John Tavares

Leafs Must Have a Plan

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

Leafs Thinking Outside The Box

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

Leafs Should Have a Captain

TORONTO (June 2) — From the inception of the National Hockey League in November 1917 until Feb. 24, 1986, the line remained unbroken. For nearly 70 calendar years — the entire history of the franchise — a trainer with the… Read More

Rielly Will Be the Leafs Captain

VANCOUVER (Dec. 3) — It’s a no–brainer. And, it should happen by next season. Morgan Rielly will become the 18th captain in Toronto Maple Leafs history. There is no longer any reason for the club to delay its quest. The… Read More

Kadri Had To Bite His Tongue

VANCOUVER (Dec. 2) — Nearly 7½ years after being chosen in the first round of the National Hockey League draft, Nazem Kadri might be getting a fair shake. But, even that is uncertain… and open to interpretation. From the moment,… Read More

Connor Who? Auston Who?

TORONTO (Nov. 2) — As so often happens in professional sport when hype trumps expectation, the main characters in Tuesday night’s drama at Air Canada Centre barely made it on stage. This was billed as a showdown between the last… Read More

Leafs Will Learn — Eventually

TORONTO (Nov. 1) — It will be a tell–tale sign that the young Maple Leafs are maturing when the club approaches a double–header like this past weekend with more of a competitive edge and less satisfaction. Though it yielded zero… Read More

Stamkos A Loss For Now… Not Later

TORONTO (June 30) — Conventional wisdom might suggest the Toronto Maple Leafs have lost a big opportunity one–half decade down the line now that Steven Stamkos has re–upped in Tampa. The notion of Stamkos, at 31 years of age and… Read More

Andersen To Become No. 63

TORONTO (June 26) — On the night of Saturday, Oct. 14, 1967, when the Chicago Black Hawks visited Maple Leaf Gardens to begin the expansion era in the National Hockey League, Johnny Bower started in goal for the home team.… Read More

Most Coaches Have Two Left Feet

TORONTO (May 10) — Among the hidden stories of Guy Boucher becoming head coach of the Ottawa Senators this week (replacing Dave Cameron) involved unspoken evidence that Boucher would have been hired by the Toronto Maple Leafs 12 months ago,… Read More

Should the Leafs “Wait” For Tavares

TORONTO (Apr. 25) — Yes, you’re probably chuckling at the headline to this blog. Truth be told, so am I. That said, however, weren’t we all chuckling two years ago at the notion of Steven Stamkos leaving the Tampa Bay… Read More

More on Leafs Trade Banter

By HOWARD BERGER TORONTO (June 4) – Continuing to nose around here in the weeks before the National Hockey League draft at Philadelphia, I spoke earlier today with the prominent scout of a Western Conference team – the same person… Read More

How to Stomach NHL Lockout

By HOWARD BERGER NEW YORK (Sep. 13) – In a city renowned for star appeal, the National Hockey League trotted out its biggest names on Thursday afternoon – players and owners separated by a mere three blocks and two high-rise … Read More

Sep. 15 Meaningless in NHL Labor Clash

By HOWARD BERGER TORONTO (Sep. 5) – Though coverage of the now-dormant negotiation between the National Hockey League and its players has been typically thorough, I’m astonished at the number of well-connected people that consider Sep. 15 a “deadline”. No … Read More

Starch Gone From Leafs

By HOWARD BERGER TORONTO (Mar. 21) – Perhaps I’m jaded after all my years around the Leafs but I have to be honest: There wasn’t much about the past two games that surprised me. Obviously, I wouldn’t have predicted an … Read More