Sometimes, hockey fans just need to express their feelings, especially during the NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs. I am a hockey fan. I am a long-suffering Minnesota Wild fan. Currently, my feelings are injured. If you happened to watch Game 3 of the Minnesota/Vegas series on Thursday, you understand that being a Wild fan really is a miserable state of being. After Minnesota jumped out to a 2-0 lead and dominated the first period, then appeared to take a three-goal lead, it felt like it was going to be smooth sailing. But wait! There’s an offside challenge! And it’s successful!
Boom. Back to 2-0.
Vegas predictably owned every inch of the ice the rest of the way, and Minnesota lost 5-2 while getting outshot 40-16 in total.
Sometimes I think I’m cursed as a sports fan. Sometimes I think I’m ready to throw 100 percent of my fandom behind the Seattle Kraken. Sometimes I think that me being a fan of the Kraken is actually the worst thing that could happen to that brand-new franchise that frankly does not deserve this brand of constant sports-induced agony.
Anyway, if you haven’t yet gathered, playoff hockey is here, and it’s been electric, with the highest of highs for some (Avalanche fans, Hurricanes fans, etc.) and the lowest of lows for others (Wild fans, Blues fans, et al).
Seattle Kraken news
After the big announcement last week that Seattle had signed its first ever player in Blainville-Boisbriand Armada center, Luke Henman, this was a much quieter week on the Kraken front.
Instead, we had just a couple of very small tidbits. The team unveiled some more details about its plans for youth programming at the new Kraken Training Center, and also announced a Covid vaccination pop-up at the Kraken Team Store at Chandler’s Cove on Tuesday, May 25. Get a shot and get 25% off on Kraken gear! How about that?
We are also happy to share that Seattle had a pretty good troll job on the Canucks this week, after that franchise continued its downward spiral into the abyss.
for everyone asking, yes, we are accepting applications for new fans. 😏
With the first round no deeper than Game 3 in any one individual series, it really does feel like we’ve already seen it all at this point. Goalie duels, back-and-forth affairs, overtime thrillers, you name it, we’ve already seen it. One can only hope that this riveting band of hockey continues as we move forward, and if history is any indicator… It will.
Imagine not being an NHL hockey fan during the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Scary moment in Toronto
The hockey world held its collective breath on Thursday when Toronto Maple Leafs captain John Tavares got hit in the neutral zone in Game 1 against the Montreal Canadiens, then fell awkwardly into Corey Perry’s knee. The video was downright scary, as medical staff rushed onto the ice and supported Tavares’s head while he went in and out of consciousness.
Tavares was eventually carried off on a stretcher and gave a thumbs up.
Toronto head coach Sheldon Keefe told media on Thursday night that Tavares was conscious and communicating and his test results were coming back “clear.”
The Canadiens came away with a surprising 2-1 victory to open the NHL Playoffs, thanks to a spectacular goal by Paul Byron.
With the NHL Playoffs in full swing, people tend to forget there’s another world-class tournament that happens around this time, in which the best of the rest all get together to try to prove that they are good at hockey, despite not being able to carry their respective NHL teams. Yes, the IIHF World Championship starts on Friday in Riga, Latvia.
What’s most interesting about this tournament, though, is that it often gives some top prospects an opportunity to compete against professional players on a big stage. This year is no different as draft-eligible forward Matty Beniers will suit up for Team USA, while his Michigan teammate Owen Power and Winnipeg Jets prospect Cole Perfetti will play for Canada.
Canucks prospect Michael DiPietro will also be there, sporting one hell of a look.
Canada gets underway Friday against Latvia at 10:15AM Pacific. Team USA will start against Finland on Saturday at 6:15AM Pacific. Most of the interesting matchups throughout the tournament will be on NHL Network.
Everett Silvertips part with GM
The Everett Silvertips announced on Thursday that they would not extend the contract of general manager Garry Davidson.
Here’s SOH’s resident Silvertips expert, Josh Horton, with his thoughts on the matter:
Also, Garry was such a pro. I don’t think I heard anyone say a bad word about him while I was on the Tips beat. Amazing person to work with from my perspective and it’s going to be weird thinking of him not at the helm in Everett.
The Silvertips and Davidson have been synonymous with one another, and Everett’s success as an organization is very much thanks to Davidson’s efforts over the years.
Around the boards
Speaking of hockey executives named Davidson (I just couldn’t resist that segue), the Blue Jackets hired John Davidson as president of hockey operations and alternate governor. Davidson was canned by the Rangers on May 5 in the midst of the Great Tom Wilson Fiasco of 2021. He had previously worked for the CBJ’s in the same role up until 2019, when he left to join the Rangers. Davidson re-kindles his connection with Columbus GM Jarmo Kekalainen, who also signed an extension with Columbus through the 2024-25 season.
