Jokes aside, there’s two teams that all Leafs fans, whether motivated by playoffs or draft picks, unequivocally must cheer for their team to beat — The Sens and the Habs.
Yesterday’s Leafs lines, sans Bozak (missed practice due to personal reasons):
New Leaf lines: van Riemsdyk-Kadri-Kessel. Winnik-Komarov-Clarkson. Panik-Santorelli-Leivo. Booth-Smith-Frattin. No Bozak today.
— Jonas Siegel (@jonassiegel) January 20, 2015
Wednesday Links:
- Corey Pronman: William Nylander the best prospect outside the NHL (TSN 1050)
ESPN NHL Prospects Writer Corey Pronman joins Mike Hogan and Jeremy Taggart to discuss William Nylander’s rank among the world’s top prospects and more. - Sportsnet Staff: Struggling Maple Leafs recall Josh Leivo, Stuart Percy (Sportsnet.ca)
The Leafs have recalled forward Josh Leivo and defenceman Stuart Percy from the Toronto Marlies, and reassigned Troy Bodie and Sam Carrick to the AHL. - Jonas Siegel: Management failures at heart of current Leaf state (TSN.ca)
The current state of the Maple Leafs is not about one bad decision, one ill-advised signing or trade, but years of them in an era of dysfunction. This is about draft picks lost, draft picks missed, coaches and GMs hired and fired. This is about a history of bloated contracts and shortsighted trades. - James Mirtle: Leafs have made collapsing the franchise’s hallmark (The Globe and Mail)
That that seems inevitable only shows how low this franchise has sunk: There’s even a template for failure that includes not failing enough. - Kyle Cicerella: Prospect William Nylander to start out on wing (Kyle The Reporter)
The 18-year-old Swede practised Tuesday on Toronto’s top line alongside centre Greg McKegg and winger Spencer Abbott.
A hole opened up on the left side Tuesday with the Leafs summoning Josh Leivo while a spot down the middle was taken when the big club sent down Sam Carrick. “I told him be prepared to go back to centre,” said Dineen “It’s a nice problem to have to be able to adjust him.”
- CBC News: Maple Leafs fans charged, banned for tossing jerseys (CBC.ca)
A Toronto police tweet says three fans were removed from the property and banned for a year from all the buildings belonging to the Leafs’ owner, Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment.
- Birky: A blogger takes the Maple Leafs to the people’s court (Pension Plan Puppets)
A transcript of an almost true episode of America’s favorite reality court show, The People’s Court. - Michael Traikos: Cody Franson wants to re-sign with the Maple Leafs, but should he? (National Post)
It is not just Franson who sees some light at the end of the tunnel. Some believe the team is not as bad as the results — two goals in the last five games — would indicate.
