You can look at literally every player on this Toronto roster and point to at least one moment the Blue Jays almost certainly would've been eliminated without a huge, difference-making hit from them. Hard to think of a team that embodies the team ideal more than this Jays team.

These dogs were spotted taking a group photo in their Halloween costumes. We're impressed by the dog walker's dedication to getting the shot, but that ghost definitely wishes he could actually disappear. 14/10 for all (TT: franklinbarkzoo)

Toronto Blue Jays And Games 7: A Love Story

The Toronto Blue Jays have won a playoff round for the first time in nine years. And they won it convincing fashion. Yankees had no real answer to Toronto's deep, talented group.

Vlad to the bone

Trey Yesavage. Tre, Ye Savage. If you know, you know.

Hear me out: the Toronto Blue Jays

Saw my first urban Toronto wild rabbit since I've been home. This thing eyed me like the start of "Us", kept eye contact the entire time, and didn't move backward or flinch a muscle. My 11-pound Shih Tzu dog looked at it like, "No thanks, friendo" and promptly hauled ass in the other direction.

Pretty special Blue Jays team. Nice to make a lot of people happy.

R.I.P., Robert Redford. All-time great actor, philanthropist and activist. Very hard to pick my favorite film of his, but "Sneakers" was letter-perfect. Redford, Ben Kingsley, Sidney Poitier, River Phoenix, Mary McDonnell and David Strathairn. First-rate picture, first-rate person. He'll be missed.

We interrupt this Bluesky feed to inform you -- the umpire in the Blue Jays/Orioles game is comically inept. Both teams are already incensed with the guy, and it's the second inning. Bring on the robot umps.

If Ron is in your area, you'd be amiss to miss him. Singular artist, stand-up guy, poet's soul. For serious -- go see him.

Leafs acquire winger Dakota Joshua from Vancouver. Going to the Canucks is a fourth-round draft pick.

"Nobody's Fool" was one of Newman's last classics. Can't recommend it highly enough.

What a shame. I interviewed him many years ago. And he was a phenomenal artist, and always one of the best parts of Tarantino's movies. R.I.P.

Finally got to Season Two of Squid Game. What production. Can't recommend it highly enough.

Oy, Stuart Skinner. Gonna be a long summer.

Here's my latest THN.com column, celebrating Father's Day. I'm very lucky to have an amazing dad. I hope the same is true for you. thehockeynews.com/news/latest-...

Amazingness.

I told you we’d be back

Maple Leafs hire Derek Lalonde as an assistant coach. Former Red Wings coach replaces Lane Lambert, who now runs the Seattle Kraken.

I need you all to see the hype video that this person made to sell their 1994 Geo Metro

Brendan Shanahan's time running the Maple Leafs is over. He did many good things in his time in Toronto, but it was time for a change. And there's a very solid foundation for his successor to build on. Shanahan will land on his feet in another market, and the Leafs will try again with someone else.

Sooner or later, there's going to be an HBO prestige-TV drama series, and it's only going to be re-enactments of Leafs Game 7s. And they're going to call it "Game Of Moans"

Well, you can soon call them the "No Encore Four"

I caught hell on THN.com for saying this, but Sergei Bobrovsky has not been good for most of this series. Four out of six games with a sub-.900 save percentage is not cutting it.

Just as we suspected, the Maple Leafs force a Game 7. And Toronto fans get to stitch their hearts back together for another kick at the can.

If a lesser-paid Leafs player than Mitch Marner made that garbage no-look giveaway last night, Craig Berube would've/should've stapled their ass to the bench. If we're talking about accountability in Toronto, when will it ever apply to Marner? He should've been benched for a long period of time.

Matthew Knies. The legend grows.

If one thing is for certian, it's that hockey neworks should always, ALWAYS murder people's minds with the same song in playoff commercials. Like, relentlessly. And also, while we're at it, let's have people bang the glass at all times during games.

Utah Mammoth? I'll get used to that, but the Yeti would've been perfect. Anyhow, the graphic is pretty great. www.nhl.com/utah/news/ut...

Keep seeing the idea of teams offer-sheeting M. Knies. Question to those dreamers -- you know Toronto will match any offer sheet, right? Their top power forward in a generation, and you think they won't match? It is to laugh. Mark my words -- if Knies leaves Toronto, I'll eat the hat of your choice.

Let's face it, folks, Sam Bennett is a dirty player. And not having the stones to speak to media after the game is a terrible look for the Panthers and NHL in general. Bennett should be suspended for 4-to-5 games, and the next time he pulls off garbabge like this, his suspension should be 10 games.

And they did it. The Winnipeg Wunderkinder.

Holy shit, Winnipeg.

Today, the goslings of the Canadian Geese in my neighbourhood hatched. There's six of them, they're cute as can be, and their mom and dad are ready to 100 percent murder anyone who even breathes in their general direction. Like, people are avoiding even making eye contact with them. Hilarious stuff.

When you cover hockey, you're happy for people, not teams. And last night, it was hard not to be happy for Max Pacioretty. A pro's pro who had to sit on the sidelines for a while by no fault of his own, and he gets rewarded for it to become part of Leafs lore. Good things can happen to good people.

That Matthew Knies kid. Gonna be something special.

I've said it before, but I want to repeat it: "Marcel the Shell with Shoes On" is a movie that will fill your heart. Watch it once, and you'll want to watch it again and again, and tell everyone you know about it. There's nothing quite like it. See it as soon as you can.

Song Of The Day: Sturgill Simpson, "Sing Along". One of the greatest guitarists of his era or any era. And this gets a phenomenal video to boot. Modern rock doesn't get better than this. www.youtube.com/watch?time_c...

Amazing. The more I learn about elephants, the more I love them.

Max Domi looking really terrific today.

Just watched the Disney+ documentary "Pets". Can't say enough great things about it. You will cry, and you will laugh. And you'll be very glad you saw it.

Had a nifty little conversation with Scott Laughton at Leafs practice today. Story on THN.com tomorrow, but suffice to say, it's plain to see why he's so beloved on the teams he's played for. You don't cheer for teams in this business, you cheer for people. And Laughton is easy to cheer for.

Oh my god, this is so great. "What About Bob" is my favourite comedy -- at least, it's tied with "Where's Poppa?". Anyhow, this Oral History is incredible.

Very sad to hear the passing of Ray Shero. He always had time to discuss the game and his love of the people who were a part of it. R.I.P., Ray.

Very sorry to hear about the passing of Bruce McCurdy. The Oilers' universe and the hockey world was far better with him in it. R.I.P., Bruce.

Was having a conversation with @journalismjon.bsky.social today, and he's right -- it is very strange seeing the Boston Bruins at the very bottom of the Eastern Conference. The reaper comes for every team at one point or another, but the Bruins were so reliably good, this freefall doesn' seem real.

Animal adventure time: Just got attacked by a Canada Goose -- for the second straight day. Gigantic bugger came straight at me and the dog. I liked to kid about "Cobra Chickens", but now, it's no joke. Anyone have some tips to deal with these s.o.b.s? Feel free to swing by with some bows and arrows.