Taking Your Puck and Going Home

This holiday weekend has been rather odd in the hockey world, as two players were unhappy with their current situations and decided to walk away. It's safe to say that neither will be seeing anymore time on the NHL or AHL level, as both are repeat offenders.

First up, Alexander Burmistrov. You may remember him as a former first round pick of the then-Atlanta Thrashers in 2010 that left for Russia after the lockout-shortened 2012-13 season due to butting heads with then Winnipeg Jets coach Claude Noel. He returned in 2015 to the Jets, only for him to eventually butt heads with current Jets coach Paul Maurice. Last season, it came to a head, and he was sent down to Manitoba of the AHL, only for the Arizona Coyotes to claim him off waivers. He did not sign with Arizona after the season, opting to sign with the Vancouver Canucks prior to this season. Now, this bit of news from Pass it to Bulis, as Burmistrov was once again, unhappy with his playing time, and after getting scratched from the team's last game for a seventh defenseman, he has decided to retire from the NHL. Yes, at the age of 26, Burmistrov has decided to pack his bags and head back home.

Next up, Steve Moses. Undrafted after spending four years at the University of New Hampshire, he would begin his professional career in 2012-13 with Jokerit, and would play with them for three seasons, including their first year as a member of the KHL. In the off-season of 2015, he would sign a one-year deal with Nashville with the expectation that he would be on the NHL roster. However, prior to the start of the 2015-16 season, he was sent down to Milwaukee of the AHL, and was unable to get noticed enough to even crack the Predators' roster. That December, his contract with the team was terminated so he could return to the KHL, this time as a member of SKA-St. Petersburg. He would spend the rest of the 2015-16 season, as well as all of 2016-17, with the team until signing with Rochester of the AHL prior to this season. His time with Rochester would be short lived however, as he was suspended by the team recently for breach of contract, and as of right now, he is now signed with Jokerit again.

As odd as the two instances of walking away have been, it was hardly the first, as Vadim Shipyachov had been signed with the Vegas Golden Knights prior to the season, but was sent down to Chicago of the AHL. His complaining about not being in the NHL was fairly well-documented, and his NHL contract would be terminated soon after so he too, could return to the KHL.

I don't know what to make of this, but it is clear that the level of play between North American hockey and European hockey can be too much for certain players to take, and while it is notable that the players gave it a shot, leaving in the middle of a season does them no favors when it comes to future North American opportunities.

I Watched This Game: Here's to the Next 100 Years

In a rare occurrence, there was a mid-afternoon weekday game that wasn't on a holiday. Why? It marks the first game of the next 100 years of the NHL's existence, as on this day, the first two games of the NHL's existence happened on this date in 1917, as the Montreal Canadiens and original Ottawa Senators squared off, as well as the Montreal Wanderers and the then-Toronto Arenas. The Canadiens and Senators had their Centennial game outdoors at Landsdowne on Saturday, and now, it's the Maple Leafs' turn today. Unfortunately, there is no team that can actually imitate the Wanderers, so the Carolina Hurricanes will have to do. Yes, I watched this game.

• In case you were wondering about the Arenas-Wanderers game, it ended up being a 10-9 affair that went the Wanderers' way. Remember that, as it will be important later.
• The Leafs, who are wearing sweaters similar to what you see above, are once again without Auston Matthews, who has been sidelined for the past few games.
• Despite Matt Martin in the box for holding, the Leafs get on the board first, as Leo Komarov nets a short-hander past Scott Darling to give the Leafs the lead.
• Shortly after Martin gets out of the box, Roman Polak puts a hit on Marcus Kruger. Josh Jooris takes exception, and both he and Polak scrap. Both get five, but Jooris gets the extra two minutes, putting the Leafs on the power play.
• Mitch Marner finally decided to break out of a scoring slump on the ensuing power play, wristing one past Darling after making a few Hurricanes look like pylons.
• Komarov and Justin Williams decide to have a scrap of their own, and both sit for five minutes each.
• Jeff Skinner dangles half the team, and beats Frederik Andersen to cut the lead in half. Andersen should have stopped that one.
• Brett Pesce decides to be a perp and slash. His reward is two minutes in the box.
• A mad scramble in front of the Hurricanes net saw Darling make a pretty good save. Unfortunately for him, James van Riemsdyk was on the other side of him and he found the puck, which he puts past him to make it 3-1.
• Remember when I said Marner picked the perfect time to break out of his slump? Well, he decided to put together the best individual effort of the game, leading the Hurricanes on a merry chase around their own zone before finding Tyler Bozak in the slot. Bozak makes no mistake and makes it 4-1 Leafs.
• That 10-9 score from 100 years ago? The Leafs may very well be matching that total at this rate.
• van Riemsdyk misses a chance to put the Leafs up by four, and breaks his stick on Victor Rask's stick. That's no good, and he sits for two minutes. 
• Shortly after that penalty was killed, Nazem Kadri gets careless with his stick, and has to sit for two minutes for getting his stick too high.
• 4-1 after one period, and the Hurricanes get carry over power play time, but they better find offense fast.
• The second period was uneventful, as nothing happened, and it remains 4-1 Leafs.
• A van Riemsdyk cross check puts the Hurricanes on the power play, but they do jack all and it remains 4-1.
• Leafs' passing gets rewarded with a goal, as Patrick Marleau manages to bank a shot from behind the net off of Justin Faulk and into the net to make it 5-1 Leafs.
• Before I could begin typing that last sentence, the Hurricanes bungle the faceoff, and Kasperi Kapanen takes the puck and lets loose a laser past Darling to make it 6-1.
• William Nylander decides to get in on the scoring, as he too, wrists one past Darling. 7-1 Leafs.
• Sebastian Aho holds, so he is sitting for two minutes.
• Connor Carrick scores with 90 seconds left in the game, making it 8-1 Leafs, and the possibility of them matching the Arenas' score from 100 years ago.
• Game over, and the Maple Leafs have to settle for eight. They needed this game to break out of a recent drought offensively, and Marner's performance was especially needed, as he had his drought broken this game, as well.

The Maple Leafs fans were treated to a great game, and many of the school children took some time off to catch this game. Here's to the next 100 years of the NHL.