Saturday’s Dump & Chase: Save Us, San Jose
Reader mileage may vary. Sharks partisanship is not an official position of On the Forecheck dot com.
Nashville Predators News & Notes
My Story: How We Helped Save the Predators | NHL.com
George Plaster talks about his experience with the 2007 campaign.
Hockey Morning in Tennessee
Binnington, Blues shut down Sharks to tie Western Conference Final | ProHockeyTalk
Sometimes I think about the fact that the San Jose Sharks are the only thing left standing between us and a Boston Bruins - St. Louis Blues Stanley Cup Final and I'm overwhelmed with dread. This is one of those times.
Other News & Notes
2019 Memorial Cup Preview | On the Forecheck
Still curious about the Memorial Cup? Eric has you covered.
Kids these days | IIHF
It's a little uncomfortable how casually this article discusses the injuries to some of these players while still confidently claiming that they'll be high draft picks a month from now--especially German defender Moritz Seider, who suffered a head injury earlier this tournament and has not yet returned to play.
What’s wrong with San Jose Sharks’ power play? | Fear The Fin
”The better question: What’s not wrong with their power play?”
Misery loves company, and this is some great analysis to boot.
Projecting NHL Skater Contracts for the 2019 Offseason | Hockey Graphs
Feel like playing around with some armchair GMing? Evolving-Hockey has you covered with free agent salary projections.
Beware of the 5 NHL teams with extra first-round draft picks | Sportsnet.ca
A good summary of some teams to keep an eye on for trades, but the word choice in the headline is really what makes this for me.
Report: New Jersey Devils dissolving partnership with Metropolitan Riveters | The Ice Garden
The Pegulas and the Buffalo Sabres have already dissolved their partnership with the Buffalo Beauts, Now the Devils, the first NHL team to partner with a NWHL team, have also severed that partnership. The Riveters were able to use the Devils' practice facility for practices and games rent-free and will now have to find a new arena.
It is interesting that Gary Bettman had promised the NHL would not take any steps to sabotage either then-existing league--he believed that they would both collapse on their own--but the #ForTheGame movement is pushing the NWHL to an increasingly precarious place as NHL teams pull support. Granted, it makes business sense; most of the NWHL's stars will be boycotting the league next year, so there's no reason for a sponsor to partner them, but both the Sabres and the Devils have said that their motivation in severing ties with the NWHL is to focus their resources on supporting women's hockey in other ways.
Not explained is why they can't both support a NWHL team and support women's hockey in other ways, but this has already gotten long enough. Whew, On to the next one.
Kendall Coyne, Women's Hockey Players Argue for Wages, TV, and Tech | SportTechie
There's a lot of note here with regards to the players' concerns, but the fact that tracked data existed for the NWHL and they weren't using it, or the players weren't aware that they were using it, is really disappointing.
Just how good is Luleå/MSSK? | The Ice Garden
Hockey still goes on—yes, women's hockey too. There's an argument to be made that Luleå was already the best pro women's team in the world even before the #ForTheGame situation, which makes it even more remarkable that I'd heard so little about them. (Also, Finnish defender Jenni Hiirikoski is incredible.)
Shuttle bus driver sues Ottawa Senators in harassment case | Sportsnet.ca
This is not a good decade to be a Senators fan.
Analyzing Erik Karlsson: Is the UFA-to-be in decline? | Sportsnet.ca
Erik Karlsson is up there among clickbait-worthy players with P.K. Subban, but this is still worth a read if you're curious about whether all the discussion of how he's broken now is correct (he is, but he's still playing very well and shouldn't be blamed for playing worse while injured than healthy anyway).