Maple Leafs Rumors & News

Sportsnet "With the Montreal Canadiens and the franchise’s travelling reporters rolling into town Monday, we are reminded that the team most desperately in need of signing John Tavares this summer wasn’t even granted a seat at the table. The new Toronto Maple Leafs centreman was..." September 24

Yardbarker "Maple Leafs winger William Nylander is one of just three remaining restricted free agents and it doesn’t appear as if a deal is particularly close. In an appearance on TSN 1050 (audio link), TSN’s Darren Dreger suggested that there haven’t been many talks as of late between..." September 24

Sportsnet "Igor Ozhiganov is not yet at a point where he can speak comfortably in English with reporters. Ask any Toronto Maple Leaf not named Nikita Zaitsev how much they’ve been able to interact with the six-foot-two mystery man from Krasnogorsk and you’ll get responses like this..." September 24

Sportsnet "Alexander Nylander says his brother William is doing “good” while waiting for a new contract from the Toronto Maple Leafs. The Buffalo Sabres prospect has kept in touch with his older sibling since returning to North America at the start of September but doesn’t know..." September 22

Pension Plan Puppets "The Toronto Maple Leafs announced this evening that they’ve signed centre Semyon Der-Aguchintsev to an entry-level contract. Selected 76th overall in the 2018 draft, SDA immediately captured the imagination of Leafs twitter with his elusive skating and superior playmaking...." September 22

Pro Hockey Talk "When it comes to the court of public opinion the NHL’s Department of Player Safety is always going to be a no-win position. Their job is a brutally difficult, thankless one that by its very nature is going to anger almost everyone watching the NHL. No player receiving a..." September 21

Sportsnet "Travis Dermott has already added injury to insult this pre-season, but neither should set off alarms just yet. The Toronto Maple Leafs defenceman left Wednesday’s pre-season victory in Ottawa for precautionary reasons after injuring his shoulder while trying to..." September 21

Pension Plan Puppets "Training camp opened, and there was no William Nylander. Training camp continued to the on-ice portions and scrimmage games, but still no William Nylander. And now with the regular season a little over two weeks away from starting, you have to wonder whether we’ll even see Nylander..." September 20

Sportsnet "One by one, eventually, they all cave. It’s their only option. So they swallow a small lump of pride, funnel any residual frustration through the blades of their sticks and skates, and force their employer to fork over a monster raise two or three years down the..." September 19

Sportsnet "The Toronto Maple Leafs hit the ice Tuesday night in Lucan, Ont., for a Kraft Hockeyville pre-season game against the Ottawa Senators. Restricted free agent forward William Nylander still needs a new contract, so he wasn’t dressed for the contest, but Maple..." September 19

Toronto Sun "John Tavares still gets the butterflies. That feeling of anticipation won’t subside during the day on Tuesday in hours leading up to his pre-season debut for the Maple Leafs. Certainly not at the Lucan Community Memorial Centre, which will be jammed with fans on..." September 18

Sportsnet "You won’t find a projection of the Toronto Maple Leafs blue line anywhere that doesn’t include the name Travis Dermott written in permanent ink. Unless, perhaps, you manage to catch a glimpse of Mike Babcock’s working list. He’s still using pencil when it comes..." September 17

NHL.com "Auston Matthews is back to full speed for training camp after an injury-plagued 2017-18 season, Toronto Maple Leafs coach Mike Babcock said. "He's skating at another level," Babcock told the Maple Leafs website Sunday after they concluded three days of camp at Niagara..." September 17

NHL.com "Auston Matthews was 33 days old when Patrick Marleau scored his first NHL goal on Oct. 19, 1997. More than two decades later, Matthews can only shake his head when reminded of that. Saturday, after all, was Marleau's 39th birthday. The Toronto Maple Leafs forward has been in the..." September 16

Sportsnet "Earlier this offseason, Toronto Maple Leafs superstar Auston Matthews put it out there that he wanted to record more assists than goals this upcoming season. It doesn’t seem very unreasonable on the surface, but might be difficult when you consider that he was on pace for 45 goals last..." September 16

The Score "John Tavares acknowledges that he deserves blame for the New York Islanders' shortcomings during his tenure, and wishes the team had accomplished more, but he's at peace with his contributions. The Toronto Maple Leafs forward expressed as much when asked if he was surprised by..." September 16

