How’s your weekend going, guys? Anything fun happen? Anything exciting to report?

Yeah, that about sums it up.

If you read nothing else today, you should read this screenshot from Le Monde, attempting to explain Gritty (who among us can truly explain Gritty?) to a confused French person:

It’s especially appropriate that Gritty has become Pennsylvania’s electoral mascot because, for the first time in, uh, several presidents, there will be a hockey fan in the White House. I am, of course, referring to the future First Lady, Dr. Jill Biden, who is a diehard Flyers fan. There’s something that feels very natural about this.

Ranking the best hockey movies - PensBurgh
In the absence of news, here's something everyone can argue about, a la sandwiches or cargo shorts.

JONES: World Juniors to have different feel than NHL playoffs - Edmonton Sun
With some things borrowed and some things new combined with a northern lights theme, the no-fans-in-the-stands Hub City bubble edition of the Edmonton 2021…

What if the Leafs experimented with three defencemen and two forwards? It’s worth a shot | The Star
Not every team is built to break with tradition and ice three blueliners, but it makes a lot of sense for the retooled Leafs, says former Marlies assi...

Weekly Question: What’s the biggest challenge facing D.J. Smith next season? - Silver Seven
With the Sens roster practically complete, we turn the spotlight over to the person in charge from here on out

Rodion Amirov is still out here scoring goals, and giving us hockey highlights to watch, like drops of water in a drought:

From The Branches