Howard Berger

“We Have All Been Here Before…”

Should the Senators rout the Leafs on Tuesday (say, 5–1, which has happened repeatedly to good teams early in the playoffs), all hell will break loose. — my blog after Game 4 TORONTO (Apr. 30) — I had the precise… Read More

24 Hours to Relax For Leafs Nation

TORONTO (Apr. 28) — At no point, and deservedly so, in the Core–4 era have the Maple Leafs been granted a full playoff mulligan. Until Saturday night, that is, when a defeat in overtime at the Canadian Tire Centre in… Read More

Another Absurd Call By Rogers/Bell

TORONTO (Apr. 24) — I suppose the cheapskates at Rogers and Bell did not learn their lesson two years ago, when Joe Bowen mistakenly credited a series–winning overtime goal in Tampa to Morgan Rielly. The long–time Leafs broadcaster was watching… Read More

A Leafs Legend Is Emerging. Quickly.

TORONTO (Apr. 23) — Brad Treliving will not win general manager–of–the–year in the National Hockey League (the nod likely going to Kevin Cheveldayoff of Winnipeg or Chris Patrick of Washington). Were there an award, however, for best acquisition–of–the–year, Toronto’s… Read More

Truly, What’s At Stake For The Leafs?

TORONTO (Apr. 19) — It’s a question that no person in the Leafs-owned media will ask aloud (or in print). What happens amid the Doomsday scenario: another first–round playoff defeat in the Core–4 era? This time against an opponent that… Read More

Leafs–Senators Shouldn’t Be Close

TORONTO (Apr. 16) — After a 21–year hiatus, the Battle of Ontario will resume when it matters most. And, the Toronto Maple Leafs, performing as they are, should not be acutely threatened by the upstart and improving Ottawa Senators, even… Read More

Round 2 An Absolute Must For Leafs

TORONTO (Apr. 12) — A Maple Leafs anniversary passed on Friday without acknowledgement or fanfare: Brendan Shanahan marked 11 years as president of the hockey club. You’ll excuse local scribes and pundits if they didn’t laud the occasion as intended,… Read More

Sorry… I’m Still Not Buying It

TORONTO (Apr. 5) — In the “credit where credit is due” category, the Maple Leafs are rather fortunate they outlasted the Florida Panthers on Wednesday night at Scotiabank Arena. While there was joyous media celebration over the narrow and equivocal… Read More

Autocracy to Prevail at Sportsnet

TORONTO (Apr. 1) — What the MAGA man wants, the MAGA man gets. In this case, the monolith of Toronto professional sport. Soon to be the domain of Edward Rogers, the Donald Trump zealot and Mar–a–Lago frequenter that owns 100… Read More

The “MAGA” King of Toronto Sport

TORONTO (Mar. 28) — Now we know why that poor senior citizen got thrown out of the Blue Jays’ season opener on Thursday afternoon: He wasn’t a Donald Trump lackey. Unlike Edward Rogers, the individual that owns the stadium and… Read More

The Leafs Cannot Act Impulsively

TORONTO (Mar. 24) — If you are Brendan Shanahan and Brad Treliving, how can you not wait until after the playoffs to determine your strategy with Mitch Marner and John Tavares? What would happen, for example, if both players re–signed… Read More

Leafs Owners Have No Mercy

TORONTO (Mar. 18) — The answer is short and simple: As long as this is allowed to happen, it will continue. Unabated and unchallenged. Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment has its season ticket patrons by the short and curlies. And,… Read More

Is Matthews “C”–ing The Light?

TORONTO (Mar. 15) — As much as I contend that he’ll never be a consistently big–game performer for the Maple Leafs, Auston Matthews is clearly hampered by… something. No one anticipated another 69–goal season. In the 109–year history of the… Read More

Really, This Is Shanahan’s Mess

TORONTO (Mar. 10) — There are a number of seminal dates in the history of the Toronto Maple Leafs, but Apr. 11, 2014 is fast–rising in prominence. It was the day Brendan Shanahan became president of the hockey club. The… Read More

Why It’s Over For Mitch and the Leafs

TORONTO (Mar. 8) — Yes, the salary cap is about to rise exponentially in the National Hockey League. But, no, the Maple Leafs did not offer the Carolina Hurricanes their immediate prospect and draft pool to obtain forward Mikko Rantanen… Read More

Brad Treliving Made His Moves, But…

TORONTO (Mar. 7) — If Scott Laughton and Brandon Carlo are the final marble slabs of the Maple Leafs, Michaelangelo could have stopped at David’s waist. The part everyone stares at in Florence would be missing. Not that Brad Treliving’s… Read More

Expect Leafs, as Usual, to go Small

TORONTO (Mar. 3) — It’s an annual rite of passage for hockey in this city; largely forgotten by the ensuing year. First, the general manager–of–the–day calls media together so he can set the trade–deadline bar as shallow as possible. Check.… Read More

Abraham, Bobby and Wayne

TORONTO (Feb. 24) — Whenever my time comes, I will take with me two remarkable badges of honor: I got to know Bobby Orr and Wayne Gretzky by name. Not bad for a small media muffin in a large bakery.… Read More