The Maple Leafs stole one final win before departing for the Christmas break last night.

Maple Leafs complete comeback in wild 5-4 OT victory over Red Wings

The Leafs now sit with 52 points in 37 games played. That’s good enough for first place in any division, except their own where the seemingly unstoppable Lightning sit on top.

The whole NHL now takes a breather for a few days, but there will be hockey action soon as the preliminary round of the World Junior Championship starts on Boxing Day. Dozens of kids will have their hockey games dissected and analysed in excruciating detail; hockey careers will be made and destroyed in the span of a single game. This should be fun!

2019 World Junior Championship Preview - Katya
The Leafs have four prospects on the rosters of three teams. Get ready to watch them, plus a host of draft-eligible players, as they fight it out for the gold medal.

Meanwhile, Kapanen is getting ready for his other job as a Christmas elf.

Other News

Uncle Leo was having some fun celebrating Festivus yesterday.

The best part of the Hurricane’s win yesterday is knowing how much this pisses off a certain ex-GM of the Whalers.

What kind of trade value does Jimmy Vesey have? - Blueshirt Banter
Should the Rangers sell high on Vesey?

Johan Franzén: "My world can fall apart" - Expressen
Former Red Wings star Johan Franzén is battling depression, severe anxiety and panic attacks, four years after the concussion that lead to the end of his career.

MLB prospects pooling earnings to share risk - SI.com
“Here’s Pando’s pitch: A young player contributes a fixed share of his salary to his pool after he receives at least $1.6 million in MLB earnings. There is more than one pool, but every member in each pool must agree on every other poolmate, and Pando takes 10% of each pool. Pando recruits players through agents, financial advisers and players who have already signed with the company; Olson says he has 150 members so far. Once a player is on board, Pando then tries to match him with a handful of similar players to form a pool.”

From The Branches