Hey everyone, hope you are doing well. We are back at it tonight for another great Episode 5 Season 7 of Two Guys & Hockey Hey everyone, hope you are doing well. We are back at it tonight for another great Episode 6 Season 7 of Two Guys & Hockey Talk, where we dive into the stories around the world of hockey. It’s been a busy few days as the NHL season is well underway and we have some stories from the past week
- Jack Eichel signs long-term extension – It looks like another great player is off the market as the Vegas Golden Knights sign their assistant captain and star centre Jack Eichel to an 8-year, $108 million contract extension (with an AAV of $13.5 million) and making him the highest Golden Knight player. The deal locks in Eichel as a core piece in Vegas as they aim to contend for their second Stanley Cup, as he helped them win the first one after his trade from Buffalo Sabres. Eichel, 28, last season played 77 games and put up 28 goals and 66 assists, and gets to play with Marner this season (who is also locked up long term)
- Young Hutson stays put – The Montreal Canadiens have signed another piece of their young core Lane Hutson to an 8-year, $70.8 million contract (with an AAV of $8.85 million). Hutson, 21, put up 6 goals and 60 assists in 82 games and won the Calder trophy. He also led all NHL rookies in points, assists, power play points (26) and average ice time, which made him a threat when he was on the ice.
- Ottawa Senators lose star to injury – The injury bug is here and a big loss for the Senators is their captain and leader Brady Tkachuk is expected to miss around 4 weeks due to a wrist injury. This is a big loss for them as they try to make the post-season again, and Travis Green will have to adjust their top forward lines in his absence. Ottawa is 1-2-0 so far this season and face off against the Buffalo Sabres next.
- The Buffalo Sabres Woes – Speaking of the Sabres, it hasn’t been an easy start to the season for the Buffalo Sabres who are 0-3-0 to start the season and they have had a hard time scoring only 2 goals in the 3 games. This is after a quiet off-season and a team that has missed the playoffs for 14 years straight (an NHL record) upsetting the fanbase and the city of Buffalo. The team needs to be competitive or there will be changes again within upper management and you have to think that either Lindy Ruff’s job or Kevyn Adams job is on the line. We will see how the next few games go.
- More Injury woes for the Florida Panthers – There is also note that Florida Panthers defenseman Dmitry Kulikov will also miss an extended period of time with an injury and will have to get surgery. This is another big loss for the team as they go on to face the Detroit Red Wings next. They are 3-1-0 so far this season, which shows they haven’t lost a step.
- World Juniors Prep: Roster camps underway – With the 2025/26 World Juniors just a couple months away, Canada and USA have begun their camp selection discussion and players who will get an invite. Some high players of note expected to headline the event are players like Michael Misa (of the San Jose Sharks), who is likely to be released to play for Canada, James Hagens (to play for the US team and who is playing for Boston College after being drafted by the Bruins), along with Zayne Parekh (playing for the Calgary Flames), Tij Iginla (of the Utah Mammoth) and Zeev Buium (of the Minnesota Wild).
- PWHL Expansion talks – As discussed on our previous shows, the PWHL (Professional Women’s Hockey League) is reportedly in talks to add two expansion teams for 2026 season, with Vancouver and Minneapolis being floated as top destinations for the 2 new teams. We will see if they get teams and look forward to seeing the game grow.
- Champions Hockey League (CHL): Quarterfinals quickly approaching – European club teams are closing in on the CHL playoff round, with Färjestad (SWE) and Tappara (FIN) looking like early favorites to meet in the final. It starts on wednesday when KalPa Kuopio faces off against KAC Klagenfurt in Finland. Then GKS Tychy will take on Lukko Rauma, looking to earn a spot in the playoffs. It should be some great hockey.
- Some Other Stories of Note – In some other minor news from around the league, the NHL has fined Tyler Myers (Canucks) and Ian Cole (Utah Mammoth) $2,500 each for on-ice infractions (Myers for slashing McDavid and Cole for a dangerous trip, on Steven Stamkos). For Anaheim, Chris Kreider, of the Anaheim Ducks, has gotten off to a strong start by putting up 4 goals in his first 3 games as the Ducks look to make the post-season. Finally, Jacob Markström of the New Jersey Devils is expected to miss a bit of time with a lower-body injury, after sustaining an injury and also having contract extension talks with the team. There are also a lot of other day-to-day players like Matt Duchene and Lucas Raymond (with upper body injuries).
Thoughts? Questions? Suggestions? Then remember to tune in each week to get all the latest news in the world of hockey as we start up Season 7 of the Podcast each Wednesday night at 7pm MST, where we dive into some of these great topics, interview many in the game and so much more. For more hockey news, different takes or if you want to chat about anything hockey give me a follow @hockey_two & @revinev on X and give us a follow (subscription) on YouTube, and check out our website for articles that we share regularly at https://twoguysandhockeytalk.com/.
Pawel ‘The Cat’
