1 – A hearty thank you for the welcome reception our first NHL column in the South Florida Tribune received last week from you, the readers. And a special thank you to those who offered feedback and additional food for thought! Some of that is included in the points below …
2 – Reader Gordon pointed out that among the changes the 2024-25 Florida Panthers could see from last year’s Stanley Cup champion squad is Nick Cousins. As of late-August, the 31-year old forward remains an unsigned free agent and is not listed on the Panthers roster on the team website. The Belleville, ON product spent the past two seasons with the Panthers (seven goals, eight assists in 64 games last season) and was a big part of Florida’s in-your-face style of play. We’d love to see him back with the Cats.
3 – In October of 2022, Cousins appeared on my daytime sports talkshow – The Rod Pedersen Show on Game+ TV and WQEE Radio – and referred to South Florida as a “sneaky good hockey town”. He was referring to the fact that while the region never got its props as a legit hockey market, Nick quickly noticed a deep love for the Panthers here (as evidenced by all the Panthers license plates and people wearing Cats gear in the area). However after back-to-back Stanley Cup Final visits and their first-ever NHL title last spring, South Florida isn’t sneaky anymore and is definitely “legit” as far as hockey markets go.
4 – Last week we mentioned the NHL’s record revenue of $6.2-billion last season and some of the reasons why. Legendary Hockey Night In Canada executive producer John Shannon chimed in and offered that the addition of expansion teams in Las Vegas and Seattle certainly have helped the bottom line, as did the “three-way digital arena boards”. Those are the virtual ads on the rink boards which can be sold to advertisers three times over: the home TV broadcast, visitors TV broadcast, and for in-arena spectators.
5 – NHL training camps are just around the corner and so too is the 2024 preseason. Always a tantalizing treat for Cats fans is the annual exhibition doubleheader against the Nashville Predators. This year’s double-dip is Sunday, September 22 with games between the Cats & Preds at 2:00 pm and 6:00 pm at Amerant Bank Arena. I find baseball doubleheaders somewhat grueling and ardous but for some reason, these NHL twinbills are a delight!
6 – There were three big trades in the past week in the NHL. The most notable was enigmatic forward Patrik Laine being shipped, along with a second round pick, from Columbus to Montreal for defenceman Jordan Harris. The Finnish product has had a reputation as a “coach killer” in his eight NHL seasons (ask Paul Maurice and John Tortorella) but the Canadiens are willing to give him another chance. Laine’s regarded as possessing one of the NHL’s most lethal shots, and is hoping to resurrect his career in La Belle Province.
7 – Meanwhile the San Jose Sharks believe they’ve solved their goaltending problems by acquiring star prospect Yaroslav Askarov from Nashville in a package deal. The former first round pick out of Russia has only appeared in three NHL games however he asked for a trade from the Predators after being buried on the depth chart. San Jose’s General Manager is Mike Grier, brother of Dolphins GM Chris Grier. The Sharks gave up an NHL-worst 331 goals last year and let me tell you, that wasn’t all due to goaltending. However we wish them well!
8 – Lastly, Pittsburgh and Winnipeg swapped former first round picks as the Penguins dealt promising forward Brayden Yager to the Jets for disgruntled former USA World Junior star Rutger McGroarty. McGroarty – a standout with the Michigan Wolverines – let it be known to Winnipeg that he wasn’t warm on playing there! Yager is a Canadian junior phenom who’s drawn comparisons to Colorado Avalanche star Nathan MacKinnon. We say the Jets won the deal.
9 – South Florida Tribune publisher Scott Morganroth pointed this one out to me: Florida Gators icon and NFL veteran Tim Tebow owns an expansion team in the East Coast Hockey League called the Tahoe Knight Monsters, playing out of Lake Tahoe. They’re set to begin play this season and the team’s colours are teal, gold and black while the logo is a dragon-like creature. They’ll compete against the Panthers ECHL affiliate, the Savannah Ghost Pirates, and the Lightning’s minor league Orlando Solar Bears.
10 – For the next four weeks we’ll provide our prediction for each NHL Division beginning with the Pacific Division this week: 1) Edmonton, 2) Vancouver, 3) Vegas, 4) Seattle, 5) Los Angeles, 6) Anaheim, 7) San Jose, 8) Calgary.
Thanks for reading and we’ll see you on the ice!
(Veteran hockey broadcaster and writer Rod Pedersen covers the NHL for the South Florida Tribune, hosts the award-winning Cats N Bolts Podcast, and the daily Rod Pedersen Show on Game+ TV and WQEE Radio)
