#this is a mitch marner fan account always

[andtheflameswenthigher]

I hope that Mitch Marner knows no matter what the Toronto media says or a bunch of angry fucks on twitter say, there is a whole community of hockey lovers that absolutely adore the fuck out of him. We just want you to know you're doing amazing sweetie!! Don't listen to the general media because there are so many people who think you're an amazing player and deserve the world!!

[comphy-and-cozy]

hi bae happy 500 🌺 may I request #121 with mitch marner?

thanks so much love! I am not a leafs fan so this honestly felt a little blasphemous. I really don’t know much about mitch but I think this is still a cute lil bit 🤍

finishing up my 500 followers celly

Prompt: #121 “My friends get annoyed by how much I talk about you sometimes”

Pairing: Mitch Marner x Reader (f)

Word Count: 626

Warnings: Language, brief mention of cheating, some cute fluff

You’ve picked Mitch up from practice before, but today is different. Today, you walk in and feel like everyone knows a secret except you, like everyone heard the punchline of the joke and you completely missed it.

Upon seeing you, Mitch jumps up to come to your side, greeting you with a peck on your lips and a smile.

“Look out, everyone, it’s Saint Y/N,” Alex says in a mocking voice, doing a dramatic curtsy in your direction.

“Guess we’re not gonna hear from Mitchy for a few days, boys, so say your farewells now.”

“But when he does come back, all we’re gonna hear about for days is Y/N this, Y/N that,” Justin adds, then looks at you apologetically. “No offense, Y/N. You’re the shit.”

You hold your hand up with a smile. “Thank you, I think?”

Mitch rolls his eyes, letting the chirps hit him from every direction as he slips his hand in yours. “Can you shut the fuck up now?”

“He’s in love, boys, just let him be,” Mo’s voice cuts through, teasing as he sends you a wink. The love word makes you bristle slightly, a jolt of nerves coursing through your system.

“At least I’ve got a pretty girl on my arm,” Mitch finally says, like he couldn’t wait to get it out once the comeback came to him. “All you guys have is your right hand.”

A chorus of “ooooh��s mock him, his chirp doing nothing to save him from his thorough roasting. Mitch tugs your hand, flipping off the crowd of jeering boys behind him as you leave, a chorus of jeers and whipping sound effects following you out.

“You gonna tell me what all that was about?” you ask with a raised eyebrow as you approach the car.

“My friends get… annoyed by how much I talk about you sometimes,” he admits bashfully, sticking his hands in his pockets. “Obviously, it’s become kind of a thing.”

“And why is that, Mitchell?” you giggle, teasing.

Mitch’s cheeks flush like he’s 14 again, embarrassed at the call out. “Well, I thought that was obvious.”

“If it is, I’m lost.”

“I, um, well, you see —” he stutters, fumbling over his words as he shifts anxiously on his heels.

“Spit it out, Marner.”

He clears his throat, willing himself to look you in the eyes. “I love you, Y/N.”

Your eyes widen in shock, not expecting Mo’s words from earlier to be even remotely true. Your relationship with Mitch had been a whirlwind up to this point, straight out of a movie, down to the spilled coffee at the coffee shop. He’s sweet, charming, holds the door open for you, sends you a good morning text every day.

But still, there’s always been part of you that’s uncertain about his commitment to you, his fame and follower count intimidating the hell out of you — not to mention his bank account. You’ve been burned before, cheated on before, and the thought of this wonderful person betraying you in the same way is almost too much to bear, fighting your feelings for him and keeping him at arm’s length — emotionally, at least.

Until now. When he’s standing in front of you, professing his love for you like a dorky, teenage boy instead of a muscular man, a professional athlete who makes more money than you can even really fathom having. He’s looking into your eyes, searching yours, and you can see the sincerity in them, hear it in his voice.

It’s also in that moment that you let the walls come tumbling down, your hidden feelings for him bursting through the seams of your heart as you lean forward to kiss him.

“I love you, too, Mitch.”

[timetravelingheart]

My Side of the Fence Chapter Eighteen: A.M. Imagine

For the next few weeks, everything could not have gone better for Savannah and Auston. The Leafs were playing well, with Auston being near the top of the leaderboard and earning Player of the Month for October, and he was carrying the momentum into November. His off-season training to build up his strength and to improve his shot were working and the entire team was reaping its benefits. Savannah had taken gold at her first two competitions of the season and was preparing for a Christmas show for Stars on Ice with the other Canadian ice skaters who had become some of her dearest friends over the years. Individually, they were both at the top of their game. 

Together, they were the strongest and most comfortable they had ever been. After the night at the bar, they had settled back into a comfortable routine of spending almost every night possible at one another’s places and Savannah was happy to tag along to team events but carefully avoided photos and politely asked all of the photographers at the events to leave her out of them. The other players and their significant others were all aware that Auston and Savannah had something going on, but knew better than to ask for clarification or make any public comments. 

Savannah even attended a few more games, often sitting with Steph and the Marners or with the significant others of the other players, and even occasionally sitting with Auston’s parents when they attended and sat by the Marners. Every time she did sit with his parents, they had nothing but glowing reviews of their time with her. For Savannah’s part, without even noticing it, she was seamlessly making herself a part of all aspects of Auston’s life and he could not be happier. 

And now, he had another home game that she was attending. This time they were playing Edmonton, so she said she was going to be going to the game regardless so she could cheer on Connor as well. Auston felt a mild twinge of jealousy at the thought of her cheering for Connor, especially since Edmonton was her favourite team, but he knew how ridiculous it was. Well, that and both Patty and Morgan told him he was being stupid. 

As Savannah and Stephanie made their way to the rink, they met up with Paul and Bonnie Marner and Brian and Ema Matthews, who were waiting for them. Savannah didn’t realize she would be sitting with the Matthews’ again, but had grown to love their company. They were both so kind and were clearly proud of their son, as they should be. 

“Savannah, it’s so good to see you again!” Ema pulled Savannah into a warm hug and then made room for Brian to give her a quick kiss on the cheek. 

“How are your practices going lately? Auston mentioned that you had a nagging neck pain you were working through,” Brian asked, concerned. Savannah wasn’t sure how she felt about Auston talking to his parents about her. She wondered briefly if they suspected anything. 

“Yeah, but it’s been getting better,” she shrugged. “It’s an old injury that acts up once in a while. We don’t have another competition until late January so it’s been nice to just get my apartment set up for the holidays and go shopping.”

“She’s coming with us next week to pick out Christmas trees for our apartments!” Steph nearly squealed, her love of the holiday evident. “And then we have a tradition of watching terrible Hallmark Christmas movies. This year we’re making Mitch and Auston watch them with us!” The parents laughed, imagining their grown sons moaning and groaning about being forced to watch cookie cutter Christmas movies. 

“Don’t let that boy fool you!” Bonnie laughed. “He might not love the Hallmark ones, but put on Jack Frost and it’s the quietest you’ll ever see him. He even cries at the end.” 

“How did I not know that?” Steph laughed, adding the film to her mental list. “He never wants to watch that one! He always picks Elf or Home Alone instead. Jack Frost is definitely on the list this year!” 

“Will you be going home for the holidays, Savannah?” Brian asked as they walked over to their seats. This time Bonnie and Paul sat in the row above Savannah, Stephanie, Ema, and Brian. Savannah was squished between Ema and Stephanie. 

“I am! I’m really excited because it’s the one time of year that all of my family is actually in the same place,” Savannah couldn’t help but glow at the thought of Christmas in her parent’s large Victorian house filled with her brothers, sisters, their kids, her parents, and her grandfather. “I lived away from home for so many years that sometimes I didn’t spend Christmas with them, so in recent years it’s been a huge priority for me.” She looked down at her phone when she felt the vibrations, receiving a text from Connor’s parents. “Oh, I guess Connor’s parents can see us!” They all looked around for them, waving when they spotted them a few rows down. 

“I didn’t realize you were so close to Connor, Savannah,” Paul leaned forward in his seat. “Was that from you living in Edmonton?”

“No, I actually met him before that through mutual family friends and we shared a technical skating coach for a short time. We’ve been best friends ever since though. I used to watch him skate in Erie all the time, so that’s also how I know Connor Brown.” 

“Did you two make plans to see each other after the game?” Ema asked. “You can both join us for dinner if you’d like. His parents too.”

