The squad 👊 Here's our roster for Training Camp Fuelled by @GatoradeCanada. #LeafsForever 📰 tml.hockey/2X8Vcwa
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Page 6ix Wednesday, January 6th: Happy New Hockey Year!
Happy New Year hockey fans! It’s 2021, hockey will be back next week officially, and things are looking up! So much has happened over the past week, especially with training camps starting up, that there is tons to dive into. Much of today’s fun will be Leafs-related, but there are some bits and pieces from around the league and greater hockey world to touch on, as well.
Let’s get started!
Leafsland Excitement
Camp is underway and that means new Leafs content every single day! I’m excited, are you excited? The players seem excited! Take a look at the training camp roster:
We learned about this over the holidays thanks to Instagram, but @William Nylander confirmed that some of the boys were getting to know New Dad @Joe Thornton by quarantining together!!!!
Nylander says he, Thornton, Matthews, Sandin and Hollowell lived together for two weeks in a "quarantine house thing" in the lead-up to #Leafs camp.
Looks like there’s a bit of a clear-cut A and B squad at camp, which might give us an idea of what the lines will look like on opening night – there are some surprises here, for sure. It’s a bit chaotic, and we happen to adore chaos.
Group 2 @MapleLeafs practice lines and defensive pairings for January 4: Robertson−Engvall−Anderson Petan−Boyd−Brazeau Agostino−Brooks−Sabourin Gaudet−Chartier Marincin−Liljegren Rosen−Hollowell Kivihalme Dell Hutchinson #LeafsForever
Of course, everyone loves a scrimmage, and with @Alexander Kerfoot out with an injury already, we’ve got a peek at what today’s matchup is:
Rosters for today’s training camp scrimmage. #LeafsForever
And to finish off the look at what’s happening in Leafs land, let’s hear from some of our new favourite guys on what donning the blue and white means to them:
New Leaf Joe Thornton on playing with Matthews and Marner and putting on that Leafs sweater for the first time.
Wayne Simmonds: "I skated past the glass again today (to see his reflection) and I still look good in blue and white. It's been awesome since the day I signed. The talent in here is incredible".
Big Boston News
Of course, we can’t look back at this past week in hockey without mentioning the big, big Boston news. As we speculated last week, @Zdeno Chara has in fact moved on from the team he captained for so long. Chara is now a Washington Capital, and the reaction to this was emotional from Bruins fans, to say the least:
Boston has been lucky to have @zeechara33 leading the @NHLBruins for the past 14 years. He’s not only an unbelievable athlete, but a great role model, and a good man who has touched the lives of so many. We’re going to miss you, Captain!
OFFICIAL! BIG Z TO DC! The Washington Capitals have agreed to terms with defenseman Zdeno Chara to a one-year, $795,000 contract. Full Details: Washca.ps/ZdenoChara #ALLCAPS
Big news for Big Z as he heads to DC.
Around the Hockey World
The Islanders continue to do @Josh Ho-Sang dirty. Just set him free already!
Told that as of now #Isles are not inviting Josh Ho-Sang to training camp. Ho-Sang signed a one-year, two-way deal on Oct. 27. Could attend AHL camp later in January, but will likely not be with the group that starts main camp on Sunday.
Drama brewing over in Columbus with @Pierre-Luc Dubois:
Pierre-Luc Dubois is not in Columbus as camp approaches and remains unsigned. And now there are rumblings from a few teams around the league that Dubois may be looking for a change of scenery. Maybe wishful thinking on their part. But stay tuned on this one.
👀
#CBJ coach John Tortorella says Pierre-Luc Dubois’ desire for a trade will be handled similarly, in one respect, to how Bobrovsky / Panarin played out two seasons ago. They’ll confront it as a group and deal with it out in the open, he said.
A new captain over in Minnesota:
BREAKING: Minnesota Wild name Jared Spurgeon as their new captain. #MNWild
And, of course, the news from yesterday – congratulations to Team USA:
Divisional Drama and Helmet Hoopla
And finally, we end with two pieces of drama that are dividing hockey fans: the new division sponsorships and the ads on helmets that are meant to help the league make up lost revenue this season:
The @NHL partners with @Discover, @Honda, @MassMutual and @Scotiabank to name divisions for the 2020-21 NHL season. nhl.com/news/nhl-annou…
What do you think of the NHL's new helmet ads? 🏒 #HockeyTwitter
What are your thoughts on these income-generating moves?
That’s all for this week, folks – check in next week in advance of opening night to see what’s happening around the hockey world! And check out our Twitter in the meantime.
Breaking News
- Maple Leafs’ Gavin McKenna speaks on first pitch at Blue Jays game: ‘It was a tough throw’
- Report: Zach Werenski willing to accept trade to Maple Leafs
- Maple Leafs receive A+ in Daily Faceoff’s post-draft report card
- Maple Leafs’ Alexander Bilecki excited to bring ‘winning mentality’ to Toronto
- Draft weekend and what happens next: Leaflets