From The Branches

We've had a couple of days of breaking news. While the MSM completely missed the boat, birky broke the news that Justin Bieber wasn't just taking advantage of his popularity to skate with his favourite team but that he was being brought in to centre the

When Colby Armstrong (literally) broke into the NHL in 2005-2006 with the Pittsburgh Penguins, he did so in the face of mortal peril. Sadly, not he, nor anyone else in the hockey world yet knew of the dangers of boneitis. Only very recent studies completed by Dr. Birky of

Alright, everyone. Let's breathe deeply. The Toronto Maple Leafs went into this season a long-shot to make the playoffs, and right now, they sit in a playoff spot. The team may slip into 9th, but things are getting better... slowly. At least, most things are getting better.

Robert from ETours.to was kind enough to donate two tickets to Leafs Fan Night tomorrow night. If you want to win them, put your score prediction in the post or tweet it to @mlse and whoever is right will get two tickets to the event. If no one gets

Put some booze in that coffee (you may need it after last night) and check out today's Leafs links. Enjoy! Extension? We're talking about an extension? MLHS asks the same questions a lot of us have. Leafs fall short against Canucks Recap from the G &

With the news this morning that (noted idiot) GM Pierre Gauthier has fired head coach Jacques Martin of the Montreal Canadiens, the total number of coaches who have been replaced in-season has risen to six. At the same time, news is surfacing that Maple Leafs head coach Ron Wilson

Hey look at that! A hockey game tonight! Leafs Links The Leafs Defensively: Who's Good and Who's Not Well some are good, and some are not. The Breakout - Does It Mean Much Long Term? Probably not if your Greg Scott. Leafless Team Canada No Ross, no

On XM radio last night Bill Watters claimed that Jim Rutherford and Brian Burke had a deal in place involving Eric Staal that was on hold because of Brian Burke's roster freeze. Bill Watters went on to claim that the deal would be completed after the roster freeze

What I've Like About Phil Kessel's Game This Year - Mike from Vintage Leaf Memories There is no doubt that other guys have had their moments on offense and contributed to the cause, helping the Leafs get off to their first truly decent start in, well, years.

Saying "hate to say I told you so" would be a bold-faced lie. I enjoy being right, even if it's about something that pains me. Since the beginning of the season, Danny Gray's (@ACatNamedFelix) unbridled "PLAYOFFS!!1" optimism has been pitted

An Opportunity to Win the "Shot Quality" Prize - Hawerchuk at Arctic Ice/Behind the Net Quoth James Mirtle: "It's comical at this point how poor the Leafs PK continues to be. I don't even know what more there is to write on it

VLM reader coins new phrase: Muckulence Why the Leafs need more of it Marlies win 4-1 Jeff has the recap over at MarliesHQ December Update: Down on the Farm MLHS on who's hot, who's not The fading fortunes of Tomas Kaberle Johnathan Willis of The

The Leafs do not play tonight yet again. That may actually be a good thing, considering their record in back-to-back games thus far. Check out the links below for some good Leafs news... Game 29: Game in 10 Quick hits from MLHS How to be an NHL Ironman

Dion Phaneuf Becomes a Hit by Taking Fewer of Them - James "The Turtle" Mirtle at the Globe and Mail "He (Phaneuf)used to, wherever you’d pass the puck, if he didn’t get a hit, he’d chase the puck," Wilson recalled. "We thought

As per James Mirtle, Colby Armstrong is expected to return from his latest bout of bonitis to play Friday against the Washington Capitals. "All you have to do is look at our record with Colby in the lineup," Wilson is fond of saying, going back to last season,

Let's look at the All-Star Game leaderboards shall we? Forwards 1) Phil Kessel Booyah! Defense 1) Erik Karlsson 2) Dion Phaneuf Nobody remembers #1. Goalies 1) James Reimer Nobody remembers #2. Here's a fun question: Ovechkin won't be a starter based on votes

More games against the Florida Panthers and Tampa Bay Lightning? What the hell!? Plenty of links today about last night's game, but naturally, a lot of chatter is about the realignment. Quoth Bettman: "Frankly it's not the seventh and eighth teams that are competing for

The Flip-Flops of Maple Leafs' Coach Ron Wilson - James Mirtle at the Globe and Mail We all know the history behind Wilson saying he told Gustavsson would be starting, but then started Reimer, so I'm not going to quote that bit of James' piece. The

The Boston Bruins are a good team and the Leafs really don't seem to have any kind of an effective game plan against them. That does not mean"Fire Wilson". But it does suggest the Leafs need to come up with some new ideas for their

James Reimer has been cleared by doctors to play and is expected to back-up Jonas Gustavsson tonight in Boston. Reimer, when asked by the G&M's James Mirtle about his return, could hardly contain his happiness: "I'm ecstatic," Reimer said. "You

Leafs Links Grades: Where All 30 Teams Stand Leafs get a solid A-. Nazem Kadri Named AHL Player of the Month Two for two. Toronto Maple Leafs Profiles: Phil Kessel Big fan of original Disney Movies. Joffrey Lupul Named November's Third Star Two for two. Jake Gardiner - A

Sorry about the lack of a FTB so far today folks. Please throw any and all links in the comments. We'll be having a public execution of the perpetrator at 4:00 PM today.

Gustavsson Gaining Confidence as Leafs Continue Roll - Chris Johnson at the Globe and Mail Jonas Gustavsson has seemingly had an answer for everything opponents have thrown at him over the past week or two. There was no better way for the Toronto Maple Leafs goalie to deliver a message to

Photo courtesy of Le Greener (via his old post). It was exactly three years ago today that the Toronto Maple Leafs current President and General Manager Brian Burke was hired. That's when the H.M.S. Toronto Maple Leafs began its change of tack, from signing aging veterans

Not a lot of links this morning with the late game and all. Feel free to drop them into the comments throughout the morning. What's Next for MLSE? Global sports domination perhaps? Maple Leafs' Gustavsson Beginning to Shine without Reimer His play of late has been pretty