Just when you think you’re out… Long-time Maple Leafs diehards are extremely familiar with the rollercoaster ride of following this beleaguered franchise day in and day out over the years, but the last 24-48 hours are about as dizzying as it gets. First, a controversial GM hire with little initial popular support was announced by […]
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The Toronto Maple Leafs have started the John Chayka and Mats Sundin era off with a fortunate bounce. The ping pong ball combination came out in the Leafs favor, and they'll select first overall at the NHL Draft next month in Buffalo. It's the third time the Leafs will select first, and the first time since Auston Matthews was brought into the organization. There's going to be lots of debates about Gavin McKenna vs Ivar Stenberg, and with Sundin in the mix now with Leafs' management, the...
The San Jose Sharks had luck on their side Tuesday night, as they've won the second overall pick at next months' NHL Draft in Buffalo. General manager Mike Grier was very excited with the news, as the Sharks and the Maple Leafs were the big winners of the night, moving up the draft board in a major way. The Sharks are familiar drafting among the top three in recent years, however, with their roster currently constructed the way it is, and expectations climbing, expect to see Grier listen to an...
The Vancouver Canucks ' thought they found their GM.
David Pagnotta reported recently that the Canucks had internal interest in speaking with Brad Treliving, who was fired as GM of the Toronto Maple Leafs in late March with seven games remaining in the regular season.
The conversation never happened.
"I believe the Canucks had internally some interest in talking to former Leafs GM Brad Treliving," Pagnotta said, "but I don't believe that's a spot that he's interested in going."
Trelivi...
A day after a widely panned press conference to introduce their new GM and figurehead, the Toronto Maple Leafs were handed a gift by the hockey gods/conspiracy forces by winning the draft lottery to get the #1 pick this summer. This was quite the cliffhanger, as had just one lower team won the first or […]
87 hitters have taken 100 PA so far in AA leagues so far this season. The best batting line among them belongs to the Blue Jays’ 2024 fourth round draft pick, Sean Keys. Keys played his college ball at Bucknell, putting up ridiculous numbers against pretty pedestrian Patriot League competition. He popped a bit with […]
Following the results of the NHL Draft Lottery, the Florida Panthers now hold the ninth overall pick in the 2026 Draft. The Toronto Maple Leafs won the first lottery and moved from fifth overall to first. The San Jose Sharks bumped the Panthers down a spot in the order by winning the second lottery and moving all the up from ninth to second overall.
Nathan MacKinnon had a goal and two assists to power the Colorado Avalanche to a 5-2 win over the Minnesota Wild at Ball Arena on Tuesda...
Blue Jays 3 Rays 4 The Jays were leading for most of the game, as if that’s any solace. Tyler Rogers has been terrific for us, but a ground ball pitcher can have bad luck on occasion. His eighth went ground out, double (66 mph, not hit hard), Yandy Diaz ground ball single (harder hit, […]
On May 3rd in 2001, Toronto Maple Leafs bruiser Tie Domi delivered a vicious elbow to the head of New Jersey Devils blueliner Scott Niedermayer rendering him unconscious. The cheapshot came with 7 seconds to play in Game 4 of the 2001 Eastern Conference Semifinals with Toronto up 3-1.
Despite a tearful apology, Domi was suspended for rest of the playoffs and the first eight games of the next
The Rays have taken small ball to new extremes, winning today on 1 double (a bloop that fell into no man’s land) and 10 singles. When your small ball is this small it maybe needs a new name: tiny ball? wee ball? But the key point is that 10 singles and a double added up […]
10 years after the Maple Leafs’ lucky number 13 lottery ball landed them Auston Matthews, Mats Sundin himself represented the organization at the 2026 lottery. He proved to be a winner yet again. The Toronto Maple Leafs have won the 2026 draft lottery. THE TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS HAVE WON THE 2026 DRAFT LOTTERY pic.twitter.com/PBku0YYQqV — […]
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After a franchise-altering draft lottery win, John Chayka and Mats Sundin discussed the meaning of drafting first overall, prospects Gavin McKenna and Ivar Stenberg, and how this might change the franchise’s direction going forward. What was your initial reaction when you saw the result? Chayka: Just very excited for the organization and fan base. It […]
The post John Chayka on the Maple Leafs winning the first-overall pick: “Just elated… A meaningful step and a monumental type of opportunit...
