Down the Frozen River

Author: Nick Lanciani

  • Look To The Rafters: Carolina Hurricanes (Part II)

    In the early days of DTFR, we made an educated guess as to who each team might honor in the future regarding retired jersey numbers. Since then, the Vegas Golden Knights came into existence and more than a few jersey numbers went out of circulation across the league. 

    It’s time for an update and a look at who the Carolina Hurricanes might honor by hanging their name and number from the rafters of PNC Arena someday.

    Carolina Hurricanes Current Retired Numbers

    2 Glen Wesley

    10 Ron Francis

    17 Rod Brind’Amour

    Did Anything Change In The Last Five Years?

    No! But that could change as soon as current Minnesota Wild forward, Eric Staal, eventually decides he’s had enough and calls it a career. Not just could, it should and (probably) will.

    Possible Numbers to Retire Someday

    9 Gordie Howe

    Let’s keep this one short and sweet– it’s “Mr. Hockey”. Howe spent his final year in the NHL (1979-80) with the Hartford Whalers and subsequently had his number retired by both the Detroit Red Wings and the Whalers, but when Hartford relocated to North Carolina, the Hurricanes chose not to honor any of the retired numbers from their Whalers days.

    As such, Howe’s No. 9 is technically available, but it has never been worn in Carolina. Why not go all out sometime on Whalers Night and re-retire Howe’s No. 9 out of a formality?

    12 Eric Staal

    From the 2003-04 season through part of the 2015-16 season, Staal was a fixture on the Hurricanes roster. In 909 games with Carolina, he scored 322 goals and had 453 assists (775 points), which ranks 2nd on the all-time scorers list in franchise history (behind only Ron Francis, of course, who had 1,175 points as a Hartford Whaler/Carolina Hurricane).

    Staal had a massive 100-point season in his sophomore campaign in 2005-06, en route to Carolina’s Stanley Cup championship over the Edmonton Oilers in seven games. He notched career-highs in goals (45), assists (55) and points (100) that season in all 82 games played and only had one season below 70 points– his rookie season, in which Staal had 11-20–31 totals in 81 games in 2003-04– until an injury in 2013 disrupted his prolific playing ability.

    As time moved on, it became more clear that Staal would need a change of scenery and the Hurricanes would be wise to cash in on what they could still get for him at a high rather than let him walk away for nothing. 

    After three consecutive seasons of at least 50 points from 2012-13 through 2014-15, Staal entered the 2015-16 season with Carolina, but finished the season with the New York Rangers.

    On Feb. 28, 2016, the Hurricanes dealt Staal to the Rangers for Aleksi Saarela, New York’s 2016 2nd round pick and New York’s 2017 2nd round pick.

    Staal had ten goals and 23 assists (33 points) in 63 games for Carolina at the time of the trade that season. He had three goals and three assists in 20 games for the Rangers down the stretch.

    The Hurricanes won the trade, which had seen the departure of their first true “homegrown” star, having drafted Staal 2nd overall in 2003.

    And there’s still connections to the Staal trade with the Rangers on the roster to this day.

    Saarela was later packaged with Calvin de Haan on June 24, 2019, in a trade with the Chicago Blackhawks for Gustav Forsling and Anton Forsberg. You might recognize Forsberg as one of Carolina’s many goaltenders this year after David Ayres made his NHL debut back in February.

    The 2016 2nd round pick (50th overall) was packaged with a 2017 3rd round pick (originally belonging to Chicago) in a trade with the Blackhawks before the de Haan deal on June 15, 2016, in which the Hurricanes received Teuvo Teravainen and Bryan Bickell.

    Finally, the 2017 2nd round pick (52nd overall) was used by Carolina to draft a right-shot defender from the University of Michigan named Luke Martin.

    Staal played more than one vital role in the ever changing landscape of the Hurricanes from Cup winner to modern day playoff contender on the upswing after making an appearance in the 2019 Eastern Conference Final (albeit losing in four games to the Boston Bruins).

    20 Sebastian Aho

    Entering the 2015-16 season, Carolina kicked things off by drafting Aho in the second round (35th overall) in 2015. Little did anyone know, but it was poetic selection as Staal later was traded that season and Aho made his NHL debut the following season– proving to perhaps be the heir to Staal’s legacy as the current face of the franchise.

    In his rookie season of 2016-17, Aho had 24 goals and 25 assists (49 points) in all 82 games. He followed that up with a sophomore campaign of 29-36–65 totals in 78 games in 2017-18, then set a career-high in assists (53) and points (83) in 82 games last season.

    Up until the shortened regular season due to the COVID-19 pandemic this season, Aho had a new career-high in goals (38) and 66 points in 68 games played. He was on pace for another 80-point season.

    It’s truly a shame we didn’t get to see what might have panned out– and that’s ignoring the cutthroat Eastern Conference playoff berth race.

    At the very least, Aho is no flash in the pan. He’s the real deal in terms of skill, consistency and the true direction of where the franchise is going.

    Only four seasons into his NHL career, it looks like he’s destined to be honored for eternity in Hurricanes lore one day with a jersey retirement night.

    37 Andrei Svechnikov

    Svechnikov just wrapped up a sophomore season that was cut short due to the pandemic, but improved on his 20-17–37 totals in all 82 games in his rookie season last season.

    This year, Svechnikov had 24 goals and 37 assists (61 points) as well as two lacrosse wraparound goals henceforth referred to as “The Svech”.

    Gifted, young, crafty Russian wingers are sometimes hard to predict, but Svechnikov appears to be the real deal– especially since he was the 2nd overall pick in 2018.

    Sure, the Hurricanes have had a young Russian first round product before in Alexander Semin, but whereas Semin was drafted by the Washington Capitals 13th overall in 2002, Svechnikov was drafted at the same overall position as Pittsburgh Penguins center, Evgeni Malkin. Malkin was a 2004 Draft product and look how he turned out for Carolina’s division rival.

    It might be early to say that Svechnikov’s No. 37 will be hanging from the rafters of PNC Arena one day, but it’s not too late to admit that you really liked “The Svech” and you won’t moan about “the disrespect for goaltenders and the game that it has caused”.

    What’s not to love?

    Final Thoughts

    Carolina has their best chance in franchise history at winning a Cup and remaining an annual Cup contender in the process. The first (and only) time they won in 2006, the Hurricanes utilized assets picked up via trades and otherwise to push them over the edge and into eternal glory as names like “Staal”, “Williams”, “Cole”, “Brind’Amour” and others were etched onto Lord Stanley’s chalice.

    But this time around, something’s different.

