Jim Hughson is a westerner through and through. He was born in Fort St. John, made stops throughout B.C. while working his way up the broadcasting ladder, and still calls White Rock home between Saturday-night assignments for Hockey Night in Canada.

But as the leading play-by-play voice in this country, he also knows where his bread is buttered, and that’s why he’s paying close attention to the wild playoff possibilities that exist in the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League.

With every passing day, it’s looking more and more like Hughson will be at the microphone for the Toronto Maple Leafs’ return to the Stanley Cup playoffs after a nine-year exile. And the way things sit, with a month to go in the lockout-shortened season, there’s a good chance the Leafs will meet the Montreal Canadiens in the opening round—a matchup that has been an astounding 34 years in the making.

The two storied franchises haven’t clashed in the postseason since a Montreal sweep of a four-game series in the opening round of the 1979 playoffs. And although nothing is set in stone, Hughson admits to having already let his mind explore the potential of what—in this world of around-the-clock sports coverage on TV, the radio, and the Internet—would be the most hyped opening-round series in the history of hockey.

“We’re getting a little ahead of ourselves, but it has the potential to be really crazy,” he tells the Georgia Straight in a phone interview. “The Leafs and Canadiens still have wildly popular regular-season games, even in years when they haven’t been very good—which is a lot of them in recent years. And in this miniature season that is going on right now, we’re in the home stretch. We’re not far from it now.”

As the anticipation builds, the Toronto-Montreal matchup isn’t the only intriguing first-round possibility that has Hughson eyeing the first week of May. The Winnipeg Jets—in just their second season since returning to the Manitoba capital—are flirting with a Southeast Division title that would give them the third seed in the conference and the right to open the playoffs at home. The Jets could also land the Leafs as first-round foes, while Ottawa has overcome what should have been crushing injuries to miraculously maintain a spot above the playoff bar, so a Battle of Ontario isn’t out of the question either.

Any of those scenarios would be a ratings bonanza for the CBC.

“There are potentially some really fun ones, no question,” Hughson says with a chuckle. “It might be an interesting spring. Winnipeg has a shot at winning its division.

Montreal’s going to be in, based on the way they’ve piled up points. Ottawa has some extraterrestrial, weird, eerie thing going on there, and it looks like the Leafs are going to make it. I think they’re probably going to because I think they have enough defensive structure in their game now. It depends on whether their goaltending rights itself and holds up the last couple of weeks. But I kind of think they’re going to make it.”

As long as the Leafs hold up their end of the bargain—remember that these are the Toronto Maple Leafs—Hughson should be in for a wild ride regardless of where they finish and who they face.

Another possibility is Boston, which would provide instant and juicy story lines, given the recent trade history between the two. The Bruins landed starting goalie Tuukka Rask from Toronto for Andrew Raycroft a few years back and later shipped Phil Kessel to the Leafs for top draft picks that Boston, in turn, used to grab Tyler Seguin and Dougie Hamilton—already rising stars who will be the cornerstones of that franchise for the next decade.

And if star power is truly what the CBC wants in Round 1, a strong chance remains that the Leafs could wind up facing Sidney Crosby and the Pittsburgh Penguins in the first round. And Hughson would absolutely jump at the chance to call those games should that contest materialize.

A healthy Crosby leads the NHL in scoring and appears to be back to the form that made him the best player on the planet prior to being slowed by concussions.

“It’s tremendous for the league, and I can’t say that I’ve seen him better than he is right now,” Hughson says. “He’s a little older. Off the ice, he seems a lot more relaxed and comfortable than he’s ever been, and I think that just comes with age and being around and probably a wonderful appreciation for the game that he plays and the level he plays it at after having it taken away from him for a while. When you watch him in the game, he makes something happen on every single shift. He’s doing everything right now.”
It’s popular here in the West to bash the Leafs for all the losing they’ve done over the past decade. But it’s undeniable that their return to the hunt for the Stanley Cup is long overdue. They’ve been on the outside long enough, and it’s about time they figured out how to be among the top eight in a conference in which more than half the teams qualify for the postseason.

The NHL playoffs are infinitely more colourful with the Maple Leafs involved, and it looks like their time has just about come. Hughson isn’t sure where his playoff travels will take him, but the way things are shaping up in the East, he knows he’s in for one heck of a ride.