In a stunning stroke of luck, the Toronto Maple Leafs have won the NHL's Draft Lottery, and the right to select the likely choice as the No. 1 pick, Gavin McKenna in next month's Draft. They came in with the 5th-best odds of winning it. The Toronto Maple Leafs have won the draft lottery and will have the 1st overall pick in the 2026 Draft pic.twitter.com/ibGSK97eh9 — Nasty Knuckles (@NastyKnuckles) May 5, 2026 Just one day after officially being introduced as the new senior executi...
In another stunning NHL Draft Lottery result, the Toronto Maple Leafs will select first overall. That’s a benefit for the Edmonton Oilers that the best overall player is headed to the Eastern Conference, as four Pacific Division teams had a five per cent chance or greater at drafting first overall. Toronto had the fifth best…
While the Philadelphia Flyers are busy trying to overcome a 2-0 series deficit to the Carolina Hurricanes in the second round of the playoffs, they still had stakes in the result of the 2026 NHL Draft Lottery. And now we know that they came up with a big win.
The Toronto Maple Leafs won the draft lottery. The results poured out and went in Toronto’s favor to land them the projected top prospect Gavin McKenna as they search for relevancy yet again.
The Maple Leafs had an 8.5 percent c...
Auston Matthews’ future in Toronto is reportedly dependent on what the Toronto Maple Leafs’ new management can do this off-season. According to The Athletic’s Chris Johnston, there are currently no guarantees that the Arizona native will be back with the Leafs for the 2026-27 season. New, for @TheAthletic: Auston Matthews isn't yet sure if he'll be back…
Toronto Maple Leafs fans have had a chaotic week, and it's only Tuesday. The team hired John Chayka as general manager and brought back Mats Sundin in a role of "Senior Executive Advisor, Hockey Operations", which many construe as guardrails for the front office. In other concerning news, there are questions regarding Auston Matthews' future with the Maple Leafs after his statement on locker cleanout day. "I mean, I can't predict the future," he said Thursday during the team...
It’s been 10 years since the draft lottery has been relevant in Toronto, and the organization was certainly in a much different place then than it is now. After a well-orchestrated tank in 2015-16 with Lou Lamoriello in the GM’s chair and Mike Babcock behind the bench, there was a groundswell of positivity that the […]
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It’s no longer smoke that the Edmonton Oilers seemingly have a desire to move on from Darnell Nurse. As the 2024 playoffs wound down, his name began to appear on trade target boards as a potential option to be moved, and a year later, the Oilers asked Nurse to waive his no-trade clause — something…
Auston Matthews does have two years to run on his contract with the Toronto Maple Leafs. But we all know in professional sports these days, if a star player isn't happy, they find their way out of town, one way or another. With everyone around Toronto trying to make sense of the team's new front office hirings, Matthews is no different. And according to insider Chris Johnston, writing in The Athletic , the team's captain "isn't sure" yet if he'll be back in Blue & White next season. ...
Does it give you comfort to know that the Jays have the exact record they had last year at this time? No, me neither. If it is going to be like last year, now is the time to turn it around. In May last year they were 16-12. Eric Lauer wasn’t throwing as hard as […]
The Dallas Mavericks shocked the basketball world on Monday morning by hiring veteran executive Masai Ujiri as their new President of Basketball Operations and Alternate Governor. Ujiri enjoyed largely successful stints as the top decision maker with the Denver Nuggets and Toronto Raptors throughout the 2010s, winning both an Executive of the Year award and […]
“It starts right away by us taking advantage of a power play. We set the tone with everyone, not just a few [players]. We’ve done a good job of staying out of the box, staying disciplined, and defending. All of our transition is coming from our good D-zone coverage, and we have to continue that […]
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written in collaboration with Alec Brownscombe The Toronto Maple Leafs officially introduced John Chayka and Mats Sundin as GM and Senior Executive Advisor of Hockey Operations, respectively, on Monday. A lot was said, and a lot was still left to the imagination. The introductory press conference featuring Keith Pelley, Sundin, and Chayka didn’t initially alleviate […]
The post The good, the bad, and the still-unanswered from John Chayka and Mats Sundin’s press day appeared first on Maple L...
The Cleveland Cavaliers didn’t assemble the highest-paid roster in the league just to get out of the first round. “We haven’t done anything,” Donovan Mitchell said after his team closed out the Toronto Raptors in seven games. “It’s just the first round.” The Cavs will have their hands full against a 60-win Detroit Pistons team […]