On its own, the Josh Leivo signing by the Maple Leafs last week was hardly earth-shattering news or something likely to be a pivotal transaction this season. “He’s from the Toronto area, he wants to make it here and be part of what they’re doing,” said Pulver. Remember, the Leafs are heavily influenced by people who were once in the New Jersey (Lamoriello) or Detroit organization (Mike Babcock, Jim Hiller). The old myth that players from the Toronto area didn’t want to play for the Leafs has been proven to be just that, a myth. Leivo was one example of all these elements of the Leafs’ grand strategy.

Source: thestar November 20, 2017 23:48 UTC