Maple Leafs’ Season Success Hinges on First Round Ben Browne | April 12, 2018 After their best regular season in franchise history, the Toronto Maple Leafs are preparing to take on the Boston Bruins in Round 1 beginning Thursday night, and, in so doing,…
Pretender to Contender: How The Maple Leafs Did It Ben Browne | March 31, 2018 The Toronto Maple Leafs are no longer rebuilding. If that wasn’t clear before Friday’s win over the New York Islanders, it should be clear now. This team, which finished 30th…
Leafs’ McElhinney Has Found a Home Ben Browne | March 20, 2018 After Curtis McElhinney’s latest shutout, a 33-save whitewash of the lowly Montreal Canadiens on Saturday – his third in 16 games this season, and on St. Patrick’s Day, no less…
JVR: Should He Stay Or Should He Go? Ben Browne | February 17, 2018 James van Riemsdyk wouldn’t be the first player to crumble under the pressure of a contract year, especially the first one of a career. But, JVR, who has been with…
The Leivo Saga Keeps Getting Weirder Ben Browne | February 7, 2018 Josh Leivo is a talented young player; I don’t think anyone can deny that. The one problem is, he hasn’t been given enough of an opportunity to showcase his talent.…
Maple Leafs HAD a Good Streak Going Ben Browne | February 4, 2018 Prior to last night’s loss in Boston, the Toronto Maple Leafs played what was easily their most impressive stretch of this season – perhaps dating back to before the 2004-05…
Leafs Got Andersen’s Message – But Will it Stick? Ben Browne | January 22, 2018 Coming into Saturday’s third installment of the Battle of Ontario, the Leafs had lost each of their last four games. Three of those featured blown third-period leads, which have once…
The (Overwhelming) Case for Not Trading Auston Matthews Ben Browne | January 18, 2018 Last week, Rob Vollman of ESPN.com wrote a pretty provocative piece concerning the legitimacy of an Auston Matthews trade out of Toronto. When I read the headline, I probably thought…
Hometown Hyman Carrying Heavy Load for Leafs Ben Browne | January 13, 2018 On Wednesday, I wrote a column calling into question Mike Babcock’s use of his players. Included in there was the lineup I would like to see the Leafs use as…
Is Mike Babcock Icing His Best Lineup? Ben Browne | January 10, 2018 Few people – in fact, maybe none at all – would argue that Mike Babcock is the best bench boss to grace a National Hockey League franchise with his presence.…