Can you smell that? That funky, yet wonderful aroma? It smells good, doesn’t it? You know what that smell is? That’s the smell of hockey season, folks! Ok, perhaps “good smelling” and “hockey” don’t typically go together all that well, but nonetheless, it’s in the air. Kraken players are making last-minute preparations and will be descending upon the Emerald City in the coming weeks, as the team’s inaugural training camp is just around the corner. In fact, believe it or not, the first preseason games in team history will be played THIS MONTH!
We’re almost there, gang. And while the hockey world has been largely dormant for the past month, there have been a few things happening of late. We fill you in on what you may have missed on this latest edition of Weekly One-Timers.
Seattle Kraken News
Kraken sign Riley Sheahan
The Kraken continued adding to their stockpile of veteran depth players on one-year deals this week, signing 29-year-old forward Riley Sheahan to a contract worth $850K. The 6-foot-2, 216 pounder won’t be a top-six guy, but he can provide some center help to the checking line and win faceoffs. He also kills penalties, so there’s some value there. How Sheahan slots in remains to be seen, but we could envision him centering Seattle’s fourth line for much of the season or serving as an extra forward for when injuries happen.
Sheahan has never produced big numbers offensively and is coming off a season in Buffalo in which he notched just four goals in 53 games. So, he isn’t here to fill up the opposing team’s net. Says Ron Francis via press release, “His versatility, strong penalty-killing ability, and skill in the faceoff circle make him a valuable addition to our forward group.”
So, there you go. He’s a depth guy who can play in the middle. Sheahan has 566 career NHL games under his belt with the Red Wings, Penguins, Panthers, Oilers, and Sabres. He has 70 career goals and 107 assists, and he is slightly above 50 percent in the faceoff circle, with his best season at the dot coming in 2018-19 when he won 54.93 percent of his draws.
Kraken sign Gustav Olofsson
This one actually happened last week, but we haven’t had a WOT article since then, so we will mention it. The Kraken also brought defenseman Gustav Olofsson, 26, into the fold on yet another one-year deal worth $750K. The Colorado College and Green Bay Gamblers (USHL) alumnus was once a highly regarded prospect in the Minnesota Wild organization. But multiple serious shoulder and knee injuries derailed things for him right when it looked like he was about to break the NHL lineup full time.
In all, Olofsson has 59 career NHL games with 11 assists. He played last season for the Laval Rocket of the AHL, where he notched a goal and 11 assists in 24 games.
Seattle Thunderbird Thomas Milic invited to Kraken camp
Thunderbird netminder Thomas Milic, 18, received an invitation to make the trek up I-5 from Kent for Seattle Kraken training camp, slated to start Sept. 22. Milic was named the WHL U.S. Division’s rookie of the year last season, with 2.74 goals against average and .913 save percentage in nine games. He also allowed just one goal in two games for Team Canada at the U18 World Championship in the spring.
Milic did not get selected in the 2021 NHL Entry Draft, but he still has two years of eligibility. Kraken training camp gives him a chance to elevate his status as an NHL prospect and helps Seattle by having a warm body to fill a goal crease.
Jerseys becoming available
A few fans who signed up for a WaFd Bank account in conjunction with their season ticket plans have already received their personalized Kraken jerseys.
This lettering choice was a no-brainer for me. In what is both coincidence and possibly destiny, the very first hockey jersey I ever wore (roller hockey in 4th grade) was "Buxton 32". pic.twitter.com/I0qeYReowI
What we learned from the early release is that the Kraken will wear a neat little inaugural season patch, which features some sea, some sky, and some Mount Rainier. As far as patches go, it’s pretty cool!
Jerseys go on sale for the general public starting on Sept. 15.
USA takes silver at Women’s Worlds
After having the event canceled and/or postponed two separate times, it was great to see the IIHF Women’s World Championship finally get played out. The tournament did not disappoint, as heated rivals Team USA and Team Canada advanced to the the gold medal game and went to three-on-three overtime.
Things were looking good for the Americans in the early going of the pivotal contest, as they jumped out to a 2-0 lead thanks to two greasy netmouth rebound goals by Alex Carpenter. But the pesky Canadians clawed their way back to level the score midway through the second period. Ann-Renée Desbiens made some great saves down the stretch to carry her squad into the extra frame, where the legendary Marie-Philip Poulin sniped home a game winner that only she knew had gone in.
By the way, we at Sound Of Hockey are big fans of 20-minute three-on-three sessions. Holy cats!
Canadian Blayre Turnbull reportedly broke her fibula while celebrating the gold medal win, but then stayed on the ice on a stretcher to celebrate. #HockeyPerson
The NHL will participate in the Olympics after all! We weren’t particularly surprised to hear this, being that Seattle will play just three games in the entire month of February after the league built a long break into the schedule. But after the league skipped the last Games, we were still hesitant to make assumptions. This is great news for hockey fans all around the world. Nations will submit their “long lists” in mid-October, and final rosters will be announced in January.