    This time, the Canes have been built primarily from within and over the years via the draft. While Aho has a great chance at being a cornerstone for the franchise, players like Brett Pesce, Jaccob Slavin and Teravainen have been around for at least a few years and could cement their names in franchise lore by winning a Cup in Raleigh.

    If they’re able to win multiple Cups in Raleigh, then they just might move themselves up into consideration for having their numbers hanging from the rafters of PNC Arena. 

    The hard part is, however, that the accolades of Slavin and Pesce, for example, may otherwise go unnoticed by the rest of the league. Real Caniacs will know the impact they’ve had on the blue line for the franchise, but how much of the impact will be measured in twine on a pulley that brings their last name and number to the ceiling forever?

    Finally, guys like Martin Necas, well, he just had his rookie season, so it seems a bit premature to run around just yet and declare him a player destined to have his No. 88 retired by the Hurricanes (but he just might someday, so you heard it here first if it happens and don’t quote me unless I’m right).

  • Look To The Rafters: Calgary Flames (Part II)

    In the early days of DTFR, we made an educated guess as to who each team might honor in the future regarding retired jersey numbers. Since then, the Vegas Golden Knights came into existence and more than a few jersey numbers went out of circulation across the league. 

    It’s time for an update and a look at who the Calgary Flames might honor by hanging their name and number from the rafters of Scotiabank Saddledome (but in actuality the new Calgary arena that’s being built) someday.

    Calgary Flames Current Retired Numbers

    9 Lanny McDonald

    12 Jarome Iginla

    30 Mike Vernon

    “Forever a Flame”

    2 Al MacInnis

    25 Joe Nieuwendyk

    Did Anything Change In The Last Five Years?

    Yes! Jarome Iginla had his No. 12 retired on March 2, 2019, becoming just the third retired jersey number in Flames franchise history. Those “Forever a Flame” members are just honored players for their contributions to Calgary while playing for the Flames, but their jersey numbers remain in circulation.

    Possible Numbers to Retire Someday

    13 Johnny Gaudreau

    Gaudreau put up 99 points in 82 games in a breakout season last season after reaching at least 60 points in his first four full NHL seasons from 2014-15 through 2017-18. Technically that means he’s had at least 60 points in his first five full seasons and, despite finishing the pandemic shortened 2019-20 regular season with 58 points in 70 games played, Gaudreau was on pace for about 68 points this season.

    While he officially missed out on yet another 60-point season, Gaudreau is a consistent player for the Flames. Sure, 58 points is a bit of a steep drop off from 99 points, but Calgary went through a coaching change this season and unrelated turmoil in trying to find what worked so well last season, but just wasn’t apparent in their game under Geoff Ward in 2019-20.

    What’s perhaps more telling about the Flames from last season to this season is that Gaudreau went from a healthy plus-18 rating in 2018-19, to a minus-10 rating in 2019-20. That’s… not ideal.

    As long as he bounces back to his consistent form or even if all he does is put up 50-points per season in Calgary, then Gaudreau has a good chance of seeing his number in the rafters of the Flames’ new arena that’s currently on track to replace Scotiabank Saddledome.

    The question is, will he be around long enough to qualify for it though?

    Gaudreau has already played in parts of seven NHL seasons so far and, while that’s certainly enough for some teams, it seems the Flames are set on limiting retired jersey numbers for players that average about 12 seasons in a Calgary sweater.

    In five years, who knows what could happen, but hopefully for fans of Gaudreau in Calgary, it’ll mean that he’s getting through his 12th season and then some as a Flame.

    With 151 goals and 294 assists (445 points) in 464 career games (all with the Flames) so far, Gaudreau’s quickly approaching that “at least 600” benchmark for a player to not just have their number honored in Calgary, but rather set aside as a whole and raised to the rafters– never to be worn again.

    14 Theoren Fleury

    In order to be considered “royalty” in Calgary franchise history, it seems that a player must have had at least 600 points in a Flames sweater. Both Al MacInnis and Joe Nieuwendyk had over 600 points in their time with the Flames (MacInnis had 822 points in 13 seasons with Calgary, while Nieuwendyk had 616 points with the Flames in nine seasons).

    Luckily for Fleury, he’s above the “Forever a Flame” club with 830 career points in Calgary from the 1988-89 season through part of the 1998-99 season.

    Retiring Fleury’s No. 14 would rightfully honor a story of redemption and continued success on the path of forgiveness for all involved similar to how one could argue for the Boston Bruins to honor Derek Sanderson in some manner.

    Fleury won the Cup with the Flames in 1989, and had two seasons with at least 100 points in Calgary– including one season with a career-high 51 goals in 1990-91.

    A consistent scorer in his time as a Flame, one word best describes Fleury’s stats in Calgary– dominant.

    After 15 NHL seasons from 1988-89 through 2002-03, Fleury amassed 455-633–1,088 totals in 1,084 games, then stepped away from the NHL to deal with substance abuse and released an autobiography, titled Playing With Fire, in 2009.

    23 Sean Monahan

    Like Gaudreau, Monahan defines an era for Calgary hockey– the current era of the Flames franchise. He had a respectable 34 points in 75 games in his rookie season in 2013-14, then had 60 or more points in three out of four seasons from 2014-15 through 2017-18.

    Since then, Monahan had career-highs in goals with 34 and assists with 48 last season for a career-high 82 points in 78 games.

    This season, he had 22 goals and 26 assists (48 points) in 70 games and was on pace for 56 points. Not bad, but definitely back to his usual production rates.

    That said, like Gaudreau, Monahan has been a part of the Flames in six full seasons and has amassed 194 goals and 217 assists (411 points) in that span. With 541 NHL games under his belt– all with Calgary, Monahan could leverage more points and another half-dozen seasons as a Flame as more than enough to earn a banner alongside Lanny McDonald, Jarome Iginla and Mike Vernon.

    34 Miikka Kiprusoff 

    Calgary retired Vernon’s No. 30 despite Vernon playing in the tumultuous 1980s NHL. Seriously.

    Vernon had 262 wins in a Flames sweater in 527 games played over 13 seasons in Calgary from the 1982-83 season through 1993-94. He had a 3.27 goals against average and an .883 save percentage in that span, as well as 13 shutouts, but he went on to win the Cup in 1989, which has been Calgary’s only Stanley Cup ring so far, so there’s that.

    Unlike Kiprusoff, Vernon did not win the Vezina Trophy, nor did he win the William M. Jennings Trophy (well, not with the Flames, at least– Vernon won it in 1995-96 as a member of the Detroit Red Wings).

