TORONTO (Nov. 25) — There is a candidate out there to tell the denizens of Leafs Nation the boldface truth: their favorite team is a better team without Auston Matthews. If I were the wagering sort, my dough would be on Dave Feschuk of the Toronto Star, among the few in the mainstream media unaffected by the aura of the Blue and White. Perhaps it will be wordsmith Cathal Kelly of the Globe and Mail. No one can slice and dice like the former Star employee. My friends Steve Simmons (Sun) and Rosie DiManno (Star) have enough mettle to buck the establishment, yet I fear both have fallen for the Matthews mystique. So, permit yours truly to say it again: The Toronto Maple Leafs are a better team in the absence of No. 34. Neither more dangerous nor prolific without last season’s 69–goal scorer. But, far superior as a group in the manner required to exorcize their playoff demons.

This seems particularly staunch under the guidance of first–year coach Craig Berube. To wit: the Leafs are 7–1–0 since Matthews went down with his latest mystery plague. During that time, Berube’s forces have yielded all of 13 goals. While scoring 25. Numbers that would be perfectly acceptable among teams challenging, next spring, for the Stanley Cup. Every player wearing a Toronto jersey steps it up when Matthews is unavailable. At 13–6–2, the Leafs hold a three–point advantage over defending–champion Florida atop the Atlantic Division. Apart from the usual brilliance of Mitch Marner during the regular schedule, there is nothing fancy, right now, about the locals.

MITCH MARNER DOMINATED IN THE FIRST VISIT, SUNDAY, BY UTAH TO SCOTIABANK ARENA. DAN HAMILTON PHOTO

It reminds me so much of the immediate impact Roger Neilson made on the 1977–78 Maple Leafs. Replacing Red Kelly behind the bench, Neilson demanded a return to defensive acumen; the sort that enabled Toronto to win four Stanley Cup titles in the previous decade. The Leafs compiled 92 points (second–most, at the time, in franchise history); upset the thickly favored New York Islanders in the playoffs and advanced to the Cup semifinals for the first time since 1967. The switch to defense–first in no way handcuffed the team’s best player, Darryl Sittler, who amassed 117 points, still third–most by a Toronto skater in one season. Berube’s Leafs look very much like Neilson’s Leafs. The difference being that the ’77–78 club would not have prospered in Sittler’s lengthy absence.

Call me plum–loco if you wish, but try and explain a 42–20–2 record, all time, in the games Matthews has missed. A mark slightly beyond .500 would be acceptable for such occasions. But, 22 games above the break–even figure? That has to be more than a coincidence. Berube’s Leafs, in particular, are excelling in the absence of the two–time Rocket Richard Trophy winner. And, with the others infirmed: Matthew Knies, Max Domi, Max Pacioretty, David Kampf and Calle Jarnkrok. Perhaps not front–line names, but those that provide the Leafs balance and depth. For as long as Matthews has worn the Toronto jersey, his teammates have subliminally waited for him to make the big play. He’s come through. Frequently. Often dazzlingly. When Auston is in the line–up, everyone else softens just a little. More than enough — sadly for Leaf rooters — to scuttle playoff designs each spring. The current group, minus No. 34, rarely offers up a lazy shift. Marner has lost nothing without his familiar line–mate. He was a magician against Utah on Sunday in a game that had “let down” written all over it for the Maple Leafs.

As it were, Toronto emerged with a tidy (if boring) 3–1 victory against an uncommon opponent… on a very uncommon night. Every player, at the moment, is buying in; the club performing with structure and discipline.

It would seem plausible that the locals need Matthews for a lengthy playoff run. But, not the Matthews that went scoreless against Florida in the second–round debacle of 2023. Or, the player, quite frankly, from any Toronto post–season round other than the opening series against Tampa Bay that spring. The only best–of–seven (not coincidentally) in which the Maple Leafs, with Auston, have prevailed. He and his big–money ‘mates were shameful no–shows throughout a must win for the club in Game 3 against the Panthers. There are more than 13 million reasons why the Leafs should have traded Matthews after that playoff debacle. I pounded on it then and feel no differently today. Instead, all–such reasons were parlayed into ca$h, allowing Matthews to emerge (for awhile) as the highest–paid performer in the National Hockey League (now second, behind Leon Draisaitl). More than Sidney Crosby, with three Stanley Cups. More (temporarily) than Connor McDavid and Cale Makar — the two best players on the planet. Both advancing to the Stanley Cup final in recent years; Makar and the Avalanche prevailing (over Tampa Bay) in 2022. Matthews, starting next season, will gobble up $13.25 million of salary and cap space.

So, who’s it going to be? Feschuk? Kelly? Maybe Damien Cox? Certainly not an individual employed by Rogers, which will soon own 75% of the Maple Leafs. Suggesting the club prospers without its marquee figure could bring down the Glenn Healy nightstick at the evil empire. There’s a chance, of course that no one in the mainstream media will have the effrontery to speak the truth. So, let this old radio guy repeat it once more: The Leafs stand a greater chance of winning the Stanley Cup without Auston Matthews. You are seeing it, again, through your eyes.

I challenge any person to argue differently.

FROM THE JERSEY COLLECTION — Part 1

Oh, the money I spent in the 1990’s and 2000’s on vintage NHL jerseys. At a time when manufacturers were producing items from the six–team league… and those of the numerous expansion clubs that joined the circuit beginning in 1967. In the first of a series, here are uniforms in my collection from the pre and post–expansion eras:

As with the Utah Hockey Club this season, the inaugural Pittsburgh Penguins wore jerseys (road, above; home, bottom–left) with the city name emblazoned diagonally on the front. In Year 2, Pittsburgh adorned its jersey with the club logo (bottom–right) and a white shoulder pump. The sleeves were also amended.

 
 
Danny Grant won the Calder Trophy as NHL rookie–of–the–year in 1968–69, wearing No. 21 (above) for the Minnesota North Stars. The club’s home jersey had a green base with gold and white trim. It’s a classic.

 
The first expansion team to win the Stanley Cup used this jersey on the road. The iconic orange–and–black of the Philadelphia Flyers. Worn at the Buffalo Auditorium when Philly captured its second consecutive title, in 1975.

A game–worn jersey belonging to winger Tommy Williams, who scored 114 goals for the Los Angeles Kings from 1973–79. The Kings trotted out their primarily gold uniform at home, beginning in 1970–71. Best. Logo. Ever.

 
The “other” California team called Oakland home from 1967 to 1976. Adopting a green–and–gold color scheme when purchased, in June 1970, by Oakland A’s owner Charlie Finley. The newly named California Golden Seals wore the above jersey on the road from 1970–71 to 1973–74. The franchise moved to Richfield, Ohio, as the Cleveland Barons. But, only for two years before merging with the old Minnesota North Stars.

 
The smart and classic winged wheel of Detroit’s NHL team. Worn, most prominently, by Gordie Howe.

 
The Maple Leafs were in this jersey on May 2, 1967, the night they last won the Stanley Cup. The remodeled uniform debuted for the playoffs that year and became the primary home model through the 1969–70 season.

 
Who, of vintage, can look at this jersey and NOT think of Bobby Orr? The Boston Bruins wore their iconic white, black and gold uniform on the road beginning in 1967–68; then at home from 1970–71 to 1973–74. At which point, and sadly, the club removed its gold shoulder pump on both the home and road designs. A huge mistake.

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