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...

Basically going to go ahead and just rip Elliotte Friedman's amazing 31 Thoughts article and publish my own insane ramblings from around the league. Slightly different, each number will be a separate thought for each team. 1 . Every team in the NHL is trying to keep up with the Golden Knights twitter account. Some do well like LA and Nashville, others like the Anaheim Ducks make such a horrific attempt, that it comes across as a deliberate attempt at offending. Last week we got to see Ryan Kesler, strolling around an office setting completely naked. This was to celebrate the team's 'birthday'. The social media team clearly missed the obvious correlation between that concept and the countless accounts of women coming forward to finally speak out against work place sexual harassment and inappropriate advances. This is coming from the team that has a known and vocal homophobe as their Captain though, so maybe it's par for the course. 2 . The NHL is talking a...

Oh yeah, Captains in the Atlantic, a maritime tale. I love the sound of that. So what I'm gonna do is power rank the captains of each team, starting in the NHL Atlantic division. What I'm looking at is my opinion on these fellas. How I feel about their on-ice and off-ice "leadership" or whatever. So let's do that... Oh yeah, teams without a Captain, I will select their most veteran 'A' and they will be ranked, ok.... The Best: Erik Karlsson of the Ottawa Senators This is an easy one. He is one of the best players in the game today, and one of the best defensemen of all time. While he seems to be injury prone, he has two Norris trophies to his name and single-handedly carries the Senators. Being the best player on your team is crucial, being the best ever (or one of) is icing. Henrik Zetterberg of the Detroit Red Wings Detroit sucks. They suck so bad. But they haven't always and Zetterberg has been a loyal guy. Now while that can cost you acc...

I'm a Leafs fan. I have no problem saying that. I love the Leafs. Yes, I watch other teams, but it's so I can see players, not teams. For example, I used to watch Washington, to see how Eric Fehr was doing. That has since been resolved. In any case, I love watching the Leafs which is why I hate...regional blackouts. Why is it that every Saturday night, I can be sure to see that little Filipina girl sign the anthem in T-dot, but this evening, TSN doesn't see fit to let me watch the game? Regional blackouts, that's why. What is the purpose of these fucking things? It seems to me they take more money out of the hands of the NHL, the broadcaster and the cable companies than it helps put in. And I know that every single human being on Earth hates them. So, ok...money is the name of the game. But this can't help. TSN, tonight, on TSN4, will air a black screen in place of the most popular hockey game in Canada, and therefore North America, and therefore the World....

I have a theory, and that theory is that Lou Lamoriello is a terrible GM, and has been for some time. Now, I know that isn't radical, especially in Lou's advanced age (he's 74), but I have a suspicion that he has been bad for much longer than the popular opinion would suggest. So, I've taken time to look at his entire GM career. From building the Devils franchise to a consistent powerhouse, to not tendering a qualifying offer to Antoine Bibeau. What I have found is basically a guy who excelled in a very particular aspect of the job and had to, in order to make up for serious failings. Lou Lamoriello joined the Devils in 1987 after the NHL draft. Over the course of the next few years, a pattern would evolve. Firstly, you don't want Lamoriello anywhere near your draft. Of all 29 of his 1st round picks, only 10 have had any level of NHL success. The majority of those have spent minimal time with the Devils before being traded to another team. You see, here's th...