Report from Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman via Twitter:
"Hearing MLSE president/CEO Tim Leiweke will be leaving the company soon."
Prime Time Sports host Bob McCown speculated about the departure of Leiweke back in early spring, saying that his family were not fans of the colder-than-usual winter.
Leiweke about to move back to LA to run the Clippers? Whisper won't go away. Wife moved back to So. Cal. already. #wehatewinter
— Bob McCown (@FadooBobcat) August 19, 2014Friedman indicates that Leiweke is denying the report.
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The Toronto Maple Leafs have a rich history that includes numerous All-Stars, Stanley Cup winners and Hall-of-Fame players. There have been 852 players who have donned the Blue and White since their entry into the NHL in 1917, with dozens wearing the same jersey number over the years.
In this completely non-scientific exercise, we’ll take a look at who wore which number and vote on who was the best. Some decisions will be so apparent that voting will not be necessary, as in the case of #93(unless there is a sizeable faction that believes that Alexander Godynyuk had a better Leaf career than Doug Gilmour).
Honorable Mentions
Errol Thompson – A talented offensive winger, Thompson scored over 20 goals three times for the mid-1970’s Leafs, including a 43 goal campaign in 1976 playing with Darryl Sittler and Lanny McDonald. A broken arm during the 76-77 season gave young Dave “Tiger… Williams his spot on the top line and the more-defensive system of Roger Neilson led to Thompson being traded to Detroit in 1978 for winger Dan Maloney.
Mark Osborne – Obtained from the Rangers in 1987, Osborne averaged over 20 goals in his three full seasons with the Leafs playing mostly with young center Eddie Olczyk and winger Gary Leeman. Traded to Winnipeg in 1990 along with Olczyk for Dave Ellett, Osborne was re-acquired by Toronto in March 1992 and was effective in a checking role with Peter Zezel and Bill Berg on the Leafs clubs that advanced to the Western Conference Final in 1993 and 1994.
Finalists
Ron Stewart(1952 – 1965)
Toronto Totals – GP - 838, G – 186, A – 182, Pts – 368, PIM - 413
Stanley Cup Championships – 3 (1962-64)
Stewart had an over 20-year career in the NHL, with the first 13 seasons as a member of the Maple Leafs. Although not a prolific scorer, Stewart scored in double figures in all but one season with Toronto and was on the club that won three straight Cups from 1962-64 before being traded to Boston in 1965.
Gordie Drillon (1936 – 1942)
Toronto Totals – GP – 262, G – 127, A – 117, Pts – 244, PIM – 42
First-Team NHL All-Star – 1938, 1939
Lady Byng Trophy - 1938
Stanley Cup Championships – 1 (1942)
Hockey Hall of Fame – Inducted 1975
Known for his scoring ability around the net, Drillon scored 20 or more goals in four of his six seasons with the Leafs, winning the NHL scoring title in 1938 with 52 points(the last Leaf to do so). His inability to play a two-way game led to his benching in the 1942 Stanley Cup Final against Detroit after Toronto had fallen behind 3-0 in the series. The Leafs proceeded to win the next four games to become the only team win the Stanley Cup after falling behind 3-0.
Drillon was traded to Montreal in 1942 and played his final season for the Habs before joining the Canadian Armed Forces during World War II.
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2014 Leafs first rounder William Nylander is not only at the top of most experts lists rating Toronto’s top prospects, but is ranked near the top of ESPN’s Top 100 NHL Prospects list.
The 18-year-old winger, who signed a three-year entry-level deal with the Leafs on Monday, is listed as the #4 prospect by ESPN’s Corey Pronman behind only Lightning 2013 first rounder Jonathan Drouin, ’14 first overall selection Aaron Ekblad and Flames top pick Sam Bennett and ahead of Sabres second overall pick Sam Reinhart and Edmonton’s Leon Draisaitl.
“(Nylander)’s skill level is incredible; he's the kind of player to whom you give the puck and let him do all the work.… Pronman said. “Nylander's ability to gain the zone, make defenders miss and create chances is high-end. He's not the biggest, meanest or best player defensively, but when it comes to offense, he's right up at the top.…
The Leafs remain open minded to where the talented and speedy forward will play this season and intend to keep a close eye on his progress.
"We'll watch the process now that he's gone through development camp," Leafs Director of Player Development Jim Hughes said in July during the club’s rookie orientation. "Then we'll watch the rookie tournament, then we'll watch the NHL camp and then we'll have a better idea of where he belongs for this coming year. It could be a variety of options, and obviously one would be the National Hockey League. A second could be the American Hockey League, or maybe he stays in Sweden and plays in the elite league for another year."
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