John Tavares is going to be missing tonight's game as he's instead back home in Toronto to be with his family as they welcome their 4th 5th 6th child, Tucker Tavares! Big brothers Easton Cowan and Gavin McKenna will be in the Leafs lineup, with Nick Paul shuffling up to the second line and ensuring minimal disruptions to the lineup while JT inevitably deals with the many disruptions of a newborn.

In the very rare (but possible!) circumstance where John is reading our blog, please enjoy some news featuring his adopted kid!

NHL EDGE stats: McKenna sets fastest skating speed by 18-year-old | NHL.com
Maple Leafs rookie excels in key advanced metrics; scored 1st goal on mid-range shot
NHL logoFantasy Hockey Staff

Here's some sportlogic data around Marchenko's game.

How Maple Leafs’ Marchenko is making presence felt
Kirill Marchenko has been a Toronto Maple Leaf for five games now. Adam Vingan looks at how the forward is making his presence felt in his new home.
Sportsnet.caAdam Vingan

The Habs traded LD Jayden Struble to Nashville for a second round pick. Struble was drafted by the Habs in the second round. Struble has one year left at $1.4m and change and at 25 is is an RFA at the end of the season. He's been gradually getting less icetime and is probably a third pair guy.

Eight Flames games are going to start at 9pm this season, including two at home. Fans, players, and management gave their perspectives. Conversely, the Flames also get eight afternoon games which the team says is great for families of fans and the team alike.

Permanent daylight time brings quirky NHL start times to Western Canada
Hockey fans across North America may have to be night owls at points this season to see their team play, thanks to a move by three Canadian provinces to stay on daylight saving time.
TSNThe Associated Press

The summer expectations are getting re-written in early October.

Five ways the early NHL season is altering pre-season predictions
Pre-season predictions help us set baseline expectations for teams and players around the NHL. But Justin Bourne writes how the first handful of games are changing his perception of these five things.
Sportsnet.caJustin Bourne

Matt Dumba retires after 13 seasons. He had a few years as a good middle pair defender.

Defenceman Matt Dumba retiring after 13 NHL seasons
The NHL Players’ Association announced on Friday that defenceman Matt Dumba is retiring after 748 career NHL games.
TSNTSN.ca Staff

Frank Nazar is getting suspended for two games for a head hit.

Blackhawks’ Nazar receives two-game suspension for illegal check to head of Islanders’ Horvat
Chicago Blackhawks forward Frank Nazar has been given a two-game suspension for an illegal check to the head of New York Islanders forward Bo Horvat, it was announced by the Department of Player Safety on Friday night.
TSNTSN.ca Staff

Maybe not NHL history, the NHL has seen some pretty freaky stuff.

Are the Larkin, Hellebuyck situations the most awkward in NHL history?
Larkin and Hellebuyck requested trades from their respective teams this past offseason.
Daily FaceoffRyan Cuneo

Apologies for the broken links in the next two articles.

Russ Courtnal's daughter, Brooklyn Courtnall, is on the roster for the Canadian women's national soccer team ahead of two friendlies against Denmark in Montreal and Toronto on Oct. 9 and Oct. 12.

https://www.blogto.com/sports_play/2026/10/daughter-1980s-leafs-player-added-canadas-national-soccer-team/

The Toronto Star is looking into why Leafs Talk was quietly cancelled on the eve of the NHL season.

https://www.thestar.com/sports/leafs/sportsnet-s-popular-leafs-talk-show-was-quietly-cancelled-this-season-we-tried-to-find-out-why/article_9a4ee45f-eb15-4d33-bba5-d0492406088a.html

Lastly, I leave you with definitely the worst highlight clip of all time. But also four points for Leafs prospect Nick Moldenhauer for Michigan against a team they out-class by a mile.

From The Branches