“Thank you so much for the offer, but Connor and I rarely get to spend any time together, so I think we’re just going to grab dinner together at our favourite diner and hang out. He has a couple of days off so he gets to stay in the area and go home with his parents tonight.”

Before anyone could say anything else, the lights dimmed and the players all made their way to the ice to start the game. 

At the end of the first period, the teams were tied with Auston and Connor each getting a goal. Unfortunately, what Savannah didn’t realize was that when Auston scored, the camera panned to the crowd in search of his parents. As she made her way over to Connor’s parents during intermission, she felt her phone start to vibrate insistently. When she looked down at it, she stopped in her tracks. She already had over twenty notifications from Twitter. What was going on? She tapped open the app and nearly dropped her phone. 

Random fans, both of hers and the Leafs, as well as a few more seemingly reputable Leaf accounts tweeted a photo, gif, and/or video of her hugging Ema and cheering for Auston’s goal. They were all captioned with something along the lines of: “New couple in Toronto?” 

Savannah tried not to panic, knowing she needed to put on a face for Connor’s parents. She chatted with them briefly before leaving the rink and walking out to the platform, her face now pale and her hands cold, and not just from being at the arena. Steph spotted her and immediately knew something was wrong, making her way towards her best friend. 

“Sav, are you okay?” she reached over to touch Savannah’s arm. Savannah broke out of her daze and plastered on the fakest smile Stephanie had ever seen. “Don’t even try to lie to me right now.”

The tight smile fell from Savannah’s face. 

“I need to leave,” Savannah rushed out. “Now.”

“What? Why?” Stephanie pulled her off to the side, away from any potentially prying eyes of fans and other family members. Savannah handed her phone to Steph where she had open to the picture and the damning caption. Savannah almost felt grateful for the panicked look that crossed Stephanie’s features, knowing her best friend understood the problem. 

“Savvy, why don’t you go up to the family suite or something? We can message Lucy and she can let you in. That way you don’t have to leave and can still stay for Connor and Auston.”

“I can’t, Steph,” Savannah felt short of breath. She needed to leave this space and she needed to leave now. “Please, please understand.” 

Stephanie felt for her friend, knowing that this was one of her biggest fears. The last thing Savannah wanted was to be linked to anyone else and have rumours potentially derail her season yet again. She had worked so hard to overcome those adversaries in the past. 

“Okay,” she pulled Savannah into a hug. “But please let me know when you get home. I’ll make something up to the parents.” 

Savannah nodded her thanks and began to leave the arena, feeling tears begin to prick her eyes. Don’t cry. Don’t cry. 

She knew it had all been too good to be true. 

__ 

After the game, which the Leafs won 4-3, Auston felt on top of the world. He had three points including the game winner, he beat McDavid which was always fun when you were playing one of the greatest players in the world, and on top of that, he had his girl at the game. What else could he want? As he began to leave the locker room, Mitch called out to him. 

“Matts, you should see this,” he said, making his way to his friend with a concerned look on his face. 

“What’s up?” Auston was confused when Mitch simply handed him his phone that was open to Twitter. The first post he saw was a series of images of Savannah at his games, some of them with her sitting with and hugging his mom, and one of them at the pumpkin patch. Even though they stood on opposite ends of the photo, he knew it was enough for rumours to spread. Fans were noticing a pattern and they were quick to draw their own conclusions. Auston saw that Savannah’s twitter handle was tagged, as well as Skate Canada. “Fuck,” he muttered, shoving the phone back in Mitch’s hand and bolting out of the locker room. 

He made up an excuse to bail on dinner with his parents and said he would meet them back at his place later. He needed to get to Savannah before it was too late. 

__ 

On the drive over, Auston prepared speech after speech after speech, trying to figure out the best thing to say to comfort Savannah. She ran from the game and he was beginning to worry if she would run from him. They had been making so much progress lately. He was starting to feel like he didn’t even need a label with her - he just wanted to be with her. That was enough. 

Auston took a deep breath before he knocked on Savannah’s door. He needed to stay calm for her sake. When the door finally opened, he felt his heart break. Savannah looked more fragile than Auston had ever seen her as she wrapped her arms around herself. She was still in the clothes she wore to the game, but her hair looked like she had been running her fingers through it. He had a feeling she had returned to her apartment and spent the rest of the time going through the tags to see just how bad it was. 

Savannah took a step back, giving him room to come in. He reached out for her, but she dodged his hand and walked back into her living room. Auston let his hand drop helplessly to his side as he followed her.

“Sav, I’m so-”

“I can’t...” she paused, taking a deep breath. “I can’t go to any more of your games.”

Auston nodded, having already predicted she would say that. He hoped that maybe eventually she would warm to sitting in the family suite without any photos, but he understood not wanting to sit in the stands after tonight. He could respect that. “Okay, I understand. But are you okay?”

“Auston, look at my phone,” Savannah turned her phone to him to show it blowing up with notifications and calls that she was ignoring. “Does this look okay to you?” she demanded, misplacing her anger but needing to express it nonetheless. 

Auston shrugged, not knowing what to say to comfort her. His phone always looked like that because people were always tagging him in videos and pictures. He knew for him it wasn’t a big deal, but could tell that Savannah wasn’t used to this attention. 

“I need a break,” Savannah sighed, rubbing her tired eyes. Auston itched to reach out for her but didn’t in fear that she would pull away again. 

“Sav, why don’t you take a hot bath or something? I’ll make you a tea and we could just watch a movie,” he suggested. He waited as Savannah mulled over his words, her hands moving to absent-mindedly massage her neck. 

“Yeah, okay,” she relented, moving past Auston and towards her bedroom. 

After a half hour passed, Auston was starting to become concerned. Her tea was already cold as it sat on her coffee table with a queued up Netflix on her TV. He could still hear the water running so he walked towards her bathroom and pressed his ear against the door. He was crushed when he heard her sobs. Quietly opening the door, he waited outside the shower, the steam fogging up the mirrors. 

“Sav?” he asked quietly, not wanting to scare her. She didn’t answer. “Sav,” he tried again. “Can I-” he paused, not wanting to push her but wanting her to know she could need him and lean on him. “Can I come in?” 

He heard her sniffle and then came a quiet, “Yes.” Auston quickly disrobed and gently pulled the shower curtain back. “Baby,” he sighed, his whole body dropping at the sight of her red-rimmed eyes. He reached out slowly, wrapping his arms around her entire body when she walked into them. 

They stood like that for another ten minutes, hot water beating on their bodies, Savannah’s face buried in Auston’s chest as he alternately squeezed her body close to his and rubbed his hands up and down her back and across her sore neck. He hated that he could feel the tension in her shoulders, even as she was in his embrace. He wanted nothing more than to ease her worries and cure her sadness. But he knew that when they went back out into her living room and she looked at her phone, she would feel the stress all over again. He only hoped that she would let him ride it out with her. 

When he felt Savannah let out a deep breath, he pulled away and cupped her face in his hands, staring into her eyes sincerely. “I’m so sorry, baby. So sorry.”

Savannah squeezed her eyes shut, removing herself from his embrace. 

“We should probably get out,” she croaked, her voice hoarse from crying. He nodded, stepping out of the shower first so he could grab her towel. When she stepped out, he wrapped the towel around her shoulders, drying off her body. She held the towel tightly around her shivering body, not making eye contact with him. 

“I’ll boil the kettle to make you a tea,” he kissed her forehead, knowing he should give her space and that the tea he had prepared was probably ice cold by now. After he dried himself off and redressed into sweatpants and a hoodie, he busied himself with boiling the kettle again. 

When she came out five minutes later, hair still wet but her body dry in her soft bathrobe, he waited in the kitchen, back to her, to see what move she would make. 

“I think I can’t see you anymore,” she whispered. Auston felt his heart drop and stomach squeeze as he whipped around to face her. He studied her face before he said anything, trying to read it but she kept it purposely blank. He knew that look and he knew it wasn’t good. She was shutting him out, treating him like any other person who she didn’t let know her. 

“Sav, I-” Auston paused, willing his voice not to give away his panic as he moved towards her. “I don’t understand. Can’t you just put out a statement that you’re friends with Mitch and Steph and so you were at the game with them? It doesn’t have to have anything to do with me.”