    Kiprusoff, on the other hand, spent nine seasons with the Flames from 2003-04 through 2012-13 and amassed 305 wins in 576 games played (386 starts). In his Calgary playing days, Kiprusoff had a 2.46 GAA, a .913 SV% and 41 shutouts. He also took home the Vezina Trophy and William M. Jennings Trophy in the 2005-06 season.

    Sure, Vernon won a Cup and made two appearances in the Final with the Flames in 1986 and 1989, but even though Kiprusoff didn’t win a Cup, he at least reached the Final with Calgary in 2004– losing in seven games to the Tampa Bay Lightning.

    Anyway, the point is simple, if Vernon is your standard for retiring a goalie’s jersey number in Calgary, then at least 300 wins and any hardware becomes the benchmark for future considerations, hence Kirpusoff’s appearance on this list.

    Final Thoughts

    The Flames don’t seem to have any striking “once in a generation” talent since Iginla was traded to the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2013, but they do have the kind of committed and consistent players in Gaudreau and Monahan to consider honoring down the line as long as their careers live to see it.

    If Calgary makes any bold decisions to trade one or both of them, then it’s not likely that either will see anything more than some “Forever a Flame” recognition.

    As a whole, the Flames don’t have many strong candidates in their history that scream “retire this number or else”. 

    Iginla is the only player in franchise history with more than 1,000 points with the team and the next closest guy is the most deserving of having his number retired, but carried off ice repercussions that might be holding Calgary back from sending Fleury’s No. 14 to the rafters without proper discussion surrounding hockey culture as a whole and how it failed a player and led to long-lasting effects on his life and those around him.

  • Look To The Rafters: Buffalo Sabres (Part II)

    In the early days of DTFR, we made an educated guess as to who each team might honor in the future regarding retired jersey numbers. Since then, the Vegas Golden Knights came into existence and more than a few jersey numbers went out of circulation across the league. 

    It’s time for an update and a look at who the Buffalo Sabres might honor by hanging their name and number from the rafters of KeyBank Center someday.

    Buffalo Sabres Current Retired Numbers

    2 Tim Horton

    7 Rick Martin

    11 Gilbert Perreault

    14 Rene Robert

    16 Pat Lafontaine

    18 Danny Gare

    39 Dominik Hasek

    Did Anything Change In The Last Five Years?

    No! Not a thing and that’s a crime according to this post. Luckily for the Sabres, we have a few suggestions to get them out of retired jersey number jail.

    Possible Numbers to Retire Someday

    9 Jack Eichel

    Eichel had yet to lace up his skates and take to the ice in a Sabres sweater when the first “Look to the Rafters” for Buffalo was written in Aug. 2015. Since then, he wore No. 15 when he made his NHL debut, then changed his number to the more familiar No. 9 ahead of last season (2018-19).

    In 354 career games (all with the Sabres), Eichel has 337 points (137 goals, 200 assists). He had back-to-back seasons of at least 55 points in his rookie and sophomore campaigns, then improved to 60 or more points in the last three seasons (64 points in 67 games in 2017-18, 82 points in 77 games in 2018-19 and 78 points in 68 games this season).

    He’s the face of the franchise with the most talent since (dare I say it?) Alexander Mogilny. Not goaltending talent related, of course.

    Anyway, Eichel is the real deal and just needs, well, a lot more support to get the Sabres back to the top of the regular season standings, let alone tip-top playoff performance– something Eichel has yet to see, by the way, in his NHL career.

    He’s five seasons into playing hockey in the best league in the world and he has not even had a shift on the ice in the postseason because his team has missed the playoffs since before he was drafted 2nd overall in 2015.

    That said, he’s a certified star and he’s signed long-term because he’s loyal to the fan base in the place where winter never stops. No. 9 is sure to be hanging in the rafters in Buffalo some number of years from now and it just might reverse the Modano Curse (well, technically, the “Brett Hull’s Foot Was In The Crease” Curse).

    26 Thomas Vanek

    Are we sure Vanek didn’t actually play somewhere this season? Buffalo’s first round selection (5th overall) in 2003, the Vienna, Austria native formally announced his retirement from professional hockey on Feb. 25th this year.

    Vanek amassed 373-416–789 totals in 1,029 career NHL games for the Sabres, New York Islanders, Montreal Canadiens, Minnesota Wild, Detroit Red Wings, Florida Panthers, Vancouver Canucks, Columbus Blue Jackets and Red Wings in one final stint from 2005-19 across 14 NHL seasons.

    He spent parts of nine seasons with Buffalo and had 254 goals and 243 assists (497 points) in 598 games as a Sabre in that span.

    After being dealt to the Islanders early in the 2013-14 season, Vanek became a Swiss Army knife of sorts and an NHL journeyman that went on to collect a lot of different jerseys in his career.

    Anyway, whereas Danny Briere and Chris Drury didn’t last long in Buffalo and Ryan Miller had the crease, as well as the love and affection of being a goaltender for many years as a Sabre, Vanek was the one constant in a time of bliss and turmoil for the franchise.

    The success of the 2000s that brought them oh so close, but not close enough as the Sabres couldn’t get past the Eastern Conference Final in 2006 or 2007, ultimately led to their last playoff appearance in 2011.

    Since then, the team has gone through coaches, general managers and even a change in ownership. As the Vanek Era came to a close in Buffalo, the precursor to the Eichel Era was ushered in.

    For now, Vanek’s legacy remains large and in focus until Eichel and whoever else can lead the Sabres to rise above and land the franchise its first Stanley Cup championship. As such, perhaps it’s time to consider setting aside number– oops, just kidding, you let Rasmus Dahlin wear it now.

    No, Dahlin wasn’t included in this list as he only just got done with his sophomore season and was hampered by injuries that limited him to 59 games out of the team’s 69-game shortened regular season due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

    Dahlin had 9-35–44 totals in 82 games in his rookie year (2018-19), which is respectable for a durable NHL defender in this day and age. He had 4-36–40 totals in 59 games this season and was on pace for about 56 points had the regular season seen its conclusion.

    Though, admittedly, 16 points in 13 games for a defender seems unlikely– especially considering the number of losses that piled up for Buffalo from February to the end of the season in March.

    We’ll see how Dahlin bounces back (and the rest of the Sabres for that matter), then consider changing No. 26’s honor from Vanek to Dahlin if/when it seems appropriate.

    30 Ryan Miller

    Miller won the Vezina Trophy as the league’s top goaltender in the 2009-10 season while with the Sabres– that same year he and the rest of Team USA came a goal shy of upsetting the hockey world and winning gold at the 2010 Winter Games in Vancouver. Alas, it wasn’t meant to be because Sidney Crosby exists and all that, but hey, if that one moment of defeat is the only thing that defines Miller’s greatest upset while associated with Buffalo, then I think that’s something he can…

    Well, as a goalie, one never really “gets over” the “one that got away” goal.

