James Birkett

We've achieved full summer lull mode. The only Leaf news of the past few days have been the 3,000 articles on James van Reimsdyk playing center, which will probably last about a period. But I guess sportswriters have to eat, ya know? Anywhoo, the only real news

I like to imagine Rick Nash and Roberto Luongo are getting awfully close to a Denis Lemieux impression. While those two names could wind up being the biggest trades of the summer, the Leafs are going to need to scour the market for help as well. Where do they need

Today is Canada Day and that means free agency begins at noon. Make sure your twitter feed is up & running for the inevitable Brandon Prust - Leafs signing. Today is also a special day in another sense: it's the 32nd annual Toronto Pride Parade. As most of

Justin Schultz will announce to the hockey world that he doesn't want to be a Maple Leaf some time this afternoon. After that, it could be an interesting 18 hours as the league ramps up for free agency. It's an incredibly thin market this year -

So it finally happened. The man Brian Burke said he wasn't shopping has been dealt to Philadelphia for LW James van Riemsdyk. This move had been rumored for close to a year, with reports back in the early Spring that the Flyers front office had been heavily scouting

Welcome back for day two. I hope everyone stocked the fridge for what should be a long, long day. The Leafs pick at #35, and then not again until the 5th round. Also, one interesting tidbit from the The Province's Jason Botchford: As trade talks progressed throughout the

Welcome to the PPP 2012 NHL Entry Draft Day 1 open thread. 7:00 PM - Pittsburgh, PA TV: TSN, NBCSN (US) Rules: 1. Drink heavily and often. 2. No illegal streams. Don't post them, don't talk about them. 3. Cursing is cool. Trolling is not.

With the 2012 NHL Entry Draft roughly 24 hours a way, it seems as though the trade rumor mill is working itself into an even greater frenzy. Entering the week, the biggest name on the market was Rick Nash. You can add Jordan Staal and Bobby Ryan to that list,

The NHL is pretty quiet right now...a little too quiet if you ask me. Could a huge-mega-awesome deal be in the works? I have absolutely no idea. In fact, I wouldn't expect to hear much of anything until after the NHL Awards on Wednesday night. But until

There's next to nothing going on regarding the Leafs at the moment, but I've cobbled together a few links for you folks to check out: Behind the scenes at the auditions for the 2012 NHL Awards Show hosting job Long title, amazing results. New DGB Predators

How will you spent the next eight nights leading up to the 2012 NHL Draft? Furiously refreshing twitter and hfboards for the hot new rumors? Curled up in the fetal position with memories of the Raycroft and Toskala draft day trades floating through your head? Arguing with your dirty Habs

As per Winging it in Motown and Kukla's Korner, here's what looks like pricing info on the Winter Classic between Detroit and Toronto: via www.kuklaskorner.com Depending on who’s received what initial information, at this point, it sounds like Red Wings, Maple Leafs, Grand

The Marlies continued their struggle in Norfolk last night, losing 4-2 to the Admirals. They now face a steep uphill battle to climb back in the series. They do, however, get the next three games at home in Toronto. In another game 2, the Kings' Jeff Carter beat Martin

Here are some excellent links for a lazy Sunday... Free will, responsibility, and the penalty box Good read from Battle of Cali How well do you know the LA Kings? Take the quiz from DGB 2012 Draft profile: Radek Faksa MLHS looks at a guy we all hope the Leafs

After a dominating performance on Thursday night in Oklahoma City, the Marlies and Barons met again last night for game two. Unfortunately for Toronto, the roles were reversed as OKC netter 5 goals and tied their Western Conference Finals series at one game apiece. Jonas Gustavsson got the start in

It's been eighteen years since the New York Rangers and New Jersey Devils met in the Eastern Conference Finals. That series happened to wind up as one of the most famous playoff series of all time. Will we see the same quality of hockey in 2012? Probably not.

Night and day. Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Call it what you will, but Nikolai Kulemin has put together two polarizing seasons in succession that have fans of the Leafs and fantasy hockey managers alike questioning what his true potential is... For Kulemin’s sake and for the sake of

Yes, those ugly neighbours to Ontario's east made headlines this morning with the news that they have signed Marc Bergevin to be their new GM. Sean Gordon of the Globe & Mail had a quick recap: Though the Canadiens job is surely one of the most sought-after in

The second round of the playoffs kicked off last night with an OT tilt between Phoenix and Nashville that went to the home team. The Rangers-Caps kick off their series at 3pm today, and the Kings-Blues provide the prime-time entertainment at 7:30. Here are some links (mostly non-Leafs): What

There have been reports Luongo has a list of six to nine teams he would accept waiving his no-trade clause for, including Toronto (where his old goalie coach, Francois Allaire, is employed) and the two Florida teams, close to his wife's family. Via: The Province This is overflow

Not much in the way of Leafs news right now, certainly not enough to make a full list of links for you folks. We've got playoff hockey at Noon and 3pm today, so this will be your game thread. Feel free to throw any interesting hockey-related links in

God bless the Vancouver Canucks and their playoff failure. Here I thought that the Pens - Flyers series was going to be the best story line of the first round. Instead, we all get to make riot jokes and laugh at funny Canucks golf logos. We may have even seen

Go Rangers Go. Follow along after the jump for the rules... Rule 1: No illegal streams. Rule 2: This is a thread for playoff games. Try not to rosterbate about the Leafs. Rule 3: Excessive cursing and sweet GIFs are mandatory. Rule 4: Don't feed the Burtch.

Follow along after the jump for the rules... Rule 1: No illegal streams. Rule 2: This is a thread for playoff games. Try not to rosterbate about the Leafs. Rule 3: Excessive cursing and sweet GIFs are mandatory. Rule 4: Don't feed the Burtch.

This is your open thread for the draft lottery. May the luckiest team win, except for the Habs because fuck them.Follow along after the jump for odds and more info... From James Mirtle of the Globe & Mail: The lottery system is pretty complicated, but the basics are that