hockey+leafs

Past Expiry Cartoon: [CARTOON] Hockey Playoffs

Kimberly Kirkof was first in line and waited for more than 19 hours in the Air Canada Centre galleria for free tickets to watch the woeful Toronto Maple Leafs in two months.

Seems there's a whole bunch of teams in the NHL after all. And Leaf fans will get to see a slew of new ones - to them, at least - this coming season.

The apparently inevitable departure of Bryan McCabe from Toronto may have taken another step toward fruition yesterday.

If Jeff Finger needed any more convincing that the Maple Leafs really did throw a whopping four-year, $14-million contract at him, it was reaffirmed during a light-hearted game of shinny yesterday.

Among the Maple Leafs at Lakeshore Lions Arena yesterday for an informal on-ice workout was Jason Blake, who dearly wants to forget about a difficult 2007-08 season.

It's been six months since Toronto Maple Leafs GM Cliff Fletcher had to helplessly watch the NHL's trade deadline pass by without being able to shake up his lineup.

Should the rumours finally come to fruition, the Maple Leafs will acquire the Florida Panthers' defenceman in a long-awaited exchange for Bryan McCabe and a draft pick.

With 10 players vying for six jobs with the Toronto Maple Leafs, the competition should be lively after Fletcher set his eye on a younger, bigger, tougher puck-moving blue line.

McCabe, for all his faults, is a more accomplished player than Mike Van Ryn, and the fact the Leafs had to pay McCabe's bonus to get the Florida Panthers to do this deal is an insult.

The long-time Toronto Maple Leafs captain wanted to make it clear that he's not trying to decide on where he wants to play in 2008-09, but whether he wants to play.

Joseph seems perfectly comfortable playing second fiddle to Vesa Toskala, and the Keswick native is happy to be a Leaf again.

Until he retires, or signs elsewhere, either of which could happen later this month, Mats Sundin remains the face of the franchise.

The Vancouver Canucks have been chasing the rights to Mats Sundin for months, yet the Toronto captain remains undecided. Here are eight reasons why he won't be coming to Vancouver.

Yesterday Mats Sundin looked for all the world like someone who has retired more than he did an elite-level athlete getting ready for another season.

Coach Ron Wilson repeatedly was asked about Sundin yesterday, all during the same media scrum. And his message was definitely mixed.

The former Maple Leafs captain yesterday urged outsiders to stop speculating on Sundin's future and leave the big Swede alone.

Sundin is 37, coming off one of his finest seasons in the league. Never before this year had he even remotely suggested being tired of the grind.

The two lingering questions for the Maple Leafs – the future of Mats Sundin and the potential acquisition of Anaheim executive Brian Burke – remain unresolved.

The Tampa Bay Lightning are believed to be the latest club interested in obtaining free agent Mats Sundin – if he decides to play again.

Images of three of the most popular Toronto captains will be gracing bottles of wine, all in the name of charity through the NHL Alumni Association.

Sources say Senators coach Murray has told Sundin's representatives the club would find a way to make it work if he's interested.

"It was cool," said the veteran defenceman, acquired last week from the Florida Panthers for Bryan McCabe and a draft pick.

Cliff Fletcher is not only managing a hockey team, he's managing the expectations of Maple Leafs fans. And the bar, it is clear, has been set low for the upcoming NHL season.

The lockout, three losing seasons and the city's changing demographic are contributing to the erosion of the Maple Leafs fan base.

Fletcher says, in essence, that the Leafs are lacking in the talent that might make them competitive this season.

The Great One thinks Cliff Fletcher is doing a great job for the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Toskala heads into his second full Maple Leafs camp on Friday regarded as the closest thing to a sure thing that the club has in its Sundin-less arsenal.

When Wayne Gretzky speaks, people listen. Unfortunately, when the message is patience, in Toronto his words might just fall on deaf ears.

Former Maple Leafs tough guy Tie Domi surprised a few people by showing up at the team's informal workouts at Lakeshore Lions Arena last week.