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:
- We now have two teams that have clinched the postseason, both the Washington Capitals and the Winnipeg Jets, who will be able to start preparing to compete for the Stanley Cup. We will have many more teams in the coming weeks clinching and setting out the matchups.
- Speaking of the Capitals, they have also re-signed Jakob Chychrun to an 8-year, $72 million contract (with an AAV of $9 million). Chychrun, 26 has put up a career high of 18 goals and 26 assists in 66 games this season. He also has a plus-24 rating and ranks first among NHL defensemen with 6 game-winning goals and has been an integral part of the Capitals run this season.
- As for the Winnipeg Jets, it sounds like Gabe Vilardi will be out on a week-to-week after suffering an upper-body injury. Vilardi, 25, has 27 goals and 34 assists in 71 games thi season. This will be a big loss for the Jets but they do have a lot of depth already in their organization and allow Vilardi to prepare for the postseason.
- NHL forward Pat Maroon has announced his plan to retire after the season. Maroon, 36, has played 839 career games with the Anaheim Ducks, Edmonton Oilers, New Jersey Devils, Blues, Tampa Bay Lightning, Minnesota Wild, Boston Bruins, and Blackhawks. During his career, he has won three Stanley Cups and has recorded 125 goals and 195 assists for 320 career points. Heck of a career, and we wish him all the best in his future after this season.
- John Tavares, 34 of the Toronto Maple Leafs is in the final year of his big contract. Although he is much older, there is discussion of him resigning with the team and given that he continues to produce (32 goals and 33 assists in 64 games) and most likely will resign with the team. What then does that contract look like when they still also have to re-sign Mitch Marner. Toronto has also signed centre Luke Haymes to a two-year contract. The 21-year-old most-recently played for Dartmouth College in the NCAA and put up 12 goals and 6 assists through 22 games in a season shortened by injury. He will play for the Toronto Marlies moving forward.
- The Columbus Blue Jackets have signed center Jack Williams to an entry level contract. Williams, 23, has been the captain for the Huskies and in the past 2 seasons, has put up 33 goals and 44 assists in 71 games. This is another great depth piece for the Blue Jackets.
- As always, there is a lot more news so make sure to tune in for our aired Season 6, Episode 27 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’
