From The Branches

Night and day. Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Call it what you will, but Nikolai Kulemin has put together two polarizing seasons in succession that have fans of the Leafs and fantasy hockey managers alike questioning what his true potential is... For Kulemin’s sake and for the sake of

Money, expectations and our macho culture can’t help but lead to issues for many athletes: a delicate balance that doesn’t always work out - Mike Langlois at Vintage Leaf Memories When Ron MacLean spoke the other night on Hockey Night in Canada and tried to, albeit somewhat awkwardly,

So last night the Flyers fell to the Devils, and three of the four conference finalists are now known. Tonight could make it four as the Rangers are one game away from eliminating the Capitals. Who ya got in tonight's game? What about the possible conference finals matchups?

The Phoenix Coyotes shutout the Nashville Predators 2-0 last night to clinch a spot in the Western Conference Finals against the LA Kings. While they were winning, Gary Bettman announced that former San Jose Sharks CEO Greg Jamison has been approved as a prospective owner for the club. The NHL

This is where you can talk about hockey.

This is a lazy Sunday FTB, to get you warmed up for two playoff games this afternoon. The LA Kings look to eliminate the St Louis Blues and move on to the conference finals at 3 PM Eastern today, while the Philadelphia Flyers look to bounce back and tie the

The Flyers-Devils game went to overtime, with Ponikarovsky pushing the Devils ahead. Kovalchuk had three points in his return. New Jersey leads the series 2-1. The Blues continue to have no answer for the Kings, who've jumped to a 3-games-to-none lead. Barry Trotz will make an interesting and

Every year, for some reason, I look forwards to the absurdly long hockey game of the playoffs. Not just the 95 minute game between Rinne and Luongo from 2011, but the 107 minute game between Leclaire and Fleury of 2010, the 101 minute game between Osgood and Hiller of 2009,

Yes, those ugly neighbours to Ontario's east made headlines this morning with the news that they have signed Marc Bergevin to be their new GM. Sean Gordon of the Globe & Mail had a quick recap: Though the Canadiens job is surely one of the most sought-after in

Can you think of a single Leafs player that desperately needs to find his game? Or that needs to find a game? Any one, we're not picky. Even if it was golf. I mean, hey, that would help the Leafs' cap situation, right? Well, we're

This is where I would put the links if I hadn't driven back from Montreal last night after walked a quarter of a marathon while the lady friend ran half of one. Needless to say, tired. Put your links in the comments and I'll get to

The second round of the playoffs kicked off last night with an OT tilt between Phoenix and Nashville that went to the home team. The Rangers-Caps kick off their series at 3pm today, and the Kings-Blues provide the prime-time entertainment at 7:30. Here are some links (mostly non-Leafs): What

Staying up to watch a double-OT game that didn't start until 8:30pm EST because NBCSports is stupid will do many things to man. One of them being making him forget to write an FTB. I am that man. This is that FTB. Tonight starts the second round

There have been reports Luongo has a list of six to nine teams he would accept waiving his no-trade clause for, including Toronto (where his old goalie coach, Francois Allaire, is employed) and the two Florida teams, close to his wife's family. Via: The Province This is overflow

So last night the Boston Bruins were eliminated by the Washington Capitals, and speculation began anew that Tim Thomas could be had in a trade this off-season. Further fanning the trade flames was the news that Roberto Luongo will provide, in very short order, a list of five teams to

(Not Leafs related, but whatever.) If you're on Twitter and for some reason follow Michael Yormark, president of the Florida Panthers, than you know that he's...well frankly he's a dick. On multiple occasions he's resorted to childish name calling against those

Who cares? We saw one last night! Last night, Ben Scrivens and the Toronto Marlies eliminated the Rochester Americans. Although each game was a relatively close affair, Toronto shut out the Americans 3-0 in the third and decisive game. Jeffler at Marlies HQ has a recap: The final frame had

With all of this Playoff hockey on TV, I believe I've created my very own permanent Homer Simpson butt groove in my couch. I have no regrets. Leafs Links Leafs Nation Podcast: PLAYOFFS!!1 Yes, playoffs. Talking Marlies, NHL Playoff Hockey, and 10 Questions Mike from VLM does

Hello all, I have just a few quick hits for you all to mull over this afternoon as you settle in to watch the Marlies play the second game of their series against the Rochester Americans. In their last game, Joe Colborne had two assists (one, a beautiful pass to

Marlies Take 1-0 Series Lead - Jeffler at MarliesHQ Just when you thought that ten games was enough times to see two hockey teams face each other, the Toronto Marlies and Rochester Americans have set themselves up for another few attempts at it all. The crazy part though? This time,

Unnamed NHL sources revealed yesterday that Toronto Maple Leafs' goaltender Jonas Gustavsson has been seen in both Pittsburgh and Philadelphia recently. The speculation is that he's been giving helpful tips and suggestions to both Marc-André Fleury and Ilya Bryzgalov. Further confusing matters was the Flyers' Sergei

In last night's Blackhawks v. Coyotes Raffi Torres did what Raffi Torreses does and delivered a late, leaping headshot to the chin of Marian Hossa breaking Big Hoss' jaw. Twice this season Torres has been on the receiving end of the Shannahammer giving him the lable '

Oh, get your head out of the gutter. What I mean is that the Ottawa Senators were defeated by The New York Rangers Henrik Lundqvist. The really scary part though is that the Sens haven't looked out of place so far in the series. This confuses me. How

Yesterday the Penguins and Flyers most certainly did not piss on Eddie Shore. That game was straight out of the 1970s and I loved every minute. Here be your links. Leafs Links Rumbling of Leafs Defections Brian Burke Damien Cox with news that Francois Allaire may be out the door.

Not much in the way of Leafs news right now, certainly not enough to make a full list of links for you folks. We've got playoff hockey at Noon and 3pm today, so this will be your game thread. Feel free to throw any interesting hockey-related links in