There's been a lot of talk lately about all those sweet, sweet draft picks the Leafs can't seem to stop trading away.  It's like there's a sickness that afflicts all Leafs GMs and there's no known cure.  In reading blogs and forums though, it's pretty clear no one really seems to know what's been gained or lost in the post-JFJ era, so I thought I'd take a stab at sorting it out myself.   Is this a throwback to the long ago days of trading away multiple picks for aging vets like Owen Nolan, Brian Leetch, and Vesa Toskala (ok, that wasn't so long ago)?   Or was old Cliffy more prudent than he's getting credit for?   I wonder...

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I'm getting tired of this.  I don't want to crap on Burke's first real move but...

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Editor's Note: What happens when you take Working Class Howard's idiotic ramblings to the extreme? What about when you are reminded of his previous stances on issues? Well, whatever you get, it comes out pretty funny in this fanpost.

TORONTO (Jan. 7) – To my astonishment, fans that routinely and unconditionally fill the Air Canada Centre for Maple Leaf games haven’t been quite as sheep-like so far this season. Oh, they’ll show up to capacity in any situation, children in hospital or not, but such is the nature of the Blue & White – widely unanticipated by my insight light analysis – has made for a lively audience most nights, even when the video-board above centre-ice isn’t imploring the denizens to “make noise”.  Yes, it is only in this overly hockey crazed city that we find such sheep like fans drawn to lively entertainment while, I should repeat, children are dying in hospitals.

The crowd for last night’s game against Florida, however, was a throwback in every sense of the word. The sheep from previous years, who still haven’t given up on this team after 41 years and continue to cheer for the home team, were in evidence all through the arena. It was considered fashionable to boo Bryan McCabe on his return to the ACC; after all, what former Leaf defensemen played his way to 5th on the depth charts with an albatross of a contract, refused to waive his NMC and suggested he’ll get booed on Monday. So, without fail, this collection of banality [I used a thesaurus to find this word] followed through and jeered a player that largely contributed to seasons in which the Leafs compiled 103, 100 and 98 points, seasons that I’ve always said truly mattered.  It should also be noted however, that those seasons were still absolute failures, much like everything the team does, so why is it that these sheepish fans don’t applaud him is beyond me.  Of course, there wasn’t a chirp of discontent aimed at the lazy, unmotivated, over performing members of the current team while Florida effortlessly recorded the game’s first 11 shots on goal. Not until the buzzer sounded to end the second period – with the Panthers easily in front, 3-0 – did the flock briefly turn its attention away from McCabe and towards the lethargic heroes in blue and boo their favourite team for their inability to be half decent night in and night out without any top talent to help.

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Jan 7, 2009 - Don Luce

There's no particular comparison to make between the trade the Leafs just made for Brad May and the one they made many years ago for Don Luce other than the fact that in both cases, a veteran nearing the end of his career was acquired for a sixth-round pick.  It's just that whenever I hear the phrase "sixth-round pick," this trade immediately jumps to mind.  When the Leafs traded their 1983 sixth-rounder to LA in 1981, LA used it on a kid named Kevin Stevens.  Yes, that Kevin Stevens.

Now, Kevin went on to college and was traded around a bit before finally making his debut with the Pens after the 1988 Olympics, so it's not like this was an instant all-star we're talking about.  It's just that if any team gives up a lower pick and sees that lower pick turn into a 50-goal scorer, it will be the Leafs.

This is all rather unfair to both Brad May and particularly to Don Luce.  Don had had an outstanding career in the NHL.  The only problem was that he was basically done by the time he got here.  Had there been a Selke trophy when Don was having his best years, he'd have won at least one and been in the running for a number of others.  He had that kind of ability.  He was a two-way player who could put up 25 goals while stopping whoever he was checking dead in his tracks.  Imagine a guy from your #2 line being a plus 61.  That was Don Luce.

Don was also the recipient of one of the poorer air-brush jobs I've ever seen.  It would have been better to have him in a Sabres uniform and just printed "Now with Leafs" on it.

Of course, had Don had more in the tank by 1981, it would have cost the Leafs a higher pick than a sixth, and the Leafs would have used their sixth-rounder to draft someone else entirely.

Good luck to Brad May, and hopefully that sixth turns into nobody.  It's always a crapshoot with the draft.  The sixth that LA traded to get Luce from Buffalo?  Jacob Gustavsson.  Who?  Exactly.

