Leafshack HistoryThe Leafshack idea started just prior to the 2003-04 Leafs playoff series. I wanted to celebrate being in the playoffs with all my friends for the first time in years but my house was too small. To my wife’s dismay, I got an idea of putting our very heavy CRT television in our front window and facing it out to the front of our house.

The playoffs usually start in April when the early spring weather in Toronto is cold, wet and windy. Perfect for an outdoor hockey event but we had to figure out a way to protect our potential guests from these elements.

We had a tarp from our camping days so I rigged up a kind of shelter or “shack”. It was rudimentary, to say the least. People actually came. We had between 20-40 people a game. I invited the local news and got my kids interviewed on TV.

We tried to stay warm and dry with our Chiminea vented outside the tarp. It worked without mishap except for one melted shoe. For one of the games, we decided to use our tent trailer and carried the heavy TV out to the camper and turned it around to face outside. I took down the plastic window of the camper and put up the awning and added the tarp. The original “Leafshack” was born. I actually painted the name on the door of the camper. The original Leafshack is presently resting up at an original Leafshack Alumni’s cottage waiting for its return to the Stanley Cup finals. Read More

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