Mike Toth says when it comes to the NHL, Toronto and Calgary appear to be joined at the hip.

"It's not what you know, it's who you know."

Social butterflies use that expression to explain their success, while poor saps with lousy people skills use it to rationalize their failures.

Every so often, however, "what" and "who" intersect and no explaining or rationalizing is necessary.

Take the Toronto Maple Leafs, for instance. With Cliff Fletcher at the helm, the Leafs have suddenly become Ontario's answer to the Calgary Flames, as no fewer than six members of the 1989 Stanley Cup squad have switched their allegiances from "The 'C' of Red" to the Blue & White. In addition to Fletcher, the architect of that Calgary triumph, Toronto's management and coaching line-up includes Al Coates, Joe Nieuwendyk, Tom Watt, Doug Gilmour and Tim Hunter, with all of them expected to play a key role in Fletcher's long-range plan to transform the lousy Leafs into serious contenders.

And can you really blame Fletcher for being so attracted to Flames?

After all, when Cliff exited Calgary to take over the Leafs for the first time in the early-90's, he immediately fleeced his former team by pulling off the "Killer" trade that made Gilmour's gang the toast of Toronto.

Now, that Calgary-Toronto pipeline has been fired up again and the six-pack of former Flames who have found their way to Toronto are very familiar with accepting big challenges. Due to the presence of a certain dynasty that also called Alberta home, Fletcher's Flames were often overshadowed. Still, "The Battle of Alberta" against the Edmonton Oilers was one of the game's best, and most vicious, rivalries. Hunter, recently hired as an assistant coach with the Leafs, was always right in the thick of the thuggery and more often than not he was forced to go toe-to-toe with Edmonton heavyweight Dave Semenko.

"Every time we played the Oilers, Semenko threatened to kill me," recalled Hunter. "But I'd always have the same response; 'Dave, you say that every game and I'm still here.' So, I just told him that as long as I was alive and kicking, I was going to do whatever it took to try and beat him."

One of Fletcher's mandates when he took over the current edition of the Leafs was to upgrade the team's toughness. Hunter will certainly help in that department and while he says you can't "teach" players to be tough, he feels Toronto did a nice job over the summer acquiring players that feature nastiness as part of their natural make-up.

"Guys such as Jamal Mayers and Ryan Hollweg might not be heavyweights," conceded Hunter. "But they come prepared to battle every night and I don't believe a lack of toughness will be an issue."

Corey and Cujo

Meanwhile, although he doesn't have any connection to the Calgary Flames, the Leafs new goalie coach, ex-NHL'er Corey Hirsch, is a former member of the Calgary Canucks. In fact, this season marks the 20th anniversary of one of the best play-off series in Canadian Junior "A" hockey history.

In 1988, Hirsch was part of a Canucks club that won an Alberta junior title and advanced to face the Saskatchewan champs, the legendary Notre Dame Hounds. It was a back-and-forth series that the Hounds eventually won in seven games before they moved on to capture a Canadian crown at the Centennial Cup tournament in Pembroke, Ontario.

The Hounds goalie back then?

Cue that connection again.....because it was a guy by the name of Curtis Joseph, who made an NHL comeback with the Flames last season. This year, of course, Joseph is back in Toronto, where his old Calgary Canucks rival, Hirsch, will be on hand to provide some pointers.

You think Corey and Cujo might have a little fun with that?

And before we head out, here's one more trivia test for you.

Name the young play-by-play man who broadcast the Hounds 1988 play-off games on Saskatchewan radio.

How about Sportsnet's very own Peter Loubardias, who recently left our Toronto studio to become the network's voice for.....who else?

You got it, folks; none other than the Calgary Flames.

Just another example of that Toronto-Calgary connection that's sweeping the hockey world, right?