FanHouse Toronto Maple Leafs

NEW YORK -- After his team's latest loss, a 7-2 embarrassment Monday night to the New York Rangers, Maple Leafs head coach Ron Wilson answered three softballs from state-owned Leafs TV and then responded to a question about the opponent by lavishing praise on his counterpart, John Tortorella. After all, when your team is out-everythinged and you've been as out-coached as Wilson was Monday, what else could he do?

But the true reveal on Wilson's character came as the rough, tough and massive Toronto print media corps got ready to pepper the coach with questions. (Actually, present were only one writer each from the Star and the Sun). Before the first could get his query out, Wilson -- who has as many Stanley Cup rings as anyone in the press room -- said, "That's it. I'm done."

That's it -- the behind-the-bench leadership of the 0-4-1 Maple Leafs.

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Each Friday throughout the season, I'll provide you with my predictions on whose stock is on the rise and whose is failing miserably like an American bank. It's a neat little segment entitled Buys and Sells. There are a few teams/players/issues to buy and a few to sell.

I hope everyone out there had a great holiday, whichever one you choose to celebrate. If it was Christmas, I hope you don't have too bad of an egg nog hangover this morning! Today in Buys and Sells we're going to take a look at which NHL teams are contending and which are pretending. We're nearing the midpoint of the season and the end of the year, so I think it's a great time to take a look at the first half surprises and decide who will be sticking around come playoff time and who will be heading home early. As you've probably surmised from the picture to the right, Jon Toews and the Hawks are the first topic of discussion today... Right after the jump. As always disagreements and your own picks are welcome in the comments.

The rivalry between the Toronto Maple Leafs and Montreal Canadiens is one that is as old as the NHL itself. There's no doubt that the two teams aren't fond of each other and command a lot of attention in the East and throughout Canada. Those facts lead me to wonder -- it is too hard to believe that these teams are now battling for attention, even if it's negative? This conspiracy theorist doesn't think so. Not only are these two teams uber competitive, they might just be crazy enough to do such a thing.

Last week we were met with all kinds of ridiculous stories about the now infamous John Ferguson Jr. scandal. First, he wants to fire his coach but isn't allowed to ... No wait, he is going to get fired! ... Now they're regretting ever birthing hiring him ... Surely, he's got to be canned now!

It was all very confusing, but hopefully you're following me. Long story short, that week was the same week that the Maple Leafs tanked it, going 0-3-1 during a four game stretch from November 20th through the 27th. Many in Toronto proclaimed that the sky over Toronto was, indeed falling. All the while, the JFJ saga continued to unfold towards the end of that streak. Between the two, there was enough of a media frenzy to last for weeks.

Leave it to Montreal to want in on a piece of the action. After all, you can't let the Leafs get all the attention.

The Toronto Maple Leafs winning the Stanley Cup? It's the FANTASY of millions of rabid Leafs fans all over Canada.

Since the Leafs haven't won the cup since 1967, and probably won't win it in the next decade, leave it up to comedian/Leafs fan Mike Myers, of Austin Powers fame, to solve the problem Hollywood style!

Yes, the Leafs will be winning the cup in a movie called The Love Guru ...

"The Love Guru is a Canadian kid who was left in India, raised in an ashram, becomes a guru and has to help a star player of the Toronto Maple Leafs who's gone off the rails, get it together to win the Stanley Cup," said Myers.

Whether he's really being serious is anyone's guess – maybe that's just wishful thinking on his part being a life-long Leafs fan. But, he does have plans for the Cup if he gets it.

"They're so protective of the Cup, they probably won't let me come near it, but I'd take it to Lake Ontario and swim with it."

Only in the movies, folks, only in the movies ...

No matter how good or bad the movie really is, you'd have to think box office sales will be quite high in Toronto.

Now, won't somebody write a TV miniseries about the Canucks scoring on the Power Play?

For a realistic plan for what the Leafs should do, check out Zanstorm's post over at "Waiting for Stanley" (Something which Canucks and Leafs fans will be doing forever)

Via Hoops Addict, The Toronto's Star's rundown of athlete playlists. Morris Peterson and T.J. Ford are the Raptors involved, and theirs are pretty eh, with the exception of Peterson's lone Oasis track and Ford's fondness for Otis Redding and Lionel Richie. I'd say the most you could conclude from these is that Peterson liked that Chris Martin/Jay-Z collabo, and that Ford is either wise beyond his years or has a healthy respect for tradition.

The Star got some "music experts" to weigh in on the players' taste, with some unintentionally hilarious results. They're especially smitten with the playlist of Maple Leaf Boyd Devereux, which boasts indie rockers like Explosions in the Sky, Dead Meadow, and the Mountain Goats.

Here's deejay Dave "Bookie" Bookman on Devereux's taste:

His list is getting passed around the indie rock world faster than a lost Replacements track.

It's no surprise this 1996 OHL Scholastic Player Of The Year digs the finest in rustic literate Canrock (Constantines, Cuff The Duke) along side North America's answer to Mogwai the "can't talk thinkin" Explosions In The Sky.

I wonder if this is some sort of clever, outside-the-box marketing ploy to lure hipsters to hockey. Seriously though, I'm kind of bummed that me beloved, style-laden NBA can't manage any better. I know they play corny music in the arenas, but who would've thought it was all hand-picked by the players?