There is no story. It’s over. How boring. Better luck next year I guess.

When humanity is threatened only the super powered might of the Toronto Maple Leafs can be counted on to save the day. On the dark side of our planets moon a threat is once again stirring. The Silver Chalice has been awakened once more, and it thirsts for blood. Sixteen teams of mighty heroes have been called upon to fend off entire armies of brutal aliens. Sixteen have been selected, but only one shall be victorious. And this year it is the Leafs who will drink from the Silver Chalice. #iBLeaf  

Freddy Andersen and Tuuka Radko sit facing each other, naked and sweating. The two powerful mages have been working hard to help their teammates, the the Toronto Maple Leafs and dirty Boston Bruins. When the heroes first crash landed on the moon the wizards worked to disrupt the magic of their alien enemies. After that initial conflict the two sides had settled into a kind of a rhythm. The alien army was massive and endless patrols swept across the moon seeking to destroy any heroes they could find. Outnumbered but far from alone, the heroes have been crawling across the landscape, seeking out the alien commanders and avoiding the patrols.

When the battle started there were seven commanders. Now only two remain. If Freddy can help his Leafs find a fourth head then this round of competition ends. Tuuka needs to lead his dirty Bruins to a third head or else they will be sent home.

Although they are rivals the wizards understand that they are stronger when they work together. Both will do their best and hope their team can get the job done. Freddy has devised a ritual that will not only locate the targets but also make them shine like a beacon for all to see. It is a demanding ritual but it is almost complete. Tuuka has been doing his part to perfection, mostly, there was one part where he was supposed to say three, four times. Instead he got confused and said four, three times, but Freddy didn’t seem to notice. After nearly a full day of casting the ritual is complete.

There is a whoosh and a blinding flash and Tuuka feels something heavy land in his lap. He opens his eyes to see the head of an alien commander, still in it’s golden helmet, simply landed in his lap.

Freddy is speechless. Three all… one last throw remains for all the glory.

I

B

Leaf

When humanity is threatened only the super powered might of the Toronto Maple Leafs can be counted on to save the day. On the dark side of our planets moon a threat is once again stirring. The Silver Chalice has been awakened once more, and it thirsts for blood. Sixteen teams of mighty heroes have been called upon to fend off entire armies of brutal aliens. Sixteen have been selected, but only one shall be victorious. And this year it is the Leafs who will drink from the Silver Chalice. #iBLeaf  

Travis Dermott and Nikita Zaitsev duck low in the crater and wait. Silence stretches out across the lunar plain. The Toronto Maple Leafs are trying to regroup, the team has collected two alien commander heads. Their ally/rivals, the dirty Boston Bruins, also have two. Three heads remain. The Leafs hope to draw out the remaining commanders by offering battle. Nikita and Travis are among the last groups to return, they got cut off early in the campaign and have been working tirelessly to fight through the alien armies. Now they are almost back with their teammates, it would be easy to get careless.

The Leafs do not get careless. Travis hears the ambush before it springs and he signals to Nikita to get ready. Using his Russian cybernetic lasers Nikita greets the attacking force by cutting it in half. Travis gets big, giant even, tossing alien soldiers around like toys. From his tremendous height Travis spots a glint of gold near the back of the horde. Without another word he runs into the crowd, hoping to pluck to gold clad commander from the ranks. He takes a step then notices a pair of Bruins attempting to ambush the ambushers.

“We got company!” Travis yells to Nikita, pointing to where the Bruins will be soon. Nikita launches a barrage of missiles out of his shoulders, aiming approximately where Travis is pointing. The Russian made ordinance devastates the entire right flank of the alien force and also forces the dirty Bruins to duck for cover. In the moments hesitation Travis pounces on the alien commander. His four story, multi-tonne frame lands hard and his prey is squashed into paste.

Charlie Coyle and David Pastrnak race up in time to watch Travis pry a flattened gold helmet out of the moon rocks. He flips it like a coin and snatches it out of the air.

