Who needs to make a big splash on the trade market when the Maple Leafs' most significant additions might already be in house?
Hours before the NHL's trade deadline arrived at 3 p.m. yesterday, healing forwards Kyle Wellwood and Darcy Tucker were out on the Air Canada Centre ice surface working their way back to an eventual return to the Toronto lineup.
Since neither player has suited up for game action in almost two months, the Leafs claim their respective comebacks will be like obtaining two key cogs in deals.
Perreault, who scored 19 goals for the Phoenix Coyotes this season, was acquired by the Toronto Maple Leafs just before the NHL trade deadline Tuesday afternoon. "It feels like Groundhog Day," said Perreault. "I wake up and I'm back in Toronto.
"It's great . . . the fans have always been great."
John Ferguson surrendered a prize young bull, but resisted selling the whole farm for a playoff stab and job security.
With a number of high picks changing hands yesterday in a flurry of late deals involving bubble teams such as his Maple Leafs, the general manager's only move was for depth forward Yanic Perreault, as he covered his assets and counted on returning players for a playoff push.
John Ferguson worked for weeks trying to acquire one former Maple Leaf but, as yesterday's NHL trade deadline closed in, he ended up repatriating another.
Rebuffed in his attempts to land Gary Roberts from Florida, and with a playoff spot slipping away, the Toronto GM instead hit the Yanic button.
Ferguson acquired centre Yanic Perreault from the Phoenix Coyotes, the 35-year-old's third go 'round with the club that drafted him.
Yanic Perreault is coming back while Darcy Tucker is staying put.
Perreault, who scored 19 goals for the Phoenix Coyotes this season, was acquired by the Toronto Maple Leafs just before the NHL trade deadline Tuesday afternoon.
"It feels like Groundhog Day," said Perreault. "I wake up and I'm back in Toronto.
"It's great . . . the fans have always been great."
For those wondering, it does matter and it does hurt, a blast of boos.
Bryan McCabe took a pounding last night, his ears full of jeers, the punching bag de jour for a most putrid performance by the Toronto Maple Leafs, target for all that displeased and disgruntled the hometown crowd in a 6-1 loss to the Buffalo Sabres.
The defenceman stood by his locker afterwards, holding up a hand to delay proceedings until the full media scrum had been assembled "so I don't have to go through this twice."
The Toronto Maple Leafs signed forward Darcy Tucker to a four-year contract Tuesday. Per club policy, terms of the deal were not disclosed.
The 31-year-old Tucker, who would have become an unrestricted free agent July 1, has 19 goals and 12 assists in 39 games this season. He has missed 24 games with a foot injury he sustained December 26.
Of all the endless talk that clouded the airwaves yesterday, on the holy day that is the NHL trade deadline, one sentence stood out. It wasn't easy, given the television, radio and water-cooler chatter across Canada, to cut to the chase. But that's what Brian Burke, the bluntest man in hockey not named Sutter, did.
"We all add," Burke, Anaheim's general manager, told TSN, "and there's one parade."
The Maple Leafs are one of the teams that added, if modestly, with faceoff specialist and two-time Leaf Yanic Perreault. But there's one parade, and it probably isn't happening here. What is happening is mediocrity, on the fly.
The Maple Leafs acquired a faceoff specialist at the trade deadline yesterday. But what the team could have used last night was someone who could score.
Toronto, which outshot and out-chanced its opponent for the second straight game, lost 6-1 to the Buffalo Sabres. It was the team's 14th home defeat -- ranking them ahead of only last-place Philadelphia in that category -- at the Air Canada Centre, which held 19,588 disappointed fans last night.
Ultimately, what's the difference between 40 years and 41, or 141, or whatever the Maple Leafs' Stanley Cup dry spell turns out to be?
There will be calls for John Ferguson Jr.'s scalp from the usual suspects today, perhaps lucidly, but credit Ferguson for at least identifying the way he wants the Maple Leafs to return to contention. Now, for his job's sake, all he needs to be is correct.
John Ferguson sat calmly on the podium yesterday and made nice.
He said it was good to have Darcy Tucker signed to a new contract and to finish trade-deadline day by getting centre Yanic Perreault. Inside, though, the Toronto Maple Leafs' general manager was seething about the one that got away — Gary Roberts.
The preferred target for Ferguson and his aides was Roberts. But by Monday night, they knew they were not going to pry him away from the Florida Panthers. Roberts, 40, officially waived his no-trade clause yesterday morning and went to Pittsburgh for defenceman Noah Welch.
Jochen Hecht scored twice and had an assist to lead Buffalo to a 6-1 rout of the Maple Leafs on Tuesday night, hours after the Sabres made four trades to bolder their injury-plagued lineup.
The trade deadline came and went at 3 p.m. yesterday afternoon, leaving many Maple Leafs relieved to still be wearing blue and white.
Or were they?
About six hours later, Bryan McCabe and Andrew Raycroft might have been having second thoughts about that after being targeted by the fans at the Air Canada Centre during a moribund 6-1 loss to the injury-plagued Buffalo Sabres last night.
Having not been able to cheer for a playoff team since 2004, the crowd at the Air Canada Centre gave notice to the stars of the current squad that they won't accept lacklustre play, soft goals or losing games that should have been wins.
The question now is how goalie Andrew Raycroft and defenceman Bryan McCabe – the targets of last night's jeers – and the players around them will react when they next take the ice.
There is one way for the Toronto Maple Leafs to stop the boo-birds from chirping at the Air Canada Centre. They could try winning at home.
It didn't happen last night as the Leafs' home woes continued with a 6-1 loss to the Buffalo Sabres.
After the Sabres grabbed a 4-1 lead in the second period, the fans who remained from the capacity crowd of 19,588 mercilessly jeered Toronto goalie Andrew Raycroft.
Chris Drury has helped put Buffalo among the NHL's leaders in points. The Sabres, though, will have to overcome his absence if they hope to move into the league's top spot.
Drury will miss his second straight game with a concussion as the Sabres (41-16-5) try to move into at least a tie for the league lead in points when they face the Toronto Maple Leafs at Air Canada Centre on Tuesday night.
There had to be a moment between the selloffs of Peter Forsberg, Keith Tkachuk and hell, even Craig Rivet, when John Ferguson had to think, "Is now the time?"
Is this the right time and the right market to blow up the current edition of the Maple Leafs?
The Toronto Maple Leafs have emerged as a key bargaining chip in negotiations for a new National Hockey League television contract in Canada.
According to well-placed sources, the CBC has put a huge amount of money on the table in its bid to continue the Saturday tradition of Hockey Night in Canada.
The public network is favoured to retain broadcasting rights, but TSN's wish list has complicated the process.
With a game to play and the trade deadline a day away, the Maple Leafs don't look so much like buyers as keepers with Darcy Tucker poised to re-sign a long-term deal.
Their opponents tonight, the Montreal Canadiens, look like sellers in trading 32-year-old defenceman Craig Rivet.
Word that Tucker would re-sign a multi-year deal for $3 million a year added some jump to the locker room prior to tonight's Leaf-Habs match, with the winner having a chance to move into a playoff spot.
Darcy Tucker has grown accustomed to large media scrums during his years with the Toronto Maple Leafs. Yesterday, here at the Bell Centre, he had to work at containing his enthusiasm.
It has long been a policy of the Maple Leafs not to comment on unofficial reports, and news that Tucker had agreed, in principle, to a four-year contract extension worth US$12-million was all the rage at the club's morning skate. Coach Paul Maurice toed the party line when suggesting, with a wry smile, that any Leafs news is reported to him via his Black- Berry, and that "? nothing has come across so far this morning."
Darcy Tucker can't wait to get back on the ice and start earning his new millions.
While Maple Leafs general manager John Ferguson held off making an official announcement that he alluded to on the weekend, the deal appears even more lucrative than yesterday's report of three years at an average of $3 million US.
"It's better than that in term, but it's for Toronto to announce," Tucker's agent, Carlos Sosa, said yesterday from Seattle. "We're very close to signing."
For the sake of his team, this afternoon John Ferguson had better not make like a kid with his entire allowance in his pocket five minutes from closing time at the candy store.
Your agent once had 40 cents burning a hole in his pocket when potato chips cost a nickel a bag and you also got a plastic coin with a National Hockey League player's picture on it.
