Latest blog entries from Toronto teams across every league
The 2026 NBA Playoffs schedule for April 23rd features a trio of interesting matchups. Three games are on tap, as follows: 4:00 PM— New York Knicks at Atlanta Hawks (series tied 1-1) 5:00 PM—Cleveland Cavaliers at Toronto Raptors (Cleveland leads 2-0) 6:30 PM—Denver Nuggets at Minnesota Timberwolves (series tied 1-1) All times are Pacific. All […]
“In a best-of-three, we know we can’t afford a bad start, especially against a team that transitions like they do and gets after it. Any mistake that you make, they will be quick to transition. We did a really good job of managing that, establishing some forechecking time, and making them defend. That started right […] The post Artur Akhtyamov notches first career playoff shutout, Toronto Marlies dominate Rochester in Game 1 appeared first on Maple Leafs Hotstove .
We have made it back from Japan. It was a wonderful holiday. Thanks to Tom M for doing a great job of running things while I was gone. The last few days we saw a fair bit of sports. We went to a: Wearing Blue Jays caps got me into a lot of conversations. Everywhere […]
The New Jersey Devils made what looked like a premature move near the end of the regular season when they fired president of hockey operations and general manager Tom Fitzgerald with five games to play. Now, we're getting a little more insight into that peculiar move from insider Elliotte Friedman. Appearing on NHL Network's Morning Skate , he explains that the Devils felt compelled to move quickly in order to get their man, Sunny Mehta. And it was essentially the Toronto Maple Lea...
In sudden-death overtime, you’re only a shot away from winning the game, but only if you actually take it. In overtime on Tuesday night, the Montreal Canadiens did not record a single shot on goal. Even in their Game 6 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs in 2021, when they were outshot 13-1 before Jesperi Kotkaniemi’s game-winner, they had more shots than they did in the 12:48 of extra hockey in Game 2 of their series against the Tampa Bay Lightning. There is no denying that Kirby Dach ...
Nick Robertson is apparently ready to move on from the Toronto Maple Leafs. The former second-round pick was all over the Leafs lineup this season, as head coach Craig Berube loved harping on Robertson, but didn't necessarily provide him with a consistent role on a specific line. Instead, Robertson was up and down the lineup, and wound up ending the year appearing in 78 games and scoring 16 goals, and 16 assists. Despite the lack of definitive role, Robertson played a career high in minutes at...
The Cleveland Cavaliers have been in complete control of their first-round series against the Toronto Raptors so far. They’ve cruised to stress-free wins in the first two games of this series, but anything can happen when the series shifts to a different venue. “The series hasn’t even started yet until you go on the road,” […]
INDEPENDENCE — The Cleveland Cavaliers have taken a comfortable 2-0 lead in their first-round series against the Toronto Raptors despite not getting consistent help outside of their star players. Max Strus’s 24 points in Game 1 account for nearly half of the team’s bench points through the first two games of the series. In Game […]
Blue Jays 3 at Angels 7 You didn’t really think they were going to get a sweep, right? The Jays were in tough against Jose Soriano, off to the kind of start that only a handful of pitchers have in the last century. And it was easy to see why he’s yet to allow more […]
The Vancouver Canucks and Toronto Maple Leafs are both knee deep in their searches for a new general manager (and/or president of hockey operations in the Leafs' case). But Vancouver is eyeing a Toronto front office name as a candidate for their own job opening. Insider Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet explains: According to several sources, the Canucks asked Toronto for permission to speak to special advisor to the GM, Shane Doan. What potential role the Canucks see for Doan is unclear. H...
It sounds like the Maple Leafs will announce a new leader at the top of their chain of command sooner rather than later. As we’ve worked through the job and the challenges involved — in particular, off the ice — it’s clear that this is a job that will go much deeper than simply finding […] The post Maple Leafs Front Office Candidates, Part 1: Scott White, Evan Gold, Mike Gillis & Dean Lombardi appeared first on Maple Leafs Hotstove .
