We’re only a week out from the first day of the Leafs’ regular season!  The Leafs have their sixth preseason game tonight, taking on the Habs in Quebec City.  Check our front page later this morning for a preview and our best guess at who’s going to be playing.

Beyond that, your links:

ICYMI

KatyaKnappe: Do you remember Mitch Marner’s first game for the Maple Leafs?  It got lost thanks to Auston Matthews having maybe the greatest first NHL game in history, but we saw more than one special debut last opening night  Katya breaks it down shift by shift.

Elseldo: Toronto Maple Leafs Prospect Report Seldo’s feature on the Leafs’ North American prospects returns, with the first weekend of CHL action.

Around the Blogosphere

TSN: Top 50 Player Poll Connor McDavid edged out Sidney Crosby for No. 1, which annoyed a surprising number of people who apparently weren’t paying attention.  Auston Matthews was No. 10; Mitch Marner snuck onto the list at No. 50, while William Nylander was not ranked.  Maybe one day TSN will give Nylander the respect he deserves.

All Over SBN: Cuts The easiest part of any coach’s job, as Homer Simpson said, is cuts, and other teams are making them.  If you’re interested, here are cuts from Edmonton, Arizona, Colorado, and Ottawa.  Worth noting long-time Marlies defenceman Andrew Campbell is headed to Arizona’s affiliate in Tucson, while another ex-Marlie, Dominic Toninato, got sent down by the Avs.  In other news: 2017’s “incredible scorer who gets drafted later because he’s tiny”, Kailer Yamamoto, is still above the cut line, and threatening to make the Oilers in his very first year.

The Athletic: Is Sam Morin taking too long? An analysis of NHL prospect timelines This uses a Philadelphia prospect as its jumping-off point, but it takes an interesting look at how long we should expect it to take a draft pick to crack the NHL.  Quality long read.

On The Forecheck: Nashville Predators Defence Preview, Part 2 We all know the Preds have one of the best Top 4 D groups in the league, but their depth is more questionable, and it’s going to be leaned on with Ryan Ellis out to start the year.  Alexei Emelin, former Habs cement truck, looks to be in the mix.  So prepare for Pekka Rinne to get injured in November when Emelin dumps a forward into him.

All About The Jersey: Top 25 Under 25 Top Five Those Garden State slackers are only just now finishing their ranking.  They ranked their top defenceman, Damon Severson, No. 1 over their new first overall draftee, Nico Hischier.  Huh.

Nucks Misconduct: The Canucks will win the Stanley Cup this year
"The PP was at 14.1%, while the PK was at 76.7. Taken individually those numbers are shite, put them together and it’s 90.8%. That number is incredible!! It’s an “A” in any university and higher than most NBA players free throw percentage. The Canucks are an “A” without even having to try."

Kukla’s Korner: Barry Melrose Joins NHL Network Infamously bad coach Barry Melrose proves that the old boy’s club is alive and well.

Feel free to add your own links in the comments.

From The Branches