28 h. ago LEAF NOTES: Auston Matthews returns to form as Toronto’s Rocket Man

There hasn’t been much mention of Auston Matthews defending his Maurice (Rocket) Richard goal trophy this year. So how about the 70th anniversary of the Richard Riot in Montreal for the Maple Leaf captain’s first two-goal night in three months? Putting up a pair on the power play on Monday as part of a 6-2 […]

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3 d. ago LEAF NOTES: Making more of home cooking vital nearing playoffs

The Maple Leafs don’t want to lose their way on Bay.  Before Saturday against the Ottawa Senators, Toronto had dropped four of its past six games at Scotiabank Arena, trying to avoid three consecutive defeats at home for just the second time under new coach Craig Berube. Since Dec. 21, the Leafs’ mark is 6-8-1.   […]

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3 d. ago LEAFS NOTES: Making more of home cooking becoming vital as playoffs near

The Maple Leafs don’t want to lose their way on Bay. Before Saturday night’s showdown against the Ottawa Senators, Toronto had dropped four of its past six games at Scotiabank Arena, and was trying to avoid three consecutive defeats at home for just the second time under new coach Craig Berube. Since Dec. 21, the […]

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6 d. ago LEAF NOTES: Extra scrutiny for Mitch Marner in Thursday homecoming

Vladimir Guerrero Jr. might have taken away Mitch Marner’s lead in Toronto contract headlines for a couple of days, but the Maple Leaf winger is sure to retain it now that he’s home.  Marner’s usual enthusiastic shouts were heard at the Ford Centre on Wednesday in the team’s first practice there in a couple of weeks, though […]

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1 week ago LEAFS NOTES: New teammates fly to Colorado and go right into the fire

The new Maple Leafs and Colorado Avalanche flew cross country, then jumped right into the lineups for Saturday’s game in Denver. Toronto coach Craig Berube told media at Ball Arena two hours before faceoff that Scott Laughton would centre Bobby McMann and Max Domi, the latter shifting from the middle to right wing, while defenceman […]

Events

1 week ago LEAFS NOTES: GM says ‘this isn’t goodbye’ for demoted Ryan Reaves

Brad Treliving knew his conversation with Ryan Reaves would be a hard one. After the exhilaration of pulling off two vital trades for the Maple Leafs’ playoff hopes, the general manager had to turn his attention to the demotion of loyal soldier Reaves to the Marlies. The 900-game veteran hasn’t seen the minors in more than […]

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1 week ago LEAFS NOTES: Getting Mikko Rantanen a long shot, but it makes for some great debate

When the Maple Leafs had their first crack at Mikko Rantanen, they chose another right winger, Mitch Marner, instead. That was at the 2015 draft when Marner went fourth overall. Rantanen went 10th to Colorado, albeit far less-known at that time, a nine-goal scorer with TPS Turku in Finland. Marner was coming off a 126-point […]

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2 w. ago LEAF NOTES: Jarnkrok’s return could set playoff right wing lineup

  Calle Jarnkrok had been waiting a long time for his NHL odometer turning to 700 regular season games.  Now, after five months away, he hopes to be part of the Maple Leafs’ playoff drive. With the NHL trade deadline four days away and chances not great to pry away a big-name forward elsewhere, it […]

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2 w. ago LEAFS NOTES: Auston Matthews finally pulls clear of Darryl Sittler in career goals

When Auston Matthews got within a goal of Darryl Sittler on Jan. 22, no one thought it would take him almost 40 days to pass the Hall of Famer for second place in Toronto franchise history. But a prolonged Matthews slump and the 4 Nations Face-Off tournament intervened, with only one empty-net goal in between. […]

Sport

2 w. ago LEAFS NOTES: Head coach Craig Berube squarely in the Brayden Schenn fan club

Craig Berube and Brad Treliving are in constant communication. And the dialogue between the Maple Leafs coach and general manager, one would surmise, has ramped up with the National Hockey League trade deadline now less than a week away. If it gets to a point where the Leafs are closing in on a deal for […]

Sport

3 w. ago LEAF NOTES: Scotiabank crowd gets into the boos for U.S. anthem

LANCE HORNBY  Toronto Sun  Scotiabank Arena’s hockey fans were a little late flocking to the boo-bird nest, but made themselves heard when the Star-Spangled Banner started up Saturday’s 6-3 Toronto win.  The Leafs had not played at home since Jan. 29, before Donald Trump ratcheted up the trade war and his rhetoric about the 51st […]

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3 w. ago LEAFS NOTES: Craig Berube keeps the gang together for second game back from break

Rare is the team that plays a back-to-back, travels to a different time zone, but doesn’t make at least one lineup change among skaters. But with the Maple Leafs getting nearly a two-week break in games because of the 4 Nations Face-off and playing a fairly solid 60 minutes on Saturday versus Carolina, coach Craig […]

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3 w. ago LEAFS NOTES: Scotiabank crowd gets into the boos for U.S. anthem

Scotiabank Arena was a little late flocking to the boo-bird nest, but made itself heard when the Star-Spangled Banner started up Saturday’s 6-3 Toronto win. The Maple Leafs had not played at home since Jan. 29, before Donald Trump ratcheted up the trade war and his rhetoric about the 51st state. However, after the Bell […]

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3 w. ago LEAFS NOTES: ‘Canes are back exactly five years since EBUG David Ayres

When the schedule first came out, you couldn’t blame the Maple Leafs for thinking someone at NHL headquarters was up to mischief. Buried in the busy post-4 Nations Face-Off slate Saturday is a visit by the Hurricanes, exactly five years to the day that Zamboni driver David Ayres was tossed into the Carolina crease and against all odds, […]

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