Congrats, Captain! 👏 For his leadership on and off the ice, @91Tavares has been named our nominee for the 2020-21 King Clancy Memorial Trophy. #LeafsForever
Nation Sites
The Nation Network
The LeafsNation has no direct affiliation to the Toronto Maple Leafs, Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment, NHL, or NHLPA
Page 6ix Wednesday, May 19th: When will the Leafs play hockey again, and other things.
Does it feel like it’s been a million years since the Leafs played to anyone else, too? I don’t even remember if they won or lost their last game, because I was so focused on playoffs. And then nothing happened. Why aren’t the Leafs playing yet! It’s not fair!
Okay now that I got that out of my system – playoffs have started everywhere else, just not in Canada. And so have all the reports coming out from teams and players not in the playoffs, which are always fun and full of juicy little tidbits. So let’s dive in, shall we?
Leafs Land
We start, as always, with our boys in blue.
This morning, the Leafs celebrated captain @John Tavares for his leadership off the ice, in addition to on it.
Congrats captain!
Elsewhere, the Leafs signed a new baby goalie!
🖋 We’ve signed goaltender Erik Källgren to a two-year, two-way contract. #LeafsForever Details » tml.hockey/3f0w84a
And made some moves in their player development department –
We’ve announced elevations and additions to the player development department. #LeafsForever Details » tml.hockey/2QuKJf2
While they prepare for playoffs to finally start, some good news at practice:
Zach Bogosian has shed the red no-contact sweater for #Leafs practice today. He’s in regular defenceman black. Another good sign he’ll be available for Toronto in the first round.
AAAAAAAND:
Sheldon Keefe says Jack Campbell will start for #Leafs in Game 1 vs. Montreal
That’s right baby. Remind me who called it at the start of the season? Who was it who said @Jack Campbell would be the Leafs starter by playoffs? Oh, that’s right. IT WAS ME. Let’s do this thing!
In Leafs-adjacent news, sticks are back at Tims! Go get yours, Canadian friends.
And finally, this gave me a nice chuckle:
Around the League in 60 Seconds
…or so. Alright – what else is going on?
The drama with @Jack Eichel and the Sabres continues:
Dreger - The #Sabres expected Eichel to not reveal a ton during his media availability. They didn't expect Eichel to come out with a sledgehammer and hammer the organization in the forehead. It certainly caused a stir in the organization.
Meanwhile, despite the drama, the team seems to be making their best effort to keep him happy?
Jack Eichel has been selected as our nominee for the King Clancy Memorial Trophy, awarded annually to the NHL player "who best exemplifies leadership qualities on and off the ice and has made a noteworthy humanitarian contribution in his community." 🙌
Curious.
Elsewhere:
torts was trying to quit his job all year lol
And the Eichel situation has sparked a bit of a deep dive into player healthcare in general:
This is about the need for a real Players' Union with teeth, so NHL players have more say in their treatment.
Who knew Daryl Sutter was so religious?
As noted, the playoffs have begun, and they are fun! Lots of OT, lots of tension and tempers, lots of entertainment. Can’t wait to join the action tomorrow night.
Have a great hockey week!
Breaking News
- Phil Housley puts his name in the hat for Leafs head coaching vacancy: Leafs Morning Take
- Morgan Rielly and Matthew Knies appear on The Athletic’s offseason trade board
- Daily Faceoff’s Steven Ellis previews Gavin McKenna, Tinus Luc Koblar’s breakout at IIHF World Championship
- Maple Leafs notebook: Tinus Luc Koblar leads Norway into semifinals at IIHF World Championship
- Morgan Rielly lands on latest trade board from Sportsnet’s Nick Kypreos