Welcome back hockey fans! Welcome to Week 10 of our news from around the world of hockey and around the league. It’s been a very busy week, and we have lots to get to, so let’s jump right in. The news from around the league this week:
- The Winnipeg Jets continue to be a dominant force on the ice. They just beat the Utah HC 3-0 and have been dominant all over the ice. The problem is that people are just not buying tickets to the game as often. It sounds like attendance is much stronger this year, after some concerns last year, but the building hasn’t been full beyond the game when they played the Toronto Maple Leafs, when Leaf fans come out to support their white and blue. Now the Jets organization is doing whatever they can to fill the building, but it is a slow process. We hope to see more Winnipeg Jets fans as they are an electric team with a lot of potential and it is a great market, but it is something to be monitored over the season.
- Speaking of the Maple Leafs, it came out this past week that superfan Maple Leafs fan Kurtis Stevenson, (or known as Kurtis From Alberta on Twitter) says he is being forced to stop videos over the beer choice he has in his videos. He has been reached out to by a team to cease making his videos unless “he drinks the beer of the sponsor of that team,” in a video post. It is an odd request but we will see how this moves forward, given the rise of social media stars online and on YouTube and how it grows the game.
- The Edmonton Oilers have announced that captain Connor McDavid will be back for tonight’s game against the Vegas Golden Knights after being sidelined with an ankle injury against the Columbus Blue Jackets which he sustained. The team is coming off a 3-0 loss to the New Jersey Devils but a 2-1 since McDavid was out. This will also hopefully impact their power play which has been struggling at 27th in the NHL with a 14.7%. This hopefully boosts the team as they are 6-6-1 and it isn’t the start the team wanted. The team also had a mini trade with the Philadelphia Flyers as they sent defenseman Ronnie Attard, one of their more promising prospects with Edmonton Oilers defenseman Ben Gleason. Both are AHL players but maybe they needed a change of scenery. We wish both players all the best with their new respective teams.
- The Nashville Predators have had a rough start to the season. They are 4-7-1 to start the season and it is hard to come back to the playoffs at .500 hockey given how many teams you have to leap over. Therefore in a recent radio interview with GM Barry Trotz, he noted how he was “pondering rebuild after a slow start” given where the team is at. This a big shock given how busy the Predators were in the off-season signing big names like Steven Stamkos and Jonathan Marchessault. It seems like things haven’t gelled well and the team is looking for all internal situations. This is also after their AHL affiliate team The Milwaukee Admirals are in first-place after winning 7 straight games. They are going well and so you wonder if Trotz is inclined in bringing in some of their young prospects like Reid Schaefer up for an opportunity to shake things up.
- There was a scary incident on the ice when the St. Louis Blues faced off against the Tampa Bay Lightning when winger Dylan Holloway was struck with a puck (near the neck area). He was taken to the hospital, and appears to be stable, but it was scary so we wish him all the best and hope to see him back on the ice soon. His family was in town to watch the game and stayed with him while at hospital. We have to remember this is a dangerous game and that the safety of all players (and personnel) is of utmost importance.
- Quinn Hughes continues to prove why he is one of the best defencemen in the game after a 3 assists night against the Anaheim Ducks where the team edged them 5 to 1 and reached another milestone: 300 in the NHL. He is the third fastest defenceman to do so, behind legends like Bobby Orr in 346 games and Brian Leetch in 368 games (that’s some elite company). The team continues to push as they also had a slow start and are now 6-2-3 and are looking to get back to their playoff form of last year. They also had Thatcher Demko partake in practice and take shots which is a good sign for the #1 netminder for the Canucks. We hope to see him back on the ice and in games sooner rather than later.
- The Boston Bruins have signed centre Tyler Johnson to a 1 year, $775,000 for this season. Johnson, 34, who played for the Blackhawks last year, and had 17 goals and 14 assists, came to Boston in the off-season on a PTO to see if he can get himself a contract. With the Bruins struggling this season, they hope that this can give them a boost moving forward in November. This comes off a loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs 4 to 0.
- As always, there is a lot more news so make sure to tune in for our aired Season 6, Episode 10 of Two Guys & Hockey Talk. We dive into some great topics and 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’
