Betcha Can't Name That Leaf!
Published October 30, 2009 @ 19:41 in Toronto Maple Leafs

Below is a picture of a Toronto Maple Leaf. I'll bet you have no idea who this is.

If you give up, you can find out who this Maple Leaf is right here. Shocking, isn't it?

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When Leafs Programs Were Only $2
Published October 29, 2009 @ 21:55 in Memories, Toronto Maple Leafs

I've saved a lot of stuff. I've got scrapbooks, newspaper clippings, baseball sticker books, ticketstubs and a bunch of old Maple Leaf programs stored away in boxes. They're sitting in my basement right now.

Here's a ticket stub from a game I attended at Maple Leaf Gardens on November 29, 1986. You'll see I sat in the grey section, the worst section, but I sat in the front row of the greys, which was the best of the worst. I was just happy to be in the building to watch my Leafs take on the Minnesota North Stars.

I got a Maple Leaf program that day. It was only $2. That seemed like a lot back then, but today Maple Leafs programs probably sell for closer to $10. I'm honestly not sure what they're charging these days, as I haven't bought one since the early 90s.

Gary Leeman, who graces the cover above, scored over a quarter of his NHL goal total during the 1989–90 season. Then, we packaged him in a bundle that scored us a certain centre who wore #93. Best. Leafs. Trade. Ever.

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Maple Leafs 3, Stars 4
Published October 29, 2009 @ 08:55 in Toronto Maple Leafs

We came so damn close to a bona fide winning streak. Nikolai Kulemin gave us the lead at 13:11 of the third period but we couldn't hold on. The winning streak is over, but the point streak continues.

We outplayed Dallas and deserved the win, but one thing is becoming apparent. We're not going to score many even strength goals. Unless we have a number of power plays, including a few 5-on-3s, we're going to struggle.

We've got the Sabres tomorrow. It's time to start another winning streak.

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They Lied To Us Through Song. I HATE When People Do That!
Published October 25, 2009 @ 10:20 in Toronto Maple Leafs

They lied to us through song. I hate when people do that!

[via The Leafs Are The Best: Song + Video = AWESOME!]

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Maple Leafs 1, Canucks 3
Published October 25, 2009 @ 09:58 in Toronto Maple Leafs

The worst start in franchise history has us winless after 8 games. Last night, we stormed out of the gate, outshooting Vancouver 8-1. Then, we decided to play the rest of the period on the PK.

Five penalties in a row for a team that sucks at killing penalties. We're lucky we escaped the period down by only two goals. If you're still keeping track at home, it's now 13-2 in first periods this season, for the bad guys.

Joey Mac wasn't bad, but he's clearly not the answer. The poor guy only has 17 career wins. Our answer is a guy with zero career wins. The Monster will end this streak of futility tomorrow night in Anaheim.

I need a W.

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My Leafs Rant: October 2009 Version
Published October 23, 2009 @ 14:30 in Toronto Maple Leafs

It's never been easy being a Leafs fan. I discovered the team in the early 80s and endured some painful seasons when I was too young to expect any better. One of my best early memories of the team was a first round sweep of the Chicago Black Hawks. We were forced to make a lot out of very little.

Six and half years ago, I was using this blog to ask God "Why?".

What exactly do you have against my Toronto Maple Leafs? Why to you use your omnipotent power to crush us at every opportunity? You tortured us with the Harold Ballard regime, forcing me to grow up in a decade almost completely void of playoff victories. Then, when everything lined up perfectly for a Habs-Leafs Stanley Cup Final in '93, you gave The Great One yet another break and used your mighty power to blind the refs as Gretzky clearly high-sticked Gilmour. We deserved to win that night. You made sure it didn't happen.

I follow my Leafs today as closely as I ever did. You could argue I follow them closer than ever, because I now follow their AHL affiliate quite closely. I don't miss a game, I blog about every significant Leaf-related event and not a day goes by that I don't read about my team and think about my team. It's never been particularly easy to be a Leafs fan, but I don't think it's ever been harder than it is right now.

My daughter is just about five and a half years old. The Leafs haven't played a playoff game in her lifetime. This is an unprecedented streak of failure for a team that hasn't won the Stanley Cup in 42 years.

