Hey everyone, hope you are doing well. We are back at it tonight for another great Episode 4 Season 7 of Two Guys & Hockey Talk, where we dive into the stories around the world of hockey. But before we get to it, some of the news from the past few days in the hockey world are:
- Erik Johnson calls it a Career – The longtime defenseman has announced his retirement after an incredible 17 seasons in the league. He played over 1,000 NHL games, and had a prominent stretch with the Colorado Avalanche, where he won a cup during their 2022 Stanley Cup run. He also played for the Philadelphia Flyers, Buffalo Sabres, and St. Louis Blues and finished with 95 goals and 253 assists in 1023 games. He was also a former World Junior U-20 Championships. We wish him all the best in his future.
- Kirill Kaprizov signs a Record Extension – The hockey world was shocked when the Minnesota Wild announced that they signed their star winger Kirill Kaprizov to an 8‑year, $136 million extension (with an AAV of $17 million per year), making it one of the biggest deals in NHL history. Drafted in the fifth round at number 135 overall in the 2015 NHL Entry Draft and has gone on to put up 185 goals and 201 assists in 319 games. This will certainly change the player market for next season, but there is still debate over whether this is wise given Kaprizov’s injury history and whether the Wild are able to build a winning team around him and his new contract that goes into effect next year.
- Florida Panther’s Captain Out – It sounds like captain Aleksander Barkov will likely be out for the entire upcoming season after sustaining a knee injury. He has undergone surgery, but this is a huge hit for Florida’s hopes as they hope to have another step up in Barkov’s absence. It is also a big blow for Team Finland where Barkov would most likely have represented his country on the world stage. We wish Barkov a speedy recovery.
- The Edmonton Oilers acquire a Goalie – After much speculation and debate amongst pundits and the fanbases, the Edmonton Oilers have picked up goaltender Connor Ingram in a trade with the Utah Mammoth for future considerations, as Utah retained part of his salary. This was to add depth to the goaltending chart as the team looks to still start the season with Pickard and Skinner, and as the team looks to try to get back to the Stanley Cup Final and win the ultimate prize.
- Devils lock in the Youngest Hughes brother – The New Jersey have also signed their young defenseman Luke Hughes to a 7‑year, $63 million contract (with an AAV of $9 million) signaling faith in his role in their future core. In 71 games last season he had 7 goals and 37 assists. He was a fourth round pick in the 2021 NHL Draft and now the highest paid Hughes brother. This is another young piece locked up for the New Jersey Devils.
- Seattle Kraken Injury Setback – It sounds like defenseman Ryker Evans is expected to miss 6 to 8 weeks with an upper-body injury, creating a challenge for Seattle’s defensive depth early this season as he is a big part of the team. In 73 games last season, he had 5 goals and 20 assists. We wish him a speedy recovery.
- Franchise valuations rising – According to a recent report in Sportico, the average NHL franchise is valued at $2.1 billion, with the league’s 32 teams collectively worth $67.1 billion. The Toronto Maple Leafs lead all teams with a valuation of $4.25 billion, while the Columbus Blue Jackets rank last at $1.3 billion. This is based on factors such as ownership interviews, industry insiders and the value of related businesses and real estate holdings, amongst other factors. It shows that the game has a healthy financial and fan growth and that each franchise is doing well and that there could be an expansion on the horizon.
- New NHL national broadcasting arrangement – ESPN / Disney will carry 100 exclusive NHL games across ABC, ESPN, Hulu and ESPN+ starting October 7, 2025 and the opening night will feature a tripleheader including the defending champion Panthers and rising stars like Connor Bedard of the Chicago Blackhawks. This is just 6 days away as we finalize the pre-season.
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’
