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:
- The playoffs have been so much fun, wild with lots of action, drama and storylines. We finally have our first team eliminated (the New Jersey Devils) out of the postseason after losing 5 to 4 to the Carolina Hurricanes and now we watch as the other series finish off in the coming week. The Devils did deal with a lot of injuries and they will have to reset in the off-season in order to make changes to adapt and come back strong next season.
- Speaking of the Carolina Hurricanes, they also did some business by re-signing Taylor Hall to a 3-year, $9.5 million extension (with an AAV of $3.167 million). Hall, 33, put up 9 goals and 9 assists in 31 games with the Hurricanes this season after being acquired in-season from the Chicago Blackhawks. We wish him all the best in the next round.
- It also sounds like Rick Tocchet will not return as the Vancouver Canucks head coach for next season, after having a discussion with management. During his tenure, Tocchet had a 108-65-27 record after taking over for Bruce Boudreau on January 22, 2023. This season has been tough for the team and they missed the playoffs after going to game 7 in the second round with the Edmonton Oilers. We wonder then who will take over and how will this impact their captain Quinn Hughes. Time will tell.
- The PWHL has officially announced their expansion to next by adding Seattle as its second new franchise along with Vancouver. This will build up the west coast love for the game of hockey and hopefully bring in more viewership, interest and love for the game of hockey. They also may plan to expand next year as well if things go well again for the league.
- The NHL has announced that they won’t have a formal NHL All-Star weekend at UBS Arena in 2026. Their plan instead is to hold a “kickoff” event before the Winter Olympics. They know the players are excited to go and play for their countries.
- The NHL Department Player of Safety has announced that Florida Panther defenceman Aaron Ekblad has been suspended for 2 games for elbowing Brandon Hagel in the head midway through Game 4 in the first round of the Battle of Florida. This has been a wild series with a previous suspension thrown at Brandon Hagel for his hit on Alexander Barkov, as the Panthers lead the series 3 to 1.
- The Utah HC accidentally and recently noted their recent hashtag on their social media page as Utah Mammoth, leading to speculation that this will be the name of the team for next season. We now wait for the official confirmation but we are also looking forward to seeing the type of jersey designs they will have.
- As always, there is a lot more news so make sure to tune in for our aired Season 6, Episode 32 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’
