Additions: F Warren Foegele (acquired from CAR), F Zach Hyman, F Brendan Perlini, F Derek Ryan, F Colton Sceviour (signed to a PTO), F Tim Soderlund (acquired from CHI), D Cody Ceci, D Duncan Keith (acquired from CHI)
Subtractions: F Adam Cracknell (signed with Bakersfield Condors, AHL), F Tyler Ennis (signed to a PTO with OTT), F Joseph Gambardella (signed with Utica Comets, AHL), F Gaëtan Haas (NL), F Dominik Kahun (NL), F Jujhar Khaira (signed with CHI), F James Neal (buyout), F Joakim Nygård (SHL), F Alan Quine (signed with Henderson Silver Knights, AHL), F Patrick Russell (SHL), F Anton Slepyshev (KHL), D Ethan Bear (traded to CAR), D Caleb Jones (traded to CHI), D Dmitry Kulikov (signed with MIN), D Adam Larsson (expansion, SEA), D Theodor Lennström (KHL), G Dylan Wells (traded to CAR)
Still Unsigned: F Alex Chiasson
Re-signed: F Tyler Benson, F Cooper Marody, F Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, F Devin Shore, F Kailer Yamamoto, D Tyson Barrie, D Slater Koekkoek, G Stuart Skinner, G Mike Smith
Offseason Analysis: The second-best team in the Scotia NHL North Division would’ve been the fourth-best team in the other three divisions last season.
No matter what, the Oilers would’ve been a playoff team in 2020-21, but it’s the embarrassment that came with being swept in the 2021 First Round by the Winnipeg Jets and subsequent offseason moves that have left many scratching their heads.
Instead of overreacting and making big, sweeping, changes, Edmonton went for a big piece and a few smaller moves that still ate up their valuable cap space in the midst of a flat salary cap due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
So really it’s just more of the same from the Oilers.
Let’s start with the good news…
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Kailer Yamamoto and Tyson Barrie are back and solidify some semblance of depth for Edmonton with Nugent-Hopkins on an affordable eight-year extension worth $5.125 million per season– the Oilers will have a surefire center on the second or third line for years to come.
The 28-year-old was Edmonton’s 1st overall pick in the 2011 NHL Draft and had 35 points (16 goals, 19 assists) in 52 games last season after reaching the 60-point plateau in back-to-back seasons from 2018-19 through 2019-20.
Had there been an 82-game schedule in 2020-21, Nugent-Hopkins likely would’ve at least eclipsed the 50-point mark.
At 5-foot-8, 135-pounds, Yamamoto has a lot in common with guys like Martin St. Louis in his stature and– like St. Louis– is better off developing on his own as he had 8-13–21 totals in 52 games in his first full season run with the Oilers last season.
Though he made his league debut in 2017-18, Yamamoto has only been utilized by Edmonton sparingly in parts of three seasons leading up to his full-time status in 2020-21.
His game should be fine in due time, though offering him a supporting cast (a theme for the Oilers in general) would be fine.
After he had 59 points in 78 games with the Colorado Avalanche in 2018-19, Barrie was shipped as part of a package to the Toronto Maple Leafs in a trade that, well, didn’t exactly live up to the high expectations in Toronto.
Barrie’s production from the point plummeted to 39 points (five goals, 34 assists) in 70 games with the Maple Leafs in 2019-20.
He joined the Oilers on a one-year deal last October and bounced back with an admirable 48 points (eight goals, 40 assists) in 56 games.
He had 25 points on the power play in his last season in Colorado, then just 12 points as a quarterback on Toronto’s power play unit before rebounding with 23 points from the blue line while on the skater advantage last season for Edmonton.
For his efforts, Barrie was rewarded with a sweet three-year deal worth $4.500 million per season and at 29-years-old that’s about right for a defender on the cusp of beginning the eventual decline from a defensive prime.
Zach Hyman joins the Oilers on a seven-year contract worth $5.500 million per season, which isn’t completely terrible for a 29-year-old forward in his prime that had 15-18–33 totals in 43 games with the Maple Leafs last season and has reached the 40-point plateau twice before.
As a top-six forward, Hyman is a welcome addition to Edmonton’s Art Ross Trophy-winning powerhouse offense (Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl).
An additional positive from this offseason?
Edmonton’s rid themselves of James Neal via a buyout. Granted, he’ll still be on the books through the 2024-25 season at about a $1.917 million cap penalty, but after parts of two seasons with the Oilers since being acquired for Milan Lucic, at least that branch of franchise history has come to a close.
Neal had five goals and five assists (10 points) in 29 games last season after bouncing back from 19 points (seven goals, 12 assists) in 63 games with the Calgary Flames in 2018-19 to 31 points (19 goals, 12 assists) in 55 games for Edmonton in 2019-20.
He’s a shell of his former self, but on a low-risk contract, he could fit in fine just about anywhere else that needs a touch of veteran experience.
Now for the bad stuff that… …isn’t necessarily that bad, it’s just disappointing from the Oilers (who seemingly have chosen to make the Buffalo Sabres look good for at least being salary cap smart this offseason and that’s about it).
At 39-years-old, Mike Smith could’ve called it a career, but when Jimmy Howard turned down Oilers General Manager, Ken Holland, Smith was rewarded with two-year (not just one-year!) extension worth $2.200 million per season.
The cap hit is fine, considering he recored a goals-against average under 2.50 for the first time since the 2011-12 season with the Phoenix Coyotes.
Back then, in 67 games with Phoenix, Smith had a 38-18-10 record, a 2.21 goals-against average, a .930 save percentage and eight shutouts en route to backstopping the Coyotes to the 2012 Western Conference Final, where the Los Angeles Kings eliminated Phoenix in five games.
Last season with the Oilers, Smith went 21-6-2 in 32 games, had three shutouts and amassed a 2.31 goals-against average as well as a .923 save percentage.
In 2019-20, he had a 19-12-6 record in 39 games, one shutout, a .902 save percentage and a whopping 2.95 goals-against average.
Whether it’s the introduction of Barrie to Edmonton’s defense that helped singlehandedly reduce the workload Smith faced or not– Smith had a fantastic season in 2020-21.
