The Monday Morning Goalie For SUDS
Truth & Rumours For SUDS Car Wash
1 – DROP THE PUCK: We ran a poll on the RP Show this week asking viewers what their “Top sports focus” is now that football season is over, culminating with Super Bowl LX. 72% said hockey, 13% voted for baseball, 8% chose football and 7% voted for Other (curling, golf, basketball, lacrosse, etc). That’s a pretty resounding result for the ice warriors, wouldn’t ya say? But don’t you worry – we’ve got a little of it all for you in this week’s column …
2 – THE STANLEY CUP: It changes daily so you really need to keep an eye on it, but the very latest Stanley Cup futures odds (as of March 2) have these clubs as the top betting favourites to win the Stanley Cup in 2026: 1) Colorado, 2) Tampa Bay, 3) Carolina, 4), Vegas and 5) Edmonton. YES, EDMONTON! I’m always interested to see who the oddsmakers have listed at the bottom as well and as of today at Fanduel, they are 28) Chicago, 29) Vancouver, 30) Calgary, 31) NY Rangers, 32) St. Louis. These look suspiciously exactly like my weekly Top 5/Bottom 5 rankings …
3 – GAME NOTES: The Dallas Stars have won a club record eight consecutive hockey games. And yet, they’re not in the Top 5 of betting odds/power rankings. … At age 37, Florida’s Brad Marchand is on pace for the first 40-goal season of his career. If he hits 40 goals, he’ll set an NHL record for the oldest player to do it. The record’s currently held by 35-year old Johnny Bucyk who scored 40 in 1970-71 for the Boston Bruins. … Former Regina Pats Jordan Eberle & Chandler Stephenson each registered three point outings on Saturday for the Seattle Kraken in a 5-1 trouncing of Vancouver, allowing the Kraken to leapfrog Edmonton for second-place in the Pacific Division. … The Buffalo Sabres are 8-0-1 in their past nine road games. … The Carolina Hurricanes have points in 12 straight games and their 5-2 win over Detroit on Saturday moved them into top in the NHL’s Eastern Conference. It’s the latest in the season the Canes have led the Eastern Conference since March of 2022.
4 – SCARY TIME: Given the treatment NHL stars have received by Canadian media this past week, all I can say is don’t be surprised when they leave the first chance they get (hello Mitch Marner!). Connor McDavid, Connor Hellebuyck, Brady Tkachuk & Auston Matthews have all been placed in the crosshairs of insane questions and been the target of ridiculous headlines which they don’t deserve. … Given the Oilers road foibles through California and the awkward questions McDavid’s been forced to answer this week, one NHL-type in the press box in Sunrise the other night said, “He’s as good as gone”. … And if the Jets media & fans don’t want Hellebuyck, I know plenty of teams who will take him off their hands. Just say the word …
5 – TRADE DEADLINE: It snuck up on us, it seems, but the NHL Trade Deadline is this Friday. Covering it feels like trying to grab a bar of soap in the bathtub. Florida Panthers GM Bill Zito told the media this week that it’s quite a moving target. For instance, Zito says, a player who wasn’t available last week, suddenly is available this week. The trade bait lists seem as varied as NFL mock drafts but they have one thing in common: none of them will be 100% accurate. Fortunately we’ll know soon, the speculation will end, and the stretch drive will truly be on …
6 – WHAT ABOUT BOB: There’s a blossoming story developing here in South Florida that nobody outside the region is aware of, yet is highly delicate. How could you be aware of it? Star Panthers goalie Sergei Bobrovsky is in the final year of a 7-year/$70-million deal and nobody really seems to want to talk about it publicly. Zito refused to update contract talks this week saying, “I’ll let that situation speak for itself”. Sportsnet’s Elliott Friedman reported on the weekend that it’s been “a challenge” to re-sign Bobrovsky.
Pundits all feel Bobrovsky’s had a down year – I don’t agree – but if the Panthers are out of the playoff race come Friday (NHLForecasts.com say the Cats have a 4.4% chance of making the playoffs), why wouldn’t they look at moving the 2-time Vezina Trophy winner and defending 2-time Stanley Cup winner? Bobrovsky would immediately improve the Cup chances of Vegas, Edmonton or even Montreal! We all feel Bob will sign right back here in July but what if the Panthers are trying to lowball him given his age (37) and declining stats? Like I said, highly delicate.