Philipp Grubauer (Germany) and Alexander True (Denmark) are the most likely Seattle Kraken players to represent their respective countries at these Olympics.
UAA hockey program saved
The University of Alaska Anchorage hockey program has been saved! After a wild ride and an incredible fundraising campaign, Save Seawolf Hockey reached its $3 million goal, and UAA announced that it would reinstate the program for the 2022-23 season. Read all about the remarkable efforts of campaign chairperson Kathie Bethard here.
Jason Payne hired as only Black head coach in North American pro hockey
The Cincinnati Cyclones of the ECHL hired Jason Payne this week as their head coach. Payne becomes the only Black head coach in North American professional hockey. The Cyclones are also the only pro hockey team with a female general manager, and they are the same organization from which the Kraken hired Everett Fitzhugh to be the NHL’s first Black play-by-play voice. Payne, 45, was previously the team’s assistant coach and played a 14-year pro career.
Coyotes make arena bid
After effectively being booted out of Gila River Arena by the City of Glendale, the Arizona Coyotes have been seeking a long-term arena solution in the Phoenix area. This week, the organization submitted a bid to build a new arena in Tempe, a very positive first step in the process. Under their current agreement with Glendale, the Coyotes can only play one more season at Gila River Arena. So if this bid—which will likely require several months of review—gets approved by Tempe, the team will still be without a home starting in 2022-23 and will need to find a temporary venue.
NHL not messing around with anti-vaxxers
The NHL rolled out its COVID protocols for players and staff this week. The league and the NHLPA agreed on the rules, which do not mess around with those who are choosing to not get vaccinated. There will be monetary loss for unvaccinated players who miss time due to infection or close contact with positive cases, and the experiences between vaccinated and unvaccinated players will be very different. Elliotte Friedman had a good rundown of the protocols here. Michael Russo also reports that approximately 95% of NHL players are fully vaccinated.
Darren Brown is the Chief Content Officer at Sound Of Hockey and the host, producer, and editor of the Sound Of Hockey Podcast. He is an inconsistent beer league goalie who believes that five players have to make a mistake before the puck gets to him. Follow him on Twitter @DarrenFunBrown or email darren@soundofhockey.com.
As far as the Seattle Kraken are concerned, it was a mostly quiet week from the organization. However, there was a rather large—albeit expected—Kraken-related bombshell dropped by the University of Michigan. In a strangely timed Friday evening news dump, the school confirmed that Seattle’s No. 2 overall selection in this year’s NHL Entry Draft, Matty Beniers, will return to the school for his sophomore season.
We dig into that Beniers news and plenty more in this week’s edition of Weekly One-Timers.
Matty Beniers returns to Michigan
Beniers joins No. 1 pick Owen Power (Buffalo) and No. 5 pick Kent Johnson (Columbus) back in Ann Arbor for the trio’s second season together.
And lest you forget, No. 4 overall pick Luke Hughes (New Jersey) is an incoming freshman for the Wolverines this year, and they still have guys like John Beecher (No. 30 overall in 2019), Thomas Bordeleau (No. 38 overall in 2020), and Brendan Brisson (No. 29 overall in 2020). So, rightfully, every pundit in the hockey world will surely be choosing Michigan as the odds-on favorite to win the national championship.
This is the whole point for Beniers deciding not to immediately join Seattle. The Wolverines had the misfortune of a COVID outbreak prematurely ending last season on the eve of the NCAA Tournament for a group that was already among the favorites to reach the Frozen Four. Now bring back all that great talent and add in Hughes, and this has the makings of one of the best college hockey teams of all time.
Plus, after one year of college hockey with no fans in the stands, a drastically altered schedule, and heavy restrictions throughout, we’ve heard the future Kraken center talk about how he hasn’t gotten the true college experience yet.
Is it disappointing that we won’t see Beniers in training camp and fighting to be a part of the Kraken roster all season long? Of course. Is it surprising that this was his decision? Certainly not.
Our guess here at Sound Of Hockey is that Beniers and his highly drafted brethren will all jump ship as soon as Michigan’s season ends, meaning you should still get a chance to see the touted prospect at Climate Pledge Arena at least a few times in the spring.
Kraken add goalie depth
Another bit of Kraken news this week was the signing of netminder Antoine Bibeau to a one-year, two-way contract worth $750K at the NHL level. Bibeau is certainly bound for the minor leagues, barring injuries to Philipp Grubauer or Chris Driedger. He does have four games of NHL experience for the Maple Leafs and Avalanche and is 2-1-0 in his career. At the AHL level, he has a career record of 100-64-28 with a 2.74 goals against average and .907 save percentage.
