Toronto Maple Leafs Hot Stove

by Aaron Chan on May 23, 2013 in Morning Mashup - 548 Comments

It's not often that a tectonic shift like realignment occurs in the NHL, but when it does the competitive landscape is bound to shift, with winners and losers emerging from the rubble. From a scheduling and time-zone perspective, Detroit, Columbus, Winnipeg and Dallas stand to benefit the most.  The new scheduling mandate will also ensure that fans in every city will get to watch every team play in their home building at least once, thereby allowing Coyotes fans to fill half the stadium to watch Sidney Crosby torch their team. All joking aside, this will be great for the game as the league's stars like Stamkos, Tavares, and Giroux will get more exposure around the league, and I'm all for growing the popularity of the game we all love.

Of particular interest to Leafs fans is the renewal of the Detroit-Toronto rivalry, an Original Six tradition that stretches back to the earliest days of the league. I may be too young to remember the battles of days gone by, but I'm not too young to appreciate the wondrous skills of Datsyuk and Zetterberg.  I'm looking forward to the renewal of a storied rivalry and being able to one day tell me kids and grand kids about amazing playoff duels.  However, as I watched the Red Wings dominate the Blackhawks in Game 3, it made me wonder what their introduction into Division C would mean for the Leafs. [more…]

by Alec Brownscombe on May 22, 2013 in Morning Mashup - 240 Comments

I was just getting back into the playoff swing of things and looking forward to taking in a Marlies game at the Ricoh, hopefully... Then the Marlies gave up three goals with under ten to go in Game 6 last night and lost out to the Grand Rapids Griffins. Meanwhile, the Bruins are walking over the Rangers in their round 2 matchup. I'm sure how to feel about this. It's kind of bittersweet. Sweet in the sense that it's impressive the Leafs did have these Bruins - who are probably the favourite to emerge out of the East at this point - on the ropes, and bitter in the sense that the Leafs would've had a pretty good chance, I think anyway, of advancing to the Conference Finals if they closed. If you are looking to try betting on your favorite nhl team, check out Topbet.eu.

Bahh, back to hockey hibernation. [more…]

by Jon Steitzer on May 20, 2013 in Morning Mashup - 518 Comments

Over the course of the year I have been tracking the Leafs goals in a spreadsheet, largely for the purpose of looking at primary/secondary assists but also for tracking situational statistics. It was through this spreadsheet that I noticed the most amusing fact of the season; that Tyler Bozak finished the year never having had a primary assist on a James van Riemsdyk goal. Amazing since he was his centre for most of the season, and presumably at some point he might have tried passing to him instead of Kessel. I’ll build my case against Bozak some other time, so instead I put together an infographic of Leafs scoring data. Hope you find it interesting. The spreadsheet of data can be found here (2011-12 data is here.) [more…]

by Alec Brownscombe on May 17, 2013 in Morning Mashup - 472 Comments

I'm finding the playoffs much harder to enjoy now that I've been reminded what it's like with the Leafs in them.

Links after the jump. [more…]

by Declan Kerin on May 15, 2013 in Morning Mashup - 313 Comments

Just a little over 24 hours since the Game 7 letdown, it’s become clear to me I am way too emotionally involved with a damn hockey team; so much so that I start to wonder about myself for being this brutally devastated over a game. But I want to say that Leafs Nation is a special, special thing. I enjoy the fans of this team almost as much as I enjoy the team itself. That's a weird statement to make, but for those that don't live here or haven't experienced playoffs in Toronto, it's a beautiful, crazy thing. Just as the weather seems to turn a corner, sun dresses are dawned, beers consumed on patios, car stereos are cranked a little louder (mandatory windows down) and Leaf flags start appearing everywhere you look. [more…]