In our neck of the woods, Ken Schinkel's coin was the top prize because he was the hometown hero and the father of a classmate. The trouble was, he was also a fringe player for the New York Rangers and as likely to turn up in a bag of chips (Shirriff, if I remember correctly) as the elusive Bobby Hull.
t's to the point now where you think Darcy Tucker bleeds blue and white.
The Leafs' heart-and-soul winger is poised to sign a long-term deal worth $3 million a year (all figures U.S.), a tidy raise from $1.6 million.
With his quick shot and temper to match, the 31-year-old from Castor, Alta., might have fetched more on the free-agent market this summer but chose to follow that heart he wears on his sleeve and stay in Toronto.
It's trade deadline day and we'll know who has reloaded, unloaded or decided their team is just a load you don't want to get downwind of.
And while two teams in the NHL east and four in the west have a few lengths on the field, some 10 outfits in the east and six in the west can smell the playoff barn five weeks and about 20 games out.
Mats Sundin is getting into more feuds with National Hockey League referees than former boss Pat Quinn.
Last night in Montreal it was a non-call on a high stick by Garth Murray that infuriated the captain, causing him to cuss out referees Bill McCreary and Stephane Auger and then blow off reporters for a second time on this trip.
In a 3-2 loss in a shootout to the New York Islanders on Thursday, Sundin felt he was robbed of a goal by Kerry Fraser and did not speak to the media afterward.
The Toronto Maple Leafs feel they were denied the last push of momentum needed to complete their comeback from three goals down Monday in a 5-4 road loss to the Montreal Canadiens.
The Leafs were consistently buzzing around the Canadiens' zone late in the game when, with the puck coming around the boards toward them, Toronto captain Mats Sundin took a stick from Montreal winger Garth Murray in the face with just over 90 seconds to play in regulation. Sundin went down, the whistle blew, but neither Stephane Auger nor Bill McCreary saw the infraction.
Nobody ever said it would be easy, but do these Canadiens have to make it so hard climbing to No. 7 from No. 9 in the Eastern Conference playoff race?
Easy is taking a 5-2 lead into the third period. Hard is allowing two early goals by the Maple Leafs last night before escaping with a 5-4 victory.
On this night, at least, it wasn't a case of the Canadiens being that good. Mostly, it was a matter of the Leafs being terrible for the first two periods, starting with goaltender Andrew Raycroft. It's why he was sitting in a corner across the ice from his bench a little beyond the midway point of the game - which is what happens to goaltenders who allow five goals on only 16 shots.
It's often suggested that upgrading talent at the trade deadline is as important for the message it sends to the dressing room as it is to improving the lineup.
What, then, are players to think when a veteran player such as Montreal's Craig Rivet is dealt out of town with the team on the cusp of a playoff berth?
If Monday night's 5-4 win over Toronto was any indication, the Canadiens appear to be buying in fully to Bob Gainey's pitch that Sunday night's deal which sent Rivet to San Jose in exchange for young defenceman Josh Gorges and a first-round draft pick was not to be interpreted as waving the white flag.
The Montreal Canadiens' potent power-play unit scored enough to hold off Toronto's comeback bid.
Sheldon Souray had his team-leading 22nd goal and Montreal got three goals with the man advantage in a 5-4 victory over the Maple Leafs on Monday night.
The NHL trade log shows that goalie Mikael Tellqvist was dealt to Phoenix earlier this season by the Toronto Maple Leafs. So that couldn't possibly have been the Swedish-born netminder wearing blue and white at the Bell Centre last night.Eleven months after Tellqvist sealed his fate in a Leafs jersey with a pair of untimely stinkers in this arena, Andrew Raycroft went off-kilter in the Canadiens' 5-4 victory over Toronto.
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The current Maple Leafs team can't be guaranteed of a playoff spot and the next few hours will determine if an altered version gets the chance.
Toronto entered the trade deadline today spinning its wheels in ninth place in the Eastern Conference, falling three points behind the Canadiens after a 5-4 loss last night at the Bell Centre.
After muted discussion of trade upheaval in the preceding weeks, the Leafs looked jangled in the face of a ferocious Montreal attack before rallying in the third with two goals on the strength of re-jigged lines and eight saves on eight shots by backup goalie Jean-Sebastien Aubin.
he Maple Leafs' roster situation will be a lot clearer today, but their playoff hopes won't be.
The Leafs closed out a three-game road trip with a 1-1-1 record after a 5-4 loss in front of a raucous Bell Centre crowd last night. That left them in 10th place when they face the Buffalo Sabres at home tonight.
The clock is ticking, both on their season and, particularly, today's trade deadline.
The Toronto Maple Leafs made it close, but once again failed in a critical test at the Bell Centre.
Despite a pair of early third-period goals, the Leafs couldn't fully recover and dropped a 5-4 decision to the rival Montreal Canadiens because they allowed the Habs' potent power play to click three times in the opening 40 minutes Monday night.
"We talked about it before the game, but we still gave them too many chances on the power play," Leafs forward Bates Battaglia said. "They took advantage of it. They were really moving the puck well [on the power play] and shooting it pretty good."
Before there was Maple Leafs hockey there was St. Michael's hockey, a chronology that applies in general to Toronto and in particular to Dave Keon.
A week after making history with his appearance as part of the 40th anniversary celebrations of the Leafs' last Stanley Cup victory, Keon yesterday went back even farther to rejuvenate his St. Michael's junior hockey roots. The reception from a less than sellout crowd on hand for a Majors' game against the Windsor Spitfires was warm if not overwhelming as Keon performed the ceremonial pre-game puck drop, part of the Toronto high school's celebrations of 100 years in the good old hockey game.
For the past 10 days, the NHL "rental" market has been heating up.
Darcy Tucker, however, is no longer for rent.
The final touches remain, but the Leafs have tentatively agreed to terms with their truculent scoring winger on a multi-year contract that will earn him an average of about $3 million (U.S.) per season.
The deal is expected to be formally announced today or tomorrow. The details are sketchy, but it is expected to be at least a three-year deal and possibly a four-year arrangement, with the final year structured slightly differently – possibly a no-trade clause but not a no-movement restriction – to allow the Leafs to get out from under cap implications if deemed necessary.
It has been 37 years since the Toronto Maple Leafs and Montreal Canadiens failed to make the playoffs in the same season. The final six weeks of this season will determine if history repeats itself.
The Maple Leafs look to continue their recent road success Monday night when they face Canadiens at the Bell Centre in a matchup of Original Six rivals.
Oddsmakers have the Habs set as -125 favorites. The total is set at 6.
Paul Maurice is trying to maintain calm in the ranks of the Maple Leafs on the eve of the NHL trade deadline, but the Canadiens didn't help yesterday.
Sturdy defenceman Craig Rivet's departure to San Jose for a deal that includes Josh Gorges and the Sharks' first-round pick will put a buzz in the Bell Centre for tonight's game. With three divisional games this week, tonight against the Habs and two versus the injury-weakened Buffalo Sabres, the Leafs coach needs his charges to keep the focus on the ice and not on the telephone or television.
One of the best rivalries in sports resumes this evening, as the Montreal Canadiens open the doors of the Bell Centre for a battle with the Toronto Maple Leafs.
This series between two of the Original Six franchises is always heated, but should be aided for the rest of the year by a close Eastern Conference playoff race. Montreal has 70 points and is tied with the New York Islanders for the eighth and final postseason berth in the East, while the Maple Leafs are just one point behind in ninth place.
Wade Belak, still perspiring yesterday from a short, intense workout by the Toronto Maple Leafs at the Bell Centre, used another phrase when reflecting on the road trip that all but ended the Leafs' playoff hopes last season.
"Yeah, here we are again," sighed Belak, remembering the consecutive spankings by the Montreal Canadiens in the final week of March, 2006.
Tonight, the Leafs are in Montreal again on the cusp of the playoff race.
With a game to play and the trade deadline a day away, the Maple Leafs don't look so much like buyers as keepers with Darcy Tucker poised to re-sign a long-term deal.
Their opponents tonight, the Montreal Canadiens, look like sellers in trading 32-year-old defenceman Craig Rivet.
Word that Tucker would re-sign a multi-year deal for $3 million a year added some jump to the locker room prior to tonight's Leaf-Habs match, with the winner having a chance to move into a playoff spot.
Darcy Tucker yesterday took his first strides toward a return to the Maple Leafs lineup.
Tucker, nursing small cracks in his left foot, skated for approximately 15 minutes at the Wachovia Center in Philadelphia before the morning skate. Tucker suffered the injury Dec. 26 in a game against the Minnesota Wild, and played in one game afterward, on Jan. 1 against the Boston Bruins. A cast had been placed on Tucker's foot on Jan. 20.
