The Maple Leafs assigned Jake Gardiner to the AHL yesterday, which leaves the Leafs with seven defensemen, and just one likely press box candidate in Fraser. The team cited conditioning reasons following his recovery from an early December concussion, so we should see him back in the NHL fairly soon.

The Leafs play away at the Rangers tonight and if you're going to the game, remember to duck from any concessions thrown at you. We'll see if the Leafs shooters can solve Henrik Lundqvist.

Your links from around the league - if I missed any, toss them in the comments:

Leafs:

Nazem Kadri credits Randy Carlyle with hot start
Maple Leafs Hot Stove has some quotes from Kadri about his relationship with Carlyle.

VINTAGE LEAF MEMORIES: Leafs have timing of Gardiner assignment backwards—and renewed Luongo talk

VLM thinks Gardiner should have started with the Marlies.

67 Reasons Why the Leafs Will Win a Stanley Cup before You Die | Five Minutes For Fighting
Science is making breakthroughs every day.

Lesser teams:

Friday Morning Skate: Why I Stand With Tim Thomas - Stanley Cup of Chowder

Sovereign Citizen Cornelius Hardenbergh strongly believes in everything Tim Thomas stands for.

Jersey Fouls: Gary Bettman protest; Nashville fouls; Zamboni Princess | Puck Daddy
Jersey Fouls - gotta love to hate them.

Girl’s Guide To Watching the Rangers sparks outrage, ridicule before it’s pulled | Puck Daddy
From the land of needless gender splits and twitter outrage.

KuklasKorner - Flyers Lose Meszaros for at Least Four Weeks

Komisareks! Get your Komisareks here!

Jamie Benn: "I'm happy to be a Star." - Defending Big D
Jamie Benn re-signs while PK Subban tolerates trade rumors and Ryan O'Reilly stays silent.

The Chris Kreider Situation - Blueshirt Banter

Chris Kreider reveals himself to be terrible, which we all knew when he committed to Boston College. 12 points in 33 AHL games.

From The Branches