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P.K. Subban issues a warning regarding the Pride Night controversies.

The National Hockey League has been mired in controversies this season related to Pride Night events across the league, so much so that the league is now seriously considering scrapping the events alltogether.

The controversies have all stemmed from players refusing to participate in Pride Night events for a variety of reasons, including religious, political, and even safety concerns in some cases. As the season wore on and more and more teams put on their own version of the event, more and more players opted out of the events, every time creating another controversy for the NHL to have to deal with.

Some have argued that more pressure should be placed on the players who are opting out of the events, but this week former NHL defenseman P.K. Subban made it clear that he feels that would be a mistake. The comments were surprising given that Subban himself has been a prominent activist athlete during his time in the NHL, most notably for the Montreal Children’s Hospital (an organization that he has raised millions of dollars for), but he clearly feels that it is not a role that everyone should be forced to take on.

“We cannot push everyone to be an activist, we need to be very careful,” said Subban this week as per Reuters. “I feel people pick and choose what they want to talk about and I don’t like it when we put the onus on athletes to be activists.”

Subban warned that forcing players into those roles could have unforeseen circumstances, regardless of how you may feel about the issue.

“They don’t need to be activists,” said Subban.

“I’m not saying it is right or wrong to wear the (Pride) jersey, we have just got to be very careful how we push players to do things.”

He also pointed out that there are many forms of support, a particularly relevant point when considering the players who have opted out of public displays of such support over safety concerns.

“You can support the LGBTQ community without having to wear a hat, a t-shirt or a jersey,” said Subban.

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More bad news regarding Bruins captain Patrice Bergeron.

Anthony Nesmith/CSM/Zuma

The Boston Bruins have been without the services of their captain Patrice Bergeron in the latter stages of the 2022-23 regular season and, although there is reason to believe he would still be playing if the Bruins were playing more meaningful games, that has been something of a cause of concern among the Bruins fan base.

On Saturday, Bruins head coach Jim Montgomery provided an update on his injured captain and once again the news wasn’t particularly positive. Montgomery indicated that Bergeron would continue to sit out throughout the weekend, missing both today’s game against the Pittsburgh Penguins as well as Sunday’s game against the St. Louis Blues.

Montgomery also revealed that Bergeron was actually dealing with not just one injury, but at least a pair of injuries as the Bruins close in on the Stanley Cup playoffs. Montgomery revealed that Bergeron was suffering from both upper body and lower body injuries, making it all the more reasonable to give him time to recover now while they can before the start of the playoffs.

That means the earliest that Bruins fans can expect to see their captain back on the ice will be this coming Thursday when the Bruins take on a division rival in the Toronto Maple Leafs. That game is likely to have a playoff-like atmosphere given the recent run of playoff dominance from the Bruins over the Leafs.

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Mason Shaw suffers a gruesome looking injury on Saturday night.

It’s impossible not to feel bad for young Masow Shaw here.

On Saturday night, the 24 year old Minnesota Wild centerman suffered what at first glance appears to be a nasty looking knee injury in the first period of a game between the Wild and the Las Vegas Golden Knights. There was no real contact on the play and instead it was Shaw himself who, via his own forward momentum, propelled himself awkwardly into the boards.

Shaw appeared to catch an edge and lose his balance as he was backchecking on a play, resulting in his knee twisting awkwardly as he went into the boards. Considering the fact that Shaw has already dealt with 3 serious ACL injuries throughout his young career, the concern regarding his knee was immediate.

Shaw was unable to put any weight down on his injured leg, and was practically carried off the ice by his teammates.

Perhaps the most disturbing part of this incident was an angle from the Vegas feed that appears to indicate that Shaw is very aware of how bad things are. Shaw immediately hangs his head in resignation following the injury, already a bad sign, but if you watch closely he also nods towards the Wild bench at the end of this clip, as if to signal that he knows the situation is quite bad.

According to Wild insider Mike Russo, Shaw was unable to so much as walk down the runway, another bad sign.

Given Shaw’s injury history and the relatively close proximity of the Stanley Cup playoffs, you have to wonder if the Wild may have lost an important part of their bottom 6, perhaps even for the remainder of the season, at a very inopportune time.

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Montreal Canadiens confirm the worst for David Savard.

Martin Chevalier/JDEM

The Montreal Canadiens have confirmed a bit of bad news on Saturday night, much to the disappointment of their fans.

According to an official announcement from the Canadiens, defenseman David Savard has been shut down for the remainder of the season due to a knee injury. That injury was suffered this past Tuesday against the Philadelphia Flyers, and with the Canadiens having no possibility of making the playoffs it seems they have opted to play it safe with Savard moving forward.

