We will not be ranking 21-year-old Toronto Marlies winger Justin Brazeau in this year’s Top 25 Under 25.
We are not doing this because we hate him; we do not hate him. We only hate defencemen. We are not doing this because he does not deserve to be in the Top 25; he may well not, but that isn’t the reason. We are not ranking him because the Leafs don’t have any contractual right to him, and so he doesn’t make our list of eligibles. By the strict letter of the law, the Leafs have no more right to his services as a potential NHL player than do the Florida Panthers.