Honestly it feels like the cover story for this article below about Nick Paul is a bit pasted on for some Leafs content. I think Paul was a good addition, and I also think his season last year isn't some sign of age decline. But playoff knowhow comes way down the list of what he offers and it seems to be his main attribute according to this.

12 under-the-radar NHL acquisitions who could surprise next season
Amid all the shiny free-agent signings and blockbuster trades, it’s the moves that received less attention that could prove most valuable during the upcoming NHL season. Sportsnet’s David Morassutti looks at 12 players whose acquisitions flew under the radar.
Sportsnet.caDavid Morassutti

This prospect rundown goes in hard on Akhtyamov largely because he's there:

2026-27 NHL Prospect Pool Breakdown: Toronto Maple Leafs’ Top 10
Gavin McKenna does a lot of heavy lifting, but Toronto’s pipeline is easily the best it has been in quite some time.
Daily FaceoffSteven Ellis

We'll discuss that in due time in T25 rankings when we get to our oldest prospect but that also seems to miss the point about the player and what he brings. Or doesn't.

At the time Hockey Canada suspended the five players who were ultimately to stand trial for sexual assault, there was an appeal filed under the procedures of the organization. I has now concluded.

Independent appeal board issues decision
An independent appeal board has issued its decision involving members of the 2018 National Junior Team.
Hockey Canada logo
The independent appeal board confirmed that five players from the 2018 National Junior Team breached the Hockey Canada code of conduct, with the following continued suspensions and reinstatement dates recommended to, and accepted by, Hockey Canada:
· Alex Formenton: reinstated immediately
· Cal Foote: suspended until November 10, 2026
· Carter Hart: suspended until November 10, 2027
· Dillon Dubé: suspended until November 10, 2028
· Michael McLeod: suspended until November 10, 2030
The players had been formally suspended from Hockey Canada-sanctioned programs, pending the completion of the appeal process.
As the independent investigation did not conclude that any other player on the 2018 National Junior Team breached Hockey Canada’s code of conduct, those players are eligible for consideration to participate in any Hockey Canada-sanctioned program, effective immediately.

As of February of 2024, Hockey Canada was maintaining their suspension of the entire team. While the above implies that suspension continued, Robert Thomas joined Team Canada this spring at the World Championships and Cale Makar was at the Olympics, so some lifting of the team-wide suspension had occurred previously.

The details of the appeal process are not public nor are the reasons for the varying lengths of the waiting period for reinstatement.

In other un-fun news, it seems TSN's streaming subscription price is now rising by $50 to $249.99. With no official word yet on what other streaming services Rogers may have sold rights to in Canada, and no schedule yet to know how many Leafs games TSN will still have... well, it's getting harder to budget for watching all the games unless you have a desire to have sports channels on your TV for multiple sports.

This TSN plan is $30 per month at the old price, making it $270 in total paying by month if you want coverage until the end of May for Worlds. So there's no saving to be had by going monthly even if you cut it off at the end of the NHL regular season.

For me, Prime is the valuable commodity that carries Leafs games but gives me other things I actually want. I have watched some baseball and basketball over the last 10 years of subscribing to these services, not enough to have ever justified it if it wasn't site-related.

What I'm curious about is this: how many people really watch something close to all the Leafs games? Is the market for customers who want to stream them all really small compared to the big TV watchers of multiple sports or the sort who used to watch one game a week on the CBC?

The response to the rising prices is always an outcry that they're doing business wrong, and yet... are they? Or are they just pricing what the bulk of their customers will pay without a second thought? After all, most TV viewers buy a cable package sold to them in a bundle don't they? They don't have to think about how expensive that phone is, but they also don't really notice the price of individual channels.

(I have not added up yet what the three main Leafs broadcasters will cost – all have had price increases, unsurprisingly. But it's quite a chunk of change.)

From The Branches