Simplistic Thinking Won’t Fix the Maple Leafs — Here’s What Might – The Hockey Writers – Toronto Maple Leafs

Over the past nine seasons or so, the Toronto Maple Leafs have been led either by a group that valued analytics — as in Kyle Dubas and Brendan Shanahan — or by something closer to old-school, gut-feel hockey thinking under Brad Treliving and coach Craig Berube. Related: 3 Surprising GM Candidates for the Maple Leafs…

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Premier League Clinches Fifth UEFA Champions League Spot After Arsenal Victory

The Premier League has officially guaranteed a minimum of five entrants for next season’s Champions League following a decisive set of European results.  Arsenal’s 1-0 victory over Sporting CP provided the final coefficient points required to ensure England finishes amongst UEFA’s top two performing nations for the second year running. Coefficient spot secured Arsenal’s narrow…

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Goaltenders, Luck, and the Illusion of Success in the Pacific – The Hockey Writers – Vancouver Canucks

The Pacific Division is officially a dumpster fire, and last night’s Vegas Golden Knights–Vancouver Canucks game was Exhibit A. But this isn’t just about one sloppy contest; it’s about a season-long pattern where the division’s top teams look oddly mediocre, the basement squads are historically bad, and goaltending or luck paper over the deeper roster…

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