I declare this Florida Week! Get ready for some wackiness. Both hockey teams from America's most bizarre state swing through the Golden Horseshoe this week. Tonight the Maple Leafs play the Lightning. On Thursday the Panthers are in town.

Tonight's game will of course feature Steven Stamkos, the newly re-signed Lightning captain who briefly flirted with the Maple Leafs until he met John Tory and ran away screaming. He is really excited about playing here tonight:

Stamkos makes ballyhooed return to Toronto - National Post

REPORTER: "It must be nice to come to Toronto for an NHL game and not having to answer a lot of questions about your choice."
STAMKOS: "Well, I’m answering questions about it right now."
REPORTER: "This will be the last one."
STAMKOS: "I doubt it."LOL!

Thursday will be the return of James Reimer, though it's not yet clear if he or Luongo will be in net. Either way, you better do an in game tribute for him, MLSE.

ICYMI: tonight will supposedly be the first game for Ben Smith, whom the Leafs claimed on waivers yesterday. We will find out shortly after noon if anyone has claimed Milan Michalek from the Leafs.

Martin followed Stamkos’s footsteps to NHL - The Star
Pair were teammates with Sarnia Sting and remain friends. [Species: I don't think he followed his footsteps after he got to the NHL.]

Maple Leafs Rabbit Hole: The Anton Stralman trade - Sportsnet
As the Toronto Maple Leafs celebrate their centennial season, let's discuss a beloved pastime for Leafs fans across generations: looking back on horrible trades the team has made.

Auston ‘Ken Bone’ Matthews - Arii
Matthews definitely won Halloween, just like how he wins most things.

Other News

The Flames stole points from the Hawks last night.

Analyzing the Flyers' penalty kill - Broad Street Hockey
[Species: Here's a nice video based breakdown of the Flyers systems and their effectiveness.]

Commodore takes shift as an Uber driver - TSN
Last Friday night, from 6 to 11 p.m., he was driving people around the Valley of the Sun region in his hybrid Cadillac Escalade.

From The Branches