7 – JUNIOR LOOP: What a battle in the Dub! With 10 games to go in the regular season the Prince Albert Raiders (45-8-5-1) have clinched the East Division but have the Medicine Hat Tigers (42-9-5-3) hot on their heels for the conference lead. They’re on a collision course for the East Final, no? … Meanwhile the Blades and Wheat Kings have clinched playoff spots while the Pats and Warriors are battling it out for the final playoff spot. One of the two will make it, or maybe both. Swift Current & Lethbridge are out of it. … In the SJHL, Yorkton, Battlefords and Flin Flon are the division leaders and the teams who’ve clinched playoff spots are: Terriers, Red Wings, Bombers, North Stars and Hawks. … No wonder we call this the best time of year!
8 – CFL: Somebody’s gotta drum up some Fake News. The top story I saw coming out of the CFL this week was that TSN forgot to mention the CFL in a social media post about the hottest upcoming events and leagues this spring/summer. OOPS! Here’s what I think: during Grey Cup Week the Angus Reid Institute released poll results stating the CFL’s popularity in Canada is at an all-time low with less than 20% of Canadians saying they follow the league. I ask you — what’s been done to fix that??? … Hey – the league’s always survived right? I’m not worried.
9 – NFL: Former Miami Hurricanes QB Carson Beck was booed during drills at the NFL Combine in Indianapolis this weekend. Priceless! Why? Because he failed to shake hands with Indiana’s Fernando Mendoza after the National Championship game here in Miami in January. … Mendoza is in Indy, but declined to throw. Nobody seemed to mind – he’s going #1 to the Las Vegas Raiders anyway. Both Cam Ward and Shedeur Sanders declined to throw at last year’s Combine, and both went on to have good rookie seasons in the NFL. … The NFL Draft is April 23-25 in Pittsburgh. … I’ve long wanted the CFL to mobilize their Draft, include prospects, alumni and fans, but the idea never got an iota of traction in my time in the league.
10 – RANDOM THOUGHTS: Congrats Saskatchewan for raising over $10.5M at Telemiracle this weekend! … Nobody likes a bully. … Had to quit watching Brockmire after four episodes on Netflix. It hit too close to home. … “In Regina if they haven’t heard a rumour by noon, they start one.” — Ron Lancaster. … I heard Donald Trump wants to buy the CFL. … What goes around, comes around. … I’ve never ridden on a Zamboni. Would like to before I die. … Why are people I don’t follow on Twitter popping up on my timeline? Elon Musk really ruined that app. … Ted Dibiase is on Twitter. … A toucan that has been seen flying around Las Vegas for months has been saved, a bird rescue group said this week. Sam the Toucan has been living in Las Vegas since November, much to the concern of bird experts and enthusiasts who were worried about the exotic bird’s health and his ability to survive long-term in a city with drastic weather changes. “(The) little stinker decided it was time for help, and he flew into someone’s garage,” Skye Marsh, President of the Southwest Exotic Avian Rescue told The Associated Press. The homeowners knew who the toucan was and shut the garage so he couldn’t escape. Sam has captivated the Las Vegas community after surviving in the desert for months. After the rescue group caught him, staff took him to a local veterinarian. There are some signs of “wear and tear,” such as dehydrated skin and a chip off his beak, but he seems to be OK, Skye said … AND HOW WAS YOUR WEEK?
Y’er welcome,
RP
You should thank your lucky stars Musk purchased Twitter/ X . If you don’t like it go over to bluesky and see where all the deranged leftists congragate to feel safe in their echo chamber. Maybe that’s where claire hanna is now .
If he’d have left it the way it was we’d be fine.
4 – SCARY TIME: You can blame the Canadian media if you want, that’s your perogative. But, keep in mind that President Bonespur has created most of the animosity.
Isn’t it funny how 20 percent of people said they follow the CFL yet so many are against the changes which will be great for the game.
Those that are crying about saving the CFL as it is are probably the same people that say we need a new PM, Premier or Mayor and then they don’t vote and cry about how they are treated.