Of course, the Kraken also have Joey Daccord in the fold, and they will share their AHL affiliate Charlotte Checkers with the Florida Panthers—who will have goalie prospects of their own needing time—so it will be interesting to see how Bibeau actually slots in as the season plays out.
Kole Lind jumps on a tire for some reason
Kole Lind, the 22-year-old forward prospect selected by the Kraken in the Expansion Draft from Vancouver, posted a video of himself wearing skates and jumping onto a tire this week.
We at SOH have a lot of questions for Lind. They are:
Why?
How?
Huh?
Whu?
What the…?
WHY?!
Call me cynical, but I feel like it’s possible to get the same results by jumping onto something that won’t roll away if Lind were to land a centimeter off in any direction, potentially causing serious injury. Nonetheless, this is a pretty good party trick.
King Henrik announces his retirement
Our 15-year swoonfest has ended. Perhaps the dreamiest goalie to ever don the pads has announced that he has officially hung them up for good.
Breathtaking good looks aside, Lundqvist truly was a remarkable talent in net. I recall seeing him in person for the first time in a game against the Detroit Red Wings at Madison Square Garden during the 2009-10 season.
I remember being surprised by how deep he played in the crease, practically never leaving his goal line. He got away with it because he had this wide stance that nearly spanned the entire bottom of the net from post to post, and his ability to react to shots was as good as any netminder I’ve ever seen. Growing up, I was taught to always play at the top of the crease to take away angles from shooters, so it was fascinating to see a netminder have such profound success with that style.
That night, the Rangers won, and the fans chanted, “Hen-reek! Hen-reek!” about a half-dozen times as the King stood on his head throughout.
It’s also interesting to note that although Lundqvist signed a one-year deal with the Washington Capitals last season, his scary cardiac diagnosis and ensuing open-heart surgery meant that he actually did end up playing his entire career with the Blueshirts.
In all, Lundqvist posted a career record of 459-310-96 with a 2.43 goals against average and .918 save percentage. He led the Rangers to the Stanley Cup Final in 2014 and backstopped Team Sweden to Olympic gold in Turin in 2006. He is a shoo-in first-ballot Hall of Famer, and the Rangers have already confirmed that his No. 30 will be hoisted to the MSG rafters this season.
By the way, 30 is a pretty common goalie number, so in a way, it was a bit selfish of Lundqvist to choose it way back when he began his NHL career. He clearly knew that he would become one of the best netminders ever and his jersey would eventually be retired, taking a coveted numerical option away from many future Ranger backstops.
But I digress. Congratulations Henrik on an incredible career. I’m sure you are reading this.
Chris Pronger jersey retirement
Speaking of jerseys being hoisted to the rafters, the St. Louis Blues announced that they will retire No. 44 this season.
SAVE THE DATE! No. 44 will be raised to the rafters on Jan. 17, 2022. https://t.co/RpusaohT7R
We at SOH were surprised to see it wasn’t the Arizona Coyotes who would be retiring Chris Pronger’s number.
Coyotes booted out of Gila River Arena
Speaking of the Coyotes, the City of Glendale announced this week that they are no longer seeking an extension of their lease agreement with the club beyond the 2021-22 season.
Some have said it’s a negotiating tactic, but others have said it’s truly the end of the road for the team at Gila River Arena, and the Coyotes will need to find a new home after this season. Katie Strang had a great rundown of the situation in The Athletic. She also had reported on the toxic situation playing out between the Coyotes and their vendors back in February, and that certainly is a factor here.
Where does this organization go next? Gary Bettman has stated he expects the team to remain in the Phoenix area, but you can bet there are other markets out there—namely Quebec City, Houston, and Kansas City—that are salivating over the developing situation in the desert.
Team USA off to good start at Women’s Worlds
The IIHF Women’s World Championship got underway this week in Calgary, and Team USA dominated Switzerland en route to a 3-0 victory on Friday. The Americans got goals from Brianna Decker, Kendall Coyne Schofield, and Grace Zumwinkle.
Darren Brown is the Chief Content Officer at Sound Of Hockey and the host, producer, and editor of the Sound Of Hockey Podcast. He is an inconsistent beer league goalie who believes that five players have to make a mistake before the puck gets to him. Follow him on Twitter @DarrenFunBrown or email darren@soundofhockey.com.
We did it, team! We made it through the 110-degree heat that suffocated our region and had more than 50 percent of us wishing that we had at some point bucked the Emerald City trend of not having air conditioning. If the unparalleled heatwave had arrived last week, at least the Seattle Kraken hiring a head coach in Dave Hakstol and a TV color commentator in JT Brown would have provided a distraction.
Instead, the fiery heat of 1,000 suns torched our region in a relatively quiet week for the Kraken, when all we could do was sweat and daydream about the artificial chill of an ice arena.
