Frank Mahovlich: great Maple Leaf showed his value with the Habs

It’s funny, Frank Mahovlich has long been considered one of the great Maple Leafs of all time, and rightly so. Yet he wasn’t one of my pers...

Ex-Leaf defenseman Hal Gill: Like Larry Murphy, we barely knew you

This is not exactly a repeat of the Larry Murphy story, but Leaf fans must sometimes feel snakebit. Murphy of course was the Hall-of-Fam...

Ex-Leaf Dominic Moore: It’s better to be lucky—and good

Some months ago I commented that Dominic Moore, a hard-working Maple Leaf in his short time with the blue and white, had miscalculated his ‘...

It’s apt that NHLPA award will now be named for ex-Red Wing great Ted Lindsay

Media reports Tuesday night indicated the National Hockey league Players Association will re-name the Lester B. Pearson Award to honor f...

No one’s complaining about goaltending in Montreal now; Vancouver blueline like Leafs in ‘93

There are always plenty of story lines in the opening round of the playoffs. In Montreal, the early series anxiety about the goaltending...

Coaching for Lou Lamoriello a difficult proposition

Lou Lamoriello has built a tremendously successful organization in New Jersey, demonstrated by a team that makes the playoffs every year and...

1971 Bruins-Habs playoff classic: The Montreal mystique made the Bruins chronic under-achievers

Granted, it was still in the early years of expansion, but the 1970-’71 Boston Bruins shattered all kinds of all-time, long-standing NHL g...

Hats off to the Senators; heartbreak for the Predators and playoff notes

I’ve never been an Ottawa fan (probably goes back to Russ Jackson, the wonderful CFL quarterback who used to beat my Argos in the ‘60s). ...

The Leafs and Rangers in the spring of ’62 : What a playoff series

When the playoffs began in the late winter of 1962, the Leafs were due for something big.  They hadn’t won a championship since 1951, and ...

It's hard to ignore ex-Leaf prospect Rask’s success in Boston

The NFL draft this week has created significant “buzz” and as always, hope- especially for fans who anticipate that two or three solid picks...

Kovalchuk deal a disaster for Lou Lamoriello and the Devils

Well, the Devils are out early again. Almost every year, the playoffs prove there are simply no guarantees. Especially in the first round,...

Bobby Orr: one subtle way he changed the game that no one ever talks about

I’m among those who still count Bobby Orr as the best all-around hockey player they ever saw. He had extra gears that other players just di...

Gustavsson and Rynnas: like Bester and Wregget?

Credit the Leafs with leaving no stone un-turned in terms of pursuing undrafted college and European free agents. The signing of the young ...

The Leafs are still a long ways away

I couldn’t help but pay attention to some of Toronto Raptor GM Bryan Colangelo’s comments in his end-of-year state-of-the-nation address to...

Leafs still handling the Kaberle situation all wrong

There is little wonder Tomas Kaberle had such a miserable last third of the season. The Leafs clearly have wanted to move him since Brian ...

1993 was painful for us old Leaf fans who remember the bitter 1960s playoff battles with Montreal

You don’t have to be very old to remember how painful it was for Leaf fans in the spring of 1993. We were “this close” to getting past Wa...

The playoff “shadows” don’t exist like they did in Bobby Hull’s day

It’s playoff time with the attendant superb, intense hockey. With that intensity comes the traditional strategic playoff “match-ups”, which...

The first round is fantastic but going forward, here are changes I’d like to see

The regular season has drawn to a close and we’re in the midst of the absolute best and most entertaining hockey of the season—the first r...