The ambush is broken, and better yet the Leafs got their third head. Three to two, one more to clinch the victory.

When humanity is threatened only the super powered might of the Toronto Maple Leafs can be counted on to save the day. On the dark side of our planets moon a threat is once again stirring. The Silver Chalice has been awakened once more, and it thirsts for blood. Sixteen teams of mighty heroes have been called upon to fend off entire armies of brutal aliens. Sixteen have been selected, but only one shall be victorious. And this year it is the Leafs who will drink from the Silver Chalice. #iBLeaf  

Zach Hyman removes the head from the first alien in the cave. Andreas Johnsson impales the second and third. Tyler Ennis grows to full size in the midst of the horde and eviscerates three aliens before shrinking back to his microscopic size before they can react. Connor Brown stays back, his spear lashing out at any and all aliens that push in to threaten his teammates.

The Toronto Maple Leafs were fighting in this cave out of necessity. The swarms of alien warriors rampaging across the lunar plains inspired a tactical defensive position. For days now the Leafs have been exploring a convenient system of tunnels and caves that runs deep, maybe even to the heart of the moon. The aliens seem oblivious to the existence of the caves, or at least they had seemed to be. Now they were pushing far into the tunnels. Not that the Leafs has any specific claim on these tunnels but they are taking the assault personally.

It takes about five solid minutes of hard fighting but the Leafs destroy the alien column. They take a short rest, regrouping and planning their next move. The goal is to locate and destroy the seven alien commanders that drive the hordes. The Leafs have taken the heads of two. Their rivals, the dirty Boston Bruins, have one. Whoever takes the next head will dictate the remainder of the contest. Eventually the group decides to head out topside to survey the situation.

Just as the Leafs reach the mouth of the cave there is a shuffle of stones behind them. Turning to face the new threat the Leafs are surprised by Patrice Bergeron. The dirty Bruins hero has been in a fight, he bears many gashes and burns, each step seems an agony but he is unbowed. In his left hand he holds a golden helmet, filled with the head of an alien commander. Two all.

When humanity is threatened only the super powered might of the Toronto Maple Leafs can be counted on to save the day. On the dark side of our planets moon a threat is once again stirring. The Silver Chalice has been awakened once more, and it thirsts for blood. Sixteen teams of mighty heroes have been called upon to fend off entire armies of brutal aliens. Sixteen have been selected, but only one shall be victorious. And this year it is the Leafs who will drink from the Silver Chalice. #iBLeaf  

Auston Matthews blasts another alien into paste. He dropped his sword hours ago but the combat hasn’t slowed down even a tiny bit so he hasn’t been able to get back to it. Auston loves that sword. It has been with him since his first days as a Toronto Maple Leaf. Vowing to get it back is proving easier than making it happen though. There are just to many aliens to fight through. And there are the dirty Boston Bruins in the way as well.

Ostensibly the Leafs and Bruins are on the same side, fighting to save the planet from an endless swarm of alien warriors. In reality the Bruins are doing everything they can to disrupt the Leafs tactics. The problem for Auston is that he doesn’t know how to be a sneaky underhanded dirtbag. He knows hard work and jaw dropping skill not kicking a foe when their back is turned. Unfortunately his disgust does little to protect him from his opposition.

As if to make the point an elbow clips the Leaf in the jaw. Reeling backwards Auston lashes out with an explosive burst, sending Bruins hero Jake DeBrusk crashing into a pile of corpses.

“Watch it dummy!” The Bruin is seething. “Someone could get hurt if you’re not careful.” Jake leaps back into the fray before Auston can answer and somehow manages to kick a rock that smacks the Leaf in the lip.

