At this point the words ‘last season’, ‘this season’, and ‘next season’ have become so conflated that it’s hard to say what season is being talked about. Conveniently, the entirety of ‘next season’ may take place in the 2021 calendar year. I hope we can just say “the 2021 season” rather than the “Twenty-Twenty, Twenty-Twenty-One…
Next season the Toronto Maple Leafs will rely on multiple undrafted players to play big minutes in the NHL, most being European Free Agents. Pending a new contract, Ilya Mikheyev will be on the welcoming committee for new joiners Alexander Barabanov and Mikko Lehtonen. Calle Rosen may provide cheap depth on the blue line as…
Recently PuckPedia, a tremendous resource for salary cap and CBA information, published an Agent Poll. They canvassed 25 National Hockey League agents, on an array of questions centered around the CBA. Agents have a unique perspective on the issues that concern NHL players, so they have good insight on what players would most like to…
Today Toronto Marlies General Manager, Laurence Gilman, provided some insight on the conclusion of the Marlies season. This included exit interviews for some players, and something else for others: Marlies GM Laurence Gilman says exit interviews have already been conducted with the AHL players who won't get called up to the #leafs for their taxi…
Who knows when we will be able to watch hockey again. Until that time comes, hockey fans and sports fans in general have the team-building aspects of their leagues to get excited about. The NHL extended its transfer agreements recently, and the biggest news in weeks is the signing of a 6’6″ Czech. Mercifully, drafts…
When the Leafs signed Filip Kral and Kristians Rubins earlier this week, they made a withdrawal from the Rainy Day Fund. The two left handed defencemen both showed much improvement this season, earning Entry Level Contracts when most 5th round picks and undrafted players do not. Kral is no longer eligible for the Canadian Hockey…
On Monday Leafs General Manager Kyle Dubas spoke about a KHL free agent the Leafs have been rumoured to be pursuing. Kyle Dubas acknowledges the #leafs interest in KHL free agent Alex Barabanov. They view him as a skilled playmaking winger: "One of the other things we like most about him is his ability to…
Martin Marincin was traded to the Leafs on June 27, 2015. On the same weekend Toronto drafted Mitch Marner, Travis Dermott, and Jeremy Bracco, adding a depth defenceman from Slovakia was a footnote. Looking back now, in the state of the Leafs blueline it is surprising there was not more excitement about Marincin. By the…
Over the course of any season, especially one as turbulent as the Leafs have undergone, the transaction count really piles up as teams approach the trade deadline. Every trade, AHL assignment, NHL recall, waive, or signing leaves a little trace of what the team is thinking. I went back through my notes on each move…
At the start of every National Hockey League season, the announcement of development camp rosters begins a season-long scramble for information on players. NCAA free agents, CHL tryouts, European prospects, and other undrafted players get an opportunity to make a name for themselves at these development camps, and NHL teams get another chance to lay…
Mason Marchment is not another story of an NHL player’s son claiming a long-awaited opening in the NHL. With former Leaf Bryan Marchment his father and Los Angeles draft pick Jake Marchment his cousin, Mason wasn’t drafted to the NHL at all, or even the OHL for that matter. Rather, Marchment was playing Midget hockey…
When was the last time you heard Leafs news that wasn’t an injury, or Martin Marincin being recalled or loaned? At last, there is decidedly good news on the transaction front. The Toronto Maple Leafs have signed Justin Holl to a three-year contract extension, with a cap hit of $2,000,000 per season. Holl’s journey to…
