Hey everyone, hope you are all doing well. It’s been a steady week in the world of hockey and here is some of the news from around the world of hockey. This is what is happening right now:
- We are now in the final week of the season which ends on Thursday, April 18, 2025 and the playoffs potentially starting up on Saturday. We have almost all of the series set for the post-season and it will be interesting to see the storylines that emerge from this year’s Stanley Cup. In the west we are set with the Winnipeg Jets take on the St. Louis Blues, the Dallas Stars take on the Colorado Avalanche, the Vegas Golden Knights will face off against the Minnesota Wild and the L.A Kings will take on the Edmonton Oilers for a 4th time. In the east we have the Battle of Ontario as the Toronto Maple Leafs take on the Ottawa Senators, the Carolina Hurricanes will take on the New Jersey Devils, the battle of Florida with the Panthers taking on the Tampa Bay Lightning. Finally the Washington Capitals will take on either Montreal or Columbus depending on how the remainder of the season will play out, but both match-ups would be fantastic. We will dive deep into all of these tonight.
- Speaking of the series, a big congratulations to the Winnipeg Jets, who have clinched the President’s Trophy for the first time in their franchise history. They have gone 55-22-4 this season, beating out the red-hot Washington Capitals as they prepare to go on a deep playoff run. We know Connor Hellebuyck is going to be a Vezina winner and the team has been rolling on all 4 cylinders as head coach Scott Arniel tries to prepare his team for all adversity. In other news for the Jets, they also took care of some business by re-signing forward Alex Iafallo to a 3-year, $11 million dollar contract extension (with an average annual value of $3,666,666). Iafallo, 31, has put up 15 goals and 16 assists in 81 games this season. He has been a great and impactful player for the team. I’m sure he will be getting ready with his teammates for the upcoming playoffs.
- We know Alex Ovechkin has already made hockey history by passing Wayne Gretzky as the greatest goal scorer in league history with 895. The question now is with another healthy season, can he get to 950, let alone 1000 if he plays further. There has been debate about Ovechkin’s longevity in the NHL and him wanting to play in the KHL for a bit but at 39 years old, what will he decide? Hard to say, as he tries to lead his team in a deep playoff run again.
- Speaking of other veterans of the game, it sounds like captain Logan Couture of the San Jose Sharks will be retiring from hockey due to dealing with steitis pubis, which is inflammation in the joint between the left and right pubic bones. Couture, 36, played for 16 seasons and finishes his career with a total of 323 goals and 378 assists for a total of 701 points in 933 regular-season games, along with 48 goals and 53 assists in 116 postseason games. He was such an electric player to watch on the ice and we wish him all the best in his future.
- We also got to see the debut of prospect Ivan Demidov for the Montreal Canadiens, who was able to score a goal in his first NHL game. Demidov, 19, has come over from the KHL and is ready to make an impact on a team trying to secure a playoff spot. Demidov seems like the real deal as he led his Russian club SKA Saint Petersburg with 19 goals and 30 assists in 65 games this season, setting a new Kontinental Hockey League record. This kid is going to be a stud moving forward and the Montreal Canadiens have another elite youth talent, even with Late Hutson already a lock in for the Calder Trophy.
- We also have had a nice farewell tour for Marc-Andre Fleury, who at 40 years of age, will be playing in his final season. Fleury, who has been in the league for 21 seasons, has had a heck of a career, being second all-time in wins and games played, won three Cups with the Pittsburgh Penguins, and winning his first Vezina Trophy in 2021. He has had a great career, but still tries to help Filip Gustavsson and the Minnesota Wild go on a deep run. In other Minnesota news, the Xcel Energy Center will be renamed as their agreement expires after 25 years. A new name will be determined once a partnership is struck. They also signed their prospect Zeev Buium to a three-year, entry-level contract. Buium, 19, joins the Wild after his NCAA team, the University of Denver, was eliminated from the Frozen Four semifinals.
- The Pittsburgh Penguins have announced that defenseman Kris Letang underwent successful surgery for closure of a patent foramen ovale (or a small hole in the heart). The expected recovery time is four to six weeks as the team has been out of the playoffs and they try to reset for next season in order to be ready and competitive to make it to the postseason after missing 3 years straight.
- The NHL Player Safety have also announced a 1 game suspension for Darnell Nurse for his cross-check to the head on Quinton Byfield and will miss the final game of the season. The play was reckless and unnecessary and we are glad to hear that Byfield isn’t out long term, and will be ready for the playoffs.
- Finally, Alec Martinez has announced his retirement from the game of hockey. Martinez, 37, finishes his career with the Chicago Blackhawks, playing 861 games, scoring 88 goals and 201 assists. He played for The Vegas Golden Knights and the LA Kings, after being selected number 95 overall in the 2007 NHL Draft. Martinez won three Stanley Cups throughout his career, two with the Los Angeles Kings and one with the Golden Knights. He was always tough to play against and had a tenacity to play big minutes in big games. We wish him all the best in his future.
- As always, there is a lot more news so make sure to tune in for our aired Season 6, Episode 30 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’