Don's Stats:
1965-66      Kitchener Rangers      OHA-Jr.      47      16      19      35      71           19      4      12      16      20
1966-67     Kitchener Rangers     OHA-Jr.     48     19     42     61     94         13     7     9     16     35
1967-68     Kitchener Rangers     OHA-Jr.     54     24     70     94     88         19     4     8     12     42
1968-69     Omaha Knights     CHL     72     22     34     56     56         7     3     4     7     11
1969-70     Omaha Knights     CHL     64     22     35     57     82         2     1     2     3     4
1969-70     New York Rangers     NHL     12     1     2     3     8     -2     5     0     1     1     4
1970-71     New York Rangers     NHL     9     0     1     1     0     0                    
1970-71     Detroit Red Wings     NHL     58     3     11     14     18     -6                    
1971-72     Buffalo Sabres     NHL     78     11     8     19     38     -18                    
1972-73     Buffalo Sabres     NHL     78     18     25     43     32     +7     6     1     1     2     2
1973-74     Buffalo Sabres     NHL     75     26     31     57     44     +3                    
1974-75     Buffalo Sabres     NHL     80     33     43     76     45     +61     16     5     8     13     19
1975-76     Buffalo Sabres     NHL     77     21     49     70     42     +37     9     4     3     7     6
1976-77     Buffalo Sabres     NHL     80     26     43     69     16     +38     6     3     1     4     2
1977-78     Buffalo Sabres     NHL     78     26     35     61     24     +32     8     0     2     2     6
1978-79     Buffalo Sabres     NHL     79     26     35     61     14     +20     3     1     1     2     0
1979-80     Buffalo Sabres     NHL     80     14     29     43     30     +22     14     3     3     6     11
1980-81     Buffalo Sabres     NHL     61     15     13     28     19     +14                    
1980-81     Los Angeles Kings     NHL     10     1     0     1     2     -4     4     0     2     2     2
1981-82     Toronto Maple Leafs     NHL     39     4     4     8     32     -7                    
1981-82     Salt Lake Golden Eagles     CHL     2     1     0     1     4         10     2     5     7     8
Leaf Totals     39     4     4     8     32     -7                    
NHL Totals     894     225     329     554     364     +197    71     17     22     39     52

CHL First All-Star Team (1970)
Bill Masterton Trophy (1975)
Played in NHL All-Star Game (1975)

- Traded to Detroit by NY Rangers for Steve Andrascik, November 2, 1970.
- Traded to Buffalo by Detroit with Mike Robitaille for Joe Daley, May 25, 1971.
- Traded to Los Angeles by Buffalo for Los Angeles' 6th round choice (Jacob Gustavsson) in 1982 Entry Draft, March 10, 1981.
- Traded to Toronto by Los Angeles for Bob Gladney and Toronto's 6th round choice (Kevin Stevens) in 1983 Entry Draft, August 10, 1981.

the HHOF take on Don:

Don Luce was a superior defensive centre and penalty killer who could score and work the power play. His strong two-way play and work on face offs aided all five teams on which he played, especially the Buffalo Sabres.

Luce played junior with the Kitchener Rangers of the OHA. He was chosen 14th overall by the New York Rangers at the 1966 Amateur Draft then spent two years developing with the CHL's Omaha Knights. The young pivot registered consecutive 20-goal seasons for Omaha and was placed on the CHL first all-star team. He played briefly with the Rangers at the end of the 1969-70 season and the beginning of the next before he was traded to the Detroit Red Wings. Luce was a solid checker the rest of the year with his new club but did not fit into their long-range plans.

Luce was traded to the Buffalo Sabres in May 1971 and went on to become one of the top defensive centres and penalty killers in the game. His finest year was 1974-75 when he scored 33 goals, including eight shorthanded, while forming one of the best number-two lines in the NHL with Craig Ramsay and Danny Gare. That spring, he scored 16 points and provided stellar two way work as Buffalo reached the Stanley Cup finals. Following the season, Luce was presented the Bill Masterton trophy. In all, Luce hit the 20-goal mark six times and scored 25 times when killing penalties.

The veteran forward was moved to the L.A. Kings in March 1971 as Buffalo started to make changes. Prior to the 1981-82 season, he was sent to the Toronto Maple Leafs where he played his last 39 games before retiring.

