Toronto Maple Leafs

When Schenn signed with the Vancouver Canucks as a free agent that year, he saw the move as possibly his last stop in the NHL. Schenn was 32. He had already played for seven different NHL organizations at that point. Vancouver was close to Schenn’s hometown of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, and it was a city he and his wife saw themselves staying in for good.

“I always joke, every time I think I have my future figured out and start making plans, that’s typically when things go sideways on me,” Schenn told The Athletic on Saturday.

Maple Leafs fans know what happened next: in the second year of his two-year deal, Schenn was dealt to Toronto at the 2023 trade deadline. The hulking defenceman made a homecoming of sorts to the organization that had chosen him with the fifth pick in the 2008 NHL Draft. Schenn would go on to have a strong playoff run with the Leafs in 2023. His durability and leadership helped guide Toronto to its first playoff series win since 2004.

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In the dead of winter in Grand Forks, N.D., Troy Stecher wouldn’t stop barking at teammates.

The University of North Dakota Fighting Hawks believed they were the top college hockey team in February 2016. But the University of Denver had just served them their first back-to-back losses of the season. The team cancelled a Valentine’s Day party as a result. During their first practice following the losses, Stecher heard teammates moaning about how they should be sleeping off fun from the party instead.

And so the defenseman got to work: he finished checks with force. He slammed his stick in puck battles with authority. And he shouted at teammates to do the same, even if that meant hurting their feelings.

What mattered to Stecher was winning a national championship.

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This didn’t look the least bit likely only three weeks ago.

It was then, on Dec. 22, that the Toronto Maple Leafs arrived home from Dallas, where they had dropped their third game in a row, and fired Marc Savard.

“It’s not lost on us where the team’s at,” GM Brad Treliving said that week.

Since then, it’s been only good times. The Leafs have picked up points in nine straight games, winning seven times (7-0-2), including a 5-0 trouncing of the lowly Vancouver Canucks over the weekend.

Is this team for real, though? We’re about to find out, as the schedule is set to get very difficult.

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The odds were most definitely stacked against the Toronto Maple Leafs Monday night.

They were playing the best team in the league, for one thing, a Colorado Avalanche squad which hadn’t lost a game in regulation at home all season or a home game, period, since Oct. 23, winning an unthinkable 17 straight.

The Leafs, after a Saturday night home game, also crossed time zones with almost no time to adjust, a hurdle made all the more challenging by the 8 p.m. local start time and the altitude in the Mile High City, which can make for exhausting conditions even without the frenetic speed of their opponent.

None of it mattered.

The Leafs overcame it all and scored by far their biggest victory of the season, beating the Avalanche 4-3 in overtime. They became only the third team all season to win in Denver, joining Dallas and Carolina, both of which scored their victories in October.

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Happy New Year!

Haven't done one in a while, why not tonight? How many goalies will get hurt tonight?

Slowly getting over the Jays loss, back to hockey now.

Early start tonight - Go Jays!

2 empty netters, game was quite close.

The Toronto Maple Leafs and goaltender Anthony Stolarz have reached a four-year, $15 million contract extension, reports TSN Hockey Insider Chris Johnston.

The deal carries a $3.75 million average annual value.

Looks like they don't think Hildeby is ready for the backup role yet.

Summer break is over boys...

A good deal think, especially with the cap expected to rise over the next few years. 6 years 46.5 M (AAV 7.75M).

Bittersweet. Built a really good team that just couldn't get there.

No idea what's going to happen but I'm hoping the are some big changes.

Let's trade for Crosby. 😂

GAME SEVEN! Same lineup. Knies is IN. Get stoked.

Everyone better be doing all their weird little rituals today.

Go Leafs Go!

For the sixth time in the eight seasons, the Maple Leafs will play a Game 7. And this time, they’re hoping for a different result to keep their season alive and possibly change the narrative around this core once and for all.

The Leafs have a 0-5 record in Game 7s since 2018, with three losses against the Boston Bruins and one loss each against the Montreal Canadiens and Tampa Bay Lightning. They also lost a deciding Game 5 to Columbus in 2020.
. . .
Will history be the great teacher here? Or will Game 7 start a new, yet-to-be-written chapter for the Maple Leafs? source

Projected Lineup:

Knies — Matthews — Marner
Holmberg — Tavares — Nylander
McMann — Domi — Pacioretty
Lorentz — Laughton — Järnkrok

McCabe — Tanev
Rielly — Carlo
Benoit — Ekman-Larsson

Woll
Murray