Hard in the Corner

Amongst all the bullshit that Toronto Maple Leafs fans are rambling on about, one question has stuck out to me. Mostly in that, nobody is asking it.. No, it's not whether Jake Gardiner's dog should be kicked, or if Leo Komarov can be both uncle & lover, it's JVR . April 27th was locker clean out day for the Leafs and a few notable players were packing up their stuff for, presumably, the last time. At least the last time as Leafs. One of those players is James van Riemsdyk. This season, James van Riemsdyk was the team's leading goal scorer, had a 7.2 point share and a 55.6% corsi player - in admittedly sheltered starts (62.7% OZs). So, why does he HAVE to go? Well, one reason is his asking price. He will undoubtedly be a 6x6 free agent this summer, and the Leafs have other priorities. Auston Matthews early extension being the most obvious. Matthews will be a minimum $10 million player for the foreseeable future, and his prime , along with Marner and Nyland

you can follow me on twitter HERE Carey Price of Anahim Lake, BC (pop. 1,500) taunts Peter Budaj, of Banska Bystrica (pop. 76,641) over his big city roots There are a LOT of small market teams left in the NHL playoffs. It's not 100%, but there is no doubt that this year's second round is dominated by the little guy that could. Though in this league, that translates to fickle ownership groups that have used their brains in hiring competent hockey personnel. Anyways, I thought it would be interesting to go through and find out who the teams small market stars are! That is, a player on a small market team (though I'll do a player from each, so Pittsburgh fans don't chew my ass) that performs at a high level, and is from literal butt-fuck nowhere. Maybe somewhere in Saskatchewan. Let's go. 1. Tampa Bay Lightning - avg attendance: 19,092 Well, if anything is certain, it's that the NHL has a reaaaaal loose handle on what it allows to be recorded as att