The Toronto Maple Leafs will take on the Carolina Hurricanes tonight in what can only be called the battle of two struggling clubs. Toronto and Carolina enter tonight’s tilt with identical 4-4-2 records in their past ten games, with Toronto dropping four of their past six games, while Carolina has lost three of their past five games. For Toronto, a win against the Hurricanes would go a long way in solidifying their playoff hopes. The Buds started their current three game road trip by dropping a 5-3 decision to the Florida Panthers on Wednesday night, putting the Leafs dangerously close to dipping below the playoff threshold in the standings. As it stands right now, the Maple Leafs sit in sixth place in the Eastern Conference  just one point ahead of the Winnipeg Jets (who they will play on Saturday night

The Toronto Maple Leafs stunned the hockey world Saturday night as, with seven regulars out of the lineup, the Blue and White throttled the Washington Capitals by a score of 7-1. The win improved the Buds overall record to 11-7-2 on the season, giving them sole possession of fifth spot in the Eastern Conference standings. Oft-injured Tim Connolly scored his second of the season at 01:39 of the first period, giving the Maple Leafs the quick lead many suspected the team would need to compete with the offensively gifted Caps. Washington responded less than a minute later when Brooks Laich registered his third of the year at 02:30 of the first. The Maple Leafs would go ahead for good when rookie forward Matt Frattin notched his first goal of the season at 19:16 of the first. Frattin has been one

January 2nd, 1992—Toronto Maple Leafs general manager Cliff Fletcher pulls off what many fans of the Toronto Maple Leafs refer to as the best trade in Maple Leaf history, acquiring Doug Gilmour, Jamie Macoun, Ric Natress, Kent Manderville and Rick Walmsley in return for Gary Leeman, Alexander Godnyuk, Jeff Reese, Michel Petit and Craig Berube. Gilmour quickly made his mark with the Maple Leafs, winning the Selke Trophy and finishing runner up for the Hart Trophy after the 1992-93 season which saw the feisty forward put together the greatest season in Toronto Maple Leaf history, scoring 32 goals and racking up 95 assists for a total of 127 points. In the end, this trade was all about Gilmour, nothing more, nothing less. Jamie Macoun proved to be a serviceable defenseman for the Maple Leafs, while Leeman, Godnyuk, Reese, Petit and

The Toronto Maple Leafs are in dire need of a centre. Potential unrestricted free agent Brad Richards would be a perfect fit. Only trouble is, according to Steve Simmons of the Toronto Sun, signing Richards is unlikely. To support his claim, Simmons refers to “an old Tampa source” that says Richards has “no real interest in Toronto.” Now, don’t get me wrong, Richards never said he didn’t want to come to Toronto, he apparently just shook his head was asked about Toronto as a possibility. Word on the street has always suggested that Richards would like to remain a member of the Dallas Stars, but isn’t this almost always what Pending UFA’s say anyways? Simmons’ article goes on to suggest that Richards top choices would be Dallas, Tampa Bay, the New York Rangers and perhaps even the Carolina Hurricanes. Of

Heading into Thursday nights action the Toronto Maple Leafs sit in eleventh place in the Eastern Conference, a mere six points out of the eighth and final playoff spot. With a record of 25-27-6 the Maple Leafs don’t really look like a playoff team, but as the rise of the New Jersey Devils (8-1-1 in their past ten) and close to unbeatable for the better part of a month now, anything can happen. The question is, with three teams to pass, can the Maple Leafs get hot enough to capture the final playoff spot in the East? The obvious answer is, probably not, but as the saying goes, “stranger things have happened.” Last season the eighth seed in the Eastern Conference earned a total of 88 points (both the Philadelphia Flyers and Montreal Canadiens hit the 88 point mark), the

With millions of fans watching in anticipation, the NHL launched it’s first ever NHL All-Star draft in Carolina last night. For many NHL fans, there were really three or four story lines. Which player would be selected first? Would the Sedin twins be forced to play against each other? Where would their favorite player land? And, of course, which player would be selected last. With Sidney Crosby out of the All-Star festivities many expected Alex Ovechkin to be selected first—which didn’t happen (congrats Steven Stamkos!). To the surprise of many, Carolina Hurricane captain Eric Staal (who would captain one of the All-Star teams) showed a ton of loyalty when he selected Hurricane teammate Cam Ward as the first overall selection. The Sedin twins would end up on separate teams, which sets up what may very well be the first time