NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – February 5, 2025
Alex Ovechkin moves closer to Wayne Gretzky’s goal record, the Jets remain in sole possession of first overall, William Nylander’s hat trick lifts the Leafs to victory, and more from a busy Tuesday evening in today’s NHL Morning Coffee Headlines.
NHL.COM: Washington Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin moved closer to Wayne Gretzky’s goal record with an empty-net goal in the final second of the third period in a 6-3 win over the Florida Panthers. Logan Thompson made 30 saves and Nick Dowd had a goal and two assists for the Capitals, who lead the Eastern Conference with 77 points. Sam Bennett had a goal and an assist for the Panthers, who sit atop the Atlantic Division with 67 points.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Ovechkin has 878 regular-season goals, moving within 17 of breaking Gretzky’s record of 894. The Capitals extended their home points streak to 14 games. Meanwhile, Panthers winger Matthew Tkachuk looks forward to a potential playoff matchup against the Ottawa Senators and his younger brother Brady.
The Winnipeg Jets picked up their seventh straight win by blanking the Carolina Hurricanes 3-0. Eric Comrie turned in a 29-save shutout while Nino Niederreiter had a goal and an assist for the Jets, who lead the overall standings with 79 points. The Hurricanes have dropped their second straight game and sit second in the Metropolitan Division with 68 points.
Toronto Maple Leafs forward William Nylander (NHL Images).
Toronto Maple Leafs forward William Nylander’s hat trick carried his club to a 6-3 victory over the Calgary Flames. Leafs captain Auston Matthews collected three assists as the Leafs moved within one point of the Panthers in the Atlantic Division. Jonathan Huberdeau, Nazem Kadri and MacKenzie Weegar each collected two assists for the Flames, who lost four of their last six contests and cling to the final Western Conference wild-card berth with 59 points.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Leafs winger Mitch Marner missed this game with a lower-body injury and is listed as day-to-day.
Edmonton Oilers captain Connor McDavid had a goal and two assists in a 3-2 win over the St. Louis Blues. Leon Draisaitl scored his league-leading 37th goal and Connor Brown tallied the winner in overtime for the Oilers, who sit atop the Pacific Division with 70 points. Jordan Kyrou and Colton Parayko replied for the Blues.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Draisaitl has 79 points, one back of league leader Nathan MacKinnon of the Colorado Avalanche. Blues defenseman Nick Leddy returned to action after missing 49 games with a lower-body injury.
A shootout goal by Patrick Kane lifted the Detroit Red Wings over the Seattle Kraken 5-4 to extend their win streak to seven games. Lucas Raymond scored his 21st goal of the season as the Wings hold the first Eastern Conference wild-card spot with 61 points. Shane Wright tallied twice for the Kraken.
Vancouver Canucks goaltender Thatcher Demko stopped 25 shots to shut out the Colorado Avalanche 3-0. Jake DeBrusk, Brock Boeser and Drew O’Connor scored for the Canucks, who sit just behind the Flames for that final Western wild card with 59 points. Avalanche netminder Mackenzie Blackwood turned aside 28 shots as his club holds the first Western wild-card berth with 64 points.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: The Canucks got the win without captain Quinn Hughes. He missed his second straight game with an undisclosed injury suspected to be in his abdominal area.
The Tampa Bay Lightning held off the Ottawa Senators 4-3, snapping the latter’s five-game win streak. Third-period goals by Brandon Hagel and Ryan McDonagh secured the win for the Lightning as they’re clinging to the final Eastern wild card with 60 points. Linus Ullmark made 34 saves in his return to action as the Senators hold third place in the Atlantic Division with 62 points.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: This was Ullmark’s first game since being sidelined by a back injury on Dec. 22. His teammate Shane Pinto left the game in the first period with an upper-body injury while Lightning forward Nick Paul departed in the same period with an undisclosed injury.
Boston Bruins goalies Jeremy Swayman kicked out 35 shots in a 3-0 shutout of the Minnesota Wild. Charlie McAvoy, Trent Frederic and Morgan Geekie tallied for the Bruins, who sit just behind the Lightning with 60 points. Wild goalie Marc-Andre Fleury made 32 saves.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: The Wild activated defenseman Jonas Brodin from long-term injury reserve and forward Marcus Johansson from injured reserve for this game.