Savannah just shook her head. She had already thought of that and had mentally been preparing a statement to have for her team to put out and for Skate Canada to hopefully accept at face value. It made sense on paper. She knew it would be easy enough to believe. But she also felt like the damage had been done. Now nosy people might be on the lookout for something more and she couldn’t risk that. Her reputation, her narrative, had been so negatively affected in the past by rumours that she had promised herself she wouldn’t allow that to happen again. 

“I will do that,” she started, moving away from him to stand in her foyer. She couldn’t let him touch her or else she would cave. She needed to be strong. Eyes on the prize. “But for now, I think it’s best if we take a break. If more people see us together, it becomes a thing. I can’t let the speculation take over.”

“Sav, no,” Auston reached for her, grateful when she didn’t step back. He pulled her arms from her chest to hold her hands tightly in his, but she leaned her head down, avoiding his gaze. When he heard her try to hold back a whimper, he closed his eyes and leaned his forehead against the top of her head. “Please,” he whispered, tears pricking his eyes. He pulled back after a moment and captured her chin with his thumb and forefinger, begging her to look into his eyes. When her eyes didn’t open, he tentatively leaned forward to place a gentle kiss on her lips. When she didn’t pull away, he deepened the kiss, reveling in the feeling of her kissing him back. But then he knew this wasn’t one of their passionate kisses that lead to more. This was a good-bye kiss that lead to an end. 

Savannah pulled away, her entire body trembling. Careful. She walked towards her door. “I don’t know how long this break will be,” her voice getting stronger. “But I have to do what’s best for me. And this is just casual, so it’s not like we’re breaking up or should be that sad, right? Just friends and sex,” she shrugged dismissively. 

“Just friends and sex,” Auston repeated bitterly, angry at her empty words. He knew she didn’t mean them, but they still cut deep. 

“You said it yourself that this was just casual and it’s not more than that, right?” Not giving him a chance to answer, Savannah opened her door. “I’m sorry for how this happened, Auston,” she started, not looking him in the eye, unable to see the hurt she knew she was causing. “But I need some time. Please.”

Auston felt frozen to the spot, desperate to stay but also angry with her and with the fans and with himself. He walked towards the door, his eyes trained on her as he slipped on his shoes and jacket. He waited for her to look at him, but she kept her eyes on her feet. He sighed, and walked out the door, hearing Savannah close it softly behind him and turning the locks. But he didn’t hear her slide down the door, sobbing into her lap. 

This couldn’t be it, could it? A tear escaped his eyes as he pushed the down button for the elevator. He went from feeling on top of the world an hour ago to now feeling like he was carrying the weight of it on his shoulders and his heart.

__

Half an hour later, Savannah sat curled on up her couch. She had changed into leggings and one of Auston’s t-shirts that he left behind, blankets covering her legs. She had been scrolling through the posts again when a call from Connor came through. She had completely forgotten that they had plans. When she picked up the call, Connor spoke before she could say anything. 

“Savannah Lane,” his voice came through loud and teasing. “Just because you got all close with the Leafs doesn’t mean you can bail on me!” He laughed, waiting for her to tease back. When nothing but a sniffle came, his entire tone changed. “Sav? Are you okay? Where are you? I’ll come to you.”

“I’m at home,” Savannah said softly, still sniffling. 

“I’m on my way. Be there in twenty!” Connor ended the call and immediately increased his driving speed. There were only a handful of moments Connor could recall over the years of their friendship when he had seen Savannah cry that didn’t include watching sad movies or shows, or videos on the internet like soldiers coming home to their families or dogs reuniting with their owners. She was a big old sap when it came to anything like that, but when it came to crying over situations in her own life, she usually kept that private. He felt a rush of panic, wondering what could be so bad that she would be crying right now. 

Connor made it in under fifteen minutes, likely breaking a few speeding laws along the way. He knew it was worth it when she opened the door, wearing leggings and a shirt that looked way too big on her, her face stained with tracks of her tears. 

Wordlessly, he reached out and pulled her into a tight embrace, arms wrapped around her shoulders as she sniffled into his shirt. He closed the door behind them with his foot and started to walk her over to her couch, arms still around her. 

When they sat down, she crossed her legs under her and pulled a blanket over herself. He kept his hand on hers, hoping his touch would make her feel better. He waited until she was settled into her spot before speaking. 

“Sav, what happened?”

Savannah reached for her phone on the coffee table and handed it to him without saying anything. She watched as he scanned through the now hundreds of tag notifications and messages on her phone, including an unopened voicemail and messages from Steph, as well as messages from Mitch and Morgan, all asking if she was okay and telling her to call them when she was ready and that she shouldn’t worry. 

As he read through the messages, Connor grew more confused. He couldn’t actually see what she was tagged in other than Leafs related news. So she was tagged in Leafs posts from the game? He didn’t understand how that would make her cry. Noticing his confusion, Savannah reached over and unlocked her phone. “Instagram, Twitter, Tumblr, take your pick,” she handed the phone back to him. 

He opened her Twitter app hesitantly, unsure of what he’d find. Realization dawned on him after he found a post with a series of images attached. Fuck. 

- “Are they dating? She sat with his parents at a few games!” 

- “Look at how Mrs. Matthews hugs her. Clearly they know each other well. They must have been dating for a while now.”

- “Ugh, why couldn’t she be dating Morgan Reilly or McDavid? Canada’s Sweetheart shouldn’t be dating an American!”

- “So do you think they cheer for each other when their countries compete at the Olympics?”

- “Look at this photo a fan snapped of her at a pumpkin patch with him and Mitch and Steph. Double date?” 

And on and on it went, some nicer than others, and some with fairly aggressive and intrusive questions about the nature of their relationship. Connor sighed, annoyed for her. 

“Sav, I’m so sorry,” he felt like he understood what had her upset. Her narrative was once again in question and now this could hang over her whole season. If Auston’s season declines, does she get blamed the same way she was previously with Brian and Claire? People would look for any reason and a simple connection between the two with a few photos as ‘evidence’ would be enough to suffice bloggers and both of their fandoms. It was frustrating for sure, but he was still a little confused by just how upset she was. The last time something similar happened, she just shut down in front of everyone. Now she was crying. He was missing something. 

“You can put out a statement of some kind, right?” he tried to help. “Make it lighthearted about becoming a Leafs fan now that this is your homebase? I mean, these posts are all ridiculous and inaccurate anyway.”

She nodded sullenly. “I have.”

He waited for her to say something else but nothing came. 

“Savvy,” he started gently, “what else is there?” He could feel there was something she wasn’t saying. 

“They’re not all inaccurate,” she raised her eyes to meet his, trying to gauge his reaction. He studied her face for a moment, unsure of what to think. 

“Wait,” his voice, if possible, got lower. “You and Auston?” He had to hold back a shocked laugh when she simply nodded. He knew Auston was into Savannah, but he had never expected Savannah to actually start something with him. “All right. Full details. Now, please.”

So Savannah told him the whole story from start to finish. He kept his face straight during the entire explanation, not wanting her to feel judged and hold back. When she finished, he sat there for a moment, contemplating his next words carefully. 

He only had one response that felt like it adequately summed up her story and that he felt she needed to hear from someone who knew her and loved her through all of the ups and downs. Something only a best friend could say. 

“Sav,” he laughed lightly, “you are both idiots.” 

“I know,” she sighed and nodded. “I was stupid for starting something in the first place.” Savannah herself had felt a bit silly for thinking a casual sexual relationship was something she could do without consequences. But then Connor shook his head, as if she didn’t understand what he meant. 

“No, not for that. You’re both idiots for neither of you seeing just how stupidly in love with him you are.”

Savannah’s jaw dropped. Wait. What?

“Don’t look at me like that!” Connor wagged a teasing finger at her. “You might be able to lie to yourself and you might even be able to confuse Auston just enough with your hot and cold routine that he hasn’t fully caught on, but you can’t lie to me. And I’m sure Steph knows, too. You are in love with Auston.”

Savannah sat in stunned silence, replaying the words over and over in her mind. She was in love with Auston? She cared about him, sure. More than she had wanted to, even she could admit. But in love with him? She thought back to asking him to leave, reliving the heaviness she felt in her chest and the pain on his face. 