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Collector's Corner - 1985-86 OPC

I'm not sure how to start this one off except to say that when this set came out, I hated it.  I know that people who started collecting in the mid to late 80s look on these sets fondly.  To me, it was the start of the downward spiral that ended with OPC getting out of the hockey card business.

Part of the problem, I guess, was that 1984-85 had been such an inspired effort.  That was the year of the little insert picture - the first time you had two views of the same player on a given card.  Nifty idea.  Plus, the design was really clean and bright and it was just a great set all around.

(1984-85 OPC - ain't it pretty?)

I first got a look at 1985-86 when Topps came out.  I'd always pick up half a dozen packs of these so that I could get a look at the new design and see whether I'd nab a star or two for my star book.

My impression was not good.  The design looked like a warmed-over version of something Vachon cakes had put out in 1983-84 and the cards themselves just looked kind of dim - no real punch to them.  I hoped the OPC set would be better.

(1983-84 Vachon - ripped off from eBay, though I do have this set)

When I got my hands on OPC that year, I was really disappointed.  They had cut the set by a third, down to 264 cards from 396.  This meant no team or all-star cards and only a dozen or so players from each team, rather than the 17-18 you usually saw.  (This had been 20+ in the 1970's when there were fewer teams.)  They got past the all-star card thing by turning them into stickers that came as an insert set.

What really stood out, though, was the print quality, or lack thereof.  OPC cards always had issues with centering and somewhat ragged edges.  In a lot of ways, that was part of the charm.  These, though, were brutal.  You'd get cards that almost looked like they'd been torn by hand, cards that were so far off-centre top-to-bottom that you'd see the name of another player, and others that had these blue print lines running vertically right through the entire card.  For some reason, the wax left on the cards from the front of the pack was much thicker than normal, and would actually obscure the picture.  Just nasty.

The saving grace for this set was the rookie card of a Penguin by the name of Mario Lemieux.  Without him, this set goes into the dustbin of history.

(some guy named Mario)

OPC would get some of the print issues sorted out for the next season.  The one thing they didn't change, though, was the set size.  They settled on 264 for the rest of the 1980s, which meant that lots of players simply never had another card produced.  There would be no Todd Gill or Motor City Smitty in Toronto, for example.  Peter Ihnacak never had another card.  Wendel Clark had no card for several years because he was only playing 20 games per season. At least one set was produced without a Leaf goaltender in it.

For 1989-90, OPC bumped the set size back up to 330, and then tried a couple big seasons at 528 (I believe) before making one last set of 396.  By that time, though, tons of other companies were in their space, and OPC was done.  The name has been revived, but it's someone else pretending to be OPC.

I've always wondered what prompted OPC to make the changes they did for 1985-86.  The design wasn't their fault - they inherited that from Topps.  It looks as though they tried some new manufacturing process that didn't work well, but that's a pure guess on my part.  Why did they cut the set size?  No idea, but I can only assume they were losing money on it somehow.  By coming down to 264, they'd substantially cut the effort involved in producing a bigger set than Topps did. 

I read once that they subcontracted out the actual printing, but this seems to have vanished from Wikipedia, so its truthfulness is suspect.  It would have explained the wild variation in quality, though.

A few months ago, I thought it might be interesting to go through the doubles I had from 1985-86 and see how far away I was from having another set.  It turned out that the only card I needed was Kevin Dineen, but another dozen were so botched by the printing process that they were unusable.  Seems about right.

Making that new set, however, made me hate it a lot less.  I can sort of live with the design and I don't find them as catastrophically dull as I once did. 

It's still an ugly duckling next to 1984-85, though.

From a Leaf perspective, the only good thing about the 1985-86 set is the player who isn't there.  That was the rookie season for Wendel Clark.  We'd see him in '86-87.

(no, it's not Wendel.  I think I'll do a write-up on '86-87.  I hated it less.)

Jan 6, 2009 - Felix Potvin

I was toying with the notion of letting Bryan McCabe be today's LotD, but I'm sure he'll pot one tonight without any karmic assistance from me.  I'm not actually that hyped about the return.  I thought he'd have a good year this year and he seems to be doing just that.  More power to him.  The only Leaf defenseman I'd boo on sight is the living, breathing -1, Ken Hammond, and I'm almost over that now.

Maybe Anders Eriksson.

All that aside, I wanted to talk about something/someone else.  One of the stories that happened over Christmas that I didn't get to talk about at the time was the long-awaited debut of Justin Pogge.  He didn't disappoint.  I was expecting him to see some other action and that may yet happen if CuJo decides to take a walk in the snow.  For now, though, it's back to the Marlies and we'll see him for certain next season.