    Nevertheless, Miller spent parts of 11 seasons with the Sabres and amassed a 284-186-57 record in 540 games played wearing a Buffalo sweater from the 2002-03 season through part of the 2013-14 season. He had a 2.58 goals against average and a .916 save percentage, as well as 28 shutouts in that span in 31,659 minutes as a Sabre.

    He went on to have a short tenure with the St. Louis Blues after the Sabres packaged him to St. Louis, before signing with the Vancouver Canucks and later Anaheim Ducks in free agency. After six seasons in Vancouver and Anaheim (split evenly in half between the two cities), Miller appears at ease and ready to retire from the NHL this offseason.

    He’s the winningest American goaltender in NHL history with 387 wins in 780 career NHL games from the 2002-03 season through 2019-20, so that, on top of his longevity as a Sabre should be enough reason to hang his number alongside Dominik Hasek’s in the rafters of KeyBank Center.

    81 Miroslav Satan

    Satan spent parts eight seasons with the Sabres despite what most fans might think is an eternal hell in Buffalo these days.

    From part of the 1996-97 season through the 2003-04 season, Satan scored 224 goals and had 232 assists for 456 points in 578 games as a Sabre. That’s pretty, pretty good.

    There’s something to say for consistency over a long period of time, say, almost a decade with one organization before the former Edmonton Oiler in his days before Buffalo departed for the New York Islanders from 2005-06 through 2007-08 before making his way around with the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2008-09 and Boston Bruins for part of the 2009-10 season and 2010 Stanley Cup Playoffs run that intertwined with the Sabres in Boston and Buffalo’s 2010 Eastern Conference Quarterfinal matchup.

    Anyway, Satan was a consistent player in his tenure with the Sabres and an icon– not just because of the 1990s rebrand, but later on because of his leadership as the General Manager of Team Europe at the 2016 World Cup of Hockey.

    It’s a shame Satan and Mogilny never overlapped in Buffalo, because, boy, what magic that could’ve been.

    89 Alexander Mogilny

    If the Hockey Hall of Fame is going to keep snubbing Mogilny, then the least the Pegulas can do to help his case for Hall of Fame recognition would be to formally retire his No. 89.

    Though he only spent six seasons in Buffalo from 1989-95, Mogilny scored 444 points (211 goals, 233 assists) in 381 games. He had more points per game with the Sabres (1.17 points per game) than with any other team he played for in their respective tenure (.987 points per game with the Vancouver Canucks, .942 points per game with the New Jersey Devils and .943 points per game with the Toronto Maple Leafs).

    He’s a legend in his own right and it’s only right that the Sabres do him right.

    Don’t just put the number aside and never use it– retire it. Give the 2002-03 Lady Byng Memorial Trophy winner and 2000 Stanley Cup champion that scored 1,032 points in 990 career NHL games in 16 seasons with Buffalo, Vancouver, New Jersey and Toronto the respect he deserves.

    Sabres fans still– and always will– love him.

    Final Thoughts

    Despite not having many players emerge from the last time we did this five years ago as potential “jersey retirement ceremony worthy” quality, the Sabres have quite a few candidates from their recent or later past to consider honoring before more time is wasted.

    There’s no shame in admitting that it might be time to play a little catchup as now is the perfect time to mix in a little nostalgia with the 50th anniversary season having passed, Miller riding off into the sunset with an insurmountable love for Buffalo still and everything else that could be written as a storybook ending despite the team on the ice needing some work to get back into the playoff hunt.

    Plus it’d be great PR in the face of whatever’s up with the power struggle that may or may not be in the front office.

  • Look To The Rafters: Boston Bruins (Part II)

    In the early days of DTFR, we made an educated guess as to who each team might honor in the future regarding retired jersey numbers. Since then, the Vegas Golden Knights came into existence and more than a few jersey numbers went out of circulation across the league. 

    It’s time for an update and a look at who the Boston Bruins might honor by hanging their name and number from the rafters of TD Garden someday.

    Boston Bruins Current Retired Numbers

    2 Eddie Shore

    3 Lionel Hitchman

    4 Bobby Orr

    5 Dit Clapper

    7 Phil Esposito

    8 Cam Neely

    9 Johnny Bucyk

    15 Milt Schmidt

    16 Rick Middleton

    24 Terry O’Reilly

    77 Ray Bourque

    Did Anything Change In The Last Five Years?

    Yes! Rick Middleton had his No. 16 retired by the Bruins on Nov. 29, 2018, after scoring 898 points in 881 games with Boston over 12 seasons from 1976-88.

    Possible Numbers to Retire Someday

    30 Gerry Cheevers/Tim Thomas

    The Bruins have never retired a goaltender’s jersey number, so why not make the first one count for two of the most prolific Boston netminders in the Expansion Era?

    Boston has a chance to right a few wrongs if there’s any ill will leftover from Cheevers’ departure to the World Hockey Association (WHA) and back or Thomas’ debacle regarding his year-long vacation from the sport that led to being suspended from the team and his trade to the New York Islanders in Feb. 2013, while Thomas was resting at home reconnecting with (in his words) his family, friends and faith.

    Last month, I addressed the pros and cons facing what might be a longshot at this point for No. 30 to ever be raised to the rafters at TD Garden in Cheevers’ and/or Thomas’ honor, but with Rick Middleton having his No. 16 retired last season– years after he hung up the skates and despite being on the outside looking in regarding Hockey Hall of Fame status, then there’s a chance the B’s overlook Cheevers’ sin and Thomas’ short tenure.

    Nevertheless, both are Stanley Cup champion goaltenders and legends in their own right among Bruins fans around the Hub.

    33 Zdeno Chara

    The 2008-09 James Norris Trophy winner has played in 1,023 games in a Bruins uniform and amassed 148-333-481 totals in that span– so far. No, the 43-year-old defender and longest tenured captain in the National Hockey League is not done yet. 

    Chara has indicated he’d like to go out on his own terms, whether that’s with another Cup under his belt or another full season– at least– if there’s ever another “normal” 82-game schedule again in the future.

    In 1,553 career NHL games played for the Bruins (1,023 games), Ottawa Senators (299) and New York Islanders (231), Chara has 205 career goals and 451 career assists (656 points).

    At 6-foot-9, he’s the tallest player in NHL history and though he might be tall in stature and a fierce competitor on the ice, Chara has a big heart off of it– taking charge in the annual pie donation at homeless shelters across Boston on American Thanksgiving, being one of the first You Can Play Project supporters and many other charitable efforts throughout the city, including, most recently, joining Black Lives Matter protests on the streets of Boston.

