Rod’s 10 NHL Things

Reprinted with permission from the South Florida Tribune:

1 – National Hockey League news begins and ends over the past week with the deaths of Columbus Blue Jackets forward Johnny Gaudreau and his brother Matthew in their home state of New Jersey on Thursday. The pair was hit by a suspected drunk driver and pronounced dead on the scene in the evening hours. Johnny, 31, and Matthew, 29, were to be groomsmen at their sister Katie’s wedding on the next day.

The tragedy rocked the hockey world, and included vigils in Columbus, and also Calgary where “Johnny Hockey” starred with the Flames between 2013-2022. Tributes to the pair have been observed in sports arenas and stadiums across the continent in the week since.

2 – Former Bally Sports Florida Panthers TV analyst Jeff Chychrun (pictured on the set of the Cats N Bolts Podcast) confirmed in a text message that he will not be back for a sixth season covering Panthers hockey as the team’s television broadcasts have moved to Scripps Sports. It’s nothing more than the trappings of a team shifting broadcast partners, and Chychrun could be involved in Panthers coverage down the line. The affable La Salle, Quebec product played 262 games with the Flyers, Penguins, Kings and Oilers and while he never suited up for the Panthers in his career, he’s been a fixture in South Florida since the 1990s. His son Jakob is a star defenceman with the Washington Capitals, and was born in Boca Raton.

3 – Scripps Sports will air 70 Panthers regular season games in 2024-25 plus four preseason contests. The games can be seen in Broward/Miami Dade Counties on WSFL (Channel 39), in Palm Beach County on WHDT (Channel 9) and in Southwest Florida on WFTX (Channel 36.3). The four televised preseason clashes will be September 27 at Carolina, September 28 vs Carolina, September 30 vs Tampa Bay and October 2 at Tampa Bay.

4 – With Labor Day Weekend behind us, the Edmonton Oilers dominated headlines on Tuesday with the announcement that forward Leon Draisaitl has agreed to an eight-year, $112-million contract. Once the contract kicks in for the 2025-26 NHL season, Draisaitl’s $14-million cap hit will be the largest in NHL history! The Cologne, Germany product was held goalless during the seven game Stanley Cup Final, but chipped in with three assists.

5 – The Oilers and Florida Panthers remain the most-likely Stanley Cup Final match-up in 2025 according to sportsbooks. Edmonton already boasts two of the NHL’s top four players in Draisaitl and Connor McDavid, and now they own two of the top four highest-paid as well.

6 – We’re still chuckling over iconic Miami Herald columnist Greg Cote referring to McDavid as “overrated” during last year’s Stanley Cup Final. The Oilers star admitted during the series to hearing about Cote’s comment, which Greg doubled down upon after the Oilers bowed out to the Panthers in Game 7. However with a mind-boggling 42 points during Edmonton’s Cup run, and winning the Conn Smythe Award as playoff MVP, we’re sure McDavid is comfortable with his place in the game. However, in Cote’s defense, Connor still needs to win the big one to cement his place in hockey history.

7 – Last week in this space we questioned the landing spot for 31-year old free agent forward Nick Cousins, who spent the past two seasons with the Panthers. Within days, the 31-year old from Belleville, Ontario signed a one-year deal with the Ottawa Senators worth $800,000.

8 – Next up is 36-year old forward Kyle Okposo. The St. Paul, Minnesota product was acquired by Florida at last season’s NHL trade deadline from Buffalo, and suited up for 17 Stanley Cup Playoff games, notching two assists. The hard-nosed player has appeared in 1,051 NHL games with 614 career points, but admitted in an interview with NHL.com in July that he’s already begun considering life after hockey.

9 – According to Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman, forward Steven Lorentz has agreed to a Professional Tryout Agreement with the Toronto Maple Leafs. The 28-year old from Kitchener, Ontario spent the 2024-25 season with the Panthers, appearing in 38 regular season games (1-2-3) and 16 Stanley Cup Playoff games (2-1-3).

10 – While spending the summer in Canada, I had coffee with a hockey person who’s still sore at Panthers coach Paul Maurice for something that happened in Hartford way back in  1996! “Pomo” was an assistant coach with the Whalers at the time, and admitted during a news conference last spring that he had “no idea what I was doing at the time” as he earned his coaching stripes. I advised the fellow that Maurice is having the last laugh now, as a Stanley Cup champion, and he’s best served to get over it. He agreed!

(Rod Pedersen covers the NHL for the South Florida Tribune, hosts the Cats N Bolts Podcast, and the daily Rod Pedersen Show on Game+TV and WQEE Radio)