TML Captains: George Armstrong 1958-1969 Mark Ascione | December 24, 2012 For so many Leaf fans, there almost is no Leaf captain before George Armstrong. He is the last Toronto captain to play his entire NHL career with the Leafs. And save for a few years, he has been an employee of the Maple Leaf hockey club since his retirement.
Draft Schmaft – The Maple Leafs First Round Draft VIII – 1984 Mark Ascione | December 11, 2012 For previous installments in the Draft Schmaft series, please visit here. Between 1963 and 1983, the Maple Leafs had seen varying degrees of success with players they’d drafted in the…
Book Review: The Hockey News Top 10 Mark Ascione | December 10, 2012 The Hockey News is a famous hockey publication that pumps out great content on a regular basis but does that mean you should go ahead and read their Top 10?
Expectation: Nazem Kadri – Part III Mark Ascione | December 3, 2012 Expectation: Nazem Kadri is a three-part series. Part I is available here. Part II is available here. Expectation. Everyone deals with expectation. It’s ever-present for those trying to make it…
Expectation: Nazem Kadri – Part II Mark Ascione | November 27, 2012 Expectation: Nazem Kadri is a three-part series. Part I is available here. Part III is available here. Nazem Kadri’s medial collateral ligament sprain during the 2011 Maple Leaf training camp…
Expectation: Nazem Kadri – Part I Mark Ascione | November 23, 2012 Expectation: Nazem Kadri is a three-part series. Part II is available here. Part III is available here. It seems all peaks and valleys when it comes to the still-young…
Things Lost, Things Delayed – Maple Leafs Edition Mark Ascione | November 12, 2012 There’s some hope the NHL lockout, now about two months old, will end and there may even be a 60-70 game regular season commencing by December. There’s interest, if not…
Lockout 2012: Will We Move to a Multi-League Model? Mark Ascione | November 5, 2012 As the NHL lockout of 2012 drags on, feelings among fans range from apathy and indifference to frustration and anger. There’s those who support the NHLPA, others support the NHL.…
Quinn’s Maple Leafs: Most Memorable Playoff Moments Mark Ascione | October 19, 2012 Sadly for LeafNation, playoff memories are not recent at all. They pre-date the 2004-05 NHL lockout. They don’t include any Stanley Cup final appearances, let alone championships in the last…
Book Review: The Instigator – How Gary Bettman Remade the League and Changed the Game Forever Mark Ascione | October 8, 2012 Gary Bettman is a polarizing figure. In the almost 20 years since his installation as NHL commissioner, the league has expanded from 26 teams to 30; 2 franchises left Canada,…
Will a New Arena Significantly Impact the Maple Leafs? Mark Ascione | September 16, 2012 Sometime in 2014, there will be a shiny, new, NHL-ready arena open in Markham, Ontario, a city of 300,000+ (2011 Census of Canada) located just north of Metropolitan Toronto (in…
5 Maple Leafs Who Must Improve in 2012-13 Mark Ascione | September 8, 2012 Let’s face it, the Toronto Maple Leafs team as a whole need to be better. Coach Randy Carlyle may help in that regard. Hired in March, Carlyle took over a…
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