If you think the Leafs aren't trying "you're lost." That's according to Phil Kessel in a scrum yesterday. As you can imagine, this blew up into a whole big thing.

Kessel: 'We're giving a full effort'
Crank-of-the-season, Jonas Siegel, highlights how Horachek and Kessel have competing messages.

Toronto Maple Leafs’ dressing room ‘pretty screwed up'
An anonymous Leaf said "You’d think things would change. No one notices what’s going on here." Who was it? Apparently someone from the bottom 6 who thinks the top 6 stopped caring, and so he should get more ice time.

The Leafs have 10 games left. For some reason the NHL's schedulers decided three of these games will be against the Senators, the first of which is tonight. The Hamburglar now has a win record of 12-0-1. Sounds like a night for the Leafs to tank, and tank hard!

A new Leaf: Nikita Soshnikov

The Leafs acquired a player you've never heard of.

Leafs sign Free Agent Nikita Soshnikov to Three Year Entry Level
TLN has the history of our newest Leaf.

Matthew Wuest

Sarah Lindenau with one of the best remembrances of how Wuest impacted hockey fans.
"I never met Matthew Wuest in person, but he meant a lot to me. It wasn’t until he landed his first full time reporter job with the Metro Halifax that I even knew what he looked like."

CapGeek founder Matthew Wuest made unforgettable impact on hockey
Popular website brought the NHL’s complex salary-cap system to the masses.

Matthew Wuest remembered as a hockey pioneer
This Sportsnet story includes some quotes from Leafs Assistant to the GM, Pridham, who was working at NHL Central Registry during the rise of the website.

Colon Cancer Canada
If you are interested in donating in Matthew Wuest's memory, his brother recommends Colon Cancer Canada.

Other news

The man behind the mask - Terry Sawchuk
A preview of what looks like a fantastic documentary about an NHL legend.

VIDEO: Tomas Jurco hilariously fails on breakaway
He pulled a Clarkson on a golden scoring opportunity.

NCAA Bracketology: Who is In, Who Needs to Win, What Might Happen
It's US college hockey playoff time. Here's a good primer.

The Women's NCAA Hockey Championship Matchup was finalised last night
The Minnesota Gophers beat Wisconsin, and will play Harvard in the final Sunday.

Toronto Sports Media Poll
Do you listen to Toronto sports radio shows? Head on over to the TSM blog and read and share thoughts about the current offerings after many recent major changes.

There are 13 games today, including some critical ones for wildcard seeding in the playoffs, so let's all enjoy some good weekend hackey!

From The Branches