From The Branches

So you’ve come looking for hockey stories? I’ve got a few. On Tuesday nights, I play in a community-run men’s league for guys 35+. It’s a six team league and each season they scramble the teams so you’re always playing with new guys. Keeps the

:( Links after the jump. (Man I really need a haircut.) Leafs Links I Learned Nothing From Last Year's 4-0-1 Start eyebleaf is thinking PLAYOFFS!!!1 We*Won!(*not really "we") 1967ers talks Leafs and grammar lessons. Game in 10: Game #6 Mislav with his take on

Of course, the way the rest of the team is playing, we'll need him to be Mr. Novemeber, December, January, February... well, you get the idea. Now, you don’t have to be a huge baseball fan to understand the initial meaning of that phrase. It related of

MLSE, Ryerson Settle Score - Adrian Morrow at the Globe and Mail For nearly seven decades, the name Maple Leaf Gardens was synonymous with hockey triumphs, iconic concerts and raucous political rallies in the heart of Toronto. But when the venue at Carlton and Church streets re-opens as an arena

It's not unfair to say that the Leafs have been lucky to come away with seven points in their first four games. By most accounts, the Leafs were atrocious in the first period of last night's game, and were pretty sleepy in the first half of

The Big Guns are Firing - Curt S. at Blue Chip Prospects The Toronto Maple Leafs entered the 2011-12 NHL season as a team that was expected to compete for a playoff spot, but also a team most predicted would fall short. When examining the team's roster heading

As can be expected after a week long layoff, the Leafs came out fairly flat against the Flames. John-Michael Liles failed to properly defend Curtis Glencross on Calgary's first shot of the game, and moments later Matt Frattin over-pursued in the defensive zone, leave a wide open Scott

Hockey hockey hockey hockey hockey.  Enjoy these delightful links as you prepare for the Leafs first game in a week. Talking Wounded MLHS pokes a bit of fun at the Leafs Other Complaints about Shanahan New DGB Wilson not impressed with frustrated Franson Maybe Franson would have felt differently if

Time for More - Hope in the Big Smoke The following is a quote given by Leafs coach Ron Wilson during the post game press conference following the Leafs and Canadiens game last Thursday regarding Dion Phaneuf’s offense. "We’re encouraging that," Wilson said, but repeated he

The latest story out of the Leafs' team-building/promotional/big-military-expenditure trip to Trenton focuses on the close bond between Leafs' defender John-Michael Liles and his brother, who is currently fighting overseas in Iraq with the U.S. Military. From the ritzy Trenton Holiday Inn, James Mirtle brings us

Leafs Links Faith an Anchor as Young Goalie Becomes NHL Starter A good article on Reimer's faith  and it's impact on his game from the, I kid you not, Mennonite Weekly Review. Why I Wish Gardiner Had Simply Started the Season with the Marlies Mike from

In case you haven't heard, the Leafs are off to spend some time with the good folks at the Canadian Military base in Trenton, Ontario for some good ol' fashioned team-building. Dave Shoalts has the story: The plan was for the Leafs to take Sunday off and

"Jake’s been excellent up to this point," coach Ron Wilson said. "I’d have to say he’s been the biggest surprise of training camp. Everybody’s been enticed with his speed, for sure. Sometimes his speed actually gets him in trouble, but he has a

The Leafs played good to great hockey for roughly 50 minutes last night before allowing Ottawa to climb back into it. Phil Kessel's hat-trick goal wound up as the game winner, and I have to admit the ACC hasn't been rocking like that for a while.

Look out for him in section 317, row 19. He'll be the one screeching as Daniel Alfredsson putters around the ice with his walker. Anyways, the Senators come to Toronto after suffering a beat down at the hands of Detroit last night. Not only is this the first

It's Usually Best Not to Make too Much of One Game, Even a Solid Season Opener - Mike Langlois at Vintage Leaf Memories Think back to last season. Montreal beat Montreal in the opener, and went on to win three more. Things looked good, eh? But we all

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Closed Door Policy - Justin Bourne at The Score Today I read the James Mirtle blog on Cody Franson, and how he felt about being named the Maple Leafs 7th defenseman heading into the regular season. The recently-acquired defenseman will watch opening night from the press box, where he can

The big news yesterday was, without a doubt, the final trimming of the Leafs' lineup to bring the Buds down to the maximum of 23 skaters. Although much of this was already well-documented and debated in yesterday's FTB, I would feel neglectful if I didn't

Leafs Final Cuts Loom - James Mirtle at the Globe and Mail Toronto's already down to 29 bodies after they sent third-string goaltender Ben Scrivens to the Marlies, but they need to get to the 23-man roster limit by Wednesday. Complicating matters is a suspension to Clarke MacArthur

The Leafs turned in a somewhat lackluster performance last night against the Grand Rapids Griffins (presented by Amway) and I'm not sure there was any definitive solution to the logjam on defense. I still expect Jake Gardiner to wind up on the Marlies, but we should find out

Two of the unlikeliest players came up with a few big goals tonight to help the Leafs win their last road game of the preseason. Mike Brown potted two in regulation before Mike Komisarek won the game in overtime. Don't think we'll ever see anything quite

Grabovski Line Will Again be Pivotal for the Leafs - James Mirtle at the Globe and Mail Ron Wilson even remarked the other day how the team's new assistant coaches were pretty impressed with the three – and their centre, in particular. "I've gotten kind of

As first tweeted by Garrett Bauman last night: welcome to the NHL, Matt Frattin. Bob MacKenzie confirmed this information at around 11:30 last night via Twitter, and explained that official confirmation from the Leafs was likely to come this morning. The Leafs have been hit with a rash of

Burke's Crew Still a Long Way's Off from Having to Make the Tough Decisions - Mike Langlois at Vintage Leaf Memories The Leafs are young, and that’s great. They have some skill, but the talent level is hardly over-whelming. We are now talking about a