Auston. The man who stayed up late with her, even on nights when he had practice early the next morning, debating which Harry Potter was the best (movie AND book) or which season finale of Grey’s Anatomy was the most emotional. The man who made her feel comfortable enough to make an advance on him at a dinner table in public. The man who didn’t seem to understand that toques were meant to be worn to cover the ears and keep them warm, not as a fashion accessory sitting atop his hair. The man who knew how to make her tea just the way she liked it. The man who watched her competition before one of his own games just to cheer her on. The man she told childhood stories to and explained some of her worst moments and greatest fears, personal and professional. The man who could make her feel like she was in the safest place in the world just by wrapping her up in his arms. That guy. 

Ho-ly fuck. 

“I...am in love with Auston,” Savannah whispered slowly, more to herself than to Connor, as if she couldn’t believe the truth behind what she was saying. “I’m in love with Auston. What. The Hell.”

Connor patted her hand comfortingly, knowing how big of a realization this was. 

“So now the question is, what are you going to do about it?”

[crosbytoews]

hockey rpf fic rec

this is an assortment of all the hockey rpf i have bookmarked. it is organized by pairing. if any of this is not your thing that’s valid but i don’t wanna hear it 

these fics are posted on ao3 and most of them are locked so you will need an ao3 account to access them!

obviously i like everything on here but i bolded the urls of my absolute faves

JAMIE BENN/TYLER SEGUIN

Look at the wonderful mess that we made by sherlockelly

A name-on-wrist soulmate AU where being outed by a same-sex name is still newsworthy if you're in professional sports and is a very real concern for some NHL players. Despite the shifting attitudes, no one in the sport has ever come out publicly.

Tyler has always felt relieved that 'Jamie' could be a male or female name, it makes hiding his sexuality a lot easier. Jamie's not been so lucky.

Door to Door by Ferritin4

"Hey," Jamie says, pounding on the door. "Hey, open up!"

The dogs shut up.

"Hi, shit, sorry," says the stupidly fucking gorgeous man who opens the door in a tank top and boxers. "Shit, were the dogs loud? They get really excited when I come home."

"It’s three in the morning," Jamie says. On cue, a dog pokes its head around the corner to the entryway and bounces over to the — to this guy. It’s followed by another, browner dog, and Jamie has a moment of surrealist sleep-deprived horror where he imagines an infinite string of dogs forever bounding gleefully towards —

"I work two jobs. I’m Tyler," Tyler says, extending his hand. "Do you want to come in?"

Well, he’s not doing anything illegal, Jamie thinks, shaking it, because no criminal in the history of crime has ever willingly invited a cop into their house, and there is no one in the city of Dallas who hasn’t pegged Jamie as a cop within six seconds of meeting him.

Stating the Obvious by StormDancer

In which Tyler transfers to Dallas, makes some friends, and has emotions, none of which he's prepared to deal with.

Sidney Crosby/Evgeni Malkin

King and Lionheart by thehoyden

Sidney’s wedding day doesn’t go quite as he’d planned. When he’d bothered to imagine it at all, he’d thought of a nice June wedding in Nova Scotia, outdoors with the sun streaming down. He hadn’t imagined this hurried affair on the tarmac on a rainy and unseasonably cool day in early September, a month after his twenty-fifth birthday.

And Never Been Kissed by thehoyden

Sid didn’t introduce himself in the hallway, and he certainly doesn’t assume that people know who he is. So it would only be polite to thank Malkin again, this time more personally.

He could write him a letter. An email? No, a letter.

There Was an Old Woman Who Lived in a Shoe by Shoshanah-ben-hohim

Amidst rising political tensions between Russia and NATO countries, the KHL and NHL failed to renew their labor agreement this summer. Due to the failed agreement and intense political pressure at home, the Russian NHL players do not return to the NHL.

By March, Geno has played almost a season in Russia, and accepts this is his new reality, no matter how much he misses Sid – until he finds the first child. This sets him and everyone he involves down a dangerous path of international intrigue.

Auston Matthews/Mitch Marner

as long as it's about me by Anonymous 

It takes about the length of their first practice for Toronto media to decide that him and Mitch are best friends. And, like, Auston’s been warned about the press in the city a million times, so he gets it. They want a story. He’d be fine with it, honestly, except for the small issue that Mitch Marner is the most annoying person on the entire planet.

I Never Thought He Wouldn't by MycroftexMachina

Mitch loves people. And usually people love him back. Usually.

we've got each other (and that's a lot) by LottieAnna

“I’m gonna be a groomsman,” Mitch says, then flops dramatically into the chair across from Auston, grabs Auston’s glass of whiskey, and takes a long sip. It burns as it goes down, and he makes a face. “Again.”

JONATHAN TOEWS/PATRICK KANE

don't taze me, bro by staraflur

He doesn’t think Zeus is supposed to have a sword, but their Zeus does. So now Jonny does, because of course he’s in charge. He looks, Patrick is drunk enough to acknowledge, far better than anyone has a right to in a grody old Halloween costume that’s probably soaked up the butt sweat of dozens, if not hundreds, of Theta-presidents past. Jonny wears it, Patrick gets the sword. Win-win.

AKA that time there was a frat AU (of course).

Same Time, Same Place by brutti_ma_buoni

It should be a one-off, an awkward airport first meeting that goes nowhere. But this one goes somewhere. Back to Jonny's, for a start.

It shouldn't go any further, a one-nighter with no strings, and plenty of reasons for Patrick not to go back there. But Patrick won't let it go.

It should be a disaster, a mismatch, a scandal, a shoddy secret regret. But... maybe not?

bring it if you really want it by staraflur

It starts like this:

Well, okay, Patrick has no idea how it actually starts. But as pertains to him (in other words, the important part), it goes a little something like so:

America, being a nation composed in large part of a melting pot of immigrants who may or may not have taken over land already owned by others using less-than-savory means, doesn’t have much of a magical national identity. Much less a magical continental identity. There’s no grand heritage going back thousands of years. Magical families home-schooled all their kids until, like, the 1800’s, and tough for the muggle-born, apparently. Hopefully you got noticed by someone who knew what to do with you before you got burned at the stake. Since you probably can’t control your powers, sport.

Call Me Royal Blue by cupstealer 

He’s always gotten his kicks giving Jonny shit, but never like this. He feels like the first person to combine ice cream and soda—A) in that he has combined two amazing things to make a more amazing thing, and B) in that Jonny is not having it.

Patrick and Jonny haven't been close friends in six years. Nothing a little friendly competition can't fix.

Random Pairings 

Jeff Skinner/Eric Staal

If Heaven’s Hypothetical by impertinence and shoemaster 

Jeff runs away from Toronto and finds himself homeless in Raleigh, where he accidentally starts serving eggs to Eric Staal.

Andrew Ladd/Ryan Kesler

Nothing Worth Knowing by beatperfume and shoemaster

Ryan Kesler hates Andrew Ladd on sight. College AU.

Erik Johnson/Gabriel Landeskog 

A Month of Sundays by Kelfin

Unlike some guys, who freak out when things get even a little bit gay, Erik is fine with this stuff. Erik's not even fazed when Gabe's attempts at flirting with him start to get semi-public, a fact that, by his own judgment, makes him at least five to seven times more tolerant than your average forward-thinking American.

Sidney Crosby/Claude Giroux 

The Battle of Pennsylvania by Robinjay

When they play at Worlds together, Claude Giroux firmly expects a fight to break out. At the very least, he expects derogatory remarks and barely contained fury. Instead of doing any of those things, Sidney Crosby just stares and Claude Giroux loses his damn mind.

In Hours Uncounted by remiges

Claude's grandparents take him to get his first name when he's ten—younger than most people start, but older than his grandparents when they'd had theirs done. His grandmother's skin is threaded red and gold with names, and Claude wants that, wants that sort of history for his own.

Sidney Crosby/Tyler Seguin

All New Kinds of Weather by concinnity and Pennyplainknits

Sidney Crosby, Tyler realizes, has just asked him about hooking up. Sidney fucking Crosby. Tyler blinks at Sid and takes a long drink of water. He has possibly never been as grateful for his slutty reputation as he is in this moment. Because, out of a whole room at least 30% of which would happily give Sid what he’d just, hesitantly, asked for, Sid chose him.

Also there are pancakes.

Alex Galchenyuk/Brendan Gallagher 

ain't never had a love like mine by bluejayys

Anna installs Grindr on his phone while he drives them back to his place, snickering as she fills out his profile.

“In your About Me section I said that you enjoy hockey, can speak three languages, and have been commended by fans for your excellent stick handling,” she says gleefully. Alex wonders when this became his life.

