I never really had a formal introduction to the hockey world. The game has been a part of my life for as long as I can remember, from my parents teaching me to skate at the outdoor rink in small town Ontario, to playing in the last Junior league you’ve ever heard of. When I…
You know when the “buckle up” light comes on in a plane? That’s what this post is. We’re about to hit some turbulence. Folks, we’re 36 hours away from Free Agency, capital FA. I don’t have time to explain things as well as I should, so you’re getting pure, unadulterated Earl brain. Here’s what I…
When NHL General Managers are tasked with opening up cap space during the offseason, the buyout is a unique accommodation. In many cases it allows a GM to shift much of the burden of a bad contract into the tenure of the next GM. If their job is on the line and they can immediately…
There is a certain degree of schadenfreude at the end of the season, when performance bonus overages are announced for NHL clubs. Every team is going to be competing for the same players come Free Agency, and every dollar in overage is one less you have to compete with on the open market. Contending teams…
At his post-trade deadline press conference, Maple Leafs GM Kyle Dubas mentioned that Rasmus Sandin had been placed on Injured Reserve. Turns out he was actually placed on LTIR, but there was no mention of that on the Leafs social media to my knowledge. That means the earliest he can return is April 14 vs….
I left work today with my phone at 1% battery, so I get to the car, plug my phone in, and I’ve got 10 notifications saying “Dance, CBA man, dance!” The people demand to know why Latvian legend Kristians Rubins and KHL stud Brennan Menell have emerged on the Leafs roster seemingly out of nowhere….
This is part three of a three part series on u27 players at the Olympics who might have a future in the NHL. Here’s where you can find parts one and two. There’s 10 players I wanted to highlight in Group A, including 2 Leaf prospects. Everyone else is free to sign with any NHL…
This is part two of a three part series on u27 players in the Olympics that might have a future in the NHL. There’s 8 players in Group B I wanted to highlight, including 1 Leaf prospect and 1 draft eligible. The remaining 6 are not on the reserve list of any NHL club. My…
I’ll be honest with you, I planned on writing a full profile for each of the players (age 26 or younger) in the Olympics that I thought had NHL potential. I did that back in 2018, and I was correct on Artem Zub, Dominik Kahun, and Pius Suter. In the 4 years since then I…
Okay, no team is signing five European free agents in one offseason. There are still at least five forwards worthy of signing in my opinion, defence is a story for another day. I follow six European leagues, the Russian KHL, Swedish SHL, Finnish Liiga, Swiss NLA, German DEL, and Czech Extraliga. I look at u27…
On August 25th, 2020, the Toronto Maple Leafs sent Kasperi Kapanen, Pontus Aberg, and Jesper Lindgren to the Penguins for three players, and the 15th overall pick in the 2020 NHL Entry Draft. Those players have all come and gone, but with that pick the Leafs selected LW Rodion Amirov. It’s the highest Toronto has…
After trading down from pick 44 to picks 59 and 64 in the 2020 NHL Entry Draft, the Toronto Maple Leafs selected Roni Hirvonen 59th overall. He was ranked 37th on TLN’s consolidated draft rankings at the time, touted for his tireless work ethic combined with high-end offensive vision. In my opinion, Toronto managed to…