The New Jersey Devils got two goals from Jack Hughes to nip the Pittsburgh Penguins 3-2 in a shootout. Timo Meier scored the game-winner and Jesper Bratt collected two assists as the Devils (66 points) sit two points behind the Hurricanes in third place in the Metropolitan Division. Rickard Rakell and Kevin Hayes scored for the Penguins.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Devils defenseman Jonas Siegenthaler left this game with an injured right leg in the first period. Following the game, head coach Sheldon Keefe said Siegenthaler is expected to miss some time.
New York Islanders center Brock Nelson broke a 1-1 tie in the third period as his club defeated the Vegas Golden Knights 2-1, handing the latter their fourth straight loss. Bo Horvat also scored and Ilya Sorokin made 34 saves for the Islanders, who sit three points behind the Lightning with 57 points. Brandon Saad scored his first goal for the Golden Knights since joining them as a free agent last week. They sit second in the Pacific Division with 68 points.
Anaheim Ducks goaltender John Gibson stopped 26 shots in a 2-1 win over the Dallas Stars. Cutter Gauthier and Trevor Zegras scored for the Ducks, who’ve won five of their last six contests. Colin Blackwell replied for the Stars, who sit second in the Central Division with 69 points.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Gibson became the first goaltender to play 500 regular-season games for the Ducks. Before this game, the Stars announced that defenseman Miro Heiskanen underwent knee surgery on Tuesday and is listed as month-to-month. They also played without forward Mavrik Bourque as he’s day-to-day with an upper-body injury.
The Buffalo Sabres picked up their fourth straight win by beating the Columbus Blue Jackets 3-2. Alex Tuch netted two goals and an assist and Jason Zucker had two assists for the Sabres. Kent Johnson and Ivan Provorov scored for the Blue Jackets as they slipped out of a wild-card spot in the East with 59 points.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: The injury-wracked Blue Jackets played without defenseman and scoring leader Zach Werenski, who is day-to-day with an upper-body injury. Meanwhile, the Sabres were without center Tage Thompson, defenseman Mattias Samuelsson and goalie Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen.
A shorthanded goal by Joel Armia with 4:04 remaining in the third period gave the Montreal Canadiens a 4-3 victory over the San Jose Sharks. Sam Montembeault made 27 saves while Kirby Dach and Alex Newhook each had two points for the Canadiens (55 points) as they’re five points out of the final Eastern wild-card spot. Sharks forwards Macklin Celebrini and Tyler Toffoli had a goal and an assist.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Canadiens prospect Ivan Demidov set the KHL single-season scoring record for an under-20 player with 43 points. Minnesota Wild star Kirill Kaprizov held the former record of 42 points.
The Utah Hockey Club defeated the Philadelphia Flyers 3-2. Dylan Guenther scored with one second remaining in overtime to finish with two goals and an assist. Mikhail Sergachev had a goal and two assists for Utah to end their five-game losing skid. Samuel Ersson made 39 saves for the Flyers, who’ve lost four straight.
IN OTHER NEWS…
DAILY FACEOFF: Los Angeles Kings defenseman Mikey Anderson is day-to-day with an injured finger.
The Nashville Predators placed forward Vinnie Hinostroza on waivers.
NEW YORK POST: Rangers forward Adam Edstrom will miss the next six to 10 weeks with a lower-body injury.
This recurring story is getting embarrassing:
Caps up by two late,
Opposition goalie pulled; Ovechkin on for over a minute and a half, floating at OR past blue line just waiting for a turnover; empty net goal Ovechkin; rinse repeat
Itās actually sad to watch
Letās look at some of the stats from all time NHL best scorers:
Brett Hull (5th all time in goals) had 3 seasons of over 70 goals where ZERO were ENs; plus another season of 54 goals without an EN goal. 12 of 19 seasons without a single EN goal. 741 goals and only 11 were ENs. His high was 4 EN goals in one season
Howe. 16 of 25 seasons had zero EN goals. 1 season he had 3, another he had 2, with 7 seasons with just a single EN goal. 801 goals, just 12 were ENs
The best (purest, greatest) goal scorer in NHL history – Bossy. 9 straight seasons of 50 + goals. All time leader in Goals per game (.762). His back gave out at 29 years old. Barring that career ending ailment, 12 or 13 or 14 straight 50 + goal seasons certainly could have happened. He only had 15 total EN goals. None were when his team was already up by two goals.
Ovechkin has the most EN goals in history. Over his last 266 games he has 25 EN goals. That pro-rates to averaging 8 EN goals per 82 games. This year, almost exactly 25% of his goals are ENs, and an extrapolation of this year to 82 games and heād have 13 EN goals.
