This morning links article is going to be a bit of happy good news at the very beginning, followed by a lot of manure the rest of the way down until we get to the bottom of the manure pile - Mark Spector. If you wish to have a pleasant day, skip to the comments after you’ve read the word “Evander.”

The Good Place

Let’s start with the good news, Toronto Maple Leafs prospect Nick Robertson was back on the ice yesterday with the Toronto Marlies after three and a bit months on the sidelines. He was practicing with a red No-Contact jersey on Thursday, after fracturing his fibula all the way back in mid-October. That wasn’t all he faced as he also had to quarantine after testing positive for COVID during the Marlies outbreak in December.

Nick Robertson is out injured for at least ten weeks

It’s been a first half of the season to gum up and throw in the trash. Hopefully his second half (the Marlies play until the end of April) can be exciting in all the good ways.

Speaking of prospects, Scott Wheeler, posted his updated prospects ranking, breaking down all the aspects of development you’ve come to love from him.

Greg Wyshynski wrote up his NHL contenders rankings at the midpoint of the NHL season. Innit, he has the Leafs, Canes, Panthers, and Avalanche in the top group, with Lightning, Bruins, Knights, Predators, Blues, and Penguins in the next tier. Do you agree? What would you have as your list? Here’s mine:

Tier 1: Lightning, Hurricanes, Avalanche
Tier 2: Leafs, Knights, Panthers
Tier 3: Penguins, Bruins, Wild

Congrats to Quinton Byfield for scoring his first career NHL goal. The first of many, I’m sure!

And check out Trevor Zegras trying, and succeeding, in scoring the lacrosse goal!

The Bad Place

As you might have head, the Edmonton Oilers signed Evander Kane.

Here he is sitting down with Kayla Grey, explaining how he doesn’t know what anything he’s being accused of means.

Here is the NHL’s justification for letting him play, they are avoiding an holistic approach to whether Kane can play or not.

And here’s some cap details on the contract the Oilers signed.

Next up, Jacob Panetta was suspended for the rest of the ECHL season (38 games with the club he formerly played for) for racist gestures at Jordan Subban.

Jake Virtanen was officially charged on Thursday with sexual assault by Vancouver PD. The alleged assault happened in 2017, with the victim coming forward in May 2021, opening an investigation. Virtanen has been out of the NHL since then.

I’d just like to comment on the different consequences players with talent and those without get in hockey. Action or inaction comes only when a person’s worth is measured, not the measure of their actions. Something to think about.

And finally, Mark Spector being a massive, massive, utterly enormous asshole. Don’t bother reading the article, you can probably figure out what it’s saying on your own.

From The Branches