Toronto Maple Leafs forward William Nylander may be returning to action after missing the first three games of the first-round series against the Boston Bruins. Nylander practiced Friday but his status remains to be determined before Saturday’s Game 4. “Looked great to me on the ice. In terms of his status, we’ll have to determine that tomorrow,” Maple Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe said of Nylander via TSN’s Mark Masters. Nylander was made publicly available for the first time since his injury-related absences but declined to expand on his injury. “Look, that’s just personal, so I’m not going ..read more

The hockey world lost an absolute legend on Thursday. Bob Cole was an icon. He was the very best at what he did. Carter Hutton filled in for Jay Rosehill on the Friday edition of Leafs Morning Take. We kicked off the show by discussing the broadcasting legend’s passing and his impact on the game. He was one of a kind. There’s no doubt about that. Sportsnet had a fantastic tribute to the all-time great on Thursday night. Presented by Greta Bar YYZ, we led off by tackling some of the latest injury news. At this point, there’s hope William Nylander, who continues to skate daily, could be good to ..read more

The Toronto Maple Leafs lost Game 3 for a variety of reasons with the most impactful one having to do with their power play. The Leafs went 0-for-5 during the 4-2 loss to the Bruins and continue to struggle with the man advantage. Finding a sense of urgency and speeding things up might help. These power-play demons have been following the team around for quite some time, so the finger of blame can’t be pointed at not having William Nylander in the lineup. Yes, Nylander certainly helps a number of dynamics of their power play, including bringing the puck into the zone or being a threat in the o ..read more

As the game heat up on the ice between the Toronto Maple Leafs and Boston Bruins, so are things off the ice. And on Thursday’s day-off between games, head coaches and players from both clubs have taken a few jabs at each other. It started with Bruins bench boss Jim Montgomery, who commented about Max Domi’s bump on Jeremy Swayman during a TV timeout in Game 2. As Swayman skated towards the Bruins bench, both players’ shoulders collided, sending Swayman to the ice, sometime Domi brushed off say both players were “just skating.” Montgomery, meanwhile, felt there was more to it. “When Domi goes o ..read more

Bob Cole, the legendary Hockey Night in Canada announcer, died at 90 Wednesday night, surrounded by his family. Cole, to many is the defining voice of hockey. It’s hard to imagine growing up as a Toronto Maple Leafs fan, or as a hockey fan generally, without hearing Cole’s booming intonation searing into your memories. Cole was Hockey Night in Canada’s lead announcer from 1980-2008, often paired on Maple Leafs broadcasts and he brought a genuine level of enthusiasm, excitement and a sense for the occasion that hasn’t been replicated on Canadian airwaves since. He essentially became the voice o ..read more

Special teams and goaltending —that was the story of Game 3. Brad Marchand notched two goals and an assist as the Bruins grabbed 2-1 series lead with a 4-2 victory at Scotiabank Arena. We kicked off the Thursday edition of Leafs Morning Take by discussing the quiet crowd. Firstly, good on legendary Leafs broadcaster Joe Bowen for calling like it was. It’s disappointing, and quite frankly, it’s just not good enough. You could hear a pin drop in that arena in the second and third period. It’s the playoffs, let’s get active! Presented by Greta Bar YYZ, we dove into all the major discussion points ..read more

There have been few stories stranger from the first round of the playoffs beyond William Nylander’s absence from the Toronto Maple Leafs lineup. Seemingly healthy for Game 82 of the regular season on April 17th last Wednesday, he woke up the next morning ailing, and unable to suit up for any of the first three games of the playoffs. And while the Maple Leafs have surely missed his presence in the lineup, and the organization has remained surprisingly tight-lipped, we finally have answers as to what has gone wrong for the winger. Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reported Thursday morning that Nyla ..read more

Another night without William Nylander. Is that going to be the excuse this year for the Leafs? Will it be that Mitch Marner was rushed back from a high ankle sprain? Or is it just a one-game deficit and it’s still premature to write off the Leafs given that they hung with the Bruins for most of the game? Here’s a look at the Game 3 +’s and -‘s that hint at whether optimism is still allowed. +plus Marner picking up a point is a plus. The season could not have ended any worse for Mitch and the first two games of the playoffs were a continuation of Marner not showing up in the playoffs. I’m not ..read more

It was important for the Maple Leafs to leave Boston with a series split after dropping game one 5-1. With that win in their back pocket, they headed home to Toronto with Games 3 and 4 on the schedule with a chance to take advantage of home ice last night. First period: Getting the series split in Boston even before Game 1 was the most realistic worst-case scenario for the Maple Leafs because sweeping them seemed way too unrealistic, and Toronto couldn’t go 0-2 on the road. Luckily, after dropping game one 5-1, Toronto bounced back in a big way, taking game two by a score of 3-2 before heading ..read more

Scotiabank Arena has a reputation of having the same vibes as a library throughout Toronto Maple Leafs’ regular season home games and during Game 3 against the Boston Bruins, at times, you could hear a pin drop. It appears the fact the Stanley Cup Playoffs have started hasn’t ignited the energy of the attending fan base. How bad was it? So bad, that legendary play-by-play announcer Joe Bowen decided to call the fans out on social media after the game. The idea of going To any sporting event To support the home team is to Be PRO ACTIVE!!! Give the team energy when they need it Not sitting down ..read more