TORONTO (Mar. 30) — Tonight’s decision by Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment will rank among the difficult firings in hockey. As in years gone by, when such–admired figures as Cliff Fletcher, Roger Neilson, Lindy Ruff and Rick Bowness lost their jobs, only to rebound multiple times. Seems there is always work in the game for those who are well liked and capable of getting along with the myriad personalities and egos in professional sport.

So, too, will Brad Treliving land on his feet after MLSE dismissed him as general manager of the Leafs; the announcement coming just 90 minutes before an anticipated match in Anaheim (continuing the Radko Gudas affair).

To follow, undoubtedly, will be coach Craig Berube. And, as pointed out here countless times, new management will need to get out from under the restrictive and unwieldy contracts possessed by Auston Matthews and Morgan Rielly. Neither should William Nylander nor Matthew Knies be considered untouchable, in any way, though Nylander (as with Matthews and Rielly) controls his own contract destiny. When management routinely cedes authority to underperforming players, only bad things can happen. Such as every playoff spring for the Maple Leafs since 2018. And, now — finally — the regular season; over so many years, an irritating illusion for fans of the club.

Treliving authored his own demise in the same manner as Kyle Dubas and Brendan Shanahan: by hitching his wagon to the wrong horses after mid–April. It was painfully obvious that Matthews could not elevate performance and leadership when the stakes increased. Still, Treliving retained him on a player–friendly, four–year deal that’s become increasingly disastrous. When Dubas signed Rielly to an eight–year, $60 million extension on Oct. 29, 2021, it seemed a reasonable catch for the Leafs. Morgan enjoyed a terrific season in 2021–22, putting up 68 points in 82 games; second only to his 72 points in 2018–19 (only Borje Salming and Ian Turnbull have accrued more for the franchise in one season). No one expected Rielly’s game to fall off the planet as it has the past two years. That the contract is merely half over cannot be tenable for the Leafs, who must either obtain permission from Rielly for a trade… or buy out the remainder of his pact, which the club becomes eligible for this summer. It would cost the Leafs $2 million in “dead” money through 2033–34, but would preserve $5.5 million in cap space each year until his deal expires after the 2029–30 schedule. With the salary cap steadily rising each year, the Leafs could easily afford Rielly’s dead–money hit. They cannot afford to keep him as a “top–pairing” defenseman.

I wrote here last month that MLSE should turn over the Leafs to the Hunter brothers (Mark and Dale) of London junior hockey fame. Allow them to deploy their knowledge of the amateur hockey system and shy away from trading high draft picks for marginal returns; looking for that elusive “quick fix.” Mark could be president; Dale, the director of hockey operations. They would obviously appoint a coach of their choice. The other name most–frequently mentioned is veteran hockey executive Doug Armstrong, who will surrender his managerial role in St. Louis to former Leaf Alex Steen after the current season. But, really, it matters not who the Leafs employ off the ice… if they cannot alter their look between the boards. MLSE could hire the Hunters or Armstrong; poach Jon Cooper from Tampa, and still wither in the playoffs with Matthews as face of the franchise. It matters not what he accomplishes with a group of American–born all stars on the international stage. The Leafs pay him $13.25 million a year to help trigger a Stanley Cup challenge. Neither player nor team has come close in nearly a decade. The Maple Leafs are five years overdue in breaking up the “Corpse”–4; Mitch Marner got the ball rolling with his defection to Vegas last summer. Matthews and Rielly need to follow… with Nylander and Knies uncoddled, as well.

This will be difficult for the enormous swath of media and fans that grew mezmerized with Matthews during his 60 and 69–goal regular seasons; turning a comparative blind eye to his playoff misadventure. Matthews has been liberally (and comically) referred to as the “best player in franchise history” — a pock on the houses of such figures as Charlie Conacher, Syl Apps, Ted Kennedy, Dave Keon, Tim Horton, Darryl Sittler, Borje Salming, Doug Gilmour and Mats Sundin. He may be the sharpest shooter in Maple Leaf annals, but never when it truly matters, as in a decisive playoff match (Auston has zero goals on six–such occasions). He, Marner and Nylander embarrassed themselves and the hockey club with their hideous no–shows in Games 5 and 7 of the Florida series last May.

Nothing better could happen for the Leafs than a new hockey boss — free of emotional ties — blowing the roster to dust. Yeah, some lean years will follow, but they’ll be looked upon to build a club with talent and determination. You need both, but it’s Door No. 2 that most–often propels a team through the lengthy Stanley Cup slog. The stubborn Leafs are learning this lesson the hard way, with Treliving joining assistant coach Marc Savard as casualties.

The all–too–ecessary house–cleaning will resume. Shortly.

TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS UNIFORM TRILOGY 1959 to 1979

Among the six pre–expansion teams (Boston, Chicago, Detroit, Montreal, New York, Toronto), the Maple Leafs have most–altered their jersey and uniform design (Boston is next). This photo–essay displays Maple Leaf jerseys from 1959 to 1979. Major alterations and redesigns were executed prior to the 1967 Stanley Cup playoffs; the 1970–71 and 1992–93 regular seasons.

Interspersed, since the 90’s, were third or retro jerseys (also shown here):

IN 1959–60 (THE FIRST FULL NHL SEASON OF MY LIFE), THE LEAFS WORE THIS UNIFORM (ABOVE AND BELOW) AT HOME. THE CONSISTENCY WAS OF A SWEATER — BEARABLE FOR THE PLAYERS BEFORE THE INSTALLATION OF BRIGHT LIGHTS FOR COLOR TV (IN THE MID–60’s). NO. 19 WAS WORN BY LEFT–WINGER JOHNNY WILSON, WHO PLAYED IN ALL 70 GAMES AND SCORED 15 GOALS. FIFTY YEARS LATER, IN 2008, JOHNNY’S NEPHEW, RON WILSON, WOULD COACH THE LEAFS.