    He joined the Bruins as a free agent on July 1, 2006, with Marc Savard as two centerpieces tasked with overhauling a floundering Original Six franchise on the ice and transforming the team into not only an annual playoff contender, but more popular than perhaps even the 1970s B’s teams throughout the New England region.

    And even still, there’s some in the Bruins fan base that negate his workhorse effort, team leader mentality and humility.

    Well, there was until he sustained a broken jaw in Game 4 of the 2019 Stanley Cup Final, then played in Game 5 on home ice with a cage and (presumably) in pain.

    He’ll do anything to win another Cup since winning it with Boston nine years ago and ending the city’s 39-year Cup drought between raising Lord Stanley’s mug in 1972 and 2011.

    37 Patrice Bergeron

    Throughout the course of Bruins history there have been several individuals who have exemplified– with the utmost detail in every little thing they do– what it means to be a Bruin in Boston. 

    Their names are Art Ross, Eddie Shore, Milt Schmidt, Bobby Orr and Patrice Bergeron.

    Bergeron has spent his entire 16-year NHL career with Boston since being drafted by the Bruins in the second round (45th overall) in 2003. In 1,089 games, he’s scored 352 goals and amassed 517 assists for 869 career points. 

    He’s also a member of the elusive Quadruple Gold Club, having won a Stanley Cup ring in 2011, two gold medals at the Winter Games for Canada in 2010 and 2014, a gold medal at the World Championship in 2004 and a gold medal at the World Junior Championship in 2005.

    And if the Pentaple Gold Club was a thing, then Bergeron would be in that too– having been a member of the 2016 World Cup of Hockey championship winning Team Canada.

    But enough about what he’s done away from the Bruins, eh.

    If Schmidt was “Mr. Bruin”– or “The Ultimate Bruin” in his later years– then Bergeron is “Mr. Bruin Jr.” as the quintessential (likely) Bruin for life like how Schmidt lived and breathed (despite at one point coaching the Washington Capitals).

    Bergeron recorded back-to-back 70-point seasons in his sophomore season and third NHL season, then suffered an almost career-ending– if not life threatening– concussion at the helm of Philadelphia Flyers defender, Randy Jones’ hit from behind just ten games into the 2007-08 season.

    Bergeron’s season was cut short and his 2008-09 campaign was limited to 64 games when another concussion from a run-in with future teammate, then Carolina Hurricanes defender, Dennis Seidenberg, sidelined Bergeron for a duration of the season.

    In 2011, Bergeron captured the Cup with Chara, Thomas and several other players who will be named in a moment that are possibly also deserving of the highest team honor in Boston– which raises a point about retired numbers in Bruins lore.

    They come in bunches.

    Nos. 2, 3 and 5 were all early pioneers of the franchise with No. 15 serving as a bridge between them and Nos. 4, 7 and 9. Then along came No. 24 before Nos. 8, 16 and 77 defined an era of Bruins hockey.

    The same can be said for Nos. 33, 37, 40, 46 and perhaps 63 one day.

    Anyway, No. 37 will go down in Boston sports history for more than a few reasons aside from his playoff overtime goals and everything else– he got better with age.

    Bergeron turned in a career-high 79 points in 65 games played in 2018-19, and had 31-25–56 totals in 61 games up until the COVID-19 stoppage this season. He was on pace for 75 points had the regular season not met an abrupt end.

    40 Tuukka Rask

    No, Rask has “never won a Cup”. He has a Stanley Cup ring from 2011 and it doesn’t matter in the eyes of the engraver whether or not you were the starter or the backup when your name is etched into Lord Stanley’s mug.

    Also, what hasn’t he done in Boston?

    Rask has been a finalist for the Vezina Trophy twice (which was the same number of times Thomas was a Vezina finalist) in his career, winning in 2013-14 and yet to be determined this season. 

    Oh, plus he ranks 1st in Bruins franchise history in wins (Rask has 291, Tiny Thompson is 2nd with 252), games played (Rask has 536, Thompson is 2nd with 468), saves (Rask has 13,711, Eddie Johnston had 12,375), save percentage (among goalies with a minimum of 100 games played as a Bruin, Rask has a .922, Thomas had a .921) and goals against average (again, among goalies with a minimum of 100 games played, Rask has a 2.26, Byron Dafoe had a 2.30).

    Rask also leads all Bruins goaltenders in franchise history in points with 15 (all assists, as no B’s netminder has ever scored a goal). Cheevers is second to Rask in points by a Boston goaltender with 11 assists.

    Want to talk about the two most important trophies in the league?

    Cheevers and the Bruins made four Stanley Cup Final appearances together, winning in 1970 and 1972, and losing in 1977 and 1978. Boston also finished first in the regular season standings in 1970-71 and 1971-72, which preceded the creation of the Presidents’ Trophy in 1986, but was done with Cheevers in net.

    Thomas won the Cup and the Conn Smythe in his only Stanley Cup Final with the team in 2011, but never backstopped the team to a Presidents’ Trophy season.

    Rask, meanwhile, earned a Cup ring on the 2010-11 roster, dragged his teammates to the 2013 and 2019 Stanley Cup Final and helped them to the franchise’s second and third Presidents’ Trophy seasons in 2013-14 and 2019-20.

    The Bruins have never retired a goaltender’s jersey number, but they’d be crazy not to retire Rask’s when his playing career is over.

    And that’s not even mentioning the fact that both Thomas and Rask won the William M. Jennings Trophy in their careers. Thomas shared the award with his backup, Manny Fernandez, in the 2008-09 season, while Rask won the award with his backup, Jaroslav Halak, this season.

    Crazy, right?

    46 David Krejci

    Imagine for a moment, if you will, a player like Bergeron, but only quieter and better at making everyone around him better because he has a golden stick when it comes to passing. That player is Krejci.

    Krejci has 38 assists fewer than Bergeron in 178 games less in his career so far. Bergeron has 517 assists in 1,089 games, while Krejci has 479 assists in 911 career NHL games. Both players have only ever played for Boston.

    A second-half of the season player, Krejci emerges in peak performance from about February onward and crests his prime in the postseason. As long as the Bruins clinch a playoff berth, Krejci remains a dark horse threat for the Conn Smythe Trophy.

    He had 23 points in 25 games in the 2011 Stanley Cup Playoffs and improved that to 26 points in 22 games in the 2013 Stanley Cup Playoffs. In the run to his third Stanley Cup Final appearance, Krejci had 16 points across 24 games played through the seven-game series loss to the St. Louis Blues in 2019.

