Every time any of the professional leagues in North America try to come together for the start of a season, there’s some starting pains — just ask the German and Swedish teams at the recently completed World Juniors. Players travelling from all over into singular locations have led to multiple breakouts

Well, with NHL training camps under way for a few days we saw two teams get hit with outbreaks. The most serious was the Dallas Stars, with six players and two staff testing positive.

As a result, their camp and facilities are shut down, and all their games are being pushed back until at least January 19th, maybe later. This means they will start the season almost a week later than everyone else, and will have to find a way to make up their games.

Columbus, meanwhile, seem to have had an outbreak as well....

Now I count a lot more than six players that the Stars said tested positive. But there may be other issues — visa problems (see: Kapanen), injuries, personal issues, or being isolated because they may have been in contact with players who tested positive.

So far, those seem to be the only two teams with significant issues. I can promise it won’t be the last before the season starts, and there will likely be more outbreaks through the season.

A reminder that tonight’s White vs Blue scrimmage will be televised.

Nic Petan on waivers today | by Katya

Why I Hate the Ottawa Senators | by Katya

Know your Enemy: The Ottawa Senators | by Katya

Leafs Prospect Roundup: Analyzing Leafs’ WJC performances | by Katya at TLN

Toronto Maple Leafs Training Camp Musings: Starting lines, Defensive Depth, and Special Teams | by Katya at MLHS

Meet the Leafs’ Mikko Lehtonen: ‘The way he plays the game there’s no faking it’ | by Katya at The Athletic

Sportsnet announces 2020-21 Toronto Maple Leafs broadcast schedule | by Katya at Sportsnet

Andersen blocks out contract noise, focuses on upcoming season | by Katya at TSN

A lovely story of a recent hiring by MLSE for their new Marlies equipment manager.

If you missed it, the Leafs are apparently playing around with new powerplay units:

An update on Alex Kerfoot, who was injured earlier in training camp after crashing into the boards:

A great shift by Leafs prospect Lil Caesar (because Veni Veeti Vici) lead to an assist:

Another European prospect of the Leafs showing off his pipes.

I’ll end this FTB with a random highlight from the last NHL season that was in my mind for no particular reason...

From The Branches