It’s a lull period before the Stanley Cup Finals start, not only in terms of hockey games but also in terms of hockey news. Not like it’s a time when teams start swinging trades and making important free agent signings.

Well, the Toronto Maple Leafs say nuts to that! We’re still the centre of the hockey universe and we’ll prove it by taking over the headlines with an important announcement!

Wait. They’re losing a couple of assistant coaches? That’s it? Well that’s boring. No one cares about the assistant coaches on the Leafs. I mean, when have you ever heard people complaining about them? NEVER! THAT’S WHEN!

Anyways, the Leafs also announced they signed at least one replacement assistant coach from the Florida Panthers, Paul McFarland, who was responsible for their pretty successful power play. So... yay I guess?

The future of the Leafs defence is on display with the Marlies, and it’s as small as it is talented | by Scort Wheeler at The Athletic

Speaking of the Marlies, they evened up their series vs Charlotte with an overtime win thanks to Carcone’s hat trick!

Over at the Worlds, Team Canada had a literal last second comeback against the Swiss, tying the game with 0.4 seconds left and then winning in overtime to advance.

Finland came back to knock out Sweden, so our golden boy William Nylander exits the tournament with only 18 points in 8 games to lead the tournament (for now). What a chump.

Speaking of Nylander, Brock Nelson re-signed with the New York Islanders at a 6 year, $6 million AAV contract. Why is that relevant to Nylander? Because y’all haters can shut the fuck up about his contract now. What’s that? Oh, I’m being informed that Nylander actually makes $25 million per season, which makes his contract way less reasonable than I thought. Nevertheless...

Have a great Friday everyone!

From The Branches