The Toronto Maple Leafs have tentatively agreed to terms on a multi-year contract with Darcy Tucker, a source close to the negotiations told The Canadian Press on Monday.
The deal will earn the winger an average of US$3 million per season. Tucker was slated to be an unrestricted free agent July 1.
“Nothing’s finalized yet,” Tucker said at the Bell Centre, where his teammates were to face the Canadiens on Monday night. “Things have been progressing in the right direction.
The Toronto Maple Leafs have tentatively agreed to terms on a US$12-million, four-year contract with winger Darcy Tucker.
The deal was expected to be officially announced either later Monday or on Tuesday. "All Darcy wanted was to be a Leaf, and he left money on the table to do it," Tucker's agent Carlos Sosa told The Canadian Press on Monday afternoon Earlier Monday, Tucker was cautiously happy.
"Nothing's finalized yet," Tucker said at the Bell Centre, where his teammates were to face the Canadiens on Monday night. "Things have been progressing in the right direction.
It appears as though the Toronto Maple Leafs have locked up veteran winger Darcy Tucker.
The Leafs and Tucker are close to agreeing to a four-year contract extension worth $3-million U.S. a season, the Globe and Mail reports.
"Nothing's finalized yet," Tucker said at Montreal's Bell Centre ahead of Toronto's game against the Canadiens Monday night. "Things have been progressing in the right direction.
It has been 37 years since the Toronto Maple Leafs and Montreal Canadiens failed to make the playoffs in the same season. The final six weeks of this season will determine if history repeats itself.
The Maple Leafs look to continue their recent road success Monday night when they face Canadiens at the Bell Centre in a matchup of Original Six rivals.
The Canadiens (32-26-6) have been by far the most successful NHL franchise with 24 Stanley Cups, according to their official Web site. The Maple Leafs (30-23-9) are next on that list with 13 Cups since 1917, but none since 1967.
Jeff O'Neill and Alex Steen both had a goal and an assist, as the Toronto Maple Leafs got back on the winning track with a 5-2 win over the Philadelphia Flyers at the Wachovia Center.
The Toronto Maple Leafs are looking for more consistency, and they were pleased with their effort Saturday night. Alex Steen and Jeff O'Neill each had a goal and an assist to lead Toronto past the Philadelphia Flyers 5-2.
"When we stay away from mistakes, we are a pretty tough team," Steen said. "The last week or so, there have been some mistakes. We have to stay away from them and be more consistent."
Jeremy Williams was all shaken up but he will have a few more days to calm his nerves.
The Maple Leafs summoned Williams from the Toronto Marlies on Friday afternoon but Leafs coach Paul Maurice opted to not use him last night against the Philadelphia Flyers.
Williams likely will suit up tomorrow night in Montreal against the Canadiens, and/or at home on Tuesday versus the Buffalo Sabres.
Jeremy Williams got a taste of life in the NHL, albeit from the sidelines, last night. That was fine with him because it gave him a chance to shake off his nerves.
"I was shaking all day," said Williams, called up from the Marlies on Friday. "I don't know why. Normally I'm a calm player. It's very exciting. It's not scared – it's more of an excitement thing."
The latest Marlie to be called up – 11 players have spent time with the Leafs and Marlies this season – the speedy forward with a big shot has had a frustrating season.
Andy Wozniewski will return to the Toronto Maple Leafs lineup Saturday after an almost five-month absence.
Wozneiwski separated a shoulder that required surgery to mend back on Oct. 7 in the Leafs third game of the season against the Montreal Canadiens. Wozneiwski will replace injured Toronto defenceman Pavel Kubina, who fractured a finger while blocking a shot in the Leafs 3-2 shootout loss against the New York Islanders last Thursday.
Wozniewski, 26, recently spent a five-game conditioning stint with the Toronto Marlies of the American Hockey League and performed well.
Darcy Tucker yesterday took his first strides toward a return to the Maple Leafs lineup.
Tucker, nursing small cracks in his left foot, skated for approximately 15 minutes at the Wachovia Center in Philadelphia before the morning skate. Tucker suffered the injury Dec. 26 in a game against the Minnesota Wild, and played in one game afterward, on Jan. 1 against the Boston Bruins. A cast had been placed on Tucker's foot on Jan. 20.
"It's nice to see a smile on his face," Leafs coach Paul Maurice said. "Grumpy son of a gun has been walking around the room chewing nails for the past month. He got everything accomplished (on the ice) except for playing (last night). I'm really happy to see him back."
Darcy Tucker might have been the happiest Maple Leaf yesterday, skating in Philadelphia for about 10 minutes for the first time since having his foot put in a cast.
"You know, it's been a while now so getting back on the ice was something I was looking forward to," said Tucker, who sustained cracked bones in his left foot on Boxing Day. "Being out there with the guys was enjoyable."
Tucker didn't want to guess at a return date. He'll take today off to ensure there is no swelling, and skate again tomorrow in Montreal.
The Flyers are sinking ever-closer to being mathematically eliminated from the postseason, and in the process, they’re going to be fed a steady diet of teams clamoring to make those same playoffs.
So, they have to expect a lot more of what they faced Saturday -- a team like the Toronto Maple Leafs, who need the points a heck of a lot more than the Flyers, relying on a safe, defensive gameplan and opportunistic offense to get the win.
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While the Flyers inch closer to being mathematically eliminated from playoff contention, they benefited greatly last night from another team desperate to make the postseason.
Needing a veteran defenseman to stop their free fall, the Atlanta Thrashers sent highly touted defensive prospect Braydon Coburn to the Flyers for veteran Alexei Zhitnik.
Coburn is a 21-year-old stud defenseman who skates extremely well for someone 6-foot-5, 220 pounds.
"When we stay away from mistakes, we are a pretty tough team," Steen said. "The last week or so, there have been some mistakes. We have to stay away from them and be more consistent."
Jeff O'Neill turned back the clock on '80s Night at the Wachovia Center.
The Maple Leafs forward, who had a four-season run of 25 goals or more come to a halt four years ago, scored his 20th last night as the visitors secured an easy 5-2 victory over the Philadelphia Flyers.
When the mostly bad music was not blaring during play stoppages and the centre-ice scoreboard wasn't displaying Flyers statistics from the 1980s, the line of O'Neill, Matt Stajan and Alex Steen carried the Leafs to just their third triumph in eight games. O'Neill and Steen each had a goal and an assist while Stajan, who won an impressive 14 of 18 faceoffs, had an assist.
Before their big showdown in Montreal against the Canadiens on Monday, the Toronto Maple Leafs knew they had to take care of business against the lowly Philadelphia Flyers, a team that has performed so badly at home that it could set a record for futility for fewest wins at home in a season.
The record for fewest wins at home in a season is six, set by the Washington Capitals 32 seasons ago. The Leafs 5-2 victory over the Flyers on Saturday evening, before an announced crowd of 19,277, has left Philly with only five wins at the Wachovia Center and 11 home games remaining on its docket.
The Toronto Maple Leafs are looking for more consistency, and they were pleased with their effort Saturday night.
Alex Steen and Jeff O'Neill each had a goal and an assist to lead Toronto past the Philadelphia Flyers 5-2.
"When we stay away from mistakes, we are a pretty tough team," Steen said. "The last week or so, there have been some mistakes. We have to stay away from them and be more consistent."
Just when the Toronto Maple Leafs were hoping their list of injured players would get shorter, it actually got longer.
Defenceman Pavel Kubina, injured blocking a shot against the New York Islanders in a 3-2 loss on Thursday night, flew home to Toronto to have it looked at.
The Toronto Maple Leafs have been able to succeed with some of their better forwards out of the lineup.
So, in theory, it should be a little easier to get by without defenceman Pavel Kubina, who has not done a lot to justify the four-year, US$20-million contract he signed last summer.
The Maple Leafs will get an infusion of youth in the form of Andy Wozniewski and Jeremy Williams in time for tonight's game against the Flyers.
Wozniewski will likely play for the first time since separating his shoulder in the third game of the season, a move made necessary by the team's latest injury. Veteran defenceman Pavel Kubina broke a finger blocking a shot Thursday night in Long Island.
"That's the looks of it right now," Wozniewski said of his chance to play. "I feel real confident in my game. I have no problems stepping in and playing."
