SIMMONS SAYS: Is this finally the year for Maple Leafs and Bills?

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Is this the year?Isn’t that the question every year with the Buffalo Bills and the Toronto Maple Leafs?  Isn’t that the sentiment that never seems to go away?

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The Bills have never won a Super Bowl, even after they played for the championship four years in a row three decades back. The Maple Leafs haven’t won a Stanley Cup or even played for one since the NHL was a six-team league.

The Bills have Josh Allen, likely MVP of the National Football League this season. They haven’t had an MVP since Thurman Thomas in 1991.

The Leafs have Auston Matthews, former MVP and Mitch Marner, playing like an MVP candidate this season. Before that, they hadn’t had an MVP since Ted Kennedy in the 1950s.

The Bills look to have more pieces in place than they have had at any time in this era of hope. The Leafs have better goaltending, better defensive play, probably better management than they’ve had at any time in this recent run.
The teams and the sports couldn’t be more different. The cities couldn’t be more different. But life in Buffalo often mirrors life with the Bills. Life in Toronto, especially at playoff time, revolves around everything that is the Maple Leafs.

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Is this the year for either of these teams?

The Bills play the 12-1 Detroit Lions on Sunday afternoon. This could be a Super Bowl preview.

Maybe Kansas City is better than Buffalo in the AFC. Maybe no one is.

The Leafs are near the top of the NHL. They haven’t been this close to the top in years. By the time the roster is enhanced come March, they may be even closer.

Is this the year? Could be for one. Could be for both.

But in keeping with the annual angst and belief that surrounds these two franchises, it could be for neither.

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THIS AND THAT

What the Maple Leafs need to do over the next four months is find a way to keep Max Pacioretty healthy. He is a perfect complement to play with John Tavares and William Nylander. If you have one line with Matthews, Marner and Matthew Knies, those are two strong lines to begin on offence. If the Leafs pick up a veteran centre — a Yanni Gourde-type or more — to play with Max Domi and Bobby McMann on a third line that would give them a strength and depth they’ve rarely had in earlier years … When I printed my Team Canada roster for the 4 Nations Face-Off before it was chosen, I was 19-for-23 when compared to the roster eventually named by general manager Don Sweeney. That’s 82% correct. That’s better than anything I ever did in school. Where I missed: I had Cam Talbot in goal, Noah Dobson on defence and Alexis Lafreniere and Mark Scheifele up front. They picked Sam Montembeault in goal, Colton Parayko on ‘D,’ and Brandon Hagel and Seth Jarvis up front. Neither of us had Connor Bedard, Zach Hyman or Evan Bouchard on our teams … Bruins captain Brad Marchand was one of the Team Canada pre-selects. I wonder, if he wasn’t picked early, would he have been picked at all? Marchand isn’t having a great season in Boston … Someone should tell Kevyn Adams, wayward GM of the Buffalo Sabres, that the two largest free-agent contracts in professional sports have been signed in the past 12 months, with Shohei Ohtani signing in high-tax rate California and Juan Soto signing in the high-tax rate state of New York. Only in hockey do GMs complain about low-tax states and destination cities. You know how you become a destination city? You win something. When you lose every year, the way the Sabres do, no one wants to play there. Players loved Detroit in the Steve Yzerman/Nick Lidstrom playing era. Why? Because the Red Wings contended for the Stanley Cup every year. That’s why Brett Hull and Luc Robitaille and a whole bunch of other players wound up there. No one wants to go near Detroit these days. The team has no hope of being successful in the short term.

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HEAR AND THERE

The oddest part of the Soto signing with the Mets: After he lost the World Series in five games with the Yankees, he never spoke to any of his New York teammates again, including Aaron Judge … The Blue Jays seem obsessed with the Daulton Varsho model. That was the pickup on second baseman Andres Gimenez. He is apparently the finest defensive infielder in baseball. Varsho is probably the best outfielder. Varsho doesn’t hit much. Gimenez doesn’t hit much. The Jays still seem lost offensively … When the Jays lost in the playoffs to Minnesota in 2023, with all the noise about Jose Berrios being taken from the game early, both president Mark Shapiro and GM Ross Atkins blamed the playoff defeat on a lack of offence. So here we are, 14 months later, and their big offensive pickup to date is Gimenez, who had an OPS of .638 and an OPS+ of 82. But Atkins assures, as he tends to do, that Gimenez can be fixed, the way George Springer can be fixed … The truth: Cleveland couldn’t wait to find someone to take the arduous Gimenez contact off their books. After the upcoming season, which could very well be the last one for Shapiro and Atkins, Gimenez will be paid $84 million over the next four years. At that price, he’d better start hitting … The deal reminds me a little of the trade Floyd Smith made in 1990, giving up a Leafs first-round pick for defenceman Tom Kurvers. The pick was thought to be for Eric Lindros and turned out to be Scott Niedermayer. Smith said at the time if the deal didn’t work out, he’d be fired anyhow. And he was …The Yankees lost out in the bidding for Soto and have since signed a top-of- the-rotation pitcher in Max Fried, better than anyone the Jays have, and traded for closer Devin Williams, who has was among the best ninth-inning stoppers in baseball in recent years — also better than anyone the Jays have. The American League East, with everyone but the Jays getting better, is going to be the division in baseball once again.

