The Maple Leafs In My Opinion

This is the logo for the Toronto Maple Leafs. One that has been mostly untouched since the 1970s and symbolizes a passionate fan base in a great Canadian city with a proud history of winning. Well, after this year, it will no longer be the logo. According to a report by jersey expert Chris Creamer, the Leafs are currently undergoing a major design change for their jersey and logo. It is said to be a "combination of the past and a nod to the future." Here's the current jersey scheme to give you an idea of what will be no more after this season. The timing of this move is an interesting one for sure, given that next season will be the Leafs centennial season. What is unclear, at least at this moment, is whether or not the change is for next season only or the new look going forward. Along with the new league-wide design change (as Adidas will succeed Reebok as the jersey provider), this drastic change will have some fans worried about what will change. I, my

The halfway mark of the season is inching closer and closer with each passing day, and the Leafs's positioning in the standings is as expected.  And with the focus being on building towards a more successful future, that is a good thing. With that said, the Leafs still need to get more prospects and draft picks to get there, which can be acquired by trading away strong veterans to contenders. The Leafs already have a few on their roster, including P.A. Parenteau, Brad Boyes, Matt Hunwick, Shawn Matthias, and Daniel Winnick among others. The Leafs have enough room to add at least one more veteran to the mix via free agency, in the hopes of acquiring another young asset and giving the prospects already on the roster more time to grow. Here are four possible players (ranked from least likely to most likely) the Leafs could sign to a low risk, high reward contract. Sean Bergenheim A natural left winger, Sean Bergenheim would be a great depth scoring option for

It seems as though the possibility of Steven Stamkos coming to the Maple Leafs  isn't such a pipedream after all. Yesterday,  TSN  and  Sportsnet  hockey panels were discussing Stamkos's future beyond this season as his contract is set to expire. With the possibility of losing a former first overall pick for nothing, Tampa Bay Lightnings GM, Steve Yzerman must be desperately doing everything in his power to keep Stamkos a Lightning for life.  As of this point, however,  that  isn't the case  as contract talks have not gone anywhere. However, that hasn't stopped Stamkos from having a little fun with Leafs Nati0n, as he did today liking a particular tweet regarding himself and the Leafs: Why he chose to like this particular tweet is anyone's guess at this point. Maybe he just wanted to watch the video later on as it caught his interest. Maybe he is just playing the devils advocate and is messing with the fans of both the Leafs and the Lightning (He has done

I'm sure most of you reading this may have already heard, but if you haven't, Garret Sparks made Leafs history last night by getting a shutout in his first NHL game  against the Edmonton Oilers. While of course, there were some doubts  as to if it actually happened, it was still a memorable night for Leafs Nation in what has been a miserable season thus far. Which brings us to the current goaltending tandem that the Leafs currently have this season. When the Leafs opened up their schedule against the Canadiens, Jonathan Bernier and James Reimer were the goalies. It didn't seem that bad at first, as both goalies were given a fresh start and a new opportunity to prove their worth to the organization. After all, one just signed a two-year contract while the other may be heading for free agency.  As the season wore on, however, that view has changed drastically. It began with a poor preseason for Bernier, and continued with allowing the first shot he faced in his

October has finally arrived and the start of the regular season is just days away. However, before the puck drops to kick off the 2015-16 season, the Leafs still have some decisions to make with their opening night roster. One of them is what to do with their top prospect, William Nylander. Here's the dilemma that the team currently faces: either keep him up in the NHL or let him further develop in the farm system. There are a few reasons that the Leafs should or should not keep their 2014 first round pick with the team this year. Let's take a look into these reasons and you can judge for yourself which path is better to take. Why He Should Stay Up Last training camp showed us a skilled Nylander who, while scoring in bunches, did not have the body and the maturity to make the NHL right out of the draft. It turned out to be a great decision in the long run, as he proceeded to dominate the SHL on the last place MODO by scoring 8 goals and 20 points in 21 games. Nyland

Most of you have already heard the news by now, but if you haven't, here's what transpired. During the annual Media Day, the Leafs traded forward Taylor Beck and Carter Verhaeghe, defensemen Matt Finn and Tom Nilsson, and goaltender Christopher Gibson to the New York Islanders in exchange for forward Michael Grabner. Upon first glance, the trade comes as a complete shock. It seems weird that the Leafs were ok with giving up a bunch of prospects that seemed to have a future with the Leafs for proven player in the middle of his prime. The trade goes completely against the rebuild, right? Well not exactly. See, prior to this trade, the Leafs were in a jam in terms of the number of players under contract. Under the NHL Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA), the maximum number of players an NHL team can have under contract  is 50. This includes the main team of 23 players and 27 prospects in the farm system. The Leafs had 49 players before the deal was made and now have 45