Team USA legend Meghan Duggan was hired by the New Jersey Devils as a player development manager this week. Duggan, 33, has seven IIHF World Championship gold medals, two Olympic silvers, and one Olympic gold.
After a cross-up behind the net between Ilya Samsonov and Justin Schultz led the Capitals to a double-overtime loss to the Bruins in Game 3, Alex Ovechkin let (presumably) Samsonov have it. In times like these, it is important to remember that it is never the goalie’s fault.
Bad boys
Nazem Kadri has been offered an in-person hearing from the NHL after nearly taking Justin Faulk’s head off in Colorado’s Game 2 win over the Blues on Wednesday.
And speaking of the Great Tom Wilson Fiasco of 2021, I was texting with a Colorado fan about the Kadri hit on Thursday. He made a fair point that it’s hard to justify suspending for a split-second, blink-of-an-eye play like this when Wilson nearly smashing two players’ heads through the ice only earned him a $5,000 fine a couple weeks ago.
But the thing is, the NHL has absolutely set a precedent that it does not want this type of hit happening on its watch. Since the Department of Player Safety was established in 2011, it has been very consistent in always suspending for these Raffi-Torres-Matt-Cooke-lookin’-a$$ hits.
Kadri will absolutely miss a couple games for this one.
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.
You said there are no soap operas in the NHL, but holy cats, has this last week been a soap opera in the NHL. The cast of this week’s episode features the New York Rangers, the Washington Capitals, the NHL Department of Player Safety, Gary Bettman, George Parros, James Dolan, Jeff Gorton, John Davidson, Chris Drury, and—at the center of it all—Tom Wilson, whose actions and lack of suspension caused this whole thing.
More on this in a bit.
Seattle Kraken news
Before we really peek under the circus tent that has been installed where Madison Square Garden once stood, let us chat quickly about what is happening on the Seattle Kraken front.
The moment you’ve all been waiting for has arrived! Yes, the Seattle Kraken’s first act as the official 32nd franchise in the NHL is…
The plates range in cost from $59 for a motorcycle with any random jumble of letters and numbers up to $129 for a passenger vehicle with personalized plates. For what it’s worth, I have dibs on CRAPWSL for my plate, so please keep your filthy tentacles off of that one.
And what’s the One Roof Foundation, you ask? Why, it’s the newly announced official philanthropy arm of the Seattle Kraken and Climate Pledge Arena, of course!
The One Roof Foundation focuses on three pillars: fighting youth homelessness, making hockey more accessible, and environmental justice. We at SOH are very excited to see what impact the Kraken can have on the community, and the foundation will certainly be central to those efforts.
The team also tweeted pictures of the ice slab going in at Climate Pledge Arena on Friday. It’s starting to look legit, folks!
In other Kraken-related news, Milan Lucic agreed to waive his no-move clause to allow the Calgary Flames to protect an additional player in the Expansion Draft. That’s bad news for Seattle, which we believe will now be choosing between Oliver Kylington and Mark Giordano.
The soap opera
In case you were paying zero attention to the NHL or Hockey Twitter this week, we will fill you in on what happened with the aforementioned cast of soap opera characters. Spoiler alert: it was a doozy.
A net-front melee erupted in the first of two consecutive meetings between the Rangers and the Capitals on Monday. Tom Wilson shoved Pavel Buchnevich’s face into the ice, then Artemi Panarin jumped on Wilson’s back. Wilson grabbed Panarin by the hair and threw him like a ragdoll, then gave him the same treatment that he had given Buchnevich. Wilson then flexed in the penalty box. Panarin will not play for the rest of the season, but it doesn’t sound like he was seriously injured (he certainly could have been).
On Tuesday, Department of Player Safety director George Parros opted to simply fine Tom Wilson $5,000, rather than handing him a suspension for at least the next game between the two teams.
Later that day, the Rangers issued one of the strongest official statements ever made by an NHL club.
On Wednesday, James Dolan, the owner of the Rangers, fired the team’s brain trust, replacing Jeff Gorton and John Davidson with Chris Drury as the new general manager. Dolan claimed the firings had nothing to do with the statement the team had issued, but it’s impossible to ignore the timing of the moves.
Oh, then the two teams had to play each other again on Wednesday night!
The game started with a line brawl, then another fight, then another fight, until the penalty boxes were busting at the seams in a downright comical scene that the internet enjoyed to no end.
In all, 141 penalty minutes were assessed during the game.
TJ Oshie steals the show
Somewhere hidden deep within all this bizarreness was the story that TJ Oshie was playing Wednesday in his first game since the passing of his father, Tim, lovingly known throughout the hockey world as “Coach.”
So what did Coach’s son do? He rose above the terrible mess that was happening all around him in that game to score a hat trick.
Oshie was visibly emotional and was embraced by his teammates in a way that you rarely see in professional sports. It was perhaps the most beautiful story of the year, and yet it was oddly overshadowed by a bunch of guys punching each other.
