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Blues cancel plans to wear Pride jerseys tomorrow

Zuma Press

Yet another team has elected to NOT wear Pride themed warmups jerseys for LGBTQ+ celebrations in the NHL.

St. Louis Blues insider Jeremy Rutherford of The Athletic reports today that the Blues will not wear special Pride themed uniforms for tomorrow night’s game against the Philadelphia Flyers, as had been planned earlier.

From Rutherford:

Blues players will not wear Pride jerseys during warmups before the team’s Pride night game against the Flyers on Tuesday, a team source told The Athletic on Monday. Here’s what you need to know:

The Blues announced their plans for Pride night, which included a list of promotions, but notably omitted whether the team will be wearing Pride jerseys during the pregame warmups. The team said there will be Pride-themed warmup pucks and rainbow stick tape available for players.

The source said the decision not to wear the warmup jerseys was made to put the focus on the positive things the team is doing to support and affirm the LGBTQIA+ community.

St. Louis previously wore Pride jerseys during warmups on April 6, 2022.

– Jeremy Rutherford

In a statement, Blues president and CEO of business operations Chris Zimmerman said they “believe in creating a welcoming and inclusive environment that encourages all fans to participate in our great sport.”

“With our Pride Night, alongside our partners from Pride STL and You Can Play Project, we are recognizing our friends in the LGBTQIA+ community and advocating for inclusivity in support of the NHL’s Hockey is for Everyone initiative,” he added. “As an organization, we are committed to celebrating and welcoming all individuals as valued members of the Blues family — regardless of how they identify or whom they love.”

A number of NHL players and/or teams have elected not to wear Pride warmup jerseys this season, either for religious or political reasons. Of course, Flyers defenseman Ivan Provorov sort of kick started these ‘silent protests’ but the New York Islanders, Chicago Blackhawks and Minnesota Wild all soon followed. A number of Russian-born players have also opted out of Pride celebrations over concerns that they will face criminal charges in Russia for endorsing what the Russian government calls “non-normal lifestyles.”

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Tragedy strikes top prospect Matvei Michkov in bizarre case

Zuma Press

This just in, SKA St. Petersburg of the KHL has announced that Andrei Michkov, 51 year old father of superstar forward Matvei Michkov, has been found after missing for two days. 

On April 4, it became known about the death of Andrei Michkov, the father of SKA striker Matvey Michkov.

Hockey Club SKA expresses its deepest condolences to the family and friends of Andrey Michkov. The club is ready to provide all necessary assistance and support to the family of the deceased

– SKA St. Petersburg

To say that details around the elder Michkov’s death are suspicious is the understatement of the century. He had been living with his son Matvey in Sochi, Russia while on loan to HC Sochi for the playoffs. 

More from Sport-Express (translated from Russian):

Police officers removed and identified the body of 51-year-old Andrei Michkov. The father of hockey player HC Sochi and the Russian national team Matvey Michkov was found dead in a pond on Old Believer Street in the urban-type settlement of Sirius.

On the evening of April 2, he left the house at the same address, after which communication with him was lost.

The nature of death will be reported after investigation of all circumstances.

On April 4, it became known that Andrey, the father of hockey player Matvey Michkov, disappeared in Sochi. Since April 2, 2023, the whereabouts of the 51-year-old man is unknown.

– Sport-Express

So… he was missing for two days, but no one knew about that until he was found dead in the bottom of a pond? Again, we’ll wait for the investigation to conclude before making any assertions. 

As for Matvei Michkov, it’s unclear what happens with his season now. He’s been excellent with Sochi this season, putting up nine goals and 20 points in 27 games at just 17 years old. Two years ago he became the youngest goal scorer in Russian national team history, surpassing Alex Ovechkin. In fact, he has surpassed Ovechkin’s statistics at every level so far and at a younger age. He is considered the consensus #2 pick for the upcoming 2023 NHL Entry Draft, ranking just behind North Vancouver product Connor Bedard.

