Puck Drop: 7PM ET Sportsnet Ontario
There's no secret that I hate the Carolina Hurricanes. I joke about their inbred fans and laugh when they suggest that the Hurricanes should be on Versus instead of Toronto despite the fact that tonight's game is radio only in the state of North Carolina but really I just hate their owner. Peter Karmanos spends all of his time wishing he was Mike Illitch and even with a decent on ice product (not this year obviously) no one wants to watch hockey in Raleigh.
Jiri Tlusty returns to Toronto and I'm not sure how we're supposed to feel about it. Will he do what every ex-Leaf does and bury us? He's played six games in Carolina and has a goal and two assists, and he averages around 11 minutes of ice time which isn't a big surprise since he's coached by Paul Maurice. I think a lot of us were happy to have Tlusty on the Marlies thinking he was developing well and would come along at some rate.
In roster news, Tyler Bozak has joined the team and will be centering Nikolai Kulemin and Phil Kessel. I love this quote from Bozak:
“It’s an honour you know, [Kessel]’s such a great player. It’s just a privilege to come in here and be able to centre him. I can get him the puck.” - Mirtle
Jonas Gustavsson gets the start across from Cam Ward, and Carl Gunnarsson looks to make his return Thursday night against Philadelphia. Remember your SPG picks and go Leafs go.
