Some big news out of the hockey world recently came out. The Toronto Maple Leafs announced the release of a five-episode docu-series called ‘All Or Nothing: Toronto Maple Leafs’ – while Islanders news remains quiet.

The series will go over the Leafs’ 2021 season. The 2021 season was an unprecedented season that dealt with unique challenges such as COVID-19 and playing without fans.

The docu-series will cover the Maple Leafs fallout from their round one meltdown to the Montreal Canadiens and show how the Maple Leafs handled the challenging season.

The news of this exclusive docu-series, which will highlight behind the scenes access to everything that happened with the Maple Leafs in 2021, builds a sharp contrast to the Islanders organization and culture.

The Islanders are likely the most private team in the NHL. Lou Lamoriello does not allow Islanders’ players to go on hockey podcasts that are relatively popular among players throughout the NHL or participate in other types of hockey media. Also, Lamoriello only allows the head coach of the Islanders, not assistants, to speak to the media.

Moreover, at the moment, all news on the Islanders’ front is dead quiet for the most part. Most presumptive signings are being kept discrete and have not been announced. The purpose of this is to prevent other teams from knowing how much cap space the team has.

While the lack of news and signings may be frustrating for fans, it is a tactic that is very valuable. Keeping news regarding the organization quiet allows the team to go about its business more effectively. It is never a good idea to let your opponents know where you stand. The old saying “loose lips sink ships” is true.

In contrast, the Maple Leafs want the entire hockey world to know what happened in private during the 2021 season.

The Maple Leafs newest announcement of their docu-series highlights how different the Islanders and Maple Leafs are. The Maple Leafs have four players that are making $40 million combined, while the Islanders two highest-paid players are Mathew Barzal and Anders Lee, making $7 million each.

The philosophies of playing style are different too. The Islanders are a defensive-first team. They place a strong emphasis on clogging the neutral zone and making everything harder for their opponent.

At the same time, the Maple Leafs are an offensive juggernaut. The Islanders recently have established themselves as a Stanley Cup contender, while the Maple Leafs are still trying to get over the first-round hump.

The Islanders old fashioned ways may not be popular with fans, but it is important to realize that what makes a team different is what makes them special.

Ethan Halle

Ethan is an Economics Major at the University of Florida looking to pursue a double major in Sports Management with a minor in political science.