With the All-Star Game over, we're less than one month away from the 2012 NHL Trade Deadline. Many names, big and small, have been thrown about as potential targets for the Toronto Maple Leafs. Rick Nash, Bobby Ryan, Ryan Getzlaf, Ryan Suter, and James van Riemsdyk are probably the five that have been discussed the most by Leaf fans. They're also five names that are either incredibly unlikely to move (Nash) or have been taken off the trade market (Ryan, Getzlaf, Suter, JVR). So moving forward, who could the Leafs realistically target as an upgrade to the line-up? Will Burke find the elusive first line center or the power forward he claims to be looking for? Follow after the jump for some names to watch...

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Over the past three seasons, Leaf fans have witnessed the slow yet steady ascension of Belorussian centerman Mikhail Grabovski to the top of the depth chart.  Brought in only months before the hiring of current Leafs GM Brian Burke, the 27 year-old pivot was acquired from the Montreal Canadiens for a second round pick in the 2010 NHL Draft and the rights to defenseman Greg Pateryn.  His play in his first full season was up and down, but he finished with 20 goals and 48 points, good for fourth on the team.  The recently completed 2010-11 season saw further progress in Grabovski's game, as he flirted with a 30/30 season at a reasonable cap hit of $2.9 million.  Unfortunately, one of the downsides to Grabovski's signing of a short-term extension in the summer of 2010 was that he will become eligible for Unrestricted Free Agency on July 1st, 2012.  He has quickly become a fan favorite, especially within the Barilkosphere, but there is certainly a chance this could be Grabbo's last hoorah with the Maple Leafs.

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Joe Colborne is 6'5" Canadian center. He played two years at Denver in the WCHA with Tyler Bozak and Tyler Ruegsegger.

He's had a tough year in the AHL so far but let's look at his other numbers:

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In Part I, several PPP contributors gave their thoughts on the pressing questions entering the 2010-2011 NHL season.  Today's second and final section will deal with individual performance and team expectations.  Who will lead the Leafs in scoring?  Who will be the better goaltender?  Can we expect significant development from players such as Nik Kulemin or Tyler Bozak?  And the most important question of all:  Will this year's Toronto Maple Leafs team make the Stanley Cup Playoffs? 

Find out after the jump...

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Thursday, October 7th will be a new day for the Toronto Maple Leafs. It marks the opening of their 2010-11 campaign, one that will surely be more fulfilling than the last (right? RIGHT?!?). The Leafs begin the new season against the hated Les Canadiens de Montréal; a tilt that will hopefully send the team on the right track towards an elusive playoff berth. New faces will be added to older ones, creating a mix of skill, physicality, and commitment to defense that could carry this team far. But where exactly will this team go?  Who will step up?  Who will falter?  Throwing caution to the wind, the staff here at PPP sat down to hammer out each of our thoughts and bring them to you, our readers, free of charge.

Continue after the jump...

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From Beauchemin to Stalberg, we're taking a look at and grading (please read the criteria below) the 2009-10 season for every player who laced 'em up for the Maple Leafs for a significant number of games during the campaign, with an eye towards 2010-11. That means only guys that are still property of the Maple Leafs. We're doing this in concert with Maple Leafs Hot Stove. Next up, Fredrik Sjöström.

Fredrik Sjostrom

#11 / Right Wing / Toronto Maple Leafs

Height: 6-1

Weight: 218

Born: May 06, 1983

Years in the NHL:

Became a Leaf: Traded by the Calgary Flames along with Phaneuf and Aulie for Mayers, White, Hagman, and Stajan.

Contract Status: 1 year left on a 2 year deal worth $1.5M, with a caphit of $750,000

The Summary:

Brought over from the Calgary Flames alongside Dion Phaneuf, Shoe Storm was initially overlooked in that deal as Phaneuf was the big name coming back. However it quickly became apparent that Sjobacca was just the man to fix the atrocious Maple Leafs' penalty kill, something that he's become one of the league's best at.

Please read the whole article, yes that's right, every freaking word, before you vote in the poll.

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From Beauchemin to Stalberg, we're taking a look at and grading (please read the criteria below) the 2009-10 season for every player who laced 'em up for the Maple Leafs for a significant number of games during the campaign, with an eye towards 2010-11. That means only guys that are still property of the Maple Leafs. We're doing this in concert with Maple Leafs Hot Stove. Next up, Viktor Stalberg.

The Summary:

Viktor Stalberg made a big splash in the pre-season as he led the NHL with 6 goals in 8 games. Then came game number three of the season and the player known as the A-Train. After Anton Volchenkov's hit Stalberg began a steep decline that led him to the AHL for 39 games. He returned in December but his impact was minimal until he found a bit of chemistry with his fellow Frat Packers Tyler Bozak and Christian Hanson. It was enough to make some wonder if there was any hope to marry his exceptional speed with a more physical game.

As with many of the  young players, he was unable to match his potential with results. This coming season will obviously be important as he tries to show that his problems with consistency lay with the transition to a more rigorous schedule and a tougher league rather than being found out as mediocre. Whether he sticks or not we can at least look forward to a year's worth of special messages.

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From Beauchemin to Stalberg, we're taking a look at and grading (please read the criteria below) the 2009-10 season for every player who laced 'em up for the Maple Leafs for a significant number of games during the campaign, with an eye towards 2010-11. That means only guys that are still property of the Maple Leafs. We're doing this in concert with Maple Leafs Hot Stove. Next up, Luke Schenn.

Luke Schenn

#2 / Defenseman / Toronto Maple Leafs

Height: 6-2

Weight: 216

Born: Nov 02, 1989

Years in the NHL: 2

Became a Leaf: Drafted in the 1st Round, 5th overall at the 2008 NHL draft.

Contract Status: Third year of ELC contract; $875k cap hit ($2.975M with bonuses)

The Summary:

People will point to the Calder worthy performance of Tyler Myers, or the Norris worthy performance of Drew Doughty and then say that Schenn had a terrible season; a sophomore slump if you will. Those people are dead wrong. Doughty is among the elite of the elite defensemen in the game, and Tyler Myers benefited from being on a Sabres team with terrible defense while playing in front of the game's best goal in Ryan Miller. Schenn, on the other hand, played on a team with proven veteran defensemen like Beauchemin, Phaneuf, and Kaberle. Another thing to note is that Schenn was never touted as a point producing blue liner; his game is out of a shut down style of play against tough competition. Myers led his team with nearly 3 minutes of PP time a game; Schenn averaged 14 seconds.

In my and many others opinion, Luke Schenn was brought up to the NHL at a far too early age. He should have played another year in the WHL before playing for the Toronto Marlies this past season. Far too often in the Maple Leaf's past they have hurried youngsters and ultimately missed out on their potential. This is now even more a risk in the salary cap era as now two years have been wasted on Schenn's ELC, bringing ever closer to the eligibility for dreaded free agency.

Schenn is just now starting to show the skill that warranted his high selection back in 2008 just like other draft picks from that year such as John Carlson, Alex Pietrangelo, and Colin Wilson. Normal prospects take time to mature before being thrown to the wolves of the NHL, fortunately it looks like Schenn, despite all the mistakes made with him thus far, is still going to develop into a great player.

Please read the whole article before you vote. I'll know if you didn't.

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