However, time stops for nobody and with an average age of 35.3 between Smith, Mikko Koskinen and Alex Stalock as reliable options in the crease under contract at the NHL level, well, it’s easy to feel uneasy about Edmonton’s chances at stopping the puck from night-to-night as their bodies collectively wear down through an 82-game schedule.
Then again, they are athletes and you and I are not.
Yet, it’s worth noting since unlike Smith, Koskinen went from an 18-13-3 record in 38 games with a 2.75 goals-against average, a .917 save percentage and one shutout in 2019-20 with the Oilers to a dismal 13-13-0 record in 26 games with a 3.17 goals-against average and an .899 save percentage in 2020-21.
For all the good that Barrie and Co. on Edmonton’s blue line have done, there’s two new additions that, uh, might undo some of the forward progress.
Connor McDavid (ever heard of him?) vouched for Holland to acquire Duncan Keith from Chicago and then Holland went along and signed Cody Ceci in free agency.
Though Keith recorded 6-34–40 totals in 82 games in 2018-19 with Chicago, he’s been in decline, notching 27 points (three goals, 24 assists) in 61 games in 2019-20 and just 15 points (four goals, 11 assists) in 54 games last season.
The 38-year-old defender would’ve accepted any trade to a team close to the pacific northwest as he expressed a desire to be closer to family, having been isolated playing hockey for a living for most of the time during the ongoing pandemic and spending roughly five months combined with his son prior to being traded to Edmonton.
In 1,192 career NHL games, he’s won three Stanley Cup rings, was named playoff MVP in 2015, and has 105-520–625 totals in the regular season.
With two years left on his contract, Keith’s $5.538 million cap hit is a bit steep for what could be a defensive liability as the aging process continues and– turns out– Holland could’ve done better by waiting another day and signing Keith Yandle for much less after the Florida Panthers bought him out. Who knew?!
Though the Internet likes to make fun of Ceci, the 27-year-old defender really hasn’t been all that bad.
Sure 17 points (four goals, 13 assists) in 53 games with the Pittsburgh Penguins last season isn’t great, but he’s not expected to be a top-four defender– or at least he shouldn’t be.
Mistakes and weird things will happen. Sometimes you’re just unlucky like that.
Wait, Holland gave him four-years at $3.250 million per season? Yikes.
And to put the icing on the cake, Holland traded Ethan Bear to the Carolina Hurricanes for Warren Foegele. Not that Foegele’s bad, but for a team that could use a better defense, Bear fit in pretty well.
Has this McDavid guy ever tried watching the Oilers?
Offseason Grade:C+
For the Nugent-Hopkins extension, sensible new deal for Barrie and Yamamoto bridge contract, Holland deserves some praise for keeping the right pieces happy and on the roster heading into 2021-22.
That said, he also made some errors in judgment acquiring Keith at the price he paid, as well as handing out Ceci a contract with a steep cap hit and term for a guy that’s probably not that good.
In other words, it was just another normal offseason for the Oilers.
Edmonton made some smart moves, but then overreacted in other areas, while still searching for the second coming of Andy Moog in net or whatever.
Additions: F Mitchell Stephens (acquired from TBL), F Pius Suter, D Nick Leddy (acquired from NYI), G Alex Nedeljkovic (acquired from CAR)
Subtractions: F Mathias Bromé (NL), F Turner Elson (signed with Grand Rapids Griffins, AHL), F Valtteri Filppula (NL), F Luke Glendening (signed with DAL), F Darren Helm (signed with COL), F Frans Nielsen (buyout), F Richard Panik (traded to NYI), F Evgeny Svechnikov (PTO with WPG), F Dominic Turgeon (signed with MIN), F Hayden Verbeek (signed with Grand Rapids Griffins, AHL), F Henrik Zetterberg (retired), D Alex Biega (signed with TOR), D Dennis Cholowski (expansion, SEA), D Christian Djoos (NL), D Joe Hicketts (signed with MIN), D Dylan McIlrath (signed with WSH), G Jonathan Bernier (traded to CAR, signed with NJD), G Kevin Boyle (ICEHL), G Patrik Rybár (KHL)
Still Unsigned: F Bobby Ryan, F Givani Smith (RFA)
Re-signed: F Tyler Bertuzzi, F Adam Erne, F Sam Gagner, F Chase Pearson, F Jakub Vrana, D Filip Hronek, D Gustav Lindstrom, D Marc Staal, G Calvin Pickard
Offseason Analysis: When Steve Yzerman resigned from the Tampa Bay Lightning, the foundation of his plan as General Manager and the years of development that it took had built up a few levels short of winning back-to-back Stanley Cup championships in 2020 and 2021, after Julien BriseBois picked up where Yzerman left off shortly before the 2018-19 season.
On April 19, 2019, the prodigal son made his return to Detroit as the now current General Manager of the Red Wings– inheriting a mess left behind by Ken Holland who, despite winning the Cup three times as the executive vice president and GM in Detroit from 1997-2019, was promoted to senior vice president before walking away from the Red Wings altogether.
Still with me here?
Yzerman left the Lightning in September 2018, and BriseBois was named his replacement, then later in the 2018-19 league calendar year, the Red Wings hired Yzerman as their General Manager, while Holland stuck around for less than a month longer before leaving for his current role as General Manager and President of Hockey Operations for the Edmonton Oilers.
In this pseudo-musical chairs endeavor, Tampa has won back-to-back Stanley Cups, while Holland’s Oilers have been mired in early postseason exits and Yzerman, well… …Yzerman’s just been biding his time.
Though he hasn’t played since the 2017-18 season due to a career-ending degenerative back condition, Henrik Zetterberg’s $6.083 million cap hit is finally off the books.
Yzerman is no longer looking to take on dead cap space to meet the salary cap floor, but he’s also not quite spending to the ceiling just yet.
Instead, the Red Wings are setting the gears in motion for big strides sooner rather than later.
This offseason sped things up, though the team hasn’t been kicked into high-gear just yet.
For starters, Yzerman’s kept Tyler Bertuzzi, Adam Erne, Sam Gagner, Filip Hronek and Calvin Pickard around as top-six talent, glue guys and necessary goaltending depth in the event of injury.
