Hey everyone, hope you are all doing well. It’s been a steady week in the world of hockey but here is some of the news from around the world of hockey:
- The 4 Nations has been a hit and an excellent surprise for the NHL, as Team Canada will rematch with Team USA on Thursday night in Boston for the championship. The limited series has been exciting and fun but there have been some injuries plaguing all teams, like Boston Bruins defenceman Charlie McAvoy, who was hospitalized with infection, after sustaining an injury on right shoulder. He is currently being treated, but his status for the NHL season, which restarts Saturday, is unclear. McAvoy, 27, has been Boston’s top defenseman, putting up 7 goals and 16 assists in 50 games and averaging 23:40 in average ice time per game. It sounds like Quinn Hughes may take his spot as a backup if any more injuries happen for the team. It also sounds like both players from team Sweden and Finland will return back to their respective clubs. It also sounds like GM Bill Guerin has extended an invitation for President Trump to attend the final game in person.Perhaps we see that, given how high the tensions really are in the tournament.
- We are also learning that the game last Saturday night between Team Canada and Team USA was the most watched non-Stanley Cup Final game with over 10.1 million people tuning in. This shows that the NHL has a good plan here, it worked in terms of the timing, the calibre of players and their buy-in and their passion fans have for hockey on the world stage. This is something that may again take place in the future.
- In some other difficult news, it sounds like Hall of Famer Bobby Hull had CTE at the time of his death two years ago, as revealed by his widow. This was evident after Hull experienced significant memory loss and impaired judgment during the last few years of his life. We know CTE, a degenerative brain disease, has been found in athletes and those who have suffered concussions or repeated head trauma (specifically from head blows or contact), and it can only be diagnosed after death, through an examination of the brain. This will once again raise some questions about the physicality in the game, how better to protect players and what the league can do to minimize the risks of CTE.
- The Vancouver Canucks have done some more business by signing forward Drew O’Connor to a 2-year, $5 million contract extension (with an AAV of $2.5 million). O’Connor, 26, was recently acquired by the Canucks from the Pittsburgh Penguins along with other pieces, and currently has 2 goals in 4 games for them. He also has 6 goals and 10 assists in 53 games with Pittsburgh this season. This is another great depth piece for them as Vancouver vies for a possible playoff spot.
- The other signing we have is the Dallas Stars have signed forward Sam Steel to a 2-year, $4.2M extension (with an AAV of $2.1 million). Steel, 27, has put up 4 goals and 13 assists in 53 games this season and leads all Stars forwards in short-handed ice time.
- Speaking of other business, we also have a small trade that took place where the Vegas Golden Knights traded AHL forward Grigori Denisenko to Nashville in exchange for future considerations. Denisenko, 24 has put up 10 goals and 14 assists in 42 games this season and was selected 15th overall by the Florida Panthers in the 2018 draft. Denisenko has no goals and seven assists in 33 career NHL games, but has been good in the AHL as he represented the Pacific Division at the recent 2025 AHL All-Star Game. We wish him all the best in his future.
- Finally, in PWHL news, Boston Fleet beat the New York Sires 4 to 1, as Hilary Knight scored two goals and Aerin Frankel made 35 saves making it Boston’s 4th straight win in the Professional Women’s Hockey League season series. Edmonton also hosted a game at Roger’s Place where the Toronto Sceptres took on the Ottawa Charge. This was a fun atmosphere and there was a lot of speculation about Edmonton itself being a place for a future PWHL team. We will see if this takes place.
- As always, there is a lot more news so make sure to tune in for our aired Season 6, Episode 22 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’