Alexei Ponikarovsky hangs his head, averts his eyes and looks like a man who just doesn't want to talk about a certain issue.
But talk about it he must.
The hulking Leafs winger is the worst shootout artist in the NHL. He's 0 for 7 this season. He's ranked 269th out of the 269 shooters who have participated in the tiebreaker system.
Former Toronto Maple Leaf enforcer Tie Domi has launched a $950,000 defamation lawsuit against a Toronto radio personality and his employer.
In the suit, Domi alleges that Q107 radio host John Derringer falsely stated in a broadcast on Oct. 2, 2006, that Domi charges fees to appear for charities.
Injured forwards Mike Peca and Darcy Tucker have accompanied the Leafs on this three-game road trip, not that either is ready to return any time soon.
"Our strength and conditioning coach can do more with him (Peca) here on a day-to-day regime than he can if he left him at home," said Leaf coach Paul Maurice. "That, and the phone calls with the wives asking us, begging us, to please take them on the road."
Just as they hit the toughest part of the schedule – that long grind toward the playoffs – the Leafs are beginning to take things a bit easier.
While the up-tempo pace of workouts remains the same – the hallmark of a Paul Maurice-coached team – the practices and game-day skates are getting shorter.
The Maple Leafs' injury picture is coming into focus.
Boyd Devereaux, who has missed three games with a wrist problem, could be back in tomorrow night in Philadelphia against the Flyers. Devereaux has been able to start shooting the puck and is not experiencing problems.
It was expected Darcy Tucker, who has been nursing small fractures in his left foot, was going to hit the ice for practice today at the old Spectrum in Philadelphia. But it is probable he instead will give it a shot tomorrow, five weeks to the day he had a cast put on.
Randy Robitaille had been studying Toronto Maple Leafs goalie Andrew Raycroft, and that served the New York Islanders forward well when he faced Raycroft in a shootout.
After coming back from a two-goal deficit, Robitaille capped the comeback by scoring the only goal of the shootout to lead the Islanders to a 3-2 victory over the Maple Leafs on Thursday night.
"I was watching him with the other shooters, and I know he's good low," the Ottawa native said. "I knew what I wanted to do before I shot."'
Randy Robitaille scored the only goal of the shootout to lead the New York Islanders to a come-from-behind 3-2 victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs on Thursday night.
The Islanders chose to go first in the shootout, and after misses by Miroslav Satan and Viktor Kozlov, Robitaille beat Andrew Raycroft with a wrist shot.
The New York Islanders have no easy ones during their seven-game homestand.
That includes a game against the team they started the night tied with: the Toronto Maple Leafs.
After coming back from a two-goal deficit, Randy Robitaille capped the comeback by scoring the only goal of the shootout to lead the Islanders to a 3-2 victory over the Maple Leafs on Thursday night.
"I was watching him with the other shooters, and I know he's good low," Robitaille said of Toronto goalie Andrew Raycroft. "I knew what I wanted to do before I shot."'
The Maple Leafs were disgusted with referee Kerry Fraser last night, but might have looked in the mirror for a better explanation for a tough loss.
With no points to spare in a tight playoff race, the Leafs blew a two-goal lead against the New York Islanders in their first visit of the season to the Nassau Coliseum and eventually lost 3-2 in a shootout.
After a stomach-churning shootout loss here at the Nassau Coliseum last night, it is clearly gut-check time once again for the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Forward Randy Robitaille was the lone scorer in the penalty shot phase of the match, beating Andrew Raycroft to the stick side, and giving the New York Islanders an important 3-2 comeback victory.
It was a surly, angry, frustrated and confused bunch of Maple Leafs who departed for their next "must win" game after having blown yet another opportunity last night.
They surrendered a 2-0 lead, had a goal called back and lost in a shootout as the New York Islanders rallied for a 3-2 win to gain a pair of points that may loom large at season's end.
If Charles Wang needs support in his campaign to replace venerable Nassau Coliseum with a modern, multipurpose cash box, the New York Islanders owner should give Mats Sundin a call.
The Toronto Maple Leafs captain hates the old barn. There were too many battles in years past with his fellow Swede Kenny Jonsson that left Sundin angered and frustrated — and his latest visit only added to Sundin's odium for the Islanders' home rink.
A controversial call from referee Kerry Fraser in the Islanders' 3-2 shootout victory over the Leafs Thursday night left Sundin annoyed enough not to discuss the call with reporters afterwards.
When you peruse the career of defenceman Blair Mackasey, what jumps out is that he played in only one National Hockey League game, with the Toronto Maple Leafs in the 1976-77 season opener.
"My claim to fame is that I took a penalty on the first shift of the game and it was the first recorded statistic of the season," Mackasey recalled. "Randy Carlyle and I were rookies that day. But that was it for me. He went on to play [1,055] games."
The Toronto Maple Leafs look to avoid falling further behind in the Eastern Conference playoff race on Saturday by taking advantage of a matchup with the league-worst Philadelphia Flyers for the second time in 10 days.
Oddsmakers have the Leafs listed as -153 favorites and the total set at six.
Toronto (29-23-9) has lost two straight and five of seven to fall to 10th in the East standings, two points out of the eighth and final playoff spot.
In his tenure as Toronto’s GM, John Ferguson hasn’t wheeled and dealt with the same vigor or frequency as, say, Ducks swapmeister Brian Burke. That’s not by accident; one of the reasons Ferguson was hired was his willingness to eschew the quick fix and abide by a long-term makeover of the Maple Leafs.
So, although whispers in local circles have Toronto most interested in Bill Guerin, it is unlikely Ferguson will be sucked into the bidding war John Davidson and Larry Pleau are praying for. And those same whispers believe the Leafs could still do a deal with the Blues.
Having just witnessed how the line of Mats Sundin, Nik Antropov and Alexei Ponikarovsky can use their size to control the pucks along the boards as a member of the Edmonton Oilers, defenceman Marc-Andre Bergeron knows his new teammates on the New York Islanders have their work cut out for them.
Sundin pulled off one of the great boards-to-net moves on Saturday, outhustling Steve Staois and surprising goalie Dwayne Roloson by scoring the game-winning goal in a 4-3 win.
Both the Islanders and Toronto Maple Leafs will look to overtake the other in the Eastern Conference standings when they face off at the Nassau Coliseum Thursday night. The teams sit tied for ninth in the East, one point behind eighth-place Carolina and trailing seventh-place Montreal by two points.
"All the teams are still close," said head coach Ted Nolan. "Teams can go on a long winning streak like Pittsburgh and then they can lose a few in a row, so it all evens out. We knew it would be tight, but we didn't know it would be this tight."
The New York Islanders and the Toronto Maple Leafs are currently on the outside of the playoff picture in the Eastern Conference. That may not be the case for the winner of Thursday night's key matchup at Nassau Coliseum.
The Islanders (29-23-8) and Maple Leafs (29-23-8) are tied for ninth place in the East standings, one point behind Carolina and two back of Montreal. Depending on how the Hurricanes and Canadiens fare in their respective games on Thursday, either New York or Toronto could be among the top eight teams at the end of the night.
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A pair of teams fighting for a playoff spot clash tonight as the New York Islanders welcome the Toronto Maple Leafs to the Nassau Coliseum.
Both the Islanders and Maple Leafs enter the game with 66 points, but are each on the outside of the playoff picture. Carolina and its 67 points currently hold the eighth playoff spot in the East.
Even though the Toronto Marlies jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the second period over the Manitoba Moose, the Vancouver Canucks' AHL affiliate overpowered the Marlies in the third period to take a 4-1 victory. Toronto starting netminder Justin Pogge lost only his second game in the month of February for the Marlies, stopping 25 shots en route to earning third star honours.
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The two Manitobans on the Toronto Maple Leafs roster came into the National Hockey League season with entirely different expectations, though both men will be key cogs during the playoff push.
Alex Steen, the 22-year-old son of former Winnipeg Jets stalwart Thomas Steen, was coming off an impressive rookie campaign that saw him produce 18 goals and 45 points and touted as a possible linemate for Leafs captain Mats Sundin.
Tired of people always questioning what might be wrong with him whenever he turns in an ordinary performance.
To his credit, he's polite about it. He'll even joke about it like he did yesterday.
Pulled after two periods in the Maple Leafs' 3-0 loss to the Boston Bruins Tuesday, Raycroft was informed by a broadcaster that there was talk of him being fatigued.
Any goaltender will tell you, a big part of being successful is how you control the rebounds.