He also worked out a solid bridge contract with 25-year-old Jakub Vrana– giving the left wing that was acquired at the 2021 trade deadline a $5.250 million cap hit through the 2023-24 season and buying a year of potential unrestricted free agency in the process.
Vrana’s short stint down the stretch with Detroit proved to be very productive amassing 8-3–11 totals in 11 games with the Red Wings after putting up 11-14–25 totals through 39 games with the Washington Capitals prior to the trade last season.
Detroit also managed to snag Pius Suter on the open market after Chicago chose not to tender a qualifying offer for the would have been restricted free agent.
Suter broke into the league as a 25-year-old rookie and scored 27 points (14 goals, 13 assists) in 55 games with Chicago. In a non-pandemic timeline, Suter would have been on pace for about 40 points in an 82-game schedule.
That’s nothing to sneeze at for a guy that can work up and down the lineup in a top-nine role on a team that’s looking to get back into annual playoff contention.
But that’s not all that Yzerman did this offseason.
As the team said “goodbye” to many long-time Red Wings members, like Darren Helm– who’s now with the Colorado Avalanche– and other more recent placeholders, Yzerman was busy working the phones and dialing the NHL’s trade center.
Aside from making a few trades involving nothing but draft picks at the 2021 NHL Draft– including one that led to Detroit moving up in the first round in a swap with the Dallas Stars that led to the Red Wings selecting Edmonton Oil Kings (WHL) goaltender, Sebastian Cossa– Yzerman continued to assemble depth down the lineup.
On July 16th, Detroit sent Richard Panik and a 2021 2nd round pick to the New York Islanders for Nick Leddy as the Islanders looked to make cap space– clearing about $4.125 million in the process for New York and likely teaming Leddy up with Moritz Seider on the second defensive pairing for the Red Wings.
Yzerman then dealt the negotiating rights for Jonathan Bernier and a 2021 3rd round pick to the Carolina Hurricanes for Alex Nedeljkovic on July 22nd, before signing the former Canes netminder to a two-year extension worth $2.000 million per season.
Finally, Yzerman went back to the well in Tampa for Mitchell Stephens– sending a 2022 6th round pick in return to the Lightning on July 30th.
Offseason Grade:B+
Detroit won’t be great, but they should be better than last season and given the fact that the Red Wings looked competitive at times in 2020-21, they just might play spoiler for some of the teams in the Atlantic Division.
Meanwhile, Leddy’s jump in production from 21 points in 60 games with the Islanders in 2019-20 to 31 points in 56 games last season should help jumpstart some two-way play in the backend for Detroit.
A change of scenery and a reunification with Erne on the fourth line for Stephens should necessitate more production than his one point in seven games with the Bolts last season– though neither Erne, nor Stephens are looking to be leading goal scorers on the roster.
Finally, Nedeljkovic established himself as a starting goaltender in the NHL– or a fringe starter, at least– amassing a 15-5-3 record in 23 games with Carolina last season to go with a 1.90 goals-against average, a .932 save percentage and three shutouts in that span.
The improvements to Detroit’s defense should pave a way to letting the Red Wings’ offense to grow and the youth throughout the organization to develop while Nedeljkovic can focus on competing with himself to maintain a high-level of play as the goaltender of the future for now, unless Cossa has anything to say about it in the near future.
For a team that’s been rebuilding in recent years, this is how you do it. Yzerman’s careful scouting, planning and execution is picking up speed.
Apparently the National Hockey League’s Board of Governors were up to something this month as it was reported by Sportico on Tuesday that the Board unanimously approved ads on the front of NHL jerseys beginning with the 2022-23 season.
The ads will be no bigger than a 3-inch-by-3.5-inch rectangle, which is slightly larger than the ads featured on the front of National Basketball Association (NBA) jerseys.
It was only a matter of time before the NHL followed the NBA in generating additional revenue by doing what professional hockey leagues outside of North America have been doing for many years, as well as what’s been done for at least a few seasons now in the American Hockey League (AHL) and ECHL minor league levels on this side of the pond.
As always, hockey Twitter is taking the news well.
Let’s embrace the chaos for a moment and pick some sponsors for all 32 NHL teams that would make so much sense they’ll obviously be overlooked for, well, actual revenue generating streams instead.
Anaheim Ducks
What we want: Disney+ or TCL
What we’ll get: Honda
The Ducks play at Honda Center and, yeah, there’s really nothing besides Disney swooping in and sponsoring the team that they used to own as a means of cross promoting both the Ducks and The Mighty Ducks: Game Changers on Disney+, so we’re stuck with a Honda logo at center ice and on the front of Anaheim’s jerseys.
In any case, Honda’s red logo works pretty well with the Orange County orange featured as an accent color on Anaheim’s home and road jerseys.
NHL teams have a tendency to go back to the well with their partners– think of how many teams have either the same helmet sponsor as another team or just slapped on the same brand as their venue’s naming rights deal– but if we want to expand the playground a little bit perhaps TCL could be of interest for the Ducks.
Come to think of it, that’s probably a better option.
*Opens up Photoshop*
Arizona Coyotes
What we want: P.F. Chang’s or Cold Stone Creamery
What we’ll get: Fry’s or something, probably
Believe it or not the Los Angeles Chargers won’t be the only team tweeting about P.F. Chang’s for long as the restaurant chain was founded in 1993, and opened their first location in Scottsdale, Arizona, so it only makes sense to go back to their roots and toss an ad on the Coyotes’ jersey.
Also founded in Arizona– Cold Stone Creamery.
We figured that’d probably make sense on an AHL team’s jersey, though, despite the obvious cold ice, cold ice cream connection.
The Coyotes had Mountain America on their helmets at home and Dignity Health on their road helmets in 2020-21, so in reality we’ll probably get one of those two on the front of their jerseys in 2022-23.
Boston Bruins
What we want: Dunkin’ or bust
What we’ll get: TD Bank or O.R.G. Packaging, probably
What could possibly be more Boston than a Bruins jersey with a Dunkin’ logo on it?
Their AHL affiliate– the Providence Bruins– already play in the Dunkin’ Donuts Center in Rhode Island and have a Dunkin’ ad patch on their jerseys. Why not call it up to the major league?
