Page 6ix Wednesday, February 24th: The Hab Nots? The Juggernots? The Canadiaint’s?

What a week in hockey! We learned that the sun is Gary Bettman’s nemesis, @Henrik Lundqvist defies odds, and the Habs are not, in fact, a juggernaut. We’re also dealing with a Leafs roster full of injuries, and Mike Babcock continues his attempted redemption tour…among other things.

Let’s dive in, eh?

Leafs Lads

The big story with the Leafs right now is how many of them are not playing. The injury list keeps growing, with @Jake Muzzin, @Joe Thornton, and @Frederik Andersen as recent additions. @Zach Hyman missed Monday’s game – a super fun 3-0 loss against Calgary – but looks to be back tonight, thankfully.

Sheldon Keefe on #Leafs injured parties:

Zach Hyman WILL play tonight. Nic Petan out.

Everyone else is still out.

— Kristen Shilton (@kristen_shilton) February 24, 2021

We’re crossing our fingers and toes that most of these are not long-term, and thankfully it looks as though Freddie, at least, is not:

Sheldon Keefe asked whether Frederik Andersen's injury is overly concerning, said it "doesn't look that way" and "from what I'm told, he's progressing well."

— Kristen Shilton (@kristen_shilton) February 24, 2021

Also hoping @Jack Campbell can get back in the lineup soon, as we’re definitely feeling the loss of our two main goalies.

Speaking of Jake Muzzin, who celebrated a birthday this weekend, apparently his impact is being felt in the Flames locker room:

Some notes from 31 thoughts

– LA won't be adding any pieces but sound determined to be in a better position this year.

– Calgary is having problems. He says ever since the Muzzin incident players aren't playing for the team. Says the flames will take calls on not just Bennett

— Unbeleafable (14-4-2) (@16to34) February 22, 2021

Whoops?

Elsewhere, Tessa Virtue informed us that @Morgan Rielly is a superior crib player, and we awww’d at how sweet they are:

Morgan Rielly and Tessa Virtue are an adorable elderly couple who play crib 💕 pic.twitter.com/46pENdZ8S5

— Mer (@MerOutLoud) February 23, 2021

The Leafs also brought back an old friend in a new role, and we are very excited about it, as is Mo!

Congratulations to @LeafsAlumni member Mark Fraser for taking on his new role with the @MapleLeafs. Mark will be working with the team & #MLSE staff under the role of Player Development, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion. #TMLA #LeafsForever pic.twitter.com/HuHIOkB2cD

— Maple Leafs Alumni (@LeafsAlumni) February 23, 2021

He’s back! ✌🏻 https://t.co/lvqhQePPA8

— morgan rielly (@mriles4) February 24, 2021

And in Leafs-adjacent news, Mike Babcock is apparently taking a coaching job at University of Saskatchewan, while continuing his interview tour to assert how great of a person he is:

“I knew when Lou left, I was getting fired.”

Mike Babcock joins @SNChrisSimpson on The Big Picture to discuss his time with the Maple Leafs and how it feels to see them finding success.

Watch the full interview tomorrow on Wednesday Night Hockey.
7pm ET / 4pm PT on Sportsnet. pic.twitter.com/MygXBiqG8S

— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) February 24, 2021

The HabNots

So – what’s happening over in Montreal?

Remember this:

A shortened season requires us to draw earlier conclusions: The #habs look like a juggernaut.

— Chris Johnston (@reporterchris) February 3, 2021

And then what happened?

The Canadiens have appointed Dominique Ducharme interim head coach and have added Alex Burrows to the coaching staff. Claude Julien and Kirk Muller have been relieved of their coaching duties. https://t.co/rhkfrD9m8f

— Canadiens Montréal (@CanadiensMTL) February 24, 2021

The Habs are coming off a three game losing streak, two of those to Ottawa. We’ll see if this shakeup launches them back to juggernaut status. In the meantime, enjoy our attempts at coming up with a nickname for them:

The Canadiaint's

— Filipe Dimas (@FilipeDimas) February 24, 2021

Jugger-not?

— Ian McLaren (@iancmclaren) February 24, 2021

Perplexing Panarin Situation

@Artemi Panarin is going through some really scary, strange stuff right now.

I've confirmed with #NYR that Artemi Panarin has taken a leave of absence. They're not saying much else for now, but clearly eyebrows are raised at these allegations coming after Panarin's been outspoken against Putin and he's concern about the well being of his family in Russia.

— Vince Z. Mercogliano (@vzmercogliano) February 22, 2021

pic.twitter.com/VcOJ4BqMHm

— New York Rangers (@NYRangers) February 22, 2021

The entire story is a bit unclear, but it appears that following Panarin speaking out against Putin, some allegations were made against him regarding an incident a while back. He is concerned about his family’s safety and has taken a leave of absence.

Wow.

Quick Hits

And to top things off, here are some quick hits from around the league:

Hank is back on the ice following open heart surgery!

The best type of workday! 😃 pic.twitter.com/2tWlS1iOmO

— Henrik Lundqvist (@hlundqvist35) February 23, 2021

The Lake Tahoe games LOOKED gorgeous, but ran into some ice issues, and Gary Bettman has a new enemy:

Gary Bettman said that "sunshine has always been our enemy."

— Greg Wyshynski (@wyshynski) February 20, 2021

And Kyle Dubas is the entirety of Leafs Nation following a ridiculous call on the ice:

Kyle Dubas is all of us pic.twitter.com/k6GCTI2RfN

— Omar (@TicTacTOmar) February 21, 2021

That’s all for this week, folks! Catch you next Wednesday – or, if you need a fix in the meantime, check out Channel 6ix, the new TLN podcast!

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