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:
- After a wild game, Team Canada stuns Team USA by beating them 3-2 in Overtime to win their first ever 4 Nations Face-Off Championship Game. This was after Connor McDavid scored on Connor Hellebuyck. The tournament was a success, albeit there was some injuries, but it brought with it a whole new demographic of viewers and we will see how the Olympics shape up when they take place next year.
- Alex Ovechkin continues to defy Father time by scoring 30 goals in a season again (this one against the Calgary Flames for a one timer on the powerplay) for an NHL-record-extending 19th time in his 20-year career. Oveckin, 39, now has 883 career goals and is only 12 back of breaking Wayne Gretzky’s 894 mark of 894, which seemed unrealistic to make this year. But it appears that he can achieve this this year, and for sure a lot of hockey fans, along with Capital fans will be watching closely. They did lose to Calgary 3 to 1, but are still 38-12-8 and are now on top of the Metropolitan Division.
- Speaking of Alberta teams, the Edmonton Oilers have reclaimed veteran defenceman Travis Dermott on waivers from the Minnesota Wild after losing him to Minnesota a few months back. Dermott, 28, is without a point in 9 games with the Wild, but he also went without a point in 10 games with Edmonton prior to being waived. He is being brought in as the Oilers are on a 4 game losing streak and hope to change their fortunes as they face the Florida Panthers on Thursday night.
- In other NHL news, Commissioner Gary Bettman has reduced Minnesota Wild’s Ryan Hartman suspension from 10 games to 8 for slamming Tim Stutlze’s head to the ice. This is the first case in more than three years that Bettman reduced a suspension on appeal (last one being Jason Spezza in Dec. 2021), as he normally agrees with the suspension length determined by the NHL’s Department of Player Safety. We wonder if this will set a precedent.
- We also have a minor trade in the NHL with the Nashville Predators acquiring Jesse Ylonen from the Tampa Bay Lightning in exchange for forward Anthony Angello. Both players have spent most of their season in the AHL for their respective clubs. Ylonen, 25, was a 2nd-round pick of the Montreal Canadiens in 2018, has put up 8 goals and 9 assists in 47 games with the Syracuse Crunch this season and appeared in 59 games with the Canadiens last season. He has a cap hit of $775,000 this season. Angello, 28 on the other hand, has put up 7 goals and 7 assists in 41 games with the Milwaukee Admirals this season. He was drafted by the Pittsburgh Penguins in the 5th round of the 2014 draft. We wish them both all the best.
- Finally this weekend, we are getting the Stadium Series, with the Columbus Blue Jackets in their first ever outdoor game against the Detroit Red Wings at the Ohio State football, where there is an expected 90,000-plus fans in attendance. This will be a great opportunity for a team, hit with tragedy this year but still playing hard and being 28-22-8 this season and playing meaningful games this late in the season. This should be a great showcasing of the game and we hope you get a chance to watch it.
- The Trade deadline is almost upon us and a few names to keep an eye on are Erik Karlsoon, as it sounds that Kyle Dubas and the Pittsburgh Penguins are ready to move off of him. This comes after an article in the Athletic from Josh Yohe, who shared that if Kyle Dubas could, he would trade Karlsson “in a heartbeat.” The other is Mikko Rantanen, who the Carolina Hurricanes recently acquired and have made an offer to keep him long-term. According to some reports, the Hurricanes have offered Rantanen a contract in the range of $13 million to $14 million annually, when they met with Rantanen’s camp during the 4 Nations Face-Off break but as of now nothing is signed and Rantanen and his cap are deciding what is the best option for him. These 2 might be on the move along with some other players. There may be some movement as the deadline is set for next Friday, March 7, 2025. We will be interested to see what moves are made as there are many teams who may be buyers.
- As always, there is a lot more news so make sure to tune in for our aired Season 6, Episode 23 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’
