BREAKING: Jeffler Shuts Up

As we approached the Olympic Break, there was a bit of uncertainty as to what level of content production we could pull off here on The Leafs Nation. Knowing that I had been pretty inactive for the months prior, I decided to make a list that involved me writing an article every day for three weeks. THREE WEEKS! That was a very ambitious and borderline unrealistic goal for me.

That was February 9th. it’s August 9th. I still haven’t missed a day. It’s taken lots of news, lots of editorials, too many mailbags, and some serious stretches of the imagination to create content. But we’re at six months now.

I’m pulling the plug on it today. Truth be told, this is the quietest part of the year and it’s borderline stressful to think of topics. I haven’t left my basement (JEFF NOTE: I haven’t actually lived in or possessed a basement since I was a year old) since 2013. It’s sunny outside and I want to see what that’s like.

But seriously, I’m going to take a little bit of downtime. In the mean time, here are my ten most-read posts of the past six months:

Written on the second day of this stupid thing. This post talks about TJ Brennan, and how he basically was basically the heartbeat of the Toronto Marlies’ success. The team continued to use him as a focal point in both their offensive and defensive deployments, and was one game short of their second Calder Cup Finals appearance in three years. Brennan has since signed with the New York Islanders.

Just a few weeks ago, it seemed like there was a lot of uncertainty surrounding James Reimer’s future in Toronto. There’s still a bit of it, but a contract changes a lot of things. Anyway, despite his own pleas, it was a much better idea than the Sparks wildcard I threw into the end.

Jake Gardiner is awesome. Long term, medium-salary deals are awesome. Together, they are double awesome. The awesome per 60 is off the charts.

People said that my contract comparables were too high at 4.5 to 5.5 million. Bolland got 5.25 million. Who is laughing now? Well, Bolland, mostly. Still can’t believe a team paid him.

The rumours appear to have disappeared, but people’s opinions on him remain as polarizing as ever. Meanwhile, I was right about Grabovski and Kulemin signing together, but not about the destination (I had Ottawa, not the Islanders).

My hope was for the Leafs to acquire someone to play with him. I don’t know if they’ve directly done that, but Jake Gardiner seems deserving of a minute promotion, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see the second pair play more minutes this season. Maybe this one worked out for the best.

Yet another reminder that Dave Bolland is overhyped by many, and an attack on emotion-based journalism. I wish I actually sold that t-shirt, but at the same time, have no interest in getting sued. 

I wish Steve would broaden his horizons a bit. He’s a very talented and intelligent person. I guess the “get people talking with hot takes” method is an easy and beneficial one, but I just couldn’t see myself doing the same in his shoes. His choice, ultimately.

We don’t know yet if Stammer is actually interested in coming here, but I talk about Tim Leiweke’s crazy plans. The Kevin Durant plan seems to be underway; noted MLSE employee Aubrey Graham brought him out to OVO Fest and had the Toronto crowd cheer KD on as if he were a Raptor to end the main concert.

Leo really loved the Leafs. Still does, and he showed it while playing for Dynamo Moscow. I really miss him, if only there was some sort of way to get him to come back…

*checks transaction page*

*smiles profusely*

This was our April Fools prank for this year, and it was published at 12:00 AM Toronto time. A lot of people believed it and had corresponding panic attacks. It’s the second most popular article in TheLeafsNation history and was the talk of the town for, like, dozens of minutes before people checked their calendars.

Even if April Reimer is no longer a target, the main point stays the same; it’s just a hockey game. There’s no need to attack others, especially relatives of players solely because the player did something on your TV that you didn’t like.