TORONTO (Jan. 6) — Pending the outcome, it could be a blessing or a curse that largely impacts the Maple Leafs this season. By tomorrow night (Monday), Frederik Andersen will have accrued 15 consecutive days of rest in the middle… Read More
TORONTO (Dec. 25) — Yes, the standings suggest otherwise — if only slightly — and the good folks on the Gulf side of Florida may vehemently disagree. But, I say to you, on Christmas Night 2018, that the Toronto Maple… Read More
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
TORONTO (Nov. 22) — If I remember correctly, this was going to be the year the Maple Leafs not only overwhelmed rival clubs with their firepower, but also learned how to limit opportunities in the defensive zone. Not surprisingly, the… Read More
TORONTO (Mar. 4) — There is no attempt here to jump on a bandwagon with the Maple Leafs in their first minor funk since mid–January (0–2–1 on a four–game road trip that concludes Monday night in Buffalo). This is still… 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 (Oct. 31) — While watching the Maple Leafs get stunningly out–played by the San Jose Sharks in northern–California Monday night (the 3–2 final score did not reflect the lop–sided essence of the match), it occurred to me that the… Read More
TORONTO (Oct. 17) — Barring a protracted injury–absence, Auston Matthews will undoubtedly score between 50 and 60 goals this season for the Toronto Maple Leafs. Should be count 55, he’ll break the franchise record that Rick Vaive established in 1981–82.… Read More
TORONTO (Sep. 27) — Yes, the headline here is a play–on–words and, perhaps, marginally inappropriate. But, laugh along with me, folks. Recent events, south of the 49th parallel, have been all–too serious.
What I’m asking, within the context of sport,… Read More
TORONTO (Sep. 18) — At no time since 1967, until now, have the Maple Leafs been one player away from challenging for the Stanley Cup. Just how significant that piece remains is a matter of opinion.
In my view, it… Read More
TORONTO (Sep. 13) — The loudest voices in town are calling for a championship. No fooling.
Two years after finishing dead–last in the National Hockey League, and three years after the most disgraceful showing of the post–Harold Ballard era, the… 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 (Jan. 28) — Paul Henderson may present himself as a medical time–bomb ticking toward an apocalyptic end, but you’d never know it by spending 90 minutes in his company. The man that authored, to this day, the most important… Read More
TORONTO (Oct. 12) — Six months and three days after last watching the Toronto Maple Leafs in a game that counted, a new season begins with curiosity and bridled excitement. A 5–1 defeat at New Jersey on Apr. 9 enabled… Read More
Busted flat in Baton Rouge; waiting for a train…And I’s feelin’ near as faded as my jeans.
TORONTO (May 7) — I was cruising along a highway north of the city the other night when Janis Joplin’s 1971 anthem,… Read More
TORONTO (Jan. 23) — It is called Legends Row — the medley of bronze statues on the west plaza of Air Canada Centre commemorating, subjectively, the greatest of all Toronto Maple Leafs.
In the not–too–distant future, it might have to… Read More
By HOWARD BERGER
TORONTO (July 2) — It began, without warning, on a quiet Sunday in early–March 1968. Of course, there was little chance of any real–time alert back then, in the days long before the Internet and social media.… Read More
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
Why Even Go There?
End of An Era in Oakland
“I Was Gretzky… For A Day”
The Sound of Silence
Still Not Convinced
Was It The Leafs’ Biggest Gaffe?
Again — Why Not Rick?
A Big Moment… But How Big?
Flag Waving Has Started Early
The Laughable Maple Leafs
Talking Mike Babcock
Sittler, Kelly and Pyramid Power
It’s That Date Again
So, What Now, Leafs Nation?
Overkill Like We’ve Never Seen