Wednesday FTB: One down, four to go

Good morning Toronto Maple Leafs fans!

Last night, with only minutes to spare before the Maple Leafs faced off against the St. Louis Blues, the NHL Department of Player Safety announced that Leafs defender Morgan Rielly was suspended five games for his cross-check to the head of Senators player Ridly Greig.

Okay, but this shouldn't have taken three days to get done. What is this, the OHL?

So, the Leafs headed onto the ice missing their top defender. Oh, and their top winger and number two centre as Mitch Marner and John Tavares also missed the game.

The @MapleLeafs have recalled G Dennis Hildeby and F Alex Steeves from the @TorontoMarlies on an emergency basis.

D Max Lajoie has been loaned to the Marlies.

F Mitch Marner and F John Tavares will not be available tonight due to illness.
— Leafs PR (@LeafsPR) February 13, 2024

It all turned out fine as an unlikely hero in Bobby McMann emerged and scored a hat trick to lead the Leafs to victory.

Five straight wins on the way!

And elsewhere in the news...

Cathy ponders what the Leafs will be like without Rielly.

Team executives weighed in on the best defenders.

Will Cincinnati get an NHL team?

Fanatics is taking over MLB uniforms this year. Next year is the NHL. How do players feel? Not great.

This is what the back of the white jerseys look like with the new template. Players are pretty unhappy. Miles Mikolas says they also don’t fit right; pants are no longer as customized, and the fabric is a very different consistency.

“They look cheap,” another player said. pic.twitter.com/UoH4vVHTfd
— Jeff Jones (@jmjones) February 13, 2024