 
ABOVE, ARE GAME–WORN JERSEYS FROM 1961–62, WHEN THE LEAFS WON THEIR FIRST OF THREE CONSECUTIVE STANLEY CUPS UNDER PUNCH IMLACH. THE WHITE ROAD UNIFORM WAS ON DISPLAY THE NIGHT THE LEAFS DEFEATED THE BLACK HAWKS, AT CHICAGO STADIUM, TO CAPTURE THEIR FIRST TITLE. DAVE KEON WORE THE BLUE JERSEY (RIGHT) AT THE GARDENS. KEON’S ROAD JERSEY (BELOW) FROM 1965–66, WITH THE WASHED–OUT LOGO ON THE FRONT.

KING CLANCY WAS THE MOST–BELOVED FIGURE IN THE FIRST HALF–CENTURY OF THE MAPLE LEAFS. CLANCY DIED IN NOVEMBER 1986 AND THE CLUB WORE THE ABOVE PATCH FOR THE REMAINDER OF THE 1986–87 SEASON.

 
FOR THE 75th ANNIVERSARY SEASON OF THE NHL (1991–92), THE MAPLE LEAFS WORE A LEAGUE–WIDE PATCH ON THEIR THROWBACK JERSEY (TOP–LEFT) FROM THE 1950’s… AND ON THE REGULAR BLUE UNIFORM (RIGHT), WORN ON THE ROAD FOR THE FIRST HALF OF THE SCHEDULE, THEN AT HOME, UNTIL THE PLAYOFFS. THE NHL EXECUTED THE MID–SEASON JERSEY SWITCH FOR ITS DIAMOND CELEBRATION. IT WAS SAN JOSE’S FIRST NHL SEASON.

IN THE LATE–90’s, THE LEAFS OF CURTIS JOSEPH, MATS SUNDIN, STEVE THOMAS ET AL WORE A COMMEMORATIVE THIRD JERSEY (ABOVE) WITH THE “MEMORIES AND DREAMS” PATCH DESIGNED BY KEN DRYDEN FOR THE FINAL SEASON OF MAPLE LEAF GARDENS. THE JERSEY DESIGN WAS A PRECISE REPLICA OF THE CLUB’S ROAD ITEM FROM 1964–65 TO THE END OF THE 1966–67 REGULAR SCHEDULE. THE RETRO JERSEY CONCIDED WITH PAT QUINN’S FIRST YEAR AS COACH.

 
THE LEAFS WORE THESE HOME AND AWAY JERSEYS (ABOVE) FOR THE FIRST TIME DURING THE 1967 STANLEY CUP PLAYOFFS, WHEN THEY UPSET CHICAGO AND MONTREAL TO WIN THEIR MOST–RECENT NHL CHAMPIONSHIP. THE MODIFIED LOGO WAS IDENTICAL, IN SHAPE, TO THE RED EMBLEM ON THE NEW FLAG OF CANADA (ADOPTED FROM THE UNION JACK IN 1965). THE LEAFS THEN WORE THESE JERSEYS FOR THREE FULL SEASONS, BEGINNING IN 1967–68.

FOR THE 1970–71 SEASON, WHEN TEAMS BEGAN WEARING WHITE JERSEYS AT HOME, THE LEAFS COMPLETELY ALTERED THEIR LOOK. BEGINNING WITH THE HOME OPENER (OCT. 14 vs. ST. LOUIS), THE CLUB DEBUTED ITS WHITE JERSEY (ABOVE). THIS PARTICULAR ITEM BELONGED TO CAPTAIN DARRYL SITTLER THE NIGHT (FEB. 7, 1976) HE ERUPTED FOR A RECORD 10 POINTS AGAINST BOSTON AT THE GARDENS. IT WAS RECENTLY FOUND, JUST PRIOR TO THE 50th ANNIVERSARY OF THAT GAME. THE BLUE–ROAD JERSEY (WORN, BELOW, BY BORJE SALMING IN THE LATE–70’s), WASN”T READY FOR THE START OF THE ’70–71. FOR THEIR FIRST SEVEN ROAD MATCHES, TORONTO WORE ITS BLUE HOME VERSION FROM THE PREVIOUS YEAR (AS PER THE NOV. 6 PHOTO FROM OAKLAND, BELOW). THE NEW ROAD DUDS DEBUTED ON NOV. 15 AGAINST THE RANGERS IN NEW YORK. THIS DESIGN WAS WORN THROUGH THE 1991–92 SEASON.

LEAFS DEFENSEMAN BRIAN GLENNIE POKE–CHECKS FORWARD TED HAMPSON OF THE CALIFORNIA GOLDEN SEALS, IN OAKLAND, ON NOV. 6, 1970. THE TORONTO GOALIE IS BRUCE GAMBLE. LEAFS WERE STILL WEARING THEIR 1969–70 BLUE UNIFORMS ON THE ROAD. THE NEW ROAD DUDS WOULD DEBUT NINE NIGHTS LATER, IN NEW YORK.

THE WHITE HOME JERSEY WORN BY IAN TURNBULL IN THE LATE 70’s, JUST AFTER HE SCORED FIVE GOALS AGAINST DETROIT (FEB. 2, 1977) TO ESTABLISH A SINGLE–GAME RECORD FOR DEFENSEMEN THAT STILL EXISTS. TURNBULL AND SALMING WERE THE MOST–PROLIFIC BLUE LINE TANDEM IN FRANCHISE HISTORY. IN 1976–77, TURNBULL ACCRUED A TEAM–RECORD 79 POINTS; SALMING HAD 78. BRYAN McCABE AND TOMAS KABERLE WERE THE SECOND–BEST TANDEM.

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