Felix Potvin broke in much the same way.  He played a handful of games in 1991-92 and really looked like a keeper (no pun), then it was back to the farm (not for as long, his games were late in the season, IIRC) for a playoff run in St. John's.  (It would be nice if the Marlies could go on a run themselves.  Not betting on it.)

Felix was back the next year to back up Grant Fuhr and wound up pushing Grant off to Buffalo and leading the league in GAA (at 2.50 - remember when goals were allowed to be scored?).  Then he went on the run we all remember.

Potvin looked like he'd be the the Leafs goalie for a good decade or more, but by the late 90s he'd developed a penchant for allowing a softie pretty much every game.  After a particularly tough one against St. Louis (MacInnis, but not one of his big-time slappers), the writing was basically on the wall, and the Leafs went to Curtis Joseph instead.  Potvin's stock was still high enough to merit Bryan Berard in trade.

Say what you will about Felix Potvin, but he got the Leafs closer to a Stanley Cup Final than any goalie since Bower and Sawchuk.  He's probably the best home-grown Leaf goaltender since Turk Broda, and that includes Palmateer.  His career save percentage with the Leafs is .909, which ain't too shabby, despite the softies.

We'll see what Pogge brings.

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1987-88      Montreal-Bourassa      QAAA      27      15      7      3      3      3.90      6      2      4      0      0      3.51
1988-89     Chicoutimi Sagueneens     QMJHL     65     25     31     1     2     4.66                        
1989-90     Chicoutimi Sagueneens     QMJHL     62     31     26     2     2     3.99                        
1990-91     Chicoutimi Sagueneens     QMJHL     54     33     15     4     6     2.70     16     11     5         0     2.78
1990-91     Canada     WJC-A     2                     2.25                        
1990-91     Chicoutimi Sagueneens     M-Cup     3     1     2     0     0     2.76                        
1991-92     Toronto Maple Leafs     NHL     4     0     2     1     0     2.29                        
1991-92     St. John's Maple Leafs     AHL     35     18     10     6     2     2.93     11     7     4         0     3.83
1992-93     Toronto Maple Leafs     NHL     48     25     15     7     2     2.50     21     11     10         1     2.84
1992-93     St. John's Maple Leafs     AHL     5     3     0     2     0     3.50                        
1993-94     Toronto Maple Leafs     NHL     66     34     22     9     3     2.89     18     9     9         3     2.46
1994-95     Toronto Maple Leafs     NHL     36     15     13     7     0     2.91     7     3     4         1     2.83
1995-96     Toronto Maple Leafs     NHL     69     30     26     11     2     2.87     6     2     4         0     3.26
1996-97     Toronto Maple Leafs     NHL     74     27     36     7     0     3.15                        
1997-98     Toronto Maple Leafs     NHL     67     26     33     7     5     2.73                        
1997-98     Canada     WC-A     4     3     0     1     0     2.00                        
1998-99     Toronto Maple Leafs     NHL     5     3     2     0     0     3.81                        
1998-99     New York Islanders     NHL     11     2     7     1     0     3.66                        
1999-00     New York Islanders     NHL     22     5     14     3     1     3.21                        
1999-00     Vancouver Canucks     NHL     34     12     13     7     0     2.59                        
2000-01     Vancouver Canucks     NHL     35     14     17     3     1     3.08                        
2000-01     Los Angeles Kings     NHL     23     13     5     5     5     1.96     13     7     6         2     2.44
2001-02     Los Angeles Kings     NHL     71     31     27     8     6     2.31     7     3     4         1     2.16
2002-03     Los Angeles Kings     NHL     42     17     20     3     3     2.66                        
2003-04     Boston Bruins     NHL     28     12     8     6     4     2.50                        
2004-05                                                        
Leaf Totals     369     160     149     49     12     2.87     52     25     27         5     2.75
NHL Totals     635     266     260     85     32     2.76     72     35     37         8     2.63

QMJHL All-Rookie Team (1989)
QMJHL Second All-Star Team (1990)
QMJHL First All-Star Team (1991)
Canadian Major Junior Goaltender of the Year (1991)
Memorial Cup Tournament All-Star Team (1991)
Hap Emms Memorial Trophy (Memorial Cup Tournament Top Goaltender) (1991)
AHL First All-Star Team (1992)
Dudley ``Red'' Garrett Memorial Award (Rookie of the Year - AHL) (1992)
Aldege "Baz" Bastien Memorial Award (Outstanding Goaltender - AHL) (1992)
NHL All-Rookie Team (1993)
Played in NHL All-Star Game (1994, 1996)