That said, with some NBA teams earning up to about $20 million in jersey ad space revenue, the B’s likely will reach for a brand with deeper pockets than doughnuts and coffee.
Delaware North likes their relationship with a certain bank from Toronto (TD Bank) and has had one of the league’s longest relationships with a Chinese company (O.R.G. Packaging) as part of the NHL’s intended growth beyond the continents of North America and Europe, so one of the two brands is more likely to appear on a Bruins jersey.
Buffalo Sabres
What we want: Super Chexx
What we’ll get: KeyBank
The Sabres could use some fun in their lives these days and you know what really helps put the mind at ease? Bubble hockey.
That’s right, Innovative Concepts in Entertainment, Inc. (ICE)– the manufacturers of the popular bar and arcade classic, Super Chexx, that your rich friend down the street growing up also had in the comforts of their home– is based outside Buffalo and would be a match made in heaven right about now.
Especially as Sabres fans are looking for something to do while the game’s on TV.
So yeah, we’re definitely going to get KeyBank, Tim Horton’s or something else entirely instead.
Calgary Flames
What we want: WestJet or Duraflame
What we’ll get: Scotiabank
If you, as an American, can name any other Canadian airline other than Air Canada, then congratulations. If you can’t, then may I introduce you to WestJet?
WestJet’s headquarters are next to Calgary International Airport and it’d be nice to prove to the world that Canada is more than just a land of Tim Horton’s, Roots, Canadian Tire, Rogers, Scotiabank and Mr. Sub.
If Duraflame isn’t available, then you might as well dip into the low-cost airline industry as a means of attracting tourists to Banff National Park, Calgary Stampede or whatever it is that sets Calgary apart from the rest of Alberta (so… not being Edmonton).
Carolina Hurricanes
What we want: Surge
What we’ll get: PNC, Diehard, maybe Cheerwine or something else
This should be obvious, but if you haven’t paid attention to the Hurricanes for at least the last few seasons now they do a “Storm Surge” celebration after every win on home ice in the regular season (and sometimes playoffs).
Surge (the soda) is one of those drinks that makes headlines every few years for being pulled straight out of the vault and placed back on grocery store shelves– speaking of which, does anyone know if it’s currently available?
If not, it’ll definitely be back by the 2022-23 season.
Yes, it’s hard to envision where an ad will be placed on the road jersey as the prime real estate is used up by the diagonal “CANES” letters and– for a few players– the captain’s “C” or alternate captain’s “A”.
Chicago
What we want: Portillo’s
What we’ll get: United
Look, between Walgreens, Sears and Portillo’s there’s a few legendary brands that Chicago could partner with as their first jersey ad in franchise history (not including practice jerseys).
Obviously only one of the three mentioned above is the right choice and its the one that might lead you to Walgreens later if you have a weak stomach. Besides, Sears is fading from our collective memory whether it is out of business already or not.
Clark Griswold would be proud of Portillo’s proudly being displayed on a, well, if a WHL team can rebrand, so can you, Chicago.
Colorado Avalanche
What we want: Chipotle or Coors
What we’ll get: Ball
Look, whether or not Nathan MacKinnon eats Chipotle is a debate for another day, but one thing’s for sure– both Chipotle and MacKinnon started their careers in Colorado.
Though Coors or Coors Light would make more sense, we have to consider the fact that kids might be wearing these jerseys to the game and we haven’t heard whether or not the jerseys that are sold in the proshops in 2022-23 and beyond will include the front jersey ad or not.
If they do, then we probably can’t market beer to children.
I’m pretty sure there’s a law about that and it’s also the reason why all my 1:64 scale diecast Rusty Wallace and Dale Earnhardt, Jr. cars from when I was a kid said “Team Rusty” and “Dale Jr.” on them, respectively, instead of Miller Lite and Budweiser.
Columbus Blue Jackets
What we want: Wendy’s
What we’ll get: Nationwide
Coinciding with the uptick in Columbus born and raised players on the Blue Jackets roster, it would be a great idea to add Wendy’s– which was founded in Columbus in 1969– to the team in such a way that perhaps Jack Roslovic and Sean Kuraly star in local commercials to the Blue Jackets viewing area during the 2022-23 season.
I know that’s assuming Roslovic signs an extension, but the pending-restricted free agent at the end of the 2021-22 season helped facilitate the Pierre-Luc Dubois for Patrik Laine trade with the Winnipeg Jets by forcing Winnipeg into trading him to his hometown team.
Unlike several recent stars that left the city via free agency, Roslovic will stick around for the long term.
Especially if there’s some goods in kind involved with a Wendy’s sponsorship. I mean, I would at least.
Dallas Stars
What we want: Whataburger
What we’ll get: AT&T
Though Whataburger would be a welcome party in the burger wars when Columbus and Dallas would “meat” up, there’s no beef to be found in this hypothetical because AT&T has already made that decision for us.
Sometimes you just can’t think too hyperlocal and AT&T fetches a more national audience than a regional chain that primarily serves Texas.
Besides, if you go to Dallas for a Stars game, you can always just get Whataburger then. It’s not like they’re going to send you a meal with a jersey if ads are on the jerseys sold to fans in 2022-23.
Detroit Red Wings
What we want: Little Caesars
What we’ll get: Little Caesars
The last few teams have all involved food and we’re going to be stuck on this theme for at least one more team after this.
Both the Red Wings and Little Caesars are owned by the Ilitch family and if you think adding one more connection between Detroit and pizza is a bad thing then you clearly don’t understand the marketing behind this.
Kids love pizza. Adults love pizza. There’s a lot of good memories involving pizza.
Plus, with General Manager, Steve Yzerman, in charge, the Red Wings are on the rise, which will only further tap into the nostalgia from when Detroit was doing what the Tampa Bay Lightning are currently doing to the rest of the league.
Edmonton Oilers
What we want: Boston Pizza
What we’ll get: Rogers
Edmonton thought they could replicate the success Ken Holland had in Detroit by hiring Holland as their General Manager and when they see that we’ve got a pizza establishment heading for the front of the Red Wings’ jersey, then the Oilers will think it’s also a good idea to snag a slice.
That’s where Boston Pizza comes in.
Whether or not they’ll get Connor McDavid to do an ad read or be left with whatever scraps surround him on the Oilers roster remains to be seen.
