Matt Mistele
Don’t think for a second that just because the Leafs aren’t in the playoffs, they aren’t paying attention to the matchups. Many indicated during their end-of-year interviews that they would follow with great interest and, as it turns out, they have. MLSE has apparently embraced the idea, hosting VIP-only potluck parties at Real Sports Bar and Grill in downtown Toronto so the team can watch the games together, build some off-ice chemistry, and prepare for the experience if it ever – somehow - happens to them.
As luck would have it, we’re able to offer you an exclusive glimpse into one of these events. Don’t ask us how. We’re not even really sure how these happen.
Welcome to the Leafs’ Playoff Potluck Party. [more…]
It's a slow NHL news Wednesday when we dedicate a second consecutive mashup to discussing the Canucks' star for sale franchise goaltender available goaltender.
You can at least partly thank James Duthie's epic tweet from late Wednesday night: "Sources say Roberto Luongo will submit a short list of teams he'd waive his no-trade to go to next week. Toronto will be on it."
That will surely quiet the discussion.
I'm not going to debate the merits of the player, the drawbacks of the contract, or the likelihood of Luongo's possible destinations - that's all been done, even by our own Ryan Fancey, who debated himself thoroughly on the topic yesterday and reached pretty much the same conclusion I do: "I can’t pick a side. I just want the Leafs to get him and their goaltending to not be hilarious next season." Amen, friend.
I'll go a different route. Let's talk about no-trade-clauses. (Links after the jump). [more…]
![Game in 10: Game 80, Sabres (6) vs. Leafs (5) [OT]](http://mapleleafshotstove.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/Game-In-10v2-No80.jpg "Game in 10: Game 80, Sabres (6) vs. Leafs (5) [OT]")
With tonight's loss, the Leafs are 34-36-10. Writing a Game in 10 at this point - and after a night like that - feels like what I'd imagine trying to re-animate a dead cat with a car battery feels like. Disappointing, redundant, and bathed in some foul odour from the burnt hair family of odours.
At least it was kind of entertaining.
A disappointing reality of which most viewers aren’t aware, modern “reality†television is – in fact – fairly scripted. “Soft scripting†is the technique a show’s producers use to vaguely outline what should happen to the show’s participants, and oftentimes, they will implore those contestants to perform as requested. Documentaries are no different, typically outlined based on extensive research and footage collection and them assembled to form a coherent, calculated point.
Since the February announcement that the Toronto Maple Leafs and Detroit Red Wings will compete in the January 2012 Winter Classic, many have assumed – correctly – that HBO will film and broadcast their next season of 24/7 focussed on the two teams. What many readers won’t have realized is that HBO’s award-winning writing teams have been working on scripting the show secretly since the announcement in preparation for the expected deal. [more…]
February’s losses devastated the 2011-12 Toronto Maple Leafs! The NHL’s most arrogant coach ever couldn’t save the flailing squadron from amateur mistakes – and was fired for it! The softest forward corps in the league is totally un-truculent! Jim and Gus couldn’t do their jobs if they went out pregame and found a 600-page guide entitled “How To Tend†sitting in goal!
This team is junk, top to bottom! Fire Burke! Rebuild the rebuild! This is a SimCity nuclear meltdown, hail on summer corn crops, “I can see Russia from my houseâ€-sized DISASTER!
Hyperbole’s way too easy, people. [more…]
A few months ago, Brian Burke joined Twitter. He caved to fan and peer pressure, selected a username that will become instantly obsolete if he ever leaves MLSE for different employment, and took up social media residence on the popular frontier that has all but eliminated the need for news tickers and TSN alerts.
He could have quit there. But Burke, a master of rhetoric and image control, took it a step further and offered fans a one-hour window in which they could submit questions that he would attempt to answer directly over the coming weeks (and, one has to assume, months). To this point, he’s been surprisingly thorough in responding to a massive amount of Twinquiries. [more…]
You could see it, feel it – even hear it. It was the complete overtime game-winning-goal experience, and in the playoffs, no less. Their first round opponent was the Ottawa Senators. It was here, in this newfound playoff rivalry, that the Battle of Ontario was truly born. And by the searing power of our Captain’s blade, it roared off to a memorable start.
Game 1. The Senators were second seed in the standings and the apparent favourites, but the Leafs – on the back of their oft-underappreciated gem of a leader – fought out a tight 0-0 tie into overtime. Steve Thomas executed a fairly textbook give-and-go at the Ottawa blueline. As he dished the puck to his Swedish linemate and dashed toward the net, Thomas couldn’t see Sundin step forward and take what has to be one of the most interesting shots I’ve ever seen… [more…]
It's a Friday night, and the Leafs are playing! Capital!
I'm not actually sure which usage ("capital" or "capitol") is correct there. Is anyone? People apparently used to say that as an exclamation of being pleased with something. And by "used to say that", I actually mean that Pete Campbell may have said it once on Mad Men (so I assume it's true). And since Mad Men features a lot of people wearing suits, I consider that vague connection a decent enough excuse to use an oddly-Presidential Photoshop for the GDT. Definitely not just because it's funny, or the first one that comes up in our media library when you search for 'Ovechkin'. [more…]
Or, "How I learned to stop worrying and love MLHS titles that are way too long."
Every so often, an opinion thoroughly disguised as a mainstream news article presents itself - one that is so ridiculous, so utterly without basis, that the most appropriate response is to simply ignore it. In these situations, we are encouraged not to “sink to that level†by dignifying the position with a response. You know, to rise above - behave with a level of superior maturity. This is not one of those times. [more…]
The Toronto Maple Leafs currently sit with an NHL-fifth-best average of 3.09 goals scored per game. Yes, fifth. The same Toronto Maple Leafs who have been desperately chasing a star forward via trade in order to upgrade what’s perceived as a lacking, ever-so-slightly-impotent offense, are – by statistics – one of the National Hockey League’s highest scoring groups.
Your guess is as good as mine. [more…]
The Toronto Maple Leafs enjoyed a relatively injury-free training camp heading into the 2010-2011 season. Apparently, karma’s been waiting twelve months to deliver a shattering right cross of vengeance. We’ve poured over the countless Tweets, articles, and even contacted some unofficial sources to assemble the most comprehensive online report to date of the Leafs’ current injury situation.
Brace yourself. It’s worse than any of us could have imagined. [more…]
UPDATE (11:32pm) - Of course, 11 hours after I posted this, Drew Doughty has signed in LA. Early indications put the deal at 8 years for $7 million per. So, the obvious lesson for both sides: procrastinate something as far as you possibly can, because when you do it, the timing will be hilariously perfect.
While enjoying patios and beer league baseball shenanigans this summer, Leaf Nation couldn’t help but keep one anxious ear primed for any news – or explanation – surrounding the lack of a Luke Schenn signing well into September. Now, late into training camp, fans of the Los Angeles Kings wait with the same baited breath for their own RFA superstar Drew Doughty’s new deal. To call both situations peculiar, given the players’ individual importance to their respective teams, would not be an overstatement. Is there some connection between these prolonged negotiations?
Might Donald E. Meehan - founding partner of Newport Sports Management and agent to both players – be that common denominator? [more…]
