Ah…you see what I did didn’t you?  Tricky.  I hate to name my blog the same as Tim Thompson’s video.  The video is in a class by itself.  Watch it and tell me you don’t feel like a trip to the Air Canada Centre to see the Leafs.  

Let’s back up a bit.  November 2015, Leafs-Canucks pre game in the ACC and the lights go out.  All of the sudden you hear the music and this video plays.  The Stanley Cup Banners are hanging from the ceiling and the legends banners across from them.  It’s this melancholy madness.  I can’t figure out whether I’m supposed to get excited for the future or miss the ghosts of the past.  Crap.  When the game starts I almost don’t care it’s my first Leafs game.  I’m conflicted and confused.

Growing up with the greats like Gilmour, Clark, Gill, Ellett, Thomas, Iafrate, Leeman and countless others I watch that video and am struck by the memories.  I remember that Stanley Cup run and how Killer got high sticked.  I stayed up to watch those games on ESPN when they were on the west coast.  What memories. I remember how much it hurt because that team belonged in the Final.  That was a dynamic team.  That was the last team the Leafs have seen in a long time that truly had a real chance.

But now we are looking ahead while we celebrate the past.  The Leafs do something really amazing and have a row of statues outside of the ACC.  Just this past weekend they honored Leaf legends Dave Keon, Tim Horton and Turk Broda by adding their  likeness to those of Leafs greats Mats Sundin, Syl Apps, Ted Kennedy, Darryl Sittler, Johnny Bower and George Armstrong.  His appearance on Legends Row and with the team may signal an end to the feud he’s had with the team over the years.  It also is a reminder to the fans and players that this is the greatness the the Toronto Maple Leafs are built on.  

As you watch the video think of the Leafs you grew up watching.  Your memories.  Think of the Stanley Cup playoffs in 2015 when the streets were filled with fans watching, cheering every save and holding their breath with every save.  These are our Leafs, our Leafs forever.  Toujours my friends.