Good morning Toronto Maple Leafs fans!

Well, it’s morning anyway. In November. It’s rainy/slushy here, I’m not enjoying that or having to dry off the dog every time he comes in from outside. 8 month old golden retrievers do not like standing still while you wipe mud off their paws. Why waste a towel when the couch is right there!

I know I shouldn’t keep looking and enjoying the absolute destruction of something I once loved, but like Twitter I can’t keep my eyes off the OHL’s Niagara IceDogs. I flipped them off last spring when the new owner showed up and revealed himself to be exactly like the old ones by naming himself GM, I knew that was it. He clearly has no idea what he’s doing and bought the team as a vanity project but Niagara fans would be better suited if he just bought NHL23 and played franchise mode all day. A hundred bucks wasted is much easier to swallow than $20 million.

The team has made NINETEEN trades this season. The OHL season is only seven weeks old. Darren DeDobbelaer clearly got himself in over his head, and thinks he can have this team Memorial Cup ready for next season. They are tied for last in the league with the Guelph Storm, and clearly there’s no issue in the front office so what did Darren do?

Fire the rookie head coach.

IceDogs axe Fitzgerald (updated with comments from captain Landon Cato) | BP Sports Niagara

Dan Fitzgerald was well known to DeDobbelaer as he served as head coach of the Brantford 99ers, which was the JrA team DeDobbelaer owned before he bought the IceDogs. The 99ers were awfully run, shockingly, and when Darren announced the new IceDogs staff it was essentially the 99ers staffed called up.

So, when you decide to fire the first time OHL coach that you blame for the team you ran into the ground performing poorly what do you do?

Call up the guy who is running your JrA team! It worked so well last time!

Jeff Angelidis is now head coach of the IceDogs, proving his worth by taking the 99ers to a 4-19-0-2 record. Seems like he fits right in with the IceDogs.

Again, they think this will be a Memorial Cup team next season.

The Dukes of Hamilton had high hopes for that once too.

Here’s some other news.

Yesterday we got some news about Maple Leafs defenders being injured - TJ Brodie, Jake Muzzin - but they are getting a goalie back - Matt Murray - and are calling up players to fill some holes; Mac Hollowell (D) and Pontus Holmberg (F).

Jake Muzzin out for months, and now Brodie is hurt too
Maple Leafs Injury Report

Joseph Woll is going to return to the ice for the Toronto Marlies shortly as well.

Do you want to hear what Dave Nonis has to say about the Leafs? No? I understand. Here’s the link anyway.

Who Did Better: Nonis or a Potato?

Patrice Bergeron is almost a perfect hockey player. If he left the Bruins, that would fix his biggest flaw.

As the Bruins and Sabres celebrated Hockey Fights Cancer Night, the Boston captain inquired about Thompson’s wife, Rachel, asking how she was doing after she had a cancerous mass removed from her right leg in January 2019. The question clearly meant a lot to Thompson.

“It’s big,” Thompson told The Buffalo News following Sabres practice Monday. “Obviously, he didn’t have to say anything. He kind of went out of his way to check on her and ask how she’s doing. It’s just the kind of guy he. He’s just a genuine guy, cares about other people.”

What Patrice Bergeron Said To Tage Thompson In Viral Pregame Moment

Everyone loves a bad trade made by a team they don’t cheer for. Here are some of the worst.

Fischler Report: Three NHL Coaches on the Sizzling Hot Seat - The Hockey News

If you have a moment, help someone out with their schooling if you can.

The Hockey Hall of Fame Legends game had a few familiar faces lining up together again.

It’s a Leafs gameday folks, with the team heading to Pittsburgh to take on the Penguins. Broadcast starts at 7, who knows when the puck will drop.

See you then!

From The Branches