IIHF announce Women’s World Championships will return in late August

After much backlash over the cancellation of the Women’s Worlds Championships while many other events continued, the IIHF has announced that the Women’s World Championships will indeed be happening this year.
Currently, the event is scheduled for August 20-31 with Canada acting as the host country. Venues and host cities have yet to be decided upon but an announcement is expected in the coming weeks.
Over the past few weeks, many advocates of women’s hockey spoke out about the hypocrisy of cancelling one of the most important events in women’s hockey while other tournaments such as the men’s U18 Championship were allowed to continue. Most notably, Team Canada goalie Shannon Szabados spoke out on twitter, even volunteering herself to join the hockey operations team and add some much needed insight and experience.

There are so many young girls coming up that need a voice. An advocate. A leader.Im sure there are many great people doing their best but it would be silly not to offer over a decades worth of international insight & experience! Offer stands @IIHFHockey pic.twitter.com/zmri76gPof
— Shannon Szabados (@ShannonSzabados) April 30, 2021

With the Stanley Cup playoffs expected to end …

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Author: Filipe Dimas / The Leafs Nation

How Morgan Rielly has done against North Division competition

It was just over a month ago that I decided to explore what the Leafs have in Morgan Rielly. The reality then is the same as it is today, Rielly is a talented offensive defenseman, that will always let us wanting more from him in his own zone. I think everything was summed up pretty well there, and my ultimate that the Leafs need to move from him over the summer remains unchanged.
A lot of that was looking at Rielly heading into the trade deadline, and now we find ourselves in a different situation, and that’s looking at how much of a liability Rielly will be heading into the playoffs from a defensive perspective, and if his offence outweighs that issue. At no point am I going to attempt to make a case that Rielly doesn’t belong in the Leafs top six. No matter how you slice it, Rielly deserves to be in the lineup, but as line matching increases, does Rielly need to be deployed differently, and is T.J. Brodie the ideal defensive partner for him?
Rielly’s defense against top competition
At this point the North Division playoff teams are pretty much set. Unless …

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Author: Jon Steitzer / The Leafs Nation

Toronto Raptors: Not adding another center hurt the team

Toronto Raptors: Not adding another center hurt the team

It’s been over a week since the NBA trade deadline, where the Toronto Raptors made some moves during the trade deadline by trading away Norman Powell, Matt Thomas, and Terence Davis. In return, they got Gary Trent Jr., Rodney Hood, and two future second-round picks. Unfortunately, Aron Baynes remained with the team. Despite that reshuffling, […]
Toronto Raptors: Not adding another center hurt the team – Raptors Rapture – Raptors Rapture – A Toronto Raptors Fan Site – News, Blogs, Opinion and More

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Author: Pirasanth Gunasekaram / Raptors HQ

Is a Mikael Granlund trade imminent for the Leafs?

We’ve spilled a lot of digital ink talking rumours over the past month, and with three weeks to go, it’s unlikely that we’ll be letting up at all. It’s in that spirit we are circling back around to one of the most frequently talked about rumoured players, Mikael Granlund.
If you feel like reading (or re-reading) almost 2000 words on Granlund, what he is and isn’t and how he’d fit in with the Leafs, we’ve got you covered here:
Where there’s smoke there’s probably Granlund

We aren’t going to explore the nuances of Granlund’s game again today, but rather try to answer a few of the questions that are popping up. Why are we talking about him again? When will Nashville trade him? What will he cost? Is he a good idea for the Leafs?
Why are we talking about Granlund again?
We have last night’s Insider Trading segment on TSN and Frank Seravalli to thank for that one:
After scouring the league, I believe the Leafs’ primary target at this point is Nashville Predators forward Mikael Granlund.
Okay, that will do it. That’s pretty direct for an …

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Author: Jon Steitzer / The Leafs Nation

Maple Leafs deal Mikko Lehtonen to Columbus for goaltender Veini Vehvilainen

The Mikko Lehtonen era is over. The Leafs announced on Friday that the Finnish defenceman has been dealt to the Columbus Blue Jackets in exchange for 24-year old goaltender Veini Vehvilainen.

