TGIF, amirite? It’s been a long week. I hope all of our American commenters had a great Thanksgiving.

The Leafs didn’t play a Saturday game last weekend after their great showing in California. Their first game back from the road trip was on Monday, where they defeated the Blue Jackets 4-2. Tonight they get the chance to beat them again, this time in Columbus. Needless to say, this November game matters!

Tomorrow the Leafs are back on the Saturday night hockey docket, hosting the Flyers in Toronto. I can already feel the tears coming for the JvR tribute.

There’s 15 games scheduled for today, meaning all but one team is in action. The Kings are the lucky ones with the day off. The games are mostly matinees, starting with the 2018 Discover NHL Thanksgiving Showdown (I kid you not) at 1:00 p.m.

Our preview of tonight’s game is here.

In William Nylander News, it’s officially one week to go until the deadline to sign or trade or make him sit.

Things are going to get crazy this weekend. Be prepared for every trade proposal imaginable to be thrown out there. Remember, the more proposals the talking heads make, the  more chance one of theirs will actually be correct, something of which they will remind us as often as possible.

Other News

There were no games yesterday, so there’s not much in the way of interesting news.

If you want, you can listen here to Brian Burke being whiny about the Hurricanes not celebrating wins correctly per the official rules of hockey. He calls it “pee-wee garbage.”

What has happened to the Montreal Canadiens’ defence? - Eyes On The Prize
"As the first month came to a close, things began to fall apart."

Rangers’ McLeod Out Indefinitely With Broken Hand - Blueshirt Banter
Cody McLeod was on "McLeod eight" after scoring his first goal as a New York Ranger. He later left the game after getting into a fight and it was announced he has fractured his hand."

‘Unresolved issues’ inside RendezVous partnership on LeBreton Flats redevelopment - Ottawa Citizen
"Sources, who didn’t want to be identified because they aren’t authorized to speak publicly about the negotiations, said Melnyk has been trying to avoid paying for the arena. “The expectations were spectacularly unrealistic."

Oh, Eugene.

From The Branches