The good news is that the peak levels of swass are behind us, 4th of July weekend is upon us, and we are just 19 days away from the Seattle Kraken Expansion Draft. Holy guacamole!
Kraken Community Iceplex
Hey, speaking of ice arenas, the Seattle Kraken training center at Northgate brought to you by hockey (or whatever it was previously being called) officially has a slightly more concise name now!
The team has partnered with Starbucks as its “Community Impact Partner to strengthen the community and advance inclusion and equity in Seattle.” Apparently part of that partnership means renaming the practice facility the Kraken Community Iceplex. It also means that said iceplex will have a Starbucks Community Store as one of its many amenities.
Rendering of exterior of the newly named Kraken Community Iceplex, opening in September (source: Seattle Kraken).
The word “iceplex” does have a pretty good ring to it. It’s like a complex, but it’s centered around ice. It’s an iceplex.
The partnership with Starbucks is interesting too. The coffee giant has tried to demonstrate that it cares about its community, so it’s no surprise that everything mentioned in the team’s press release about the partnership is focused on diversity, equity, and Seattle pride.
Rendering of Starbucks Community Store at Kraken Community Iceplex (source: Seattle Kraken).
UW to play its home games at Kraken Community Iceplex
One other small nugget of Seattle-centric hockey news this week was that the University of Washington’s club hockey team will begin playing its home games at the Kraken Community Iceplex this coming season. The Huskies, who compete in the ACHA, previously played their home games at Olympic View Arena in Mountlake Terrace.
The new arena is much closer to campus and obviously will provide a more modern game-day experience for players and fans alike.
We are excited to announce that we will be playing out of the Seattle Kraken’s practice facility in Northgate starting the 2021-22 season!#huskyicehockeypic.twitter.com/ZWckkuEiqa
Pre-Seattle Kraken Expansion Draft trade rumors heating up
Some Seattle Kraken trade rumors started swirling this week. The first one revolved around Duncan Keith’s status as a Chicago Blackhawk. Elliotte Friedman surmised that a trade could be brewing to send the three-time Stanley Cup winner to “either the Pacific Northwest or western Canada.”
There are rumblings Chicago is working on a potential Duncan Keith trade to either the Pacific Northwest or Western Canada. Word is Keith and team are working together to get him to a place he wants to go. We will see where this goes.
Keith has familial ties to this area of the continent, and reports indicate that the Blackhawks are trying to work with him to find a suitable landing spot. Keith has a full no-movement clause, so he can veto any trade he doesn’t like.
Keith has just two years left at a $5.5 million cap hit, but the real dollars left are quite low at $3.6 million total remaining to be paid. If there’s a sweetener thrown in to get the Kraken to take that cap hit, it makes a ton of sense to throw Keith onto the second pairing on the Kraken blue line. Keith’s kid lives in Canada, though, so north of the border is probably preferable for him.
There have also been unsubstantiated rumors flying around on Twitter that the Kraken are interested in Jake Voracek from the Flyers. Hakstol did coach Voracek, but man, at an $8.25 million annual cap hit through 2023-24, Philadelphia better be giving up its kitchen sink to get Seattle to take that on. Voracek’s production has also waned pretty dramatically in recent years, so I just don’t see it.
Meanwhile, the Nashville Predators have traded one of their core forwards, Viktor Arvidsson, to the Los Angeles Kings for a second-round pick in this year’s draft and a third-round pick next year. On paper it feels like a great deal for the Kings, who are trying to kickstart their rebuild.
Arvidsson, 28, is just two years removed from a 34-goal season, but he has been dealing with a lot of injuries of late that have greatly hampered his production. His addition to the roster means LA will likely have to expose either Blake Lizotte or Lias Andersson in the Seattle Kraken Expansion Draft.
More coaches hired around the NHL
After the Kraken hired Hakstol last week, the Buffalo Sabres and Arizona Coyotes each named their bench bosses for the foreseeable future.
The Sabres have removed the interim tag from Don Granato, who did seem to have a calming influence on that organization, though the team only went 9-16-3 under his watch this season. Still, he’s a well-respected hockey man who has been through the grind of coaching at every level of the sport and survived Hodgkin’s lymphoma, so you can’t help feeling good for the guy.
The Sabres made the announcement in a pretty great way on social media.
Meanwhile, in the desert, the Coyotes went off the board a bit with their hiring of André “Bear” Tourigny as their head coach after parting ways with Rick Tocchet in May. Tourigny spent the last three seasons behind the bench of the Ottawa 67’s in the Ontario Hockey League and also coached Team Canada to silver at the 2021 World Junior Championships.
If you texted Bear to wish him congratulations, it may be a little while before you hear back.
I think I’m running late a little. Sorry everyone who I didn’t get back to yet. I’m on it pic.twitter.com/5WexKWYZLd
Former players Alex Tanguay and Tuomo Ruutu were also hired as assistant coaches in Detroit and Florida, respectively this week.