- Traded to NY Islanders by Toronto with Toronto's 6th round choice (later traded to Tampa Bay - Tampa Bay selected Fedor Fedorov) in 1999 Entry Draft for Bryan Berard and NY Islanders' 6th round choice (Jan Sochor) in 1999 Entry Draft, January 9, 1999.
- Traded to Vancouver by NY Islanders with NY Islanders' 2nd round compensatory choice (later traded to New Jersey - New Jersey selected Teemu Laine) in 2000 Entry Draft and NY Islanders' 3rd round choice (Thatcher Bell) in 2000 Entry Draft for Kevin Weekes, Dave Scatchard and Bill Muckalt, December 19, 1999.
- Traded to Los Angeles by Vancouver for future considerations, February 15, 2001.
- Signed as a free agent by Boston, September 3, 2003.

the HHOF take on Felix:

As a Junior backstopper with the Chicoutimi Sagueneens of the QMJHL, Felix Potvin had the golden touch of an all-star. He led the league in shutouts for three years running; he was voted a second and first team all-star. He was chosen as the CHL Goaltender-of-the-Year; and, he made the Memorial Cup All-Star team and took home the Hap Emms Memorial Trophy as the top goaltender of the tournament. He then joined Team Canada to win a gold medal at the World Junior Championships.

Potvin was drafted in 1990 by the Toronto Maple Leafs. He spent his first pro season with their AHL affiliate in St. John's. That year, he won the Baz Bastien Memorial Trophy as the top goaltender of the AHL and the Dudley "Red" Garrett Memorial Trophy as the league's Rookie-of-the-Year. To top things off, he tended goal in four games for the Leafs who saw what they liked thus clearing the way for the club to dispense with Grant Fuhr in favour of their new rookie netminder.

In his early years with the Leafs, Potvin was a workhorse who, in his first big-league campaign, carried his club to the semi-finals where they eventually lost to Wayne Gretzky and his Los Angeles Kings. By the time he'd completed his six-year run with the Blue and White, Potvin had more games played and wins than all other Leafs stoppers except for Turk Broda and Johnny Bower. He set a club record, leading the league in games played with 74 during the 1996-97 season. During that campaign, he faced more shots than any goaltender in league history.

With the signing of free agent Curtis Joseph, Potvin saw the writing on the wall and the Leafs finally dealt him to the New York Islanders.

After a short stay with the Islanders, Potvin was sent to Vancouver where his stay was just as short as in New York. Following to sub-par seasons with New York and Vancouver, Potvin made a triumphant return to the NHL in 2000-01 with the Los Angeles Kings where he was workhouse for the team during their playoff run.

In 2001-02 Potvin played in 71 games with the Kings posting a 31-27-8 record along with 2.31 GAA before battling injuries throughout the 2002-03 season. After parts of three seasons with the Kings, Potvin was acquired by the Boston Bruins in the summer of 2003. Potvin would appear in 28 games with the Bruins however would not be re-signed by the club following the 2003-04 season.

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Here's a tribute video made by someone with considerably more time than me.

It started out as a couple of drunken text messages on New Years day. Did you see the game tonight? yes, I did. Want to go to the next one? Yes i do? Do you? Lets get tickets!!!!!!

This lead to my brother making a 4 hour drive from the cottage in Muskoka to Ottawa, and myself flying on Porter Air from the Toronto Island Airport to Ottawa. Needless to say we were excited to make it to the nations capital, and it was for reasons of hockey. We walked into Scotiabank Place, first as Canadians, and Secondly as Toronto Maple Leaf fans.

We were fired up to see an amazing game which we travelled hundreds of kilometres to see. We entered an arena full of Senators fans, a bunch of leaf fans who gave us thumbs up(we both wore Maple Leaf Toques throughout the game), and various other street people (habs fans).

The game was a back and forth battle, that was highlighted by the Russian's speed, back checking, and will to keep coming back. Every time we thought Canada put them down a goal, they came back almost instantly. The crowd was loud and proud for Ottawa standards, though the people behind me didn't like it when I stood up a couple of Canadian breakaways (always do this at ACC and everyone else stands) .