If your team is up by 1 and occasionally you stay a little longer on your shift and get a goal with no opposing net minder; then we can see that. Constantly pushing well past 90 seconds shifts when your up by 2 AND floating. Just sad.
Aww stuff that! He’s paid to score goals. What is he supposed to do when he gets the puck on his stick protecting a lead? Fire it away? Pass it to someone? Try and dick around with it to kill time? He obviously knows where a net is and is almost always deadly accurate. He put it in the net – game over.
So he has 63 empty-netters over his career … so what? Gretzky has 56 … a whopping big difference of 7! Criminal. Sad.
Give me a freaking break.
https://www.statmuse.com/nhl/ask/who-has-scored-most-career-empty-net-goals
You want to “extrapolate?”
Rantanen has 28 empty-netters in 624 games played. That’s less than half of Ovechkin’s 1,463gp so, if we “extrapolate” in his case he should be somewhere close to, if not over, 63 by the time he gets to that number of games played.
You can do that with any number of players shown in the above linked table.
lol!
You know who has the second-most empty-netters in NHL history? That notorious floater Wayne Gretzky with 56. š
As for Gordie Howe, he had few empty netters during his NHL career because he played most of it in a six-team league where teams rarely pulled their goalies in regular-season play. That’s something that became more common following the 1970s.
They had a 2 goal lead; he scored with less than a second on the clock; heād been floating at the blue-line for ever just pining for the freebee goal.
Heās going to pass Gretzky no doubt about it
This is just embarrassing to watch.
I didnāt include Rantenen; I was only showing Ovechkin vs all time goal scorers in the NHL
No matter what number Ovechkin gets to; he will never be a Bossy or Hull.
FYI, Brett Hull’s career points-per-game average is 1.10. Ovechkin’s is 1.09. Most of Hull’s goals were tallied over a five-season period from 1989-90 to 1993-94 with five straight seasons of 50 or more goals. Ovechkin has nine 50-plus goal seasons, one shy of the record held by Gretzky and Bossy.
And I’m sure he gives a rat’s ass.
Nope 8787. Heās better.
Hi Lyle
Wasnāt talking about points just pure sniping. Hull to me, better than Ovi
Thatās subjective snd I cede there are credible arguments putting Ovi ahead of Hull. Itās just my viewpoint.
Putting Ovi ahead of Bossy as the best goal scorer ever, I canāt even fathom it
Bossy tops in NHL history for Goal per game
9 STRAIGHT (right from rookie season) 50+ goal seasons.
He basically only played until 29
No back implosion and he easily gets 12 straight 50+ goal seasons; perhaps 13 or 14
My dad stands by Orr as best hockey player ever. Period.
I was too young to see him play (I think I was 3 or 4 when he retired)
Bossy , plain and simple; best NHL sniper ever
The issue isn’t whether Bossy was the best NHL sniper. The issue was your denigration of Ovechkin because (clutch the pearls!) he has more empty net goals than Gretzky.
Ovechkin is poised to do something none of us believed possible in our lifetimes. Gretzky’s assists and points records are unassailable unless the NHL reverts back to 1980s firewagon hockey again. What Ovechkin is on the verge of achieving while playing in a league where the goaltending and defensive systems are vastly superior to Gretzky’s heyday is remarkable and worth celebrating.
Succinctly put Lyle.
George I agree with you 100%. Empty netters so what..That dude plays hard all the time, plays with passion, respects the game…he deserves it.
Coming from a pure Penguins fan the Capitals were our biggest rival…just like the Cap fans have respect for Crosby we have respect for Ovy..
He is going to do it nd he deserves it..
Perfectly put Lyle.
I was always a big fan of Bossy and it was too bad his career couldn’t have lasted longer.
He began his NHL career in 1977-78 when Gretzky was playing the first of 2 seasons in the WHA, so for a direct comparison where their NHL careers overlapped here are their comparative records for 8 seasons from 1979-80 to 1986-87.
Bossy scored 451 goals in 599gp for a per game average of 0.8. Gretzky played 632 in that stretch and scored 544 for a per game average of 0.9.
As for Ovechkin, his goal-scoring achievements are already legendary and he has been, for my money anyway, THE most electric, dynamic offensive threat in the NHL for the past 20 seasons.
To assign the best complement I can think of, and having been watching the NHL live and on TV for the better part of 7 decades, Ovechkin has been the type pf player that automatically makes you sit up whenever he’s on the ice and gets the puck, and in that, he puts me in mind of the Rocket.