Brent Seabrook/Duncan Keith

Summerboys by stlkrchck

Brent Seabrook has no interest in working at Camp Quaquanantuck the summer before university. Unfortunately, his mom's signed him up, and he has to go. But between a cabin full of campers obsessed with Lady Gaga, a prank war with two other cabins, and his co-counselor Duncan Keith, Brent might just find himself enjoying the summer after all.

Tyson Barrie/Gabriel Landeskog 

Left-Handed Kisses by oflights

The one where Tyson's fooling around with Gabe, already way out of his league, and then finds out he's apparently fooling around with a prince. And he might be a little bit in love with him. It's pretty brutal.

[dawnsettatree]

Morgan Rielly

Between October of 2016 and April of 2017, there have been several reasons for fans of the Toronto Maple Leafs to be excited during the centennial season of the Leafs and the National Hockey League. At the top of the list would be the insane skill of Toronto’s rookie, including Mitch Marner, William Nylander, and, of course, Auston Matthews. In the regular season alone, the Leafs started nine rookies, however, more player would have been called up from the Marlies if it wasn’t for injuries.

However, while the rookies were being praised, several of the veterans were taking the heat for any of the Leafs downfalls.

One, in particular, is Morgan Rielly. While he is, in fact, a seasoned veteran, he is also only 23 years old, making him younger than rookie, Zach Hyman, who is currently at the age of 25. Drafted in 2012 the young Canadian from Vancouver entered the realm of the National Hockey League in 2013 and has played over three hundred games and has 119 points.

While he is a veteran, he is also young, which means there is still time for him to grow and improve, which will no-doubt continue to happen with Mike Babcock as the head coach. Babcock is learning to rely on Rielly for the penalty kill. This is a huge step in the right direction for Rielly as Babcock is known to have players that he relies on more than others. He also leads the Leafs in even-strength playing time, however, was not rewarded with more chance to play on the powerplay alongside the insanely skilled Leafs forwards.

Rielly is also considered to be the Leafs number one defenceman due to the fact that he is earning the most on the Leafs’ defensive end. He has signed a six-year deal with the Toronto Maple Leaf, earning five million each year and having a modified no-trade clause in the 2020-2021 season as well as the 2021-2022 season.  

Over the years, Rielly has proven himself to be a mature person both on and off the ice, as this year Mike Babcock named him as one of the Leafs alternate captains, showing that he is to be one of the leaders for the younger, less experienced players. Rielly has proven to himself, his teammates, and to the coaching staff that he should be a leader for the young team.

While the coaching staff and team appear to be confident in Morgan Rielly, the fans are constantly giving him a hard time without taking into account his young age and the fact that when he made his NHL debut, he was the same age as both Mitch Marner and Auston Matthews. Fans only think that since he’s been around for quite a while now, he shouldn’t still be making mistakes.

Reminder: hockey players are human too and Morgan Rielly is no exception to that. He was a part of the Leafs organisation before the fans were introduced to Matthews, Marner, and Nylander, who seem to be the hope for Toronto’s future, so he’s been around while the Leafs were at its worst before the rebuild, or “Shaniplan” as it has become affectionately known. Some fans look past the flaws of most of the veterans, but for whatever reason, Rielly is the one to take all the heat for whatever downfalls the Leafs have. In all reality, the fans need to remember that the Leafs organisation is still in the midst of their rebuild and it will still take time for the team to be a fully-rounded team.

There have also been mentions of the fans wanting Morgan Rielly to be traded for a different player, but that doesn’t seem to be even an option at the moment. As mentioned earlier, he is Toronto’s number one defenceman and is still contributing to the team in many aspects. While not always rewarded with power-play time, he is still a leader on the team and it would be sad to see him be moved.

This treatment of Toronto’s number one defenceman being viewed this way did not start with Morgan Rielly, but Toronto’s former captain, Dion Phaneuf was also treated in a similar manner. He was constantly criticised for the way he was playing as the official leader of the Leafs. Only time will tell whether Morgan will continue to be treated in what could be described as the same way Dion Phaneuf was treated before he was traded to the Ottawa Senators.  

[carey-pricemas]

Comments- Mitch Marner

Ok so I actually thought this one would be harder than I thought, but it went smoothly so I hope you all enjoy it!

Warning: a few cusses (maybe just one)

Anon Request: I absolutely love your writing!!! I was wondering if you could do a mitch marner imagine where some fans are being mean to you and you get really upset about it and Mitch cheers you up? Thanks!!

~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/

              'I don't know what he sees in you!' 'Fatso!' and 'Ugly!' were not exactly the comments you were hoping for, but ones you were expecting.

              You had posted a picture of you and Mitch on Instagram, but Mitch whined about nobody being able to see it because your account was private. So you being the loving girlfriend you were, you made it public for Mitch.

              And received a bunch of nasty comments.

              "Oh yeah this was totally a great idea" you mumbled walking around the apartment. You set your phone on the table and moved to the stove to make Mitch and Auston lunch after practice. "I'm so glad I listened to Mitch."

              "(Y/N)?" Mitch called out.

              "Kitchen" you replied.

              Whatever. They were just some comments about your looks. Nothing you hadn't heard before.

              "Hey" Mitch said, wrapping his arms around you from behind. He pressed a kiss to your cheek. "Woah wait a minute. Why are you crying?"

              "What? I'm not crying!" Your hand reached up and sure enough, your hand met tear tracks.

              "What's wrong?" Mitch asked.

              "Look, I know he's short and ugly" Auston said as he entered the room, "but someone has got to love him!"

              "Hey!" Mitch yelled. You giggled and wiped the tears away. "Rude!" Auston shrugged.

              "I mean it's finally time she came to her senses. Now she can move in with me and cook for me!"

              "I cook for you anyway" you teased. Auston chuckled. "And sorry to break it to you, but I'm attached to this one. Just a little bit."

              "Damn. Well," Auston paused as he sat at the table. "A guy can dream."

              "You guys are mean" Mitch pouted. You giggled and kissed him. His arms wrapped around your waist and pulled you close. "Now seriously, what's wrong?"

              "Nothing" you said, trying to pull away. "I need to make lunch."

              "Lunch can wait" he said. You froze and stared at him.

              "Who are you and where's my boyfriend?" you asked. Mitch was ALWAYS hungry. He liked to claim he was still a growing boy, but really he and Auston were just bottomless pits. "Really. I'm ok. Didn't even know I was crying" you said, continuing to try and pull away. "Mitch" you whined.

              "No that makes it worse, (Y/N)! You cry over sappy movies and ASPCA commercials-"

              "Hey those are sad man" Auston added. You giggled, but Mitch ignored both of you.

              "But you don't just cry for no reason. So what happened?"

              "Nothing! Seriously! Maybe I'm having a bad day is all?" You tried to keep your composure, you really did, but then your phone chimed with a new notification from Instagram, and Auston picked it up and read it.

              "Woah" he said, his eyebrows raising. "Are they all like this?" You ignored him, opting to busy yourself with lunch instead.

              "Are they all like what?" Mitch demanded.

              "(Y/N)?" Auston asked. You ignored them both, focusing on the task at hand.

              "Let me see" Mitch said. Your eyes widened.

              "NO!" You tried to dart around Mitch to get to the phone, but two things happened. One: You forgot Mitch was used to dodging people on the ice and two: Your socks made you slide on the tile floor, almost causing you to fall flat on your face if it wasn't for Mitch's quick reflexes catching you.

              Auston stared at you two wide eyed as Mitch leaned over further and took the phone from his hand. You tried to snatch it, but he pulled it out of your reach.

              "Mitchell!" you squealed. You felt the tears again. Crap! "Stop it! This is an invasion of privacy and..."

              "What the fuck?" he mumbled.

              "Mitch..."

              "Seriously, (Y/N)? Are they all like this?"

              "Mitch they're just comm-"

              "They're rude" he interrupted. "And mean. Why are they so ruthless?"

              "Babe" you rolled your eyes as you finally took your phone from Mitch. "They're your fans. I could be a super model and I'd still be a bitch."

              "But you're not! Is this what you were crying over?" You shrugged and tucked the phone in your pocket.

              "I don't know. I guess. I mean I know they're lashing out because they want to be with you, but it's not the most fun thing to be called names, true or not."

              "Definitely not" Auston said. You smiled at him. "If he thinks they are then I got-"

              "Oh my god! Shut up Matty!" Mitch cried out. You laughed as he pulled you close. "I didn't realize people were so mean."