The game came down to 2 plays, the Russian defenceman who shot the puck and iced it with about 20 seconds left. Then the face-off after, which led to a scrum, and which John Tavares threw the puck towards the net which Jordan Eberle then put in the top shelf with 5 seconds left. This moment will always stick out in my mind, I jumped out of my seat yelling, screaming, embracing everyone around me (even fans of other NHL teams), jumping up and down in disbelief. It was one of those truly Canadian moments which those of us in the building, and watching on TSN will remember for the rest of our lives .

The goal was in a scramble, not as pretty as the Gretzky-Lemieux Pass of 1987, or the Jonathan Toews shootout show against the Americans, it was more like the 1972 Henderson goal than any goal in recent memory. Being their to witness it was icing on the cake.

Once the Overtime started, and went with a few decent chances. The Canadians got looser as the 10 minutes wore on, and they had more quality chances than The Russians.

Going into the shootout, the crowd was confident, as Canada had the snipers ready to take action, and they didn't dissapoint. After watching Canada win gold tonight, my expensive trip was validated. Though 5 seconds difference could have made my trip not worthwhile. I was glad to have witnessed a classic game, rather than the antics of the Swedes tonight. All in all, I am happy that Canada has won 5 in a row. Here is a youtube video I put together of the anthem after the game. Great patriotic stuff! 

Editor's Note: In case anyone ever wonders why I hate Old Yeller 1967ers does a good job of reminding us just how classless Joseph's departure was from Toronto. I stayed up until all hours to watch the Ducks SWEEP! the Red Wings in 2003. It might be my most satisfying non-Leafs series.

Jan 5, 2008 - Curtis Joseph

Forgoing the normal 1978-79 Leaf today because I'd like to say congrats to Cujo on win #450.  I'm glad he got that one in before loss #352, which I have to admit I hope he doesn't get.  While it's true that you have to be a pretty d@mned good goaltender to be allowed to lose that many games (ask the Gumper and Gilles Meloche), it's still not something you want to be associated with if you can avoid it.

It was pretty interesting to hear Joseph's name being chanted in the ACC (almost typed "the Gardens" there - more coffee, please - or better, change the name of the new building) again.  Five years ago, it would have been chanted, all right, though probably with the word "sucks" attached to it.  For all that has been said and written about the departure of Mats Sundin, the way Joseph left was head and shoulders worse.  (Both, I think, pale in comparison to the departures of Vince Carter and Roberto Alomar, but that again is a story for another day.)

Curtis had come to the Leafs in 1998 after Felix Potvin lost his mojo (although a mojo-less Cat was still better than what we've seen recently) and the confidence of the team.  Combined with the arrival of Quinn, the Leafs vaulted from the lower echelons of the league to the upper ones, immediately went three rounds into the playoffs and a new era of good Leaf teams was upon us - the entire thing dependent on top-notch goaltending to cover for an attack-oriented style of play.

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2. The Tampa Bay Lightning will win the draft lottery and get the first overall pick in the 2009 draft this June. However, Ontario Hockey League phenom John Tavares, providing flashbacks of Eric Lindros, will refuse to wear the Lightning jersey after being taken with the first pick, scared to suffer the kind of misery that has fallen on Steven Stamkos this season. Even the offer of a bit part in "Saw V" from Bolts owner and Hollywood movie producer Oren Koules won't be enough to bridge the gap. Toronto Maple Leafs GM Brian Burke will steal the day by acquiring the rights to Tavares before the end of the night in a blockbuster deal that sends Luke Schenn and Toronto's first picks in 2009 and 2010 to Tampa. 

 -Pierre LeBrun, ESPN

Toronto, Barilkosphere press: Matt Stajan's injury due to a soccer ball to the face has gained the attention of Leafs nation. Now, the trainers have chosen to issue the official video of the injury to the press: ">

According to other Leafs players, Stajan was not the only one affected by the hit.Forward Lee Stemniak was quoted as saying "Man, after seeing Stajan getting hit in the face with a soccer ball, I couldn't breathe. I was laughing SO. HARD, man. It still cracks me up just thinking about it. I think if I was laughing harder, I'd piss my pants."

Stajan is apparently still feeling the effects of the hit two weeks after the event. Stajan told Barilkosphere press, "I'm still getting my ass kicked at Smash Bros, but then again, what else is new? At least it wasn't a damn sock that attacked me. Sneaky bastards"