The Toronto Maple Leaf Hockey Club

The Toronto Maple Leaf Hockey Club
Author: Kevin Shea
Publisher: McClelland & Stewart
Total Pages: 386
Release: 2016-10-18
Genre: Sports & Recreation
ISBN: 0771079311

Published in partnership with the Toronto Maple Leafs and officially licensed by the NHL, this is the one and only official Toronto Maple Leafs Centennial publication! The Toronto Maple Leafs are one of the most storied franchises in all of sport and without question -- the most recognized team in all of hockey. Through this journey of a hundred years of Maple Leaf hockey, fans will read of ups and downs, triumphs and tears, laughter and laments. This publication tells the Leafs' complete history and introduces fans to coaches, as well as such legends as: Apps and Armstrong, Kennedy and Keon, Broda and Bower, Salming and Sundin, but also players who wore the Blue and White and left far more modest legacies. It takes fans to Toronto's first game, the construction of Maple Leaf Gardens and subsequent move to the Air Canada Centre. It celebrates Toronto's Stanley Cups and Hall of Fame players and demonstrates that through each exciting season, the Toronto Maple Leafs have forever remained our team and enjoyed the incredibly loyal support of a nation of fans. Published in complete partnership with the Toronto Maple Leafs and scheduled to release as the Leafs enter their 100th season, this official centennial publication includes contributions from many of the biggest names in Leaf history. Author Kevin Shea gained unprecedented access to players -- past and present -- as well as team executives to offer this book the most compelling, informed, and accurate portrayal of Toronto's historic hockey team and their important place in both the world of hockey and the culture of Canada. Combined with incredible archival photographs and a truly incredible design, this is the definitive and must have book for fans of the Blue and White.

Centre Ice

Centre Ice
Author: Thomas Stafford Smythe
Publisher: Bolton, Ont. : Fenn Publishing Company
Total Pages: 211
Release: 2000
Genre:
ISBN: 9781551682501

If Ever A Name Were Synonymous With Hockey, It Would Be Smythe. The Hockey Hall of Fame inductee Conn Smythe, reigned as Leafs owner and president, which lasted numerous decades and Stanley Cups. The intent of Smythe's resignation and transfer of ownership in the early 60's was to see his grandson Tommy Smythe assume his destined role in Leaf history as owner. Tommy Smythe never inherited the Smythe dynasty. Even so, his fortunate years growing up, and associated with the organization awarded him a fascinating life, witnessing and participating in an inconceivable number of significant hockey events. He befriended many of the most famous and influential people from the NHL's past and present and candidly conveys these experiences and more, throughout this thoroughly heartfelt and pragmatic story. From his early years at the age of six as Leaf stick-boy, through the exciting seasons watching his family's Leafs dominate the NHL, to his eleven years managing the Memorial Cup winning Toronto Marlboros, the one constant in Tom's life has been hockey. As a child, he passionately learned the game from his grandfather Conn, then as an adult, applying his knowledge, spent years scouting for the Leafs, while continuing his association with the Marlboros. Tom has endured it all, his firing from the Leafs organization to his courageous battle with cancer. Now for the first time the Smythe story is being told. A moving, shocking and powerful look at one of Canada's most prominent hockey families.

The Toronto Maple Leafs

The Toronto Maple Leafs
Author: Eric Zweig
Publisher: Dundurn
Total Pages: 457
Release: 2017-10-28
Genre: Sports & Recreation
ISBN: 1459736206

A complete oral history of Canada’s most iconic team, compiled from interviews with some of the biggest names in hockey, then and now. Eric Zweig takes readers through the storied history of the Leafs through the eyes of their players, coaches, managers, and fans.

Hope and Heartbreak in Toronto

Hope and Heartbreak in Toronto
Author: Peter Robinson
Publisher: Dundurn
Total Pages: 290
Release: 2012-09-22
Genre: Sports & Recreation
ISBN: 1459706854

For many, being a Toronto Maple Leafs fan has become a curse from cradle to grave. False hope, hollow promises, and a mind-numbing lack of success - these words describe the Toronto Maple Leafs and the hockey club’s inexplicable mediocrity over much of the past decade. Author Peter Robinson has attended some 100 games over the past six seasons and has little to show for it except an unquenched thirst that keeps him coming back. Why does a team that hasn’t won a Stanley Cup since 1967, long before many of its followers were even born, have such a hold on its fans? Robinson tries to answer that question and more while detailing what it’s like to love one of the most unlovable teams in all of professional sports. Being a Leafs fan requires a leap of faith every year, girding against inevitable disappointment. This book tells what that’s like, how it got to be that way, and what the future holds for all who worship the Blue and White.

A Great Game

A Great Game
Author: Stephen Harper
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Total Pages: 368
Release: 2013-11-05
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 1476716536

Traces the early history of professional hockey in Canada.

