Every once in a while, a hockey story comes along that is really about something bigger than hockey. Max Pacioretty’s retirement might be one of those stories.
There’s something different about the way new general manager John Chayka is putting his Toronto Maple Leafs team together. It’s easy enough to look at the names coming in and judge them individually.
The TLN Maple Leafs prospect rankings were compiled by a panel of six TLN writers, each ranking our top 20 prospects to form a consensus group ranking.
National Hockey League free agency can be a restless time as players look to secure contracts that will set them up for the foreseeable future. In Jack Roslovic’s case, he became a free agent for the third straight year on July 1 before signing a two-year, $8-million contract with the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Former prospect Semyon Der-Arguchintsev is reportedly still keen on returning to the Toronto Maple Leafs, according to his agent Shumi Babaev. Der-Arguchintsev recently had his KHL rights traded by Dynamo Moscow to the Admiral Vladivostok for Pavel Shen, but that has not dispelled his desire to make his way back to North America.
The NHL has had an interesting new millennium. It was a league sans a salary cap when the 2000s started… and then the owners locked the players out for an entire season.
The Toronto Maple Leafs announced earlier on Monday that they have hired veteran sports performance executive Andy O’Brien as the Vice President of Sport Performance.
Some hockey people leave their mark in one way. They become great players. Others become great broadcasters. A few become respected teachers of the game.
What I enjoy most about August is that it gives us a chance to stop reacting to every headline and start looking at the bigger picture. The games haven’t started yet, which means hockey writers can step back and ask what all these moves actually mean.
One of the easiest mistakes we make when judging NHL teams is looking only at what we can count. Goals. Points. Individual statistics. Those numbers matter, of course.
Sometimes hockey gives us a moment that is very special. A rookie scores four goals in his first NHL game. Fans celebrate. The hockey world takes notice.
The Toronto Maple Leafs have had a very busy offseason of changes within the organization, both on and off the ice, and on Monday that continued with another new hire.
People will talk about the “Mount Rushmore” for a franchise, which is to say the four people, usually four players, that most define the franchise. Not always the four-best players, but the four that evoke the essence of the franchise.
The Toronto Maple Leafs announced Monday they hired Andy O’Brien as vice-president of the team’s sports performance department. According to a press release
When the Toronto Maple Leafs signed Darren Raddysh, the reaction was basically exactly what you’d expect. Some fans saw the breakout numbers—22 goals, 70 points—and got excited right away.
Russian forward Semyon Der-Arguchintsev appears to still be in discussions over a potential return to the Toronto Maple Leafs this season. The 25-year-old
John Chayka continues to overhaul the Toronto Maple Leafs front office. According to multiple reports, the Leafs general manager is bringing in long-time trainer of Sidney Crosby and Nathan MacKinnon, Andy O’Brien to lead the team’s Sport Performance department.
John Chayka, general manager of the Toronto Maple Leafs, continues to add to his front office staff. Last week, the team announced the hiring of Dan Palango, Brad Rossen, and JP Perpich.
One of the things I have always found interesting about hockey is that we remember the stars. We remember the goal scorers, the captains, the players who lift trophies.
Toronto Maple Leafs general manager John Chayka did an excellent job during his first free agency window with the team, with role certainty and delineation at the forefront.
When the Toronto Maple Leafs moved on from Hayley Wickenheiser this summer, it seemed like a front-office decision on the surface. New GM John Chayka was reshaping the organization, several people were moving on, and the Leafs were clearly heading in a different direction.
Every time Auston Matthews gets hurt or looks “off,” the Toronto Maple Leafs instantly ask one big question: what’s wrong with him physically? It’s a fair question to ask.
Every September, NHL training camps bring out the hopeful stories. A veteran player signs a professional tryout contract, shows up at camp, and tries to convince a team there is still something left in the tank.
When John Chayka spoke publicly about Auston Matthews this summer, the quote that made headlines was: “What I saw was a happy captain.” Chayka’s job was not only to get Matthews to believe in what the Leafs were doing, but convince the fan base that their superstar and captain didn’t have one foot out the door.
The Toronto Maple Leafs have reshaped much of their NHL roster over the past year, but some of the most interesting stories heading into training camp may not be about the veterans.
The Toronto Maple Leafs roster looks set for the start of the 2026–27 season, but there is still time to look at alternatives who could potentially improve the current group, assuming more moves are on the horizon.
When the puck drops for another NHL season this fall, it will be three seasons since Toronto Maple Leafs captain Auston Matthews had the league’s attention captivated by his quest to reach the 70-goal mark, a plateau the league has not seen surpassed since Teemu Selanne and Alexander Mogilny each reached 76 goals in the 1992-93 season.