OOTP Developments Forums - View Single Post - Turning Over a New Leaf(s): The 1988-89 Maple Leafs

uWoHollywood · 06-15-2023, 07:09 PM

Leafs GM Jason Taylor had already made his big moves. Now he wanted to clear some roster space just in case anyone meaningful went on the waiver wire. Taylor shopped some of his lower-end prospects, and Minnesota expressed interest in both LW Chris McRae (16-21-37, -3 and 283PIM in 55GP AHL) and C Tim Armstrong (23-35-58 and -13 in 57GP AHL).

Minnesota traded an 8th round pick in 1989 in exchange for LW Chris McRae, 23. Minnesota then traded a 7th round pick in 1989 in exchange for C Tim Armstrong, 21. Toronto’s AHL coaches advised that McRae could be disruptive in the locker room, as he had been made redundant by the acquisition of Kelly Chase from St. Louis. Armstrong was still somewhat unproven, but not thought of very highly by Leafs scouts. Taylor felt comfortable shedding both of their contracts.

While working the telephone for trade options, Taylor received word that Montreal LW Tom Chorske (18-20-38 and even +/- in 58GP AHL) was on the block. Taylor liked his scouts’ reports on Chorske’s defensive and physical game. Additionally, Taylor had inquired in the offseason about another Canadiens prospect: D Sylvain Lefebrve (4-34-38 and even +/- in 58GP AHL). Taylor approached the Habs, asking if they were interested in veteran depth in the form of LW Ken Berry (2-0-2 and -4 in 14GP) along with a prospect from Newmarket. Habs’ GM Serve Savard expressed interest in D Paul Stanton (6-30-36 and -3 in 56GP AHL), as he had previously approached the Penguins about Stanton. After some haggling on a late draft pick, the deal was finalized. Montreal traded LW Tom Chorske, 22 and D Sylvain Lefebvre, 21 in exchange for D Paul Stanton, 21, LW Ken Berry, 28 and Minnesota’s 7th round pick in 1989 (acquired in the Tim Armstrong deal). Both Chorske and Lefebvre were welcomed by Taylor, and advised to report to the AHL’s Newmarket Saints.

Taylor also reached out to the New York Rangers, inquiring about Rangers rookie RW Tony Amonte (18-31-49 and +1 in 47GP IHL) and veteran G Bob Froese 8-7-2, 3.72 and .869). Taylor liked Amonte’s two-way game, and wanted a veteran like Froese available in case his two young goalies faltered. NYR GM Phil Esposito knew the Leafs had LW Paul Gagne (28-30-58 and +4 in 57GP AHL) stashed in the AHL; Gagne had been a 20-goal, 40-point player with New Jersey before losing two seasons dealing with a back injury. Esposito asked for Gagne and a 3rd. Taylor countered with a 6th round pick in 1991 and prospect Todd Krygier (16-28-44 and -6 in 57GP AHL), and that seemed to clinch it. The New York Rangers traded RW Tony Amonte, 18 and G Bob Froese, 30 in exchange for LW Paul Gagne, 27, LW Todd Krygier, 23 and a 6th round pick in 1991. Taylor then put Froese on waivers, hoping to sneak him through during the trade deadline madness (and it worked).

Game 66 - 6-5 L v CHI
The Leafs were down 4-1 after 25 minutes, then scored 4 goals in the next 20 to make it 5-4. Unfortunately the Hawks scored twice in a 4-minute span to take back the win. Darren Pang was bad but Ed Belfour was worse, stopping just 21 of 27. The first line played well, with Leeman/Olczyk/Courtnall scoring 2 points each, but there weren’t a lot of strong performances aside from those three. This game was also CHI D Bob Murray’s 1,000th NHL game. Even though he played for a division rival, the MLG faithful gave him a polite ovation when it was announced before the game.

NHL News:

LAK RW Dave Taylor reached 900 points (in 810 games)
LW Luc Robitaille’s 3-2-5 night helped the LAK tie PHI 7-7

Game 67 - 6-4 L @ HFD
Hartford outshot Toronto 37-25, and jumped out to a 2-0 lead just 8 minutes in. Toronto rallied with four straight goals in the 2nd, and entered the 3rd period up 4-3 only to see things fell apart. Kevin Dineen tied it 4-4, and Carey Wilson scored with just 50 seconds left. Wilson then added an ENG with 4 seconds left to clinch. Vincent Damphousse’s 2G 1A night was stellar, but many other Leafs struggled. HFD D Grant Jennings somehow managed 3A in the win. Neither Kirk McLean or Mike Liut were helpful in net for their teams.

The Leafs got some good news at practice; Wendel Clark, the team Captain, would be able to resume skating! He would still be recovering for several weeks, but he would be putting on skates for the first time all year.

With Freddy Olausson returning, Steve Konroyd fully expected to go to the press box. But instead Craig Muni was informed that he would sit out. By Taylor’s estimation, since the start of Feb, Muni had 7 good games and 8 bad ones. Taylor was losing patience, and wanted to go with the veteran Konroyd for now. Phil Bourque also took his place back on the 4th line, with Doug Smail joining David Volek in the press box.

