TORONTO (Mar. 21) — With the trade deadline long in the past and the uproar from the Radko Gudas/Auston Matthews incident finally waning, it is discouragingly quiet around the Toronto Maple Leafs. A  reminder, in some ways, of my latter years (2006–11) covering the hockey club as a reporter at The FAN–590, when the locals were perennially absent from the Stanley Cup chase. The daily crisis columns — accurate though they were — have slowed or stopped. Take away the silly “loser” point in the standings (like baseball) and the club is a fairly putrid 29–41. With the point for overtime or shootout failure, the Leafs appear one game “over .500” at 29–28–13.

Don’t let it fool you.

Even before the trade embargo and the injury to Matthews, Toronto ranked among the worst teams in the National Hockey League. As of today, it has a paltry five regulation wins in the past 26 games. If Glen Sather’s theory from his glory years as general manager/coach of the Edmonton Oilers still resonates (and why wouldn’t it?), Toronto is the most–inept team in the Eastern Conference. Slats was a proponent of goal differential: the number scored vs. allowed. The Maple Leafs are minus–26. Colorado leads the NHL at plus–81, or 107 goals superior to Toronto.

The club presided over by Keith Pelley; managed by Brad Treliving and coached by Craig Berube is a massive 13 points out of wild card playoff territory in the East with 12 games to play and seven teams blocking its path.

The local apathy will increase, many times over, once the defending American League–champion Toronto Blue Jays begin their 2026 schedule, next Friday, against the soon–to–be Las Vegas A’s.

If Pelley remains as CEO of Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment (and there is no indication to the contrary), he needs to grow an ample set this summer and clean out as much of the “house” as possible. Neither Treliving nor Berube have earned a reprieve. Nor can Pelley replace the GM with someone soft and reticent. It is time for (as the media comically puts it) a few “uncomfortable conversations” — the soft–pedal way of suggesting that Matthews, Morgan Rielly and, perhaps, William Nylander must be approached about waiving their ironclad contract restrictions. Were I in charge, the formalities would be skipped; I’d flatly tell the underachieving veterans they are no–longer wanted by the hockey club, which plans on restructuring after nearly a decade of embarrassment and failure in the Stanley Cup tournament. There’d be nothing “uncomfortable” about a quick and one–sided chat.

Earlier this week, a couple of local columnists chimed in on the “pressure–cooker” environment the Maple Leafs endure. Steve Simmons and Dave Feschuk made good points, as usual, but it was the latter who nailed it a few days later: the Leafs, wrote Feschuk in the Toronto Star, aren’t nearly good enough to challenge for a playoff spot, let alone the Stanley Cup. Dave relies on advanced statistics more than I care to, but his message, even without the hidden numbers, was clear: the Leafs could move to New Mexico, where they’ve never seen a hockey stick, and founder there. Location rarely prevents a gifted, balanced hockey club with reliable goaltending from advancing in the spring. Isn’t it rather coincidental, therefore, that the “pressure” element arises only when the Leafs are underachieving and failing? I don’t remember hearing much about it in 1993, when Pat Burns and Doug Gilmour dragged the club from the doldrums to within five minutes of the Stanley Cup final. Then reappeared in the semifinals a year later. No one mentioned the distress of playing hockey in Toronto when Pat Quinn and Curtis Joseph immediately turned around the Leafs, guiding a non–playoff team in 1997–98 to the Conference final in 1998–99.

And, certainly not while the injury and illness–ravaged Maple Leafs knocked off the New York Islanders and Ottawa Senators to match up with Carolina in the 2002 Cup semifinals. Without two of their most–significant parts (Mats Sundin, Darcy Tucker) — and with the overweight Quinn languishing seriously in a Raleigh hospital, suffering an arrythmia — the Leafs extended the Hurricanes to Game 6 at the Air Canada Centre. I’ve maintained that if the ’02 club had been healthy, it could have snapped the Toronto Stanley Cup drought at a mere 35 years.

Instead, Detroit knocked off the Hurricanes… and the Leafs still haven’t managed a Cup final appearance.

But, fans of the club will tell you today, unequivocally, that watching the Maple Leafs gear up for the playoffs is a hell of a lot more enjoyable than the team playing out the string, as currently. Perhaps that is why the noise that usually accompanies the Blue and White has been shushed. There’s nothing more to say or write about the current group that hasn’t been covered. And proven. The Leafs of the Core–4 era (and beyond) have been fraudulent; up to this season, deceptively proficient — at times, spectacular — during the regular schedule. But, big–time chokers when it counts. If the stench of Games 5 and 7 against Florida last May has subsided, it’s in your house, not mine. Those reeky performances (with Mitch Marner still in a Toronto jersey) spoke louder decibles than all of the prior spring failures combined. It was Marner’s contract that was expiring at the time, so he wisely chose to remove himself from an untenable situation. Vegas may not win the Stanley Cup this spring, but most contend the Golden Knights have a chance. Anyone suggesting the same about the Maple Leafs would require a hospital visit.