No Tom Wilson suspension, yes Pavel Buchnevich suspension
The off-ice ugliness picked up again on Thursday, as the NHL fined the Rangers $250,000 for their public comments directed at Parros, and—in perhaps the most ironic twist of all—suspended Buchnevich for one game for cross-checking Anthony Mantha in the face during Wednesday’s Broadway Brouhaha.
You seriously cannot make this stuff up.
If the league had simply suspended Wilson for a game—which folks would have argued was either unjust punishment or not nearly enough because you can’t please everyone anyone—then this all would have been nipped in the bud.
Emily Kaplan summed it up perfectly on ESPN’s Around The Horn.
"[The NHL] could have avoided this entire mess."@emilymkaplan says the "manifestation" of unwritten rules in Capitals-Rangers resulted in a bad night for hockey pic.twitter.com/YrtKW2QyeK
Canada defeated Russia 5-3 in a thrilling gold medal game at the IIHF U18 World Championship on Thursday.
Bedard, 15, is the first player ever to be granted exceptional status to join the WHL early and showed on a big stage why scouts are clamoring for this kid. With 14 points, Bedard tied for second in the tournament scoring race with teammate Shane Wright. Wright and Bedard finished behind only Russia’s 16-year-old future superstar, Matvei Michkov, who notched 16 points (12-4=16) in just seven games.
Everett’s Olen Zellweger had a huge tournament on Canada’s blue line with a goal and seven assists. Seattle’s Conner Roulette had two goals and three assists, while netminder Thomas Milic posted a 2-0-0 record with a .975 save percentage and .50 goals against average but did not play in the playoffs or gold medal game.
AHL teams relocating
Recently on the Sound Of Hockey Podcast, we surmised that—because the operator of the Utica Comets had filed a new trademark for the brand “Utica Devils”—there was some AHL shuffling on the way.
We were correct.
The Utica Comets, Vancouver’s top affiliate, are re-locating to Abbottsford, British Columbia, while the Binghamton Devils, New Jersey’s AHL franchise, are moving 90 miles north to Utica. I can’t help feeling for the people of Binghamton, but the moves make sense, at least on paper.
The Canucks having their top prospects playing thousands of miles away and in a different country was never a good plan and created even greater challenges during this pandemic. But AHL hockey in Abbottsford has been tried before and did not work, as the Heat only lasted five seasons there with low attendance.
Perhaps the fact that the NHL and AHL teams of the same organization will be playing within the same province will make it more successful this time around?
Around the boards
With the new national TV deals coming next season, broadcaster hirings at TNT/TBS and ESPN are starting to trickle in. Kenny Albert and Eddie Olczyck will be the lead team for Turner Sports, while Craig Morgan has reported he believes Ray Ferraro will be the lead analyst at ESPN.
David Backes is likely to retire after this season. His Anaheim Ducks visited St. Louis on Wednesday, where Backes played 10 seasons and served as captain for five. Backes gave Darren Pang an all-time post-game interview on Wednesday, which was played over the public address system in the arena.
Marc-Andre Fleury recorded his 490th career NHL win on Wednesday, surpassing Roberto Luongo and giving him third place on the all-time list. That’s not bad for a guy who was selected by the Golden Knights in the Expansion Draft after the Penguins sent an extra draft pick to persuade Vegas to take him.
Goalie gear corner
As a huge Felix Potvin fan as a child, I very much approve of David Rittich’s new look.
There’s something a little trippy about seeing the outline of the old Koho crosshairs logo on a pair of CCM pads, but man… this was beautifully done.
Who wore it better?
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.
April 30, 2021, is a day that will live on in the hearts and minds of hockey fans in the Pacific Northwest. Yes, the Seattle Kraken have made the final payment of their $650 million expansion fee to the league on Friday, meaning they are now officially the NHL’s 32nd franchise.
Clearing this final hurdle allows the team to sign free agent players and contribute to any league-wide decisions moving forward.
Of course, we have long known that this day would come, but now that it has arrived, it is a nice bit of closure for anyone who still had questions bouncing around deep in their brains about whether or not this thing would ever officially get off the ground. Well, ladies and gentlemen, it is off the ground.
LET’S GO!
Other Seattle Kraken news
The team officially joining the league is certainly the biggest piece of news to come from the Kraken this week.
The only other item of interest is a follow-up from last week’s $3.5 million lawsuit, filed by the Kraken Bar & Lounge against the team for its planned restaurant at the new Northgate training facility. The update is that the team will no longer use the name “Kraken Bar & Grill” for the establishment that it is planning to open in the fall.
At this stage, it is unclear what the name of the team’s restaurant will end up being, but it won’t be Kraken Bar & Grill anymore.
The Kraken Bar & Lounge, a punk rock bar in the University District, may have a point because the names of the establishments would have been quite similar, and frankly, those two businesses aren’t even all that far apart in physical distance from one another. So, it certainly would have been confusing for patrons seeking punk.