Around the boards
The Montreal Canadiens, playing in their first Stanley Cup Final since 1993, asked if they could increase the number of fans allowed into the Bell Centre for the remainder of the series from 3,500 to 10,500. The request was denied by the Quebec Public Health authorities. The decision is a tad ironic, considering thousands of fans are allowed to stand shoulder to shoulder in the streets to watch the games, but that’s neither here nor there.
— CBC Newfoundland and Labrador (@CBCNL) July 2, 2021
Jonathan Toews was back in the public eye for the first time this week since the Blackhawks announced at the beginning of the 2020-21 season that he was dealing with a mysterious illness that caused him to sit out for the entirety of the campaign.
I wasn’t too vocal about the things I went through this year. I appreciate the understanding and support and wanted to share this message on where I’m at. pic.twitter.com/3qgftKki10
I don’t know what chronic immune response syndrome is, but I know I don’t want it.
The big individual NHL Awards were announced this week. If you listen to the Sound Of Hockey Podcast, you will understand when I say that the only award that matters, of course, is the Calder Trophy. Minnesota’s Kirill Kaprizov won the rookie of the year award with 99 first-place votes, the biggest landslide victory since Teemu Selanne in 1992-93. Imagine being the one writer who didn’t vote for Kirill. OK, but seriously, the full list of winners can be found here.
ESPN announced its full lineup of hockey broadcasters and reporters in a video that will surely hype you up. No Gary Thorne, but still, some pretty incredible names in here.
Darren Brown is the Chief Content Officer at Sound Of Hockey and the host, producer, and editor of the Sound Of Hockey Podcast. He is an inconsistent beer league goalie who believes that five players have to make a mistake before the puck gets to him. Follow him on Twitter @DarrenFunBrown or email darren@soundofhockey.com.
The dominoes are falling. With the Expansion Draft just over a month away and the semifinals of the NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs in full swing, things really are heating up in the search for the first head coach of the Seattle Kraken.
Seattle Kraken head coach search
It has long been stated by Seattle Kraken general manager Ron Francis that the head coach hiring process hinges on who might be available after the conclusion of the NHL season. He has also held firm that the team hopes to have a coach in place by the end of the second quarter of the year.
Sure, there are still four teams playing, but the chances of the remaining coaches—Barry Trotz, Jon Cooper, Pete DeBoer, or Dominique Ducharme—becoming available are nil at this point. In a way, we’ve really crossed the “season is over” threshold, because the field of available coaches is set, barring any additional firings in the coming days. And as for the “second quarter” timeframe? Well, I’m no calendar expert, but I believe the second quarter ends in 12 days.
We at SOH believe that Rod Brind’Amour was the lynchpin of the “wait for who is available” hold-up and was absolutely Plan A for Seattle. Brind’Amour had been in dragged-out contract negotiations with the Hurricanes for months. So we surmised that Francis may have been hoping to lure the newly named Jack Adams Award winner away from the franchise and community to which he is so closely connected, even as it was continuously being reported that Brind’Amour was close to signing a new deal.
What’s Plan B for the Seattle Kraken head coach search?
We at SOH also think it is not a coincidence that news broke on Thursday that Rick Tocchet is being granted a third interview for the Seattle Kraken head coach position.
Sounds like Rick Tocchet has a third meeting scheduled with the Seattle Kraken. Nothing done, but seems like a good omen for him.
If Brind’Amour really was Plan A, then certainly Francis and his staff had been thinking through some other options in case Rod the Bod did end up keeping his rippling abs in Carolina.
Rod Brind’Amour has rippling abs.
Plan B is now being kicked into high gear. Tocchet, former head coach of the Arizona Coyotes, is an obvious fit for the role as well, so his progress through the interview process comes as no surprise. And what about David Quinn? Could he be given a shot?
Our own Jim Wilkie did a great rundown on all the candidates back in May, so give that a read to bring yourself up to speed on everyone who could be considered for the position.
Whether it ends up being Tocchet or somebody else, it does feel like a Seattle Kraken head coach hire is imminent.
Other Seattle Kraken news
The Kraken are continuing to demonstrate that they are well aware their market expands beyond the borders of Washington State. This week, the team announced a partnership with Bristol Bay Native Corporation. According to the release, “Bristol Bay will be prominently represented throughout Climate Pledge Arena on hundreds of TV screens and the arena’s LED rings for arena visitors, on the main scoreboards during televised games, at the state-of-the-art Kraken training center, and at one of the arena’s prime marketplaces.”
BBNC is a for-profit corporation that converts those profits into benefits for its shareholders. The mission of the organization is to encourage its shareholders to pursue educational opportunities and to promote and preserve cultural heritage.
