FanHouse LukeSchenn

It's officially the offseason, meaning the time is right to look into the future. We begin our division-by-division preview of the potential wheeling and dealing with the Northeast Division.

Brian Burke begins his rebuild of the Toronto Maple Leafs, Dany Heatley wants out of Ottawa and just what is Boston going to do with Phil Kessel and a limited amount of salary cap space?

Avalanche 4, Flames 3: Colorado ended a four-game losing streak with its win over Calgary on Monday night, thanks in large part to a three-point effort from Marek Svatos. Svatos chipped in two goals (including the eventual game-winner late in the second period) and added an assist, while Ryan Smyth registered a pair of helpers in the win.

Peter Budaj was strong in net for the Avalanche, turning aside 36 of 39 shots to pick up his 14th win over the season.

If the Toronto Maple Leafs are ever going to return to relevance in the NHL, it's going to be because of guys like No. 5 overall pick Luke Schenn. The 18-year old defenseman is currently logging over 20 minutes of ice time per game, and was recently pointed out by coach Ron Wilson as an example veterans Tomas Kaberle and Pavel Kubina could learn a thing or two from. High praise for a rookie after just a handful of games.

So, it's no surprise that the first-year Leafs coach came out today and announced that Schenn will be staying in Toronto for the foreseeable future, as reported by TSN.

After making the announcement, Wilson was apparently asked if the Leafs would allow Schenn to play for team Canada in the World Hockey Championships, a suggestion that Wilson quickly dismissed.

When asked if Schenn would be released to play for Team Canada at the World Hockey Championship in Ottawa, Leafs head coach Ron Wilson gave a quick and concise answer. "If he's playing in the best league in the world, why would we have him go play in a teenage tournament?" Wilson said after practice on Monday.

Schenn is currently second among all rookies in terms of ice time, behind only Kings defenseman Drew Doughty. Only Kubina and Kaberle are averaging more ice time for the Leafs.