By Neil Becker

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Boston Bruins fans had reason to rejoice when in late July management re-signed former MVP Taylor Hall to a lucrative four-year deal worth $24 million.

This 29 year old left-winger, who was drafted 1st. overall by the Edmonton Oilers in the 2010 NHL Entry Draft, was on the eve of last season’s trading deadline, dealt from the Buffalo Sabres to the Bruins. Showcasing his offensive flair, Hull finished the year by scoring eight goals along with 14 points in 16 regular-season games played with the Boston Bruins. In his career, Hull has played 680 games and scored 228 goals along with 596 career points.

Looking to add some more grit and character, the Bruins on July 28th, inked veteran free agent left-winger Nick Foligno to a two-year contract worth $7.6 million.  Foligno, who is 33 years old, is a former 2006 28th overall NHL draft pick of the Ottawa Senators. Last season, playing in what was the final year of his contract with the Columbus Blue Jackets, Foligno scored seven goals and 16 points in 42 games before getting traded on April 11, 2021, to the Toronto Maple Leafs. With the Leafs, Foligno tallied four assists in only 7 regular-season games. In his career, Foligno has played 957 career games and has scored 203 goals and 486 points.

Showing more aggressiveness, Boston also went out and signed 30 year old free agent left winger Erik Haula to a two-year $4.75 million dollar contract.  Haula is coming off a season that saw him play 51 games with the Nashville Predators where he went on to score 9 goals and 21 points. His best season came during 2017-2018 when playing for the Vegas Golden Knights, he produced 29 goals and 55 points.

Another forward committing this off-season to the Boston Bruins is 29 year old left-winger Tomas Nosek. In late July, this veteran who for the past four seasons had been a fixture with the Golden Knights, has agreed to a two-year contract worth $3.5 million. Last year, Nosek produced 8 goals and 18 points in 38 games for Vegas.

Meanwhile, in late July the Bruins also signed young up-and-coming prospect Samuel Asselin to a two-year entry-level contract. This 23 year old centerman who stands at 5’9” and 180 pounds, produced eight goals along with 16 points in only 16 games with the Providence Bruins.

Boston also went out and inked another centerman in 28 year old Steven Fogarty who played 16 games for the AHL’s Rochester Americans along with nine for the Buffalo Sabres. Fogarty signed what was a one-year two-way contract.   

Among the departing forwards included popular centerman David Krejci who was originally drafted 63rd overall in the 2004 NHL Entry Draft. Krejci, who made his NHL debut on January 30, 2007, went on to play 962 career games while producing 215 goals along with 730 points. Following 15 seasons, the 35 year old has signed a one-year contract to play in the Czech Republic league.

Also leaving the Boston Bruins is gritty veteran forward Nick Ritchie who signed a two-year deal with the Toronto Maple Leafs. Ritchie, who is 25 years old, scored 15 goals and 26 points over 56 games played.

 In early July, Boston also gave forwards Cameron Hughes and Joona Koppanen both a one-year two-way contract extension.

Veteran backup goalie Jaroslav Halak, who played the past three seasons in Beantown was this off-season an unrestricted free agent who inked a one-year deal with the Vancouver Canucks for $1,500,000. The 36 year old is coming off a season that saw him go 9-6-4 with a 2.53 GAA.

Taking Halak’s place will be former Buffalo Sabres goalie Linus Ullmark who in July signed a four-year deal worth $20 million. Last year, he finished with a 9-6-3 record and a 2.63 GAA.

A third goalie to sign was Troy Grosenick who inked a one-year two-way contract.

On defence, the reliable Kevan Miller decided to retire following a seven-year career.

Other in-house moves included management going ahead and giving star defenceman Brandon Carlo to a six-year contract extension for $24.6 million dollars. Carlo, who is only 24 years old, played only 27 games last year and scored three goals and four points.

The Boston Bruins also re-signed defenceman Nick Wolff to a one-year two-way contract. Also joining the Bruins blueline is Unrestricted Free Agents Derek Forbort and Mike Reiilly who both agreed to three-year contracts.

Boston, whose starting goalie, Tukka Rask is on the shelf until around Christmas due to hip surgery, should once again this spring be a playoff threat. Core players are getting older, but are still a Stanley Cup contender.  