Perhaps the name change lets the team avoid a battle in court, but the situation does still beg the question, is legal action really all that punk rock?
The “other” NHL TV deal
This week, the NHL announced that its second national TV partner will be Turner Sports, which means that in addition to ESPN, hockey fans will be able to watch games nationally on TNT and TBS starting next season.
Per the NHL’s press release, Gary Bettman says of Turner, “They put a fun and innovative factor into all of what they do and we’re excited to have that same treatment for our sport and for our fans.” He also mentions his excitement for Turner’s digital properties, which includes HBO Max and Bleacher Report. There will apparently be a streaming aspect to this deal, though the bulk of out-of-market games will be moving from NHL.tv to ESPN+.
The deal is worth $225 million annually for seven years.
NBC has done some good things in its 16 years as the NHL’s flagship national TV partner, but that network’s coverage has run its course. We at SOH are thrilled to see what fresh perspectives can be brought by both ESPN and TNT/TBS as the game moves into the future.
Of course, we should note that TNT—known for its outstanding and fun coverage of the NBA—did slightly miss the mark this week when Shaquille O’Neal was asked to name three hockey teams while a graphic featuring the retired Andrew Ference (it clearly was meant to be Connor McDavid) appeared on the screen.
Not to be too hard on the Big Aristotle—who did not claim to have any hockey knowledge when asked—but the California Kings?! When he played for the Lakers, he literally shared an arena with the Kings.
The coverage can only get better from here, gang!
The NWHL doubles its salary cap for 2021-22 season
The National Women’s Hockey League announced that it will increase its salary cap from $150,000 to $300,000 per team for the 2021-22 season.
The league champion Boston Pride had 21 players on their roster for this past season. $300K divided up 21 ways is still not bringing these women even close to the neighborhood of what NHL players make, and they clearly still deserve WAY more considering the elite level at which they compete.
But every little step towards equitability is a positive step for the women’s game, and this is definitely a positive step. It also comes in the wake of several other positive steps from the past year.
Ilya Kovalchuk wins the Cup
…The Gagarin Cup, that is.
Avangard Omsk defeated CSKA Moscow 4-2 in the KHL’s final series this week, giving Ilya Kovalchuk his third championship in Russia’s top professional league. The “Hawks” won the decisive sixth game 1-0 on a goal by Sergei Tolchinski.
Avangard—which has been playing its games 2,500 kilometers away from its home arena due to structural issues with its regular venue—earns its first championship since 2004, back when the league was called the Russian Superliga.
The Hawks are coached by Bob Hartley, who previously coached Kovulchuk with the Atlanta Thrashers at the beginning of the rising superstar’s professional career. Hartley also coached the Colorado Avalanche, where he won a Stanley Cup, as well as the Calgary Flames before going to Russia.
Hartley always had an exceptional hairline, and at 60 years old, it appears to still be holding relatively strong.
Bob Hartley has now won the Stanley Cup, Calder Cup, NLA, Quebec Major Junior Hockey League and—at last—the Gagarin (see photo for the math). Félicitations légende! pic.twitter.com/nwsiJ0hs6R
Other former NHL players on Avangard’s roster include Alexei Emelin (who did not play, as he is recovering from liver failure… Yikes!), Nail Yakupov, and Reid Boucher.
Ryan Miller retiring
The winningest U.S.-born goalie in NHL history, Ryan Miller, has announced that he will hang up the pads after this 2020-21 season.
The Hobey Baker winner, Olympic MVP, NHL All-Star, and 18-year veteran holds a career record of 390-289-87, with a 2.64 goals against average and .914 save percentage. Miller, 40, played the first 11 seasons of his NHL career in Buffalo, where he rose to stardom. He then made stops in St. Louis and Vancouver before settling in Anaheim, where he has spent four seasons.
A personal anecdote for you. When Miller was playing in the CCHA for Michigan State University and solidifying himself as the best college netminder ever, he wore a pretty awesome Sparty Spartan mask. I liked it so much, I designed my own high school mask with the exact same theme, but swapping in Sparky, my high school’s mascot.
I’m a huge fan of Miller, and while the time is certainly right for him to ride off into the sunset, he will very much be missed.
Around the boards
Contrary to Miller’s plans, Jaromir Jagr, 49, has no interest in ending his pro career after completing his 33rd season. Jagr both plays for and owns Rytiri Kladno in the Czech Republic. Kladno just won the second-tier Chance Liga championship, which means that it will be promoted to the Czech Extraliga next season. In deciding to continue, Jagr cites his responsibility to the club and was quoted on NHL.com, saying, “I expect much more from myself and I don’t have it. But I am aware that when I leave, many (business) partners will leave the team too. That’s why I have no choice.” So, in that sense… it’s actually… kind of… a sad story that Jagr is still playing pro hockey as he approaches 50 years old?
