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Toronto Maple Leafs Joffrey Lupul sits on the bench after being hit beside teammate Dion Phaneuf (R) during the first period of their NHL game against the Philadelphia Flyers in Toronto, April 4, 2013.MARK BLINCH/Reuters

The Toronto Maple Leafs ongoing war with the media hit a new level on Tuesday.

Two members of the team, captain Dion Phaneuf and Joffrey Lupul, along with Phaneuf's wife, actress Elisha Cuthbert, threatened a lawsuit against TSN after a salacious tweet from a fan made it to air during the network's trade deadline coverage.

Anthony Adragna, the fan who sent the message from his Twitter account on Monday morning, will be included in the potential legal action.

A letter to both parties from the legal firm representing Phaneuf, Lupul and Cuthbert is requesting "a formal apology" and "a significant amount of damages."

"It is bad enough that there are people who spend their time using social media to publish such false and malicious stories, but it is made much worse when a reputable media outlet like TSN gives broad circulation and credibility to these false stories by republishing them as TSN did," Vancouver-based Gall Legge Grant & Munroe LLP said in a statement.

Complicating matters, TSN's parent company, Bell Media, is co-owner of MLSE, the company that owns the Leafs. (Disclaimer: BCE Inc., Bell Media's parent company, owns 15 per cent of The Globe and Mail, and reporter James Mirtle contributes to TSN 1050 Radio on a freelance basis.)

"If TSN and Mr. Adragna do not immediately comply with the demands set out in our letters, we have instructions from our clients to immediately commence a lawsuit against them."

TSN issued an apology shortly after the firm's statement was released.

"In spite of TSN's protocols to prevent unfounded and inappropriate tweets from making it to air, a false and inappropriate tweet was allowed to run," the network said in a statement expected to air during the Leafs game Tuesday night. "There was no basis for the false allegation made in this tweet.

"TSN unreservedly apologizes to Joffrey Lupul, Dion Phaneuf and Elisha Cuthbert and regrets any embarrassment this unfortunate incident has caused to them."

The Leafs were already in the news on Tuesday after the team's leading scorer, Phil Kessel, ripped the media for what he called their "embarrassing" treatment of Phaneuf.

Kessel didn't mention the tweet specifically, but team management said players were very upset with TSN's mistake.

"I'm disappointed today," Kessel said in what became an uncharacteristically heated four-minute conversation with reporters in Florida before the game. "The way the media treats Dion Phaneuf in this city is embarrassing. I think a lot of people should be ashamed of themselves. I'm embarrassed for them. I don't think anybody deserves to be treated like that.

"I think you guys unfairly criticize Dion. He's our best defenceman, and you guys act like he's not trying out there and this and that. It's embarrassing."

Phaneuf declined to comment after Kessel's scrum, which was listened to intently by many Leafs teammates sitting nearby in the dressing room.

This situation has been brewing for a while. As the Leafs have struggled this season – especially during their recent slide, with only six wins in 32 games going into Tuesday's game against the Panthers – the team's relationship with the media has become increasingly poor.

The players feel under attack by the constant criticism, and the number of Leafs willing to speak to reporters after practices and games has dropped. There have also been more discussions between team staff and the media over what's being reported and said.

Phaneuf and Kessel, the Leafs' two highest-paid players, have taken the brunt of the criticism, which helped bring everything to this boiling point after the tense few days leading up to Monday's trade deadline.

"Get familiar with no comment," Lupul posted on Twitter after Kessel's speech.

This isn't a new situation for the legal team involved. The law firm, led by partner Peter Gall, is a descendant of the one that worked on former Leafs GM Brian Burke's defamation suit aimed at 18 anonymous people who published online comments alleging he had an extramarital affair in 2013.

Some of Kessel's other comments, meanwhile, appeared to foreshadow what came later in the day.

"He's owed some apologies by some people," Kessel said. "It's disgusting the way people treat him.

"I'm just tired of it. I've finally had it. I think the city is a great hockey city and I love playing there, but some of the things that happen and Dion getting abused like he does and the things that are said about him [go too far]. I mean, he's our best defenceman. He plays hard every game for us. I'm just tired of him taking it.

"I think he's fine. But I'm tired of it, personally, that it continues to happen. Dion's a good player. He's a good guy. Everyone likes him here. The things that are said about him … I'm just tired of it."

Kessel at one point was asked directly if he wants out of Toronto, but he responded that he loves the city and signed an extension for eight years at the start of last season for a reason.

He did, however, offer what appeared to be a criticism of Leafs management.

"Is it his fault we're losing? No," Kessel said of Phaneuf, one of his closest friends on the team. "Did he build this team? No. It's not Dion Phaneuf."

With one of the worst records in the NHL, the Leafs are expected to continue a major teardown of the roster in the off-season, however, one that may well involve shipping Kessel, Phaneuf and Lupul elsewhere for prospects or draft picks.

The Leafs were deep into talks on Monday to move Phaneuf but weren't able to get the return they had wanted, and those conversations were headline news during what was otherwise not a headline-filled day.

The deadline is typically a tough time for players on teams in the seller position, with all the uncertainty over who's coming and going, but it's been especially so for the Leafs given the team's fragile state after months of losing.

Kessel said that, in addition to the criticism of the captain, what bothered him was the insinuation from some that the team hadn't been trying during its recent tailspin.

"Winning cures everything, but right now we've struggled," he said. "I think people think we're happy in here with that, but anyone in here wants to win more than anyone outside wants [us] to win. I'm just tired of people thinking we're not going out there to try, because we are."

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