From The Branches

NHL Proposes New Deal to Players' Association During Ongoing Labor Talks - Chris Johnston at the Globe and Mail According to a source, Tuesday’s proposal from the NHL called for a six-year deal — the first three delinked from hockey-related revenues and the last three coming with a

Here are the morning links. Don't bother clicking them. You won't learn anything new because they're just full of made up crap that I can't be bothered to read. I mean the first link is asking me for my expectations. What sort

Just two links for you this morning. Talk about whatever. GO LIVERPOOL. The Essentials: Toronto Maple Leafs edition A must read over at Puck Daddy from mf37 Rogers to buy The Score for $167 million Some of our favorite blogging friends work for the Score, so this is big news

No talk, just links. Leafs Links The Other Uncalled High-stick Son of a bitch. Given the Likelihood of a Lockout - Euchre anyone? Unfortunately no "Trump" has ever played for the Leafs? Phil Kessel and Joffrey Lupul: An Elite 1-2 Punch This is one timely article. Leafs

Toronto Maple Leafs Annual 2012-13 Annual: The Burden of Expectation - Cam Charron at NHL Numbers What do you do in the offseason when your team has a single scoring line, a single capable centreman, a single quality defenceman, and two question marks in goal? As it turns out, the

Just Wondering....What Do the Maple Leafs Owners Truly Believe About the Ongoing Labor Talks? - Mike Langlois at Vintage Leaf Memories If there was no cap, there would be no way for ownership to pretend. Leaf fans in the current climate would insist on the best squad money could buy.

The Rise and Fall of Optimus Reim: Will James Reimer Return As a True #1 Goalie? - Sam Gamper at The Best Game You Can Name We remember watching the repeating replays of Brian Gionta's supposedly unintentional clip of James Reimer, our hopes for the season hanging in the

"It's clear to me that they didn't put it together in an hour or two." That's Gary Bettman talking when asked about the NHLPA's well mannered and thought provoking CBA proposal which they put forth yesterday. People have been reading

Technically, we might not consider this a counter offer so much as it is taking CBA negotiations in a completely new direction, but I'm still curious to see what Donald Fehr & Co. have in store for Gary Bettman and the NHL owners: Faced with an initial proposal

Our own JP Nikota had a little chat with Fart Face McGee himself Greg McKegg after a charity hockey game last week and he's got a transcript: JPN: Jim Hughes, the Leafs director of player development, recently said that you have a great hockey IQ, great hockey smarts,

As it stands, the Leafs are way too deep a team for Nazem Kadri to make the big club right out of camp. I think we can all agree on this. Mitch Gleaves points this out at Maple Leafs Central: Kadri may have been able to develop playing on the

No Toronto Maple Leafs Player Should be Untouchable - Lukas Hardonk at the Hockey Writers Let’s start off with Phil Kessel and Joffrey Lupul, who frequently found themselves near the top of the NHL in scoring last season. Kessel maintained his position by finishing sixth, while Lupul dropped significantly due

Don't have any Leafs related links for you this morning. Did find one small tidbit regarding the CBA negotiations from Larry Brooks of the New York Post: So the CBA negotiations basically can be summarized thusly: The big-market teams don’t want to pay the small-market

So news broke yesterday afternoon that the Leafs had signed 2012 first round pick Morgan Rielly to an ELC. He had been one of only a handful of players from the first round still without a contract. The news was not terribly surprising, although I'm curious why the

Ummmmmmmmmmm................................... Joe Colborne: As He Is It's likely now or never. A Look at Leafs Goalies Under Ron Wilson Shitty. 2012 US WJC Camp: An In-Depth Look at the Forwards Chris Peters breaks down the best forwards in the world and Tyler Biggs. That's all

There was no FTB this morning because of an administrative error that resulted in the painful death of most of our employees. PPP Distributed Computing and Less Toxic Chemicals GMBH regrets the oversight and hopes you continue to visit the site and support our generous sponsors. Have you considered new

Is It Time to Blame the Fans? - Danny Gray over at Leafs Nation Late last night my esteemed colleague in blogging Steve Dangle asked a question that’s been on the mind of Leafs’ fans all summer, and for most of the past eight years: What is going on? Steve

It's a good day if your name is Don Cherry, because "faceoff specialist" Mike Zigomanis has been re-signed to return to play with the Toronto Marlies. Also signing on is Will Acton, and some other guy who played for the Oklahoma City Barons last season.

The Olympics are like meth. I'm so addicted. But seriously, why no backhand? Leafs Links What's the Point of this CBA Exactly? BCP wonders what's the point of the current negotiations. Teams Still Have Work to Do Kevin Allen at USA Hockey things Burke

We're just days away from the most boring hockey month of the year! So close! That said, Vintage Leaf Memories is musing about some less common discussions. Today's post covers individual awards. When was the last time a Leaf won one? Is any current Leaf capable

Bull Durham is one of the greatest sports films ever made and this is the first line uttered by Crash Davis in that movie. In seven words, the audience gets almost all they need to know about the character's background: Davis is an afterthought in the realm of

Courtesy of the Score. Good stuff. More links after the jump. Leafs Links Quinn and Bowman to Coach WC Alumni Game All offense versus all defense. Gonna be a dozy, I mean a snoozy. Leafs 2012-12 Player Predictions MLHS pulls out the crystal ball. The Best Late Round Gems

There isn't a whole lot of specific info about what Steve Staios will do for the Leafs on a daily basis, but the best summary of things actually comes from the Leafs' official site: Staios, 39, will advise the Leafs management team on the prospects and players

No witty start, just the links. Luke Schenn and JVR in Their New Uniforms As was mentioned yesterday, not only does Schenn play like a pylon, he now looks like one too. TML Offseason Expectations From Blue Chip Prospects. Dion Phaneuf and Jake Gardiner, Comparing Matchups Cam compares the Captain

Rick Nash finally got traded and it wasn't to Toronto. He was traded to the New York Rangers along with a minor leaguer and a conditional 3rd round pick (if the Rangers make the finals) for Brandon Dubinsky, Artem Anisimov, Tim Erixon, and a 1st round pick. It&