Defining Maple Leafs Early Playoff Exit
April 26th, 2018 It was a back and forth Game 7 between the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Boston Bruins, but in the end the Bruins came out on top and are headed to the second round to take on the Tampa Bay Lightning. While the Maple Leafs’ season can be watched and critiqued, much of their success and failure...
Game 7 X-Factors for Bruins, Maple Leafs
April 25th, 2018
Game 7: Most Thrilling Experience in Sports
April 25th, 2018
Biggest Mistakes the Leafs Can Make
April 25th, 2018
Game 7: Bruins & Maple Leafs Days Numbered
April 25th, 2018Leafs Contributors
Peter Ferrell
Andrew Forbes
Ben Shelley
Brett Slawson
Will Billinghurst
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Toronto Maple Leafs
Will Kadri Be Maple Leafs’ Salvation?
Nazem Kadri is set to return from his three-game suspension Saturday night, Game 5 of his Toronto Maple Leafs’ first-round series against the Boston Bruins. Kadri’s return couldn’t be timelier for the Maple Leafs, who are facing elimination after a 3-1 loss Thursday night at the Air Canada Centre. Though Toronto's play improved during their two games at home, their Game 3 victory was decidedly lucky and, despite outplaying the Bruins in Game 4, the Leafs simply couldn’t score enough to compensate for their mistakes and Boston’s subsequent capitalisation. If the Maple Leafs hope to move on in the 2018 Stanley Cup Playoffs, they’ll need to win three straight games, including two in the decidedly unfriendly confines of Boston’s TD Garden. A lineup featuring Kadri is their best shot at doing so. Kadri’s Offensive Impact Immediate, Imperative for Maple Leafs With back-to-back 32-goal campaigns, Kadri is a bona fide offensive threat in the National...
Toronto Maple Leafs
Consistency Is Key for Maple Leafs
Things looked a little bit bleak for the Toronto Maple Leafs after Game 2. Nazem Kadri was suspended, Leo Komarov was hurt and most of the players who were actually playing hadn't made an impact. Toronto's penalty kill wasn't killing and the Maple Leafs were giving up scoring chance after scoring chance at even strength. But with a Game 3 win and Game 4 also in Toronto, the Maple Leafs are back in the series. That being said, there are areas where the Leafs will need to be consistent moving forward. The Penalty Kill The Leafs had a pretty solid penalty kill in the regular season, but Boston's power play destroyed the Leafs in Games 1 and 2. The Bruins' power play, ranked fourth in the NHL in the regular season, was 5/10 in the first two games and was the main factor why Boston was able to dominate. While avoiding penalties is the better option, if they are penalized, the Leafs desperately need to tighten up the penalty kill. We saw how many chances the Bruins had in the dying...
Toronto Maple Leafs
Maple Leafs Plekanec Finally Shows Up
For the past two seasons, the Toronto Maple Leafs have been unhappy with their fourth line center situation. The problem has been a combination of players that just aren't good enough for the NHL and players that don't fit the role that Mike Babcock wants his fourth line center to play. Last year this was solved by acquiring Brian Boyle from the Tampa Bay Lightning at the trade deadline. Boyle was able to immediately improve the fourth line and perfectly fit the role that Babcock wanted. This year was a repeat of last season. Babcock clearly wasn't happy with Dominic Moore's play on the fourth line and so the Leafs once again sought a solution at the trade deadline. The player they came back with was Tomas Plekanec of the Montreal Canadiens. Through 17 regular season games and two playoff games, Plekanec was completely underwhelming. That was until Game 3 against the Boston Bruins that Plekanec finally proved his worth. The Underwhelming Play of Plekanec Heading into the...
Toronto Maple Leafs
Halting Maple Leafs' Lofty Expectations
With all the raw emotions from these first three games of the Quarterfinal matchup between the Toronto Maple Leafs and Boston Bruins, we need to take a step back and sift through the lofty expectations for the Leafs. It starts with the fans. To recap the last few days, the Maple Leafs went into Boston and got pummeled. The Leafs fought back Monday night. Boy, how the outlook on this series has changed in 24 hours. Fans feel they have a series now, how it should have been since Game 1. Bruins fans still think the Leafs will give up 50 in Boston. Both might be right. That's playoff hockey. But let's take a second to pump the brakes a little bit on who the Maple Leafs are and just how far along in the rebuild the organization actually is. In classic fashion, the media, fans, and haters alike have hit fast-forward on the rebuild, regardless of the team's actual progress. Impatience always prevails with accelerated success. The second the Leafs have a little success,...Maple Leafs Archives
Terry Sawchuk - How the Maple Leafs Snagged the Hall of Fame Goalie
The following is one of our many posts written as if it were 1964, as the events unfolded. It's a slow hockey news day this 27th of September, 1964, so we thought we'd inform you of a little intrigue that took place at the NHL's Intra-league draft during the annual June shin-dig in Montreal.... October 22nd, 2017What Mats Sundin Meant to Toronto Hockey
Though Sundin was a quiet leader, fans and members of the media alike will never forget what Mats Sundin did for Toronto hockey. Anyone who's a legitimate Maple Leafs advocate will say it doesn't matter that Sundin never won hockey's most hallowed prize. October 3rd, 2017Syl Apps Toronto Maple Leafs Captain 1940-43, 1945-48
This series of the great team captains of the Toronto Maple Leafs was first published in April of 2012 by Mark Ascione. Here we present one of the Leafs long-time legends, Syl Apps. TML Captains is a series that profiles the men who 'wore the C' for one of the NHL's charter franchises.... May 8th, 2017The Maple Leafs and the Legacy of the Muskoka Five
February 11, 2012 was a bittersweet night for LeafsNation. Mats Sundin, the classy and consummate captain, was honoured with his #13 raised to the rafters. A familiar face in Tomas Kaberle took the ceremonial face-off. The Toronto squad was horribly overmatched on the night, losing 5-0 to the Habs.... February 14th, 2012