Good afternoon Hockey fans,
Hope all is well with you. We are back with more news from around the league with Round 3 on the docket tonight, ready to go.
- We have some hirings for Head Coaches in the NHL. First the L.A. Kings have removed the interim tag for Jim Hiller and named him the full-time head coach for the club. The L.A. Kings were 21-12-1 in the regular season under Hiller after Todd McLellan was fired on February 2, 2024, but they ended up losing to the Edmonton Oilers in the first round. Hiller was previously an assistant coach with the Kings for 2 seasons after being an assistant coach for the New York Islanders, Toronto Maple Leafs and Detroit Red Wings. We wish him all the best.
- The other coaching hire is the New Jersey Devils announcing that they have brought in Sheldon Keefe, after being fired as the head coach of the Toronto Maple Leafs on May 9. This came after Toronto’s game 7 loss of the first round in overtime against the Boston Bruins. Keefe, 43, went 212-97-40 as the Leafs head coach and only won a single playoff series last spring against the Tampa Bay Lightning.
- The final 4 teams are set for both the Western and Eastern Conference. The Florida Panthers will take on the President’s Trophy winners New York Rangers, while in the west, the Edmonton Oilers will take on the deep Dallas Stars. Who will be coming out of each of the conferences to compete for Lord Stanley. Let us know your predictions.
- The Professional Women’s Hockey League (PWHL) announced their 3 nominations for Goaltender of the Year award finalists. Toronto’s Kristen Campbell, Boston’s Aerin Frankel and New York’s Corinne Schroeder who are the final 3 and have had excellent seasons.
- At the World Hockey Championship, Canada beats Czechia in overtime (4-3OT) with Dylan Cozens (Buffalo Sabres) scores the big game winning goal. On the other side the United States finished second in Group B after beating Latvia 6-3 in their final preliminary game when Cole Caufield put up 2 goals and 2 assists.
- Finally, the Tampa Bay Lightning re-acquired defenseman Ryan McDonagh and a fourth-round pick in the 2024 draft from the Nashville Predators for a seventh-round pick in the 2024 NHL Draft and a second-round pick in the 2025 NHL Draft. This is McDonagh’s second go with the Lightning after he reportedly requested a trade back to Tampa. He is a two-time Stanley Cup winner with the Tampa Bay Lightning, and was able to put up 52 points in 145 games with the Predators over two seasons, including being an impactful player for them in the postseason.
Thoughts? Questions? Suggestions? Then remember to tune in each week to get all the latest news in the world of hockey. For more hockey news, different takes or if you want to chat about anything hockey give me a follow @hockey_two on TWITTER and give us a follow on YouTube, or at https://twoguysandhockeytalk.com/.
- Pawel ‘The Cat’