The date for the NHL Draft Lottery is set for June 2. Now that the Kraken are officially an NHL franchise, they will officially have a ping pong ball in that hopper (this was never really a question, but it feels neat to type that). Seattle has the third-best odds of landing the top overall pick at the NHL Entry Draft, which will be held on July 23 and 24.
You don’t see that every day
Who knew double Sam’s was such a rarity?
The @AnaheimDucks got goals from Sam Carrick and Sam Steel in the second period tonight to tie the game.
This is the first time in NHL history that two teammates named Sam (or Samuel, Sammy, etc.) have scored a goal in the same game.
Morgan Geekie, who is likely on the Kraken’s Expansion Draft radar, has the perfect way to describe the Carolina Hurricanes’ methods for moving on after a tough loss.
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.
Oh, hello! I didn’t see you there. Do you come here often? I do. Every week, in fact. That’s why it’s called “Weekly One-Timers” and not “Occasional One-Timers.”
As is the case seemingly every week, we have plenty to chat about, and it’s another beautiful Friday in the Emerald City, so let’s be sure to enjoy our time together.
Seattle Kraken news
Last week was slightly more active than most for Seattle, but we were back to things being pretty quiet on the Kraken front this week.
The team is being sued by the Kraken Bar & Lounge, a punk rock bar in the University District, for $3.5 million, as first reported by Geoff Baker of the Seattle Times. The lawsuit states that the team’s name and new Kraken Bar & Grill, expected to open at the Kraken Training Center at Northgate in the fall, will harm the existing bar’s brand.
So, that’s interesting.
Friend of the Sound Of Hockey Podcast, Everett Fitzhugh, released his second installment of “Sightseaing with Fitz,” which is absolutely worth the price of admission.
What does hockey look like in the Pacific Northwest?
Also, Kraken fans will likely have to wait just a little longer for opening night, as the start date for the 2021-22 season appears to be getting shoved back a bit.
The NHL on the GMs' call today shared its hopeful target date for puck drop next fall: Oct. 12. Which is about a week or so later than normal. Training camps hopefully opening Sept. 22. Again, that Oct. 12 start date is if there are no delays. @TSNHockey@TheAthletic
It has been a really tough year in a lot of ways for women’s hockey. Yet another blow was sustained on Wednesday when the IIHF Women’s World Championship was canceled for the second consecutive year. The tournament was slated to be played in Nova Scotia May 6 through 16, but provincial Premier Iain Rankin made the decision this week that the tournament should not go on, citing Covid-19 variants and rising case numbers.
There is still hope that a tournament can be played later in the summer, but even so, it’s another damaging development. Adding insult to injury, the Men’s Under-18 World Championship starts April 26 in Texas, and if we were a betting website (which we are not), we would bet that that tournament is going to be played out in its entirety.
Texas and Nova Scotia are two very different places in terms of how Covid is being handled, but it really does feel unfair that yet another international men’s tournament is set to get underway, while yet another women’s tournament gets canceled.
Robin Lehner calls out the NHL
Vegas Golden Knights netminder Robin Lehner—always outspoken on mental-health-related issues—claimed this week that the NHL lied to players about how it would proceed once players and team employees received their Covid vaccines.
In an impassioned press conference, he inferred that players, coaches, and staff were expecting to see their restrictions loosened a bit for the betterment of their lifestyles and mental health, but that has not happened. Instead, he says they won’t change the rules until all the teams in the league have the same opportunity to get the vaccine to eliminate competitive advantages.
Lehner’s comments on the topic begin around the five-minute mark of the below video.
— x-Vegas Golden Knights (@GoldenKnights) April 21, 2021
I’m all for taking every precaution against Covid, but if what he’s saying is true (it has been disputed by the league), then he has a very good point here.
I’ve always admired Lehner’s willingness to speak publicly on the societal topics about which he is most impassioned and would love to see more NHL players use their platforms in this way.
Around the boards
Spencer Knight made his NHL debut with the Florida Panthers this week and looked great in a 5-1 win over the Columbus Blue Jackets, making 34 of 35 saves. The 20-year-old World Junior Championship hero was playing for Boston College in the NCAA Tournament just a couple weeks ago, so his quick ascension into an NHL start was a bit surprising. Knight is a highly touted prospect, selected No. 13 overall at the 2019 NHL Entry Draft. In his debut, Knight was wearing the same pads, glove, and blocker that he wore for the WJC along with his BC Eagles mask. Let’s get the guy some fresh gear, eh? I wrote about Knight way back in the NHLtoSeattle days of yore. They grow up so fast.
