Welcome to the last Friday of August. Yes, that’s right, in less than one week it will be September, and before you know it the Maple Leafs will be back on the ice... well maybe not that soon. The first pre-season game is still four weeks away, so while it may be back to school, it’s not back to NHL hockey just yet. However, we can relive one great moment from last season today. More on that after the news of the day.

First, they actually are playing hockey in Denmark, and the Team Canada women won their first game 4-1 against Finland. Our recap of the game is here, along with our tournament preview:

Canada kicks off Women’s Worlds with comfortably close win over Finland
Women’s Worlds Preview

The Canadian women have today off but a busy weekend ahead, playing Saturday against the Swiss, who have several reliable star players, then again on Sunday against a Japanese team which has succeeded at ascending the women’s hockey ranks over the past two decades to a point they are now in “Group A” for this tournament.

Other News

Marnie McBean says offer to join Hockey Canada committee withdrawn after her call to fire top execs - TSN
McBean said in an interview with TSN on Wednesday that she was contacted Aug. 10 by Adam Vaughan, a former member of parliament and journalist with Citytv. Vaughan is now a principal at Toronto-based Navigator Ltd., the firm working with Hockey Canada to help the organization weather criticism from parliamentarians, its corporate partners, and the public over its response to allegations of sexual assault. [SPECIES: So Hockey Canada has now retained the services of a crisis PR firm to find people who are friendly to the existing board and executive management group to join a committee that will make recommendations about how to restructure the organisation. This despite near-universal agreement the entirety of the existing broad and executive management group no longer have the moral authority to continue in their positions. Can we just create a new national hockey agency and then ghost Hockey Canada? I bet it would take them years to notice it happened what with their heads shoved so far up their asses.]

The NHL YouTube account is in summer mode which means it’s super-cut time. Michael Bunting gets two appearances in the “best no look plays” list at 3:58 and then probably his most famous one of the season at 12:19 with the no look drop pass for Marner right in front of the Red Wings net.

Here’s the video clip of that Bunting goal where he totally clowns Alex Nedeljkovic, and with bonus Joe Bowen commentary. Simply one of the most hilarious goals of the season. Leaving it for Marner gave him his fourth of the night in front of a very unhappy crowd in Detroit.

This was the bizarre game which the Leafs won 10-7, even though they were at one point up 6-1.

Recap: Toronto Maple Leafs score 10, win by 3

Kurtis Gabriel saw the greatness in the boy from Scarborough all the way back in the 2021 pre-season.

From The Branches