Hey everyone. I'm slightly tipsy and there's a fly buzzing around me, so you're stuck with an unimaginative title and a brief FTB, not that there's much going on anyway. (edit: clearly alcohol makes me more chatty and not less. whoops) It's day three of Leafs rookie camp, so keep an eye out for coverage of that over here. Not much else going on in Leaf land right now.

Oh, and I would be remiss if I didn't mention the radio hit Steve Simmons did yesterday, where he finally commented on his erroneous hot dog story. He really didn't say much. He pinned the errors on his "trustworthy source" and stood by his attempt to take one last shot at Phil Kessel's character. Anyway, I think I've wasted enough time on Steve Simmons and his shoddy journalism, so that's it for me.

In praise of Maple Leafs’ brilliant rebuild | Puck Daddy

Maple Leafs putting new spin on player development | TSN

Kapanen and Harrington Have High Ceilings for Maple Leafs | THW

Oddity: St. John’s Maple Leafs gear in Wimbledon stands | The Telegram

Maple Leafs prospects hit the ice in Collingwood | Simcoe

Babcock on day two of Prospect Camp | Maple Leafs

Mike Babcock urges Maple Leafs prospects to learn what makes superstars tick | The Star

The team’s 57 prospects did on-ice and off-ice drills in this resort town before heading off for an afternoon of paintball. Babcock — who planned to skip the paintball — is taking in the camp to try to get to know some of the younger players while also passing on some advice.Other News

A New Passing Data Viz to Analyze John Moore | In Lou We Trust
Some cool passing data over at In Lou We Trust.

Making Sense of Vladimir Tarasenko’s New $60 Million Contract | Grantland From DGB, in case you missed it.

To Praise and/or Criticize Nashville's Offseason | On the Forecheck

The Trevor Daley Question: Breaking Down the Video of the Dallas Stars Defensemen | Defending Big D
If you're into video breakdowns of players, you'll be into this

Nassau Coliseum: The End of a Generation of Arenas | Lighthouse Hockey
The end of an era.

Slava Voynov has KHL job waiting after jail, but Fetisov says he ‘got off light’ | Puck Daddy
And Fetisov would be right.

NHL Free Agency: Jim Nill's Unexpectedly Quiet July | Defending Big D

Grading the Central Division: How Does the Dallas Stars Offseason Compare? | Defending Big D
Lots of links from Big D today.

The Flyers hid a 'Sh*t The Beach' joke in their Snapchat story | Broad Street Hockey
Well played.

Inferno make Scott Reid permanent head coach, name Olympian as assistant | Matchsticks and Gasoline Some CWHL news for y'all.

From The Branches