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By Neil Becker

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The most important off-season move took place in late July when the Washington Capitals management signed captain Alex Ovechkin to a five-year $47.5 million dollar contract extension.

Ovechkin, who was drafted first overall in the 2004 NHL Entry Draft by the Capitals, has played 16 seasons with Washington Capitals and has scored 730 goals along with 1,320 points in 1,197 career games. This 35 year old future hockey hall of famer, who is sixth on the all-time goal-scoring list, trails Wayne Gretzky, the all-time leader by only 164 goals. Last season, this skilled Russian and Washington’s most popular player was still productive with 24 goals and 42 points.

Another major re-signing came in goal where 24 year old Ilya Samsonov agreed to a one-year deal worth $2 million dollars. Selected 22nd overall in the 2015 NHL Entry Draft, Samsonov played in only 19 regular-season games last year where he posted a 13-4-1 record with a 2.69 G.A.A.

Meanwhile, leaving the Washington Capitals was Unrestricted Free Agent goalie Craig Anderson who signed a one-year deal with the Buffalo Sabres for $750,000. Anderson, who is 40 years-old, played last season only four games with the Washington Capitals where he ended up with a 2-1 record along with a 2.13 GAA.

In late August, veteran goalie Henrik Lundqvist, who played 15 seasons with the New York Rangers, made it official that he was calling it a career. Prior to last season, this 39 year old goalie agreed to a one-year deal with the Washington Capitals but due to a heart issue couldn’t play.

Back in late July, the expansion Seattle Kraken selected Washington goalie Vitek Vanecek. Not long afterward, the Washington Capitals re-acquired the 25 year old goalie for a 2023 second-round draft pick. Vanecek is coming off a season that saw him go 21-10-4 with a 2.69 G.A.A.

A big decision on the blueline is whether to bring back veteran defenseman Zdeno Chara who is 44 years old. This future hall of famer, who has played in the NHL since 1996 spent last season as a Washington Capitals. Providing leadership, muscle, and a heavy shot, Chara scored two goals along with 10 points in 55 games last year. As of late August, he has remained mute about his future.

Another decision is whether to sign 27 year old Unrestricted Free Agent Paul LaDue who played 18 games with the Caps AHL’s affiliate Hershey Bears and scored 3 goals along with 8 points.

The Washington Capitals must also make a decision on another unrestricted free-agent defenceman in 32 year old Cameron Schilling who last year played 31 games for Hershey where he scored 4 goals and 19 points.

The organization has also signed unrestricted free agent defenceman Lucas Johansen to a one-year two-way contract. This 6’2” 182 pounds 23 year old blueliner, had last season two assists in five games for Hershey.

Also signing with the Washington Capitals was 33 year old depth defenceman Matt Irwin who agreed to a one-year two-way contract. Last year with the last-place Buffalo Sabres, he played 24 games and registered two assists, and was a minus 10.

In adding some toughness, the Washington Capitals also went out and signed gritty defenceman Dylan Mcilrath to a two-year two-way contract. This 6’5” 231 pounder, who is 29 years old, played 29 games last year for the AHL’s Grand River Rapids where he scored two goals along with eight points.

Early August saw the Washington Capitals add some offensive depth as they went out and inked 28- year-old forward Mike Vecchione to a one-year two-way contract. This past season, he played 18 games for the AHL’s Colorado Eagles “A” where he scored seven goals and 10 points.

Meanwhile departing the Washington Capitals is depth forward Daniel Carr who will be returning this fall to HC Lugano in Switzerland who plays out of the National League.  

Last year the 29 year old played six games with the Washington Capitals where he picked up two assists. He also competed in eight games with Lugano where he scored four goals and eight points.

Agreeing to a one-year, two-way contract extension was left winger Beck Malenstyn who missed the entire 2021 season after tearing his Achilles tendon in December 2020.

The Washington Capitals should comfortably make the playoffs next spring and are capable of winning a couple of rounds but won’t compete for the Stanley Cup.

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By Neil Becker

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The Tampa Bay Lightning came into the playoffs as the defending champions but were still overlooked by many due to injuries to Nikita Kucherov and Steven Stamkos. But the pair were ready to come back and have been the pulse of this team.