    All of this is to say that Krejci is the other constant in the Bergeron-Chara Era (or is it really the Bergeron-Chara-Krejci Era?) and that he’s quietly amassed 207-479–686 totals in 911 career games with Boston from breaking into the league in the 2006-07 season through now.

    Do not sleep on him. He deserves as much praise when all is said and done as some of the surefire players to have their jersey numbers retired when they hang up the skates.

    63 Brad Marchand

    Controversial? You got it.

    But Terry O’Reilly has his jersey number hanging from the rafters of TD Garden, which means the “Little Ball of Hate” can get the same treatment as “Taz”.

    Then there’s the fact that Marchand had 100 points last season in 79 games played– no, he did not miss any time due to any suspensions in 2018-19. He’s also had 85-points or more in the last four seasons dating back to 2016-17.

    Since breaking into the league with a 20-game stint and only one assist in 2009-10, Marchand has gone on to amass 290-355–645 totals in 731 games from 2010-11 through the pandemic shortened 2019-20 season. That means he’s had 646 points in 751 career NHL games from the 2009-10 season through now.

    After reaching 100 points last season in 79 games, Marchand had 87 points in 70 games this season. He was on pace for 102 points had the COVID-19 pandemic not interrupted those plans.

    Instead of extending his four consecutive 30-goal seasons to five, Marchand finished short with 28 goals in 2019-20’s shortened regular season. He had a career-high 39 goals in 2016-17, and a career-high 64 assists last season.

    Like Bergeron, Marchand appears to only be getting better with age and that’s only going to cement his status as an icon in Bruins franchise history. It might just be enough to push him over the edge and encourage Boston to hang his number from the rafters someday.

    88 David Pastrnak

    How did 24 other teams– yes fully acknowledging that some teams traded their picks to other teams that then had multiple picks in the first round before Boston selected 25th overall– pass over Pastrnak in the 2014 NHL Draft? How? 

    In 390 career NHL games thus far, Pastrnak has 379 points. He has 180 goals and 199 assists in that span since breaking into the league in the 2014-15 season and not being sent back down to the Providence Bruins (AHL).

    This season alone, Pastrnak had 48 goals in 70 games– tied for the league lead in goals scored with Washington Capitals forward, Alex Ovechkin– en route to sharing the Maurice “Rocket” Richard Trophy and being the first Bruin in franchise history to have his name etched on that award named after the prolific Montreal Canadiens goal scorer from many years ago.

    In fairness, the Maurice “Rocket” Richard Trophy wasn’t a thing until the 1998-99 season, so B’s legends like Rick Middleton and Cam Neely never got a chance to win it (let alone Bobby Orr).

    But Pastrnak is a star in his own right. He’s a star in the making that was on pace for 56 goals at the time of the stoppage and 111 points before the pandemic put an early end to the 2019-20 regular season.

    Nevertheless, he set career-highs in goals (48), assists (47) and points (95) this season and has scored more goals than the prior season in four-consecutive seasons now (34 goals in 75 games in 2016-17, 35 goals in 82 games in 2017-18, 38 goals in 66 games in 2018-19 and 48 goals in 70 games in 2019-20).

    As long as Pastrnak can stay healthy and maintain and/or elevate his play for the next four or five seasons, then he’ll see his jersey number in Boston’s rafters with their most recent prolific goal scorer with the last name “Neely”.

    Final Thoughts

    Since Chara created the current team culture, it’d be an insult to leave out any of the key core members of the last decade or so of Bruins hockey history. 

    Sure, it might be a bit much to have so many jersey retirement nights upcoming and increasing the amount of jersey numbers taken out of circulation in Boston from 11 to upwards of at least 16, but to reiterate– the Bruins retire numbers in bunches.

    These players define an era in B’s lore. These players are doing so as one unit– the way their current captain and perhaps greatest leader in the history of the team methodically designed, cultivated and produced the close-knit machine that is the Bruins organization on the ice and in the dressing room.

    In a time with rightful public shaming and disgrace for not immediately stepping up and committing to help their employees in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic, these players stepped up out of their own volition to do something their owner wouldn’t do without being provoked.

    The very least that owner can do to keep in good faith standing with the club’s alumni and current players destined for jersey retirement night ceremony glory, would be to honor this extraordinary group of gentlemen with class.

  • Look To The Rafters: Arizona Coyotes (Part II)

    In the early days of DTFR, we made an educated guess as to who each team might honor in the future regarding retired jersey numbers. Since then, the Vegas Golden Knights came into existence and more than a few jersey numbers went out of circulation across the league. 

    It’s time for an update and a look at who the Arizona Coyotes might honor by hanging their name and number from the rafters of Gila River Arena someday.

    Arizona Coyotes Current Retired Numbers

    7 Keith Tkachuk

    9 Bobby Hull

    10 Dale Hawerchuk

    19 Shane Doan

    25 Thomas Steen

    27 Teppo Numminen

    97 Jeremy Roenick

    99 Wayne Gretzky

    Did Anything Change In The Last Five Years?

    Yes! Shane Doan hung up the skates and promptly had his jersey number retired after spending his entire 21-year career with the original Winnipeg Jets/Phoenix Coyotes/Arizona Coyotes franchise from 1995-2017. Loyalty rewards.

    Possible Numbers to Retire Someday

    9 Clayton Keller

    Since breaking into the league in the 2016-17 season, Keller has 54 goals and 104 assists (158 points) in 237 career NHL games. He had a strong 65-point showing in his first full season– scoring 23 goals and amassing 42 assists– in 82 games in 2017-18. 

    Last season he had 14-33–47 totals in an 82-game sophomore campaign with the Coyotes and up until the COVID-19 pandemic put an early end to the 2019-20 regular season, Keller had 17 goals and 27 assists (44 points) in 70 games played and was on pace for 52 points.

    While he’s yet to get past the 20-goal plateau since his rookie season, it’s important to remember he’s still a young player. Keller will turn 22 later this month on July 29th and will be heading into his first taste of non-preseason or regular season action in August (as the play-in Stanley Cup Qualifiers won’t officially be considered the postseason– kind of).

    It may still be too early to project how much of an impact the one-and-done Boston University standout will have on the organization, let alone on the game itself, but while we’re discussing players in the contemporary era that value loyalty to their team, Keller is committed to being a Coyote as his eight-year extension begins next season.

    If he pans out to at least be a consistent player– and a fan favorite at that– then we’re talking about the next Shane Doan, perhaps.

    Though Arizona has better chances at seeing a long playoff run leading to a Cup now more than ever before– including most of the teams Doan played on from year to year with the exception of the 2012 Western Conference Final runners-up roster that fell in five games to the eventual 2012 Stanley Cup champion Los Angeles Kings.