In all likelihood, Rogers Communications will probably just get to slap their logo on another element of Edmonton’s brand.
Florida Panthers
What we want: Royal Caribbean International
What we’ll get: Baptist Health or something
The Blockbuster guy (the late Wayne Huizenga) founded the team and almost named them the “Florida Block Busters”, so it’d be neat to incorporate an homage to the days of Blockbuster (rest in peace) with the almost Blockbuster-like colors of Royal Caribbean International on the jersey.
Plus, who among us hasn’t uttered the words “I need a vacation from my vacation” before?
If you’re an out of town fan visiting the Panthers in Florida or watching the Panthers come to your town— there’s a cruise line for you even if you wouldn’t go remotely near a cruise before the ongoing pandemic began.
Los Angeles Kings
What we want: Dollar Shave Club
What we’ll get: Anschutz Entertainment Group
Never doubt for a second that a team owner wouldn’t give up the chance to toot their own horn, which is why it’s quite possible that one of the world’s biggest entertainment entities would slap their own logo on the front of a Kings jersey.
If you’re not able to finagle a way to write things off as a deduction, then Dollar Shave Club presents a unique opportunity despite the fact that shaving isn’t something that’s in Drew Doughty’s vernacular (or any hockey player, for that matter, when the Stanley Cup Playoffs roll around).
Manscaped could also make a run here and in any case, fine.
Minnesota Wild
What we want: Target or General Mills
What we’ll get: Xcel Energy
When you think of Minnesota what’s the first thing you think about?
That’s right, the very place where you could be standing right now reading this while you’re waiting for a cash register to open up or aimlessly perusing the aisles for those impulse purchases you somehow always make at Target.
It fits the Wild color scheme well and if we’re not going to get General Mills involved then at least getting more than the standard 5% discount for having a Target RedCard via goods in kind might be enough to convince Kirill Kaprizov to stay in Minnesota long-term.
Montréal Canadiens
What we want: CCM and/or Molson
What we’ll get: Bell
CCM makes more than just jerseys, but it’s not like adidas would be just fine with a CCM logo appearing on the front of an adidas ADIZERO jersey.
So, we’re left with two obvious choices– Molson or Bell.
If there’s nothing against a Canadian team bearing an alcoholic beverage on the front of their jersey with the potential for that brand to be marketed towards kids, then perhaps Molson– whose family ties own the Habs– might make an appearance near the crest.
That or we’ll just get more airtime for Bell. Either way, Montréal would be attractive enough as a franchise to bring in more than one jersey ad sponsor if the league doesn’t have any specific rules outside of the size of the ad.
Nashville Predators
What we want: Curb Records or CMT
What we’ll get: Fifth Third Bank
The music city could attract a music label if they wanted to, but Fifth Third Bank loves investing in Nashville for some reason– like, a lot, despite being headquartered in Cincinnati, Ohio and primarily serving Ohio, Kentucky, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, West Virginia, North Carolina, Georgia and Florida more than all of Tennessee.
In any case, good for the Predators. They’ll have some deep pockets to reach into while other teams surely will have to squabble for seven figures related to the going rate for the prime ad space.
Still feels like we’d be missing out on a sweet Curb Records patch close enough to the guitar pick on the right shoulder though.
New Jersey Devils
What we want: Honestly, just Prudential is fine
What we’ll get: Prudential
The Devils are overlooked and let’s admit it, you couldn’t think of something distinctly New Jersey either– besides not being allowed to fill your own gas tank.
Bruce Springsteen is not sponsoring the Devils alone.
Whether it’s settling on an old reliable or simply making use of what’s trustworthy and already available, Prudential and New Jersey just seem like a good fit.
New York Islanders
What we want: Gorton’s
What we’ll get: Not Gorton’s
“We want fishsticks!”
O.K., you got them. Take that, Rangers fans. The Islanders are cool now because they’re steering into the skid.
They just won’t go as far as bringing back the fisherman jersey from the dead, but alas, they’ll show a spark of creativity and even crack a smile on Lou Lamoriello’s face with the real Gorton’s fisherman making an appearance on the jersey.
Obviously this will never happen.
New York Rangers
What we want: Liberty Mutual if they’re bringing back the “Lady Liberty” jerseys as an alternate
What we’ll get: Chase for sure, maybe New York Life too
Liberty Mutual (a Boston company) on the “Lady Liberty” jersey would be a sight to see, but New York will never let it happen.
Instead, Chase, which already has quite a great partnership with the team, Madison Square Garden, Manhattan, etc. will likely just step up and foot the bill for one– if not all– of the jerseys in full.
That’s fine. The Rangers will suffer the same consequences of having a diagonal wordmark on their jersey like Carolina’s road jersey, but at least New York’s pretty much always been this way so they should have some ideas of how to work around that.
Ottawa Senators
What we want: Canada Post
What we’ll get: Bell, Scotiabank or Canadian Tire
Canada’s capital city gets the honor of having Canada Post on their jerseys because it breaks up the trend of having the same three or four companies sponsoring all seven Canadian teams (like how their helmets were for 2020-21).
In reality, we’ll probably get more of the same from the Sens and either Bell, Canadian Tire or Scotiabank will make an appearance on Ottawa’s jersey.
At the very least, Canada’s postal service sponsoring a team is more economically viable than the United States Postal Service sponsoring a team.
Philadelphia Flyers
What we want: Wawa or Audacy
What we’ll get: Comcast or GlaxoSmithKline
Remember how I said you don’t want to go too local for a jersey ad? Well, Wawa on a Flyers jersey is an exception.
That said, it probably wouldn’t have the staying power to work on a road jersey too, so Philadelphia could tap into the artist formerly known as Entercom, since rebanded as Audacy, for more.
Audacy maintained their Philadelphia headquarters and covers a broad range of Internet radio, digital content, regular radio and podcasting platforms, plus their logo is orange which fits the Flyers brand.
It’s either that or Comcast will slap their own logo on the jersey or something.
Pittsburgh Penguins
What we want: Duolingo
What we’ll get: PPG Industries
Duolingo is headquartered in Pittsburgh and as a website and mobile app, every sports league with ads on jerseys needs at least one that makes you scratch your head at first before realizing the connection between the company and the city.