Young Leafs

Young Leafs
Author: Gare Joyce
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Total Pages: 240
Release: 2017-10-31
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 1501169874

An in-depth and behind-the-scenes look at how Auston Matthews and a gang of talented young hockey players are breaking from Toronto’s troubled sporting past and rekindling the city’s love for its team. Auston Matthews made history on October 12, 2016 by becoming the first player in the modern game to score four goals in his NHL debut. It was a momentous occasion for the talented young All-Star, but it was equally important for his newly adopted city and its storied, century-old team. That night marked the dawn of a new era for the Toronto Maple Leafs. The team had a long and colourful history, and it had always been foundational to the city’s image. But years of losing seasons had tarnished the team’s reputation and left even the most diehard fans questioning their loyalty. It seemed that each passing year brought more of the same: more mediocrity, more heartbreak, more disappointment. But the team’s management had a plan, one that would take them where others feared to go: a total rebuild. Piece by piece, they were assembling a group of young, talented players who would reshape the team. With the arrival of Auston Matthews, the team’s first overall draft pick in over twenty years, it seemed that the Leafs were ready to break with their past. Young Leafs follows the team through that remarkable season, tracing the divergent journeys of the players leading up to their unlikely campaign. Matthews—the prodigy with the unorthodox path to the NHL. Marner—the baby-faced talent with immense skill and an infectious energy. Nylander—the son of a former hockey professional, now looking to make his own mark. Reilly—the youngster with the mind of a general. Kadri—the maturing leader once billed as the team’s saviour. As the ups and downs of the season unfold, the team tries to overcome the ghosts of its past and write a new future, one that is far from certain. Can a group of precocious kids bond together and become winners? Will they be able to carry the hopes of a city? Most important, will Toronto finally have a reason to believe again?

Bleeding Blue

Bleeding Blue
Author: Wendel Clark
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Total Pages: 224
Release: 2017-10-03
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 1501136038

Funny, fierce, and gritty, Bleeding Blue recounts every struggle and success of Wendel Clark’s rough-and-tumble journey to becoming one of hockey’s greatest heroes. As a young boy growing up in Kelvington, Saskatchewan, Wendel Clark never dreamed of an NHL career. The pro league just seemed too far away from the young man’s small-town life in the Prairies. But Wendel had a talent for hockey that was surpassed only by his love for the sport, and it wasn’t long before he embarked on a path that would take him away from his hometown to a new life. Wendel honed his talents in cities across western Canada and earned a reputation as a force to be reckoned with on the ice. Drafted by the Toronto Maple Leafs first overall in the 1985 NHL Entry Draft, Wendel burst onto the pro scene and immediately made an impact, all the while staying true to his roots. As he learned from the players around him, Wendel steadily matured into a respected leader. He soon assumed the mantle as the Leafs captain, and his willingness to lay it all on the line transformed him into a player who could inspire courage in his teammates and fear in his opponents in equal measure. The future seemed limitless for the young star. But just as Wendel’s talents were set to peak, everything unraveled. Years of no-holds-barred, physical play were taking their toll, and soon his greatest competitor wasn’t anyone on the ice, but his own body. Every movement brought agony, every shift was a challenge, and every game meant the decision to keep fighting. But as Wendel’s body broke down, his resolve only grew. Determined to succeed no matter what the cost, Wendel set out on a course that would allow him to keep doing what he loved and that would turn him into one of the most beloved hockey players of all time. Emotional and uplifting, Bleeding Blue is the story of a man who refused to say no, who wore his heart on his sleeve, and who would do anything to keep going, even when everything told him to quit.

We Are Your Leafs

We Are Your Leafs
Author: Michael Ulmer
Publisher: McClelland & Stewart
Total Pages: 506
Release: 2014-11-04
Genre: Sports & Recreation
ISBN: 0771089066

The Toronto Maple Leafs official book of the greatest players and coaches from yesterday and today! We Are Your Leafs is the first book in an eight-book partnership between Fenn/Random House and the Toronto Maple Leafs as part of the team's forthcoming centennial celebration plans. It is the absolute must-have for Leaf fans far and wide! The Toronto Maple Leafs have 61 players and fifteen builders inducted in the Hockey Hall of Fame, more than any other NHL franchise. Their list of team captains from the past century of hockey reads like an All-Star roster and the names of each net-minder who have stood between the Leafs' pipes include some of the game's most brilliant goalies. In hockey, there is no other club as recognized and as widely admired as the Leafs. They are baseball's New York Yankees and the NFL's Dallas Cowboys -- a team that defines the sport, is an iconic ingredient in the culture and traditions of its city, and enjoys fan support well beyond their own market. As the Toronto Maple Leafs approach their centennial season, historians, hockey analysts, and fans alike will examine this club's contribution to the game and the athletes who have given the fans so much to cheer for. In We Are Your Leafs, veteran sports writer Mike Ulmer, in partnership with the Toronto Maple Leafs, selects and profiles more than 80 of the greatest Leafs of all time. This unique and fully illustrated official publication recognizes the team's greatest captains, goalies, defencemen, enforcers, coaches, and more. The profiles -- of legends like Johnny Bower, snipers like Phil Kessel, and recent fan favorites such as Doug Gilmour -- are accompanied by entertaining stories, quotes, stats, and a wealth of Leafs memorabilia and photographs.

The Story of the Toronto Maple Leafs

The Story of the Toronto Maple Leafs
Author: Bill McAuliffe
Publisher: The Creative Company
Total Pages: 52
Release: 2008-07
Genre: Juvenile Nonfiction
ISBN: 9781583416211

Presents the history, players, and accomplishments of the Toronto Maple Leafs.