Good morning Toronto Maple Leafs fans!

Tonight the youngest member of the Maple Leafs family begins their season. Its hockey night in Newfoundland!

The ECHL Newfoundland Growlers are kicking off their fifth season with a three game series against the former Leafs ECHL team Reading Royals

The 'dogs are in search of their second Kelley Cup after winning it in their inaugural season. They have a new head coach with forme NHLer Matt Cooke behind the bench, taking over from Eric Wellwood who moved up to the Toronto Marlies before taking time off for personal reasons.

There are big expectations coming off last seasons 48-22-2 record, and making the Eastern Conference Finals the past two seasons, losing both series to the Florida Everblades.

Day one Growler Todd Skirving is back again this season, and 2021 6th round Leafs pick Vyacheslav Peksa is sharing the net with returning goalie Dryden McKay and Newfoundland Senior goalie Doug Pippy.

The Growlers have also released a digital magazine previewing the upcoming season:

Opening weekend is highlighted by the Newfoundland Sports Hall of Fame "Kitchen Party" on Saturday night and Sunday is "Jamarama Night", so all fans are invited to wear their pyjamas to the game, and there are even Growlers onesies for sale with $5 from each sold going to Janeway Children's Hospital. Sadly they do not come in adult sizes.

Game time is 7PM NDT, 5:30PM Toronto time, and you can stream it at the below link:

Newfoundland Growlers - Schedule - FloHockey
See the schedule for the Newfoundland Growlers collection on FloHockey.tv
FloHockey Logo

The Maple Leafs played the Florida Panthers last night, and uh. Yeah.

Recap: Leafs can’t spoil home opener for Cats
Lots of good mixed with lots of bad.
PPP LeafsHardev

No one gets to tell Auston Matthews what to do.

Have you ever forgotten your jersey when going to a game? Not wanted to drop a couple hundred on one? No worries, jersey rentals are coming!

https://www.si.com/fannation/bringmethesports/wild/meet-the-guy-with-a-truck-full-of-rentable-wild-jerseys-near-xcel-energy-center

What the heck are the Sharks doing?

Stan Smyl will forever be a Canuck, and he's happy to stay with the team in his new role.

Canucks: Stan Smyl changes roles, with no regrets
“Cancer is a brutal disease,” Stan Smyl says of his wife’s passing. A year later, he’s taking on another new role for the Vancouver Canucks.
The ProvincePatrick Johnston

Attendance issues? But when the team arrived I was told over and over and over and over and over and over that these are the best ever fans to cheer for a hockey team, the market is strong and it was all evil Gary Bettmans fault the original Jets left and no other possible reason. How dare you TSN. How dare you besmirch the good fans of Winnipeg.

Insider Trading: Winnipeg Jets’ attendance creates growing concerns | TSN
TSN’s Hockey Insiders examine Winnipeg’s attendance woes, a new NHL Draft format that teams have until Tuesday to vote on, the league working to host a ‘traditional’ draft next June, Craig Anderson retiring as a Senator and the latest on free agent Phil Kessel.
TSNTSN.ca Staff

On that happy note, have a good day everyone!

From The BranchesNewfoundland Growlers