The Maple Leafs have a second day off Friday before they head to Montreal to play the Canadiens tomorrow night on Hockey Night in Canada for the first time this season.

The Marlies play the first of three games in three days on the road tonight against the Hartford Wolf Pack (New Yor Rangers).

It’s otherwise all quiet in Leafs land! We like quiet.

Mostly.

Solar Bears opening day rosters announced - pas_55
The formal roster announcement includes Cal Heeter, who is noted as being on loan from the Marlies given they put "(TOR)" beside his name. He joins ex-NHL player Matt Hackett to make up the teams’ goaltending duo for the start of the season.

The Solar Bears first game is tomorrow against the Jacksonville Icemen.

Other News

The Lightning defeated the Penguins 5-4 last night, leaving the reigning Stanley Cup Champions with only two regulation wins in five games played.

The Bolts got one in at the end of the first period literally at the last second, actually the last tenth of a second.

Everyone loved George Parros as the new Director of Player Safety when he was suspending Tom Wilson, because everyone hates Tom Wilson. Now that we are a few games in to the regular season, the questions and complaints are starting to roll in about other plays.

McQuaid absolutely should have been suspended for his hit on Jost - Mile High Hockey
Once again the NHL Department of Player Safety proves they’re not worried about player safety.

Crosby should hear from Parros after Holtby hit - Defending Big D
Eakin got a four game suspension for a quite similar play on Lundqvist. If one deserves a four game suspension, then why wouldn’t the other?

Here is that Crosby hit.

There is another headshot from last night that will likely generate some controversy too. What do you think? Vote in the poll below.

Mark Streit (Canadiens) and Marek Hrivik (Flames) went on waivers yesterday. Claims could be made at noon today.

Alain Vigneault’s Decision Making Is Now Jeff Gorton’s Problem - Blueshirt Banter
As familiar as they might be, these crazy, unhinged lineup decisions by Alain Vigneault throughout his tenure in New York still don’t make any sense.

Shutdown Center The Root Cause of Many Problems for Rangers - Blueshirt Banter
The Rangers need to add a shutdown center to the roster. This conversation is usually framed around the loss of Derek Stepan, and no doubt that his absence is a part of this void. But truthfully, this is a problem that originated before his departure.

Hitchcock on Arbour: “A special human being and a special coach” - Lighthouse Hockey
Set to pass the Islanders coach for third on the all-time wins list, the current Stars boss talks about what Arbour means to him.

Foote joins Denver NHL player agency KO Sports Inc. – The Denver Post
Former Avalanche defenseman, team captain and coaching consultant Adam Foote has joined Denver-based NHL player-agency KO Sports Inc. as director of player development.

Can marijuana help make us better athletes? - Globe and Mail
Depending on the strain, marijuana can potentially act as a performance or recovery aid.

The Wild had an interesting goal last night.

The replay showed an odd little quirk.

The Wild player never had control of the puck until it crossed the line, so, offside, right? Nope. Because the Hawks player’s skate tapped it back into the zone, the offside was nullified per the rules. Coach Q probably has some choice words for his spotters above the ice who told him to challenge. Per the new season rules, the Hawks were assessed a delay-of-game penalty, and the Wild scored on the power play. The Wild won game 5-2.

What do you think about the Martin Hanzal hit on Yannick Weber?

It was a legitimate hockey play that went awry by accident. The penalty assessed in game on Hanzal was enough.84
Hanzal should receive minor supplementary discipline to remind him to be more cautious.78
This was an example of a bad play that has to be out of the game. Suspend Hanzal, and make it for more than one game.68

Photographer Christian Bonin has graciously provided us with his incredible Marlies photos, like the header image of this FTB, for the past few seasons. You can now see his work at home games this season on the Marlies Flickr account here. Give it a look.

From The Branches