How exasperating it must be for the Leafs and their fans to watch such–unheralded franchises as Utah, Anaheim, Nashville, Seattle and Columbus hurdle Toronto in the standings? In two of these examples, long–respected coaches have immediately helped reverse losing: Joel Quenneville with the Ducks; Rick Bowness with the remarkable Blue Jackets. Lindy Ruff has returned to Buffalo and it seems like 20 years ago for the Sabres.

Here in Toronto? Only decline.

TORONTO’S LATEST LOSS OCCURRED IN OVERTIME, FRIDAY NIGHT, AT HOME TO THE CAROLINA HURRICANES. THE LEAFS ARE 3–7–4 SINCE RETURNING FROM THE OLYMPIC BREAK.

The games no longer matter; neither do comments from the people involved. Were the Leafs in playoff contention, Berube pouncing on Joseph Woll after Friday night’s overtime loss to Carolina would have created shockwaves. Instead, it was met with a yawn. Matthews will evidently recover in about 12 weeks from surgery to repair his medial–collateral ligament (MCL). Barring the unforeseen, he’ll be at full strength by training camp in September.

Twelve weeks from now will be mid–June; two weeks from the NHL draft (in Buffalo), with free agency and the summer months ahead. Plenty of time to assemble a new management structure, which will then choose a coach (given the past, the Leafs will probably hang on to Berube… then hire a general manager). Matthews and Rielly, for certain, must be talked with “uncomfortably” by the incoming administration; Nylander, not so much. As written here a gazillion times, the Leafs will not venture to within sight of the Stanley Cup with Matthews as “leader”. Rielly has largely forgotten how to play the game. A new location might offer him a reminder. Any notion of the Leafs returning with the same managemement and “leadership” groups for next season — along with the inevitable hike in ticket prices — will spit up, as never before, on the fan–base. Does MLSE have such audacity?

ANOTHER BIRTHDAY FOR THE INCOMPARABLE NO. 4

Bobby Orr turned 78 on Friday. If you remember Orr, as I do, when he started his NHL career in 1966, read that again. And, try to not shake your head. For my money, Orr is still the most–dominant hockey player that has lived. Though Wayne Gretzky put up surreal numbers, other players could be spoken about in the same breath without embarrassment. Such as Mario Lemieux, Mark Messier, Paul Coffey, Ron Francis and Mike Bossy. To name a few. Orr, during his prime, was superior to the second–best NHLer by an unprecedented margin. His first visit with the Bruins to Maple Leaf Gardens occurred toward the end of his initial month in the league. He was only 18.

Here are some memories from Oct. 29, 1966:

IMAGES (ABOVE AND BELOW) FROM THE TORONTO STAR OF MONDAY, OCT. 31, 1966.

 
PROGRAM FROM ORR’S FIRST GAME IN TORONTO

Images, here, from my collection, of the Maple Leaf Gardens program the night Orr first arrived.

 
 
IT WAS THE FINAL YEAR OF THE SIX–TEAM NHL AND THE GARDENS PROGRAM FEATURED STORIES (TOP–LEFT) ON THE INCOMING EXPANSION CLUBS. WITH A BAND OF BRIGHT LIGHTS INSTALLED THE LENGTH OF THE ICE SURFACE ON GIRDERS ABOVE THE WEST SEATS, THE LEAFS COULD BE SHOWN IN COLOR (TOP–RIGHT) ON WEDNESDAY AND SATURDAY NIGHTS. NO. 4 WAS PROMINENTLY FEATURED IN THE “NEW FACES” SEGMENT (BELOW) OF THE PROGRAM.

THE LATE, GREAT JUNIOR HOCKEY WRITER, FRANK ORR, OF THE TORONTO STAR PROVIDED AN ARTICLE (ABOVE) ON LEAFS LEGEND TURK BRODA, WHO COACHED THE LONDON NATIONALS OF THE OHA IN 1966–67.

PROGRAM LINE–UPS (ABOVE AND BELOW) FOR THE 3–3 TIE BETWEEN THE MAPLE LEAFS AND BRUINS.

EMAIL: HOWARDLBERGER@GMAIL.COM