06-15-2023, 07:09 PM	#22
uWoHollywood Minors (Single A) Join Date: Oct 2017 Posts: 55	March Part II Leafs GM Jason Taylor had already made his big moves. Now he wanted to clear some roster space just in case anyone meaningful went on the waiver wire. Taylor shopped some of his lower-end prospects, and Minnesota expressed interest in both LW Chris McRae (16-21-37, -3 and 283PIM in 55GP AHL) and C Tim Armstrong (23-35-58 and -13 in 57GP AHL). Minnesota traded an 8th round pick in 1989 in exchange for LW Chris McRae, 23. Minnesota then traded a 7th round pick in 1989 in exchange for C Tim Armstrong, 21. Toronto’s AHL coaches advised that McRae could be disruptive in the locker room, as he had been made redundant by the acquisition of Kelly Chase from St. Louis. Armstrong was still somewhat unproven, but not thought of very highly by Leafs scouts. Taylor felt comfortable shedding both of their contracts. While working the telephone for trade options, Taylor received word that Montreal LW Tom Chorske (18-20-38 and even +/- in 58GP AHL) was on the block. Taylor liked his scouts’ reports on Chorske’s defensive and physical game. Additionally, Taylor had inquired in the offseason about another Canadiens prospect: D Sylvain Lefebrve (4-34-38 and even +/- in 58GP AHL). Taylor approached the Habs, asking if they were interested in veteran depth in the form of LW Ken Berry (2-0-2 and -4 in 14GP) along with a prospect from Newmarket. Habs’ GM Serve Savard expressed interest in D Paul Stanton (6-30-36 and -3 in 56GP AHL), as he had previously approached the Penguins about Stanton. After some haggling on a late draft pick, the deal was finalized. Montreal traded LW Tom Chorske, 22 and D Sylvain Lefebvre, 21 in exchange for D Paul Stanton, 21, LW Ken Berry, 28 and Minnesota’s 7th round pick in 1989 (acquired in the Tim Armstrong deal). Both Chorske and Lefebvre were welcomed by Taylor, and advised to report to the AHL’s Newmarket Saints. Taylor also reached out to the New York Rangers, inquiring about Rangers rookie RW Tony Amonte (18-31-49 and +1 in 47GP IHL) and veteran G Bob Froese 8-7-2, 3.72 and .869). Taylor liked Amonte’s two-way game, and wanted a veteran like Froese available in case his two young goalies faltered. NYR GM Phil Esposito knew the Leafs had LW Paul Gagne (28-30-58 and +4 in 57GP AHL) stashed in the AHL; Gagne had been a 20-goal, 40-point player with New Jersey before losing two seasons dealing with a back injury. Esposito asked for Gagne and a 3rd. Taylor countered with a 6th round pick in 1991 and prospect Todd Krygier (16-28-44 and -6 in 57GP AHL), and that seemed to clinch it. The New York Rangers traded RW Tony Amonte, 18 and G Bob Froese, 30 in exchange for LW Paul Gagne, 27, LW Todd Krygier, 23 and a 6th round pick in 1991. Taylor then put Froese on waivers, hoping to sneak him through during the trade deadline madness (and it worked). Game 66 - 6-5 L v CHI The Leafs were down 4-1 after 25 minutes, then scored 4 goals in the next 20 to make it 5-4. Unfortunately the Hawks scored twice in a 4-minute span to take back the win. Darren Pang was bad but Ed Belfour was worse, stopping just 21 of 27. The first line played well, with Leeman/Olczyk/Courtnall scoring 2 points each, but there weren’t a lot of strong performances aside from those three. This game was also CHI D Bob Murray’s 1,000th NHL game. Even though he played for a division rival, the MLG faithful gave him a polite ovation when it was announced before the game. NHL News: LAK RW Dave Taylor reached 900 points (in 810 games) LW Luc Robitaille’s 3-2-5 night helped the LAK tie PHI 7-7 Game 67 - 6-4 L @ HFD Hartford outshot Toronto 37-25, and jumped out to a 2-0 lead just 8 minutes in. Toronto rallied with four straight goals in the 2nd, and entered the 3rd period up 4-3 only to see things fell apart. Kevin Dineen tied it 4-4, and Carey Wilson scored with just 50 seconds left. Wilson then added an ENG with 4 seconds left to clinch. Vincent Damphousse’s 2G 1A night was stellar, but many other Leafs struggled. HFD D Grant Jennings somehow managed 3A in the win. Neither Kirk McLean or Mike Liut were helpful in net for their teams. The Leafs got some good news at practice; Wendel Clark, the team Captain, would be able to resume skating! He would still be recovering for several weeks, but he would be putting on skates for the first time all year. With Freddy Olausson returning, Steve Konroyd fully expected to go to the press box. But instead Craig Muni was informed that he would sit out. By Taylor’s estimation, since the start of Feb, Muni had 7 good games and 8 bad ones. Taylor was losing patience, and wanted to go with the veteran Konroyd for now. Phil Bourque also took his place back on the 4th line, with Doug Smail joining David Volek in the press box.