Brendan Shanahan and Kyle Dubas are searching the Toronto Maple Leaf Tower for Mike Babcock. No one seems to know where he is until they get to the second floor of the building, the cafeteria. Brendan is surprised to see all the staff sitting around, and when he asks the head chef what is going on, she just shrugs and points to the kitchen.

“Ask him.”

Mike is alone in the kitchen wearing a Little Miss Sunshine apron over his suit. He is standing at a food preparation sink washing what must be the last of a large pile of leafs. All around the kitchen the clean greens are drying, taking up nearly all the counter space.

“Hey Mike, what’cha doing?” Brendan asks.

“It’s game day so right now I need to make a batch of kale and banana muffins for the team to eat when the game is done. Good nutrition is vital you know. Six muffins per man is the rule, but they’re so good, most guys eat ten or so.”

“How come you’re not getting any of the staff to help you? This looks like a big job.”

“I tried that before our last game, didn’t like what I was seeing. Lots of talking, not a lot of working. I sent them away. Although, now that you mention it, I could use some reliable help. Let me show you something.”

The coach walks over to a far counter where the driest of the kale lies. Picking up one of the leafs he begins to gently but efficiently remove all the stems leaving nothing but fresh meaty green.

“Can you handle that job?” asks Mike. He walks away without waiting for an answer.

“I was hoping we could talk to you about Nylander.” Brendan says as he and Kyle start shucking kale. Mike walks to the large fridge and returns with nine cartons of eggs.

“Well? Talk.” Mike says. He puts the eggs down on the only empty counter in the kitchen and walks back to the fridge.

“Have you decided if he’s on the team this year?”

“Nope.” Mike says as he drops two big tubs of butter on the counter.

“Have you been feeling any pressure?”Mike looks hard at Brendan but doesn’t answer. He returns to the fridge.

Turning to Kyle, Brendan asks, “How much has come in so far?” He has to repeat himself as Kyle has thrown his whole attention to the kale leafs with a mechanical delight. His stylish glasses are fogging over. At last Brendan breaks through the wall of focus and Kyle pulls out his phone to find the information.

“Eight copies on VHS tape as well as thirty-five DVDs. Plus we got forty-two posters and Lou got the stuffed toy.”

“What is this here?” Mike has snuck upon them. Kyle jumps in surprise and drops his phone, but ignores it as he turns back to the leafs. Mike is not happy. He slams a gallon of lemon juice on the counter. “If you’re here, it’s to work Brendan.”

Brendan turns back to the kale. “Dozens of fans have already started letting us know how they feel. They want him to make the team. Mostly they are just sending in harmless stuff, posters and movies, but Lou had an orca toy crammed into the tail pipe of his Buick. Has anyone bothered you?”

Mike walks over to the grocery store caliber produce corner of the kitchen and Brendan needs to strain to hear him.

“I don’t get bothered. As far as Wily goes, he’s a good player. He will star in this league no matter when we put him in. Does that mean I’ve decided if he makes the roster this year? No. What do you guys think?” Mike walks back with an armload of bananas.

Kyle answers immediately. “It would be great to have him on the Marlies this year. They are going to win this year. Winning is good for development, isn’t it Mike?”

Mike has disappeared into the pantry. Brendan considers his answer until the coach comes back out. The mighty Babcock is actually straining under the weight of the sea salt, baking soda, brown sugar, and gluten free oat flour he carries, and Brendan rushes to help him.

“I would rather wait, that said, if he’s good enough to play, then he should play.” Brendan says, taking the sugar sack. “But it’s your team coach.”

With the last of the ingredients on the counter, Mike considers them for a moment.

“I was planning on squeezing my own lemons but there just isn’t time for that. Get going on that kale Brendan. Look at Kyle over there, he really found his rhythm, can you find yours?” With that challenge delivered the coach returns to the pantry.

After several crashes and a bang, Mike wheels an industrial sized food processor into the kitchen, parking it by the ingredients. With an expert hand Mike peels ninety bananas, dropping them into the mixer. After a quick look at the kale progress Mike starts measuring. He takes out three quarters of a cup from the bag of sea salt and dumps it onto the kitchen floor. The remainder of the bag is poured into the mixing bowl. Four tablespoons of brown sugar are carefully measured by the coach, each one patted down flat before being hucked away, the rest of the sack is added to the bowl. This process continues until the last ingredient is poured in. Mike downs the remaining pint of lemon juice even as Brendan and Kyle finish with the last of the kale leafs.

“Dump the leafs in there boys.” Mike picks up an armload himself and drops it into the comically oversized bowl. It takes ten minutes of blending before Mike is satisfied with his mix. The task of getting all fifty muffin pans filled and into the twenty-six pre-heated ovens takes another forty-five minutes. When there is nothing left to do but wait, Mike reaches out to Brendan and Kyle. The three men clasp hands and form a circle bowing their heads. After a moment of silence they speak in unison, as though the words were a spell. And maybe words do hold the power to create.

“Dear God and Lord Stanley, thank you for bringing us together here in Toronto and please help Steven Stamkos find his way home.”

Mike looks up. “Why would somebody cram a stuffed orca into Lou’s tailpipe?”

“Because of the movie.” Kyle answers. “Free Willy.”

The coach’s brow furrows as he searches his memory.

“Free Willy. That would be a 1993 release, Simon Wincer, directing. Good movie. Nothing to complain about cinematically. The acting is sound. The kids do a great job with the whale. You maybe want to see a little more from Lori Petty. Michael Ironside is just born to be mean and really brings it like a pro. But for me the real surprise of the picture is Michael Madsen. His role is just such a departure from the rest of his work at the time. Don’t get me wrong, I loved him in Baby Snatcher, but he displays a really bold versatility by getting involved with a children’s movie and for me he nails it. Now, is Free Willy a perfect 10 movie? No. And I will tell you why. At some point every filmmaker needs to choose between the natural laws of physics and their vision, and they chose wrong in my opinion. You look at the ending there with the whale jumping over the boy. Any fully grown orca is going to clear that sea wall, but look at the trajectory they give him. With the distance that whale needs to clear, he definitely needs to flatten that arc. There is no chance that jump happens without young Jesse getting a face full of Willy, which would probably be fatal. Maybe most people who watch the movie don’t care about that kind of detail, but for me it just pulls me right out of the moment. So my final rating is a seven out of ten. A nice movie.”

The first oven to be loaded chimes, indicating the gluten free kale and banana muffins are ready.

“See you at the game boys.” Mike says, dismissing Brendan and Kyle. “I’ve got lots of work to do yet.” He is humming loudly as he pulls on his oven mitts.