“Would You Rather?” Round 2 results
This week, we had a second round of Expansion Draft “Would You Rather?” on soundofhockey.com. I gave John Barr a bit of grief for this one because by including a goalie in the field, even some light Googling could have revealed that Team 3 was clearly the Washington Capitals. But that’s neither here nor there.
Here are the results:
Blackhawks sued again for sexual assault cover-up during 2009-10 season
This is a terrible story, and one that is continuing to develop. The Chicago Blackhawks now face a second lawsuit for not properly addressing allegations of sexual assault by former video coach Bradley Dale Aldrich on a player during the 2009-10 season.
This new lawsuit comes from a former high school hockey player in Michigan and alleges that because the Blackhawks did not act on the aforementioned assault in 2009-10, Aldrich was allowed to remain in hockey circles. Aldrich later assaulted this new plaintiff in 2013 and was eventually sentenced to six months in jail and five years of probation for his crime.
Stephen Johns has been dealing with severe depression after repeated concussions ended his hockey career prematurely. He has decided to take control over his life and his mental health by embarking on a remarkable journey to rollerblade and road trip across the United States, making a movie about it along the way. Johns aims to “help others facing their own battles,” as he puts in countless “Mental Miles.” Very cool.
The WHL has announced an October 1 start date, with a full 68-game season planned for all teams. The main caveat to this otherwise normal-looking season for the Dub is that there will be no crossover play between the Eastern Conference and Western Conference. Other than that, Everett Silvertips and Seattle Thunderbirds fans should be fully back in business this fall.
Palate cleanser
Is Jimmy Fallon just pretending to be a New York Islanders fan for attention? Friend of the Sound Of Hockey Podcast, ESPN’s Greg Wyshynski, investigates.
Jimmy Fallon is here. I couldn't get a photo of him on the Jumbotron so I'll just use this older image of him at a New York game. pic.twitter.com/LBbIkMkgg2
I'm so sorry, I tried to get another picture but it was blurry so here he is in one of his New York jerseys photo-bombing Jessica Chastain. pic.twitter.com/qD8fWvUXhH
Ralph Maccio does come across as a true Isles fan, though, doesn’t he?
Darren Brown is the Chief Content Officer at Sound Of Hockey and the host, producer, and editor of the Sound Of Hockey Podcast. He is an inconsistent beer league goalie who believes that five players have to make a mistake before the puck gets to him. Follow him on Twitter @DarrenFunBrown or email darren@soundofhockey.com.
It turns out the NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs really are exciting after all! Who knew?! What a wild week it has been in the NHL, as all four second-round series of the Stanley Cup Playoffs were put to rest without a single Game 7 being reached. While it was a bit disappointing that there wasn’t a Game 7 this time, the second round did not lack excitement or intensity.
On to the Conference Finals Stanley Cup Semifinals (apparently we aren’t calling it the Conference Finals this year because there technically aren’t conferences)!
The second round of the NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs in a nutshell
The Montreal Canadiens continued their shocking run with a sweep of the Jets and are now set to become the first Canadian (Canadien?) team to cross the border into the United States since the pandemic started.
Remember when Mike Milbury called that thing the Space Needle?
The Tampa Bay Lightning continue to defend their crown while playing fast and loose with the salary cap, which no longer exists during the NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs. Carolina’s Dougie Hamilton isn’t thrilled about the brilliant finagling that the Bolts have done, complaining to the media on Thursday, “We lost to a team that’s $18 million over the cap.” Sure, Dougie, but those are the rules, and with the Lightning being that far over the cap currently, they will be absolutely screwed for the Expansion Draft, so we Seattleites are just fine with it.
The hockey world continues to sleep on the New York Islanders year in and year out. People seem to forget that they reached the Conference Finals last season and are still coached by Barry Trotz, a darn good coach, and managed by Lou Lamoriello, a darn good manager.
People are over the moon for this team on Long Island, and even co-owner Jon Ledecky is getting in on the fun.
In retrospect, Bruce Cassidy referring to the Islanders as the “New York Saints” after Game 5 was a huge mistake because it seemed to galvanize this team and its fanbase even more, and it cost Cassidy $25,000 in fines.
And we can’t forget the Vegas Golden Knights who closed out Colorado in impressive style on Thursday, capping yet another disappointing postseason for the usually electrifying Avalanche. Maybe the Avs were just thinking too much?
Anyway, I personally don’t think the issue was that the Avalanche were thinking too much. I think the issue was that they kept wearing those heinous blue pants all season long.
32 Bar & Grill
After getting sued for initially naming the restaurant at the Kraken Training Center the Kraken Bar & Grill, the Seattle Kraken have announced a new name for the establishment. The 32 Bar & Grill does have a nice ring to it, and frankly I like this better than “Kraken Bar & Grill.”
