Toronto Maple Leafs
Habs Fans Resort to Prayer
Published by Toronto Mike on February 9, 2012 @ 14:01 in Toronto Maple Leafs
 The Catholic Church of Montreal has Habs fans praying for a miracle. In an ad run in La Presse and Le Journal de Montreal newspapers, they've printed the hopeful final NHL standings with 8th place occupied by "Pray".
With the Montreal Canadiens currently sitting in 14th place, it's going to take more than prayer for them to finish 8th, but it's fun seeing things are this desperate in Montreal. They certainly won't make the playoffs without divine intervention.
I don't believe in prayer, but I'd hope those who do would pray for something a little more righteous, like a Leafs Stanley Cup parade this June.
Prions.
Other entries you may enjoy:
Ronnie James Dio(n)
Published by Toronto Mike on January 31, 2012 @ 12:28 in Toronto Maple Leafs
Goalie Madness
Published by Toronto Mike on January 25, 2012 @ 15:44 in Toronto Maple Leafs
 I've always been fascinated with goaltenders. There are goalies who score, our love of unproven goalies, and an exhaustive list of every goalie to wear the blue and white in the NHL.
Ever since Ed Belfour, it's been a little sketchy between the pipes in this city. Ok, it's been a lot sketchy, which may explain why Ed Belfour played the last playoff game in this city almost 8 years ago. Holy shit, has it really been 8 years?
Let's just look at the last two seasons. This was Jean-Sébastien Giguère's team, then James Reimer took the reigns to close out last season. We loved Reimer, we still do, but earlier this year we flirted with Ben Scrivens before being surprised by The Monster, a player we were all ready to trade for a bag of pucks.
Who saw this coming? Our season rests on the shoulders of Jonas Gustavsson, signed from Sweden to great fanfare back in 2009, who is an awful lot like Reimer, Scrivens and the lot in that he's unproven.
But at least he's not Vesa Toskala. We can do this...
Leafs Practice at MasterCard Centre For Hockey Excellence
Published by Toronto Mike on January 22, 2012 @ 18:51 in Toronto Maple Leafs
Yes, the MasterCard Centre For Hockey Excellence should change its name. There's been very little hockey excellence from this franchise over the past 30 years, I'm all too aware. The MasterCard Centre For Hockey Mediocrity would be more appropriate, but I digress...
On Friday, MasterCard was kind enough to send me to a Maple Leafs practice there. They literally picked me up and dropped me off when it was over. It was pretty cool watching a full official practice in such an intimate setting.
This was a part of Mastercard's #pricelessTO initiative, and they made it easy for this life-long Leafs fan to check out the action. Here's a few videos I took.
Leafs Alumni Roster
Published by Toronto Mike on January 19, 2012 @ 22:07 in Toronto Maple Leafs
 A Winter Classic featuring the Leafs means we're getting an alumni game. That's got me thinking about who I'd like to see out there.
Between the pipes, for example, I don't need to see Cujo or Belfour. Give me Bester, Wregget and Potvin, please. Up front, I also want to go heavy with the '83-'93 teams. Yes, it's all about me.
Here's a laundry list of the Leafs I'd like to see considered for our Alumni team. The only slam dunks would be Wendel, Dougie, Darryl, Borje and Mats, right?
- John Anderson
- Dave Andreychuk
- Bryan Berard
- Allan Bester
- Nikolai Borchevsky
- Wendel Clark
- Russ Courtnall
- Vincent Damphousse
- Dan Daoust
- Bill Derlago
- Dave Ellett
- Tom Fergus
- Mike Foligno
- Miroslav Frycer
- Todd Gill
- Doug Gilmour
- Al Iafrate
- Peter Ihnacak
- Dave Keon
- Chris Kotsopoulos
- Gary Leeman
- Jim McKenny
- Ed Olczyk
- Felix Potvin
- Gary Roberts
- Borje Salming
- Darryl Sittler
- Mats Sundin
- Steve Thomas
- Rick Vaive
- Ken Wregget
- Dmitri Yushkevich
Who do you want to see suit up for the Leafs in the alumni game next season?
Am I A Leafs Jinx?
Published by Toronto Mike on January 18, 2012 @ 09:43 in Toronto Maple Leafs
I should preface this entry by stating that I don't believe in jinxes. I don't believe that anything I do can influence my team's play on the ice, despite the fact I used to send my 'vibes' to Maple Leaf Gardens in the early-to-mid 80s and I'm sure that may have helped the Leafs sweep Chicago in '86.
So I don't believe in jinxes or karma or any of that, so this entry is actually about coincidence.
Early in 2012, I went to Germany. With the 6-hour time difference and lack of Leafs games on my hotel cable TV package, I didn't see a minute of Leafs action. When I returned, the Leafs were on a 4-game win streak.
Since I've come back, I've watched 3 games. We lost all three in regulation.
Am I a Leafs jinx? Of course not. I'm not the reason they haven't made the Stanley Cup finals in my lifetime. It's just a coincidence, trust me.
24/7 Leafs Thanks to Winter Classic
Published by Toronto Mike on January 13, 2012 @ 17:14 in Toronto Maple Leafs
It's sure sounding like the Toronto Maple Leafs and Detroit Red Wing will play in next season's Winter Classic. ESPN says they'll play at Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor. Of course, as a participant in the Winter Classic, the Leafs will also be featured on HBO's 24/7.
That's what has me most excited. I love 24/7, and I can't wait to see my favourite team profiled. This will be awesome.
And yes, I'm aware our 4-game winning streak only became possible when I fled the country for a bit. I'm back now, so if we lose tonight in Buffalo, I'll admit that I've been single handedly holding us back my entire lifetime.
Habs Hatred Goes international
Published by Toronto Mike on January 9, 2012 @ 11:30 in Toronto Maple Leafs
Hatred for the Montreal Canadiens isn't just a Canadian thing, it's spread all the way to Germany. I saw this poster during my walk in Berlin yesterday.
I'll translate that for you. It reads "Habs are Icky".
Icky indeed....
How to Stop the Slide
Published by Toronto Mike on December 22, 2011 @ 10:20 in Toronto Maple Leafs
Stopping the slide is easy. The Leafs just have to sign this kid.
Don't Panic.... Yet
Published by Toronto Mike on December 20, 2011 @ 09:17 in Toronto Maple Leafs
 Yes, the Leafs have lost three in a row. We're on a 2-5-2 slide, one that feels awfully familiar at this time of year. But last I checked we were still holding down a playoff spot, and I last checked 2 minutes ago.
So don't hit the panic button yet. Don't do it. Reimer played a strong game and we did come back in the third to force OT.
We'll be fine. Trust me.
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
... 114
Next
|
Entry Permalink
No comments