LeafsParadise.com

Photo courtesy of Bruce Bennett / Getty Images By Tony Ambrogio (@SNTonyAmbrogio) Somewhere Brian Burke must be pleased. The Toronto Maple Leafs will start the year with more grit and sandpaper than it had at any point last year. Matthew Lombardi has been traded and Tim Connolly will start the year with the Toronto Marlies of the American Hockey League. The Leafs will start the season with a 23-man roster that will feature 8 defenceman, 13 forwards and a pair of inexperienced goalies. Nazem Kadri will get a chance to start the year in the NHL. The Leafs 2009 first round pick impressed the Leafs with his all-around game. Colton Orr who couldn’t play in the NHL last year has lost weight, is faster and is more suited to play under coach Randy Carlyle than Ron Wilson, so he will start the season with the Leafs. In forward Leo Komarov, the Leafs have a winger who is in the words of defenceman Carl Gunnarsson a “pain in the ass” on the ice. He’s a pest who has played the last couple of se...