As my beer league team and I were standing in the parking lot of Lynnwood Arena drinking a couple pops after a late-night game earlier this week, we were discussing how great it will be to have an actual on-site bar to go into following those tough contests in the future.
We’re definitely pumped to have a few naughty waters at this place!
Sound Of Hockey’s own John Barr put together a fun exercise earlier this week, a “Would You Rather” for a few teams that will be participating in the Seattle Kraken Expansion Draft. In that exercise, John gave a choice of three players from each of the three teams and shared some basic information about them. The catch was that he withheld the players’ names and asked fans to tell us who they would select in the Seattle Kraken Expansion Draft based solely on the information provided.
We had a huge response from readers, which was awesome to see. Thank you to all who participated.
Here are the results and the revelation of who the players were.
I’ll be honest, there are more Tanner Jeannot stans reading Sound Of Hockey than I realized.
Columbus promotes former assistant coach
The Blue Jackets have promoted from within to fill the vacancy left by former head coach John Tortorella. After seven seasons as an assistant, Brad Larsen, 43, becomes the eighth head coach in franchise history.
“I couldn’t be happier for Brad and his family. He’s coached me my whole career, since I played in (AHL) Springfield, and has earned this opportunity. As soon as we found out Torts wouldn’t be back, I knew (Larsen) would be the right man for the job."
Some familiar faces from around the Seattle metropolitan area will be back in the WHL next season, but with teams north of the border. Former Everett general manager Garry Davidson was named Director of Player Personnel for the Calgary Hitmen after nine seasons at the helm of the Silvertips. It had been announced in May that Davidson would not be returning to Everett in what turned out to be a cost-cutting move.
Meanwhile, friend of the Sound Of Hockey Podcast Steve Konowalchuk has been hired as the head coach of the Red Deer Rebels. Konowalchuk coached the Seattle Thunderbirds from 2011-2017 and led the T-Birds to a WHL championship in 2016-17.
Also, ho hum, Silvertips netminder Dustin Wolf won another major award, the Del Wilson Memorial Trophy as the WHL goalie of the year. This is the second time Wolf has won this prestigious prize, and it was well deserved after the Calgary Flames prospect posted a record of 18-3-0 with a 1.80 goals against average and .940 save percentage.
Around the boards
Taya Currie, a 16-year-old netminder, made history this week by becoming the first female ever drafted to the OHL. Selected in the fourteenth round by the Sarnia Sting, Currie now has an opportunity to follow in the footsteps of the legendary Manon Rheaume, who broke the gender barrier in both the QMJHL and the NHL, and Shannon Szabados, who once had a brief stint with the Tri-City Americans in the WHL.
Finalists for the biggest individual NHL awards were announced this week. Connor McDavid, Nathan MacKinnon, and Auston Matthews make up the field for the Hart Trophy. Andrei Vasilevskiy, Marc-Andre Fleury, and Philipp Grubauer are in the running for the Vezina Trophy, while Adam Fox, Victor Hedman, and Cale Makar are the finalists for the Norris Trophy. The full list of awards finalists can be found here.
Palate cleanser
This has quickly become one of my favorite GIFs of all time:
— mostly wish i cheered for some other team (@mostlyleafies) June 7, 2021
Darren Brown is the Chief Content Officer at Sound Of Hockey and the host, producer, and editor of the Sound Of Hockey Podcast. He is an inconsistent beer league goalie who believes that five players have to make a mistake before the puck gets to him. Follow him on Twitter @DarrenFunBrown or email darren@soundofhockey.com.
The first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs is all but wrapped up, with just one series still underway. It has been a doozy of an opening foray into the postseason, with everything you could possibly want from goalie duels (what most fans are obviously seeking) to high-scoring affairs. And for those of us in Seattle, it is impossible not to daydream about the fact that the Kraken could very well be participating in this tournament just one year from now.
Seattle Kraken news
While you’re attending said playoffs next season, it’s totally within the realm of possibility that you’ll work up an appetite while screaming your face off, drinking your $12 Coors Lights (we don’t actually know the prices of beers, but we assume they will be high), and relentlessly swinging your Tentacle Towel (patent pending) around your head. Well, fear not for hunger, because the Kraken and Climate Pledge Arena announced a few of their food vendors this week, and the options are going to be pretty legit.
Introducing The Climate Collective, where we believe food should be genuine, delicious, innovative, and invite all #SeaKraken fans and guests to take a seat #UnderOurRoof.
Who doesn’t want some Din Tai Fung soup dumplings at intermission?
AHL arena groundbreaking set for June 2
It feels like it has been a long time since we’ve had any update on arena construction for the Kraken’s top minor-league affiliate in Palm Springs. There has finally been some publicly visible progress this week, as Oak View Group has planned a groundbreaking ceremony for Wednesday, June 2.
The Coachella Valley Arena is expected to cost $277 million and will have a capacity of up to 11,700, depending on the event.
