From The Branches

Tim Leiweke, the soon to be ex-CEO of Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment, was the guest at a Ryerson Univeristy discussion on Law, Business, and Politics yesterdayand let me tell you, he can quit soon enough. This guy is absolutely clueless. The "best" soundbite starts at the

12 days until pre-season and another piece falls into place. I hope you're reading up on the Top 25 Under 25 because there will be a quiz at the end. Spencer Abbott Re-Signs 575k for one year. Moore Re-signs with NYR 850.5k for one

Links Led by Sweden, European Players Continue to Emerge Yeah buddy Nylander son. Top 60 NHL Prospects Composite Rankings Scout B knows what's up. TLN Top 20 Prospects #5 Peter Granberg's awfully high for someone who can't score points. Turns out he's

Quick, everyone look surprised.

Links Fan Fest A Missed Opportunity Sounds like the Leafs totally Leafed up their FanFest. Remember These Two? Yup, Leafs got some good kiddos. TLN Top 20 Leafs Prospects #7 Andreas Johnson comes in pretty high on this list. As the Leafs Rebuild Their Bottom 9 what's the

What do you have planned for this late summer weekend? Soccer's back, football's starting on Sunday, and rookie camp's a week away. Sports are in the air, my friends! Until then, try reading: Puck Daddy’s NHL 2014-15 Emoji Preview: Toronto Maple Leafs

Links Stamkos Speculation May Have Been Overblown? Ya don't say? Of Elephants and Men Arctic Ice with an excellent parable to explain the thought process and dangers of the "seen him good" crowd. Five Keys to a Successful Oilers Season The Oilers really need to let

Yesterday, QMI News Agency reported Sidney Crosby had been arrested in Ottawa for DUI - turns out, "jail" sounds a lot like "Vale," as the star was in Colorado rather than Canada's Capital. The Sun, devoting all the fact-checking resources you'd expect,

I don't know about you, but I'm getting real tired of this recent rash of articles saying "this stats blogger/MSM 'war' has to end, both sides are at fault here". Oddly enough, all of these articles are being written by members

Soon.

Two weeks until rookie camp, three weeks until pre-season, and four-and-a-half weeks until the regular season. Enjoy the long weekend as a typically hockey-free August fades away. Good time to catch up on all the great prospect rankings that have gone out. Jersey Fouls: An

Rumor is that the league is considering an expansion to Seattle, Las Vegas, Quebec City and a second team in Toronto. Could we actually see hockey players in Las Vegas for a reason other than to bore the crap out of everyone who lost the remote? Would anyone here consider

Links When Darkness Fails a) It's a dumb video game. b) It's a dumb video game. Kyle Dubas on the Jeff Blair Show Talking stats and stuff I guess. 1957-58 Topps - And Then There Were Three If you enjoy card collection, these are the posts

It's still the Summer of Stats.

How to do the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge in six easy steps. You're up Bower Power, clrkaitken, and JP Nikota. Links Penny Dreadful Getting back to an anomaly. 10 Pre-pre-season Maple Leaf Observation Carlyle, still here. Corey Pronman Talking Leafs Prospects /picture of bare cupboards

Only 30 more days until Leafs' pre-season hockey opens up. Tim Leiweke’s pending departure: good or bad for the Maple Leafs? Thousands of radios across the GTA have deflated. How much does a standings point cost in the NHL? Estimating the amount of money NHL teams need

Links Hockey Night in Stoufville Is there a bar in Stoufville? The Log Off Podcast Episode 7 With special guest Corey Pronman. Tim Lieweke's Pending Depature Good or bad for the Leafs? The Steve Dangle Podcast Toe spaceship....whatever that means.

Boy there sure is a lot more to talk about than I'd have guessed for August 21st. The NHL: Are things finally going right for two NHL laughingstocks? The latest from DGB. The Stats: Reviewing Rob Vollman's "Hockey Abstract 2014" A book review of

A couple of links to get you folks rolling

Links Pressue? What Pressure? Atlas ain't got shit on the Leafs. If You Were MLSE, Which Numbers Would You Retire? Trick question, the Leafs only retire numbers if players die.

Sorry for the delayed FTB,all. Have some links to make up for it. Sonny Milano Signs with Blue Jackets Being of good taste and sound mind, first rounder Sonny Milano has decided to sign with the Jackets, instead of going to Boston College. Is there any new hockey news?

First 3 players chosen for iconic Maple Leafs monument outside ACC Surprise names to be revealed today. Anyone wanna guess who's on it? On Life, Death & the Reality of Depression -- My Story - Defending Big D In light of the great stories in Tuesday's FTB, I

Links What's Ailing the Maples Leafs' PK Part 1 Lots of things. Oilers Hiring Moving Deepen's League's Interest in Analytics Eakins with a pretty good quote.

Links Leafs Optimism Heading into the Season? Just summertime hope? And that's about it.

Read about these things. Then talk about them. If you haven't seen some of the other great front page content we've had over the last week, check those out for sure. Brendan Shanahan has made Maple Leafs bulletproof\ Trending Topics talks Toronto. GIF Tournament Division Semifinal,