Good morning Toronto Maple Leafs fans!

We’ve seen two pre-season games get played already and have one happening tonight, with four total left. The Leafs have already announced they’ll be taking the bare minimum of NHLers to Ottawa today so maybe catch up on Top Chef or something. Katya has you covered for that game with the preview later today.

The big buzz around the Maple Leafs this week is the premiere of the Amazon All or Nothing series on Friday.

What to Expect From All or Nothing: Maple Leafs

Katya wrote that “preview” above, without having sen any advanced copies because Amazon doesn’t like us, and that’s my biggest beef with this whole thing. I am well known for being willing to sell out this website to get my grubby hands on free things. A trip to Toronto to play awful shinny on a building? Yes. Books by bloggers? Why not? Ads disguised as blogs? Duh. Free video games? Absolutely. Dozens of other requests that I turn down because I have -some- dignity? Every day (also I get told no, I can't do that). But this stupid series? No, apparently not.

Amazon, you’re on my list. Give me free stuff or go to hell.

In actual Maple Leafs news, not just me complaining...

Auston Matthews is practicing! But don’t buy pre-season tickets expecting to see him.

Auston Matthews returns to Maple Leafs practice: ‘The sky’s the limit’

A new coach! Can this one fix the power play? I mean it’s not their job, but still.

New peak performance coach helps Leafs sharpen mental game - TSN.ca

Wayne Simmonds is proud of his community work, and he should be.

Leafs' Wayne Simmonds takes pride in impactful community involvement

Centre of Leafs Nation gets out the old podcast mic..

GM Kyle Dubas Feeling The Heat

Elsewhere in the NHL...

I forgot Hank retired. At least he never put on a Caps jersey.

Rangers Announce Henrik Lundqvist Jersey Retirement Date

Christ, that headline. It was a pre-season game you dorks.

A grand entrance, and a triumphant return

All the rest of it is more pre-season blah blah blah lets’ just get to the games that matter already.

Finally, I mentioned I get a lot of emails, well here’s one from a random gambling website that ranks the best places for fans to watch games. I’m not going to link to it for two reasons.

1) Welland Stadium makes the top 20. Welland Stadium is a community ballpark that hosts an Inter-County Baseball League team (Go Jackfish!) and what the hell is Welland doing on a list like this?

2) They list Community Park in St. Catharines, a field that hasn’t hosted anything of note since the Blue Jays single-A team the St. Catharines Stompers left for Coney Island in 1999.

Also, not a single CHL arena was mentioned but IBL “stadiums” are? What is this nonsense.

This is what I get, instead of advance copies of cool things. Ugh.

Someone toss me a refreshing Sports Drink™. Ahhhh. That’s the good stuff.

Sports Drink™!

From The Branches