So there was Andrew Raycroft at Maple Leafs' practice yesterday working on bouncing back from a so-so outing against the Bruins' a night earlier. Three goals yielded, none overly horrible on its own, but when they arrive on only 13 shots on a truncated night in the nets, there's room for fine-tuning.
"You play 82 games, you're not going to have your best every night. Unfortunately, that's the reality of it," said Raycroft. "Any NHL team is going to have dull nights and I guess we had one of those (losing 3-0). We just need to respond and have a good one (tonight against the Islanders)."
After playing in 21 games without a night off, Maple Leafs goaltender Andrew Raycroft admitted yesterday he is tired.
Not of the extra work, but of the questions about his endurance.
The 26-year-old Belleville, Ont., native is on pace to play at least 70 games this season. His previous high was 61 games as a 19-year-old in the Ontario Hockey League with Kingston.
The New York Islanders and the Toronto Maple Leafs are currently on the outside of the playoff picture in the Eastern Conference. That may not be the case for the winner of Thursday night's key matchup at Nassau Coliseum.
The Islanders (29-23-8) and Maple Leafs (29-23-8) are tied for ninth place in the East standings, one point behind Carolina and two back of Montreal. Depending on how the Hurricanes and Canadiens fare in their respective games on Thursday, either New York or Toronto could be among the top eight teams at the end of the night.
These are the "four-point games," the ones in which a team plays for its own two points and to deny the other team two points. Not necessarily a big deal in the early stages of the season or against some opponents, but tonight it is.
The Islanders will play a four-pointer at the Coliseum when they host the Toronto Maple Leafs. Each team has a 29-23-8 record and 66 points, one point behind Carolina for the Eastern Conference's eighth playoff spot.
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Journeyman forward Travis Green put it best: Playing for the Toronto Maple Leafs is like playing in an All-Star Game every single day.
There might not be a sporting phenomena anywhere else that approaches the dynamic that exists in Canada's largest city. To judge it solely on the team's prominence, its profile in the community and the buzz the team creates in both the media and local watering holes, one might imagine the Maple Leafs are the most successful team in the league, maybe in all of sports.
Yet, the Leafs have not won a championship in almost 40 years. Indeed, an entire generation has grown up having never seen Toronto advance to a Stanley Cup finals, let alone win a Cup. Still, the Leafs are a juggernaut, a league power on virtually every level except the most important, on the ice.
The half-full cup is encouraged that the Leafs are on the road.
The half-empty cup warns that the positive effects of hotel food can't last forever.
For the Toronto Maple Leafs, their home away from home is pretty well anywhere. Maybe the solution to their sub.-500 record in Toronto is as simple as this: Get on a plane at Pearson, fly in circles for an hour, land again and drive right to the ACC for that night's game.
John Ferguson would love to see Bill Guerin wearing a Maple Leafs jersey by this time next week. But the more you speak with the Toronto general manager, the more an air of pragmatism creeps into his voice.
He is looking to add a scoring winger up front. St. Louis Blues general manager Larry Pleau is looking for a first-round pick and a young player for Guerin -- at least -- while Ferguson would land Anson Carter from Columbus for a much smaller price.
With his arms leisurely crossed and wearing a confident look on his face yesterday, coach Paul Maurice practically guaranteed that his Maple Leafs will pull off a trio of significant deals to bolster their roster.
But before you get too excited, don't pencil in the names of Gary Roberts, Marco Sturm and Bill Guerin into the Toronto lineup quite yet.
The New York Islanders and the Toronto Maple Leafs are currently on the outside of the playoff picture in the Eastern Conference. That may not be the case for the winner of Thursday night's key matchup at Nassau Coliseum.
The Islanders (29-23-8) and Maple Leafs (29-23-8) are tied for ninth place in the East standings, one point behind Carolina and two back of Montreal. Depending on how the Hurricanes and Canadiens fare in their respective games on Thursday, either New York or Toronto could be among the top eight teams at the end of the night.
Call it a wasted opportunity by the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Facing an opponent missing two of its top three scorers and playing its second game in as many nights, the Maple Leafs failed to solve Tim Thomas in a 3-0 loss to the Boston Bruins last night.
Warning to the Maple Leafs: Don't feed the bears at this time of year.
Not with so many starving animals roaming around the Eastern Conference playoff picnic table. You can certainly count the Boston Bruins back in the hunt, after last night's 3-0 win over mistake-prone Toronto, which was 0-for-6 on the power play.
Tim Thomas stopped 44 shots to record his third shutout of the season, helping the Boston Bruins to a 3-0 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs at Air Canada Centre.
Stanislav Chistov, P.J. Axelsson, and Jason York scored for the Bruins, winners in three straight and seven of nine.
Andrew Raycroft made just 10 saves on 13 shots through two periods for the Maple Leafs, who have now lost in four of their last six outings. Jean- Sebastien Aubin stopped all eight shots he faced in relief.
The Boston Bruins are doing their part to keep the team together through the trading deadline. Tim Thomas made 43 saves for his third shutout of the season, Jason York scored his first NHL goal in three years, and the Bruins gained ground with a 3-0 victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs on Tuesday night.
P.J. Axelsson and Stanislav Chistov also scored for the Bruins, who have won five of six to move back into the playoff hunt with 62 points.
Travis Green, the 36-year-old greybeard the Toronto Maple Leafs brought back to the team recently via the waiver wire, was marvelling on Tuesday morning on the young bucks he sees today in the National Hockey League.
His musings were sparked by the realization the Leafs are a much different team than his first go-round from 2001 to 2003. In those days, Green was a sprite of 30 and one of the younger lads on the team.
It was one of the more bleak and depressing days in both men's lives. For a 10-yearold Alexander Steen, Feb. 7, 1996, was The Great Betrayal, a skate blade to the heart of a kid who grew up worshipping Teemu Selanne and the Winnipeg Jets, and woke up one morning to find out the Finnish Flash had been traded to Anaheim.
For a 19-year-old Chad Kilger Feb. 7, 1996 was The Great Rejection, a slap to the helmet of a top NHL prospect who wanted so badly to please his team in Anaheim, but was called in to the coach's office and told to pack his bags and be on the next plane for Manitoba instead.
With any luck at all last night, John Ferguson Jr. couldn't find a place with the right satellite TV and went to the dog track instead. There's a nice one in Fort Myers.
If the general manager of the Maple Leafs, down there in Fla. with his counterparts, did see his club go flat again, loudly booed off the ice after losing 3-0 to the undermanned Boston Bruins, he might end up over-reacting to the ever-creeping trade deadline only six days away.
The word Thief is written across the front of each of Tim Thomas' black and gold pads; designating the model of Brian's goaltender equipment he is wearing.
On this night, it could have very well have described Thomas.
The Bruins' goalie committed some outright thievery at the Air Canada Centre, turning away 44 shots to blank the Maple Leafs in 3-0 Boston win.
Mats Sundin once said the thing he learned about finishing out of the playoffs last season was that his Toronto Maple Leafs gave up too many points to inferior teams.
Given Tuesday night's 3-0 loss to the Boston Bruins, it would seem a refresher course is in order for the Leafs captain and his teammates.
In their eighth and final game against the Bruins this season, the Leafs saw their record fall to 3-4-1. Now, if you have designs on a National Hockey League playoff spot, there is no way you should lose five of eight games to the worst team in your division.
The Toronto Maple Leafs couldn’t keep the good times rolling Tuesday as they fell to the Boston Bruins 3-0 at Air Canada Centre.
Heading into the game, the Leafs found themselves six points ahead of their Northeast Division rival and a Leafs win would’ve put a significant gap between the two squads. But Tim Thomas prevented a Leafs win by turning aside 44 shots.
How good are things going for the Bruins [team stats] right now? Well, try this. They were already without Patrice Bergeron and then learned yesterday that both Glen Murray and Andrew Alberts would be unavailable for, at this point, was the biggest game of their season.
So what happened? The B’s got Stanislav Chistov’s first goal in 19 games, a shorthanded tally from P.J. Axelsson and then Jason York’s first NHL goal since Jan. 8, 2004, to earn a 3-0 victory over the Maple Leafs at the Air Canada Centre. This is just a preview... click here for the entire article
Less than a month ago, the smoldering, sputtering Bruins had been written off as dead, losers of five straight and looking like a club that had a "For Sale" sign framed in neon in the store window, ready to be picked apart and rebuilt for 2007-08.
