Dear Mitchell,

I know you are busy right now. You are probably refreshing your email inbox repeatedly to see if an Offer Sheet has finally arrived for you to sign. I guess there’s still none.

Well, there are those spam emails from Marc Bergevin with the subject “You may already be a Montreal Canadiens Player!”, but then you open the email and realise you first have to sign up for a monthly membership to his gym, and it’s a five-year contract with penalties for cancellation, etc., I can’t believe Sebastian Aho fell for that one. Also you would look quite odd with his 22-inch biceps.

So, you are still waiting. And, so are we.

Just sign the damn contract from Kyle.

I Remain,
Species

ICYMI
Here’s what we wrote about yesterday.

Reconciling the eye-test, the boxcars and statistical models on Barrie - Katya
The stats don’t love Tyson Barrie once you get past points.

Women's Hockey: Wickenheiser, NWHL and the Beauts, CWHL, PWHA - Nafio and Annie
It’s a bit hot for alphabet soup but that’s what we’ve got for you this week.

Other News

John Scott shared what really happened in the infamous fight incident with Phil Kessel. He explains how it started for reasons more complicated than you may have heard. You will also not be surprised to learn that Randy Carlyle was partly responsible for it.

Phil is meanwhile bringing in all the monies for his new team, the Coyotes.

Maple Leafs quietly grooming Frederik Andersen’s successor - Sportsnet
"No one is taking Andersen’s spot, of course, but the grooming for the 29-year-old’s successor — whomever that may be — is about to get interesting."

Potential trade destinations for Anisimov - Second City Hockey
The Blackhawks should be looking for landing spots for Artem Anisimov, but where?

Ferland brings more than just toughness - Nucks Misconduct
Michael Ferland signed a four-year, $14 million deal with the Canucks.

Jared Bednar receives two-year extension - Mile High Hockey
The Avalanche head coach will stay in Denver until at least the 2021-2022 season.

Alex Nylander has no love lost for the Sabres organization.

From The Branches