Leafs Will Have to Make History

TORONTO (Apr. 3) — No team has won the Stanley Cup after losing more than 14 games in regulation time on home ice during the regular season. The Toronto Maple Leafs, therefore, would break new ground by ending their 52–year… Read More

Nothing Matters Until Apr. 11

TORONTO (Mar. 26) — Whether the Toronto Maple Leafs demolish a team with no defensive posture (Florida), or get demolished by the best regular–season club in more than a generation (Tampa Bay), it is elementary for another two weeks. Until… Read More

Are the Leafs Good Enough?

TORONTO (Feb. 22) — One game remains. Saturday night. Against rival Montreal at Scotiabank Arena. The proverbial “four–pointer” in the Atlantic Division. And, a final opportunity for Kyle Dubas and Co. to evaluate the roster before Monday’s National Hockey League… Read More

Babcock Made The Difference

TORONTO (Feb. 20) — I’m not sure what was said, or at what volume, in the visitors’ dressing room during the first intermission last night in St. Louis. All I do know is the Maple Leafs were a far–better team… Read More

Dubas Isn’t Done

TORONTO (Feb. 18) — No specifics here, except this: I’ll be very surprised if Maple Leafs general manager Kyle Dubas does not make at least one more move before the National Hockey League trade deadline a week from today. Said… Read More

Leafs, Bruins Starting To Pull Away

TORONTO (Feb. 16) — That dream match–up between the Toronto Maple Leafs and Montreal Canadiens in the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs is beginning to look more like a fantasy. As expected. Squarely to blame are the Leafs… Read More

Babcock Needs a Playoff Win

TORONTO (Jan. 28) — Given the mammoth contract (eight years, $50 million) he signed with the Toronto Maple Leafs on May 21, 2015, it could seem incomprehensible for someone other than Mike Babcock to coach the hockey club next season.… Read More

Leafs Will Figure Something Out

TORONTO (Jan. 21) — To hammer–and–tong on the Maple Leafs right now would be piling on… and lack creativity. Rarely is it a challenge to kick someone — or something — when it’s down. So, we’ll begin this blog by… Read More

Wild Card–2 Best For The Leafs

TORONTO (Jan. 19) — If you’re a distressed follower of the Maple Leafs, try not to worry yourself into malaise over the 3–6–0 tailspin since Dec. 29. Or, the 1–5–0 recession on home ice. For a couple of important reasons:… Read More

Lock The Doors, Larry

TORONTO (Jan. 15) — As the largest individual shareholder at Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment, it is incumbent upon Larry Tanenbaum to bar the entrance of Scotiabank Arena on all future game nights. Send fans away. Issue full ticket–refunds. Instruct… Read More

Rielly Closing the Gap — Finally

TORONTO (Dec. 22) — For whatever it’s worth (and I think many would agree), my criteria for the James Norris Memorial Trophy in today’s National Hockey League is a defenseman capable of putting up a minimum 60 points… and a… 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 “Can” Do Whatever They Wish

TORONTO (Dec. 4) — If I saw it once, I saw it 100 times in emails and Twitter replies: “Yes, the Leafs can keep all of William Nylander, Mitch Marner and Auston Matthews under the salary cap.” Often followed by… Read More

Nylander Contract Fair (and Movable)

TORONTO (Dec. 1) — Unlike the fruitless labor crusades of recent ilk in these parts, involving staff at York University and letter carriers at Canada Post, William Nylander did exceptionally well in withholding his services from the Toronto Maple Leafs.… 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

Enjoy These Leafs (While You Can)

“We’re here for a good time, not a long time… So have a good time, the sun can’t shine every day.” — Trooper, 1977 TORONTO (Sep. 30) — Note to fans of the Maple Leafs: As the song goes, be… 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
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