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NHL gets absolutely crushed by women’s college basketball

Zuma Press

Look, I’m not a basketball fan.

I don’t follow the NBA, I don’t follow college (NCAA) basketball and I literally have no clue who won March Madness. I do know, however, that LSU won the college women’s basketball championship last night because it’s literally all over media. I’ve seen those two women doing the ‘hand in front of face’ thing all over social media and I still have no clue what’s going on…

All of this is to say that I’m not a basketball guy and I’m not going to pretend to be.

What I do know is that the game last night was huge and it was viewed by over 12 million people.

The NHL absolutely WISHES they could generate those kind of numbers. In fact, last night’s championship game was bigger than anything the NHL has broadcasted in nearly 30 years.

Yikes…

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Grateful to get out of Montreal, Kotkaniemi talks smack about Habs and Quebec media

The Hockey News

On August 28th, 2021 Jesperi Kotkaniemi became the first player in nearly 15 years to be successfully acquired via contract offer-sheet. Kotkaniemi, of course, was an unsigned member of the Montreal Canadiens when he was signed to a one year, $6.1 million contract by the Carolina Hurricanes in retaliation for the Canadien’s attempt to sign Sebastian Aho to an RFA offersheet two years prior. 

Since then, Kotkaniemi has established himself as a regular, everyday NHLer and has since signed an eight year contract extension worth $4.82 million per season. The 22 year old forward has broken out this season with 15 goals and 37 points in 76 games with the Hurricanes and, it’s clear that he still has some strong feelings about the way that things played out for him in Montreal.

In a column for The Hockey News today, Kotkaniemi reflected on his time in Montreal, spoke about the relentless media and openly admitted that things are much better for him and a more relaxed, laid back market like Carolina.

Some quotes:

“The media is really big in Montreal, and it can get in your head really fast if you read all that stuff,” Kotkaniemi said.

“Here in Carolina, the life is so much easier. You don’t really stress about anything. Great teammates. Great staff. The media is not bad. It’s really a stress-free life here.”

There’s a widespread belief among NHL personnel that Montreal botched Kotkaneimi’s development by placing him in the NHL too quickly. Even Kotkaniemi said that, in hindsight, he probably would have been better off returning to Finland instead of playing in the NHL just a few months after being drafted third overall. Perhaps things would have turned out differently.

“I probably would have had a better answer for you a couple of years ago,” Kotkaniemi said. “I probably would have said something dumb.”

Lately, Kotkaniemi has been playing some of the best hockey of his career.

“I’m kind of starting to find my way in this league,” Kotkaniemi said.

– Jesperi Kotkaniemi

Again, the 22 year old still has a long way to go in fulfilling the promise he showed as a former 3rd overall pick, but the Hurricanes have played the slow game with him and clearly it’s working.

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Red Wings announce status of Ville Husso

The Detroit News

The Detroit Red Wings have been without the services of starting goaltender Ville Husso for the past several games, as he’s been dealing with a nagging injury of late after having easily eclipsed his previous career high in games played.

The good news for Detroit is that backup Alex Nedeljkovic, who struggled mightily in the first part of this season and was relegated to the American Hockey League affiliate Grand Rapids Griffins, has performed well since being brought back up to the big club. And the even better news now is that it looks like Husso is ready to get back into action.

According to comments made by head coach Derek Lalonde, it will be Husso back between the pipes for Detroit’s next game tomorrow night against the Original 6 and Atlantic Division rival Montreal Canadiens at Bell Centre.

Husso, who is in his first year with the Red Wings after being acquired from the St. Louis Blues in a trade last summer, has amassed a record of 25-19-6 with a 3.02 goals against average, .899 save percentage and three shutouts.

Detroit will take on the Canadiens tomorrow night starting at 7:00 PM EST. 

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Wayne Gretzky will be angry if Bruins collapse in playoffs!

Yardbarker

Despite fans and pundits expecting them to begin a downward slant and take a considerable backward step this season, the Boston Bruins have taken those predictions and tossed them into the Atlantic Ocean. They’ve already clinched the President’s Trophy as the top team in the National Hockey League will several games left remaining on the regular season schedule, and have also set a handful of new records. 

