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Maple Leafs report: Inside shots
General manager Cliff Fletcher has just about completed his re-tooling of the Maple Leafs. With the acquisition of left wing Ryan Hollweg on July 14 from the New York Rangers for a fifth-round pick, Fletcher added the muscle he was looking for since forward/defenseman Wade Belak was traded to Florida in February. Fletcher's scorecard in the past month includes the arrival of free agent goaltender Curtis Joseph, defenseman Jeff Finger, defenseman Jonas Frogren and left wing Niklas Hagman as well as trades for Hollweg, center Mikhail Grabovski and right wing Jamal Mayers. Hollweg and Mayers will be part of the push to give the Leaf lineup "more bite" in Fletcher's opinion. The Leafs are also expected to keep first-round draft pick defenseman Luke Schenn through camp and possibly let him start the season, as well as 2006 second-round forward Nikolai Kulemin, who is coming from Russia. The front office moves include the hiring of coach Ron Wilson, special assistant Joe Nieuwendyk and director of player personnel Al Coates. Richard Peddie, president and CEO of Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment applauded the changes, but warned he still expects to renew a search for a younger, long-term general manager in the summer of 2009. That person could reverse some of Fletcher's decisions. "If there is a clash of ideals next year, the new guy would have the trump card," Peddie said. "But we're not close to making that call." Copyright (C) 2008 The Sports Xchange. All Rights Reserved. |
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