Good morning Hockey fans,
Hope all is well with you. It’s been a wild month of hockey with a lot of highs and lows and we have some news from around the league.
- The Seattle Kraken have acquired Tomas Tatar from the Colorado Avalanche in exchange for a 5th round pick in the 2024 NHL Draft. This comes after Tatar signed with the Avalanche on a one-year, $1.5MM contract this past summer and only playing 27 games, where he only had 1 goal and 8 assists. At the same time Seattle has struggled to score and perhaps a new change of scenery will help Tatar. We wish him all the best.
- It sounds like Bill Guerin, GM of the Minnesota Wild is being investigated for alleged verbal abuse. The incident is believed to have occurred in late November and was soon reported to the Wild’s human resources team. Reporter Michael Russo stated that Guerin did not attend the recent board of governors meeting in Seattle and was not with the team on their most recent road trip but for the time being isn’t being relieved of his duties as of now. The Wild, who have had a difficult start to the season, after mutually parting ways with assistant general manager Chris O’Hearn from another investigation and firing Head coach Dean Evason after a struggling start. Hopefully things can be turned around for the team.
- The Carolina Hurricanes goaltender Antti Raanta has cleared waivers after surprising the league and being put on. Raanta, 34, has struggled this season, in 14 games posting a 3.61 GAA and .854 SV%. In his last two starts, he allowed 10 goals on 54 shots, and it hasn’t helped Carolina in their standings. Seems like upper management is looking at the goalie market as they are still awaiting Frederik Anderson to return back from injury (sounds like he is getting close).
- It was also announced today that Team Canada will add forward Matt Poitras from the Boston Bruins for the tournament. Poitras, 19, has appeared in 27 games with Boston this season, putting up 5 goals and 8 assists for 13 points. He has been an excellent addition and this will only add to some depth for Team Canada. He was selected 54th overall in the 2022 draft.
- The Columbus Blue Jackets have announced that forward Patrik Laine suffered a clavicle fracture in the game against Toronto Maple Leafs and is expected to be sidelined for about six weeks. This is a big loss for the team after having a struggling start to the season, having Erik Gudbranson lost for a 1-game suspension for his hit on Nick Cousins. They are 10-17-5 and are now looking outside of their division. Hopefully things improve for the team quickly and we wish Patrik a speedy recovery.
- Arizona Coyotes also noted that both Travis Boyd and Barrett Hayton are both going to be out Long-Term with upper-body injuries. It sounds like Boyd has a torn pectoral muscle, while Hayton has suffered a setback in his return from a hand injury. He may return back in February 2024. The Yotes are 15-13-2 and have remained competitive throughout the first quarter of the season. This is a big loss, but the Coyotes have also been playing well especially against the 5 previous Stanley Cup winners and winning those games. There is also going to be some clarity in the coming weeks about the arena for Arizona, putting to rest some uncertainty for the market.
- Finally, the Tampa Bay Lightning have signed forward Ethan Gauthier to a 3-year, entry-level contract. Gauthier, 18, was selected by the Lightning 37th overall in the second round of the 2023 NHL draft, a pick from the Colorado Avalanche in exchange for Ross Colton. Gauthier has played 28 games with the Drummondville Voltigeurs of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League this season. We wish him all the best.
Thoughts? Lots is ramping up as we near the beginning of the season. Therefore remember to tune in each week to get all the latest news in the world of hockey.
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- Pawel ‘The Cat’
