View image | gettyimages.com The 2015 Maple Leafs have really shed their reputation of being lazy and bad defensively, and have developed a brand new one: working really hard, but still losing. Tonight was no different, except for the Leafs looking like they had a win in the bag. That is, until Washington scored with…
View image | gettyimages.com When Mike Babcock was hired this offseason, culture change was promised. He was going to work these guys. Pound them into being better players and better human beings. But so far, his coddling of skill players and lack of grit leaves a lot to be desired. For someone who talked a…
View image | gettyimages.com Going into their game against the Pens, the Leafs had a bunch of moral victories and one actual victory so far this season. With it being their first game against Phil Kessel since The Trade, another simple moral victory would be a tough pill to swallow. Unfortunately, the game was very…
View image | gettyimages.com The Toronto Maple Leafs got their big fish in Mike Babcock this summer – addressing apparent issues off the ice instead of on the ice. But if you ask me Randy Carlyle was a hockey board, hockey player, and bench away from the real problem. Yet the Leafs didn’t address the…
Unlike my colleagues, I see an untapped potential with the talent the Leafs have assembled. I really do. It just requires someone forward-thinking enough to put the pieces together the right way. So that’s what I did.
View image | gettyimages.com When it looked like the Leafs were going to trade everyone on the roster this past summer, Polak was a name that came up a decent amount. It’s not surprising – Polak is going into the last year of his contract, at a cap hit of $2,750,000, even though his real salary…
View image | gettyimages.com You can say what you want about analytics, but the Leafs are 2-0 in the post-Kessel era. That’s the only stat I need to say this: Phil Kessel was the problem all along.
View image | gettyimages.com With the additions of Matt Hunwick and Martin Marincin, Toronto’s top 6 on the back end seemed to be set in stone for most people. They seemed to round out a d core that already included Phaneuf, Rielly, Gardiner, and Polak. Only one problem: there’s no leadership in that lineup. Coincidentally,…
View image | gettyimages.com With all of the depth players the Leafs have either already signed, or plan to now that they have roster spots available, it’s easy to forget about Nick Spaling. “Where did he come from?” you’re probably asking. To that I say “the Kessel trade”. You likely respond with “didn’t we just…
Just to make sure, the winner of this game wins the Kessel trade, right? — The Leafs Nation (@TLNdc) September 14, 2015 The big grand finale of the rookie tournament featured the two teams that made the biggest trade of the offseason. Naturally, pieces in that trade were featured on both sides, with former 22nd…
Earlier today, the official Toronto Maple Leafs held a Twitter Q&A with Brendan Shanahan. Users were asked to submit questions with #AskShanny. Brendan did a great job answering a select few questions, but a lot of great questions went unanswered. As Brendan and I are both alpha males and have great abs, I felt like…
Figuring out the top 2 prospects in the Leafs system was easy. Figuring out who was 1 and who was 2 wasn’t. In fact, final voting of the TLN staff had Mitch Marner and William Nylander separated by 1 point. Of seven voters, three had Nylander in 1st. The debate might have caused some online…
