The NHL 2013 season kicks off in Montreal as the Maple Leafs take on the Canadiens. We have the Leafs' starting lineup and a quick question and answer with a Habs blog.

Two weeks ago, we were all writing off the season. This afternoon, NHL hockey is back, baby.

The Toronto Maple Leafs have made their final training camp cuts as Morgan Rielly has been sent back to Moose Jaw of the WHL, Matt Frattin will head back to the Toronto Marlies, and Jake Gardiner skated with the team for his first practice after suffering a concussion over a month ago.

One aspect that you will see in a lot of season previews is a focus on how many players in the lineup played in the AHL or overseas during the lockout. For the Maple Leafs, that number was 14. Will this help them or hinder them? Maybe. Will that answer depend on the results? Of course.

Has Nazem Kadri really "struggled" to make the NHL? In some ways yes - but for the most part he's been right on track.

The Maple Leafs are giving away free tickets to the season opener in order to thank fans for their patience during the lockout. Find out how to get your hands on some.

Tim Connolly, late of the Toronto Maple Leafs, has been exposed to waivers. Will he be picked up? There have been crazier moves made by teams...Thoughts on his future, Leo Komarov and more!

Centre Tim Connolly has been waived by the Toronto Maple Leafs. This should open up a roster spot for either Nazem Kadri or Matt Frattin.

Rob Vollman spent the lockout coming up with a new advanced statistic we can use to assess a player's puck distribution skills. It gives some surprising results with respect to the Leafs.

A trade! A trade! Oh. Well, that was OK.

The Toronto Maple Leafs have traded Matthew Lombardi to the Phoenix Coyotes for a conditional 4th round pick in 2014. The Leafs will also retain some salary. This will open a roster spot for either Nazem Kadri or Matt Frattin.

The Toronto Maple Leafs waived four players on Wednesday afternoon in order to get closer to their final roster, while defenseman Mike Kostka continues to impress

Based on geologist's latest projections Luke Schenn should arrive to the defensive zone within the next 1,000 years.

The Toronto Maple Leafs have made their final training camp cuts as Morgan Rielly has been sent back to Moose

The Toronto Maple Leafs are rumoured to be interested in acquiring Jonathan Bernier from the Los Angeles Kings but is he an upgrade on James Reimer and Ben Scrivens? A look at some studies on how to best predict a goalie's performance and the trio's statistics suggest that he might not be wo

Jay McClement is slated to be a big defensive piece this year but what do we know about how Randy Carlyle might use his forwards?

This is why we can't have nice things.

It is a refreshing change to get some actual Leafs news to discuss.

The NHL is discounting Cent(re/er) ice roughly 40% this season, what do you think?

A few twitter users mentioned me to show me this, but the first was @nyrmike21: If true that's

It turns out that the Mayans didn't mean that the world was going to end in 2012 but after reading these 'elite' examples of 'journalism' I don't think you'd be remiss to wish that we had suffered the hellish landscape that Erich von Däniken foolishly predicted.

Give a listen to the podcasts linked below for some good discussions on the Leafs, and click the links for

The Toronto Maple Leafs have come to terms with restricted free agent Cody Franson who was playing in Sweden.

A Maple Leafs fan angrily explains how the team's return to hockey has ruined his nice afternoon.

This year's Hockey Prospectus Publication indicates the Leafs 2012-13 edition may finally make the playoffs after wandering for 8 years in the wilderness.