The dating app, Bumble, once was featured on the NBA’s Los Angeles Clippers jerseys prior to the Clippers replacing Bumble with their more jersey ad with the online browser extension coupon company, Honey.
Dating and living expenses in Los Angeles are probably harder than learning a few new languages through Duolingo, so combining Duolingo with the Penguins makes perfect sense since hockey players can come from all over and speak many languages.
Besides, it might give your team an advantage if they can communicate with one another in a setting that is more comfortable for them.
St. Louis Blues
What we want: Busch
What we’ll get: Enterprise
I know we’ve been over the whole “can they market beer to kids with these jerseys” thing, but St. Louis is the city of Anheuser-Busch, so it’s only fitting that the Blues get a jersey ad that 1) is Anheuser-Busch related and 2) works with their color palette.
If Major League Baseball’s St. Louis Cardinals play in Busch Stadium and get Budweiser by default with red as a primary color for the ball club, then the Blues naturally get Busch blue and Busch beer. I don’t make the rules.
Plus Midwesterners really like the stuff.
San Jose Sharks
What we want: Adobe
What we’ll get: SAP or Zoom
Look, we weren’t going to get away with making these in Photoshop and not having to give Adobe something— and with headquarters in San Jose it only made sense.
The Sharks have a deep relationship with SAP, though, so it’s more likely than not that the team will just go further with the brand that also is featured on their helmets at home and holds the current naming rights for SAP Center.
Plus with the uptick in the use of Zoom, San Jose could double-dip and match SAP on the home jersey with SAP stickers on their helmets with Zoom covering the road set (jersey ad and helmet ads).
Seattle Kraken
What we want: Boeing
What we’ll get: Alaska Airlines
The Kraken already have a deal with Alaska Airlines as the official airline of the franchise, but what’s bigger than an airline itself?
That’s right, Boeing, the company that makes a lot of planes and other aerospace stuff, was founded in Seattle and still has a major presence in Washington as the largest private employer in the state.
Want to see your newest expansion team take flight? Just add some Boeing engineering to the jerseys.
You might have thought Microsoft would make sense for a Seattle-based team, but the league’s agreement with Apple probably puts a quick end to that.
Tampa Bay Lightning
What we want: Accusoft
What we’ll get: DEX Imaging
Every sport with ads on jerseys has that one company that nobody’s really sure what they do, but they appreciate that they’re spending their money on their favorite team.
That just might be Accusoft’s relationship with the Lightning come time for ads on jerseys in 2022-23.
The private computer software company is headquartered in Tampa and was founded back in 1991, as Pegasus Imaging– one year prior to the Lightning’s debut season as an NHL team in 1992-93.
Toronto Maple Leafs
What we want: Swiss Chalet, Sun Life Financial
What we’ll get: Scotiabank, Sun Life Financial
Scotiabank already has a stronghold on Toronto both financially and in the sense that the Maple Leafs play inside Scotiabank Arena and proudly display Scotiabank’s logo on their helmets, so it seems inevitable that Scotiabank would also make an appearance on the Leafs jersey.
But Toronto is strong enough to maximize the value of a 3-by-3.5-inch ad and capitalize on the Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment (MLSE) brand.
MLSE already has an agreement with Sun Life Financial on their NBA team’s jerseys and the Toronto Raptors were able to go on to win their first championship in 2019.
Perhaps the key to ending the Maple Leafs’ Stanley Cup drought lies within attracting Sun Life Financial to an NHL jersey ad.
Vancouver Canucks
What we want: Hootsuite
What we’ll get: Rogers
Remember when you’d see Hootsuite on just about every tweet with a photo? Am I the only one imagining that?
In any case, Hootsuite was founded and is based in Vancouver and still plays a major role in social media management for brands.
Whereas Rogers is accessible to most every day Canadians, Hootsuite would be more of a “corporate” target audience and you need sponsors at all levels to attract a wide base of potential clients, fans, etc.
That said, the Canucks have had a long relationship with Rogers in that they play in Rogers Arena, so it’s probably going to be Rogers.
Vegas Golden Knights
What we want: Zappos.com
What we’ll get: MGM Resorts International or Allegiant Air
Want to have fun with a local Nevada brand? Zappos is the way to go!
Want to be realistic and attract out of town fans to a destination like Las Vegas? MGM Resorts International is your sponsor and with Allegiant Air as an ultra-low cost airline that’ll gladly bring you to Vegas for a Golden Knights game…
Yeah, it’s inevitable that between MGM and Vegas’ current road helmet sponsor (Allegiant) that there’d quickly be no room for a company like Zappos.
Credit One Bank is on the home helmets for the Golden Knights, so don’t be surprised if they’re a wild card for a jersey ad too.
Washington Capitals
What we want: Marriott International
What we’ll get: Capital One, Custom Ink
Sportswriters rejoice! Your Marriott points may soon reward you with a Capitals jersey or something like that.
Headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland, Marriott International would make sense from a local and international brand recognition stance.
But you know what we’re probably going to get instead? Sheer confusion as Capital One places an ad on front of a jersey that already says “Washington Capitals”. The Capital One Washington Capitals– live at Capital One Arena!
Either that or Caps owner, Ted Leonsis, might like to make a connection between making custom jerseys for local adult league co-ed softball teams or something and, well, Custom Ink’s logo appearing on Capitals jerseys.
Winnipeg Jets
What we want: A&W or SkipTheDishes
What we’ll get: Canada Life or Bell
A&W was founded in Winnipeg, while SkipTheDishes is headquartered in Winnipeg.
Since it’s 2021, and not 1956, we’re more than likely to see SkipTheDishes on a Jets jersey, but if their helmet ads from 2020-21 are any indication for 2022-23 and beyond, then Bell is probably going to land a spot near Winnipeg’s crest.
Canada Life is taking over as the new naming rights holder for Canada Life Centre where the Jets play, so there’s always a chance they’ll end up with their logo on the front of the jersey too.
Patrice Bergeron (1-3–4 totals) scored the game-winning goal in overtime, but David Pastrnak (3-1–4) had a hat trick in the Boston Bruins’, 4-3, overtime victory over the Philadelphia Flyers at Wells Fargo Center on Wednesday night.