Fitzhugh brings the… “heat”
Friend of the Sound Of Hockey Podcast and broadcaster for the Seattle Kraken, Everett Fitzhugh, threw out the first pitch at the Mariners game on Friday. Word around the campfire is he bounced it in low, but we won’t hold it against him.
Being a Wild fan is a sad and lonely place. Minnesota was ousted in classic first-round fashion Friday after an exciting series with the Vegas Golden Knights that went to a Game 7. Even I can see, though, that the hockey world has been clamoring for a Vegas-versus-Colorado matchup, and even I can admit that it has the makings for an all-time series. T-Mobile Arena in Vegas will also be back to 100% capacity, so prepare to have your face rocked off.
The other series matchups that have been set also have potential to provide incessant thrills. Top divisional seed Carolina takes on the defending champion Tampa Bay Lightning, while the Bruins will take on the Islanders, who have surprised once again. In the North, Winnipeg will face the winner of Toronto and Montreal, set to play Game 6 at 4:30 P.M. Pacific on Saturday and Game 7 (if necessary) on Monday.
All three U.S.-based series will get underway this weekend, with Boston and New York kicking things off at 5 P.M. Pacific on Saturday.
Gretzky signs on with Turner
It had been rumored for a while that Wayne Gretzky was considering joining one of the two new national rightsholders’ broadcast teams. The Great One did officially sign on this week as a studio analyst for a reported $3 million per season with Turner Sports after ESPN had also courted him. Gretzky had apparently been serving as vice chairman of the Edmonton Oilers (which few in the hockey world knew) and has stepped down from that role to accept the deal.
We at SOH are excited to see such an important voice in the hockey world coming back to the forefront, but we also wonder how engaging Gretzky will be. At the end of the day, we want the national coverage to bring enthusiasm, energy, and fun to the intermission shows, and those aren’t personality traits that immediately jump out when you listen to Gretzky speak. Still, he’s the best player of all time, and he’s done everything one can possibly do in the sport, so he should at least have some great insight.
Craig Morgan also reported that Darren Pang and Keith Jones have signed on with Turner. Holy jumpin’!
Also hearing that Turner has signed Darren Pang & Keith Jones. Heck of a team assembled at Turner. https://t.co/MRbEyYSo7E
There’s something exhilarating about donning the sweater of a visiting team and loudly cheering for them while in hostile territory. I’m not the “get drunk and fight people because their fandom doesn’t perfectly align with mine” type, but I am the “get drunk and talk a little smack to those around me without pushing too hard because I don’t want to get beaten up” type.
But how can you be that person if the visiting building has an asinine policy in place that doesn’t allow you to wear your team’s gear to the game?
Yes, Tampa Bay still had its controversial rule in place, introduced in 2015, that forbade opposing fans from wearing team gear in premium seating areas.
A Florida Panthers fan posted a video of himself and his 11-year-old son being approached by team security during the opening round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, and in the conversation one of the security officers goes so far as to threaten to bring in the Tampa Police Department.
Having visiting fans in your building is part of sports, and it adds to the intensity of an important game. What a ridiculous idea this was in the first place. Good riddance.
Robert Morris removing Men’s and Women’s Division I hockey programs
“Robert Morris University announced today it will no longer field NCAA Division I men’s and women’s ice hockey teams as part of a series of strategic initiatives intended to position the university to be amongst the most agile and professionally focused schools in the nation as it prepares for its upcoming 100th anniversary.”
Man, what an opening to a statement about eliminating a sports program that has helped hundreds of young men and women achieve their dreams.
We always root for hockey to succeed at every level and in every market. We also fully understand that universities have budgets, and hockey isn’t always the highest priority within those budgets (especially after a year like the one we’ve just experienced). But delivering such devastating news under the guise of a centennial celebration feature is quite the groin kick for current and former players, coaches, and staff of the program.
A petition to save Colonials Hockey gathered more than 16,000 signatures, but this sounds like a done deal, at least for now.
Around the boards
After a very scary incident last week involving the face of John Tavares and the knee of Corey Perry, the Toronto captain was back on the ice Thursday.
No matter who you are rooting for tonight, we can all agree that it’s AWESOME to see @91Tavares back on the ice today! ❤️pic.twitter.com/rbv491GzCH
There’s another Kraken in the neighborhood, as the Lake Cowichan Kraken are set to join the Vancouver Island Junior Hockey League as its tenth franchise. Nobody tell the Kraken Bar & Lounge.
Darren Brown is the Chief Content Officer at Sound Of Hockey and the host, producer, and editor of the Sound Of Hockey Podcast. He is an inconsistent beer league goalie who believes that five players have to make a mistake before the puck gets to him. Follow him on Twitter @DarrenFunBrown or email darren@soundofhockey.com.