              "I mean not all of them are" you said. "I got a lot of compliments too. It just... sucks." Mitch kissed you.

              "I'm sorry babe."

              "It's not you. Really. But I am keeping my account private from now on though" you added. Mitch nodded.

              "Deal!  And for the record," he threw a look at Auston, who held his hands up in surrender. "I think you're beautiful and love you very much."

              "Aww" you melted against him. "Love you too."

              "Awesome. I'm glad you love each other, but" Auston leaned back in his chair. "Lunch is burning, so can we get sushi?" You squeaked and moved to turn off the stove, finally able to smell the burning chicken.

~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/~/

There you have it! One adorable Mitch and then... Auston! Let me guys know what you thought! Up next: Elias Lindholm!

[fishylife]

All the even numbers!

There were a lot of questions but this was really fun!

2. Second favourite team?

Despite the Battle of Ontario, I sort of have a soft spot for the Sens because we’re Ontario bros 4eva.

4. Team you just hate?

Team USA, especially because they have such a skilled group of young prospects coming up. They’re going to be such an annoying rival for Team Canada to play against in the near future.

6. Top three players on your favourite team?

Nikita Soshnikov is probably my favourite Leaf right now! To round out my top three, I’ll say Connor Brown and Zach Hyman. I think all of them are good boys who work hard (y)

8. Three players you like on teams you can’t stand?

I can’t stand Chicago because they are so stupidly good. They keep trading away players and yet are still perennial cup contenders. That’s such bullshit. Pisses me off. Anyway, I still like Jonathan Toews. It’s a Team Canada thing. 

Leafs and Habs are meant to be bitter rivals so I get mildly disappointed anytime the Leafs get scored on by the Habs lol. Anyway, I can’t dislike Shea Weber. See a trend here?

I can’t think of a third person I’m supposed to hate. Maybe Patrice Bergeron because he’s a Bruin. I don’t think there’s a single person who could hate Bergy for who he is as a person though. 

10. Prettiest uniforms?

Before this season, it was tied between the Flyers alternate jersey (photo source)

and the Ottawa alternate jersey. (photo source)

After this season, I’m going to add the Leafs Centennial Classic jersey onto that list too. (photo source)

12. Best hair?

This is going to sound mean but I don’t think there’s anybody’s hair I absolutely love? Maybe Matt Duchene’s hair at the Sochi 2014 Olympics because he looked rather princely. (photo source)

14. Best eyes?

I’m a sucker for Tom Pyatt’s eyes. It’s not fair that both Pyatt brothers are this gorgeous. (photo source)

16. Best goaltender?

My first response would be Carey Price. But over the past couple of years, we’ve gotten to see so many other goaltenders shine, like Braden Holtby, Sergei Bobrovsky, and Devan Dubnyk! My answer will still probably be Carey Price though lmao I’m just trying to create drama.

18. Dream line (mix and match players from teams)?

Sidney Crosby, Connor McDavid, and whoever because it doesn’t matter lol. 

20. Most overrated?

Toews is constantly being called overrated but I looked up his stats they don’t even seem that bad. The lowest point total he ever had in his professional career was 48 in 2012-2013 (with 23 goals). So I wouldn’t call him vastly overrated. So I don’t have an answer for this >.

22. Prettiest goal you ever saw?

I spent so long trying to look for this goal. In the 2014 Olympics, Team Canada played against Team Austria and I remember seeing this toe drag goal by Ryan Getzlaf and at the time I was just so impressed haha. Maybe not the prettiest goal ever, but one that left an impression on me. 

24. Who on your team is:

24a. Eternal sunshine?

Definitely Mitch Marner. He seems like he tries to stay positive all the time.

24b. Team Dad?

Mike Babcock for sure. He always seems so wise and strict. But if we’re talking strictly players on the team, then I’ll say Leo Komarov. But he’d be the fun kind of dad. Not the “clean your room” kind of dad.

24c. Team Mom?

Something about Curits McElhinney tells me he’d be a very nice Team Mom. I don’t know why, it’s just a feeling. But look at this photo lmao. (photo source)

Otherwise, JVR seems very mom-like for some reason. I’d trust him to be an adult for the kiddos. 

24d. Team Baby/Babies?

Preeeeetty much all of them? But among the rookies, probably the ones who are actually younger in age i.e. Mitch and Auston, 

24e. The Class Clown?

OK the answer to this one is legitimately all of players under the age of 25 on the Leafs. It feels like when they hang out together, the hilarity just turns up to 100. 

24f. The quiet one?

Hmm Freddy Andersen and Nikita Zaitsev I’ll say. Supposedly Zaits is a silly goose though and that makes me happy. 

24g. The serious one? 

I don’t know, something about Matt Hunwick makes me feel like he’s really earnest and serious. At least he’s smiling in his mugshot though. (photo source)

24h. The hothead?

If I’m being realistic, it’s probably Sosh. He will go head first into any shenanigans without hesitation.

26. Player who’s always scratched who ought to be played more?

Well, it used to be Frankie Corrado since he was just sitting around and not getting a lot of on-ice time, but now that he’s cleared waivers, at least he gets to play with the Marlies and get a lot of practice in. And also hang out with Dicky. (photo source)

Nowadays, I feel that the efforts of Leafs fans will be focused onto Josh Leivo, who has also been sitting around these days, and not getting a lot of time on ice. I think he’s in a similar situation as Corrado, because if I remember correctly, he had a one-way deal too. 

28. Best duo?

Henrik and Daniel because they’ve basically turned into a meme by this point. Bask yourselves in the glorious Sedinery.

(gif source)

Also everybody needs to watch the time the Sedins had a competition and their tiebreaker ended in a tie. 

30. OT3+?

The entire Penguins team is best friends, and it’s beautiful. It just seems like they genuinely enjoy each other’s company and they hang out together even when they’re not at work. I wish I had a crew that was that tight. 

32. Guy you want desperately to slash but can’t for some reason (Married, no good pair, etc.)

Uh, no one I can think of. I mean, if you can’t force a ship, then you can’t. 

34. Player you most wish would get traded to your team?

For now I’m going to say either Juuse Saros or Colton Parayko, both players I really like and are sort of within the age range of the bulk of the Leafs roster. 

36. Most likely to be in the penalty box at any moment?

These days it seems to be Martin Marincin :/ Just try your best, buddy, alright? I’m rooting for you. 

38. Gets away with murder award (never gets penalties but should)?

Not really sure, to be honest. This sounds kind of bad, but I don’t really like to get involved in penalty shenanigans. They are always tricky debates :S

40. Nicest guy on the team?

Can I just say Patrick Marleau is a gem and I hope he has a good day today. 

(photo source) (From Christina Marleau’s twitter but I can’t find the page because this was from years ago)

And I almost forgot, PATRICE BERGERON, who is an ACTUAL ANGEL and the NICEST PERSON YOU WILL EVER MEET. (REAL LIFE EVIDENCE among countless other instances lmao)

42. Best with the press?

Sidney Crosby is absolutely the king of saying something without saying anything. He’s perfected the art. 

I just want to give a shout out to Bobby Lu though. #1 both on the Panthers and in my heart. Here’s his twitter account which is an iconic piece of hockey history and everything he has ever tweeted should be framed in the Hockey Hall of Fame.

44. Most likely to be photographed with small children?

Sidney Crosby, especially since he started his hockey camp last offseason. He’s always really nice to them and that makes me happy :3

46. Most likely to be photographed shirtless in a hot tub with starlets?

My go-to answer was Tyler Seguin, but it could also be Ovi lol.

48. Most likely to get in bar fights unrelated to hockey?

I mean, hit the right nerve, and anybody could get into a bar fight to be honest lmao.

50. Rising star award?

THE LEAFS FUTURE IS SO BRIGHT I NEED SOME SPF 45. AND WE GOT MORE COMING OUR WAY IN THE MARLIES.

[plms-hockey]

Leafs @ Wild - Game 33 - Dec.14.17

Toronto Maple Leafs (20-11-1) vs. Minnesota Wild (16-11-3)

Back in November, the Leafs faced the Minnesota Wild in their first game ever without Auston Matthews. In spite of getting steamrolled in the possession department, that was the day Freddie Andersen began his still running hot streak which resulted in a 4-2 win for the Leafs. Now the Leafs will have to come defend their theft on Wild home-ice, once again without Matthews who is still day-to-day with an undisclosed upper-body injury.