The Canadiens were already decimated by injuries with Carey Price, Sean Monahan, Paul Byron, Juraj Slafkovsky, Cole Caufield and Arber Xhekaj all on either injured reserve or long-term injured reserve, and the loss of Savard will only compile their problems on the injury front.

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Mario Lemieux sends Kris Letang a special message before his 1000th game.

The Pittsburgh Penguins are no doubt fully focused on their fight for a spot in the 2023 Stanley Cup playoffs at the moment, but in spite of that the team will be recognizing a major milestone for one of their players tonight when they take on intrastate rivals the Philadelphia Flyers.

That milestone will of course be Kris Letang’s 1000th game in the National Hockey League and subsequently his 1000th game as a member of the Penguins franchise. Letang was of course drafted in the third round (62nd overall) of the 2005 NHL Entry Draft by the Penguins and has spent his entire career with the franchise up until this point.

Not only will Letang be recognized for his incredible achievement, but the defenseman from Montreal, Quebec also received a very special message ahead of the big game from one of his home province’s greatest icons, NHL legend Mario Lemieux.

“It’s hard to believe you are celebrating your 1,000th game in the National Hockey League. you have solidified yourself as one of the greatest defensemen in Penguins history, as well as the history of the NHL,” wrote Lemieux in a statement on Sunday. “Your strength, determination, and resilience are a testament to your success. it has been a pleasure watching each and every game – especially the three cup runs.

“I wish you many more games, my friend. merci pour les souvenirs!”

“Merci pour les souvenirs” translate to “thanks for the memories” which is pretty fitting given that Lemieux has played a prominent role with the Penguins during Letang’s tenure on the team and has likely witnessed all of his exploits over those many seasons.

A kid from Quebec probably couldn’t have asked for a better endorsement ahead of his 1000th NHL game.

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Jeremy Roenick reveals a completely insane story from his NHL rookie season.

Chase Agnello-Dean/NHLI/Getty

Former National Hockey League player turned NHL analyst Jeremy Roenick has gotten himself into some hot water as of late for comments he has made publicly, and while you may have expected him to learn from those mistakes he may have just done so once again.

In a recent clip for the Clearing the Crease podcast, released by Bodog Canada, Roenick describes a completely insane story from his National Hockey League rookie season, one in which several people may have been hurt.

According to Roenick, he once t-boned a car after running a red light on his way to an airport in Canada, sending the car hurtling into the living room of a nearby home. While you would expect that this would have led to serious consequences for Roenick at the time, it sounds like he managed to escape scott-free.

“Trying to get to the airport I t-boned a car cause I ran a red light running to the airport,” revealed Roenick on the podcast. “Absolutely t-boned the car and she went off the road into the living room of a house. The cops told me ‘Just get out of here JR, you’ve got a game tomorrow get to the airport.’ That’s Canada for you, t-bone a car, never hear about it again.”

It’s hard to believe that Roenick could have caused so much damage and so much chaos and not have been reprimanded in any fashion for his actions, but that is how he tells it. Certainly the victims of this incident might feel aggrieved if they catch wind of Roenick’s retelling, that is assuming of course that the story Roenick is telling here is true.

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Mantha’s future in Washington in doubt after shaky season.

Scott Taetsch/Getty

To say that Anthony Mantha’s time as a member of the Washington Capitals has been disappointing would be quite the understatement. Since being trade by the Detroit Red Wings back in April of 2021 Mantha has appeared in just 117 games for the Capitals over the course of 3 seasons.

Part of that has been due to the injuries that Mantha has suffered since joining the Capitals, but the veteran National Hockey League forward was also made a healthy scratch at times this season by head coach Peter Laviolette and he has never come close to the level of production he saw as a Red Wing.

This season has been Mantha’s most productive with the Capitals so far with him producing 11 goals and 16 assists for a total of 27 points over 66 games played. That however is a far cry from his most productive season in the NHL, one that saw Mantha produce 25 goals and 23 assists for a total of 48 points in just 67 games back during the 2018-19 season.

All this has led to speculation that a change of scenery could be in store for Mantha if the Capitals fail to make the playoffs this season, something that is looking more and more likely each day. In a recent article for The Hockey News, Sammi Silber questioned Mantha’s future on the team.

From Silber:

Regarding Mantha: things haven’t worked out, and he hasn’t capitalized on a fully-healthy season. He has been a healthy scratch on numerous occasions and has been inconsistent and snakebitten, unable to finish on his chances and struggling offensively and defensively. However, it’s unclear whether or not he’s still in the mix going forward, let alone what his trade value would be.