There were a lot of great scorers in his day as well, led by Gordie Howe, but whereas Big Gordie was methodical and business-like out there – in addition to being deadly – the Rocket’s approach was electrifying. Me trying to describe him doesn’t do him justice. You had to be there – especially in the Forum.
Wow
It seems that many on here are missing my point.
Ovi will end up being the NHLās all time goal scorer at least for the foreseeable future. No one even 10 years ago thought Gretskyās numbers would fall. Maybe there is a toddler out there that will break Oviās record in 30 to 40 years. Who knows.
I stand by my assertion that Bossy is the ā bestā goal scorer in NHL history.
As a little lad just getting interested in hockey of course I cheered for my hometown teem , but Mario didnāt arrive here until the dominating 4-peat of the Isles. I was mesmerized by them and their sniper.
That gets etched in oneās mind
Setting aside my childhood mesmerization , the numbers stand clear. Again, starting from rookie season , for 9 straight seasons, 50+ goals. No one has matched it. His career basically ended at 29 when his back ended. Healthy back and heās approaching 800 goals still in his early 30ās, and just finishing 13 straight 50+ goal seasons. He remains the all time goals per game (obviously not talking about players who may have played less than a handful of games) leader. Bossy (.762); Mario (.754); then 2 guys who played 300 or so games in the 1920ās ; then Mathews (.647). Ovi is 8th (.600). If you take out EN goals: Bossy (.742); Mario (.718); Hull (.575); Gretzky (.563); Ovi (.557)
Letās set aside the āwhoās the bestā āwhoās the topsā etc etc
My point was that it was embarrassing that Ovi stays out for excess amounts of time, already when his team is up 2 goals (the 3rd goal with fractions of a second left is literally irrelevant to the gameās outcome) and literally playing with no defensive mind at all, glaringly floating at/past the blue-line, solely waiting for his own EN goal. Thatās selfish. Thatās the embarrassing part. This also is not the first time heās done that this year alone.
He literally duplicated last nightās float (not even thinking about defending) and wait , up two goals, goalie pulled routine in order to score an EN 3rd goal up goal in October (Flyers), and December (Leafs). Last month vs Rangers, he tried desperately to achieve same thing (up two goals, EN, float, no defensive mind, hoping for a chance); but he fell and it flipped to Wilson who ended up with the EN goal.
Again, not challenging his ability to score. Not challenging at all that he will be top all time goals scored in NHL for at least the foreseeable future.
He would have passed Gretzky anyway, and very likely this year , without the 2 up EN goals.
And again, EN goals in and of itself is not at issue. Not at all.
What is, is Ovi (while team is already up 2 goals, other team has pulled goalie) staying out for very lengthy shifts and not trying to defend a goal against (to bring game within 1); but only floating and waiting for an opportunity to get his own EN goal.
Thatās my point. Thatās what is embarrassing about it. Nothing more.
And now, from today’s report by The Hockey News’ Capitals beat writer Sammi Silber, here is Capitals head coach Spencer Carberry with the timely rebuttal:
Silber writes, “As (Ovechkin) continues his pursuit of No. 99, critics have pointed to the empty cage, arguing that Ovechkin is taking advantage and inching closer thanks to an “easier situation” at 5-on-6.
The argument falls apart, though, because empty-net situations are not easy to navigate.
Ovechkin has become a regular for the team defending at 5-on-6 because of his vision and ability to carry the puck up and ice the win.
“People would say, ‘Oh, what is he doing out there? He doesn’t penalty kill, he’s not a defensive specialist. Why would you put him out there?’ There’s a lot of skill players that play around the league 5-on-6 that aren’t your ‘defensive specialists’ or your penalty kill guys that have a ton of value playing 5-on-6 because they are so intelligent with what the offensive players want to do,” Carbery explained. “They know where the next play is and where the puck is going, and that’s what you see from O constantly, is he’s reading where the puck is going.”
The 39-year-old is not even the NHL’s leader in empty-netters this season; that belongs to Mikko Rantanen, who has seven ENGs this season out of the 26 he’s scored.
Carbery used Rantanen, along with Toronto Maple Leafs forward William Nylander, as examples of what Ovechkin brings to the table.
