The Leafs' Hot Start Put Into Perspective

The NHL season is just about one-eighth of the way through, and the Toronto Maple Leafs have got off to one of the best starts in recent memory. They sit second in the Atlantic division behind Tampa, and are top 10 in the whole NHL. This is a large part due to the exciting offence that has fuelled the Leafs almost every game. Gone are the days where the Leafs relied on a couple guys to score. The Leafs now have three full lines (possibly four if Mitch Marner remains on the fourth line) who can score and strike at any point to cushion leads, create comebacks, and conjure something out of nothing. However, there is one glaring issue that the Leafs need to fix, and that is the defence, particularly in front of the net. Frederik Andersen has played pretty well in his first couple of games. He's nowhere near the level that he was at during the latter stages of last season, but have faith, he'll get there, probably sooner than later. However, his goals against average is quite high, due to one reason. Tip ins, tip ins, and more tip ins, none of which are his fault. This is due to the fact that the Leafs can't seem to move players in front of the net. Sure, adding Roman Polak helps in that department, but the Leafs, as a defensive unit, need to step up and help Andersen out. You can't stop what you can't see, and if this problem isn't fixed, teams will be crashing the net more times than often this year. However, if they fix this problem, the Leafs will undoubtedly take a giant step in the right direction in their quest for success this year. But that's the only real issue this year. The Leafs are 2nd in their division, on top of Montreal (How many times has that been said in the last 5-10 years?). The net problems are issues that can be fixed, and will be fixed. Other than that, players and fans have to be pleased with the quality of the team around them. The Leafs have a good start to the year. Let's see if they keep it up.

Remembering Gord Downie

I know that this is primarily a sport blog, but today was an unfortunate day for many Tragically Hip fans, and quite frankly, the whole country, as Gord Downie passed away at age 53 after battling terminal brain cancer for more than a year. The whole country knew this was coming. When his doctor announced that the cancer wasn't curable, everyone knew he was going to die at some point. But in true Gord fashion, Gord decided he wanted to put on a cross-Canada tour with 18 shows in the span of 2 months last summer. Was it easy? By no means. Downie revealed in the documentary "Long Time Running"(which will be shown on CTV) that when he rehearsed, he couldn't remember the lyrics to the songs. Then there was all of the confusion and concern about whether he'd even make it through the tour. But despite all that, he pulled through, and gave the country the ride of a lifetime. I attended the August 16th show in Hamilton, and to give you an idea on the impact of the tour, nobody sat down, stopped cheering or stopped singing through a two and a half hour concert. To me, that's quite unbelievable. Aside from the whole farewell tour, Downie was a supporter of reconciliation for indigenous peoples, he was involved in environmental work, and he, along with The Hip, was a major influence on the Canadian music industry. But the one thing that Downie should be remembered by is that he wasn't a rockstar with a huge ego like many others in his industry,, nor did he get into any controversies. He was just a humble, normal guy- a true Canadian- that just happened to produce the soundtracks of hockey dressing rooms, summer, and all of Canada with The Hip. He, along with the Hip, were not big names in the U.S(aside from Buffalo), but you know what, that's kind of a good thing, because we can truly claim him as one of ours.

Rest in peace, Gord. The music you play, and your contributions to Canada will live on for generations to come.

"Music brings people together. So my function in anything I do is to help bring people closer in".
-Gord Downie.

The Importance of the Invictus Games

It has been more than a week since the 2017 Invictus Games concluded, and I'd like to elaborate on the importance of the games, aside from the competing. I assume that some people watched the Games, some people didn't, and some people chose to watch the closing ceremony only(Bruce Springsteen was performing, after all). But regardless if you watched it or not, watch the highlights of the games, and look at the athletes. These are not high performance Paralympians, or people that you would recognize at first glance. These are ordinary people who have suited up for their respective countries to keep us safe, and in doing so, have experienced an unimaginable hell through their injuries and possible post-traumatic stress disorder. Yet, here are these people, some with one arm, some with no legs, or some who are paralyzed- all doing athletic events with the capability of any high performance athlete. To see them compete is both amazing to see and inspiring. The importance of the Games is not on the focus of profit. The importance of these Games is to showcase the athletic ability of extremely brave individuals who risked their lives in the line of duty. The importance of the Games is to raise awareness about these individuals, so they may be supported. Finally, the importance of the Games is to thank these individuals. They put themselves in uniform to protect us, and we should be forever grateful. So, do yourselves a favour. If you haven't watched the Invictus Games, please do so. It's the least we can do to appreciate and thank those who served.