But now, four games into a six-stop road trip that will most likely determine their fate for the season, the Bruins have shown flickers of something they've been hoping to acquire for far too long.
Tim Thomas and the Boston Bruins want to send a message to general manager Peter Chiarelli - they still believe they're a playoff team.
The race in the Eastern Conference got even tighter on Tuesday after Thomas stopped 44 shots to help Boston to a 3-0 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs.
The Bruins moved within four points of the ninth-place Maple Leafs and hold a game in hand. Carolina is in eighth after a 3-1 loss to Atlanta, while Montreal beat Washington 5-3 to move into seventh, two points up on the Leafs.
The Boston Bruins are doing their part to keep the team together through the trading deadline.
Tim Thomas made 43 saves for his third shutout of the season, Jason York scored his first NHL goal in three years, and the Bruins gained ground with a 3-0 victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs on Tuesday night.
P.J. Axelsson and Stanislav Chistov also scored for the Bruins, who have won five of six to move back into the playoff hunt with 62 points.
Warning to the Maple Leafs: Don't feed the bears at this time of year.
Not with so many starving animals roaming around the Eastern Conference playoff picnic table. You can certainly count the Boston Bruins back in the hunt, after last night's 3-0 win over mistake-prone Toronto, which was 0-for-6 on the power play.
It can take as little as three days for iron to rust.
For Maple Leafs ironman goaltender Andrew Raycroft, corrosion apparently does not set in until 53 days. And even then, it is his teammates -- not his opponents -- who tend to cause most of the damage.
In their continuing attempt to nail down a playoff spot, the Toronto Maple Leafs whacked their own thumb Tuesday night.
The Leafs, who have been so diligent in their patient, defence-first game plan since returning from the all-star game break, didn't have the sharpness that has been evident lately, and as a result were blanked 3-0 by the surging Boston Bruins.
It was only the second time the Leafs have been shut out this season. The first occasion was in Atlanta on Nov. 30 when the Thrashers beat the Leafs 5-0.
The Boston Bruins are doing their part to keep the team together through the trading deadline.
Tim Thomas made 43 saves for his third shutout of the season, Jason York scored his first NHL goal in three years, and the Bruins gained ground with a 3-0 victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs last night.
It's been 40 years since the Toronto Maple Leafs won the Stanley Cup.
And don't expect anything to change, says Tom Smythe, the grandson of the club's founder.
He's made sure of that.
"When my father died in 1971, I put a curse on the team," Smythe said Monday. "They'll never win another Stanley Cup until an injustice has been put right."
Having completed his five-game conditioning stint with the American Hockey League's Toronto Marlies, the young defenceman is back up with the Maple Leafs again, although there are no plans to put him in the lineup in the immediate future.
"We are going to push him hard," coach Paul Maurice said of Wozniewski, who underwent shoulder surgery in October.
Brendan Bell had to think about the question for a few seconds. And it is no surprise that he did; after all, it had been awhile.
The Toronto Maple Leafs defenceman was bumped from the left point to the left wing to fill in for the injured Boyd Devereaux in the Leafs' 4-3 win over Edmonton on Saturday night, a sudden switch in position the 23-year-old had not experienced for some time.
When Brendan Bell was about 7 or 8 years old and a forward in minor hockey in Ottawa, his father Les raised a point in the logic that resonates with young players.
"You know," began Dad. "If you move back to defence, you can play twice as much and still carry the puck up the ice if you want."
At that point, a defenceman was born and Ottawa had one less left winger. Bell has been a blueliner ever since. At least until now.
Mike Peca says he'll be on skates within three weeks and ready to return to the lineup before the Toronto Maple Leafs end their 82-game schedule April 7.
The veteran centre said so Monday — 59 days after breaking his right leg in a violent collision with Jim Vandermeer during a Dec. 22 game in Chicago.
There were multiple breaks in his tibia, the large bone between the knee and the ankle, and a metal plate and eight screws were used to fix it. Doctors diagnosed a recovery period of from three to four months. Peca is ahead of schedule.
When Cliff Fletcher and Bill Watters were contemplating the shocking deal that would bring Mats Sundin to Toronto almost 13 years ago, they picked the brain of former captain Darryl Sittler.
The proposed swap would cost the Maple Leafs fan favourite Wendel Clark, but Sittler and the rest of the Toronto braintrust still saw an upside to the transaction.
"Cliff just had a vision and foresight where the team was headed," Sittler said yesterday. "Wendel was very popular and talented, but there were very few opportunities to get such a talented young gun like Mats.
Mats Sundin is just three goals away from catching Darryl Sittler for the most goals as a Maple Leaf. Sittler had 389. Sundin has 386. But the current captain took his usual approach when it comes to milestones.
"During the season, it's nothing you're really focused on," he said. "We have day-to-day goals and the next games, that's obviously where all my focus is. I understand how many goals are left and all that but it's nothing I'm really thinking about. It happens whenever it happens and we'll go from there."
The theory, one that's held up through countless line combinations over the years, is that centre Mats Sundin has almost always been teamed with inferior wingers in order to elevate the play of his linemates.
Now, finally, it appears Sundin's wingers are helping him.
Since being reunited with bulky bookends Alexei Ponikarovsky and Nik Antropov, the Maple Leafs captain has been playing with a greater ferocity and edge than at any point the season. It's likely no coincidence.
Every year after the all-star break, Mats Sundin undergoes a transformation.
Jeff O'Neill says the affable Swede becomes "intense." Chad Kilger adds that the Leafs captain's tone is more "serious." And, according to John Pohl, Sundin's clear blue eyes even turn blood red.
These observations cause the 36-yearold to laugh. But there is no denying that Sundin, who has six goals and 13 points in the past 10 games, has been a different kind of animal since the all-star break.
This is not meant to be funny: The Maple Leafs are an injury or two away from being Stanley Cup contenders.
You can look it up. The more people get hurt, the better this team plays.
It is almost unexplainable in this unexplainable season turning good, except for one small point -- it also happened last season. When the great John Ferguson Jr. signings -- Eric Lindros, Alex Khavanov and Jason Allison -- all went down, the Leafs went up.
The best thing for the Toronto Maple Leafs would be for John Ferguson to return from the general managers meetings in Florida this week empty-handed. And for the Leafs' GM to stay empty-handed through the National Hockey League's trade deadline on Feb. 27, at least as far as the biggest prizes go.
Prices are simply too high and the merchandise too suspect for a club such as the Leafs to gamble that giving up draft picks and/or prospects for what it needs, an experienced defenceman or two-way centre, is going to do any good in the playoff drive.
Last year as the NHL headed into the trade deadline period – it's no longer a few days, but a few weeks now – the Maple Leafs were coming off a horrible January en route to missing the playoffs and were essentially a non-player.
This year, much has changed.
A strong January and impressive work by a variety of players has put GM John Ferguson in the position of not only trying to add talent by next Tuesday's deadline, but of protecting the players the club already owns from enemy GMs looking for quality players.
Mike Peca says he'll be on skates within three weeks and ready to return to the lineup before the Toronto Maple Leafs end their 82-game schedule April 7.
The veteran centre said so Monday - 59 days after breaking his right leg in a violent collision with Jim Vandermeer during a Dec. 22 game in Chicago.
There were multiple breaks in his tibia, the large bone between the knee and the ankle, and a metal plate and eight screws were used to fix it. Doctors diagnosed a recovery period of from three to four months. Peca is ahead of schedule.
The Toronto Maple Leafs gained sole possession of the eighth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference after being inspired by a ceremony honoring their last Stanley Cup victory 40 years ago.
John Pohl and captain Mats Sundin scored two goals apiece Saturday night to lift the Toronto Maple Leafs to a 4-3 win over the reeling Edmonton Oilers.
Tomas Kaberle had two assists, while Andrew Raycroft stopped 28 shots for the win as the Leafs grabbed sole possession of the eighth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference thanks to losses by the Montreal Canadiens and New York Islanders on Saturday night.
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The Toronto Maple Leafs gained sole possession of the eighth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference after being inspired by a ceremony honoring their last Stanley Cup victory 40 years ago.
Mats Sundin and John Pohl and each scored twice and the Maple Leafs held on for a 4-3 victory over the Edmonton Oilers on Saturday night.
Sundin scored his seventh goal in the last 10 games for the Maple Leafs, who moved two points ahead of Montreal and the New York Islanders -- who both lost.
Left winger Colin Murphy tipped in the winning goal midway through the third period to lead the Toronto Marlies over the visiting Manchester Monarchs 4-2 in American Hockey League action yesterday.
