Smashville News:
Hot Puck: Ellis vs. Rinne | NHL.com
“Ryan Ellis and Pekka Rinne play a game of Hot Puck that comes down to the final second.” Maybe they should have stayed with “Words in Finnish”.
It’s LeviOOOsa: Grading the Nashville Predators’ 2001 offseason | On the Forecheck
“It’s the year we met Harry Potter (the movie version) and a few new Preds players as well.” Nick continues his excellent series on the Nashville Predators’ off seasons. 2001 is up.
This week instead of a dog, we have a meerkat horning in on Roman Josi’s safari honeymoon. Check out the comment from Austin Watson.
Central Division News:
Jonathan Toews left off NHL Network’s top 20 centers despite resurgent season | NBC Sports Chicago
I will admit I was surprised—him being a “Top 100 All Time” player and all. I guess the Chicago Blackhawks are learning that early exits and missed playoffs impact the attention given your players.
Penguins’ assistant general manager Bill Guerin interviewing for Minnesota Wild GM job | PensBurgh
This is written from a Pittsburgh point of view, but he does quote some behind the pay wall information on the plethora of candidates for the Minnesota Wild GM position.
Central Division arms race only intensifying | ProHockeyTalk
Seems like even without P.K. Subban, the Nashville Predators will still be “in the mix”.
Other Hockey News:
Shattenkirk signs one-year, $1.75 million contract with Lightning
I thought Tampa Bay was in a cap crunch and had dumped an injured player contract to extend a forward. Did I miss something?
Robin Lehner: Out of the darkness and into the light | TheHockeyNews
I’m a big Robin Lehner fan and still can’t believe the NY Islanders let him walk.
PHT Power Rankings: Top regression candidates for 2019-20 NHL season | ProHockeyTalk
“A look at the top-10 players who could be due for a regression this season.” I wondered if Viktor Arvidsson would make this list, but it is Nashville Predators free.
Super Slow Mo: Reg. Season Saves | NHL.com
This week the goalies have their revenge for all the goalie humiliation these montages usually contain. Here we go! Weeeeee! Goalie saved the puck but they scored a player (I love those!). Where are Pekka Rinne and Juuse Saros? Lots of Sergei Bobrovsky, Braden Holtby and King Henrik Lundqvist. Hey Pekka Rinne! With the final save (though not his best). This was a fun one to watch.
NHL referee puts name alongside Nicklaus, Woods as Western Amateur champ
“It’s official: NHL referee Garrett Rank can play some golf.” This is the same guy who qualified for the U.S. Open but didn’t make the cut. He’s getting his name on a trophy with some golf legends. Good for him!
Hockey movies offer great perspective on NHL’s evolution | The Seattle Times
A bit of fluff for your summer reading. I didn’t realize that there were so many hockey movies. Of course, I’ve yet to see Slapshot (come on Netflix or Spectrum On Demand).