NHL insider reveals stunning fact about Leafs players' medicals

Every NHL fan knows the story of forward Joffrey Lupul's failed medical with the Toronto Maple Leafs. We are not here to tell you that story again. 

NHL Insider James Mirtle of The Athletic revealed another stunning fact about the Leafs' medicals, one that is actually quite hilarious. 

As part of the players' full medicals, specialists weigh them and mesure their height, to update those basic statistics on their official roster listings. Mirtle decided to note down the numbers from before the medicals, those left over from last year and made a chart to compare them. And he couldn't help but notice a few stunning changes. 

"Six Leafs got taller and two lost an inch," Mirtle writes. "Kasperi Kapanen, by the Leafs' data, was listed at 5-foot-11 last year. This year, he's at 6-foot-1.Given he is 21 years old, that seems a bit unusual for a growth spurt, but that's what it says."

Getting taller seems more possible than shrinking before you turn 70. Netminder Curtis McElhinney went from 6-foot-3 on the roster to 6-foot-2, while defenseman Connor Carrick was shocked to find out he dropped down to 5-foot-10. He then blamed it on his summer training. 

“I worked on that, yeah,” Carrick said. “Too much back squatting. Compression of the spine."

Mirtle's discovery is at least making sure the numbers are right.