“Mitch Marner is a little bit of a unique example of that because he penalty kills, but Willy Nylander: People say Willy Nylander cheats a lot, gets a ton of breakaways. It’s here (mentally), though, he’s reading where the puck is going. He sees their defenseman’s going to get the puck, and so now he goes right? He knows they’re getting the puck and the puck is going north,” Carbery said. “It’s the same thing with O, he’s reading where that puck is going to go. You can see tons of guys that play 5-on-6, they barely get one or two empty-netters a year.”
https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/washington-capitals/takes/washington-capitals-alex-ovechkin-empty-net-goals-debate-deep-dive
Jealous are you?
Out here in Edmonton land the 2 best centers in the world can’t BUY an empty net goal.
Oof
Here ya go
š§ š§ š§š§š§
His EN goal last night took some skill. That at least should be acknowledged.
This is ridiculous / reaching / bias.
As pointed out by Lyle and George , Gretzky had 56 en goals.
Seriously, give your biased Black and yellow head a shake!
I love when people try to dissect dumb things like this! Maybe the NHL should take away Gretzkys 56? And every other player thatās scored an empty netter!!!
Agreed..Ovy plays the game the right way hard passionate and dedicated empty netters who cares.. that man is the best goal scorer
Tip of the hat to OVI.. he may do it this year and if it an empty netter 8787 will go nuts. .LOL
Wow 8787 you do have interesting takes..
Mike Bossy was freaking brilliant…but to say he was the purest goal scorer of all time nah.
Mario Lemieux had 694 goals in 915 games bro !
He missed 3 seasons because he retired prematurely from 1997-2000
He missed one season due to cancer
he missed two whole half seasons for back surgery that’s 5 seasons in his prime wonder how many goals he had even at just 40 goals a season that’s 894 right there.
Mike Bossy 572 goals 752 games players it is close for sure. Mike Bossy was a stud no doubt a phenomenal scorer
Wayne Gretzky the goat said Mario was the greatest pure goal score and offensive talent the league has ever seen….period
As far as Ovy goes look the Capitals are the Penguins heated arch rival but that dude can score.. empty netters yeah I hear you on that but the dude plays hard respects the game…so
His pal Pasternak is doing the same thing! They are the only players to play an entire 2 minute penalty on the power play and
they are on for all empty net opportunities!
Just another example of coaches catering to their highest paid players!In this age of analytics what I would like to know is who has the most assists on empty net goals in their career?
Better news than Ovi ENG’s, Patrick Kane set the NHL record with his 53rd shootout goal as the visiting Detroit Red Wings beat the Seattle Kraken 5-4 on Tuesday to claim their seventh consecutive win.
They are blazing hot.
Kane is not only a fantastic player; but clutch!
šššPatrick
On a more important note I’m wondering if there’s something about playing C for Ottawa that’s been voo-dooed! Now Pinto out for an indeterminate period (as usual – more today).
Otherwise, a good game on the 2nd of a back-to-back against a pretty good team in their building.
I can empathize. There are some Blue Jackets fans who wonder if there’s an injury curse on the team. Maybe there’s something to that. Nationwide Arena was built on the land of the old Ohio State Penitentiary.
Honestly I feel like this is a symptom of the weird Ottawa schedule. So many of these weird back to backs seem to be taking a toll.
Who know though? I would love to see the team actually all healthy at once…
Hopefully, theSaint, the 2 week 4 Nations break will help in that regard … best damned thing about it for that matter!
Even Gregor and Bernard-Docker could be ready to come off LTIR by the end of it … or very close to coming back, along with Norris and Pinto. And those nursing nagging dings, like Jensen, should be healthier as well.
Cousins, I’m afraid, is as good as out for the rest of the season.
@George I fully agree and have likely already stated it too often… but the only thing I really like about this long break for a useless tournament is that players can heal and rest and regroup outside of the NHL schedule.
What’s the story with Shane Pinto?
The kid is oozing with talent and has played well from the get go.
He seems to be undervalued and underutilized from what I have seen.
He doesn’t get enough too, almost like they just won’t take the bit out of his mouth.
He’s the opposite of Cozens in talent,value,work ethic and a C I’d love to have.
Not really under utilized, habfan30. In fact, big as most C at 6′ 3,” Green has regularly put him out there for the toughest match-ups regardless of who they’re up against, and often with different wingers, so his offensive contributions at times take a back seat to concentration on keeping the better of the opposition off the board. Up until last night, when he left the game early, he had been averaging close to 19 minutes a game.
Losing both him and Norris for these 2 remaining games before the break – again in Tampa tomorrow and Saturday in Miami, will sting in more ways than one.
