Trading Kessel an option?

Somehow I wasn’t shocked to see reports that Phil Kessel (who scored the winner against the Islanders Tuesday night) was supposedly “in play...

Will the Leafs ever have another end-of-season NHL All-Star?

With the Olympics winding down, NHL hockey returns shortly. The Leafs will continue to rebuild their squad, with an eye toward 2011-12 and...

Bob Neely: so much potential

When General Manager Jim Gregory managed to turn a lousy 1972-’73 season into trades for two extra first-round draft choices, it almost felt...

From Salming to Sundin: big moments brought big smiles

Since many of us prefer story-book endings, it might have been best if Mats Sundin had retired after the 2007-’08 season with the Maple Lea...

Johnny Bower: the beginning and the end

Leaf fans of my generation certainly remember Johnny Bower as an outstanding goalkeeper who helped lead Toronto to four Stanley Cups in the ...

Salming and Hammarstrom weren’t exactly the first

At the beginning of the 1973-’74 season, the Leafs had just come off a horrible year. They had missed the playoffs the previous spring af...

From Stan Weir to Matt Stajan: Why is someone else still wearing Keon’s #14?

We all know the Leafs don’t “retire” numbers. They should, and when I contemplate why, I think—not surprisingly—about Dave Keon. Organizati...

Terry Sawchuk’s 100th shutout in 1967

Hockey fans all know that Martin Brodeur has now broken Hall-of-Famer Terry Sawchuk’s longstanding NHL record of 103 regular-season shutout...

Ponikarovsky off the edge: No Rocket, but…

For years, Leaf fans found the seemingly bound-at-the-hip duo of Nik Antropov and Alex Ponikarovsky infuriating. We could see the talent. ...

Luke Schenn update

Brian Burke and Ron Wilson know a great deal more than the fans about how to run a hockey team, and certainly a lot more than me. But since...

Attention paid to Phil Kessel a prelude to any playoff match-up

There’s little question that just getting to the playoffs would bring a huge sigh of relief—and much appreciation—from Leafs fans. The reas...

Alex Faulkner: from Newfoundland to Toronto to fleeting fame in Detroit

I love watching old Leaf games on TV, particularly those from the late 50s and 60s. In some cases I’m getting the opportunity to see game...

Scott Garland: remembering a rugged Leaf

In the mid-to-later 1970s, the Toronto Maple Leafs revolved around Darryl Sittler, Borje Salming, Mike Palmateer, Ian Turnbull, Lanny McDona...

Eddie Litzenberger: the good luck charm

Many fine players go through their entire career without being on a Stanley Cup winner. That should not diminish their legacy, but there is ...

Jim Dorey: A tough and talented Leaf

By the late 1960s, as I have discussed on this site, Punch Imlach was desperately trying to re-shape the Leafs. The team had been in relat...

Carl Gunnarsson: the signs are there, but it’s still early

It’s funny how one goal, or a break here or there that leads to a win lightens the mood on a hockey team—and within the fan base. When th...

Ian White: The next Pat Stapleton?

The continued emergence of Ian White as perhaps the best all-around Maple Leaf defenseman evokes memories of another “under-sized” defender ...

Cesare Maniago: Covering the Canadian hockey landscape

If you mention the name Cesare Maniago to most hockey fans who were around from the 1970’s forward, chances are the team they will associate...