Time For Nylander To Pick It Up

TORONTO (Dec. 31) — We aren’t at the point yet where William Nylander is stealing money from the Maple Leafs. But, it’s getting close. Very close. The built–in excuses are about to run dry. Wednesday will mark one calendar month… Read More

My Top 20 NHL Jerseys

TORONTO (Dec. 21) — With Christmas 2019 just around the corner, it’s time for a little fun. Time to forget, briefly, the contract conundrum in the immediate future of Toronto Maple Leafs general manager Kyle Dubas. And, whether Mike Babcock… Read More

Leafs Record Great… And Bizarre

TORONTO (Nov. 29) — After 26 games of the 2018–19 National Hockey League schedule, the Maple Leafs have a record more visually–conducive to baseball. Toronto is 18–8… with a big, fat “zero” in the column reserved for overtime or shootout… Read More

Of Course Nylander Will Be Dealt

TORONTO (Nov. 12) — How many times can we put a different spin on the same likelihood? Let us count. Toronto’s three–player nucleus beyond the coming season will be Tavares, Matthews and Marner. The Nylander contract stalemate… is… Read More

Leafs Will Be Fine, Unless…

A much–more interesting study will, of course, abound if the Maple Leafs do not match or exceed their lofty expectations. Can you envision the national outcry when the Leafs unavoidably lapse into a four or five–game skid, as will every Read More

The Leafs’ Staggering Numbers (So Far)

TORONTO (Oct. 12) — After the first five games of the National Hockey League season, players on the Toronto Maple Leafs have been compared, in local print, to Wayne Gretzky, Bobby Orr and Mario Lemieux. Merely the most–gifted trio in… Read More

The Leafs Have Two Captains

TORONTO (Oct. 9) — I have long felt that the word “leadership” is misused in professional sport; the connotation invariably centering on a player that can rally the troops with provocative chatter. In fact, no one — a sports figure… Read More

Leafs Following or Bucking Trend?

TORONTO (Sep. 19) — So, the Leafs have made it clear that they can win the Stanley Cup by loading up on forwards while comparably ignoring their blue line. Good luck to them. And, to those that concur. Neither am… Read More

No Surprise: Leafs Rated Highly

TORONTO (Sep. 2) — For as long as I can remember, dating to my grade–school years, there have been magazines that preview the National Hockey League. In the mid–to–late 1960’s, my dad brought home these items — whereupon I would… Read More

Babcock/Andersen Will Shape Leafs

TORONTO (Aug. 16) — When the Maple Leafs begin training camp at the Gale Centre in Niagara Falls, Ont. less than a month from now (Sep. 14), most eyes will be on John Tavares, the Toronto boy that signed a… Read More

Leafs/Habs in New Territory

TORONTO (Aug. 11) — For so many years in the post–1967 (or expansion) era of the National Hockey League, it was unthinkable that the Toronto Maple Leafs would be acres ahead of the Montreal Canadiens. Fans of both clubs are… Read More

Leafs Could Still Pounce

TORONTO (Aug. 6) — William Nylander emphasized last week he is out for a “long–term” deal coming off entry–level salary restriction, rather than a shorter “bridge” contract. If I were Kyle Dubas, general manager of the Toronto Maple Leafs, I… Read More

The Erik Karlsson Dilemma

TORONTO (July 9) — This is a purely hypothetical exercise, for it appears — and to their detriment — that the Toronto Maple Leafs are not involved in trade talks with the Ottawa Senators for Erik Karlsson. Nowhere else on… Read More

Babcock Must ‘C’ This Through

TORONTO (July 3) — So, we wonder, even more curiously: What did Mike Babcock discuss with Auston Matthews during their post–playoff summit in Arizona? You remember: Nick Kypreos of Sportsnet claiming, after the Maple Leafs were bounced from the opening… Read More

Tavares “Could Easily” Be A Leaf

TORONTO (June 25) — This is one man’s opinion and I have some difficulty sharing it. But, the one man — an amateur scout in the National Hockey League — has been around so long, he remembers watching John Tavares… Read More

Smoke and Mirrors Around Here

TORONTO (May 8) — Perhaps never in the professional sports annals of this city has a pair of clubs — 12 nights apart — rendered the six–month–long regular season so thoroughly pointless. The Toronto Maple Leafs and Toronto Raptors, after… Read More

Leafs Could Still Re–Make

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
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