Welcome back everyone, for another week of news from around the world of hockey and around the league. Some of the news from the past week is:
- The Columbus Blue Jackets have re-signed Zach Aston-Reese to a 1-year contract extension worth $775,000. Aston-Reese, 30, has 4 goals and 7 assists in 42 games, after being claimed off waivers from the Vegas Golden Knights just before the start of the season. He has been a good depth piece for the team as Columbus is 21-17-6 and they currently sit in the second wild card spot. I’m sure Columbus fans are just super excited to have him in the lineup.
- It also sounds like defenceman John Klingberg is close to a return to the NHL and there are a few teams that are interested in acquiring his services (teams like the Oilers, Maple Leafs, Senators). Klingberg had hip resurfacing surgery in 2023 and has worked hard to get to this point and would like to get back to playing as he believes he is still an effective player. Klingberg , 32, last appeared in 14 games with the Maple Leafs last season, and putting up 5 assists before requiring season-ending hip resurfacing surgery
- The American Hockey League has announced the 2025 AHL All-Star Rosters which will be held February 2-3 in Palm Desert, California and each of the AHL’s four divisions will be represented by 12 players on the rosters. This should be a fun time to watch some of the young talent that exists for all NHL clubs, and they will be heading to Rockford, Illinois in 2026. Some notable names that you may see are: Cleveland’s Denton Mateychuk (Columbus), Grand Rapids’ Sebastian Cossa (Detroit) and Utica’s Seamus Casey (New Jersey). This should be a fun event.
- In this past weekend’s game between the Philadelphia Flyers and Anaheim Ducks, the Flyers fans didn’t hold back their displeasure for Cutter Gauthier, to show their displeasure given his request to want a trade out of Philadelphia. Gauthier, was drafted at No. 5 overall in the 2022 NHL Draft, and was later traded in January 2024 in exchange for Jamie Drysdale and a second-round pick after he made it clear to the organization that he would not sign with the Flyers. There has been speculation as to why, but for personal reasons, Gauthier has kept that private. But it comes with the territory and Flyers fans are passionate so they will continue to support their team, and boo players who may showcase that they don’t want to be there.
- The Pittsburgh Penguins will place goaltender Tristan Jarry on waivers. Jarry, 29, has really struggled this season, going 8-7-4 with a .886 save percentage and 3.32 goals-against average in 21 games. He is also in the second year of a five-year, $28.66 million contract that carries a cap hit of 5.38 million. This has made it hard for Pittsburgh to stay competitive and in a hunt for a playoff spot. The Penguins are at 18-20-8, and have dropped 7 of their last 8 games.
- The Ottawa Senators have signed forward Ridly Greig to a four-year, $13 million dollar contract extension (with an AAV of $3.25 million). Greig, 22, has played in 129 games over parts of three seasons with the Senators and had 13 goals and 13 assists in 72 games. This is another young piece for the Senators as they try to compete for a Stanley Cup playoff spot. As an aside, young prospect goalie Leevi Merilainen, has been excellent for the team, as they beat the New York Islanders 2-0 on Tuesday night at UBS Arena, where the 22 year old made 23 saves for the shutout. He has been a bright spot as Linus Ullmark remains out. The team is 22-18-3 and are vying for that last wildcard spot.
- As always, there is a lot more news so make sure to tune in for our aired Season 6, Episode 18 of Two Guys & Hockey Talk next Wednesday. We dive into some of these great topics, 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’