    So in that sense, Keller has a good chance at scoring some clutch goals in the near future and etching himself into Coyotes lore for eternity– eventual jersey retirement ceremony or not.

    23 Oliver Ekman-Larsson

    Want to feel old? Ekman-Larsson just wrapped up his 10th NHL season this year. If you’re not already aware of his contributions from the blue line or that he’s not the youngest player on the team anymore, then you clearly need to pay more attention to Arizona.

    The Karlskrona, Sweden native just had nine goals and 21 assists (30 points) in 66 games this season for the Coyotes and increased his career totals to 125-239–364 in 723 career NHL games– all with Arizona.

    Though he was only on pace for 37 points this season (down from 44 points in 81 games last season), Ekman-Larsson was injured for a short period of time in early February and not quite his usual self down the stretch until the pandemic stoppage.

    Regardless, he amassed 21-34–55 totals in 75 games in the 2015-16 season and has reached the 40-point plateau as a defender in four other seasons. That’s pretty good these days. Any defender that consistently contributes 40 or 50 points over a season in addition to their ability to protect their own net is considered highly valuable in today’s NHL.

    Oh and if it wasn’t already clear enough, he has almost 400 points as a defender in a little over 700 games. He’s 36 points shy of 400 points in his career and has 77 games to go before he reaches 800 games played in the NHL. That’s remarkable.

    If anything, Ekman-Larsson’s career has proven to be one of the most underrated quality defenders in the league. He’s certain to be honored in some manner by the Coyotes– especially as the points and games played continue to climb in Arizona.

    Doan might have been the face of the franchise as a result of his loyalty for his entire playing career, but perhaps nobody has been more proud to be a Coyote these days than Ekman-Larsson. As such, No. 23 should see its rightful residence in the rafters one day next to No. 19 in Arizona.

    Final Thoughts

    The Coyotes have been through a lot in the last five years– most notably in finding and sticking to a plan, thanks to current General Manager, John Chayka’s approach. 

    There’s no doubt that Ekman-Larsson is a shoe-in for the next Arizona player to be honored with his number going to the rafters, but just which player from the current core or new crop of prospects, free agent additions or other transactions might cement their legacy permanently in the rafters wherever the Coyotes play, well, time will tell.

    Arizona’s stock is on the rise and the Coyotes should be back to being a team in the playoff hunt from season-to-season, which means they’re destined to break through one of these days. The team that gets it done should have at least another candidate or two to consider raising to the rafters.

    The hard part for the Coyotes, however, is that since they brought the retired numbers from Winnipeg to Arizona upon relocation and formally retired Wayne Gretzky’s No. 99, the team already has a lot of numbers out of circulation for an organization that’s only been in Arizona for less than 25 years.

    Even the Boston Bruins (who’ve been around for almost 100 years) have only retired 11 numbers in their entire existence, for comparison.

  • Look To The Rafters: Anaheim Ducks (Part II)

    In the early days of DTFR, we made an educated guess as to who each team might honor in the future regarding retired jersey numbers. Since then, the Vegas Golden Knights came into existence and more than a few jersey numbers went out of circulation across the league. 

    It’s time for an update and a look at who the Anaheim Ducks might honor by hanging their name and number from the rafters of Honda Center someday.

    Anaheim Ducks Current Retired Numbers

    8 Teemu Selanne

    9 Paul Kariya

    27 Scott Niedermayer

    Did Anything Change In The Last Five Years?

    Yes! Paul Kariya and Scott Niedermayer (called it, not to brag) had their jersey numbers retired by the Ducks since 2015. Both are very deserving.

    Possible Numbers to Retire Someday

    10 Corey Perry

    Perry won the Hart Memorial Trophy as the regular season MVP for 2010-11, when he scored 50 goals and also added a Maurice “Rocket” Richard Trophy to his trophy case that season, but he has yet to get back to the 50-goal plateau and only crossed the 40-goal plateau once since then with 43 goals in 2013-14.

    Since 2013-14, Perry added back-to-back 30-goal seasons with 33 goals in 67 games played in 2014-15, and 34 goals in 82 games in 2015-16.

    Nicknamed “Scorey” Perry, his production is much more reminiscent of that of Barry Pederson in a Vancouver Canucks sweater– and he shares more in common with Pederson these days too as a player battling significant injuries.

    He missed five months of the 2018-19 season (his last in Anaheim) due to a torn meniscus and an MCL injury. Since then, despite joining the Dallas Stars via free agency on a one-year deal ahead of the 2019-20 season, Perry has looked like a shell of his former self on the ice.

    That’s not to say he can’t extend his career another year or two, but at 35-years-old, it’s unlikely that he’ll reach top-six forward status on any roster anytime soon.

    Nevertheless, he racked up a Stanley Cup ring in his sophomore season, which also happens to be the Ducks’ only Stanley Cup championship to date back in 2007. In 988 career NHL games with Anaheim, Perry notched 372 goals and 404 assists (776 points), which was about .785 points per game as a Duck.

    In his 14 seasons with Anaheim, there was perhaps no bigger name on the roster– aside from Teemu Selanne, Scott Niedermayer and Chris Pronger– so he’s more than likely to see his No. 10 rise to the rafters when he hangs up his skates.

    15 Ryan Getzlaf

    No, it’s not a product of “cancel culture”– a phrase that didn’t even exist in the mainstream Internet lexicon the last time we did this in 2015– to think that professional athletes should be held to “higher standards” for their words (the same standards the average professional actually has in their office– well, in theory), but the fact of the matter is that Getzlaf used a homophobic slur in Game 4 of the 2017 Western Conference Final and was fined $10,000 by the league for it.

    Was it an “honest” mistake? Perhaps. 

    Did Getzlaf learn from it? Well, no, not right away anyway. 

    He didn’t exactly apologize upon owning up to it, remarking to reporters after Game 5 that “[a] situation like that, where I’m on the bench by myself, frustration set in. There was obviously some words said, not necessarily directed at anyone in particular. It was just kind of a comment. I’ve got to be a little bit more responsible for the words I choose.

    “Definitely as a father, as somebody that takes a lot of pride in this game and the respect for it, it’s tough to see somebody refer to it as what TSN did (a homophobic slur). I didn’t mean it in that manner in any way. For that to take that route was very disappointing for me. I do accept responsibility and I accept the fine.

    “We talked to the league and I understand that it’s my responsibility to not use vulgar language. Period. Whether it’s a swear word or whatever it is. We’ve got to be a little bit more respectful of the game, and that’s up to me. I accept that responsibility and we’ll move forward.

