After the Columbus Blue Jackets started the season 29th in the league they decided to make some changes. First there was management changes that had to be decided in terms of the direction of the club. "We got together as a group and had to figure out who were the guys that we wanted to win with. We decided to balance the team and load up on the future 2022 draft, while dealing with our sub par defensive ratings. We have such great goaltending and we had to give them a chance to get a W every night."

GM Bland wasted no time and traded away Mark Scheifele, Brayden Point and Noah Hanifin. This brought in Jack Eichel and a lot of youth that were flipped for the defensive core that you see before you. "I've always believed that building the team from the net out is how you create a championship team. We plan to win it all"

The Blue Jackets are currently on a 11 game point streak while winning the last 9 straight games. "If we can, I hope we don't lose another game the entire season and playoffs. We are coming for you Stanley."

With the news that the Islanders are making yet another move in the GM seat, many are wondering why they are making so many moves when they are 7 games over .500. The answer is simple. We want the best of the best, and winning a title is the sole focus. Brooks is being brought in to get this team to be a force to be reckoned with. A few quotes from his opening press conference are below. 

- My job is to get this team to be with the elites on a year in, year out basis. To win titles is the sole reason for being in this profession.

- We want to build an elite farm system, let young guys grow and develop at a high rate. Partner that with the new arena and payroll flexibility, we want to attract elite Free Agents in the offseason to pair with our young core. 

- Our team has produced well, but we will always have our door open to trades. Until you can call yourself the Stanley Cup Champion, you can never settle thinking there isnt something you can accomplish to help this hockey team. Even after the title, it is maybe even more important. 

- I am here to take the Islanders to the promise land and I am fired up to be here.

Its a new regime in Islanders hockey and we look forward to seeing the outcome. 

The New York Islanders, despite recent havoc in terms of their previous administration, have played well this season. Now they are bolstered with a new GM in Thomas Gidlow, who has made several moves to keep the party going while shoring up their long-term outlook.

Already, Gidlow has made a trade and made several roster moves over the past 48 hours. Tobias Rieder has been waived and will likely be bought out, while three others (Michael McCarron, Remi Elie, and Brendan Perlini) were bought out today. Ross Colton will be signed to a contract as well, reportedly.

Nick Bonino was dealt to the Nashville Predators, along with the Buffalo 1st round pick in 2021 and prospect Antonio Stranges, in exchange for Dylan Strome, Ozzie Wiesblatt, and Spencer Knight.

"We're looking to maintain our current course on the ice as much as possible, while shoring up the immediate future and long-term outlook," said Gidlow after the Bonino trade. "We aren't rushing, but we're not wasting time either. We've got a really prime selection of young players on the come-up, but we want to keep the momentum going this season as well."

The Isles have a plethora of young goaltender talent now in the young stud Knight, along with Leevi Merilainen, Calle Clang, and Daniil Tarasov. One area Gidlow did indicate a desire to strengthen, though, was the defense. With forwards like Tage Thompson, Jordan Kyrou, and Tim Stuetzle on the rise, the d-corps is a bit thin.

"It's definitely an area we want to focus on moving forward," stated Gidlow. "But we'll see what develops in the days and weeks ahead."

Patrick Marleau’s previous tenure with the (NHL) Hurricanes lasted a grand total of 5 days, resulting in a stat line of 0 goals, 0 assists and 0 points in 0 games, for which Marleau was compensated with a cheque for 8,833,334$ as he was bought out of the last year of his contract.  Fans in Carolina are hoping to get a bit more bang for their buck this time around, although the trade did net the NHL Hurricanes an excellent prospect with Seth Jarvis being drafted with the 1st round pick acquired in the deal.

There are obvious benefits to adding the veteran Marleau to the Hurricanes lineup, as Carolina attempts to break out of its maddeningly average 5-5-2 start.  Beyond his leadership capabilities, Marleau can provide a solid middle six scoring presence and is an excellent shootout option to help the Canes get that extra point when the game goes past 65 minutes.

But the biggest potential benefit in acquiring the veteran may be the karmic boost it provides to the Hurricanes’ Stanley Cup ambitions, as Marleau is the ultimate OGWAC. For those unfamiliar with the writings of the Sean McIndoe (The Athletic’s very own Down Goes Brown), OGWAC is an acronym for Old Guy Without A Cup, and is a category reserved for older players at the end of their careers who have yet to achieve every player’s ultimate dream of raising Lord Stanley’s chalice aloft in victory… a player who any fan should root for to win the Cup for the happy ending it could be for a beloved veteran.  Can any fan say that they were not happy when Ray Bourque (The OG OGWAC) finally got his cup win in Colorado?

As amazing as that story was for Bourque, a cup win for Marleau may be even sweeter.  For one thing, he is genuinely considered to be a nice guy and a great teammate, particularly observable in his how handled being stripped of the Sharks’ captaincy in 2009 (and then again being stripped of his alternate captaincy in 2014).  Despite what some may consider to be an insult, he continued to play on and not let the drama affect his game.  He’s also been one of the most durable players over the course of his career. He has an active ironman streak of 879 games (dating back to April of 2009) and he has only missed 31 games in his 23 year career. Finally with 1748 (currently 3rd all time) and another 195 playoff games played (24th all time), he is the NHL player who has played the most games in history without winning a Cup.

The Hurricanes hope to be able to rob him of that record when he gets handed the Stanley Cup this summer!

Heading into tonight's marquee matchup all eyes are on the Chicago Shithawks! (7-0-0) The Chicago Blackhawks are on fire and there is no reason to believe the undefeated train will stop rollin' tonight as they set to face Hidan and the lowly Philadelphia Flyers (1-4-2) @ 1:32am EST.

The leagues worst team thus far rolls Devin Hartney and Hidan Pederson on the first line and respective power play lines 1/2 as Defenseman. The pair have far exceeded anyone's expectations of them, however, the linemates have combined for a slim total of 0 Goals and 0 assisted with a -12 rating combined in 7 games this season.


The Blackhawks streak has been impressive as tonight marks their 7th straight road game. One of their star players, Tomas Hertl, mysteriously remains out of the lineup an extended period of time with no expecation to return in the coming week. Fans are questioning if he is committed to the organization or if this long term phantom bruised foot injury is just a poor excuse to try n get out of Chicago.

Rumblings are that Hertl isn't invested in a deep playoff run and would like to be traded to a non-contender, New Jersey Devils, where he can get away with staying up all hours of the night eating Pop-tarts and live streaming video games. He would also be afforded the opportunity of spending the entire summer off at Trump National golf course in Florida.


Despite preseason headlines with quotes from uneducated GM's calling this hawks squad a "tire fire of a team" and the absence of Tomas Hertl, which will be addressed in the near future, the Hawks seem completely unphased through it all and still remain UNBEATEN


Anton Khudobin will make his 8th straight start tonight supporting a 7-0-0 record .930 save % and 1.97 GAA.