And as such, they’re easily considered the favorite to be raising Lord Stanley’s Cup when it’s all said and done later this year. But what are the chances that something completely unexpected takes place in the opening round of the postseason, as the 62 win Tampa Bay Lightning found out against the last-seeded Columbus Blue Jackets in 2019? 

While the odds of that happening remain as slim as ever, that’s the great thing about the Stanley Cup Playoffs – anything can happen. And there will be one particular well known member of the hockey community who won’t be pleased if Boston isn’t the last team standing. You may have heard of him, his name is Wayne Gretzky.

“In ’71 there was eight teams I guess that it was with Bobby Orr, Esposito, Cheevers, there was eight teams that they could beat, six in the west, and Toronto and Detroit weren’t very good, so eight of the 12 teams, and they didn’t get 62 wins,” Gretzky explained. “This team is playing a good hockey club every single night. There’s no days off; there’s no nights off, every game is hard. What they’re doing to me in this year is absolutely amazing.”

“Listen, it’s almost like you feel bad for them if they don’t win the Stanley Cup because they’ve done so many good things for the game, and they’ve played so unselfishly, and they’re so much fun to watch, you know, you almost feel mad if they don’t win the Stanley Cup.”

Strong words from the Great One! 

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Negative update released on Marco Kasper

NHL.com

Detroit Red Wings prospect Marco Kasper skated in his first National Hockey League contest on Sunday night as part of his team’s 5-2 victory over the host Toronto Maple Leafs. The 18 year old Austria native drew high praise from his coaching staff and teammates for his performance on the ice while skating in just under 15 minutes of total ice time. 

However, fans will have to wait to see him on the ice again wearing the Winged Wheel. According to the Red Wings, Kasper will not be playing tonight against the Montreal Canadiens due to a lower body injury. 

It’s pretty surreal the amount of injuries that the Red Wings have had to deal with this season.

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Leafs double down on Pride Night amidst silent protests across NHL

Toronto Maple Leafs

The Toronto Maple Leafs will celebrate the LGBTQ+ community this evening when they take on the Columbus Blue Jackets for their annual Pride Night.

Incidentally, the Leafs will NOT wear a special Pride themed warmup jersey for the evening, but this isn’t a change in their protocol as they’ve never worn anything other than their usual warmup jerseys. They will however be sporting special helmet decals for the entirety of the game and will feature special messages on the arena video screen during stoppages in play. The organization has held Pride Night celebrations since 2017. Head coach Sheldon Keefe and defeneman Morgan Rielly both donned a rainbow-themed t-shirt during media availability this morning.

“I believe actions speak louder than words,” Rielly said Tuesday. “And especially speak louder than attire.”

Yesterday, the St. Louis Blues announced that they had changed their plans for Pride Night and had ditched the rainbow-themed warmup jerseys that the team was scheduled to wear. The Minnesota Wild and Chicago Blackhawks also elected to drop their own jerseys after concerns that their Russian born players would face legal problems in Russia for “supporting non-normal lifestyles”. The Russian government recently instituted new laws regarding LGBTQ rights and the promotion of what they call “alternative sexualities”. Philadelphia Flyers defenceman Ivan Provorov, San Jose Sharks goalie James Reimer, Eric and Marc Staal of the Florida Panthers, Buffalo Sabres blue-liner Ilya Lyubushkin and Vancouver Canucks forward Andrei Kuzmenko have all opted out of Pride celebrations citing religious and political reasons.

My thoughts on this matter have been well stated on this website. I believe that the NHL should do away with every ‘special interest’ evening, including Pride Night. That means Military Appreciation Night and Law Enforcement Appreciation night too. These causes, along with LGBTQ+ causes, have become too politicized and are just dripping with drama. To me, hockey is just hockey. Nothing more. I don’t tune into a hockey game or buy tickets so that I can be part of Pride celebrations or to witness the glorification of war. Just drop the puck and let’s smash some teeth already. Anyone else with me?