Game three of three with the Angels. When I went to watch games in Anaheim, I really enjoyed the stadium. It was the first ballpark I’d been to that basically had a shopping mall in it. I remember looking in the Oakley store at over priced sunglasses and one of the sales person said I […]
Welcome to the second edition of the revamped Rivalry Roundup! The Yankees were able to address one of their main rivals head-on last night, blanking the Red Sox behind a sterling effort from Luis Gil and a power display from Giancarlo Stanton. Even if it’s April 22nd, there’s never a bad time to see the […]
It can be difficult to choose a “player of the game” in a team sport when each player is so important to the success of the team. But sometimes a player will go above and beyond and earn some special recognition. After Saturday’s game, Evan chose Frederik Andersen for that shout out, and deservedly so. […]
When the Minnesota Wild parted ways with longtime right-shot defenseman Matt Dumba, it was clear that Brock Faber was the heir apparent. The thought of Faber filling Dumba's skates was more of a changing of the guard than believing Faber would one-for-one replace Dumba. At his peak, Dumba was a goal...
Patrick Corbin turned in a second pretty good start in a row today, giving the offence time to overcome a slow start. Jeff Hoffman continues to be disturbingly combustible, but the rest of the bullpen did good work. Louis Varland picked up his first MLB save, and you have to wonder whether he’ll start to […]
Game two of three in Anaheim. And it is another late one for you guys out east (tho I guess I’m further east than any of you). Though, if everything goes to plan, I should be flying home today. I say if all goes to plan, because we’ve had a couple times when our flight […]
The White Sox snapped their series drought over the weekend, taking two of three from the Athletics for their first series win since early April against the Blue Jays. They now head out to the desert to take on the Arizona Diamondbacks for a three-game set. In some good news, the South Siders are shockingly […]
It's been a long hard slog of nearly must-win games.
In the latest MLHS Podcast, Nick Ashbourne and Anthony Petrielli discuss the field of candidates in the Maple Leafs’ executive search, the arguments for/against Mike Gillis as the next President of Hockey Ops, the names bandied about in the GM conversation, and Mats Sundin and Gary Roberts interviewing for potential front-office roles. Episode Topics Latest […] The post Feeling out the field of candidates in the Maple Leafs’ executive search – MLHS Podcast Ep. 118 appeared first on Maple Lea...
After the final practice ahead of the series opener against Rochester, Toronto Marlies head coach John Gruden discussed the team’s playoff preparation, the decision in goal, and the impact of Easton Cowan, Jacob Quillan, Noah Chadwick, Alex Nylander, and Bo Groulx. What did you think of the energy in practice ahead of the playoffs? Gruden: […] The post John Gruden, ahead of the Marlies’ playoffs, on the growth in Easton Cowan: “You can see he has matured… He’s definitely a confident young ma...
The Red Sox salvaged a series split with the Detroit Tigers thanks to extra-inning heroics on Friday and a magical second half of the Patriots’ Day game. Sitting at 9-13, the Red Sox are in fourth place in the AL East, tied with the Toronto Blue Jays. Now the first place (sigh) Yankees come to […]
The Toronto Maple Leafs cast a wide net in their search for a new general manager following the firing of Brad Treliving, and now the field is narrowing fast. NHL insider Frank Seravalli reported Monday that the Maple Leafs are advancing to the finalist stage of their interview process this week. "No guarantee on timeline," Seravalli posted, "but it wouldn't be a surprise to see a new GM in place by the end of the week." That is a faster timeline than most expected. When the search began...
After a disappointing 2025-26 Maple Leafs season, Matthew Knies discussed his name popping up in trade rumours, the reasons for the team’s failure, and his desire to remain in Toronto. Where and why did you think the season went off the rails? Knies: To begin with, I don’t think we put ourselves in a good […] The post Matthew Knies reflects on the Leafs’ failures defensively in 2025-26: “I wasn’t expecting to have the plus-minus I did” appeared first on Maple Leafs Hotstove .
“What I like most about [the performance] is the way we played in the second and third periods. I think that should be our standard. You can see a different pace coming out after that first period, and we got the results to show for it. At the end of the day, you can’t control […] The post Jacob Quillan scores game-winner, Toronto Marlies finish regular season with weekend sweep of Laval appeared first on Maple Leafs Hotstove .