Auston aims a blast at the back of the Bruins head but holds up his fist at the last second. No matter what the provocation, Auston is not willing to fight dirty. A flash of gold catches Auston’s eye right before his face is slammed into the ground. Auston pushes up with all his strength and turns to his attacker. It is one of the seven alien commanders, Auston’s mission objective, and it just fell right into his lap

Before the Leaf can attack he is forced to the ground by a surprise assault. Auston can feel several sets of jaws clamp down on his arms and legs, holding him in place. The commander steps close to Auston and punches him hard in the face. Laughing, the alien commander hits Auston again and again. Auston‘s lower lip is beginning to swell, where an average person might have had their jaw become jelly. The Leafs hero takes just enough of a beating for him to feel he’s made his point. Light begins to shine out of Auston, first from the bite wounds, then from his entire body. The intensity of the light grows until he bursts in a flash of explosive energy.

As the dust settles Auston approaches the corpse of the alien commander. As he reaches down to pull the commander‘s head off Auston hears a familiar voice.

“No fair, that’s mine!” Jake runs up to Auston waving his hands. “I saw it first, that’s mine, you have to give it to me.”

“Sure.” Auston answers. “Just wait right here, I’ll be back in a second to do that.”

The score is two to one for the Leafs

When humanity is threatened only the super powered might of the Toronto Maple Leafs can be counted on to save the day. On the dark side of our planets moon a threat is once again stirring. The Silver Chalice has been awakened once more, and it thirsts for blood. Sixteen teams of mighty heroes have been called upon to fend off entire armies of brutal aliens. Sixteen have been selected, but only one shall be victorious. And this year it is the Leafs who will drink from the Silver Chalice. #iBLeaf  

When Jake Muzzin veers into his werebear form he walks on the knifes edge of humanity, every time he worries that the beast might not let go. This fear never stops him from doing what he needs to. Patrick Marleau has learned to let his werewolf side take over, trusting his inner beast completely. Brad Marchand seems to hate his wererat form almost as much as his human  shape. Having no beast shape, David Krecji can’t relate to the concerns of the other heroes.

The Toronto Maple Leafs and Boston Bruins are locked in a deadly struggle against an alien army but there are ebbs and flows to the battle. After the confusion of crash landing on the moon and the chaos of the first clash of arms the two sides have pulled back to regroup. The heroes are spread out, which makes sense since the army is just a huge meat shield for the six remaining alien commanders. The Leafs took the head of the first. Now the werefolk, along with David, search the lunar plain for signs of another. Suddenly the ground beneath their feet starts to quake and three large, toothy worms burst up in a spray of rock and dirt.

Jake immediately grapples with the worm in front of him, tearing into it with his claws. Patrick darts between the other two keeping them distracted and furious. David pulls out his bow and starts to fill the worm on the left with arrows. Brad drools and giggles as he watches from behind David.

“Watch out!” Brad yells as the worm on the right moves toward Jake.

Turning just a moment too late, the werebear takes the full weight of the worms massive bulk to his chest. With a growl Jake tosses one heavy worm on top of the other. Patrick leaps to back up Jake and the Leafs tear into the downed worms. David continues to pour shafts into the third worm and soon the struggle is over. From his spot behind David’s knee, Brad nervously gnaws in his tail.

“What’s that?” The foul little rat-man asks, pointing to the horizon where a plume of dust billows in the distance.

The heroes move to intercept the dust plume but soon they see that whatever it is, it is heading towards them. It doesn’t take long for the heroes to see a gigantic version of the worms they just killed hurtling across the moon at them.

“Scatter!” Brad yells, running away as fast as his stumpy legs will carry him.

The other three heroes spread out. David has used half of his arrows, but none of his special ones. The Leafs growl and flex, teeth and claws eager to tear into the enormous worm. At the last moment the worm swerves to a stop, spraying moon rocks at the heroes and pummelling them with stones. Before they can recover the worm rears up high above the heroes and slams its gigantic body onto the plains below, narrowly missing Jake and David but knocking the heroes off their feet. Patrick recovers first and leaps onto the worm, tearing into flesh in rabid fury. Jake rushes to leap onto the worms head before it can rise up out of reach. The werebear savages the worms eye cluster as if he here digging out a winter burrow. David empties his quiver into the terrible beasts body, his special arrows carving massive chunks out of it as they detonate from the inside.