The first round saw the first-ever all Florida playoff matchup in the NHL as the Tampa Bay Lightning took on the Florida Panthers. The Panthers won the season series between the two clubs, 4-2. The two teams have a lot of offensive firepower and the series showed that with high-scoring games on both sides. But the Tampa Bay Lightning were able to beat the Florida Panthers in 6 games.

The Tampa Bay Lightning would then have to face off against the first-place team in the Discover Central Division, the Carolina Hurricanes. But Tampa Bay Lightning made pretty quick work of the Hurricanes as they looked to be the better team in every game. The Hurricanes are still a young team and Tampa’s experience in the playoffs led them to a 4-1 series win.

In the Stanley Cup Semi-Finals, Tampa Bay Lightning ran into a hard-nosed New York Islanders team. The Islanders have come off back-to-back six-game series against the Boston Bruins and the Pittsburgh Penguins. The Islanders’ defensive style of play worked through most of the series, but they struggled to provide much offense with outstanding play by Andrei Vasilevskiy and the Tampa Bay Lightning defense only kept the Islanders to two wins in the series.

The Montreal Canadiens and the Tampa Bay Lightning will make for an entertaining Stanley Cup Final, with two teams that are built very differently. Montreal will have their hands full, but many of us at The Gouche Live still believe they can pull it off.

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By Neil Becker

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It’s been a busy off-season for the Chicago Blackhawks who stepped up their rebuilding program by acquiring some household names.

Looking to make a statement, prior to the July NHL entry draft, the Chicago Blackhawks pulled off a major blockbuster trade with the Columbus Blue Jackets which landed them 26 year old defenceman Seth Jones.

This former 2013 fourth overall draft pick of the Nashville Predators, played 56 games with Columbus last year where he scored five goals and 28 points.

Jones, who is an elite skater and excels on the power play, was traded in his third season to Columbus where he spent the past five and a half seasons.

Heading into the final year of a lucrative six-year $32.4 million dollar contract signed in 2016, Columbus traded him to Chicago for defenceman Adam Boqvist, along with Chicago’s first-round (12th overall) and a second-round pick (44th overall) in this year’s draft. Also going to Columbus were Chicago’s 2022 or 2023 first-round pick.

In his career, Jones has played 580 games while producing 65 goals along with 286 points.

He will be taking the spot which belonged to veteran Blackhawk defenceman Duncan Keith who after 14 seasons in the Windy City was traded this off-season to the Edmonton Oilers.

Another big name coming to Chicago is a future hall of fame goalie Marc- Andre Fleury. This 36 year old, who went 26-10 last year with a 1.98 GAA, won the Vezina Trophy last year and puts the Blackhawks in a win-now situation. Meanwhile, going to Vegas in the swap was young up and coming forward Mikael Hakkarainen.

Blackhawks fans got some great news when in late June, captain Jonathan Toews announced that he will be back this year. Last year, Toews missed the entire season due to an unknown ailment. In his career, Toews has played 943 games and scored 345 goals along with 815 points.

Among the off-season additions was Seth Jones brother, Caleb Jones, who is a young defenceman that came over from the Oilers in the multi-player Keith deal. Last year, the 24 year old had four assists in 33 games.

Looking to add some toughness, on July 28th, Chicago signed hard-hitting unrestricted free-agent defenceman Jake McCabe to a four-year $16 million contract. This long-time Buffalo Sabre, played 13 games last year with Buffalo where he scored a goal and three points.

In adding some toughness upfront, the Blackhawks acquired former Edmonton Oilers veteran Jujhar Khaira to a two-year $1.95 million dollar deal. He played 40 games last year where he totaled 11 points.

Last month, Chicago traded the contract of defenceman Brent Seabrook to the Stanley Cup champions Tampa Bay Lightning in exchange for a 2023 second-round draft pick and center Tyler Johnson who scored 22 points last year and is a two-time Stanley Cup champion.

Players not returning to Chicago include defenceman Nikita Zadorov whose rights were traded to the Calgary Flames along with center David Kampf who signed with the Toronto Maple Leafs. Also not returning to Chicago is forward Vinnie Hinostroza who signed a one-year $1.05 million dollar deal with the Sabres.

No question, it will be an entertaining season for Blackhawk fans who have high aspirations for their team.