So it’s not officially official-official but at this point, barring (more) disaster, it’s looking like the two NHL hub cities are going to be Edmonton and Toronto. Pour one out for all the jokes that I’d made about the NHL being mean by stringing Edmonton along and giving them unfair hope because it was obviously going to be Toronto – the joke, as it so often cosmically is, was on both me and Toronto the whole time. However, this doesn’t mean that there isn’t still time to weigh the pros and cons of Edmonton and Toronto as hub cities, to give both fans and teams some idea of what they can expect in each city... and which city they should be crossing their fingers to play in.

Toronto
Pro: it’s not Edmonton
Con: it is Toronto
Pro: teams can look forward to being housed in the centre of one of the greatest cities in North America, with endless things to do, see, and eat
Con: they won’t be able to do any of that, just stand with a single hand pressed wistfully to the window as they stare down at the forbidden outdoors
Pro: the Leafs will inherently have a home-ice advantage
Con: ahahahahahah can you imagine no it’s quite definitely gonna be some sort of curse

Edmonton
Pro: it’s slightly less miserable without all the snow
Con: emphasis on slightly
Pro: during the summer, Edmonton is one of the best festival cities in the world, including the second-biggest Fringe festival in the world
Con: just kidding it’s all been cancelled
Pro: the Stanley Cup could be awarded in Edmonton without the Oilers ever winning it
Con: the thought of the look on Connor McDavid’s face if that happens is already making me sad in advance

Pro/cons aside, if you were to ask me (and so far the NHL, strangely, has yet to hit up my phone), it should be Edmonton and Vancouver because no one should be coming to Toronto right now. That said, if it did somehow end up being Vancouver and Toronto, I would literally never stop laughing, so that’d be something.

Also, an update from Bob:

ICYMI

NHL and NHLPA set to make a CBA deal of the century
Wondering how and why the NHL and NHLPA are powering forward with a RTP despite every single sign in the universe pointing to “no” and “stop” and “bad”? Well we’ve got... some answers for you.

Top 25 Under 25: Nick Abruzzese makes his debut at #13
Learn more about Nick Abruzzese – a small, speedy fourth-round pick who will be receiving in the mail at some point his authentication certificate as a Kyle Dubas Pick™.

From the Branches

A good news, bad news scenario: Health, economy experts divided over bringing the NHL to Toronto
In a shocking turn of events, capitalists are largely unconcerned with public health and safety. Don’t everyone gasp at once.

The 10 Biggest UFA Signings in the past 10 Years
You can probably guess which Leaf makes this list.

NHL to pay out $300M in scheduled signing bonuses despite shortened season: report
Kyle is handing out a lot of cash right now.

...and that’s about it! Happy Friday!

From The Branches