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…
I’m calling it now, Kristians Rubins will be the first ever Toronto Maple Leaf from Latvia. The large, smooth skating defenseman was under the radar until the Leafs signed Rubins to his 2 year ELC in April 2020. Toronto may not have even noticed him in the first place if he weren’t WJC teammates with…
Thirty minutes before the opening of free agency, the Maple Leafs announced a trade: TRADE: We’ve acquired the rights to defenceman Brennan Menell from Minnesota in exchange for a conditional seventh-round selection in 2022. #LeafsForever — Toronto Maple Leafs (@MapleLeafs) July 28, 2021 The 7th rounder is conditional on Menell playing 30 games for the…
Every year I spend countless hours collecting data, identifying changes, and making spreadsheets for NHL contracts. Without giving too much away, these spreadsheets are my window into the gradual, large-scale change in the NHL landscape. Last year it helped me understand why so many talented depth players headed for Europe, and why RFAs who went…
At noon EST today, the New Jersey Devils placed Nikita Gusev on unconditional waivers for the purpose of mutual contract termination. Nikita Gusev on unconditional waivers for purposes of termination. Has not played since March 20, as young players take over in NJ. Was on waivers 9 days ago, but hit of $4.5M made it…
At this point most fans are aware that the NHL trade deadline falls on April 12th, and it’s no secret the Toronto Maple Leafs are looking to add. The mystery is who, and we have some parameters on that. The general consensus is that the Leafs are targeting a middle 6 forward, most likely on…
The 2nd best hockey league in the world just wrapped up their regular season, 60 Kontinental Hockey League games for teams in Russia, Finland, Belarus, Latvia, Kazakhstan, and China. The usual suspects sit atop the league with CSKA Moskva and SKA St. Petersburg leading the West, Ak Bars Kazan and Avangard Omsk tops in the…
On the AHL transactions page today was the Marlies addition of a 6’1″ Russian LW, Pavel Gogolev. If his name sounds familiar that is because he scores at least 5 goals on every Semyon Der-Arguchintsev highlight reel. The pair of Russians were teammates on Peterborough for parts of 3 seasons from 2016-18, joined by Nick…
Toronto defeated Vancouver 7-3 today in a dominant display of offense. The Leafs scored early, scored often, and most importantly, scored at even strength. That is a formula for success in any game, especially when you cannot always rely on consistent officiating. I will limit this to one gripe, and that is the uncalled boarding…
There has been plenty of talk about the NHL’s revenues lately, largely tied to the addition of a primary helmet partner, and divisional corporate sponsors: With the official start of training camp, we proudly announce Scotiabank as the team’s helmet partner for the 2020-21 season. Thank you @scotiabank for your continued support of the Maple…
