2011/2012 Season

Be Very Careful With Mitch Marner

TORONTO (May 29) — There’s a weird paradox surrounding Mitch Marner and the Toronto Maple Leafs: He is the player the club can least afford to lose… but can most afford to trade. Let me try and explain. As I’ve… Read More

Media Madness Envelops Leafs Land

TORONTO (May 27) — If it’s possible, the Toronto media market has gone wackier than ever in the past week. The parting with former Leafs general manager Kyle Dubas has triggered waves of panic among those that were in his… Read More

It’s All Looking So Familiar

TORONTO (May 24) — As every year, there are innumerable off–season questions surrounding the beloved and bedeviled hockey team in this city. But, none bigger than this: Why is Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment wasting its time and money looking… Read More

Was Matthews Speaking Sincerely?

TORONTO (May 22) — This came out of nowhere on Sunday night from an individual that is well–connected to the Toronto Maple Leafs; someone who knows all the players, personally. It was one man’s opinion and must be considered with… Read More

The Shanahan/Leafs Conundrum

TORONTO (May 20) — Nothing productive can result from Brendan Shanahan seeking out and choosing the next general manager of the Maple Leafs. Which, oddly, still appears to be his task after nearly a decade of playoff oblivion as president… Read More

The Sad Legacy of Failure Continues

TORONTO (May 19) — Stafford Smythe, Harold Ballard, Steve Stavro, The Ontario Teachers Pension Plan, Rogers Communications, Bell Canada, Larry Tanenbaum: Companies and individuals that have primarily owned the Toronto Maple Leafs since the club, in 1967, played for and… Read More

Is Kyle Sticking It To the Leafs?

UPDATE: ELLIOTTE FRIEDMAN OF SPORTSNET BROKE THE NEWS, JUST AFTER NOON TODAY, THAT KYLE DUBAS WILL NOT RETURN AS GM OF THE LEAFS. MORE TO FOLLOW… TORONTO (May 18) — They say that in life, what comes around goes around.… Read More

There’s Only One Player To Trade

TORONTO (May 16) — This is going in capital letters so Leafs Nation can save it and possibly throw it back at me. Even if that won’t happen, because… THE MAPLE LEAFS WILL NEVER PLAY FOR, LET ALONE WIN, THE … Read More

Kyle Dubas Boldly Saved the Day

TORONTO (May 15) — I will begin by repeating the words, over the weekend, of a trusted hockey source: The Maple Leafs are “heavily weighing” an executive overhaul that would remove president Brendan Shanahan and general manager Kyle Dubas from… Read More

Bowen Says Goodbye — Almost

TORONTO (May 13) — Has Joe Bowen called his final game as voice of the Toronto Maple Leafs? There was no indication of any such circumstance prior to last night’s playoff elimination by the Florida Panthers. But, neither has Bowen… Read More

Don’t Get Too Excited, Leafs Nation

TORONTO (May 11) — Yes, there is a smidgen of hope, where none existed prior to Game 4. And, yes, the Toronto Maple Leafs will beget intrigue and commotion if they again defeat the Florida Panthers on Friday night. But,… Read More

If Leafs Win Another, Look Out

TORONTO (May 10) — Would anyone like their palms read on Thursday? While puttering around on the Internet, just after 3 p.m., I came to an epiphany (above) on my Twitter page. So, I missed the final score. Big deal.… Read More

Nightmare Scenario For The Leafs

TORONTO (May 8) — Truth be known, there was only one circumstance the Toronto Maple Leafs wished to avoid after winning their first playoff round in nearly two decades: getting drubbed in the second round and forcing management to trade… Read More

Seixeiro Said It (Very) Straight

TORONTO (May 6) — It wasn’t exactly Peter Finch exclaiming, in the 1977 movie Network, “I’m mad as hell and I’m not going to take this anymore!” Neither, thank goodness, was Sid Seixeiro murdered live on television, as with the… Read More

TSN–1050 Manhandling Sportsnet–590

TORONTO (May 3) — Bob McCown never cared much about competition. As it pertained to jock talk, the late–afternoon hours had long been the domain of Prime Time Sports — a magazine show that began on local radio in October… Read More

Poetic Justice For Miserly MLSE

TORONTO (May 1) — It ranks among the oldest sayings in the English language: You get what you pay for. Or, in this instance, what you decline to pay for. An otherwise–glorious weekend for Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment —… Read More

Oh, How We Suffered…

TORONTO (Apr. 30) — It was Stockholm Syndrome. There’s no other way to describe being a fan of the Maple Leafs during the Harold Ballard era. The jailbird–turned–owner held our city hostage for nearly two decades, beginning in 1972. Yet… Read More

The Ghost of Machine Gun Lanny

TORONTO (Apr. 28) — If nothing else, the Maple Leafs will have calendar karma tomorrow night in their second attempt to eliminate the Tampa Bay Lightning. You’ve got to be an old fart like me to remember Saturday, Apr. 29,… Read More