Good morning Hockey fans,
Hope all is well with you. We are back with more news from around the league as we had a busy weekend of hockey.
- The LA Kings have fired head Todd McLellan for the team, according to Vice President and General Manager Rob Blake. McLellan, who has been the coach for the team since the 2019/2020 season, has helped the Kings be competitive and make the postseason in the last 2 seasons. They have also brought in D.J. Smith, as an assistant coach to help interim head coach Jim Hiller. The team will try to still change their fortune’s this season as they sit at 23-15-10 and have fallen out of the top contention for the Pacific. Will there be more changes coming?
- The Pittsburgh Penguins have signed Jesse Puljujarvi to a two-year, $1.6 million contract (with an AAV of $800,000). Puljujarvi, 25, who is coming off double hip surgery, came in on a PTO and it looks like he made an impression, especially playing with the AHL affiliate Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. We wish him all the best.
- Speaking of former Edmonton Oilers, it looks like the streak has ended after the Vegas Golden Knights ended their great run by beating them in the Fortress 3 to 1. It was an exciting game and the team will now focus on getting another streak going when they play the Anaheim Ducks.
- John Tavares, captain of the Toronto Maple Leafs, is now in a Court Battle with Canada Revenue Agency over $8 million that he owes in taxes, relating to his claims in 2018. This is being brought up after he signed a seven-year, $77 million contract with the Maple Leafs on July 1, 2018. A lot of that contract is bonus heavy, and it is due to the lower taxes that often American players have the luxury of, which is why a team like Toronto implement in order to entice players to play in Canada. We will see what happens, but this could have a precedence for all future Canadian franchise contracts.
- Brendan Dillon, of the Winnipeg Jets, will have a hearing soon for his illegal head check to Noel Acciari of the Pittsburgh Penguins. This comes after Pittsburgh beat Winnipeg 3 to 0. We will see what the punishment from Department of Player Safety will be.
- It also sounds like there will be some clarity about the Arizona Coyotes franchise, as there hasn’t been much public progress with getting started on a new arena. NHL commissioner Gary Bettman said at the All-Star Weekend, that the fate of the franchise in the desert would be “addressed” in the “next few weeks, and that there would be some direction set. This has been an ongoing saga, after Bettman noted there is interest in expansion (given the success of Seattle and Vegas) and due to the push of Utah Jazz owner Ryan Smith aggressively for a team in Salt Lake. We shall see what happens.
- The New York Rangers have terminated the contract mutually with Nick Bonino, after being placed on unconditional waivers. This comes after Bonino, 35, didn’t want to but did not want to report to the Rangers’ AHL affiliate Hartford Wolf Pack. Bonino, who plays centre, has only 1 goal and 4 assists, in 45 games this season. This might be the end, but we will see if any team signs him for another cheap contract.
- Finally, it has been announced that the Chicago Blackhawks will host the 2025 Winter Classic at Wrigley Field against the St.Louis Blues. This will be a fun event and we look forward to watching it.
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’