In that game between the Panthers and the Blue Jackets, Columbus coach John Tortorella healthy scratched Max Domi for the second consecutive game. Domi hasn’t had a great season by any stretch of the imagination, but it really is fascinating how Tortorella uses healthy scratches and benchings on his star players to try to get their attention. Domi—acquired in a trade with the Canadiens in October—returned to action on Thursday and registered 15:48 of ice time. The last-place Blue Jackets have also now been officially eliminated from playoff contention, so one has to wonder about the future of Torts in Columbus.
Patrick Marleau’s record-setting 1,768th NHL game received plenty of attention this week, including on Sound Of Hockey, so we don’t really need to talk about that here. But we do want to make sure you saw this great congratulatory video from the Toronto Maple Leafs.
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 sun is out and the birds are chirping in the Emerald City. More than 50% of King County residents have received their first vaccine dose, and Seattle Kraken general manager Ron Francis talked to the media this week. In more ways than one, hope springs eternal. With each blooming flower, each passing day, and each little tidbit of Seattle Kraken news, we inch closer to the Expansion Draft and the arrival of the NHL’s 32nd franchise, a moment that will live on for all eternity in the hearts and souls of Seattle hockey fans.
Hope. Springs. Eternal.
If you’re wondering what is wrong with me, well, I’m just in a good mood. It’s nice as f*** out. Let’s get this Weekly One-Timer thing over with so I can go outside and promptly remove my shirt.
Seattle Kraken news
It has been a slightly more eventful week than most for the Kraken.
As I mentioned while I was waxing poetic, Ron Francis was made available to the media on Tuesday, and Sound Of Hockey partook. Check out our recap of the availability here or watch the full presser below.
On Wednesday, the team announced the hiring of four new leaders for its youth hockey and figure skating programs, which will be housed at the new Kraken Training Center. Martin Hlinka will serve as youth hockey director, while David Kyu-Ho Min and Katelyn Parker were hired as player development coaches. Chad Goodwin will be the figure skating director. Read all about the new hires here.
That same day, the team tweeted out the below photos, showing not only the concrete being poured for the ice sheets at the new three-sheet practice facility, but also the wall painted beautifully in the Kraken color scheme.
Have you ever seen such a beautiful wall inside a local hockey arena? No, you have not.
Finally, the High Tide Waitlist went live this week. The annual $250 membership guarantees the opportunity to purchase four single-game tickets and comes with some special access, contests, and content. There are 10,000 total spots on the waitlist. See the details of the program here.
We at SOH hold no opinions about the High Tide Waitlist, but would love to get your thoughts on it in the comment section.
Significant injuries
Jack Eichel suffered a neck injury on March 7 in a game against the Islanders. On March 29, Buffalo’s interim coach, Don Granato, told media he didn’t think the injury would be season-ending. Granato was apparently wrong on this topic, as Eichel has officially been ruled out for the remainder with a herniated disk.
And so, it is confirmed that playing for the Sabres really is a pain in the neck.
Also on the injury front this week, the Dallas Stars announced that neither Ben Bishop nor Alex Radulov will return this season. Bishop has not played since March 2020 due to a knee injury. He was expected to return at some point, but the Stars have now decided against pushing their starting netminder back into action. Radulov needs surgery on a core muscle.
It has been a difficult season in Dallas, where the runners-up from last year remain five points outside of the playoff picture.
Injury… swap?
Making a trade prior to Monday’s NHL Trade Deadline was apparently not the only way for the Tampa Bay Lightning to swap out players.
The Bolts have been on the brink of exceeding the salary cap all season. The only reason they were able to remain compliant is that Nikita Kucherov was placed on long-term injured reserve at the beginning of the campaign, removing his $9.5 million cap hit.
Now, Steven Stamkos, who has scored at close to a point-per-game clip this season, has been placed on LTIR with a lower body injury retroactive to April 9. That means the earliest he can return is May 3. Stamkos carries a $8.5 million cap hit.
But wait! There’s a twist! Who could have guessed this? Kucherov now appears ready to return! What a fascinating coincidence!
Nikita Kucherov is on the ice for practice. Wearing a gray practice uni. #Bolts
The Canucks have been dealing with a very serious Covid outbreak for the last couple of weeks that has resulted in as many as 25 players and staff being placed on the NHL’s Covid protocol list.
The team hasn’t played since March 24, but the league had planned to have the team return to action this week. Vancouver forward J.T. Miller spoke up, however, calling it “dangerous to a lot of players” to rush the team back.
The NHL responded by postponing Friday’s game between the Canucks and the Oilers and totally revamping the team’s schedule for the remainder of the season. The Canucks will now play until May 19 and will have 19 games in 32 days.
The CHL has officially canceled the Memorial Cup for the second consecutive season due to Covid concerns. The cancellation of the championship tournament does not come as much of a surprise. The QMJHL has had several starts and stops with teams playing varying numbers of games, the WHL is playing just 24 games with no playoffs to name a winner, and the OHL has not played at all. So determining which teams should participate, plus quarantine requirements and border closures, would have made safely pulling this off nearly impossible.