Once again, the Leafs are still likely much better off than the Wild in the health arena. Minnesota is still missing key players in Zach Parise and Jared Spurgeon, and may be down a goalie as Devan Dubnyk went out on 12-12 with a groin injury.

The Wild, who are currently deep in the cutthroat pileup of Western Conference teams fighting for Wild Card spots, have more problems than just injuries plaguing them, which is strange considering they were considered a real Cup Contender last year. Their bottom six just isn't clicking -- and it's always a problem when you have to start using terms like bottom six in a league that's shifting more and more towards at least a skilled top nine (as opposed to the old school formula of two skilled lines and two bang-and-crash lines). Anyway, the point is that these days you never want to have half your forward group be a non-factor or weakness, and it definitely is for the Wild.

One thing that is working for Minnesota is Jason Zucker. The 26-year-old left wing is second in scoring on the team but what's particularly fascinating is not his own numbers, but what he does to everyone else's. It seems like everyone he plays with scores. As we all know from our first science classes, correlation doesn't prove causation, but it's fascinating to note the team's GF% and shots with and without Zucker. Currently, there are ten skaters who have played more than fifty minutes with Zucker and every single one of them has a higher Goals For Percentage with him than without him.

While you always have to contextualize the fact that Zucker is playing mostly on the top two lines (and so you'd expect them to be hotter than league average), when you consider that he can only play on one line at a time and is only averaging 17:41 minutes of Ice Time a night, the heat maps below are rather shocking. Keep in mind, these aren't showing shot rates in comparison to the rest of his team, but how his team does with or without him in comparison to the league average which just makes it that much crazier.

That's... pretty good. Unfortunately, there are some pros and cons here.

Pro: Zucker is doing great things for the team and he's currently only costing them 2 million a year against the cap.

Con: He's about to become a prime example of what you risk when you make a bridge deal (a shorter deal for less money made with players coming off entry-level contracts) because that 2 million dollar contract was just a two-year deal made after his entry-level contract expired. This is year two and Zucker is about to become a Restricted Free Agent. He's also twenty-six which means, in the simplest terms, that most of the years on his next contract will be purchased Unrestricted Free Agency years (contract expiry status is automatically UFA at/after age 27, and UFA years more expensive because other teams can directly compete with you to sign a player).

So, Zucker is a huge impact player having a career year right before he becomes a 26-year-old RFA. Minnesota is going to have to pay up if they want to keep him around.

This could be an issue as Minnesota doesn't have any other deals worth more than 2.55mil AAV expiring this summer and their cap situation is always a bit rough with over 15mil towards the 75mil Salary Cap tied up in Parise and Ryan Suter until the end of time. While the cap is supposed to rise reasonably over the summer, the Wild have other players they'll need to sign as well, so they'll likely have to shed cap or get creative to make room for Zucker next year if he continues playing as he has been.

The takeaway here: Leafs fans better enjoy our short Cap-stress-free period while it lasts. We'll be in Cap Hell like everyone else as soon as Matthews, Marner, and Nylander come off their ELCs (Nylander this summer, the other two the summer after) and key older players start hitting Unrestricted Free Agency (JvR, Bozak, and Komarov all become UFAs on July 1st 2018).

Anyway, if any of that scares you, just go look at Kadri's contract and it will make you feel at least a little better.

After an adorable outdoor practice yesterday in the form of a 3-on-3 mini-tournament (including ceremonial puck drop by Minnesota native Jake Gardiner's dad, as well as Gardiner's squirt hockey trophy as a prize) it's unclear what lines the Leafs will ice today as there were no practice rushes. If they'd won on Tuesday I'd assume the same setup, but considering that game was a dumpster fire maybe we finally get to see Connor Carrick back in the lineup (bitter laughter), perhaps Kasperi Kapanen as well, if only to shake things up.

Some Key Numbers

16 - Jason Zucker - Left Wing 9 - Mikko Koivu - Center 20 - Ryan Suter - Defenseman 12 - Eric Staal - Center 64 - Mikael Granlund - Right Wing

THE HIGHLIGHTS

THE POST GAME

Score: L 0-2

My apologies in advance to any Wild fan who may be reading this as I don't have much to say about Minnesota. They were fine. They made some good plays. They won the game. Wild backup goalie Alex Stalock got revenge for not making the Marlies once during the Leafs tank year--I thought it was a silly narrative but I almost feel bad considering there were zero people talking about it after the game last night. 

No, instead people were wondering why Leo Komarov played over nineteen minutes last night. The silver lining there was that William Nylander also played over nineteen minutes--but then you realize Komarov played more than Kadri, and we're back to angry. This obsession Babcock has with stapling two players together and then rotating a third around them (Komarov/Kadri, JvR/Bozak, Hyman/Matthews) seems almost nonsensical at this point. It also sends a weird message.

If I'm William Nylander or Mitch Marner and I'm getting kicked down to the fourth line because I missed a mark and haven't been scoring, I'm wondering why Leo Komarov, who has the worst 5v5 goals for percentage on the team. Actually, Leo is the only player on the team with a negative goal differential. Every other player on the team is at least break even. And, while I'm sure this isn't a metric Willy and Mitch are looking up, Leo also has the worst Corsi% on the team as well. The point is, how can you preach a message of accountability for the young stars and then let your vets take a pass?

So, what happened in last nights game? Even though it was the first night in a while where the Leafs were actually up in possession, they looked awful in the process. They were messy in their own zone. They didn't look particularly threatening in the offensive zone. They ended up icing a new line in Hyman-Marleau-Marner which I was actually pretty excited about. Marleau, after all, spent years capitalizing on passes from Joe best-playmaker-in-the-league Thornton; surely he could be a great match for Marner who is often burned by Bozak's inability to finish.

Unfortunately, Mitch had a very bad night. No one on that line had a great night but Mitch, in particular, looked stiff, losing a couple marks and dumping the puck in when he clearly could have carried (which we'll get to - oh believe me). I can only hope that they'll try this one at least once more before chucking it in the trash because I still think there's potential there.

Gardiner and Zaitsev were also a mess. I don't have a break down there really, but there were Not Good.

Who was good? JvR-Bozak-Brown. They decimated the Wild's third line in possession even though they couldn't capitalize on anything. Though, they do lose some brownie points here considering they were up against a line run by Matt Cullen, who really should be a 4C on a good team (as he was in Pittsburgh). Still, the Bozak line played well and definitely can be credited with the most dangerous looking Leafs' plays of the evening, which makes it all the more unfortunate that they were on the ice for the first goal.

What a weird one. Rielly had possession of the puck and began to skate behind the Leafs net as someone (Andersen or a forward) called WHEEL, WHEEL, WHEEL loud enough that it was clearly picked up on the broadcast. This triggered a standard play, wherein Rielly should keep skating with the puck behind the net and up the boards, likely to then hinge a pass up towards the blueline for a clean zone exit. As they should have, upon hearing the WHEEL call, all the Leafs players either skated up towards the blue line or the strong side (or what should have been the strong (puck) side, where Rielly was headed).

Instead, for some inexplicable reason, Rielly reversed instead of wheeled. This means he did a drop pass right behind the net. Usually, that's where his defensive partner would grab it and then head up the boards on the other side, etc, etc. But! Everyone heard wheel! I heard wheel in Washington freaking State, so nobody was there except the Wild player who'd been chasing Rielly. Then Rielly took an extremely late hit that probably should have been called and saved their asses, but it wasn't.

A confused Hainsey stalled. Connor Brown made a desperate attempt to clear the puck up the boards, but once again there was nobody on that side of the ice which resulted in him basically passing to a Wild player and, amidst a completely broken play, the Wild scored.

Anyway, buy Hockey Plays and Strategies by Ryan Walter and Mike Johnson with forward by Mike Babcock. Perhaps buy an extra and gift it to your favorite Leafs player for the holidays.

So, why were people so mad after watching this game? Is it because the game was boring and we're spoiled by a young, run-and-gun team? Is it because we don't get some grand master plan that all this nonsense is preparing the team for? A long time ago Babcock said there was pain coming. We thought that meant a tank but maybe it was this. But no, the reason people are so frustrated is because Babcock is playing scared. We don't know why but it's been clearly documented that around the California skid something changed. The young stars started getting less ice-time, the vets with perceived defensive steadiness got more. The semi-annoying chip and chasing that they've been doing shifted to a full offensive shut down (some of the best early modern hockey analytics was Eric Tulsky's work on zone entries/exits and it's very worth looking up).