    “That’s my responsibility to understand that there are eyes and ears on us all the time. Fortunately enough, nobody heard it. If you can read lips, it’s a little bit harder, and I apologize for that. That’s a thing that you won’t hear from me again. I hope I didn’t offend anybody outside the circle that we trust.”

    Sure, it might have “just [been] kind of a comment”, but it’s still irresponsible. Getzlaf addressed needing to be more responsible, but then slaughtered any responsibility for his action with the “[i]t’s tough to see someone refer to it as [homophobic]” part.

    Might as well translate to “I’m sorry that you’re not sorry for not understanding me when I clearly used a slur according to the league”.

    And that “I hope I didn’t offend anybody outside the circle that we trust” part? What the hell does that mean, exactly? Anybody “outside the circle” should still deserve your respect.

    He also deflected to being “a little bit more respectful of the game”, but slurs of any kind have nothing to do with “the game”– they’re directed at people.

    In the 2016 Stanley Cup Playoffs, Chicago Blackhawks forward, Andrew Shaw, was suspended for one game and fined $5,000 for using a homophobic slur and making an obscene gesture toward officials.

    A year later, what’s another $5,000 and not being sidelined for a game? 

    Pocket change for Getzlaf– a player with an $8.250 million cap hit through 2020-21 and making a salary of $9.250 million in the 2016-17 season alone.

    None of this isn’t to say that Getzlaf hasn’t possibly learned from his actions and tried to make a positive change in both his conduct on the ice, as well as in the LGBTQ+ community in Anaheim, but it is to make a point about whether or not character requirements for jersey retirements or Hall of Fame inductions should play more than just a minor consideration in the grand scheme of things.

    That said, Getzlaf also was in his sophomore season with the Ducks en route to winning the Cup in 2007, and has amassed 274-691–965 totals in 1,053 career NHL games– all with Anaheim– since the 2005-06 season.

    He had a 91-point season in 2008-09, and broke the 30-goal plateau with 31 goals and 87 points in Anaheim’s strong 2013-14 regular season.

    He’s no Bobby Hull (an actual domestic abuser and racist), but if Getzlaf hasn’t grown as a person and the Ducks sweep the incident under the rug in favor of “honoring a great hockey player– you know, one who had a lot of respect for the game”, then that’d be a disgrace to the jersey numbers already hanging from the rafters inside Honda Center.

    36 John Gibson

    After posting a 1.33 goals against average and a .954 save percentage in three games in the 2013-14 season (all wins by the way– one of them being a shutout), Gibson followed up his league debut with a 13-8-0 record in 23 games as a backup in 2014-15, with a 2.60 GAA and a .914 SV%, as well as a shutout.

    He made his debut as a starter in the 2015-16 season and had a 21-13-4 record in 40 games along the way, with an impressive 2.07 GAA and a .920 SV%, as well as four shutouts that season. Gibson then improved upon his save percentage and shutouts in a season the following year for the Ducks with a 25-16-9 record in 52 games, as well as a 2.22 GAA, a .924 SV% and six shutotus in 2016-17, en route to Anaheim’s ultimate defeat in the Western Conference Final at the hands of the Nashville Predators that spring.

    Since then, the last three seasons haven’t been very kind to Gibson. 

    Granted, the Ducks as a whole have been on the downward trend and are going through a rebuild (or whatever you want to call it).

    In 2017-18, Gibson had a 2.43 GAA and a .926 SV% with four shutouts and a 31-18-7 record in 60 games played. Certainly not bad, in terms of save percentage and wins, but that goals against average took a turn for the more, well, average.

    In 2018-19, he had a 2.84 GAA and a .917 SV% with two shutouts and a 26-22-8 record in 58 games. This season, despite the regular season being cut short due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Gibson had a 20-26-5 record and one shutout in 51 games, as well as a 3.00 GAA and a .904 SV%.

    Yikes. That’s Martin Jones and Jonathan Quick territory, which, coincidentally happens to be both the starting goaltenders for the rest of the California teams.

    That said, Gibson has shown before that he’s one of the better American goaltenders to come around in a long time, so with an actual defense in front of him, the Ducks can win more games!

    Then again, if Anaheim constructs a defense that’s solid and he continues to struggle, then it might just mean that his better days are behind him, which is a shame and puts a damper to his potential as the first Ducks goaltender to possibly have his number retired in franchise history– and that’s fully acknowledging that Jean-Sebastien Giguere exists.

    Final Thoughts

    It’s too early to try to speculate which of the rookies and young players in Anaheim will 1) stick around as part of their rebuild/retool and 2) become key components of the franchise in the long-term to the point of being a franchise star, so the Ducks remain limited in their possible future jersey retirement ceremony’s based on the last five years.

    Anaheim’s had two great serviceable “franchise” players to build around in Perry and Getzlaf, but both are nearing the end of their playing days with little hardware to show for their time in Anaheim while one (Perry) doesn’t even play for the Ducks anymore.

    Think about that. 

    The Ducks had a solid core to work with from winning the Cup in 2007, through their most recent appearance in the Western Conference Final in 2017, and they only won one Clarence S. Campbell Bowl and one Stanley Cup in that span.

  • DTFR Podcast #200- 200th Episode Celebration

    DTFR Podcast #200- 200th Episode Celebration

    To mark 200 episodes of the DTFR Podcast, Nick and Colby talk about the origin story of DTFR, give podcast advice and share some of their favorite memories from the show or otherwise from the last six years of Down the Frozen River. Also, Lindy Ruff is the new head coach of the New Jersey Devils, more Florida Panthers talk and extended CBA musings.

    Subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher and/or on Spotify.

  • DTFR Podcast #199- Cheese!

    DTFR Podcast #199- Cheese!

    Colby’s back, Jack.

    Subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher and/or on Spotify.

  • DTFR Podcast #198- Intermission Placeholder

    DTFR Podcast #198- Intermission Placeholder

    The DTFR crew takes a second to talk about the latest news and updates during Phase 2, as well as whatever the 2020 Draft Lottery was, the Class of 2020 Hockey Hall of Fame announcement, vibes and more. Also it’s the 2nd annual “Midseasonies”, but after the season.

    Subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher and/or on Spotify.

  • DTFR Podcast #197- Remember Dallas (Not The Show)

    DTFR Podcast #197- Remember Dallas (Not The Show)

    The DTFR crew creates rosters composed of “forgotten” players you might not remember that played for the Dallas Stars anytime from 2000-present. As it is simply not enough to just say Black Lives Matter, we’d like to present you with a source for how you can help if you can, as well as our message to everyone in hockey.

    Subscribe to the podcast on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher and/or on Spotify.