In what I’m sure will not cause any kind of ruckus, yesterday the Montreal Canadiens announced that they would be charging their season ticket holders an additional $150 if they wanted their tickets in physical, paper form, instead of delivered electronically.

This seems unwise to me, mostly because when someone’s paying thousands of dollars for a service, they probably expect that service to be delivered with some degree of luxury. You know, like fancy little soaps in the bathroom of an expensive hotel room. Nobody’s going to complain about the weird little soap cakes you get at a hostel that smell kind of like dish detergent, but if you spend big money on a room at the Four Seasons, your soap better smell like it was hand-milled by fairies in an idyllic English garden. It’s an aesthetic thing. Then again, the Habs didn’t ask me!

Mostly, this is a thinly veiled excuse to link to the packaging and art from last year’s Maple Leafs season tickets, which was gorgeous. Seriously, look at it! That is a triumph of graphic design if I’ve ever seen one. If they sold those ticket designs as posters, I would have wallpapered my living room with them.

On to your Saturday links!

ICYMI

How many Leafs players have Yeezys? - Pension Plan Puppets
Arvind has a very important piece of investigative journalism to share with you all.

Year One of the Matthews Era - Pension Plan Puppets
On the anniversary of his signing, what Matthews means to the franchise.

2017 Toronto Maple Leafs top 25 under 25 preview - Pension Plan Puppets
Who are the players up for nomination this year?

Marlies sign Alex Gudbranson and Kristian Pospisil - Pension Plan Puppets
The Marlies are hard at work adding players to the system to keep the team well stocked.

Nikolai Chebykin has a new team - Pension Plan Puppets
The Leafs prospect will stay in Russia on a two-year contract with SKA-Neva.

Stuff We Didn’t Write

Brampton Beast up for sale, with hopes of attracting local investors - Eyes On The Prize
Team president and GM Cary Kaplan discusses the plan to infuse the team with local ownership.

A Downtown Raleigh Arena for the Carolina Hurricanes Isn’t A Necessity - Canes Country
A suburban arena in a suburban region was the right spot for the Carolina Hurricanes when PNC Arena was built, and it remains so today.

Senators re-sign Dzingel to two-year, $3.6M deal - Silver Seven
The Sens avoid arbitration with the 25-year-old winger

Dahlin among those on Sweden roster for World Junior Summer Showcase
Defenseman Rasmus Dahlin, projected to be one of the top picks in the 2018 NHL Draft, will be among the 25 players participating for Sweden at the World Junior Summer Showcase.

Down Goes Brown: Grab Bag: The Bettman Sentence fixes everything
An NHL and hockey humor blog. The Best Of Down Goes Brown is available in book stores now.

Red Wings and Tomas Tatar Agree on 4 year, 5.3M AAV Contract - Winging It In Motown
The Red Wings and Tomas Tatar have agreed on a contract. Tatar will earn $21.2M over the course of 4 years.

From The Branches