Former Seattle Thunderbird Patrick Marleau, 41, is expected to tie Gordie Howe’s career games played record on Saturday and break the record on Monday. When his Sharks take on the Wild on Saturday, it will be career game number 1,767 for Marleau, a number set by Mr. Hockey that many thought would be untouchable. What’s most impressive about Howe’s mark is that it doesn’t include the 467 games he played in the WHA from 1973 to 1979. He also returned to the NHL as a Hartford Whaler at age 52 and appeared in 80 games (those games are included in his NHL record). Still, what Marleau is about to do is truly an incredible feat.
Team USA’s roster for the Men’s Under-18 World Championship was announced this week. Everett Silvertips netminder Braden Holt made the team. The tournament will be played April 26-May 6 in Texas and is the last chance for the world’s top prospects to showcase themselves on a big stage before this summer’s NHL Entry Draft.
FYI, the Jack Hughes listed is a different Jack Hughes than the one that plays on the New Jersey Devils, which is confusing.
You don’t see that every day
One of the more fun plays in hockey is when an equipment manager gets an unofficial assist. Sidney Crosby gave his stick to a defenseman who had been rendered stickless in Pittsburgh’s zone on Thursday. With the play going the other way, Sid flew by the bench and grabbed a new stick from Penguins equipment manager Jon Taglianetti. He then raced into Philadelphia’s zone and immediately knocked home a rebound.
Please sign my petition to make equipment manager assists an official NHL stat.
Goalie Gear Corner
Tired
I’ve never been a huge fan of masks that feature nothing more than a team’s logo. Mikko Koskinen rolled out his new Oilers mask this week, which does just that. I do like the color scheme and matte finish, but it’s just a bit impersonal for my taste.
New mask for Koskinen. Same lines as yesterday. Mike Smith in starter’s net. No RNH with main group today. pic.twitter.com/ZcX0fvehyP
I might have just put my foot in my mouth a bit, because Blasty the Horse—featured prominently on Louie Domingue’s new mask—somehow gets a pass from me, even though Blasty is technically just the logo for Calgary’s third jerseys.
But Blasty hits different. Blasty has personality. Blasty is blowing fire out of his nostrils for some reason and should probably be taken to a veterinarian to get that checked out.
Logan Thompson of the AHL’s Henderson Silver Knights means serious business with his all-silver getup. I’m trying to figure out exactly why I like this look so much, and I think it’s the gold lettering that does it for me. The pads are somehow both flashy and subtle simultaneously.
Still, I can’t help wondering, Who wore it better?
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.
Seattle Kraken news has not been particularly groundbreaking of late, as we patiently await the next big story like a coach hiring or the team’s final payment to the league which could lead to the signing of the team’s first player. None of those items have come yet, but there were at least a couple tidbits this week, which we are of course happy to discuss here in Sound Of Hockey’s Weekly One-Timers.
Kraken Bar & Grill
Sure, a coach hiring or something of the like would be neat, but who doesn’t like bar/restaurant news?
It’s been no secret that there will be a restaurant and watering hole at the Seattle Kraken Training Center at Northgate, but more details were made public about those plans on Thursday.
The Kraken Bar & Grill will have a capacity of 300, will overlook rinks 1 and 2 at the facility, and will have a whopping 17 TVs plus a view of the 375-square-foot LED screen in rink 1. I don’t have a ton of relativity on that, but that sounds like a pretty big screen.
One can only imagine how rocking this place is going to be during Kraken games, especially road playoff games.
Mick McHugh — a famed restaurateur in Seattle best known for FX McRory’s — will head up the new Kraken-themed establishment.
“I count myself first as a loyal Seattle sports fan from the early days of the Sonics, through the Mariners, Seahawks and Sounders,” said McHugh via a press release. “It’s only right that now I can help welcome the Kraken to the city.”
“Rather than waiting for the next home game, Kraken fans can come to Kraken Bar & Grill and engage with their team every day of the week,” added McHugh. “From watching practices to just being in the home of the Kraken, this is going to be a great place for everyone to gather and share their love for the city and its teams.”
MONORAIL! MONORAIL! MONORAIL!
“I’ve sold monorails to Brockway, Ogdenville, and North Haverbrook and by gum it put them on the map!” – Lyle Lanley, The Simpsons, 1993
Transit to and from Climate Pledge Arena on game days has always been a concern. Traffic around that area is a nightmare in non-Covid times, and that is true without layering in hockey games attended by 17,000+ Kraken fans, many of whom will certainly prefer to drive to the venue.
But the Kraken have been creative in finding ways to combat this issue, like granting free public transit for ticket holders on gamedays. That transit access will include rides on the Seattle Monorail which began a $6.6 million renovation project this week.
The improvements are a part of Climate Pledge Arena & the @SeattleKraken’s investment in Seattle Center Monorail. All fans traveling to Seattle Kraken games will have free transit access, including use of the Monorail.