With the rash of injuries to their primary goalkeeper and half their top 6 D, they did discover that they have reliable reserves in Merilainen, as well as D Matinpalo and Sebrango. Now we’ll find out if they’ll be so lucky with the C call-ups.
That 2 week break coming up couldn’t have come along at a better time.
I can empathize. There are some Blue Jackets fans who wonder if there’s an injury curse on the team. Maybe there’s something to that. Nationwide Arena was built on the land of the old Ohio State Penitentiary.
Trying being an Avalanche follower? The team has been decimated by injuries ever since winning the Cup in 22. Haven’t been able to really fill out a roster without guys that are more suited for AHL! In addition to that and guys cashing in from free agency / or suspensions, just not the same. Every team probably feels like there is a curse @ times? It is amazing that there are not more guys out the way this game is played.
The greatest NHL goal scorer is usually a generational issue, taking into accout the speed, size of players, equipment changes, rule changes eg, 2 line pass.
Having seen many of the great ones over the years the one truth is that there tends to be a few generational that simply stand out in their era.
Straight statistical comparisons don’t tell the whole story.
Rather than point at empty net goals, point to the fact that with the entire league knowing when and where the puck is coming from, Ovechkin consistently puts the puck in the net.
Most exciting NHL player through the years is subjective but I’d put Bobby Orr, Gilbert Perreault and Connor McDavid
Habfan30 Laine s true colors are starting to come out huh? Video game addiction! Haven t heard of any professional athletes suffering from that!
Which came about as a result of Laine’s depression over the death of his father, Sr.
And which has been managed.
I know you like to post a lot. How about intelligent ones?
Sr
I mentioned it the other day, you apparently haven’t followed Laine for a while or the goings on among players in Junior and NHL where teams are barring Fortnite as it appears to be addictive.
Laine shows his true colors with his one timers from the circle.
I’m quite happy with his play.
Owen Beck is one prospect I see as being Habs 2C, his game is Suzuki lite.
habfan30, good choices. I don’t think I appreciated Perrault enough. He was awesome. I saw him play the bruins a couple of times but didn’t really appreciate him. The great “French connection” line, I remember watching a lot on tv. Those saber’s were great! I would maybe put lemieux or gretsky as well !!
This is off today’s list of topics but I think this will be of interest: A poll of players on No Trade Clause teams, from the Athletic:
If you have a no-trade list, whatās the first team on it?
82 responses
In a survey of 82 active NHL players between Dec. 20, 2024, and Feb. 2, 2025, 48.78 percent of respondents said if they had a no-trade clause, the first team on it would be the Winnipeg Jets.
Winnipeg Jets
48.78%
Buffalo Sabres
19.51%
San Jose Sharks
8.54%
Calgary Flames
3.66%
Ottawa Senators
3.66%
Anaheim Ducks
2.44%
New York Rangers
2.44%
Other
10.98%
Note: Also receiving 1.22 percent of the vote each: Chicago Blackhawks, Montreal Canadiens, New York Islanders, Philadelphia Flyers, St. Louis Blues, Toronto Maple Leafs, Utah Hockey Club, Vancouver Canucks, Vegas Golden Knights.
Source: Survey conducted by The Athletic of active NHL players from Dec. 20, 2024, to Feb. 2, 2025.
The Athletic
This isn’t the same as a reveal of all existing no trade clause destinations but it surely must be indicative.
What is surprising is not that Winnipeg is the most referenced, but that the Jets have been competitive for some time while being there – playoff results aside.
Also surprised that Montreal is not listed higher, though they may feature regularly in 10 team + lists.
Interesting reveal, LJ.
Of course, it’s too bad the other side of the coin can’t be pooled as well, i.e., the GMs stating which of those players with a “no trade to them” clause they wouldn’t touch with a 10-foot pole.
LOL! Wouldnāt that be interesting reading.
Well, the NHLPA is like other Unions in one respect … quick to rush to the defense of their lowest common denominator … in real Unions that being the essentially useless.
Today their appeal is in behalf of Hartman and his 10-game suspension for deliberate attempt to injure. According to him – more than a 3-time loser – he simply “lost his balance.” Jaysus!
George, it’s the union’s job to represent their members. This is part of the process. Hartman believes he didn’t deserve such a lengthy suspension and wants the PA to represent him.
It’s unlikely his suspension will be reduced (and for the record, I think he got what he deserved), but the union is doing their job here. They would be useless if they didn’t.