Only Brad, watching from a distance, notices the gold clad alien clinging to a seat strapped precariously to the worms head. As the intense battle rages on Brad stays focused on the prize. He can’t help but spray some musk in excitement as the huge worm comes crashing to the ground. The alien commander is pinned beneath its saddle. Brad drools as he approaches. The commander notices Brad and tries to free itself. The wererat slides his dagger into the commanders throat and delicately removes its head. The score is tied, one-one.

When humanity is threatened only the super powered might of the Toronto Maple Leafs can be counted on to save the day. On the dark side of our moon a threat is once again stirring. The Silver Chalice has been awakened and it thirsts for blood. Sixteen teams of mighty heroes have been called upon to fend off entire armies of brutal aliens. Sixteen have been selected, but only one shall be victorious. And this year it is the Leafs who will drink from the Silver Chalice. #iBLeaf

The shuttle lurches from the impact and the passengers all brace for a hard landing before the pilot warns them to. The Toronto Maple Leafs have been paired with the Boston Bruins for this years tournament. This is good, this is as it should be. If the Leafs would reach the Chalice they must overcome many hurdles, starting with their nearest and dearest rivals, the dastardly heroes of the dirty Bruins.

Morgan Rielly is stuck sitting across from Zdeno Chara and is not having a comfortable ride. The giants knees reach all the way across the aisle and bang against Morgans with every jolt. The Bruins captain blends a look of indifference and confusion into a blank slate, nothing for Morgan to read. The rocket lurches again and Morgan winces as his knee is impacted again. To make matters worse, the comically over sized man thing has a breath well known for being pungent and moist. Morgan can’t decide which he hates more. Just when he thinks he has landed on the moistness a whiff of that stanky old garlic sweat smell hits his nose glands and it’s back to square one.

It’s almost a relief when the rocket finally crashes on the moon. In a cruel twist of fate Morgan finds himself underneath Zdeno’s big nose when he finally comes to consciousness. Pushing the dirty Bruin off, Morgan gets to his feet and takes in his surroundings. They have landed in a small crater, maybe twenty feet across, in the middle of a vast lunar plain. The wreck of their rocket stretches out to either side but Morgan is more concerned about the army that fills the horizon. It is bigger than he had been led to believe by many thousands of warriors which makes things much more interesting.

The army is led by seven commanders. Whichever team collected four of those commanders heads first would be declared the winner of the round. Morgan reaches out with his technopathic senses and quickly disables the alien communications systems. When he opens his eyes he sees that Zdeno has started to jog across the plain, kicking up a trail of dust. Morgan darts after him and looking left and right he notices other trails heading out across the plain.

“Go Leafs! Go!” Morgan yells. He hears a cries in answer and knows his battle brothers are with him even if he can’t see them. “Wait up, you big nosed bastard.” Mo says as he catches up to Zdeno. “We have to work together if we’re going to get through the riffraff to the good stuff.” The Bruin grunts in answer but does moderate his pace slightly allowing Morgan to keep up easily.

An hour later Morgan looks back fondly on Zdeno’s horrid breath. The aliens are vicious, they are strong, and worst of all they stink. Imagine old diapers stewing in sour milk. It’s been all knife work as Morgan is saving his ammo for the commanders. The aliens are fight with a spiky armour and their terrible claws. For all their fury, they seem uncoordinated, likely because they cannot use their communications equipment. If this army had any sort of digital or robotic ordnance Morgan would have dominated that as well, but he contents himself with shutting off the mic’s and practicing his knife drills.