When a team decides to trade a player, there is usually numerous reasons as to why they decide to go on that route. Sometimes the trade helps bring the team more talent by upgrading a certain position. Other times, this player is struggling with his surroundings and is moved in an attempt to vitalize his game while bringing back the team something useful in return. Perhaps the player is the missing piece to a Stanley Cup win for the receiving team and the selling team was looking to cash in on the buyers large offers. Or this player is the burden in the path of a complete roster overhaul and his departure marks the beginning of a new era. Maybe this player is setting a bad example to his teammates and it is mandatory that he is shown the door as soon as possible. Enter Phil Kessel. The awkward superstar of a disastrous era for the Maple Leafs had dazzled fans for years with his blistering speed and his wicked wrist shot which propelled him to the Leaf leader in goals and point

Some of you may remember that I wrote a piece about the captain, Dion Phaneuf, in an attempt to try and figure out why he gets so much hate. Well, Phaneuf talks have once again heated up in Leaf land following the sudden (but expected) trade of Phil Kessel to the Penguins. As Kessel and Phaneuf were part of the old core and one half of it was taken away, many fans assumed that the captain would shortly be shown the door as well. And for at least 93% of Leaf fans out there, I am sorry to report that Phaneuf will be a Leaf once again next year. Wait, that isn't bad news, that's great news (at least for me and the other 7% of fans). Allow me to explain why it is so. From the moment Babcock was hired by the Leafs back in May, it became clear that the organization was set to change the course of their future by stabilizing the bench for good. It was also meant to send a message to the players of the current Leafs team that it is truly now up to them to turn the team around.

            Most Leaf fans in Toronto know just how extensively the media can cover the hometown Maple Leafs. In fact, the coverage at times can be so extensive that there have been many instances in recent memory where sports journalists will focus their entire piece on one statement made by either the players or management.             This was very true throughout this past season, one which the team struggled mightily from January onward to become one of the worst in the National Hockey League (NHL). With such a poor showing on the ice, the media focused its efforts in disseminating statements made by the team at various points throughout the year. Whether it was by newspaper, television, or social media, a few choice words by certain people within the Maple Leafs organization managed to cause a stir in the nation's biggest city and beyond.             One of the earliest instances from this season occurred back during a local fundraiser when goaltender, Jonathan Ber

"In looking back, I see nothing to regret and little to correct." -  John C. Calhoun Do you ever get those days where you wander through your house and find some hidden gems from the past? That happened to me earlier when I had discovered a DVD collection that had been sitting on my shelf for months and I had not opened it for quite some time. The collection was titled "Toronto Maple Leafs: 10 Great Leafs And Their Most Memorable Games," and just looking at the back of the list gave me goosebumps reflecting on past greats such as McDonald, Gilmour, Clark, and Sundin. When looking at this this list, however, one name caught my interest and had me curious to watch. This person was none other than Ken Wregget. The name did not sound familiar at all, in fact I had no idea who he was. It took a quick Google search to determine that Wregget was a Leaf goalie from the mid to late 1980s. I later asked my dad about Wregget, and he told me that he was the James Reime

Earlier today,  Juha Hiitelä of Ilta Sanomat, a Finnish newspaper, reported about a rumour that the Leafs brought Mikko Rantanen, the highest rated European player in this draft, to Toronto for an interview. According to the article, which took some time to translate into English mind you , said that the team brought Rantanen for an interview and a tour of the ACC and  MasterCard  Center, as well as a meet with some  personnel before returning to Finland .  While this rumour sounded  intriguing  to me, it brought about the question: were the Leafs doing their jobs or were they interviewing their newest player? What Has He Done? Here are his stats, as provided by Eliteprospects.com: MIKKO RANTANEN      BIRTHYEAR 1996-10-29 BIRTHPLACE Nousiainen, FIN AGE 18 NATION Finland POSITION C/W SHOOTS L HEIGHT 193 cm / 6'4" WEIGHT 96 kg / 212 lbs YOUTH TEAM TPS CONTRACT 16/17 NHL DRAFT Top Prospect eligible for the  2015  NHL Entry Draft RANKINGS Ranked  #19 by H