Maple Leafs sign Bobby McMann to a future two-year, two-way contract

After a season and a half of hard from Bobby McMann with the Toronto Marlies, he finally secured a contract with the NHL club.

We’ve signed forward Bobby McMann to a two-year, two-way future contract.#LeafsForever
— Toronto Maple Leafs (@MapleLeafs) April 29, 2022

The 25-year-old has been a massive part of the Toronto Marlies this season after starting the season in the ECHL. McMann has 35 points over a 60-game span in the AHL this season and most recently broke the Marlies rookie goal record of 23 goals, set by Josh Leivo.
This is a great signing for the Maple Leafs, who are getting a leader, strong player on and off the puck, and finally, a goal scorer. McMann has worked incredibly hard this season and is very deserving of this contract from the Maple Leafs.
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Goran Dragic getting swept is awesome news for Raptors fans

The Toronto Raptors spent most of the first half of the year being held hostage by Goran Dragic. A veteran who clearly did not want to be in Toronto after being included in the Kyle Lowry trade, Dragic soured relations immediately after arriving by saying he had “higher ambitions” than playing for the Raptors. Dragic […]
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Author: Mike Luciano / Raptors HQ

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Jake Muzzin’s return means a tough lineup choice for the Maple Leafs

After missing the last month and a half with a concussion, it looks like Jake Muzzin will finally return to the Maple Leafs lineup when they take on the Florida Panthers.
Maple Leafs head coach Sheldon Keefe pretty much confirmed it during Monday’s morning skate in Tampa. But with Muzzin entering the lineup, there’s obviously one player who has to come out. And at this point, it’s either Justin Holl or Timothy Liljegren.
Muzzin’s eventual return will likely push TJ Brodie, who’s playing on the left side, back to the right. That, in turn, will push one of Liljegren or Holl out of a spot.
There’s two scenarios that I can go through in this article — who I think deserves to stay in the lineup versus who I think Keefe keeps in the lineup.
I’ll start off with who I believe Keefe will take out of the lineup on Tuesday night, and that’s Liljegren.
During Keefe’s availability on Monday morning, the Maple Leafs’ head coach discussed Toronto’s depth on defence. Keefe went into detail and used Liljegren’s name, but never mentioned Holl.
“Having the ability to have someone like Giordano down in that third pair right now, I think that’s fair to say, that’s as comfortable as we’ve been there,” said Keefe on Mo …

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Author: Nick Barden / The Leafs Nation

after half last missing month with

PWHPA and PHF asked to talk by the NHL over potential merger

A year and a half ago, when I started covering women’s hockey, the rift between the then NWHL and the recently formed PWHPA was fresh, and wide. I was intimidated by it, frankly. The politics seemed so deep and divided that I wasn’t sure I’d ever be able to confidently talk about it. I’m still not totally sure I can now, but I’m going to try my best.
As you may have seen, it was announced by Jeff Marek that the NHL is trying to close the divide in women’s hockey between these two major organizations:

Breaking women’s hockey news – The NHL has asked the PWHPA and PHF to meet in an attempt to come to an arrangement that would bring the two leagues together. Details of the proposed meeting are now being worked on.
— Jeff Marek (@JeffMarek) March 17, 2022

On the one side you have the Premier Hockey Federation, which was formerly the NWHL, National Women’s Hockey League. They changed their name heading into this season in order to be more inclusive of transgender players who may play in the league. You may have seen coverage on this blog of the Toronto Six, which is the newest franchise in the PHF and may end up leading the league at the end of this season.
On the other side, you have the Professional Women’s Hockey Player’s Association. Chances are if you can name 10 women’s hockey players, they’re all members of the PWHPA. This organization formed out of the collapse of the CWHL, th …

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Author: Ryan Hobart / The Leafs Nation

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3 position battles Toronto Raptors must watch in the second half

The Toronto Raptors began the second half of the 2021-22 season in a very concerning fashion thanks to defeats against the Hornets and Hawks by 32 and 27 points, respectively. The once-feared lineup that was taking down Eastern contenders doesn’t look as mighty. Not only is Fred VanVleet dealing with an injury that is making […]
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Author: Mike Luciano / Raptors HQ

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Raptors Game Tonight: Raptors vs Nets Odds, Starting Lineup, Injury Report, Predictions, TV Channel for Feb. 28

The Toronto Raptors have started the second half in just about the worst fashion possible, as both the Hornets and the Hawks blew the doors off them. Luckily, the latest Raptors odds have them positioned to break their losing streak against a division rival. Nick Nurse and the rest of the team will take on […]
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Author: Mike Luciano / Raptors HQ

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3 very bold second half predictions for the Toronto Raptors

The Toronto Raptors have started the second half in just about the worst way possible after two blowouts on the road, but that is no reason to get overly pessimistic about their long-term prospects. The squad is still positioned to make the play-in tournament. The club will need to overcome a hobbled Fred VanVleet and […]
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Author: Mike Luciano / Raptors HQ

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Previewing key Raptors matchups in the second half of the season

With the second half of the season coming up, the Toronto Raptors are currently sitting in the 7th seed six games back from contenders like the Bulls and Heat. In a general sense, Nick Nurse has done a fine job of coaching this season. Before the NBA All-Star break, where Fred VanVleet made his first all-star […]
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Author: Sai Pirapakaran / Raptors HQ

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Grading the Maple Leafs at the halfway point of the season

A man of questionable wiseness once said:
Woah, we’re half way there
Woah, livin’ on a prayer
Take my hand, we’ll make it I swear
Woah, livin’ on a prayer
Those words feel very relevant today as we start to fondly (in most cases) look back at the performances of the Leafs so far this year, and anticipate what’s to come for the rest of the year. Given there are a lot of players to work with, we’ll take a look at the forwards in a later post, but for now, we’ll dive into the defense, goaltenders, and of course, Keefe and Dubas.
A bit about our grading. These grades are not just mine. The entire TLN crew had a chance to weigh in and the most response reflects the feelings of the group, while any comments are my own unless otherwise attributed.
We absolutely graded on a curve here, as we are grading each player against our expectations for that player. So if you think Muzzin has still been a better player than Liljegren, remember the expectations for Muzzin were likely that he is the strongest part of the Leafs shutdown pairing, while the expectations for Liljegren were that he proved he belongs in the NHL.
And now the rankings
The Leafs blueline
Overall I feel we’ve been very optimistic ab …

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Author: Jon Steitzer / The Leafs Nation

half once questionable said Woah we’re wiseness

Breaking down the Toronto Maple Leafs depth chart heading into 2022

Two and a half weeks since their last game against the Edmonton Oilers, the Toronto Maple Leafs will hit the ice tonight against the Ottawa Senators.
If you follow me on Twitter (@Kyle_Cush), you’ll probably be familiar with the organizational depth charts I tweet out regularly. Needless to say, it has been an unusually long time between games, so it has been a while since I last put out an update. With how many moves have been completed factoring in COVID protocol, players returning from injury, and the re-introduction of the taxi squad, let’s dive into the Leafs complete depth chart to get you back up to speed on each level of the organization.
As of the morning of January 1, 2022, here is where the Toronto Maple Leafs organizational depth chart stands:

To begin, the Maple Leafs have all of their NHL forwards healthy and available for the first time since the preseason. Ilya Mikheyev returned to Toronto’s lineup just prior to this COVID pause, while Mitch Marner comes back into the Maple Leafs lineup after a spell on LTIR.
As of Friday’s practice, it appears as though Nick Ritchie will be the odd man out. …

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Author: Kyle Cushman / The Leafs Nation

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