TORONTO (Oct. 2) — In case you are wondering whether Mike Babcock and Kyle Dubas became warm and fuzzy during the off–season, consider the message sent by the long–time, grizzled coach to his still–newbie general manager prior to the regular–season… Read More
TORONTO (June 12) — To this point, Sean Avery’s “sources” here in the Big Smoke are akin to his former conduct on and off the ice — lousy. But, the National Hockey League’s bad boy of the new millennium did… Read More
TORONTO (May 8) — Erect the barricades. The Stanley Cup is about to return.
At least one cheerleader in the Toronto media has declared the Maple Leafs’ European signing blitz of the past week a roaring success. Others are sure… Read More
TORONTO (Jan. 20) — Let’s begin this blog with process of elimination: Kyle Dubas, rookie general manager of the Toronto Maple Leafs, promised William Nylander — publicly — that he won’t be traded “as long as I’m running the hockey… Read More
TORONTO (Oct. 20) — Nazem Kadri is not only a reliable goal–scorer and one of the National Hockey League’s most–personable young men, but he ranks among the truly important figures in Toronto Maple Leafs history. Given the multicultural city in… Read More
TORONTO (Oct. 6) — Hey, no one said this was gonna be easy.
For the better part of two years, my little corner, here, has been addressing the environment in which the Toronto Maple Leafs currently reside — needing to… Read More
TORONTO (Jan. 20) — For more than 2½ years, in what is often described as the National Hockey League’s toughest media market, it’s been “hands off the head coach”. That privilege, it seemed, arrived in our town with the largest… Read More
TORONTO (Jan. 13) — Only one question truly remains to be answered about the 2017–18 Toronto Maple Leafs: Can they defeat the Boston Bruins in a best–of–seven Stanley Cup playoff series?
Though 37 games are left on the schedule, beginning… Read More
TORONTO (Nov. 8) — After last season and throughout the summer, I wrote in this space that Year 2 would likely be more of a challenge for the young, fast and gifted Maple Leafs. For no other reason than it… Read More
TORONTO (June 28) — Imagine the Toronto Maple Leafs in three years with John Tavares, Auston Matthews, William Nylander and Mitch Marner all making beyond–entry–level cash; with a Norris Trophy–caliber defenseman eating up close to $10 million in cap space… Read More
TORONTO (June 11) — Given multiple reports in the past ten days of their interest in veteran forward Ilya Kovalchuk, it appears the Maple Leafs may not be willing to sit around and “look pretty” next season.
The majority of… Read More
TORONTO (May 22) — As part of his popular, weekend–notes column on Sunday, Steve Simmons of the Toronto Sun posed an interesting question: “In watching [William] Nylander playing alongside Nicklas Backstrom [with Sweden at the World Hockey Championships], I couldn’t… Read More
TORONTO (May 6) — If I were Lou Lamoriello, GM of the Toronto Maple Leafs, my thought–process during the summer would be two–fold: a) hoping that the elite youngsters on the hockey club can follow up their rookie efforts in… Read More
TORONTO (Apr. 23) — Everywhere you turn in this city, hockey fans are sure the Maple Leafs have a profusion of confidence heading into Game 6 tonight against the Washington Capitals. And, why not?
The buoyant underdog has stayed with… Read More
TORONTO (Apr. 18) — To borrow a legendary phrase from my ol’ pal, Dave (Tiger) Williams, the Washington Capitals are “done like dinner”. Kaput in every way except officially. And, that will soon follow.
Give the youthful Toronto Maple Leafs… Read More
TORONTO (Apr. 10) — No, the Washington Capitals will not lose to the Toronto Maple Leafs.
After all, the Stanley Cup playoffs never begin with the second round.
Beyond that, maybe… just maybe… this is the year that Ovie and… Read More
TORONTO (Apr. 2) — I begin this blog with somewhat of a contradiction: Though I believe Mike Babcock should be among the finalists for the Jack Adams Award as National Hockey League coach–of–the–year, I do not believe he is the… Read More
TORONTO (Mar. 19) — Everywhere you looked at the Air Canada Centre on Saturday night, there was green.
Far from me, in this forum, to buck the trend. As such, the first blog on my website (b. June 1, 2011)… Read More
Way Too Early… Except For One
Healy Talks TV, Rogers… and Hockey
Battle Lines Drawn Early
The Leafs Will Tease, But Fall Short
Captain Obvious For The Leafs? Not So
Radio Daze Continues at Rogers
Leafs Have Long Had Their Captain
How Low Can It Go?
Leafs Still Gambling In Goal
Dubas Kept His Word
Blair Has Earned FAN “Drive” Slot
No Change In Marner Saga
Media Bloodletting: A Personal Story
Sportsnet Carnage Continues
Why All The Confusion?
Is The Herd Coming Around?
Pressure Mounting On The Leafs
Babcock Needs a Quick Start
Puzzling Leaps of Faith
Offer–Sheet All About Timing
Nylander Trade Too Logical
Columbus Dancing With Mitch
Was It Worth Our Prostitution?
Will Marner Follow Kawhi?
Leafs Going For a Three–Peat
Kadri Trade Good… and Bad
Trusted Back–Up Imperative
Too Much Emphasis on Forwards
Call it “Burkie’s Drive”
McCown The Biggest Casualty
Not Bigger, Just Smarter
We The Longest
Kadri For Trouba Intriguing
The Leafs Will Stand Alone
It’s Not About One Playoff Round