Peter Conacher is a retired professional ice hockey player who played 229 games in the National Hockey League. Conacher played with the Toronto Maple Leafs, Chicago Black Hawks, and New York Rangers. In 1959, Conacher played for the World Champion Belleville McFarlands. This is TRUE Canadian Royalty! The Conacher family, in particular Peter’s Uncle Lionel and his Dad, Charlie are Canadian icons. Charlie was captain of Maple Leafs and Lionel was Canada’s Athlete of the Half-Century. Now, at 85 years old, Peter is as humble as ever and I'm oh so grateful that I had the opportunity to pick his brain. He kept things short and to the point - just how I like it. Check out our chat below:

Describe yourself in one word.
Honest.

What did you learn about yourself throughout your career?
That I would have liked to have been better.

Did what you value change from when you started compared to now?
l learned to value friends.

How would you define success?
Pleased with myself at the end of the day.

Do you have a system that you use to achieve your goals?
No.

​What advice would you give to your younger self?
More schooling.

What does “charity” mean to you?
A willingness to help others.

This one's for all of my fellow Leafs fans. Chances are highly likely that you're familiar with Steve "Dangle" Glynn. If not, don't fret and prepare to fall in love. He has a popular YouTube channel, goofy hockey podcast, and works at Sportsnet. Social media and interaction are his thing.

I had the pleasure of chatting with him over the summer about the Leafs' past, present and future as well as his book "This Team Is Ruining My Life (but I Love Them): How I Became A Professional Hockey Fan". You can grab that here. Check out the Q&A below:

How did you feel about the Leafs’ performance against Boston in the playoffs last season?
The Leafs’ performance against the Bruins their series, overall, was great. That made their performances in Game 6 and Game 7 even more confusing and disappointing. This is easily the most disappointing of their three recent playoff losses to Boston. In 2013 they shouldn’t have even made the playoffs and in 2018 they were trying for a miracle comeback yet again. This year? They had them. Twice. Seeing where Boston is now doesn’t make me feel better about the Leafs’ performance, it makes it feel like a blown opportunity.

What changes need to be made so that we can finally have that highly talked about Stanley Cup parade?
The Leafs need to coordinate from the front office down, which I’m not convinced they do. Give Matthews his setup man (Nylander) back. Get a decent right-handed D who can move the puck. Get a backup goalie you trust. That sounds like a lot but I’m really talking about adding like two or three guys, not even stars, and playing your best players with your other best players. If they do that, they have a shot.

Did you learn anything new about yourself and your love for this team while writing your book?
I definitely learned more about myself than the team. I spend lots of time reflecting about the Leafs but probably not enough time reflecting on my own life. The book forced me to do that. I let go of a lot of resentment. There were some people who I resented a bit because I misinterpreted their guidance when I was younger, and when I realized that, I resented myself. Not I can look back on it all and take it for what it is: Part if the journey. It’s also amazing how much easier it is to remember things when you write them down.