stories.  Please email us @ getrealhockey@gmail.com for more information. 

The Maple Leafs are for real - Loosing is in the past in Canada's biggest city !!!

The Toronto Maple Leafs have been an integral part of the NHL since the days of the Original Six.  There have been highs and lows but the fans of the Buds  have been patient and they want a winner.  During the last the last few years, Toronto has watched the playoffs on TV.  Things are changing , though, and we expect they will only get better.

The Maple Leafs beat the New York Rangers  on Monday night and kept climbing the ladder of legitimacy.  The team which is led by Joffrey Lupul, Phil Kessel, and Dion Phaneuf has gelled into a cohesive unit which seems to get better with experience.  Their ability to bounce back from the recent blowouts to the Bruins and beat a strong competitor like the Rangers is a sign of character and professionalism.  

Losing is a thing of the past in Toronto.  The team which has suffered through serious injury problems has found ways to win against all comers.   Many in Toronto shuddered when James Reimer was injured in a collision with Brian Gionta of the Habs.  In true "championship" fashion, the team pulled together and played hard in front of Jonas Gustavson. Winning when it's hard is a sign of potential and it Toronto there is a ton of potential.  If you take out the three games against the Bruins ; the Leafs have a scary good record.   If they figure Boston out; Toronto could have a real chance to challenge for the Cup in the next few years.  Brian Burke is a hockey genius.  He turned this team around and we think it is only the start of the fun.  We expects some late season moves from the man at the helm and a strong showing for the Buds in the finals.  It is good to see  a winning team in TO.  The fans deserve it and the NHL will benefit from it.

LEAFS VS FLYERS - NOW THIS IS A HOCKEY !!!

It is a quiet night in the NHL but the Leafs versus Flyers matchup caught our attention.  This will be without a doubt the best game of the night.  Both teams are starting their second string goalies so it is a tossup on who will come out on top.  These squads have grit, youth , and veteran character.  It is almost like they are twins.  When you combines those three elements on both sides; you have the recipe for a knock out drag out game. Both the Leafs and the Flyers have something to prove.  

Toronto has seen a resurgence this year with the play of Dion Phaneuf and Phil Kessel among others.  The boys from the Leafs are determined to get a good jump at the start of the season and it looks like they are well on their way.   They are sick of losing and they want to get into the playoff in 2011 -2012 and make a splash.    Hopefully, Reimer will come back from the Gionta hit and play like he played last season and early this season.   He is a key component to this Leafs' team which right now has the right chemistry to win the tough games.

Philadelphia is off to a good start as well.  Guys like Giroux are playing like champs.  They have some weakness with the likes of Jagr but overall the Flyers are an offensive powerhouse.   We really like the potential in Philly and we think the young players on the team for the nucleus of a championship squad.  The Flyers look kind of like the Capitals of 2009-2010.   I think we will see the young Flyers step up tonight and hit the score sheet.  The question is; will it be enough to beat the Leafs.

Lock and load gang.  This one is going to be a good one.

THE EDMONTON OILERS AND MAPLE LEAFS ARE PLAYOFF BOUND - WE FEEL IT

Every talking head on ESPN and TSN can call a game or season after it has happened.  Only real fans can look at a team and see the potential before it comes to past. We see top of the line hockey potential in the Oilers and the Maple Leafs. The turnarounds in Edmonton and Toronto are for real.  Both squads have suffered through years of mediocrity and their respective success this year is the result of smart drafting and trading.  We expect both teams to make the playoffs this year. 

Rookie sensation Ryan Nugent-Hopkins is giving the young Oiler team an example to follow.  His quiet demeanour is very similar to another young star who hit Edmonton with a thunderclap; Wayne Gretzky.  Ryan Nugent-Hopkins doesn't talk smack on the ice.  He lets his stick do the talking.  He has joined Jordan Eberle and Taylor Hall to form an offensive trio which has put Edmonton back on the NHL hockey map.  Gone are the days when a trip to play the Oilers was a day off for the visitors.  Competitors have to be on top of their game now when they enter Rexhall Place.  The Oilers can put the puck in the net and now that Nikolai Khabibulin is playing better ; this team could cause issues to others in this year's playoff race.  We think it is just a matter of time before the boys in Edmonton taste Stanley Cup success.  If they can keep these young stars for a stretch and foster a team spirit; the Stanley Cup could be headed to Alberta's capital sometime after 2014-2015.

Toronto's success is due to some key veterans playing at the top of their game and a the aggressive play of a hot young goalie.   This year's edition of the Buds is being led by Phil Kessel, Joffrey Lupul, and James Reimer.  Kessel and Lupul are lighting the lamp at a an impressive rate.  Reimer has been solid in the net  and is play has been complimented by experienced blue liners like Dion Phaneuf.  High powered offense plus air tight defense means the Leafs will be on the winning side of many confrontations this year. This version of the Leafs is going to make the playoffs and fans at the Air Canada Center will finally have something to cheer about  when springtime rolls around.  If they can stay injury free and some of their rookies pitch in; the Leafs could post a serious challenge for other squads come playoff time.  

