TORONTO (Feb. 21) — In the view of this observer, and I doubt I’m alone, the five best hockey players on the planet are Connor McDavid, Nathan MacKinnon, Cale Makar, Macklin Celebrini and Quinn Hughes. All will be in unform for the gold medal game of the Milan Winter Olympics, as Canada takes on the United States. Somewhere beneath that group lays Mitch Marner and Auston Matthews, former and current member of the Maple Leafs. How far beneath is subject to opinion. How much of a factor they will be in Sunday’s winner–take–all match shouldn’t be a topic of debate. In six decisive Stanley Cup matches with the Maple Leafs, the M&M boys combined for zero goals and five assists. That’s right, neither “superstar” has yet scored in a Game 7 situation. Marner tallied the overtime winner for Canada in the Olympic quarterfinal against Czechia, then was silent (zero points) in the narrow semifinal escape against Finland (3–2 on MacKinnon’s last–minute goal). Neither did Matthews contribute a point in the 6–2 semifinal romp by the USA over Slovakia. Both seem in lock–step with their Leaf playoff careers.

Only here in the Big Smoke is there a Marner–Matthews subplot. Elsewhere, eyes will be on actual playoff winners. Such as McDavid, MacKinnon, Makar, Sidney Crosby (we think), Matthew Tkachuk, Jack Eichel and Brad Marchand. Expect the final summary to be replete with the aforementioned names. In the era of National Hockey League involvement at the Winter Games, the North American teams have, on three occasions, risen to the top: gold–medal match–ups in Salt Lake City (2002), Vancouver (2010) and, now, Milan (Canada upended Sweden to win the 2014 tournament, in Sochi). Prior to 1998, Canada vs. Russia was all the rage. Yet, Russian–born hockey players have been excluded from international sports competition since Putin’s invasion of Ukraine. I covered the 2010 hockey tournament in Vancouver for The FAN–590 and I’ll repeat what I’ve written, several times, since then: the most–rabid environment I’ve experienced for an Olympic encounter involving NHL players was during the round robin portion of the Vancouver Games when Canada played Russia. Ask anyone who was there. The noise and tumult started during the warm–ups and built exponentially throughout Canada’s 7–3 rout. Everyone remembers Crosby scoring the “golden goal” in overtime against the USA, but that clash had little of the emotion displayed when the big, bad Rooskies lined up against our guys. Sadly, young hockey fans today are unaware and can only read about the first genuine hockey rivalry involving NHL players. Trust me, it wasn’t with the Americans.

That said, fans and television networks on each side of the border have the match–up everyone anticipated. This Canadian team, as opposed to the club in Sochi, has lived on the edge. The Americans, conversely, breezed to victory in their semifinal tilt with Slovakia. For my money, the USA is the best team in the men’s tournament… and will defeat Canada, 5–3, for the gold medal. Look for Quinn Hughes to have the game of his life.

TOM, JERRY AND BUCK

There is no reason for the Blue Jays to search for participants to throw out (and catch) the ceremonial first pitch of the 2026 Major League schedule; the 50th year of baseball here in Toronto. It’s very simple: Jerry Howarth should toss the ball to Buck Martinez with Jeff Cheek (son of the club’s original voice, Tom Cheek) acting as “umpire”.

Tom died in 2005 of brain cancer. He had worked alongside Howarth for 22 years until being diagnosed; famously calling the first 4,306 games in franchise history. Howarth broadcast Blue Jays games (alongside Cheek, then as play by play announcer) from 1981 to 2017. He is also a cancer survivor, having undergone prostate surgery in 2016. Martinez, today, is battling recurrent cancer and announced his retirement on Feb. 6. Acquired as a catcher from Milwaukee, Buck teamed behind the plate with original Blue Jay Ernie Whitt from 1981 to 1986. Including the 1985 American League Championship Series against Kansas City — Toronto’s initial playoff appearance.

For most of the past 20 years, Martinez has been a fixture in the telecast booth; first working with Pat Tabler, then with Dan Shulman. All three franchise media giants should be called upon to perform the ceremonial pitch on Mar. 27, at Rogers Centre, prior to the season opener against the formerly Oakland (and soon–to–be Las Vegas) A’s.

IOC NAILS ME: I should have known better, given the five Olympic Games I covered during my radio career (starting with the 1996 Summer event, in Atlanta). The International Olympic Committee — warts and all — charges a gazillion dollars for television rights fees. It works diligently to protect its rights holders, as I found out this week. After each Team Canada game, I recorded the winning goal off TV and posted it on Facebook. This is after the games were finished. Still, the IOC watch–dogs removed the videos and I remain banned from posting anything on my FB page until, I suppose, after the Olympics. Even sent the “complaining party” an apology, which hasn’t yet been accepted. Twitter, or X, also removed the videos but did not penalize me. How both social media sites found shi**y old Howard Berger, I’ll never know. But, they did. As for now, you’ll find me on X. And, here.

REMEMBER THE TORONTO SUN… AS IT USED TO BE?

How can this be 35 years ago? When McNall, Candy and Gretzky bought the Toronto Argonauts.

Contents from the Toronto Sun of Feb. 26, 1991, as the Gulf War came to an end:

 
YES, MADAME GRETZKY WAS “SUNSHINE” GIRL THE DAY AFTER WAYNE BOUGHT INTO THE ARGOS. 

 
NEWS OF THE PURCHASE ATTRACTED WRITERS AND COLUMNISTS TO THE PRESS CONFERENCE.

 

THE LEAFS WERE THE SECOND–WORST TEAM IN THE NHL, HAVING LOST IN OVERTIME AT DETROIT.

 

LOOK AT THE GREAT DEFENSEMEN AMONG THE 1990–91 NHL SCORING LEADERS. AL MacINNIS, PAUL COFFEY, BRIAN LEETCH, PHIL HOUSLEY AND RAY BOURQUE ARE IN THE HOCKEY HALL OF FAME.

ELECTRONIC ITEMS (AND PRICES), CIRCA FEBRUARY 1991.

EMAIL: HOWARDLBERGER@GMAIL.COM