Happy Friday everyone. There's going to be hockey to watch tomorrow from the rookie event in Montréal. The game is on at 1 pm, and check the comments on Saturday's post for links to streams.

Later this morning you get a cap space post to mull over to make your fantasy trades and roster cuts ahead of camp. Because why not make these decisions now before you've seen anyone or heard how they're in the best shape of their lives.

Actually I think we owe Brad Treliving for the Hakanpää and Pacioretty signings, since we've got two people who aren't in the best shape of their lives, so it cuts down on how often we'll hear it.

Don't give me crap about how awful the Sun is on just about everything (it is) this is good:

Leafs Notes: Lanky Dennis Hildeby high on his development at camp
Size isn’t the only thing that matters for the big Swedish stopper, who hopes to grow his game in many facets to further an NHL dream.
Toronto SunLance Hornby

I'm assigning you homework this weekend, now that we've had some confirmation that Brad Treliving actually did get medical advice with both of his "naturally imperfect" player signings.

Glass Damage
Finding value in injured players.
PPP LeafsActing the Fulemin

If you're new, or don't have a memory that goes back to 2016, the above post is an interesting look by ATF at the concept of the market inefficiency of injured players. He covers the whole idea, including the risks and why teams shy away from their players who are injured. There is a data spreadsheet and explanation of players used to examine the idea as well that is still live. It features the cautionary tale of a current Leafs' employee.

I've been thinking for some time now, that if Kyle Dubas was the GM still he'd be thought super clever for trying to get players at a discount by signing someone coming back from injury.

And I can hear you all yelling about how it's not a discount, and they should get league minimum and blah, blah blah. I don't know where this fixation on every player who isn't a star getting $775,000 a year has come from, but the days of the flat cap convincing anyone to take a salary like that when they aren't likely to be in the AHL most of the year is long over.

And it was never true for defenders. Timothy Liljegren's $1.4 million last year was extraordinarily low for an NHL rostered defender.

In unrelated news I did see a Tweet where Matt Murray said he's in the best shape of his life... well almost. He says his hips feel better than they have in years post surgery.

In case you missed this change:

And some things never change:

Okay, that's your weekend set, read that article, argue about the roster and then watch prospects.

I also rolled past this gem while looking for the other post, so this isn't homework, this is just fun:

The Fine Art Of Lying With Hockey Stats
For fun and profit!
PPP LeafsActing the Fulemin
From The Branches