Sportsnet "Jake Gardiner calls them a "tough couple weeks." That’s because the pain of the Game 7 loss in Boston didn’t dissipate immediately after the Toronto Maple Leafs defenceman bared his soul in front of the cameras on April 25. Even as teammates rallied around him..." September 15

Toronto Star "Leafs GM Kyle Dubas shed a bit of light on the stalemated contract talks with restricted free agent William Nylander in a Saturday morning question-and-answer sessions with students from his alma mater, Brock University. One student asked point blank when he was going to sign..." September 15

NHL.com "John Tavares had butterflies churning in his gut as he lined up against Auston Matthews and waited for the puck to drop for the first scrimmage of Toronto Maple Leafs training camp Friday. "A lot of excitement, a lot of jitters," the veteran forward said. "New team, new..." September 15

The Score "Patrick Marleau, John Tavares, and Morgan Rielly will all wear a letter for the Toronto Maple Leafs this season, head coach Mike Babcock told TSN's Darren Dreger. This, of course, would leave out Auston Matthews. Two of the Maple Leafs' alternate captains from a year..." September 13

Sportsnet "With the addition of free-agent centre John Tavares, the Toronto Maple Leafs now boast one of the deepest forward groups in the league. But defensive zone concerns remain. In 2017-18, the Leafs allowed the fifth-most shot attempts in the league at five-on-five...." September 12

Toronto Sun "A year ago this time, no one was talking about the Washington Capitals winning the Stanley Cup. They were, apparently, a team in decline. They had missed their opportunity. They had lost some quality players. Then they managed the improbable: In Alexander Ovechkin’s 13th season,..." September 11

Sportsnet "The bookies in Las Vegas, Sidney Crosby, Patrick Kane, and that fanatic holding down the seat end of your local Toronto sports bar are all in agreement. This is the season the Toronto Maple Leafs win the Stanley Cup. The National Hockey League landscape shifted on Canada Day..." September 10

The Score "Toronto Maple Leafs forward John Tavares expects full attendance when training camp opens this week. Although restricted free-agent winger William Nylander is without a contract for the coming season, Tavares is confident the 22-year-old will be at camp, which opens on..." September 10

Toronto Star "Was Mother Nature paying attention to all the John Tavares - Auston Matthews - Maple Leaf captaincy stuff over the weekend that she decided to dial down the weather because hockey will soon be back? Yikes did it get cold. But yes, just in..." September 10

Sportsnet "New Toronto Maple Leafs centre John Tavares is in lookahead mode right now. He signed with his hometown team this summer, leaving the organization where he spent his entire nine-year NHL career. And, in addition to adjusting to life in a new city, he’s also a newlywed. But as..." September 08

Toronto Star "It’s no big deal to either Auston Matthews or John Tavares that the Toronto Maple Leafs will not have a captain to start the season. “I don’t think it matters in the sense that it’s not going to change the way either of us go about our business, how..." September 07

The Score "Jacksonville Jaguars All-Pro cornerback Jalen Ramsey made waves in the hockey world recently, claiming in a tell-all interview with ESPN's Mina Kimes that he could probably crack the NHL with six months of training. Cue the outrage. With training..." September 07

The Score "Patrick Kane is hopping on the Toronto Maple Leafs bandwagon. While speaking at the NHL's media day, the Chicago Blackhawks forward was asked which team - other than his own - he thinks will win the Stanley Cup. His answer? The Maple Leafs, according to NHL.com's Mike..." September 06

Pro Hockey Rumors "One of the biggest contracts signed this summer in the NHL was an eight-year $50MM extension handed out to Nashville Predators defenseman and associate captain Ryan Ellis. That contract was filed on August 14th, six weeks after Ellis originally became eligible to add some years on to his..." September 06

Sportsnet "In the middle of recounting his varied excursions in Costa Rica this summer to a group of reporters — the jet skiing, the snorkelling, the jungle adventures and all those howler monkey encounters — Justin Holl stops and stares directly into the soul of a rolling camera from a..." September 05

The Score "The Toronto Maple Leafs will apparently not have a captain to begin the 2018-19 campaign. "Not from the outset, I don't think," Maple Leafs general manager Kyle Dubas told TSN's Bob McKenzie in an interview posted Wednesday. "I want to get into a day..." September 05

Pro Hockey Rumors "While all eyes around the Toronto Maple Leafs right now are on William Nylander and his ongoing contract negotiations, there is also now the possibility of long-term extensions for Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner. Both star forwards have been eligible for an extension..." September 05