The Leafs used to rely on their speed to dump the puck in and retrieve it (uncontrolled zone entries). Speed was the name of the game after the Penguins used this technique to steam-roll the competition on the way to their 2016 Stanely Cup. Unfortunately, the thing about a good idea is that people tend to adopt it once it's been proven. Teams are getting faster and faster, and with the evolution of video coaching, everyone knows your game. The Leafs aren't consistently winning the races to the pucks anymore, and it's difficult to shoot the puck if you don't have it, which is why their possession number have been garbage recently.

Data shows that controlled zone entries produce more shots than dump-ins. Chip and chase might guarantee you cross the blue line, but it also results in a lot of the opposition simply skating the puck back out. And the reason it's so frustrating is that it's clearly coached. 

The number of times I saw Mitch Marner heading straight for the blueline and then just flip the puck over the defense’s heads instead of attempting to go around them was infuriating. You see similar things from Nylander, who is a zone entry wizard when he actually gets to play for more than ten minutes a game and is allowed to carry the puck. Basically, Babcock is using precision instruments as bludgeons and it's getting hard to watch.

Right now the Leafs have basically smothered their strengths in an attempt to shore up a weakness. They've gone from a Defense-Offense split of Meh-Lethal to Fine-Meh. Right now, they're not particularly great at anything.

While we have been discussing these problems and predicting a skid, a lot can be covered up by wins and good goaltending. We can only hope that these losses will trigger a change in the team before it triggers a change in the standings.

Statistics and visuals courtesy of HockeyViz.com, NaturalStatTrick.com, CapFriendly.com, Corsica.Hockey and Hockey-Reference.com.

[yahoo-puck-daddy-blog]

Eulogy: Remembering the 2016-17 Montreal Canadiens

  (Ed. Note: As the Stanley Cup Playoffs continue, we’re bound to lose some friends along the journey. We’ve asked for these losers, gone but not forgotten, to be eulogized by the people who knew the teams best: The bloggers and fans who hated them the most. Here are the Boston Bruins bloggers from Days Of Y’Orr, fondly recalling the Montreal Canadiens.)

(Again, this was not written by us. Also: This is a roast and you will be offended by it, so don’t take it so seriously.)

By Days Of Y’Orr

Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, gather around, for we have come to tell you a tale.

A tale of the most hated hockey franchise to ever grace frozen water and how they once again met their demise.

A tale of intrigue, astonishment and that weird bewildered-white-guy gif that’s all over Twitter.

Welcome to the eulogy of the Montreal Canadiens.

Here lie the 2009 Boston Bruins, or rather, Marc Bergevin’s attempt to recreate them like an underperforming Frankenstein’s monster with character issues.

If there’s anyone for Canadiens fans to be mad at, and the rest of the NHL to throw a parade for, it is the Canadiens GM.

Bergevin stated on June 23, 2016: “I never shopped PK [Subban]. I never have, I’m not now. But I can’t stop teams from calling” then much like the team he put together, quickly flopped on his position and traded the All-Star defenseman to Nashville for a player with so many miles on him, he’s the NHL equivalent of Sasha Grey.

It’s hard to rip on Shea Weber.

Sure, it was his worst offensive year since the 2007-2008 season (lockout season notwithstanding). Sure, it was his lowest average time on ice since the 2009-2010 season. And sure, it was his lowest shot totals since the 2012-2013 season. Oh and quadruple sure, he’s on the wrong side of 30.

But…but…where were we going with this? Was it that when his contract finishes he’ll be 40? Was it that PK Subban had 2 points less than Weber and played 12 less games? Was it that PK will only be 32 at the end of his contract?

We just can’t remember.

That wasn’t all Bergevin accomplished though. Instead of adding speed and skill to combat the Torontos and Ottawas, Bergevin went the complete opposite and signed Andrew Shaw to a 6-year, 23.4M contract with the Montreal Canadiens.

Apparently this is the going rate for slagtrash NHL players that haven’t scored more than 20 goals in a season, are seedier than a Donald Trump sex romp in Russia (allegedly), call referees homophobic slurs and smell like the dumping grounds of a Kayem hot dog factory.

This may be taboo, but we really feel bad for Carey Price. To know that your prime years are being wasted because the team in front of you couldn’t score a goal if their life depended on it is incredibly disheartening. Price will always be the bridesmaid and never the bride. Unfortunately, he’s the incredibly hot bridesmaid that no one will talk to because she has an RBF and her friends keep getting sloppy drunk and throwing up in the bathroom.

The hope is that Marc Bergevin somehow rights the wrongs he has committed and trades Carey Price. That being said though, this is OUR hope. It shouldn’t be the hope of any of the Canadiens’ fans yet there is a large contingent of reprobates calling for Price’s head on a spike outside the Bell Centre.

Price is not the problem in Montreal, but if you want to make him the Robb Stark in whatever offseason Red Wedding you’re planning, please feel free to do so and put him out of his misery.

The hiring of Claude Julien somewhat revived the husked corpse of the Canadiens in the regular season, however he alone could not get the shambling mess that Bergevin pieced together past the first round. That would have required key players stepping up and putting goals on the board.

Key players such Max Pacioretty.

There isn’t a player with a more punchable face than Max Pacioretty and I’m delighted that El Capitan Patches managed to really put a great effort out there on the ice these past 6 games.

I mean, he didn’t score any goals but he did manage to beat up Jimmy Vesey and that’s gotta count for something, right?

When asked about the team’s effort in Game 6, Pacioretty stated that he strongly believed that the effort was there. He also spoke about believing in the process and trusting the process which sounds like some sort of cult style brainwashing experience. If there is some sort of process that the players believe strongly in and have given themselves over to then by all reason that would mean Bergevin is the Jim Jones of this situation and the players have all drank the Kool-Aid.

There were many times while watching the Montreal Canadiens battle against the New York Rangers that we had to rub our eyes to make sure we weren’t having deja vu. Some of us love Claude Julien but watching him coach the Canadiens reminded all of us of years spent watching the Bruins try to play to a 0-0 tie to get the loser point.

Pack it in defensively? Yup.

Safe, conservative offensive plays that neuter offensively gifted forwards because they need to account for any defensive assignments? Yup.

Mind numbing deployment of 4th liners when there are seconds left on the clock and you’re losing? Yup.

Get used to it.

Claude Julien may be the winningest coach in Boston Bruins history but that didn’t mean anything when Gregory Campbell was taking a draw with 45 seconds left in a 1-0 game that Boston was losing.

Whoever your grit and balls and sandpaper fourth liner is is about to get a ton of minutes and you’re going to hate every second of it.

We fully expect the comment section to come back at us with “Well, Boston was eliminated too!”

At the beginning of the season the Bruins were thought to be a bubble playoff team at best. Montreal was expected to be one of the top three in the division. The Ottawa Senators and Boston Bruins didn’t deserve to make the playoffs and should be sending flowers to Tampa for their incredibly odd season. Toronto is so green, Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner are pissing Miracle-Gro. It’s not hard to win a division that is made up of just bubble teams full of children and old timers.

There are few things that can bring hockey fans around the globe together like the festivities around watching one of the most overrated franchises in the NHL fail in their quest to etch their name on Lord Stanley’s Cup.

Maybe that’s the real problem. Maybe the Canadiens should aim lower than winning the Stanley Cup. Why don’t they just settle and make their goal making the Stanley Cup Final? I mean, since their last finals appearance in 1993, only eight other NHL teams haven’t made a Stanley Cup Final.

Those teams? Arizona, Nashville, Winnipeg, Columbus, Minnesota, New York Islanders, St. Louis, and Toronto.

Since the Canadiens have been in a Stanley Cup Final, the NHL has also added five teams to the league (seven if you want to include Anaheim and Florida in 1993). Those teams are Arizona (96), Nashville (98), Atlanta/Winnipeg (1999), Columbus and Minnesota (2000).

This has all been just a long winded way of saying that the Montreal Canadiens are one of the biggest failures in the NHL in over two decades.

As the wildly popular hit song in the year in which the last time the Canadiens were good in the NHL Playoffs said:

Whoomp, there it is.

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