Here’s this week’s column Candy! Pic attached, taken by me. I won’t be available for Thursday evening’s Sports Exchange due to the Panthers game. Hope you’re well!
1 – 4 NATIONS AFTERMATH: The NHL’s first-ever 4 Nations Face-Off is now behind us, with Canada prevailing 3-2 in overtime over USA Thursday in Boston. Canada’s Connor McDavid scored at 8:18 of overtime – giving the country a massive sigh of relief – to punctuate a tournament which was a revenue and TV ratings bonanza for the League. A combined 28-million-plus viewers in North America tuned in for the pair of games between Canada and the US. Next up in international play are the Olympics in 2026, and Commissioner Gary Bettman announced there will be another NHL-sponsored global tournament in 2028.
2 – COMES WITH A COST: While the tournament was a smashing success, there may have been a little too much smashing. Team USA star Matthew Tkachuk sustained a lower body injury which limited his playing time in the final, and he’s missing at least two games with the Florida Panthers upon his return. “I don’t have a timeline, he is going to get looked at today,” Cats head coach Paul Maurice told WQAM’s Joe Rose Show Monday morning. “We’re hoping it’s not too serious; there’s a possibility it’s not too serious. But there is a possibility it is a bit longer term. Even with that, he’s playing for us this year. It’s not that kind of thing.”
3 – SMASH BROTHERS: At the outset of the Canada-USA championship broadcast on Thursday, ESPN’s Sean McDonough proclaimed “The Tkachuk brothers may have been the two most popular men in America over the past week!” The robust play of Matthew and his younger brother Brady got Cats fans’ tongues wagging that perhaps Florida can somehow acquire Brady, the Ottawa Senators captain. However Panthers great-turned-broadcaster Bill Lindsay says it’s not happening. “You can’t get Brady! How did we get Matthew? Fluke luck,” Lindsay told the Cats N Bolts Podcast. “Those players are unicorns. He’s a captain! They don’t change teams. If Ottawa trades Brady Tkachuk … insanity! He’s got over 100 penalty minutes, over a hundred hits on the season, and over 20 goals. That’s the only player in the NHL! Where you gonna find that anywhere else? You’re not. How do you get Brady Tkachuk? If Ottawa loses their mind.”
4 – INJURIES VS MARKETING: NFL pundits are crowing that the injuries to star NHL players (Florida’s Tkachuk, Boston’s Charlie McAvoy & Vegas’s Shea Theodore) are the reason there’s no Pro Bowl anymore. It truly is a worst-case scenario for the teams affected but it’s a price the NHL was willing to play. Clearly they feel the pros outweigh the cons and besides, if you want to make an omelette you have a break a few eggs. The injuries will heal. The memories of the tournament will last a lifetime.
5 – THE GREAT ONE: The greatest NHL player of all-time, Wayne Gretzky, is getting a tidal wave of heat from his native Canada this week for his relationship with US President Donald Trump. #99 celebrated with Trump the night of his election win and attended the Inauguration, but was also Team Canada’s ambassador for the championship game last week in Boston. That drew the ire of many Canadian hockey fans and media since Trump has teased annexing Canada as the “51st State” and threatened to impose stiff tariffs on Canadian goods into the US. It’s a sticky situation for Gretzky for sure, but the NHL and NHL On TNT – where he serves as an intermission panelist – don’t seem to be bothered by the hubbub.
6 – THE GREAT 8: Russia wasn’t invited to the 4 Nations Face-Off and that allowed Washington Capitals star Alex Ovechkin to rest up for the home stretch and his assault on Gretzky’s career NHL goals record (894). On Sunday Ovechkin netted his 32ndcareer hattrick in a 7-3 win over Edmonton and is now just 13 goals away from breaking Gretzky’s mark. Initial projections had Ovechkin breaking the record in April, however it’s likely he’ll achieve the feat before the end of March. Not that long ago we thought the record was out of reach.
7 – BACK HOME: The Tampa Bay Lightning have caught fire, winners of five in a row, including a 4-1 home triumph over Seattle in their first game back from the break on Sunday. Forward Brandon Hagel – who starred for Canada in the 4 Nations – led the way with a goal and assist against the Kraken. The hot streak has pushed the Lightning record to 32-20-4, good enough for third-place in the Atlantic Division.
8 – HOT CHYCH: Washington defenceman Jakob Chychrun was born in Boca Raton and is having a stellar year, his first with the Capitals. The 26-year old potted three goals in two games on the weekend giving him 17 on the season. That puts him alongside four other blueliners in the past 15 years to score as many in their first season with a club (the others being Brent Burns, Shea Weber, Dustin Byfuglien & Dougie Hamilton). Chychrun will be a free agent at the end of the season and would look GREAT in a Panthers uniform.
9 – TRADE BAIT: The NHL Trade Deadline is looming March 7. TSN (Canada’s ESPN) has assembled a list of the top players who could be on the move and they are: #1 NY Islanders forward Brock Nelson, #2 Pittsburgh forward Rickard Rakell, #3 Vancouver defenseman Carson Soucy, #4 Montreal defenseman David Savard, and #5 Boston forward Trent Frederic. While initially mentioned as a trade possibility, Florida forward Sam Bennett doesn’t appear in the Top 30 on the list.
10 – OIL COUNTRY: Florida hockey fans will get a look at the defending Western Conference champion Edmonton Oilers this week, and their superstar Connor McDavid. The Oilers visit Tampa Bay on Tuesday and Sunrise on Thursday in a 2024 Stanley Cup Final rematch. The Cats then continue their lengthy homestand with home dates against Calgary (Saturday), Tampa Bay (Monday), Columbus (Thursday) and Buffalo (Saturday, March 8).
See you at the rink!
(Rod Pedersen covers the NHL for the South Florida Tribune. He also hosts the award-winning Cats N Bolts Podcast and the daily Rod Pedersen Show on Game+TV, YouTube Live & Podcast)