Toronto Sun "Eight days until training camp and no deal yet for restricted free agent winger William Nylander. He’s not been on the ice with the Leafs at their summer skate, not that it matters, but it was more than a month ago that Nylander shrugged off the delay, mentioned he’d..." September 05

Yardbarker "With most of the media attention drawn toward the Toronto Maple Leafs’ signing of John Tavares, many people didn’t notice that the team didn’t really address its defensive issues this last offseason. The main reason for that is that general manager Kyle Dubas feels the answers..." September 02

Sportsnet "Maria Subban was the second happiest person in the room when the youngest of her three NHL draftees signed with the hometown Toronto Maple Leafs on Canada Day. “She was probably the most excited — other than me,” the Toronto-born Jordan Subban says. “My mom was..." September 01

Sportsnet "While Timothy Liljegren isn’t projected to have the kind of career that 2018 No. 1 pick Rasmus Dahlin is to have, the Toronto Maple Leafs prospect can definitely say he has one all-important skill over his fellow Swedish defenceman. His gaming..." August 29

Toronto Sun "As Par Lindholm’s career year was ending in the Swedish Hockey League, calls to his agent from NHL teams were just beginning. One team stood out among close to 20 clubs who inquired about the free agent centre. “The Leafs were one of the teams you heard about the..." August 28

Sportsnet "Toronto Maple Leafs star centre Auston Matthews says that while negotiations on a new contract are underway, he’s still unsure if he’ll sign a new contract anytime soon, and he’s cool with that. “I don’t know if I’ll sign a new..." August 27

Yardbarker "While some restricted free agents such as Calgary’s Noah Hanifin and Winnipeg’s Josh Morrissey appear to be getting closer to inking new deals, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman noted in a segment on Sportsnet 960 (audio link) that there is still a considerable gap..." August 25

Sportsnet "Between inking John Tavares, the team’s captaincy situation, plus contract extension talks for William Nylander, Auston Matthew and Mitch Marner, it’s been a busy summer for the Toronto Maple Leafs and its fan base. One Maple Leafs storyline that hasn’t gotten much..." August 23

Pro Hockey Rumors "One of the most legendary women to ever play the game of hockey is still breaking new ground, as today Hayley Wickenheiser was hired as the Assistant Director of Player Development for the Toronto Maple Leafs. Wickenheiser was a guest coach earlier in the summer at the Maple Leafs rookie..." August 23

Yardbarker "Murray Pam of Sporting News Canada is reporting that Toronto Maple Leafs first-round pick Rasmus Sandin will not return to the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds of the OHL next season, and is currently with Rogle of the SHL preparing for the season. The Maple Leafs could still assign Sandin to..." August 22

Toronto Sun "John Tavares brought out the crowds Wednesday in his first appearance at the Maple Leafs practice rink. The $77-million man’s initial scrimmage during the club’s informal pre-training camp skate was joined by another of the ‘big three’ centres, Nazem Kadri,..." August 22

TSN "Toronto Maple Leafs centre Auston Matthews was seemingly pegged for the team’s captaincy through the first two seasons of his career. Now, however, with John Tavares in the fold, the future of the ‘C’ in Toronto is unclear. While Matthews said..." August 21

TSN "The National Hockey League introduced the 3-on-3 overtime rule in the 2015-16 season, which was designed to marginalize the frequency of shootouts resolving games during the regular season. The league struck a bit of unintended gold with the decision. The pace and talent on display..." August 20

Sportsnet "The Toronto Maple Leafs are shopping goaltender Calvin Pickard around the league, according to James Mirtle of The Athletic. The Leafs have a logjam in the crease with Pickard, Curtis McElhinney and Garret Sparks set to battle for the..." August 20

Sportsnet "He may have only skated in 71 NHL games during his playing career, but Kurt Walker left an indelible mark on the hockey world. The former Toronto Maple Leafs tough guy and founder of Dignity After Hockey died Friday night at age 64. Walker’s charity, as well as his former team,..." August 19

Pro Hockey Rumors "The Maple Leafs had the top goaltending tandem at the minor league level in Garret Sparks and Calvin Pickard.  Both players put up strong numbers that should have them on the radar to push for the backup spot against Curtis McElhinney in training camp. However, both of them also..." August 18

Sportsnet "When fellow 2018 restricted free agent Dylan Larkin signed his five-year, $30.5-million contract to remain with the Detroit Red Wings there was a sense that Toronto Maple LeafsRFA William Nylander’s new deal would be soon to follow. According to the..." August 17