FTB: The Leafs are in Minnesota after a scuffle at practice
Some drama at practice precedes a Central Division road trip for the Leafs that starts tonight against the Minnesota Wild.
Ah, the tradition of the annual Toronto Maple Leafs practice scuffle. It appears as reliably at this time of year as that stop-motion Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer movie and the black and white version of A Christmas Carol appear on TV.
Yes, each season this happens, once or twice, and every time it does everyone is shocked, totally SHOCKED by it, and then it spawns all sorts of rumours. “There’s locker room drama!” “Muzzin uses RBC Insurance instead of Intact!” “Mitch used the last razor in the shower!”
And while we don’t know for certain what happened, that last one is obviously false, as clearly one doesn’t need razors and the other doesn’t use them, but it’s still a fun news story that breaks up the doldrums that set in at this point in the NHL season, especially when there’s video of it, though this time it’s less of a scuffle and more just shouting.
Marner and Muzzin collided during a drill … Mitch got the worse of it & not happy, it appears @BarDown pic.twitter.com/q9wgWxhY4r
— Mark Masters (@markhmasters) December 3, 2021
Mark Masters has the full story about what really happened, with Rasmus Sandin trying to defuse it by noting that Marner is very intense.
Marner leaves practice as precaution after ‘scary’ collision with Jake Muzzin - TSN
Marner is known for his fun-loving personality but, like many elite athletes, he also has a fiery side. “Practice or a game, he can give you a couple lines there on what you should’ve done on the play or stuff like that,” said Rasmus Sandin.
And former Maple Leaf Peter Holland is in on this joke.
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A reminder that today’s Toronto Marlies game is postponed indefinitely. The Marlies will still play the Laval Rocket at the Coliseum tomorrow at 4:00 p.m., and you will probably see Petr Mrázek in this game.
The Maple Leafs have assigned goaltender Petr Mrázek to the Toronto Marlies (AHL) on an LTIR conditioning loan.
— Leafs PR (@LeafsPR) December 3, 2021
Other News
The New York Rangers may be looking for a goalie.
It’s been a fast recovery for Jack Eichel, exactly as he explained to the Sabres medical staff it would be when they refused to allow him to have Artificial Disc Replacement, and then stripped him of the captaincy and traded him away for refusing their preferred surgery.
Jack Eichel has been cleared to do everything but contact, according to @Buccigross.
— Jesse Granger (@JesseGranger_) December 4, 2021
Eichel is skating and rehabbing in North Carolina. Expected to join the Golden Knights in Vegas in around 3 weeks, per @emilymkaplan.
Meanwhile, it appears other players are following in his lead.
Johnson had the ADR disc replacement surgery. Same surgery as Jack Eichel. https://t.co/JZy981hbJB
— Darren Dreger (@DarrenDreger) December 3, 2021
Montreal Canadiens Dominique Ducharme head coach - TSN
Jeff Gorton confirmed that Dominique Ducharme will continue as head coach of the Montreal Canadiens for the remainder of the 2021-22 season.
Canada's Olympic women's hockey team releases 3 players - CBC
Defender Jamie Bourbonnais and forwards Jessie Eldridge and Julia Gosling have been released from the Canadian Olympic women's hockey team. [SPECIES: Expert commentary from Nafio on the cuts: "Eldridge was a late add I think mostly because of the injury to Turnbull at the end of Worlds, so she's not a surprise. Bourbonais was on the Worlds roster but she hasn't been very noticeable and I don't think she was getting a ton of ice time, so I also wasn't surprised there. I thought Gosling was doing well, so I was surprised about her."]