Kelly McParland, writer, editor and columnist at the National Post, has penned just a fantastic biography of Toronto Maple Leafs builder and Canadian hero Conn Smythe in his new book, The Lives of Conn Smythe: From the Battlefield to Maple Leaf Gardens: A Hockey Icon's Story . Buy The Book - Amazon.ca - Chapters - Amazon.com - Kindle Paperback - Amazon.ca - Chapters - Amazon.com Smythe is of course known as the patriarch of the Toronto Maple Leafs. He led them to 11 Stanley Cups, and with a little better luck in the 1930s it would have been a lot more. Maybe Smythe used up his luck in that time period by, as legend tells it, using gambling money to build iconic Maple Leaf Gardens in the depths of the Great Depression. Those stories have been well told. But McParland digs deeper, and looks at decorated war hero (he fought in both World Wars, including in WWII when he was in his 40s) and savvy businessman who did more for nation building than most of ...