All World Hockey by T. Michael Travers

                                     Maple Leaf Gardens opened November 12, 1931 with a game between the Leafs and Blackhawks, a  2-1 Leaf loss. Surprisingly, according to a report in the Toronto Star, opening night was not a sell-out. Fans stayed away thinking it would be too crowded and they wouldn't get a seat. Maple Leaf Gardens closed on February 13, 1999, with another Leaf loss, also to the Blackhawks. The Gardens was a part of my life for more than 50 years. The building created great memories for me as a kid. It was the place to go for the circus and wrestling and Sunday afternoon Junior hockey double-headers featuring NHL future stars.  And, it was the home base for my team, the Toronto Maple Leafs.   Can you smell the roasted chestnuts? When I was fortunate enough to go to a game as a kid, my experience actually started outside on the street ... the smell of the vendors roasting chestnuts, scalpers shouting above the crowd, fans jostling for position to get through the do

Ya, The Glory Years ... The Leafs just had their 2nd most successful points year in team history. Very entertaining. But, t his year's players don't seem to understand that playoffs are different. Playoffs are war.  QUESTION: Would it be possible to copy the model that management for the Seattle and Vegas team uses going forward for my Maple Leafs? Those expansion teams don't have 4 superstars but they seem to be successful. Very, very successful.  The two "new" expansion NHL clubs remind me of the Herb Brooks coached 1980 USA Olympic team which defeated the star-filled Russian team. The Yanks were like a high school team playing a pro team. But, they won. Do the folks in Seattle and Vegas know about the Herb Brooks   Miracle on Ice magic? The post-playoff interviews with the Leaf coach and "Core Four" was nonsense. Exactly the same as the comments from the other teams, like the Rangers ... "I'm disappointed... I was sure we'd go dee