From The Branches

Alright, ladies and gentlemen. There is a lot of chatting to do today, so find some "project" to work on, stay clear of the boss, and hunker down for a fun day of trades and picks. I've got a bunch of links for you guys today,

Darren Dreger says that Florida and Toronto are the two leading contenders for the services of Roberto Luongo, but that Florida's budgetary situation likely makes the Leafs better trading partners for Vancouver. Nothing happening right now, though. Jump for a bunch of links, including a few tidbits on

Considering that there has been absolutely no hockey played this week, there are quite a number of articles today for your perusal. I'll let the links do the talkin'. Leafs Links: Leafs Team Needs: Top-Six Winger From yours truly at The Leafs Nation. Leafs Nation Podcast:

The NHL is pretty quiet right now...a little too quiet if you ask me. Could a huge-mega-awesome deal be in the works? I have absolutely no idea. In fact, I wouldn't expect to hear much of anything until after the NHL Awards on Wednesday night.

There's next to nothing going on regarding the Leafs at the moment, but I've cobbled together a few links for you folks to check out: Behind the scenes at the auditions for the 2012 NHL Awards Show hosting job Long title, amazing results. New DGB Predators

Lance Hornby at the Toronto Sun Unless the Hockey Hall of Fame committee succumbs to Maple Leaf myopia, there won’t be a second consecutive slate of Toronto-tinged inductees to announce in a few days. While it would be nice for Mats Sundin, Gary Roberts and Curtis Joseph to

How will you spent the next eight nights leading up to the 2012 NHL Draft? Furiously refreshing twitter and hfboards for the hot new rumors? Curled up in the fetal position with memories of the Raycroft and Toskala draft day trades floating through your head? Arguing with your dirty Habs

Dear Brian, Please Focus on the Task at Hand - Mike Langlois at Vintage Leaf Memories Monday night, the Toronto Star penned a short piece outlining Burke’s apparent displeasure at a CBC/Hockey Night in Canada post from Elliotte Friedman. As we all know, Friedman has worked "in the

Unfortunately, the time has come: there is no more hockey to be played in the NHL until October. Most of you have summer sports that you can use to fill the gap, but some of us are really S.O.L. for the next five months. The Euro Cup'

Good morning, everyone. Hope your weekend was full of hockey and soccer watching. Our dear mf37 and I both happened to be at the Marlies' last game, and had some thoughts to share with all of you via The Leafs' Nation podcast, so go check that out. Naturally,

As per Winging it in Motown and Kukla's Korner, here's what looks like pricing info on the Winter Classic between Detroit and Toronto: via www.kuklaskorner.com Depending on who’s received what initial information, at this point, it sounds like Red Wings, Maple Leafs, Grand

Bad Bounce for Marlies Gives Admirals a Stranglehold on Calder Cup - James Mirtle at the Globe and Mail As Norfolk Admirals defenceman Mike Kostka dumped the puck in off the glass, Marlies netminder Ben Scrivens went behind the net to play the puck, as he had dozens of times in

As usual, if you're looking for a thorough recap of last night's game, head over to In Lou We Trust. It'll probably knock the socks off any recap you'll read in some newspaper. In other, more interesting news, the Toronto Marlies are

You damn right. Ballin'. But enough of that, the 2013 Bridgestone Winter Classic Presented by Amway and broadcast on NBC schedule has been announced. Let's get to dem deets. Dec. 15-26: Celebration of hockey featuring amateur games, corporate outings and open skates. Information on booking ice

After something of a slow week, news has rained down on us in buckets for the last twenty-four hours. First, Tomas Vokoun's negotiation rights were traded to the Pittsburgh Penguins for a 7th round pick. The Pens then signed the 35-year old netminder to a two-

With the retirement of Nicklas Lidstrom last week, the question posted by Mike Langlois at Vintage Leaf Memories seems a bit odd: As talented as he is, will Jake Gardiner be physical enough to be effective in the playoffs at the NHL level? Lidstrom paved his way to multiple Norris&

The Marlies continued their struggle in Norfolk last night, losing 4-2 to the Admirals. They now face a steep uphill battle to climb back in the series. They do, however, get the next three games at home in Toronto. In another game 2, the Kings' Jeff Carter beat

Yes, the Marlies started the final series for the Calder Cup last night, but unfortunately lost 3-1. Ben Scrivens stopped 39 of 41 shots, and, by most accounts, was Toronto's best player. Over at the Leafs Nation, Andrey Osadchenko has a preview of the series, just in

Lidstrom retired, Tim Thomas continues to be crazy, and hockey was not played. Yawn. What's up with you all today? Leafs Links Preview: Marlies vs. Admirals, Calder Cup Final Jeffler with the rundown. Marlies Face a Formidable Foe Mirtle with a look at the Calder Cup Final. Is

For those of you like myself who were forced to watch Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final on NBC and berated by the voices and faces of Doc Emrick, Pierre McGuire, Mike Milbury, and Darren Pang (seriously, what a shit show) perhaps the hardest thing to endure is knowing

I bring you links on this, the most sexually suggestive day of the week. Leafs Links Frattin Out Rest of Postseason with Knee Injury Well that sucks. Matt Frattin Out for the Season, and More Injury Updated Jeffler with the dl on the Marlies DL. Why are the Leafs Called

Your mother was a hamster, and your father smelled of elderberries. Now go read my article over at The Leafs Nation about advanced statistics, or I shall have to taunt you a second time. If Gimp was a half-decent program, you would all have been treated to a .gif

What could be better than a little shameless self promotion on Monday morning? Danny Gray and I recently managed to get another podcast made, so head over to The Leafs Nation to go have a listen. We chat about the Marlies and Justin Schultz, and are trying out a new

Here are some excellent links for a lazy Sunday... Free will, responsibility, and the penalty box Good read from Battle of Cali How well do you know the LA Kings? Take the quiz from DGB 2012 Draft profile: Radek Faksa MLHS looks at a guy we all hope the Leafs

There's not much point in changing the title, the reasons to cheer haven't changed. Last night, the Toronto Marlies defeated the Oklahoma City Barons 3-1 to advance to the Calder Cup finals. Matt Frattin had two goals (including an empty-netter to seal the deal)