Good morning Toronto Maple Leafs fans!

Yesterday afternoon we had a vision of things to come in Toronto. Auston Matthews, leading a team of young, great hockey player, wearing a blue jersey, with Mitch Marner, William Nylander, and Morgan Rielly by his side, winning a championship and being named MVP.

Auston Matthews named NHL All-Star MVP
Auston Matthews regaled the home crowd Saturday with two goals and four points to earn the 2024 All-Star Game MVP.After registering just one assist against Team Hughes, the Toronto Maple Leafs captain helped Team Matthews beat back Team McDavid in the final with a dazzling two-goal, three-point performance. His second tally of the contest stood as the game-winner.The sniper’s victory marks the second year in a row where a player representing the host city won MVP. Matthew Tkachuk earned the title in 2023 when the Florida Panthers hosted the festivities.“I’ve been lucky to play a couple of these, but never won, so this one feels good to get here in the hometown,” Matthews said, per Sportsnet. “The fans (have been) great all weekend, just a great atmosphere.” “Couldn’t have written it up any better than this,” he added.Matthews leads the league with 40 goals in 46 games. He won back-to-back Maurice “Rocket” Richard Trophies in 2021 and 2022.
theScoreKayla Douglas

Sadly, it happened in February, not June this time, but it will be a summer celebration soon enough. For now, we'll accept an All-Star victory but soon we will demand Stanley.

Team Matthews had a little fun ahead of time, doodling on their gloves.

Coach Justin Bieber took to the ice for warm ups.

Overall, it seems like the home crowd had fun, the glitches and slowdowns from last season were mostly worked out and it was a successful All-Star Game for everyone.

Next year we won't have one as the NHL will host a weird mid-season tournament with NHLers from Canada, Sweden, Finland, and the USA. Good for the other players for getting an extra week off.

Most of the other news out there is rehashing the Olympics, four nations, or Coyotes news we've been hearing about all weekend. So here are a few other items to discuss.

The NHL’s most disappointing teams in 2023-24
The Sabres, Devils and Senators have all proven to fall below the expectations of Steven Ellis, Matt Larkin and Frank…
Daily FaceoffScott Maxwell

Who has let you down the most this season?

What we’ve learned about the PWHL’s 6 teams over league’s 1st month | CBC Sports
More than half of the PWHL’s first 22 games have been decided by just one goal, with overtime or a shootout needed in eight — a sign of parity across the league.
CBCKarissa Donkin

Hopefully we've learned good things.

Enjoy your day everyone!

From The Branches