Hello Hockey fans,
Hope you all had a wonderful long weekend and enjoyed your time. We have some news from around the league:
1. The Calgary Flames promoted from within and have given former player Craig Conroy his first job as an NHL General Manager. Conroy, 51, from Potsdam, N.Y., was previously an assistant GM of the Flames for nine seasons and apprenticed under Brad Treliving, who departed the Flames in April after nine years. As a player, Conroy played 1,009 games during his NHL career and another 81 playoff games including the Flames 2004 Stanley Cup Finals. He has represented the United States at the 2004 World Cup and the 2006 Olympics and has been a finalist for the Selke Trophy on two occasions.
2. After a wild weekend of drama around the upper management for the Toronto Maple Leafs, it seems like former GM Kyle Dubas has released a statement about the ongoings with the failed negotiations with his former boss Brendan Shanahan. His response has been posted. Thoughts? There is discussion that Shanahan has begun the search for a veteran GM for the Toronto Maple Leafs and that there will be a lot of suitors, but that he has reached out to the Commissioner Gary Bettman for insight and advice. Toronto has a lot of work to work through and the big pressing one is surrounding Auston Matthews.
3. The Playoffs are in full swing and thus far the series are 3-0 for the Florida Panthers vs the Carolina Hurricanes, who have struggles to put the puck in the net only 3 goals in 3 games. There needs to be more from their players. But it is also hard to come back from a 3-0 series (as noted in the Toronto series). Sergei Brobovsky and Matthew Tkachuk have been unbelievable for the team and are both making a case for why they should be the Conn Smythe winners. On the Western front, Dallas just dropped to Vegas again last night at home, with Vegas now up 3-0 in the series. Like Carolina, Dallas needs more from their big guys like Tyler Seguin and Jamie Benn.
4. If you weren’t happy with only 2 series left in the playoffs, there is also World Hockey Championship happening and it has had it’s fill of news and drama. First, Norway upset Canada with shootout win, but also lost to Group B leader Switzerland on Saturday. Canada remains in third place in the group, one point behind Czechia and will have a tough hill to climb. To add salt to the wound, Joe Veleno suspended five games for kicking at hockey worlds kicking Switzerland captain Nino Niederreiter with a skate. This is very dangerous and I think the IIHF needs to crack down on such actions need to be removed from the game. We also are happy that Neiderreiter isn’t injured. Veleno is a prospect for the Detroit Red Wings organization.
5. Finally, the Memorial Cup is set to be held in Kamloops, British Columbia, from May 25 to June 4, 2023. The Memorial Cup is an annual Canadian Hockey League (CHL) tournament comprising of four teams, the WHL Champion, the OHL Champion, the QMJHL Champion and a host team. The final 4 teams that remain are the hosts: Kamloops Blazers, the WHL Champions: the Seattle Thunderbirds, the OHL Champions: Peterborough Petes and the QMJHL Champions: Quebec Remparts. Who will take it all?
Thoughts?
Pawel the ‘Cat’