LEAFS AND HABS PREPARE TO CLASH - EASTERN CANADA WILL BE GLUED TO THE TV

The Leafs and Habs face off tonight in a game which is critically important to both squads.  We expect a heck of a clash !!!

Montreal is an early season slump which threatens to become a full scale collapse.  The team is in disarray because of early season injuries coupled with the poor play of key players like Subban and Price.  The Habs playing in front of Price seem to have lost confidence in their goalie.  If the Habs fall behind ; it is almost a guaranteed lost.  Tonight; Price will have to be on top of his game and hope and pray that the weak offense of the Habs can get him a couple goals.  

We expect Montreal to fall to Toronto tonight.  The Leafs are not yet a top tier team in the NHL but they are certainly steadier than Montreal at several positions.  Reimer is what price used to be and Phaneuf is the kind of blue liner that PK Subban might become someday.  We should see fireworks from Lupul and Kessel tonight and the Leafs should put the Habs away on their home ice.

A Maple Leafs and Canadiens matchup is always a crowd pleaser.  The teams despise each other and the fans feel the same as well.  We hope for both teams that the intensity generated by this historical rivalry shows up on the ice tonight.  What teams lacks in skill, they can make up with heart.  If Montreal plays with heart they might squeeze thru and beat Toronto.  If Toronto plays with heart; their superior skill will destroy the Habs. 

From Teammates to Enemies: Calgary vs. Toronto

In the first all Canadian match up of the night the visiting Calgary Flames (1-2-0) take on the Toronto Maple Leafs (2-0-0) at 7PM ET on CBC. The Flames corrected a two game losing streak to start the season with a 4-1 win over Montreal Thursday.  With wins over Montreal and Ottawa the Leafs have started strong for a second straight season but can they keep it up? 

Making their season debuts Clarke MacArthur, back from suspension, and Cody Franson, healthy scratch, will look to add to the winning start.  For Franson this is a huge game to show why he deserves to be in the lineup on a regular basis. MacArthur hopes to build on the chemistry that was developed last season with line mates Mikhail Grabovski and Nikolai Kulemin, all recording career highs in goals and assists. 

Alex Tanguay has started hot with 4 assists so far not to mention the strong game in Montreal from Rene Bourque and his 3 goals on the year.  Jarome Iginla, who finished with a strong season last year, will look to lead the Flames in their hopes of keeping pace in the always-strong Western Conference

Calgary Flames 2003 1^st round draft pick Dion Phaneuf will look to make an impact against his former team who ultimately gave up on him, which he has clearly used as motivation since he was traded to Toronto.  Matthew Lombardi, also a former Flame, has returned to action quicker than expected and will expect to build on the success of his last two games. Matt Stajan, Nikolas Hagman and Lee Stempniak will be returning to Toronto to face their old team.  With so many personal connections to this game, the compete level will be up there and look to expect an intense game.

Whatever team you support, these are two teams with a lot of questions that will make this an interesting Saturday night battle.

By: Liam Niven

"Puck the Bunnies"... as Opposed to, what?

Here's a little viral video based on the dying breed of hockey "fans" known as puck bunnies care of ukeleleist(?) Tally Deushane. There's some racy lyrics, but nothing regular readers of this blog can't handle, so feel free to press play.

"I'd hate Avery with every ounce of my being, but I'm just sooo happy."

For the blissfully unaware, puck bunnies are hockey groupies, the girls that hang around hockey arenas looking to "meet" hockey players, and it doesn't even need to be an NHL arena. You can go to any major junior hockey game, any university one, any ECHL one for crying out loud, and, as sure as Evgeni Malkin is slumping it up with the Pittsburgh Penguins this year, you will find a handful that think the goalie is pretty cute, or at least he looked cute that second he took his mask off and had the water bottle up against his face. It's a foregone conclusion that even Malkin, the Frankenstein's monster that he is, has met his fair share. Case and point would be Toronto Maple Leafs captain Dion Phaneuf being romantically linked to Elisha Cuthbert. She looks like her, and he like some bulldozer had a field day on his forehead.

Cuthbert is perhaps the most well-known of her species, but she is the rarest as well, since most puck bunnies reputedly stalk their prey out of the desire to upgrade their social stature. And she of course made it to Hollywood all on her own. But make no mistake... she is a puck bunny proven by her once being blinded by the lustre of the crest off Sean Avery's jersey as well, until she came to her senses and realized he was a misogynist with clear-cut mother issues, because even they have standards. They're not high, but they are at least existent.