Happy birthday Mitchy! 🎂
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 5th: The Rangers take on NHL Player Safety
Happy Hump Day gossip hounds. I’m sure there are little things we can and will touch on from around the league, but obviously the big story is the @Tom Wilson-New York Rangers-NHL Player Safety saga to wrap our heads around, so we’ll get to that shortly. Let’s start, though, as always, with what’s happening in Leafs-land.
Leafs Lads
Happy birthday @Mitch Marner! Everyone’s favorite overgrown Leafs kid is celebrating today:
Our still sidelined goalie @Frederik Andersen is talking about where he likes to eat in Toronto (when not in lockdown, obviously):
And the Leafs have signed a new baby player:
🖋 We’ve signed forward Kirill Semyonov to a one year entry-level contract for the 2021-22 season. #LeafsForever Details » tml.hockey/3b4i1sm
Welcome to Leafsnation, Kirill. Good luck and godspeed.
At practice today, someone is sporting some new gear:
FOLKS, look who is wearing Felix Potvin pads at practice
Now, to clarify:
BTW, this is Rittich and not Hutchinson. Made for Hutch last year, I wonder if this was just to get him out of the red gear. Rittich and Hitch worked earlier and have since left.
FOLKS, look who is wearing Felix Potvin pads at practice
Sharing goal pads?? Is this a new thing?
Also, check out the interesting lines at practice:
#Leafs lines at practice: Thornton-Matthews-Marner Galchenyuk-Tavares-Nylander Mikheyev-Kerfoot-Noesen Engvall-Spezza-Simmonds Rielly-Brodie Muzzin-Holl Sandin-Dermott Andersen Campbell Absent: Foligno Extra: Brooks, Liljegren, Hutton
Hopefully some of these absences are precautionary, to keep players healthy for the upcoming playoffs:
#Leafs practice attendance summary: - Nick Foligno (upper-body) is absent - Zach Hyman (MCL) and Riley Nash (knee) are participating in no-contact red - Justin Holl is back, wearing a full shield
The Big News
Okay, let’s break this down shall we?
This happened in the Rangers/Capitals game the other night –
@NHL @NHLPlayerSafety @cam_manning133 How many times does it take for Tom Wilson to illegally hit someone to take action? 10, 11, 12 times? He is endangering players like never before! Do better, take action!
There was a ton of uproar and calls for major repercussions for Wilson.
Alas –
Washington’s Tom Wilson has been fined $5,000, the maximum allowable under the CBA, for Roughing NY Rangers’ Pavel Buchnevich.
Womp womp.
BUT THEN!
OH SH!T!
So to recap: Scrum during game, Wilson does some questionable stuff, he doesn’t get appropriately penalized by NHL player safety – all of this? Par for the course with the NHL. But a major market team calling out the league, Player Safety, and demanding that GEORGE PARROS BE REMOVED? Not so par for the course!!!!
Now, to top it off, THE TWO TEAMS PLAY AGAIN TONIGHT!!!!!!
What will happen??????
Quick Hits
I guess there are other teams and other things to touch on, so let’s take a quick look around the league:
@Sidney Crosby fighting??? What is in the water this season?
Sidney Crosby and Travis Konecny got into a wrestling match. 😬 #NHLonSN
Aww, we love a good baby goalie fairytale:
28 year old rookie goalie Michael Houser has just won his first 2 NHL games on back to back nights. Tonight 45 saves and a shootout win for Buffalo against the Islanders. An amazing story
More baby players getting their shot!
We love to see it.
Keep your eyes on that Rangers/Capitals game tonight, friends. it’s gonna be a doozy.
Happy Hump Day!
Breaking News
- Maple Leafs shouldn’t be picky with trade return for Morgan Rielly
- Maple Leafs reportedly interviewing Peter Laviolette, Patrick Roy for head coach
- Penn State head coach Guy Gadowsky dives into process behind recruiting Gavin McKenna
- Guy Gadowsky thinks Gavin McKenna is perfect for Toronto: Leafs Morning Take
- 2 Maple Leafs draft picks go unsigned, will re-enter 2026 NHL Entry Draft