Julian Sanchez

Two years ago, on this date, the Leafs were 7 points out of the playoffs and sitting in 11th place. They are in exactly the same place as they are this year. Except that two years ago was an Olympic year so they had 20 games to make up that

This was a game so nice I had to watch it twice. Actually, I fell asleep the first time and woke up to a ringing phone and one Leaf fan full of belief. Watching it the second time definitely made it a lot easier on the old ticker than it

The deciding games are finally upon the Leafs. The Muppet feels a zen-like calm come over him as the charade of playoff contention is 60 (or 65 or 65 + a shootout) minutes away from being exposed as a newspaper driven fraud. Then we can see the Leafs actually following The

So today is the day when my team can either fold up like a cheap tent or they can take one more step towards eternal glory. No, I am not talking about the Leafs. The most successful club in English football (take note Alec) travels to the San Siro in

If you come here often you'll notice I have the habit (maybe a bad one?) of repeatedly saying that this or that sums up the Leafs' season. The truth is that in such a terrible season anything bad that happens allows you to put a pretty little

So much about this season has been a flashback to the two previous. From the unrealized expectations to the inconsistent play to the inevitably futile and heartbreaking push for the playoffs. Tonight the Leafs get a flashback to Tuesday night as they host the Devils again. The official preview highlights

Wow. In the words of John Tortorella, that was a shit-kicking. It sure helped that the Leafs picked up 3 goals via the extremely lucky break play. What would have helped more, in the larger context, would have been to see those breaks come during some of the overtime games

Tonight's game features everyone's favourite opponent: the Boston Bruins. Aside from being the one team in Boston that has no chance of winning a championship the Bruins are also a constant thorn in the Leafs' side. Last year they played each other three times from

When JFJ was originally fired I thought that keeping Paul Maurice was an ok idea. None of his assistants are deserving of a head coaching spot and there was no one to replace him with but where was the harm in keeping him around until the new GM could hire

The New Jersey Devils want to make hockey so boring that lifelong fans and players will want to quit watching the game. There, I said it. Don't tell me about how the Devils scored the second most goals in the NHL in 2000 (I think) because I am

In one of those cute scheduling quirks the Leafs get to play host to the Devils twice in one week. Tonight is the first installment and I'll try to get some pictures since I'll be in attendance. I am not taking my bad luck charm buddy

Sometimes the morning highlights are better when the Leafs are not on them. Sure, when they win I like watching them on as many different channels as many times as possible much to the chagrin of my roommate. When the Leafs lose I tend to avoid the talking heads for

This is a rare afternoon edition in which I remind you that if you come across anything Maple Leaf-related that you want to share or if you write anything you can e-mail it to me and I'll put it into the morning edition. That's right, I

For one magical period on Saturday it looked like the Leafs were going to get run out of the building by the Capitals. The Leafs were second best to most pucks and seemed a stride behind the opposition. Then a funny thing happened (at least, opposing fans are laughing) and

It was an interesting roller coaster of emotions that I went through tonight. I would imagine that most fans went through a version of this: Hockey game or dinner? I'm going out for dinner and winter storm be damned. Hmmm I should get back to the game...I

So the official preview tells us that the Lightning have lost 5 straight games and are basically the Leafs' play thing. The buds have a great record in Florida (can't be bothered to find it but it's ridiculously good) and we can probably chalk that

Did I just make a word up to describe this post? Maybe but it sounds real doesn't it. Or is it real? Who knows and who cares. Today is a freebie day. You can do whatever you want since it's not a real day. Historically the

Not only did the Leafs score in the last minute to tie the game when their net was empty but they also won in the shootout. Can someone please tell these idiots to stop playing so well? Five wins in their last six games have catapaulted them out of the

Day 1 of the post Frozen Five Era begins the inevitably heartbreaking, ultimately fruitless, and great draft pick ruining playoff run begins tonight. To refresh everyone's memory, after two tight wins against the Panthers this season and while coming off of a big win at home over the

So it's the morning after the big day that wasn't quite so big. It is not the end of the world that no big deals were swung. I am ok with step one in the rebuilding process. Step two is the rest of the season in

The dust has settled on a hectic final hour on deadline day. Hilariously, Marian Hossa did not end up in either Ottawa or Montreal but with the Penguins. It's a sad day when two such devoted fanbases are not rewarded by a legitimate push for the Cup as

[11:20am] So the Leafs' ball gets rolling as the Wade Belak Era has ended. He has been moved to the Florida Panthers for a 5th round pick in this summer's draft. Belak was a great guy but was only marginally better than Woz as a defender

First off, thank you so much for the e-mails and kind words. It really meant a lot. It was a tough weekend but also a nice celebration of a life well-lived. Anyway, normal service will resume this morning. After the news that Mats isn't going anywhere the mittenstringers

Some of you guys noticed that there was no game day preview yesterday. Unfortunately, yesterday my uncle lost his fight with cancer. He was able to beat it 8 years ago and we're all grateful for the extra time that we received with him. I'll be

GO LEAFS GO! So, the Leafs once again win a game that at the start of the year should have been expected. Of course, last night it certainly wasn't wanted but that's the way the cookie crumbles. I actually fell asleep after the first and woke