It’s finally a game day again for the Toronto Maple Leafs. The story coming out of the last couple of days of practice being that the (forever cursed) Leafs have been bitten by the injury bug in a big way has led to Sheldon Keefe and his staff having to pivot their plans and find…
As far as the sport of hockey is concerned, the hardest thing to find in Toronto over the past half-century has been success. The joke is a well-beaten horse that’s been dead for so long that it’s carcass doesn’t even vaguely resemble anything anymore. Fans of every other team, league-wide have made the Leafs the…
You always want to see a veteran go out on their own terms. One last shift, one final salute to the fans before walking down that tunnel for the final time as a player in the National Hockey League. Unfortunately, far too many players don’t get to make that choice. Whether through injury, diminishing skill,…
It’s fairly common knowledge that all NHL teams have a hard limit of 50 pro contracts. The Toronto Maple Leafs currently sit just outside that limit with 48 contracts signed for this upcoming season, and it is this, more so than any individual contract that may pose the biggest issue for the Leafs this year….
The following article contains excerpts from an interview originally conducted in November 2020. The Toronto Maple Leafs, like any team aiming for long-term success, have heavily invested in prospect development. And in a flat salary cap world, the versatility of good players being able to slot into a lineup for close to league-minimum is more…
Shortly after free agency opened on July 13, the Toronto Maple Leafs signed newly-minted Stanley Cup champion Nicolas Aube-Kubel to a one-year $1-million contract. The 26-year-old who became infamous in the immediate aftermath of the Colorado Avalanche’s Stanley Cup-clinching victory for denting the Cup on the way to joining the team picture is an intriguing…
We’re about six weeks out from the start of NHL training camps and with the dust (mostly) settled on Free Agent Frenzy, it’s as good a time as any to make some far-too-early predictions on how the standings will fall in the Toronto Maple Leafs’ division. Utilizing the eight Atlantic Division team rosters as currently…
This morning, the Toronto Marlies announced the signings of forwards Zach O’Brien, Brett Budgell, Jack Badini, and Zach Solow to one-year AHL contracts. All four players, curiously, have some pre-existing links, (some of them coincidental,) to the greater Toronto organization. O’Brien, 30, has been a mainstay on the Newfoundland Growlers’ top line since the team’s…
Stop me if you’ve heard this one before: the Leafs have a problem at left wing. This was the story running rampant last summer and early in the 2021-22 season following the departure of Zach Hyman and the failed Nick Ritchie experiment. Michael Bunting was a revelation once he finally carved out his spot but…
The Toronto Maple Leafs have been big spenders in the last few years. During the lead up to both of the previous two trade deadlines, the Leafs have sent over a dozen draft picks out the door for depth adds, Mark Giordano, and the huge mistake that was Nick Foligno. As we head into the…
Hockey has changed. Gone are the days where a single goaltender can play 60 or more regular season games and then go on a long playoff run. The game is faster now and there is enough evidence in recent cup winners over the past decade to show that teams benefit much more from having a…
This year’s crop of pending free agents features roughly five goaltenders who have managed a starter’s workload in recent years. The youngest and perhaps most intriguing option is St. Louis’ Ville Husso. NHL general managers have a notoriously short memory when signing free agents. This seems especially true when looking at goaltending. Look at Sergei…
