From The Branches

Double Nikolai The girls at Ginger Snowflake think this would make for a great caption contest. Have at it. Leafs Prospect Updates Morgan Rielly; total mustache bust. Marlies 5, Heat 0 MLHS with a Marlies recap. Maple Leafs Panel: How the Lockout is Affecting the Team The Hockey Writers talk

Flyers owner Ed Snider may be trying to shift support away from Gary Bettman among the Board of Governors. Could this be the breakthrough the labor impasse needs?

When Baghdad Bill Daly finally starts speaking with a dour tone, you know things aren't going very well: "We have made repeated moves in the Players' direction with absolutely no reciprocation. Regardless of what we propose or how we suggest to compromise the answer is '

Apparently, Joffrey Lupul has overcome all those bureaucratic barriers to playing hockey in the KHL that Cam Charron brought up and is now playing for the worst team in the league. He should be more or less used to that feeling. ANYWAY. It's good to hear that he&

So apparently something happened in the world of baseball or whatever last night involving a mega-trade and a skeezy team owner. BORING! Let's talk more about on again, off again boardroom discussions between NHL an NHLPA lawyers. That's where the real fun is at amiright?

Need I say more? On to the links. Sundin will never forget what Leafs fans gave him "When I landed in Toronto on Thursday afternoon I came home." From Ryan Dadoun at NBC Sports. Love him or not, Mats Sundin was one of "ours" If you

Over at the Hockey Writers, Lukas Hardonk wrote a piece titled "How a Full-Season Lockout Puts the Toronto Maple Leafs in a Tough Spot". In it, he says that a full season lockout would be bad for the Leafs for two reasons: Players Contracts and Player Development.

Lazy Linkage on a Friday Leafs in 10-Game Segments That'd make for a great roller coaster. Day Dreaming: Former Leafs We'd Like to See Return Eh, sure. Leafs Nation Roundtable Talking hockey. How Often Does Rebuilding Work? Not all that often. Backhand Shelf Podcast Talking

All this silence around the NHL/PA negotiations makes me think that a deal is imminent. That is, "a couple weeks from now" imminent. If it's not imminent and the season is toast, then I'm moving to Russia to watch KHL hockey. (Also, you

While the US general elections were held yesterday, the most important vote you can cast is still available to you. That's right, it's a vote for the Marek vs Wyshynski podcast as the best of the sport podcasts for 2012. I mean if it isn'

YOU WANT MORE!?

We're staring down the barrel of a cancelled season. What should we write about?

I caused a stir at the end of the week when I suggested that the side that is desperate to give Darryl Katz a free arena are a bunch of rubes being led by the nose by the complicit media who are playing the role of The Music Man. One

Yesterday, Deadspin ran an article surrounding baseball sabremetrician-turned political poll aggregator Nate Silver and the vitriol thrown his way by those in both traditional sports and political reporting. It's a very poignant article, the basic premise of which has been debated time and again on this very

If you've ever been around for a conversation regarding horrendous stories about insane hockey parents thinking their precious little snowflakes are bound for the pros, you know that we often say that unless a kid is the best in town by the time they're 10 that

Looking a little sparse today. Got any links to add? Throw 'em in the comments. Leivo, Brown, & Rielly are lighting it up Prospect update from MLHS and Blue Chip Prospects Hockey night in Hershey Minor league hockey with major league fans

First, let me be clear. I am in no way, shape or form calling for you to stuff this Globe and Mail ballot on the best of their 12 team hockey draft in favor of our Benevolent Overlord PPP.....Oh wait, that's exactly what I'm asking

Alright, here's one that I got thinking about yesterday as I prepared to coach my students to the grade seven and eight tournament: When I was eight years old, I was playing on a travel team and we had a coach that was competitive - really competitive. Angry tirades

MacArthur Off to Germany Moron waited too long and missed Oktoberfest. Early Marlies Thoughts 2012-13 UKHockeyFan checks out the baby buds. The Outsiders: Marlies Defensemen We talking dmen. US World Junior Watch Tyler Biggs seems to be a lock. MacArthur to Join German Club and More Cool. IPP for

Here be your links. Marlies End Weekend with Shootout Loss Lame. Rynnas Fumes as Griffins Edge Marlies in Shootout Great. I mean the last ill tempered Scandinavian goalie we had worked out so well. Is it Time for Brian Burke to Get Daring Again Not if it means mortgaging the

Got a few links, mostly CBA related for you folks. The Narrowing Financial Gap between the NHL and NHLPA New stuff from mc79hockey Why are there so many conflicts in pro sports? Deepak Malhotra with a special piece for Forbes Marlies win 5-0 over Hamilton Cam Charron has the

While a new CBA remains in limbo, fresh rumors about Roberto Luongo to the Leafs have sprung up across the vast wasteland that is the internet. How serious should we take these rumors?

NHL puts forth a CBA proposal. NHLPA puts forth a counter proposal. NHL immediately rejects said counter proposal, followed by three months of random meetings in NYC or Toronto with little apparent progress. Now the process is starting over once again. Wake me up in January for another ring around

Morgan Rielly: One More Year in Junior BCP talks the Leafs 2012 1st rounder. Player Notes from the Marlies Loss to Lake Erie Looking good. Seeking '59s, Finding '58s I don't know about you, but I'm fascinated by 1967ers card quest. Braving the Beer

Toronto Maple Leafs Prospect Updates - Curt at Blue Chip Prospects Morgan Rielly is 8 games into his WHL season with the Moose Jaw Warriors. Rielly has been great this season on a pretty pitiful Warriors team. Rielly's 12 points (2G, 10A) put him second in WHL scoring by