TRADE: We’ve acquired goaltender Veini Vehviläinen from Columbus in exchange for Mikko Lehtonen. #LeafsForever
Details: https://t.co/mhODkKPFGy pic.twitter.com/e7rg222gyG
— Toronto Maple Leafs (@MapleLeafs) March 12, 2021

Lehtonen arrived in Toronto with plenty of hype after a season in which he was named the KHL’s defenceman of the year but he was unable to beat out Travis Dermott or Zach Bogosian for a regular spot on a greatly improved Leafs’ defensive core. He managed to get into nine games with the Leafs, picking up three assists while showing potential as a powerplay quarterback, but was unable to earn Sheldon Keefe’s trust at even strength.
It is a bit of an unceremonious end for a player that had such high expectations upon signing with the Leafs as an undrafted free agent last offseason but it is clear that the experiment didn’t pan out and the fit never materialized. Dubas did right by Lehtonen in moving him to a team that might be …

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Author: Nick Richard / The Leafs Nation

Raptor of the Week: DeAndre’ Bembry

Raptor of the Week: DeAndre’ Bembry

Over this ridiculous week of basketball, the Toronto Raptors have been put through the ringer. First losing half their coaching staff to COVID precautions, then having a gimme win against the Pistons pushed back, then having their right arm chopped off via the loss of OG Anunoby, Pascal Siakam, and Fred VanVleet, forcing the likes of […]
Raptor of the Week: DeAndre’ Bembry – Raptors Rapture – Raptors Rapture – A Toronto Raptors Fan Site – News, Blogs, Opinion and More

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Author: Avishai Sol / Raptors HQ

Toronto Six score their first goal ever!

Just over 7 minutes into their second game, the Toronto Six scored their first goal ever! Lindsay Eastwood got the honours of marking this amazing moment in franchise history.

EASTWOOD!
FIRST TORONTO 6IX GOAL! pic.twitter.com/9UuPkMPxQJ
— Omar (@TicTacTOmar) January 24, 2021

[contact-form]

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Author: Mer / The Leafs Nation

False Alarm! It turns out Michael Brantley has signed in Houston

The Michael Brantley era in Toronto is over before it began.

Despite a report earlier today from Hazel Mae that said the Blue Jays and Brantley had agreed to a three-year contract, the veteran outfielder is sticking around with the Houston Astros.

MLB source: #Astros reach an agreement with Michael Brantley on a two-year deal worth $32 million.
— Mark Berman (@MarkBermanFox26) January 20, 2021

This is certainly unfortunate, but it isn’t the end of the world.
When it came to the George Springer and Michael Brantley package, the former was obviously the one to get hyped about. There’s no doubt that adding Brantley’s bat to the lineup would have been huge, but we still have Springer.

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Author: Cam Lewis / Blue Jays Nation

The Beginner’s Guide to the 2019-20 Toronto Maple Leafs: The Team

Over the past *checks notes*… oh god, it’s been 10 months since we’ve been in lockdown. Sorry, over the past 10 months when we’ve all been trapped in our houses with not much to do, we’ve been lucky enough to see sports return to provide some of us with some form of entertainment. This has also allowed an opportunity for more eyes to watch hockey, and we’ve seen more fans join the fun with not much else to do. I would know, I was one of them.
This year, I decided to put more of an effort to watch Toronto Blue Jays, Toronto Raptors, and Miami Dolphins (my favourite MLB, NBA, and NFL teams, respectively). While they all have certainly made it fun to watch, I’ve also found myself lacking some knowledge. With the Leafs, I liked that I could see a player on the ice and know exactly what their skills and responsibility are, something that I didn’t know with the other sports.
So, while I might not ever get that closer, you can. I give you The Beginner’s Guide to the 2019-20 Toronto Maple Leafs, a three part series where I give …

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Author: Scott Maxwell / The Leafs Nation

Leafs by the Numbers: Martin Marincin

2020 is over. Finally.
It felt like everything bad that could possibly happen last year, did. Hockey was postponed due to Covid-19, everyone was asked to stay in their houses to slow the spread and when we finally had a taste of freedom — the second wave came and now we’re back in lockdown.
Although most of the year was horrible, there was some good that came out of it. That’s also why I’m writing this article for you today.

Martin Marincin with the tie breaking goal for #LeafsForever! pic.twitter.com/AeKKb5Gwgm
— SiriusXM NHL Network Radio (@SiriusXMNHL) March 1, 2020

This was probably the highlight of my year. If you don’t know the story, I promise I’ll explain it quick. After this goal, I tweeted “500 RT’s and I’ll buy a Martin Marincin jersey” and after 20 minutes, I got well over 500 retweets and the next day I bought the jersey.
Yes, I am an owner of a Toronto Maple Leafs Marincin jersey.
Martin Marincin’s number is 282.50.
No, it’s not the number of games he’s played, plus his point total put together. This is the total that was rung up at the cash register …

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Author: Nick Barden / The Leafs Nation