All World Hockey by T. Michael Travers

  Captain Definition :  "Captain is the only player designated by the team to speak with game officials regarding rule interpretations". That may be the rulebook definition of NHL team captain, but, as fans, we may have a more personal description and "a guy who best represents our team and our city". We all have our favourite captain, past or present. After he retired from the game, I asked  Hab  superstar, Guy Lafleur, why he was never the captain of the team. He said, "I didn't want the pressure that comes with that job, especially in a hockey crazy city like Montreal." The Toronto Maple Leafs' first captain was "Hap" Day in 1927, and the team's most recent appointee is Auston Matthews. In Leafs' history, we've had some outstanding choices as well as some embarrassments. No need to use this space to dwell on the poor choices when I can acknowledge one of the game's finest ambassadors and a team captain beyond compare, D...

In September, before the start of the 2024 - 25 NHL season, the Vegas bookies named the Maple Leafs to be 8th in their selection process for winning the Stanley Cup.  I regrettably had to admit that "Vegas is rarely wrong ... it's how they managed to build all those skyscrapers on The Strip". I'm not a hockey expert and have a lengthy record of not being able to handicap winners, but I'm a die-hard, card-caring member of Leaf Nation, so I crossed my fingers and hoped for the best. If you decide to proceed to read my summary of this year's Leafs, and you have an interest, please include your thoughts and comments at the end.  In my September pre-season essay, I wondered about the choice of the Leafs for their new captain, Auston Matthews. I wondered if his appointment would be too much for him to handle in this market, particularly because he seems to struggle in front of cameras, trying to defend his mates and dissect the details of a just-played game. Last ye...

  Every Canadian Father Wants the Same Thing    to see their son playing in the NHL, and it doesn't matter which team. Prologue: The statement above is accurate for many Canadian fathers. "If only my son would be good enough to play in the NHL." In the 1960s, the Toronto Maple Leafs beat writer for Canada's National Newspaper, The Globe and Mail, was Hockey Hall of Fame writer Scott Young. Young was the premier hockey writer of the day and covered the Leafs as they earned four Stanley Cups in the decade, and produced several novels related to the game. He once wrote a column in the newspaper about how he wished his son would one day become a Leaf. His write-up discussed his disappointment when the lad never became a player. However, the end of the article uncovers the real story about his son, as Scott said, "I walked down Church Street to enter the main doors of Maple Leaf Gardens to see my son perform ... The Gardens marquee announced  TONIGHT 8 PM NEIL YOUNG!...

The Leafs just played their final season game and won in overtime over the Wings. I like 3 on 3, especially when the Leafs win. But the game meant nothing   The real war/playoffs for the Leafs start on Sunday. Las Vegas casinos have previously declared the Leafs as  12 - 1  odds for winning this year's Stanley Cup. As I mentioned in an earlier blog, with my prediction for this year, VEGAS NEVER LOSSES. One thought. Why would the Leafs' tall foreheads play the TOP 5 Marner/Matthews/Tavares/Knives/Willie in a nothing game? Why take the chance that one or more of them who earn more than 50% of the team's goals would play a game that meant nothing and get injured? Actually, as of the end of overtime of tonight's game, we don't know if any of the Top 5 are injured. Does the brass just want to entertain the ticket-buying Leaf Nation fans?  This may be another good reason to get rid of Shanahan. I am a Leaf.  Cut me open, I'm Blue and White. But I watch Ottawa, and how...

         There's no such thing, but what do you think? If there was a  Mount Rushmore of Hockey   built into, let's say, Canada's magnificent Rocky Mountains ... or a site facing the eye-popping Lake Louise, who would you choose as your best players to receive the honour? I presented this theme to readers once before but didn't think to add some rules for consideration ... read on, and  ... Lake Louise Fair warning: to get things rolling, I've made my selections, but it turned into a lengthy essay. You may want to bail out now before investing any more time.  If you are still with me and want to move forward, let's go.  And, if you don't agree with my choices, please let me know what you think in the COMMENTS section at the end. It's understood that every player up for consideration has already delivered huge numbers of goals and assists and earned lots of trophies and attention. So, here are some ground rules for selection to this Mou...