Tuukka Rask (4-1-1, 2.57 goals against average, .888 save percentage in six games played) stopped 22 out of 25 shots faced (.880 SV%) en route to the overtime win for Boston.
Philadelphia goaltender, Carter Hart (4-2-2, 3.42 GAA, .898 SV% in eight games played) made 31 saves on 35 shots against in the overtime loss.
The Bruins improved to 7-1-2 (16 points) on the season and moved into 1st place in the MassMutual NHL East Division, while the Flyers fell to 7-2-2 (16 points) and dropped to 2nd place in the division.
Bruins head coach, Bruce Cassidy, made two changes to his lineup from Monday night’s, 5-3, win in Washington, D.C. to Wednesday’s matchup in Philadelphia– scratching Karson Kuhlman and replacing him with Anton Blidh on the fourth line while moving Anders Bjork to the right side of Sean Kuraly on that same line.
Everything else was left intact as Ondrej Kase (upper body), Matt Grzelcyk (lower body) and Jake DeBrusk (lower body) remain out of the lineup due to injury.
Greg McKegg, Jack Studnicka, Par Lindholm, John Moore, Urho Vaakanainen, Callum Booth and Dan Vladar all remained as healthy scratches and/or taxi squad members while Kuhlman joined the list Wednesday night as a healthy scratch.
Boston General Manager, Don Sweeney, was named as an Assistant General Manager for Team Canada at the 2022 Winter Games earlier on Wednesday.
He’ll be joined by the likes of Doug Armstrong (General Manager), Ken Holland (Associate GM), Ron Francis (Assistant GM), Roberto Luongo (Assistant GM) and Scott Salmond (Assistant GM) in Beijing, China next February.
The Bruins worked their way into the zone from the initial puck drop as Pastrnak (3) drove to the net, slipped the puck between his own legs and around Flyers defender, Shayne Ghostisbehere, before flipping the rubber biscuit off of Ivan Provorov’s stick and into the twine to give Boston the game’s first goal.
Charlie McAvoy (8) and Bergeron (7) had the assists on Pastrnak’s goal and the B’s led, 1-0, 12 seconds into the first period.
It was the only event on the event sheet in the opening frame as the Bruins took a, 1-0, lead into the first intermission, despite both teams earning eight shots on goal aside.
Boston led in takeaways (3-2), hits (14-10) and faceoff win percentage (53-47), while Philadelphia led in giveaways (7-1) through 20 minutes.
Both teams had four blocked shots each and had yet to see time on the skater advantage entering the middle frame.
Blidh was penalized for holding just past the midpoint of the second period at 10:10 and presented the Flyers with the first power play of the night.
Philadelphia’s power play was powerless, however.
Moments later, after McAvoy had his stick slashed out of his hand and was using Charlie Coyle’s– rendering Boston effectively short of a skater– Travis Sanheim setup Kevin Hayes (6) through the slot for a one-timer goal that tied the game, 1-1.
Sanheim (3) and Philippe Myers (2) tallied the assists on Hayes’ goal at 15:29 of the second period.
Nearly three minutes later, James van Riemsdyk cut a rut to the penalty box for Philly after slashing Kevan Miller at 18:25.
Boston couldn’t convert on the ensuing power play, however.
Through 40 minutes of action Wednesday night in Philadelphia, the score was tied, 1-1, despite Boston leading in shots on goal, 21-19, including a, 13-11, advantage in second period shots alone.
The Bruins also held the advantage in takeaways (6-5), while the Flyers led in giveaways (8-2), hits (22-19) and faceoff win% (55-46).
Both teams had 10 blocked shots each and were 0/1 on the power play heading into the final frame of regulation.
Early in the third period, Jakub Voracek (3) gave Philly their first lead of the night, 2-1, when his teammates pounced on a costly turnover by Jakub Zboril in his own defensive zone.
Sanheim (4) and van Riemsdyk (9) notched the primary and secondary assists, respectively, on Voracek’s goal at 1:03 of the third period.
Almost midway through the third, Joel Farabee (6) received a pass from Scott Laughton and buried a one-timer while Zboril was left trying to block the passing lane with an outstretched stick on an odd-skater rush after van Riemsdyk won a battle along the boards.
Laughton (5) and van Riemsdyk (10) had the assists on Farabee’s goal and the Flyers took a, 3-1, lead at 8:41 of the third period.
Nicolas Aube-Kubel closed his hand on the puck a few minutes later and received a minor infraction at 11:55.
It didn’t take the B’s long to turn Aube-Kubel’s minor into a costly penalty.
Just 10 seconds into the power play, Pastrnak (4) rocketed his second goal of the night over Hart’s blocker side into the opposite corner of the net– bringing Boston to within one.
Bergeron (8) and Nick Ritchie (5) had the assists on Pastrnak’s power-play goal at 12:05 and the Bruins trailed, 3-2.
Jeremy Lauzon presented the Flyers with another power play after he received a holding minor at 14:17, but Boston’s penalty kill successfully killed the infraction.
Late in the period, Hayes hooked Brad Marchand at 17:59 and provided Boston with one another chance on the skater advantage, while trailing by a goal.
With 1:10 remaining in regulation, Cassidy pulled Rask for an extra attacker, but despite a couple of zone entries, the Bruins were unsuccessful through a stoppage of play with 38.4 seconds left on the clock.
Boston used their timeout to draw up a plan and in the dying seconds, the Bruins just about threw the kitchen sink at Hart before Pastrnak (5) pocket a rebound into the twine to tie the game, 3-3, with a hat trick goal.
Pastrnak’s ninth career regular season hat trick came in his 393rd career game (all with Boston)– good enough for the fourth most in Bruins franchise history behind Phil Esposito (26 in 625 games played), Cam Neely (14 in 525 GP) and Johnny Bucyk (12 in 1,436 GP).
Wednesday night also marked the fourth time that No. 88 in black and gold scored multiple goals in consecutive games in his career (Feb. 1-3, 2021, Oct. 14-17, 2019, Feb. 4-9, 2017 and Jan. 10-13 2015).
Marchand (10) and Bergeron (9) collected the helpers on Pastrnak’s power-play goal at 19:45 and the Bruins had forced overtime, but not before Laughton interfered with Kuraly at 19:52 of the third period.
