10 questions for Leaf fans and more for everyone else as the playoffs roll along

You know how sometimes you just like you have haven’t got any answers—but you sure do have questions?

Well, in Maple Leaf and playoff terms, that’s where I’m at today.  No answrs but questions and more questions.

If those of you dropping by the site have an answer or two, send your comments along...

Let’s kick it off with:

1. Following up on a recent post, are there any ex-Leafs you wish we had back after seeing them in the playoffs this spring?  (Forget what they brought in return—this is a simple wish list…) You know, Versteeg, Ian White, etc.
2. Name the guys on the current Leaf roster who would thrive in the kind of intensity we have seen in the first round of the playoffs?  Watching Vancouver and Chicago in Game 6 and 7, same with Montreal-Boston, makes one pause.  Which Leafs can cut it?
3. What team or teams do you think the Leafs could have taken out in the first-round of the playoffs?
4. Having watched the Habs come this close to eliminating the supposedly bigger and tougher Bruins, do you still feel the Leafs have to get a lot “bigger” up front?
5. If Komisarek was his old confident self, would he be a good veteran guy to have in the line-up in these kinds of match-ups come playoff time?
6. How would Grabovski handle the checking as (current, at least) Toronto’s “top” center?
7. Would Kessel’s speed be enough to make him a difference-maker in the playoffs, even though his history is that of a perimeter player—albeit a very good one?
8. Do you see Kadri as ready for this kind of tempo and checking?
9. Given his years of previous playoff coaching experience, are you confident that Wilson is the right guy to be behind the Leaf bench when next they make the playoffs?
10. After watching the first round, how many players, realistically, are the Leafs away from being a team that can get to the Conference finals?

Around the league, also just wondering…

1. Are you surprised Roloson still had enough left in the tank to lead a team as he did?  (Some thought his run with Edmonton a few years ago was his swan song as a legitimate impact netminder…)
2. Those of you hoping for the Hawks to come back against Vancouver, how much was it that you like the Hawks versus not liking the Canucks?
3. Is Luongo now set to go on a roll?  Or does he still have things to prove, in your mind?
4. Who is a better all-around defenseman than Duncan Keith right now?
5. Is Carey Price going to be a bonafide superstar goaltender?
6. Can Tim Thomas take a good team to the Stanley Cup, or is his style not one a team can rely on for four rounds?
7. Would Claude Julien have been fired if the Bruins lost against Montreal in Game 7?
8. As I scratch my head trying to figure out how many playoff series the Rangers have won since Glen Sather took over as GM, should he be able to keep his job in New York?
9. Is Tampa Bay really the team that Steve Yzerman built?
10. Game one against vancouver aside, is Nashville just a nice story or do they have a shot at winning the West?
11. Is this (finally) San Jose’s year?  Will Thornton be “the man”?
12. Will Niemi be the Cup goalie, or play as he did in Round One?
13. Did the Kings deserve a better fate against the Sharks, or was their loss inevitable without Kopitar?
14. Are the Red Wings too old in some spots to make it through?  Can Jimmy Howard be Osgood/Hasek/Vernon?
15. The Sabres were absolutely hammered by injuries and still almost took out Philadelphia.  Will Pegula spend the money to bring in that elite level of talent needed to make them more than a nice, hard-working team every year?  And will anyone come to Buffalo even if he does?
16. How much will Kaberle be offered in free agency?

And for fun:  what TV game analyst (in-between periods, in the stands, at ice level) has proven to be most annoying for you in the playoffs?

Conversely, what play-by-play guy have you enjoyed the most?

Round two is rarely as great as the first round, but it’s still fun to follow.

Enjoy.