Leafs trade : Carlo Colaiacovo & Alex Steen for Lee Stempniak

Leafs trade : Carlo Colaiacovo / Alex Steen for Lee Stempniak

Stempniak had a great preseason,,, any poolies surely noticed him at the top of preseason scoring charts with 12 pts, second only to then teammate Andy McDonald.   Though the preseason is only a small measure of what is to come and likely didn't convince many poolies that he was worth drafting outside the later rounds he was certainly on the radar.

http://www.sportsline.com/nhl/stats/preseason
http://www.sportsline.com/nhl/stats/leaders/preseason/yearly/PTS/NHL

He certainly did seem to have the 'blues' in October with poor performance and injury. Stempniak was out of action in the middle of the month for about 2 weeks, missing four games with a knee injury. He suited up for only 5 games with 1 assist with a -2 rating in October.  A hot streak in November up to and including his first game as a Maple Leaf where he notched an assist in his debut, has seen him snag 12 points in 9 games.

Perhaps the 'blues' wasn't just an October thing though,,, it seems he had the Blues blues. If you check the splits you'll notice in total he had just  2 points in 8 games at home in St. Louis while having 11 points on the road.

The Maple Leafs have apparently been scouting him for the last 3 weeks and liked what they seen. Rumours have been reported stating Stempniak wasn't happy in St. Louis but perhaps this just a misinterepation and he was only unhappy with his inconsistancy? I'm will definitely have to dig into the St. Louis message boards and article archives to see what the consesus feelings from Blues fans and reporters is on Lee and how he was doing. 

Initial reports suggest Stempniak is a very fast skater that can bang around well in the corners where as others have reported him to be quite slow on the ice. There also seems to be mixed reports about his attitude or work ethic and that if he didn't mesh with Andy Murray, he won't mesh with Ron Wilson either. Regardless, whether he was struggling or not, he now has an opportunity for a fresh start in Toronto. 
His stats have been consistant from his college years through to his rookie and softmore seasons at the NHL level and his 2007 US World Championship appearance but the 07-08 campaign was definitely an off year despite the same opportunities, same ice time, etc. I'm not sure what happened but I do look forward to seeing whether that slump is over with. Thus far in the 2008-2009 campaign, he had an amazing preseason, terrible October, and a hot streak on the road in November that currently has him sitting with 14 points in 15 games.

So there will be a lot of speculation but overall I think he has a tremendous upside that hopefully shows itself in Toronto. Surely the energy of a hockey hotbed like Toronto, being closer to home, and probably plenty of ice time and power play action will spring Stempniak into a consistant top performer at the NHL level. At least Leafsnation will be so optimistic, though I can't really speak for anyone else! I foresee that he should mesh well with one of Torontos top two lines for potentially impressive, productive and exciting hockey. I for one, can't wait!

Tuesdays debut seen him him start on the 3rd ine with Moore and Blake. As of Dec. 3, 08, he has remained mostly on this like which performs fairly well together. 3pts in 5 games with the Leafs thus far and my view of his play would to be compare him Hagman except less puck control but a better shot. Hopefully he keeps up the good play and this looks to be good trade for the Leafs. 

Stempniak Traded to Leafs!