Although the Capitals may prefer to be done with Mantha, moving him won’t be so easy. His decline in production combined with his cap hit of $5.7 million for next season will make him a difficult piece to move, especially considering he is owed $6.5 million in actual cash in the final year of his deal.

Mantha, who was selected in the first round (20th overall) of the 2013 NHL Entry Draft by the Detroit Red Wings has not looked like the dominant physical player many expected him to develop into since his time in Washington, and perhaps a change of scenery would be best for everyone involved come next season.

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Toews returns, says Kane trade was “shocking” to him

CHGO

With Jonathan Toews on the IR the past month and a half and with Patrick Kane traded to the New York Rangers, the Chicago Blackhawks recently played their first game in 16 years without at least one of the two franchise icons in the lineup.

Indeed, it’s the end of an era in Chicago and it’s apparent to everyone around the NHL. Except to Toews himself, it appears.

Toews returned to practice with his team today after spending the past six weeks on the IR and for the first time since the NHL’s trade deadline, he made a public comment on the Patrick Kane trade. Incredibly, Toews says he was “shocked” by the trade, despite the fact that it was rumored for literally months beforehand.

I’ll agree that Kane looks good in a Ranger uniform, but the same could be said for his Blackhawks uniform too. The fact is that the NHL’s original six teams have the best look in game, but I digress…

I’m honestly not sure I can buy what Toews is selling here. There’s no way that he was truly “shocked” when Kane was traded. We all knew it was going to happen. You’d have to be delusional or simply disingenuous to believe otherwise. Again, it’s the end of an era in Chicago and with free agency looming for the 34 year old Toews, you have to imagine that he’ll ride off into the sunset this offseason to officially end the “Kane & Toews” era for the Blackhawks.

Toews was asked about potentially retiring as a Blackhawk this summer and, honestly, he gave a pretty insightful answer:

“Regardless of what happens in the future this summer, it’s definitely on my mind that this could be my last few weeks here in Chicago as a Blackhawk.”

– Jonathan Toews

More from the captain:

Honestly, who would blame Toews if he walked away from the game this summer?

He’s a three time Stanley Cup champion, a two time Olympic gold medalist and one of the most respected players of his generation. His body is failing him and he has nothing to prove to anyone in the hockey world. Take a bow, Jonny… you’ve done well.

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Rival GM heaps praise on Kyle Dubas following trade deadline negotiations

Zuma Press

It’s a make or break season for Kyle Dubas and the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Dubas, the Leafs’ general manager for the past five years now, but he’s unsigned beyond this offseason and its unclear what the team has planned beyond the 2022-23 season. That is to say, that if Dubas and the Leafs can’t make some progress in the post season then Dubas is probably out of a job. After all, the Leafs have continually stubbed their toe in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs with Dubas guiding the ship so it’s believed that this season is his final stand with the team. It’s put up or shut up time.

And because this could be his final hand with the Leafs, Dubas has pushed all his chips in. He has made some significant trades this season, acquiring the likes of Ryan O’Reilly, Noel Acciari, Jake McCabe, Luke Schenn and Erik Gustvasson ahead of the NHL’s trade deadline. And one of the GM’s on the other side of Dubas’ biggest trade, St. Louis Blues GM Doug Armstrong, had nothing but praise for Dubas on the latest episode of the 1st Up podcast on TSN.

Check it out:

Honestly, I don’t understand all of the hate that Dubas gets from some Leafs fans. Sure, the guy has failed to get his team over the hump and he has handed out some questionable contracts, but he’s always been a straight shooter with the fans and the media. If he wasn’t a young man playing in an old boys league, I don’t think he’d get near the amount of criticism that he does. The fact of the matter is that Dubas mainly operates his team in an old school hockey kind of way. He’s not the analytical darling or the uber-nerd that some Leafs fans seem to think he is. He’s just your protoypical hockey bro who leans hard into nepotism and likes to work closely with people that he has a history with. If he were 57 years old rather than 37 years old, I don’t think he’d have nearly as many detractors.

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Maple Leafs release update on Erik Gustafsson

Daily Hive

The Toronto Maple Leafs announced earlier today that defenseman Erik Gustafsson is still in the midst of his leave of absence from the team due to an unnamed personal matter. 

For Gustafsson, who was acquired from the Washington Capitals earlier this month in the deal that sent defenseman Rasmus Sandin back to the American capital city, the situation appears to be family related. 

“We’ll just give him the time he needs to until he can get that sorted out with his family,” explained head coach Sheldon Keefe late last week. 

In 69 gams played this season split between the Capitals and Maple Leafs, Gustafsson has scored a total of seven goals with 32 assists along with a +8 rating.