Welcome back hockey fans! Welcome to Week 13 of our news from around the world of hockey and around the league. We’ve had a busy time in the world of hockey, so lets jump right in:
- The New Jersey Devils forward Timo Meier has been suspended one game for cross-checking Zachary L’Heureux of the Nashville Predators right across the jaw. Meier was handed a 5 minute major penalty and a game misconduct for the incident, as the team went on to win 5 to 2 against Nashville. This is the first time Meier has been suspended in the first eight-plus seasons of his NHL career but again the NHL is cracking down on these plays.
- The AHL have suspended William Lagesson of the Grand Rapids Griffins’ for three games after he attempted a chokehold on Iowa Wild forward Adam Raska in a game on Sunday. Raska, had tapped out due to the UFC style chokehold and the video doesn’t look good. This is a very disturbing and brutal video and it showed that the refs just didn’t respond accordingly and this is something that does not belong in the game at every level.
- It also sounds like GM Chris Drury of New York Rangers is reportedly looking to shake up the roster after their poor Western Canada road trip and it was noted that both Chris Kreider and Jacob Trouba are among the players available for a possible trade. The Rangers, who are 12-7-1, have sent this message to shake the team up and get them going. This is all after Igor Shesterkin is having a strong start to the season and the team tries to find their footing. Will we see a trade happen soon?
- Former NHL player and current TNT commentator Paul Bissonnette was recently attacked during altercation at a Scottsdale steakhouse where he was attacked by 6 men, when Bissonnette noted on his Twitter/X that he tried to intervene when one member of the large group got into management’s face started getting physically aggresive after being asked to leave. The Scottsdale police arrested six men who are accused of assault and disorderly conduct and we are glad to see that Paul Biz is good, but it goes to show you not to mess with NHLer’s.
- The Carolina Hurricanes have announced that goaltender Pyotr Kochetkov is now day-to-day after his recent concussion injury last Saturday night with a collision with Sean Walker. This is a big loss after their other goaltender Frederik Andersen is set to have knee surgery and will be out for 10 to 12 weeks. Kochetkov, 25, is 10-2-0 this year with a 2.42 goals-against average and a .904 save percentage as the Canes sit 15-5-1 this season. We hope to see Pyotr back soon.
- The San Jose Sharks held a Joe Thornton’s jersey retired, as he played with the team for 15 seasons (from 2005 to 2020) and held many tributes and speeches from many of his closest friends, former players, coaches and peers. Thornton, 45, played for 24 season in the NHL, playing 1714 games and putting up 430 goals and 1109 assists. He was a gem and leader on and off the ice and had a great looking beard. We wish him all the best and hope to see him involved in the game again in the future.
- There are rumblings out of Columbus that the Blue Jackets are looking at moving 2022 6th overall pick defenceman David Jiricek. Jiricek, 20, has played in 43 games with the Blue Jackets last season, putting up 1 goal and 9 assists and has played in 6 games this season with 1 assists. It looks like Don Waddell is looking to help the young defender find a new home and there have been many teams interested. We shall see where this ends up.
- Finally, veteran Sidney Corsby has scored his 600th goal when the Pittsburgh Penguins faced off against the Utah HC. The team did lose 6 to 1 but Crosby has entered into some great elite company and already has an impressive resume. You love to see how well Crosby plays the game, even as the team struggles this season. Where will he end up when he hangs up the skates? We shall see.
- The Minnesota Wild have announced that Kirill Kaprizov will be able to play again after a scary injury when he collided with Drake Caguilla of the Edmonton Oilers. This has led to a further discussion noted by Elliotte Friedman on Saturday Headlines where no penalty was called on the play and that the Minnesota organizaiton noted that the NHL isn’t doing enough to protect their stars. Kaprizov, 27, has 13 goals, 21 assists, and 34 points in 19 games this year and is having a Hart like season. We will see if anything changes, but we hate to see those types of collisions.
- As always, there is a lot more news so make sure to tune in for our aired Season 6, Episode 13 of Two Guys & Hockey Talk. We dive into some of these great topics, interview a former NHLer and so much more.
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’