Forwards Brett Engelhardt, Ben Ondrus and Tyson Nash, with an empty-netter, also scored for the Marlies in front of 2,386 fans at Ricoh Coliseum. Engelhardt and Murphy both chipped in with assists for two-point games.
Defencemen Eric Werner and Peter Harrold provided the offence for the Monarchs.
Justin Pogge backstopped the Toronto Marlies to a 4-2 victory over the Manchester Monarchs on Sunday evening in front of 2,386 fans. Winning in his third consecutive home ice start, Pogge stopped 22 of the 24 shots he faced. Tyson Nash's first of two special teams goals in the third period gave the Marlies their second and final lead of the game.
Manchester opened the scoring just 1:24 into the game with a goal from defenceman Eric Werner. With the puck loose in front of the net, Werner pounced on the puck and shot over Pogge's left shoulder. Tim Jackman and Gabe Gauthier each earned assists on the play.
Eighty years after the formation of the franchise and 40 years removed from its last Stanley Cup championship, Toronto Maple Leaf fans got the chance to remember and say thank you to their 1967 heroes at the Air Canada Centre on Saturday night.
More than a dozen veterans of the 1967 Leafs team that surprised the hockey world to bring home a championship were on hand for a short ceremony honouring that accomplishment before the Maple Leafs' game against the Edmonton Oilers in Toronto.
Everyone knows who scored the Stanley Cup game-winning goal. It's pretty easy to pick out. Someone shoots and he either scores or the goaltender makes the stop and someone puts in the rebound. It’s cut and dry.
But just who really did score the goal to give the Toronto Maple Leafs Lord Stanley's Cup back on May 2, 1967?
Toronto won the game, beating Montreal 3-1 with Jim Pappin being credited with the game-deciding tally at the 19:24 of the second period. George Armstrong scored an empty-net tally with 47 seconds left to clinch the Cup. But did Pappin really score the goal? Or did someone else net the clincher in Game 6?
Today, it is a source of derision as much as pride.
The Maple Leafs haven't won a Stanley Cup since 1967?
Tonight, though, the Leafs jokes subside.
Tonight, across the nation, goosebumps will run down spines when Dave Keon, the mighty little centre who played his heart out for the Leafs, and had his heart broken by the Leafs, joins his 1967 teammates and steps onto the Air Canada Centre ice to mend a feud that has simmered for three decades.
Dave Keon showed little emotion in his long-awaited return last night, but the same can't be said for some of his teammates from the 1967 Stanley Cup champion Maple Leafs.
As hall of fame goalie Johnny Bower scanned his teammates during the minute-long ovation Keon got after being introduced before the 19,599 fans at the Air Canada Centre, he could sense the moment was having a big effect on them.
Darcy Tucker is finally off crutches and ready to hit the road with the Maple Leafs.
While it could be a week or longer before the right winger is able to resume playing, the cracked bones in his left foot have progressed to the point that he tossed away the crutches yesterday.
At the age of 36, Mats Sundin continues to blow away his coaches and teammates.
"We're all lucky to play with him," John Pohl said after the Maple Leafs beat the Edmonton Oilers 4-3 on Saturday night. "He is so unbelievable. He is a better leader and a better guy than he is a player and that says a lot because he is so good."
It was a night to celebrate the Maple Leafs' past but, when the tributes were over, Mats Sundin also bolstered Toronto fans' hope for the immediate future.
Sundin, a captain with an impeccable sense of occasion, dished out the in-your-face hockey that has sparked the club in its late-season push for a playoff spot and his two goals included the hard-earned winner in a 4-3 victory over Edmonton.
No members of the current Maple Leafs were born when those senior citizens who paraded past them last night became Stanley Cup champions in 1967.
Yet each new Leaf since 1968 has endured that hiatus hernia in some way -- the pressure of impatient fans, media, family and, whether they mean to or not, the surviving Cup champions themselves.
John Pohl was thrilled to score two goals in a National Hockey League game for the first time in his life on Saturday night, but he was more concerned with the end result.
Putting team ahead of self is nothing new for athletes who play club sports. But when the Maple Leafs, who were given yesterday off by coach Paul Maurice, beat the Edmonton Oilers 4-3 on Saturday, it marked just their 12th home win this season.
There may have been more than a 40th anniversary to celebrate for bringing the remaining members of the 1967 Maple Leafs to Air Canada Centre on Saturday.
With this year's Leafs fighting to make the playoffs, Mats Sundin and company need all the inspiration they can get. And if their elders showed them anything, it is that the team that finishes with the best regular season record does not always win the Stanley Cup.
They've honoured their fathers and they've honoured their fathers' heroes. Now it's time for the current Maple Leafs to bring a little honour to themselves.
With seven weeks remaining in the NHL season, the focus for the Maple Leafs is on jockeying for playoff position in an Eastern Conference that remains a horse race.
They start the week in eighth, a 7-1-2 record since the all-star break has made up for the team's horrid play in late November and early December and put them back in to a playoff position. Clearly, they have a chance to improve their seeding if they can continue their recent solid play.
Mats Sundin has used the Edmonton Oilers as a means of inspiration all season.
The Toronto Maple Leafs' captain has preached to his teammates that it doesn't matter where they finish in the Eastern Conference standings, just as long as they are among the top eight teams and qualify for the National Hockey League playoffs — because the Oilers proved last spring that anything can happen.
Edmonton, after all, advanced to the Stanley Cup final after barely sneaking into the 2006 postseason.
Watching his teammates rack up the wins has made the idle life a little easier for Darcy Tucker.
"We have a lot of character in our dressing room and it has been great," Tucker said. "Mats (Sundin) has been phenomenal and everybody is playing well."
The 40th anniversary celebration of the Toronto Maple Leafs' last Stanley Cup winning team made a sellout crowd -- and former Leafs captain Dave Keon -- very happy.
"I was very appreciative of the people -- they've always been very good to me,'' said Keon, who received a minute-long standing ovation when he was introduced at Air Canada Centre. "I was very happy I was able to be a part of it.
They've honoured their fathers and they've honoured their fathers' heroes. Now it's time for the current Maple Leafs to bring a little honour to themselves.
With seven weeks remaining in the NHL season, the focus for the Maple Leafs is on jockeying for playoff position in an Eastern Conference that remains a horse race.
They start the week in eighth, a 7-1-2 record since the all-star break has made up for the team's horrid play in late November and early December and put them back in to a playoff position. Clearly, they have a chance to improve their seeding if they can continue their recent solid play.
The Toronto Maple Leafs paid tribute to their 1967 Stanley Cup winning team on Saturday, marking the 40th anniversary of the last time the club took home the trophy.
Several members of the team that won the 1967 Stanley Cup were honoured by the club in a special ceremony prior to the Leafs' home game against the Edmonton Oilers.
The 40th anniversary celebration of the Toronto Maple Leafs' last Stanley Cup winning team made a sellout crowd - and former Leafs captain Dave Keon - very happy.
''I was very appreciative of the people - they've always been very good to me,'' said Keon, who received a minute-long standing ovation when he was introduced at Air Canada Centre. ''I was very happy I was able to be a part of it.
Today, it is a source of derision as much as pride. The Maple Leafs haven't won a Stanley Cup since 1967?
If the prairies knew a drought like this, there would be no farms left in the country.
Fourteen different organizations have been crowned during those 40 dry years in Toronto, including such alien hockey destinations as Carolina and Tampa Bay.
Darcy Tucker is finally off crutches and ready to hit the road with the Maple Leafs.
While it could be a week or longer before the right winger is able to resume playing, the cracked bones in his left foot have progressed to the point that he tossed away the crutches yesterday.
They don't much remember anymore. Or maybe four decades is far past caring.
Oh, the crowd cheered all right, as the prodigal Leaf and 16 teammates from the triumphant 1967 squad were reunited at centre ice. But not lustily or lengthily, even a little tentatively, as if withholding, more polite and scripted than impassioned.
It was a night to celebrate the Maple Leafs' past but, when the tributes were over, Mats Sundin also bolstered Toronto fans' hope for the immediate future.
Sundin, a captain with an impeccable sense of occasion, dished out the in-your-face hockey that has sparked the club in its late-season push for a playoff spot and his two goals included the hard-earned winner in a 4-3 victory over Edmonton.
John Pohl and captain Mats Sundin scored two goals apiece tonight to lift the Toronto Maple Leafs to a 4-3 win over the reeling Edmonton Oilers.