Zdeno grabs an alien by the throat and throttles it. Morgan saves his life when an alien catches the big man flat footed. The Leaf cuts the aliens head off with three well placed knife strokes. An explosion blooms on the other side of a small hill and a large alien comes hurtling out of the air. The first thing Morgan notices is the golden armour of the commanders, then he sees a pair of Mitch Marners grappling with it. Zdeno is busy fighting off another pair of minions. Morgan runs over to back up Mitch. One Mitch splits into two and the three of them grab onto the aliens left leg. Morgan bats aside a feeble swipe and stabs the big alien in the eye. Then he saws its head off. One down. Three to go.

 

When humanity is threatened only the super powered might of the Toronto Maple Leafs can be counted on to save the day. As the days start to get longer the Maple Leafs start to focus on their true goal. The only thing that can get in their way is themselves.

Dejected, the Montreal Canadiens can only watch as the selected heroes prepare for the Great War that looms ever closer. The day is almost here but they will not be given a chance to reap any glory, not this year.

Toronto Maple Leafs Travis Dermott and Jake Muzzin walk amongst the lost Canadiens heroes handing out cookies.

“Here you go.” Travis says to a teary Max Domi. “Better luck next year.”

When humanity is threatened only the super powered might of the Toronto Maple Leafs can be counted on to save the day. As the days start to get longer the Maple Leafs start to focus on their true goal. The only thing that can get in their way is themselves.

With savage authority Steven Stamkos slams the Orc War Chief to the ground. The hulking brute splatters as though the Tampa Bay Lightning hero was throwing a melon not a ferocious armoured killer. Another Lightning hero, Nikita Kucherov, has gathered the heads of nearly a dozen other chieftains into a pile nearby. He stops the rolling head of the latest with his foot then kicks it over to the pile.

“I get the next one.” Nikita says.

“But I haven’t had a turn yet.” Tyler Johnson, another Lightning hero, whines.

A wizened old Orc steps out from the mass of warriors. The Orc throng behind him ripples with a sullen shame. A shuffle of feet or a turning of gaze, subtle but relentless.

“There will be no more contests.” The old Orc says. “There are none who can defeat you, and your lieutenants stand ready, unbloodied. We are shamed. We are yours. By the ancient laws that bind us you are our War Chief. Command us, oh lord.”

With that the old Orc drops to a kneeling bow and the entire army of Orcs follows. To the Toronto Maple Leafs, who have been watching the proceedings all day, the outcome seemed inevitable hours ago. All they could do was watch.

Auston Matthews, Morgan Rielly and Tyler Ennis just head back to Toronto Maple Leafs tower. John Tavares approaches his old friend.

“I guess you’re the king of the Orcs now?” John says to Steven.

“I know right, how crazy!” Steven is bubbling over with exuberance and John has to make an effort not to be annoyed.

“Congratulations. It really is a pleasure watching you work. I’ll see you soon.” John knows that Steven knows what he is talking about. War is coming and fate might just bring them together on the battle field. It will take an effort of implacable will from both heroes, but both heroes are eager for the chance.

When humanity is threatened only the super powered might of the Toronto Maple Leafs can be counted on to save the day. As the days start to get longer the Maple Leafs start to focus on their true goal. The only thing that can get in their way is themselves.

Toronto Maple Leaf tower is on fire. The blaze is contained to the fifth floor, the indoor sugarcane plantation, but the smoke engulfs the entire tower. The Toronto Maple Leaf fire department is quick to respond. Martin Marincin and Garret Sparks are the first heroes to approach the inferno. Martin doesn’t have any useful super powers for fighting fires but he is willing to put himself in harms way. Garret is still finding his way as the magical backup for the Leafs. His skills and knowledge should be more than adequate, but sometimes it seems like he’s lost.

From the his penthouse suite Brendan Shanahan watches the two Leafs as they tentatively begin to take control of the situation. He wishes they were more confident, he wishes they were more assertive, ultimately he wishes he had more time. But time is almost up, the grand enemy is almost here. Brendan believes his Toronto Maple Leafs are ready. And he hopes.