Yes, I'm currently living in Budapest, and yes, this is a school night, so I'll be a very tired teacher tomorrow morning, but I wouldn't miss the regular season opener for anything. I'll be staying up to watch this game, beer in hand, with all you lovely ladies and gentlemen in the FTB and on Twitter. Hey, living in Vietnam didn't stop me, so heck if living in Europe is going to deter me.

Unplug and/or turn off your phones, lock your doors, batten down the hatches, and settle in for an evening that is sure to feature all the best parts of watchin' hockey: a Leafs-Habs game, a CBC montage, a Don Cherry rant, an overly-long pre-game ceremony, and hopefully Phil Kessel makes it rain on Carey Price.

Oh, and let's hope Phil has signed his extension by game time.

LINKS:

5 predictions for the Leafs this season

I agree with all of Mirtle's thoughts, here.

Pure goal scorers are a thing of the past

I think the title misses the point of the article. This is about how scoring has dropped since the 80's.

Kessel's negotiations are won before they've finished

Jeffler looks at the proportional cap value of Kessel's potential contract vs. those of other high-end forwards.

SBN's Season Preview

It's pretty beautiful. Go check it out.

MLHS and Michael Langlois do a "Hangout"

You know, the Google kind.

Mirtle and Siegel do a podcast

This one actually came out on Sunday, but you may have missed it. Mirtle actually says that he likes the current Leafs' forward corps more than last year. He really likes Mason Raymond.

Peter Mansbridge Interviews Gary Bettman

Worth a watch. Mansbridge is a hockey fan, and it shows in his questions.

From The Branches