Tomas Kaberle had two assists, while Andrew Raycroft stopped 28 shots for the win as the Leafs grabbed sole possession of the eighth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference thanks to losses by the Montreal Canadiens and New York Islanders tonight.
John Pohl and captain Mats Sundin scored two goals apiece Saturday night to lift the Toronto Maple Leafs to a 4-3 win over the reeling Edmonton Oilers.
Tomas Kaberle had two assists, while Andrew Raycroft stopped 28 shots for the win as the Leafs grabbed sole possession of the eighth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference thanks to losses by the Montreal Canadiens and New York Islanders on Saturday night.
Mats Sundin and John Pohl each had a pair of goals, as the Toronto Maple Leafs hung on to beat the Edmonton Oilers, 4-3, at Air Canada Center.
Andrew Raycroft stopped 28 shots for Toronto, which has won two straight following a three-game skid. The Leafs also held a lengthy pregame ceremony honoring the surviving members of their 1966-67 Stanley Cup Championship team.
The Toronto Maple Leafs gained sole possession of the eighth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference after being inspired by a ceremony honoring their last Stanley Cup victory 40 years ago.
Mats Sundin and John Pohl and each scored twice and the Maple Leafs held on for a 4-3 victory over the Edmonton Oilers on Saturday night.
The Toronto Maple Leafs gained sole possession of the eighth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference after being inspired by a ceremony honoring their last Stanley Cup victory 40 years ago.
Mats Sundin and John Pohl and each scored twice and the Maple Leafs held on for a 4-3 victory over the Edmonton Oilers on Saturday night.
Sundin scored his seventh goal in the last 10 games for the Maple Leafs, who moved two points ahead of Montreal and the New York Islanders -- who both lost.
The Mutual Street Arena, above, in downtown Toronto, the site of the first Toronto Maple Leafs hockey game 80 years ago last night. Above right, the final resting place of Eddie Livingstone in Mount Pleasant Cemetery. It was his unpopularity with the owners of the old NHA that resulted in today's NHL, and, indirectly, a Toronto Maple Leafs hockey team. Right, George "Paddy" Patterson during his stint with the NHL's New York Americans (1929-34). As a member of the first Leafs team, Patterson scored its first-ever goal in a 4-1 win over the Americans, Feb. 17, 1927.
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The 40th anniversary celebration of the Toronto Maple Leafs' last Stanley Cup winning team made a sellout crowd - and former Leafs captain Dave Keon - very happy.
"I was very appreciative of the people - they've always been very good to me," said Keon, who received a minute-long standing ovation when he was introduced at Air Canada Centre. "I was very happy I was able to be a part of it.
John Pohl was born 13 years after Toronto's last Stanley Cup triumph but still got a kick out of meeting the '67 Maple Leafs before Saturday night's game.
"It was really cool, they came to see us before the game in the dressing room," Pohl said. "It was really nice to meet the guys. And it was a nice ceremony. I think it did give us a boost."
Pohl and captain Mats Sundin scored two goals apiece to lift the Leafs to a 4-3 win over the reeling Edmonton Oilers, the present-day edition of the hockey club giving the 19,599 fans at Air Canada Centre reason to dream at least of a playoff berth with yet another strong effort.
Darcy Tucker, Kyle Wellwood and Mike Peca might all be fit to return to the Toronto Maple Leafs' lineup by the end of the regular season.
Should the Leafs' bid to land a playoff berth succeed -- they were tied for the eighth and final spot yesterday -- activating the three valuable forwards would be a huge boost.
Are the Maple Leafs and Darcy Tucker closing in on a new multi-year deal?
While the respective parties were tight-lipped yesterday, the situation appears optimistic after the two sides exchanged offers earlier this week. Subsequent talks were believed to be amicable.
Tucker, who is making $1.596 million US this season, is looking for an extension, one that likely would double his salary, at worst.
The Toronto Maple Leafs have their foot in the door, and the Edmonton Oilers are charging up the front steps.
There promises to be an entertaining collision Saturday night in a game both desperately need to win to enhance their chances of qualifying for an NHL playoff berth.
The Maple Leafs were unlikely Stanley Cup winners in 1967, but would you believe them capable of one or two more parades down Bay St. before the sun set on the sixties?
Many Toronto players believe their '67 title could've been the catalyst for at least one more championship, had the team remained together.
Matt Stajan has a special reason for wearing 14 on the back of his Toronto Maple Leafs sweater. It has nothing to do with Dave Keon.
If the Leafs decided to honor Keon by retiring 14, however, Stajan says he'd readily give it up.
Keon and most of his teammates from the 1966-67 lineup that was the last to win the Stanley Cup for Toronto are to be introduced before Saturday's Leafs Edmonton Oilers game.
Andrew Raycroft will make his 20th consecutive start in goal tonight and there is little indication that he will soon get a rest. The Leafs don't play on back-to-back nights until late in the month. Jean-Sebastien Aubin remains the forgotten backup.
The Toronto Maple Leafs have their foot in the door, and the Edmonton Oilers are charging up the front steps.
There promises to be an entertaining collision Saturday night in a game both desperately need to win to enhance their chances of qualifying for an NHL playoff berth. The Leafs had a share of the eighth and final qualifying spot in the East when they practised Friday.
Okay, Maple Leaf fans, take a deep breath and consider the following: When your team last won the Stanley Cup, lo these nearly 40 years ago, It Wasn't That Big a Deal.
Take it from someone who lived here then and bled Maple Leaf blue – an affliction that, for numerous reasons, didn't endure past adolescence or morph into blind rooting for modern corporate profit margins.
Fact is, the Leafs' last title means a whole lot more today than it did then. Those 1967 Leafs, the ones feted regularly these days, are mythical figures now. They looked for off-season jobs then.
No one wants to scratch the Maple Leafs' 40-year Stanley Cup itch more than captain Mats Sundin.
Constantly reminded that the franchise has not hoisted the coveted silver mug since 1967, Sundin has handled the pressure with the type of class his coach admires.
The Edmonton Oilers need to figure out a way to score on the road if they hope to climb back into a playoff spot.
The Oilers look to jump start their offense Saturday when they visit a Toronto Maple Leafs squad also battling for a place in the postseason.
Edmonton (28-25-5) lost 2-1 in overtime at Buffalo on Thursday in the second game of a season-long seven-game road trip. The defending Western Conference champions, who opened the trip with a 3-0 loss at Boston on Tuesday, are in ninth place in the West, six points behind Minnesota for the eighth and final playoff spot in the conference.
Today, it is a source of derision as much as pride. The Maple Leafs haven't won a Stanley Cup since 1967?
If the prairies knew a drought like this, there would be no farms left in the country.
Fourteen different organizations have been crowned during those 40 dry years in Toronto, including such alien hockey destinations as Carolina and Tampa Bay.
The Peter Forsberg-less Philadelphia Flyers proved no match for the Toronto Maple Leafs on Thursday night.Right before the puck was dropped, Forsberg was shipped to the Nashville Predators for right-winger Scottie Upshall, defenceman Ryan Parent, and two draft picks. This is just a preview... click here for the entire article
When Dave Keon reflects on the Leafs' 1966-67 Stanley Cup-winning season, he plays it as straight as the blade he once used to guide the Leafs to their last ascent to hockey's highest honour.
In spite of the 40 years that have passed, the memories are still fresh, to be rekindled once again Saturday night in a reunion of the '67 team at the Air Canada Centre.
That season may have been one of the greatest in Keon's legendary career, one which started with a 1-1-4 skid and culminated with defeats of first-place Chicago and Toe Blake's mighty Montreal Canadiens in the playoffs.
George (Punch) Imlach applied the "Old Fellows" label to his Toronto Maple Leafs when he coached them to the Stanley Cup in 1967. Imlach passed away many years ago, as did goaltender Terry Sawchuk and defenceman Tim Horton, but most of the others are getting together for two special events.
Despite a strong rumour among the reuniting 1967 Maple Leafs, the current management doesn't plan to surprise Dave Keon by retiring his No. 14 tomorrow night at the Air Canada Centre.
The Maple Leafs had little trouble taking advantage of a shell-shocked opponent last night.
The Philadelphia Flyers learned minutes before the game their captain, Peter Forsberg, had been traded to the Nashville Predators, then put up no fight until the game was out of reach, falling 4-2 to the Leafs before a half-empty Wachovia Center.
