Pre-season game one is here! Sure, it will be an oddball squad of players on the ice, but we will finally see a Maple Leafs team play that will at least partially resemble that on opening night.

Maple Leafs trim training camp roster to 49 - Arvind
The sword was swung, and took out about 25 players.

The game will be in Ottawa and starts at 7:30 PM EDT. We will have a lot of updates for you today and the first GDT of the season tonight! Get your GIFs ready.

One person who will not be joining the team is Joffrey Lupul. Lupul recently posted another photo of himself engaging in a physical sport on his Instagram account. This time he is snowboarding. It attracted the usual giggles and comments about his recent failed physical, but this time Lupul replied to one of those comments. And what a reply.

Haha failed physical. They cheat, everyone lets them.

We will let you read into that what you feel like. The Leafs, NHL, and NHLPA have not commented on it yet.

Ron Hainsey will be partner No. 11 for Morgan Rielly in Toronto – The Athletic
Though he's played only four seasons and 312 regular season games, Rielly has been paired with 10 different players, an odds and ends group that includes everyone from Jake Gardiner to Tim Gleason and Stephane Robidas.

Other News

Golden Knights' defeat Canucks 9-4 - Knights On Ice
LOLCANUCKS. Former Maple Leafs organization try-out candidate Tyler Wong scored a hat-trick as the Knights won their first ever game.

Analysis: Coyotes Acquire Jason Demers - Five For Howling
The Coyotes picked up Jason Demers by trading Jamie McGinn to Florida, but what does he bring to the team?

The Awakening of Jake Virtanen? - Nucks Misconduct
[Species: The comments are gold.]

Islanders co-owner gives update on team’s Belmont RFP bid - Lighthouse Hockey
The team is, "continuing to study the RFP process" before formally entering their bid on the open property.

What the NHL can learn from its first, failed foray into China - Sportsnet
The China Sharks were one of the NHL’s first direct attempts to break into the world’s most populous country. The team lasted just two seasons in the AIHL before the Sharks’ relationship with the Chinese Ice Hockey Association (CIHA) dissolved. Nearly a decade later, though, that effort still remains an outlier for its scale and ambition.

Olympics no-show a sin of omission for the NHLPA - The Globe and Mail
Alexander Ovechkin may decry how 'it sucks' that he will not be in South Korea, but the NHLPA failed to enshrine Olympics attendance in its contract​

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