When Brian Burke came on board, we were given something we haven't had in quite some time. We had hope. I'll never forget his quote following the 2008/2009 campaign. "We require, as a team, proper levels of pugnacity, testosterone, truculence and belligerence." During the off-season, Burke made several moves to increase our levels of pugnacity, testosterone, truculence and belligerence. During the pre-season, I'm sure we led the league in fights. We were told that we may not win the Stanley Cup this season, but teams weren't going to look forward to playing us.

I'd argue that teams are looking forward to playing us. It's the surest thing to a guaranteed two points there is in today's NHL. In seven games, every team we've face has earned their two points, and most of them have done it rather easily. We've been outscored 11-2 by opponents in first periods and the average score in our games has been 4.57 - 2.

We're 0-6-1, our goaltending has been brutal, our lack of offensive skill has been exposed and our abundance of tough defensemen have failed to gel. There's talk of making our greatest prospect a healthy scratch, our coach is unfireable and we've traded away our next two first round picks. Don't ya see! In any other season, we'd get behind a "Let's Finish Last" campaign in the hopes we'd score our first first over all selection since Wendel Clark. But in Leafs Nation, we don't figure out how to lose properly until it benefits a division rival.

I've been a massive fan for about 30 years, but now I'm stuck watching a terrible team with little hope. With a healthy Monster and Phil Kessel, our best hope is that we actually win a handful of games, maybe make our Saturday nights a little brighter by being somewhat competitive. After 30 years of investing blood, sweat and tears, I think I deserve better. I think we deserve better.

Brian Burke, this is your team. I don't believe pugnacity, testosterone, truculence and belligerence is enough. We're going to need some skill. We're going to need true leadership. We're going to need real hope.

Fix this mess before we jump ship and raise our kids to be Penguins fans.

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Maple Leafs 1, Rangers 4
Published October 18, 2009 @ 09:23 in Toronto Maple Leafs

0-6-1. Hell, that's flattering, it's 7 games, 7 losses.

We've been outscored 11-2 by opponents in first periods this season. Overall, we're averaging 2 goals a game while opponents are scoring an average of 4.57 goals against us.

It's so bad, I'm running out of adequate adjectives. We didn't look half bad coming out of the gate last night, and we still lost 4-1 on home ice.

We can't even make lemonade from these lemons by starting a fun "let's finish last" campaign, because we don't own our own first round pick. And we don't play again until next Saturday, so we've got a whole week to endure pot shot from Leaf haters who love to kick us when we're down.

The Monster remains our only hope.

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Leafs 1, Avalanche 4
Published October 14, 2009 @ 07:52 in Toronto Maple Leafs

I'm not sure what to say. The Maple Leafs (0-5-1) have yet to score first this season, rank last in the NHL on the penalty kill with 10 power-play goals surrendered, and have held the lead for exactly six minutes 41 seconds through the first six games - all losses.

I think I'll let my tweet from last night do the rest of the talking .

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Maple Leafs 2, Rangers 7
Published October 13, 2009 @ 09:13 in Toronto Maple Leafs

Admit it, you're surprised we're this bad. I know I am. I've learnt to lower the bar for this team, but I didn't see this new bottom coming.

This is our 5th loss to start the season. The loss kicks off the worst start for the Leafs, since 1917's 0-3-1 record as the Toronto Arena's. That's right folks, I'm talking about the 1917 Toronto Arena's. That's some newfound futility, y'all.

The toughest part of all this is the fact we can't find a shred of satisfaction in the high draft pick this awfulness will gain us. That belongs to the Bruins, which makes this extra painful.

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Maple Leafs 2, Penguins 5
Published October 11, 2009 @ 11:11 in Toronto Maple Leafs

I've been recapping Leaf games on this site for six years. Here's the first one from October 11, 2003. You'll see that prior to this year I kept track of our current record, past three games and team scoring leaders in each recap. This season, I think I can do without the constant reminder of our placement in the Eastern Conference.

It's looking bad. Much like the game against Washington last week, we were out-classed and looked lost. I haven't seen a team look that disorganized since I suited up for the CN Towers in the Swansea Hockey Association back in the mid-80s. I watch, hoping for sparks of hope and signs of what I witnessed in the pre-season to resurface, but it's not happening. This is a bad hockey club and this is going to be a long season.

Don Cherry spoke of Joey MacDonald as a guy who will turn this team around. I'm not sure what Don is smoking, but I'll try some. I'll try anything. Joey Mac can have a start and I'll just sit back and hope the team in front of him plays like an NHL team. That would be a good start.

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