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Leafs won’t wear Pride-themed jerseys this evening

Toronto Maple Leafs

The Toronto Maple Leafs will celebrate the LGBTQ+ community this evening when they take on the Columbus Blue Jackets for their annual Pride Night.

Incidentally, the Leafs will NOT wear a special Pride themed warmup jersey for the evening, but this isn’t a change in their protocol as they’ve never worn anything other than their usual warmup jerseys. They will however be sporting special helmet decals for the entirety of the game and will feature special messages on the arena video screen during stoppages in play. The organization has held Pride Night celebrations since 2017. Head coach Sheldon Keefe and defeneman Morgan Rielly both donned a rainbow-themed t-shirt during media availability this morning.

“I believe actions speak louder than words,” Rielly said Tuesday. “And especially speak louder than attire.”

Yesterday, the St. Louis Blues announced that they had changed their plans for Pride Night and had ditched the rainbow-themed warmup jerseys that the team was scheduled to wear. The Minnesota Wild and Chicago Blackhawks also elected to drop their own jerseys after concerns that their Russian born players would face legal problems in Russia for “supporting non-normal lifestyles”. The Russian government recently instituted new laws regarding LGBTQ rights and the promotion of what they call “alternative sexualities”. Philadelphia Flyers defenceman Ivan Provorov, San Jose Sharks goalie James Reimer, Eric and Marc Staal of the Florida Panthers, Buffalo Sabres blue-liner Ilya Lyubushkin and Vancouver Canucks forward Andrei Kuzmenko have all opted out of Pride celebrations citing religious and political reasons.

My thoughts on this matter have been well stated on this website. I believe that the NHL should do away with every ‘special interest’ evening, including Pride Night. That means Military Appreciation Night and Law Enforcement Appreciation night too. These causes, along with LGBTQ+ causes, have become too politicized and are just dripping with drama. To me, hockey is just hockey. Nothing more. I don’t tune into a hockey game or buy tickets so that I can be part of Pride celebrations or to witness the glorification of war. Just drop the puck and let’s smash some teeth already. Anyone else with me?

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Leafs forced to make another emergency roster move

Toronto Maple Leafs

This just in, the Toronto Maple Leafs have recalled goaltender Jospeh Woll on an emergency basis.

This means, more than likely, that starting goaltender Matt Murray is likely to be placed on long-term injury reserve (IR) sometime in the coming days. Murray, of course, suffered yet another freak injury this past weekend in a game against the Detroit Red Wings. 

It looks like the Leafs will be relying mostly on Ilya Samsonov down the stretch and into the playoffs, with Erik Kallgren and Woll backing him up. Samsonov, to his credit, has been solid for the Leafs during stretches this season. He has 25 wins in 39 starts and sports a 2.41 goals against average and a .915 save percentage. To be frank, he’s been a much more consistent goaltender for the Leafs than Murray, but that’s not saying a lot. Murray has been plagued by injury and inconsistency for years now and has never been able to recreate the success he had early on in his career with the Pittsburgh Penguins.

As for Woll, he’s stellar. The 24 year old former 3rd round pick (62nd overall in 2016) has been tremendous at both the NHL and the AHL level this season. With the Leafs he has three wins in four starts with a 2.03 goals against average and a scorching .934 save percentage. With the AHL’s Marlies he has 16 wins in 21 starts and a 2.37 goals against average and a .927 save percentage. Rock solid. Here’s hoping the kid gets a shot on the big stage once and for all.

The big problem with the Leafs in goal, and stop me if you’ve heard this one before, is with their contracts. Samsonov has earned a contract extension, but he’s slated to become an restricted free agent this upcoming offseason. While the Leafs have control over his rights, it’s unclear what the path forward is for him in Toronto. Murray though is signed for next season at over $4.6 million. Woll is signed for two more seasons, but is effectively blocked by Murray and Samsonov. It’s clear to me that Murray’s got to go… but at what cost?