— Climate Pledge Arena (@ClimateArena) April 5, 2021
Will this work in cutting down traffic around the Pledge? You’ll have to buy a ticket to find out.
Whoa, boy! Thursday was a fun day of college hockey!
I know I’ve been laying it on a little thick around these parts with the college hockey talk of late, but I’m frankly glad that I have, because this NCAA Tournament has not disappointed. With the NHL still in the midst of its season but in a bit of a news lull, the NCAA somehow found the perfect weekend for its Frozen Four.
Huskies knock off Mavericks in topsy-turvy affair
Will Hammer rifled home (I was going to say “hammered home,” but it felt too obvious) St. Cloud State’s third goal at 2:40 of the second period, giving the Huskies a two-goal lead over Minnesota State. At that moment, it felt like SCSU was about to bury Minnesota State and skate to an easy victory.
To the credit of the Mavericks, they battled back and made Thursday’s earlier semifinal an incredibly fun back-and-forth contest that ultimately did end with St. Cloud getting the win, but not without some awe-inspiring fireworks.
Mankato scored the next three goals, forcing St. Cloud to come back and tie it, which the Huskies did with 10 minutes remaining in the third.
Later, with the game appearing destined for overtime, Nolan Walker created some magic in front of the Mankato net with a perfectly angled stick blade and some top-notch hand-eye coordination.
It wouldn’t be a Minnesota Duluth game if it didn’t go to overtime. After the Bulldogs won the longest game in NCAA Tournament history last week, they came up short against UMass in the late game.
UMD had the better of the play throughout regulation, but somehow the Minutemen found just enough juice to tie the game at 2-2 at 8:25 of the third period.
The extra frame looked like a completely different game, though. After being outshot 36-15 in regulation, UMass dominated every second of the overtime period with a 13-2 advantage in shots. Garrett Wait ultimately found the winner at 14:30 of overtime when Bobby Trevigno’s wraparound attempt slid right through the blue paint and onto his stick on the backdoor.
Wait had a pretty beautiful quote in his post-game interview with ESPN’s Quint Kessenich. “We just ate some food in the locker room between periods, got our legs back, and we just focused on playing our game, getting pucks low and forechecking.”
They just ate some food. College kids, am I right?
A new champion will be crowned
The Huskies and the Minutemen will now meet in the NCAA Championship on Saturday at 4 p.m. Pacific on ESPN. Neither of these teams has ever won a national title before, so we will have a new king of college hockey crowned that day.
Trade market heating up
The NHL trade deadline is on Monday, so the associated wheeling and dealing is well underway around the league. In the past few days, we’ve seen Brett Connolly, Kyle Palmieri, Travis Zajac, Vinnie Hinostroza, and multiple guys named Lucas (Carlsson and Wallmark) get moved. TSN has a good tracker here.
Perhaps the biggest news on this front so far is that Palmieri was forced to shave his beard now that he plays for an organization led by Lou Lamoriello. Lou does not accept facial hair on his players. After all, this is hockey, and we can’t have these toothless animals looking like toothless animals out there.
— Ashlee Casper Palmieri (@AshleePalmieri) April 8, 2021
Around the boards
The Vancouver Canucks continue to deal with a Covid outbreak that has resulted in as many as 25 positive tests within the organization. NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly expressed hope to ESPN’s Emily Kaplan that the team will be able to resume by the end of next week, but with the Canucks falling quickly out of playoff contention, there has been plenty of wondering whether their 56-game season will actually be completed.
Jack Campbell set a Toronto Maple Leafs record for most consecutive wins to start a season, bringing him to 10-0-0 on the year. He gave a pretty great interview after his latest victory as well.
Campbell has been outstanding in his opportunities, posting a 1.57 goals against average and .944 save percentage.
The Chicago Blackhawks’ affiliation with the AHL’s Rockford IceHogs was set to expire in 2022. But the partnership was fully solidified this week when the Blackhawks purchased the IceHogs from the City of Rockford for $11.8 million. The Blackhawks become the 21st NHL team to own its AHL affiliate.
Tanner Pearson re-signed with Vancouver for three years. We were trying to figure out if this means he will be protected from the Seattle Kraken Expansion Draft, and we think it probably means that.
Nikita Gusev was placed on unconditional waivers with the New Jersey Devils planning to terminate his contract. Chris Johnston of Sportsnet says Gusev hopes to sign with another team. Before moving over from the KHL, Gusev, 28, was once considered the best non-NHL player in the world.
Things obviously haven’t worked out as well as he had hoped in the NHL, but perhaps a new situation will do him some good.
Palate cleanser
So as some of you know, we're not allowed to show highlights of games on ESPN. So with the UMD-UMass game only in the second intermission, I had to improvise with the "highlights": pic.twitter.com/BnXnNwaAU9
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.