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SCENE AND HEARD

Anze Kopitar was the 11th player chosen in the draft that brought Sidney Crosby to the NHL. Crosby has won three Stanley Cups in Pittsburgh. Kopitar has won two in Los Angeles. Like Crosby, he doesn’t seem to age. Like Crosby, Kopitar just does his job. One difference, though: Crosby gets all kinds of attention for being Crosby. Kopitar gets almost none for his year-to-year excellence with the Los Angeles Kings … How screwy are coach-of-the-year votes in the NFL? Mike Tomlin has never won it. Andy Reid won once, 23 years ago. Kevin Stefanski and Bruce Arians have won twice. Both Tomlin and Reid are excellent candidates to win this year but, based on the history of the voting, probably not … For years now, I have taken part in the voting for Canada’s athlete of the year. The Northern Star Award used to be the Lou Marsh Trophy. It was easy this year, picking three-time gold-medallist Summer McIntosh as winner. What made no sense to me: The selection of Toronto Sceptres star Natalie Spooner as one of the five finalists for the award in a deep pool along with Connor McDavid, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Olympic gold-medal winner Ethan Katzberg. The problem with picking Spooner is she played in the shortened inaugural season of the PWHL. She played 24 games. That’s the equivalent of 29% of an NHL season. Nathan MacKinnon has played 88 games in the calendar year for the Colorado Avalanche, three times as many as Spooner. He currently leads the NHL in scoring, scored 137 points, or 1.61 points per game, and won the Hart Trophy as most valuable player. He should have been a finalist ahead of Spooner. Others ahead of Spooner: Chuba Hubbard, who has rushed for more than 1,000 yards this NFL season; Brady Oliveira, who won the Most Outstanding Player and Top Canadian in the CFL; and Camryn Rogers, the female hammer thrower, who won the same gold medal that Katzberg did. Spooner had a superb first year in an abbreviated season. Her accomplishments, though, pale in comparison to those who were passed over for finalist recognition … It’s always been strange voting for athlete of the year. One year, Bobby Orr lost to harness racing driver Herve Filion. Orr won the award only once. McDavid, the former Orr client, has yet to win … So what happens first in the rather insane world of college football with Bill Belichick now coaching at North Carolina? Players transferring to NC or players transferring out? … Team building is an inexact science. To win a Stanley Cup, you need a quality coach, an above-average goaltender, an A-defenceman and a bevy of forwards who can score. The New York Rangers have a quality coach in Peter Laviolette, a fabulous goaltender in Igor Shesterkin, a former Norris Trophy winner in Adam Fox on defence and, up front, Artemi Panarin and a wide list of those who can score. So how is it this team has imploded — on and off the ice — with so many winning pieces in place?

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AND ANOTHER THING

The WNBA makes zero sense when it comes to Caitlin Clark, who has been appropriately named Time’s athlete of the year. Instead of celebrating the choice, too many WNBA voices can’t deal with Clark’s celebrity and have displayed a rather small pettiness when it comes to everything Clark has done for the growth of the league. Instead of congratulating Clark for the honour, Sheila Johnson, owner of the Washington Mystics said: “Why couldn’t they have put the whole WNBA on the cover and said WNBA is the league of the year?” … I sure hope the expansion Toronto Tempo has better sense than that … Imagine the NHL complaining if McDavid or MacKinnon were on the cover of Time and named athlete of the year? Their reaction would be glee … With so many kickers getting hurt or replaced late in the NFL season, it makes me wonder, why isn’t Argos’ Lirim Hajrullahu kicking in the NFL? … The contract of Team Canada basketball coach Jordi Fernandez expires in 2025. Don’t expect it to get renewed. Fernandez is doing nice work with the Nets in his first season in Brooklyn. He wasn’t — and his team wasn’t — impressive in his first stint at the Paris Olympics … I look forward to the day that a Baseball Hall of Fame ballot arrives without any considerations about performance-enhancing drugs. I never voted for Barry Bonds or Roger Clemens. I never voted for Sammy Sosa or Mark McGwire. I won’t vote now for Alex Rodriguez or Manny Ramirez. All of them among the best players I’ve ever seen … It was a pleasure, however, to vote this year for Ichiro Suzuki and not have to think twice about it … There is no reason to apologize for having a terrific career. Russell Martin had that in the major leagues. Caught for 14 seasons, 10 of them on playoff teams he made a difference with. He is first-time eligible for the Hall this year. I don’t think he’ll get enough votes to be on next year’s ballot …. Best part of this Raptors season: The growth of RJ Barrett. Whatever was expected of the Canadian this season, with all of the injuries around him, he has exceeded it. He has become a force with the struggling team … How much does coach Tom Thibodeau push the starting lineup of the New York Knicks? The club’s starters are averaging 98 points a game, the most for a starting lineup in NBA history … This is so much about today. When the NHL announces its quarter-century lineups later this month, instead of just having six players per team, they’re picking 12. It’s very participation-like — you get a trophy, I get a trophy, everybody gets a trophy. This way, no one’s feelings get hurt. The first team to announce will be St. Louis on Dec. 30: Certain to be on their quarter-century roster: Hall of Fame defencemen Chris Pronger and Al MacInnis … Thinking of Randy Moss, maybe the most spectacular wide receiver in football history, who is fighting liver cancer. He’s only 47 years old … The best American hockey players this NHL season: The coast-to-coast brothers, Quinn Hughes in Vancouver, Jack Hughes in Jersey. Runner-up: Jack Eichel in Vegas … Happy birthday to Stone Cold Steve Austin (60), Jim Leyland (80), Art Howe (78), Kyle Shanahan (45), Craig Biggio (59), Billy Koch (50), Chantal Petitclerc (55), Trish Stratus (48), Stan Smith (78), Bill Ranford (58), Mo Vaughn (57), D.K. Metcalf (27) and Kim St-Pierre (46) … And hey, whatever became of Ryan Miller?

ssimmons@postmedia.com

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