From The Branches

A Statement from Wade Belak's Wife, Jennifer "We are overwhelmed and deeply touched by the outpouring of compassion and support since Wade's passing. Wade was a big man with an even bigger heart. He was a deeply devoted father and husband, a loyal friend and

It seems that everyone has something nice to say about Wade Belak, and I'm sure it's no coincidence. Everyone from mainstream media members, to bloggers, to casual fans who met Belak tell similar stories. From Jon S., over at Puckin' Eh: It was these circumstances

Nazem Kadri's Rookie Season Comparables - Chemmy at Leaf Nation Nazem Kadri's rookie season didn't earn him a Calder nomination. His rookie season didn't see him make the Toronto Maple Leafs out of camp or win a spot in the Leafs'

Sure, it's a stretch, but referring to the part in Orange County where the dean of admissions trips out on E (at least, I think that's what they wind up giving him) actually does relate to today's featured article. You see, as it turns

Brian Burke has spent his time focused on rebuilding, restocking, and retooling the Leafs' prospect system and on making better use of the clubs' financial muscle among other things. The Franson trade is a good example of the latter and the hiring of Francois Allaire has been a

I'm hoping this is the quiet before the storm in terms of Leafs news.  Feel free to post any good Leafs or NHL links, or check out our FanPosts section for user submitted work. Leafs hope signings, young talent equals playoffs And lots and lots of luck Gilmour,

We're only 14 days away from the first Rookie Tournament game.  I'M SO EXCITED. Saturday links below... Remembering the 1991-1992 Maple Leafs First of two from MLHS Training Camp Battles: Part 4 - Top 6 Forwards Pretty self explanatory What can we expect in 2011-2012? The

Not a lot of hoopla today. Just some links to bide the time until the weekend comes. Schenn vs. Komisarek Defensively Hockey Analysis brings us a case where stats without context can paint the wrong picture. NHL re-draft: Building 30 teams From Scratch Writers at NHL.com draft 30 teams

Just jump for your links. Van Halen references or related comments are punishable by death. VLM ponders a new potential rivalry I can't say that I have any particular memories of the Leafs playing the Jets. Do you? Glendale Officials Optimistic About Coyotes Sale "Listen lad, I

Grabovski: Where Does He Fit In? First Line, Second Line? Career Heading Up, or Down? - Mike Langlois at Vintage Leaf Memories So, I wonder now, who is Mikhail Grabovski? Is he the guy I saw in Montreal, Hamilton (AHL) and his first two seasons in Toronto—a nice little

Well, Michael Cuttell seems to think so. The Leafs are expecting to see some major improvements in their bottom six forwards over last year’s starting roster. Last year’s group failed to consistently provide any of the criteria intrinsic to bottom-six role players. Improvements to this group, as energy

Nikolai Kulemin's Shot and Goal Locations - JP Nikota at The Leafs Nation I believe that shot location is critical in assessing a players' shooting percentages, and probably has some bearing on the sustainability of a player's goal totals. If, for example, a player collects

It's August and the hockey news is sparse.  However, there was a story in the Northumberland news that caught our eye this weekend.  The paper is running a series on gay athletes in local sports, starting with a young hockey player in part I: Ryan felt sick to

Enjoy these fine Saturday morning Leafs links while I go watch Liverpool beat up on Arsenal. Training Camp Battles part I: Goaltending MLHS examines the depth in net within the Leafs' system and where everyone figure to land Point Blank - Liles to make an impact? Noted Sens and

GMs Show Little Support for No-Touch Icing - Dan Rosen at NHL.com I am not for no-touch icing whatsoever. Watching enough other leagues that have the no-touch, what I don't like is when the play stops. The puck is still moving but all the players stop and

Over at MLHS, Michael Stephens makes the point that although the Leafs played relatively well against divisional rivals last season, it's going to be tough to make up any ground on them in order to squeak into the playoffs next year. He has a prognosis of how strong

Could Joe Colborne Become Garry Unger; The Trade Throw-In Who Became an Iron Man - Mike Langlois at Vintage Leaf Memories Just to be clear, I recognize that young Joe Colborne was not a "throw-in" in the trade that saw Tomas Kaberle move to the Bruins (a deal

Boy, for a day as devoid of Leafs news as yesterday was, I sure have a number of Leafs-related links to share with you, not to mention a pile of NHL-related stuff. Not that I'm complaining, of course, it's always good to have more to discuss,

Well not a whole heck of a lot happened over the weekend hockey wise. Barring the incredible HFBoard Eklung rumour video posted by Yakov Mironov, and Mike Comrie knocking up Hillary Duff, nothing of significance happened. However, that's not to say that the weekend wasn't fruitful.

News broke yesterday that Matthew Lombardi, acquired in the Cody Franson/Brett Lebda deal of the century, notified the Leafs management of his intentions to be ready for training camp. As many of you know, Lombardi missed all but two games last season with a serious concussion; there were/are

Leafs Depth Up Front a Huge Issue Heading Into Training Camp - Mike Langlois at Vintage Leaf Memories We all know the names that will make up the roster in that regard—Kessel and Lupul will likely be with Connolly on, ostensibly, the "first" line. Grabovski will again

Evaluating a defenceman's performance independently of a goaltender's performance is tricky at best. Cam Charron over at The Leafs Nation believes that Luke Schenn actually performed much better in front of James Reimer than either of his previous two goalies in 2010-11, and he's

What Rules Will the NHL Test at Its R&D Camp? - James Mirtle of the Globe and Mail First, here's what Shanahan had to say on the camp, which will run some of the top junior players through scrimmates using the different rules under the watchful

When we at PPP Amalgamated Heavy Industries and Kitten Ranch Inc. compile links for the FTB, we're filtering out all kinds of garbage that most intelligent Leafs fans don't want to read. It's not that we're filtering out stupidity per se (some

Optimus Reim: Goaltending as Performance Art - Joe Pack of The Hockey Writers There are a few current masks that satisfy this writer’s thirst for Heroes and Heels. Nikolai Khabibulin, Stanley Cup champion with the 2004 Lightning, was dubbed "The Bulin Wall" and understandably had a brick