From The Branches

Man, oh man, I have a veritable buffet of links in store for you this morning. This FTB took double the amount of time it normally takes to complete, but I promise you that it won't disappoint. Every kind of drama you can imagine can be found here:

Jake Gardiner Creates Nice Problem for Leafs - David Shoalts at the Globe and Mail Jake Gardiner is making like an unwanted guest, and the Toronto Maple Leafs could not be happier. The Leafs’ defence is supposed to be a closed shop heading into the NHL season, with the seven

Ron Wilson and staff will make the most significant cuts of training camp today, splitting the current 46-man roster into two teams. One group will stay while the other reports to Dallas Eakins and his group as Marlies camp opens tomorrow. With the news breaking last night that Matthew Lombardi

It's been a long time coming, but the Moneypuck revolution is here. NHL teams are finally cottoning on to what is becoming a very useful set of tools for evaluating player performances. As James Mirtle at the Globe and Mail explains: Desjardins's work at behindthenet.ca

No big lead in story for today, just some good old fashion linkage. Leafs Links Ottawa Senators: Low Hanging Fruit It's too easy to laugh at the Senators this summer Cup Odds via Bodog.com Leafs at 50/1.......so you're saying there's a

Leafs double up on Flyers Recap from the Globe & Mail Joffrey Lupul wouldn't dare rest on his laurels Bit of a human interest piece from Mirtle on #19's journey back to hockey OK: Who would un-do the Kessel trade? Not me.  I think. NHL adjusted

For All the Positive Burke Moves, Is There One Recent Leafs You'd Like to Have Back - Mike Langlois at Vintage Leaf Memories It’s hard to argue that Brian Burke has done anything but improve the Leafs, in terms of the current roster (younger, faster, tougher), cap

Hey gang, sorry for the tardiness - my bad. Anyway, Here are your links, starting with a recap of last night's efforts, and a focus on Bozak's strong game from James Mirtle: "We kind of figured that it could potentially be a line combination,"

Maple Leafs Look For More Scoring Punch - James Mirtle at the Globe and Mail It always appeared to be one of Brian Burke’s core tenets, right up there with his love of fights, obscure words and American-born players. The Toronto Maple Leafs general manager, almost from Day 1,

The first on-ice day of Leafs camp is over, and the Buds will back again for more action today in preparation for their first preseason game.  Sounds like Ron Wilson will be making sweeping cuts to the training camp roster soon, with the goal of being down to 26 or

The Toronto Maple Leafs hit the ice today for the first official practice of the season. With the first preseason game only two nights away, expect the competition to be fierce. Two spots on offense and maybe one on defense are up for grabs. Whoever has designs on winning one

How Much Time Does Ron Wilson Get? - Mike Langlois at Vintage Leaf Memories We’ve discussed Wilson’s strengths and his lesser capabilities in this space over the past couple of years. He has a long track record as a successful NHL coach, blemished only, really, by his last

We've heard everything from Mark Staal money ($3.9M/season) to Chemmy's estimate, based on comparable (though perhaps underpaid) players of $2.26M. This feels like a reasonable comparison except for the fact that the cap has gone up. In 2008-2009 the salary cap was $56.

Leafs Prospect Pipeline Appears Headed in Right Direction - James Mirtle at the Globe and Mail Toronto hasn't made the playoffs since 2004, but in recent years, you wouldn't know it looking at their minor league club. The Marlies team that had 109 points in the

Last season I was thrilled that the Leafs were holding their prospect camp in London, Ontario, because it offered me the chance to go check out Leafs youngsters on the cheap. Heck, at just under $20 a game, I even went to a Penguins - Senators prospects game. Danny Gray

Is Luke Schenn Worth More to the Leafs....Or Someone Else? - Mike Langlois at Vintage Leaf Memories As rumours circulate (they always do, what would the hockey world be without rumours…?) that some NHL teams would love to get their hands on a young defenseman like Schenn (who wouldn&

Day one of the 2011 NHL Rookie Tournament was a good one for the Toronto Maple Leafs, as the young Buds came from behind to defeat Chicago 4-2. Mark Owuya looked sharp in his first action on the North American ice surface and two Leaf defensive prospects showed why they

The Toronto Maple Leafs hit the ice tonight. Sort of. Oshawa, Ontario is the site of the 2011 Toronto Maple Leafs Rookie Tournament, which will showcase young talent from three NHL clubs (and Ottawa). A few names to focus on include Matt Frattin, Jake Gardiner, and Jesse Blacker. As Jonas

The Inevitable Predictions Post - Jon S. at Puckin' Eh 1. Who will be the most improved Leaf over last season? I’m going to be captain obvious with the first question and go with Nazem Kadri since he was already improving last season. After getting a taste of

Sure, Michael Langlois can accept the practical reasons for which the Leafs' roster is more or less set before camp even begins, but he's not happy about it. For one thing, knowing exactly who makes the team beforehand is less fun than being surprised, but for another,

Leafs' Optimism Mingle With Sense of Urgency - James Mirtle of the Globe and Mail A lot of what was said on Tuesday at the Leafs’ annual charity golf tournament sounded an awful lot like many of Burke’s speeches the past 2 1/2 years in the job.

Well, it certainly won't be a bunch of idiots wearing vacuum cleaner backpacks. I'm referring to a group of people that sucked in a slightly less literal way. What I'm asking is, given the option of calling any making a drunken phone call to

Courtesy of Hockey Inside/Out, here is video of the Toronto Maple Leafs facing off against the Montreal Canadiens in 1932 narrated by Foster Hewitt. It's a neat bit of video with quite a few startling differences including the absence of a red line, face-offs being done with

Oh Captain My Captain Puckin' Eh has a new video to show you. Don't worry, it's not like that 700 posts and counting VLM hits a milestone NHL labor deal needs tweaking CBA update from the Vancouver Province Tales from the Future Puck Daddy has

Mikhail Grabovski believes in this team. "I think we went through 32 players in the time I have been playing for Toronto. I think the only people who are left from all those years are me, Kulemin and Schenn. But I think we have been progressing with every year.