That’s right, the Flyers took another penalty with 7.3 seconds left on the clock in regulation and would be going into overtime shorthanded.
At the conclusion of regulation, the score was tied, 3-3, despite Boston leading in shots on goal, 33-25, including a, 12-6, advantage in the third period alone.
The Bruins led in takeaways (13-8), while the Flyers led in blocked shots (16-13), giveaways (10-5), hits (26-25) and faceoff win% (56-44) heading into the extra frame.
Philadelphia was 0/2 and Boston was 1/3 on the power play entering overtime.
Flyers head coach, Alain Vigneault, started Hayes, Provorov and Justin Braun, while Cassidy countered with Bergeron, Marchand, Pastrnak and David Krejci– four forwards on a leftover 4-on-3 skater advantage.
Just 31 seconds into the overtime period, Pastrnak fired a shot pass in Bergeron’s direction, whereby the Bruins captain redirected the puck into Hart’s pads– generating a rebound.
Bergeron (6) gathered his own garbage and buried the bouncing puck into the back of the net for the game-winning goal.
Pastrnak (2) and Krejci (6) tallied the assists on Bergeron’s goal and the Bruins won, 4-3, in overtime.
Boston finished the night leading in shots on goal, 35-25, including a, 2-0, advantage in overtime alone.
Philadelphia finished Wednesday night’s action with the advantage in blocked shots (18-13), giveaways (10-5), hits (26-25) and faceoff win% (54-46).
The Flyers wrapped up the overtime loss 0/2 on the power play, while the B’s finished 3/4 on the skater advantage in their overtime win.
Boston improved to 2-2 in overtime (4-2 past regulation) this season, while Philadelphia fell to 2-1 in overtime (2-2 past regulation) overall.
With the win in the books, Bergeron, 35, became the second oldest player in Bruins history to amass 15 or more points through the team’s first 10 games of a season, trailing Bucyk (17 points in 1972-73 at age 37) for the franchise record.
Boston also improved to 5-0-0 when leading after the first period, 1-1-1 when tied after the second period and 5-0-0 when scoring the game’s first goal this season in Wednesday’s win against Philly.
The Bruins were scheduled to wrap up their road trip (2-0-1) on Friday with another matchup against the Flyers before returning home to face the Buffalo Sabres on Saturday (Feb. 6th) and Monday (Feb. 8th).
At least four Sabres players, however, have tested positive for COVID-19 and rendered all Buffalo games postponed through Feb. 8th, which means Boston will continue to be on the road until Feb. 15th, with stops in Manhattan on Feb. 10th and 12th against the New York Rangers, as well as Long Island on Feb. 13th against the New York Islanders.
One of the moves Edmonton Oilers General Manager, Ken Holland, made on Monday’s trade deadline was a small deal with the Ottawa Senators that saw the Oilers acquire Tyler Ennis from the Senators in exchange for a 2021 5th round pick.
Edmonton loaded up for the stretch run in a tightly compact Pacific Division, where the Vegas Golden Knights led the division standings with 76 points– a mere six-point advantage over the two wild card teams in the Western Conference– and the Oilers sit 2nd in the Pacific with 73 points on the season entering Monday.
Ennis, 30, had 14 goals and 19 assists (33 points) in 61 games with Ottawa prior to the trade and is a pending-unrestricted free agent at season’s end.
The 5-foot-9, 161-pound, Edmonton, Alberta native was originally drafted by the Buffalo Sabres in the first round (26th overall) of the 2008 NHL Entry Draft and has 131-178–309 totals in 604 career NHL games with the Sabres, Minnesota Wild, Toronto Maple Leafs and Senators.
He also has three goals and seven assists in 19 career Stanley Cup Playoff games.
As a result of the trade, the Senators now have 22 selections in the next two NHL Entry Drafts, including seven picks in the first two rounds of the 2020 NHL Draft and three second round picks in the 2021 NHL Draft.
Early Monday morning, the Edmonton Oilers jumpstarted the 2020 NHL trade deadline by acquiring Mike Green from the Detroit Red Wings while most fans on the East Coast were likely sleeping.
The Red Wings acquired Kyle Brodziak and a conditional 2020 4th round pick in return.
If the Oilers make the 2020 Stanley Cup Playoffs, advance to the Western Conference Final and Green plays in 50 percent of the playoff games in the first two rounds, then Detroit receives Edmonton’s 2021 3rd round pick instead of their 2020 4th round pick.
Detroit retained 50% ($2.688 million) of Green’s salary in the trade.
Green, 34, has three goals and eight assists (11 points) in 48 games with Detroit this season and was third on the team in blocked shots (63) at the time of the trade.
A Calgary, Alberta native, Green was originally drafted by the Washington Capitals in the first round (29th overall) of the 2004 NHL Entry Draft.
He has 10-27–37 totals in 76 career Stanley Cup Playoff games and 150-351–501 totals in 878 career regular season games for the Red Wings and Capitals.
Oilers General Manager, Ken Holland, addressed a need for a durable extra body in Edmonton’s own end with Oscar Klefbom out two-to-three weeks with a shoulder injury sustained in Feb. 19th’s, 2-1, overtime loss against the Boston Bruins.
Green is a pending-unrestricted free agent at season’s end.
Brodziak, 35, has not played this season due to a back injury and will remain on the long-term injured reserve for Detroit.
He is in the final year of his current contract ($1.150 million cap hit) and will be a pending-UFA at season’s end and has 129-167–296 totals in 917 career NHL games with the Oilers, St. Louis Blues and Minnesota Wild.
Some firsts, 100s, broken fingers and pointing fingers– who should be concerned about their job security behind the bench? Plus Cap’n and Pete are back.
Brayden Point re-signed with the Tampa Bay Lightning, a bunch of other RFAs signed extensions, the Boston Pride were sold, Dan Girardi retired and DTFR’s season previews continued with the Atlantic Division.
The U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame Class of 2019 was announced, a major shakeup in the Board of Governors may be ahead, extensions were signed, Jake Gardiner joined the Carolina Hurricanes and it’s time for our DTFR Podcast season previews (starting with the Pacific Division).
Down the Frozen River 
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