Stars, Avalanche reportedly among teams after Canucks’ Evander Kane. [The Province]
Penguins acquire Solovyov from Avalanche for Puustinen. [Sportsnet]
Avalanche honor members of 2001 Stanley Cup champions. [NHL]
Nelson, Blackwood pace Avalanche to 4-1 victory over struggling Maple Leafs. [Toronto Star]
Avs’ Bednar on Landeskog’s recovery ahead of Olympics: ‘It’s going to be tight’. [TSN]
Avalanche’s Nelson nets fifth-career hat trick vs. Maple Leafs. [Sportsnet]
News Around the League
Linus Ullmark discusses his absence for the Senators and the social media rumours that plagued him during said absence. [TSN]
Artemi Panarin’s trade cost from Rangers revealed by NHL insider. [Sporting News]
Oilers defenceman Evan Bouchard joins elite company with a 6-point game. [CBC]
Goyette remembered for clean living on and off ice. Late center who played 16 NHL seasons won Cup four times with Canadiens, Lady Byng with Blues. [NHL]
Seth Jones injury update: USA defenseman out of 2026 Olympics. [USA Today]
Los Angeles Kings - 21-16-13 - 55 Points - 4-2-4 in the last 10 - Won 2 - 5th in the Pacific
Columbus Blue Jackets - 24-20-7 - 55 Points - 6-4-0 in the last 10 - Won 2 - 7th in the Metro
Team Notes Per CBJ PR
CBJ set a season-high in goals scored in an 8-5 win over Tampa Bay on Saturday. The club has won six of its last seven games overall since Jan. 11 (5-1-0) and collected points in six of its past seven home contests since Jan. 3 (5-1-1).
The club continues a season-long five-game homestand on Monday and is in a stretch of seven-of-eight games played at Nationwide Arena from Jan. 13-28 (4-1-0).
The Jackets scored the first two goals on Saturday and have scored the first goal in 15 of the last 20 contests, 18 of the past 25, and rank T-third in the NHL in games scoring first in 2025-26 (30).
Columbus leads the NHL in goals by defensemen and ranks fourth in points with 38-90-128 in 51 contests.
Entering Sunday, the Blue Jackets (10-5-1) ranked T-fourth in the NHL in wins, seventh in team save percentage (.907), eighth in points pct. (.656) and 10th in goals-against per game (2.81) since Dec. 22.
Player Notes Per CBJ PR
Charlie Coyle, posted his fifth game of three or more points this season, including notching his 200th career goal on Saturday (1-2-3).
Entering Sunday's games, G Jet Greaves leads the NHL in saves and ranks fourth-T in wins and eighth in SV% since Dec. 22 (min. 7 GP) with an 8-3-1 record, 2.54 GAA, .915 SV% and 345 saves in 13 games.
Kirill Marchenko collected his eighth multi-point outings of the campaign with two assists vs. Tampa Bay and has notched points in 12 of the last 16 contests dating back to Dec. 22 (8-9-17).
Mason Marchment notched his third career hat trick on Saturday (3-1-4) and has posted points in seven of his nine contests with CBJ (8-3-11).
Mathieu Olivier ranks second in the NHL with 71 hits since returning from injury on Dec. 28.
Zach Werenski notched two assists in the win over the Lightning and leads NHL blueliners in goals (19), points (tied, 55) and multi-point efforts (18) this season entering play on Sunday. He has points in 26 of his past 31 contests overall to lead league defensemen in goals, points and points-per-game since Nov. 13 (15-27-42, 1.42).
Blue Jackets Stats
Power Play - 19.8% - 19th in the NHL
Penalty Kill - 75.4% - 28th in the NHL
Goals For - 153 - 19th in the NHL
Goals Against - 168 - 24th in the NHL
Kings Stats
Power Play - 15.2% - 32nd in the NHL
Penalty Kill - 77.3% - 25th in the NHL
Goals For - 130 - 30th in the NHL
Goals Against - 137 - 3rd in the NHL
Series History vs. TheKings
Columbus is 29-33-1-7 all-time, and 18-11-0-5 at home vs. LA.
The Blue Jackets are 4-0-2 in the last 6 at home and have earned points in 8 of 9 home games against the Kings.
The last 5 home games against the Kings have gone to OT, and the CBJ are 3-2 in those games.
Columbus has killed off 25 of 28 Kings' man advantages.
Who To Watch For TheKings
Adrian Kempe leads the Kings with 22 assists and 39 points.
Kevin Fiala leads LA with 18 goals.
Darcy Kuemper is 13-9-9 with a SV% of .902. His last start was on January 24th.
Former Blue Jackets Goalie Anton Forsberg is 58-6-4 with a SV% of .907. His last start was on January 20th.
CBJ Player Notes vs.Kings
Zach Werenski has 7 points in 13 career games vs. the Kings.
Boone Jenner has 7 points in his last 18 games against LA.
Charlie Coyle has 16 points in 32 games.
Injured Reserve
Brendan Smith - Lower Body - Missed 13 Games IR - Out for the rest of the regular season.
Miles Wood - Lower Body - Missed 12 Games - Week to week.
Denton Mateychuk - Lower Body - Missed 6 Games - Day to day and skating with the team.
TOTAL MAN GAMES LOST: 145
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The MLB regular season is fast approaching, and there are a couple of can’t miss series early on in the season for the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Home Opener series against Baltimore April 3-6
The Pirates start their first two series of the year on the road against the New York Mets and Cincinnati Reds. While those two series will undoubtedly be very exciting in their own right, PNC Park in the early part of the year is just that much better, especially if you have the privilege of being there in person. As with every Opening Day contest, the Pirates will be getting started at 4:12 p.m. in what should be a fun series against the Baltimore Orioles.
I had the opportunity to be at the home opener in PNC Park in 2024 (also against Baltimore) and it was possibly the most memorable sporting event that I had ever been to. Pittsburgh was in the middle of some nasty storms, and the rivers surrounding the stadium were flooding over. It was a football like environment because of how cold it was, but it did not change the fact that the backdrop at PNC Park was breathtaking.
Rain, snow or shine, the stadium is going to be packed out that first weekend at home. The Orioles will be bringing their young plucky team to face a rejuvenated Pirates’ lineup that should make for a great first series in Pittsburgh.
First series against the Cubs at Wrigley Field April 10-12
Just a week after their home opener the Pirates will be back on the road to face their NL Central division rivals, the Chicago Cubs.
All due respect to PNC Park, there really is nothing like Wrigley Field. First opened in 1914 it is the second oldest stadium in Major League Baseball, only being outdone by Fenway Park, which opened in 1912. With that being said, Wrigley is one of the most iconic venues across the country. People come from all over the world to visit Chicago, and a visit Wrigley is typically on their itinerary. From the old school scoreboard to the iconic ivy covered walls in the outfield, it is one of the premier destinations as a baseball fan.
Aside from the incredible venue, the early opportunity to take down a division rival also makes this series very exciting. The Cubs and the Pirates are a couple of the oldest and most iconic franchises in baseball and it’s always great when the two clash. The Pirates lead the series 1317-1286 all time against the Cubs, but Chicago is 8-2 in their last ten contests against Pittsburgh. If the Pirates can pull off some wins in Wrigley it will serve as great momentum early on in the year.
Battle for the Keystone State at PNC Park May 15-17
Considered by many to be one of the best rivalries in the National League, the hatred between the Pirates and the Phillies dates all the way back to late 1880’s when the two clubs first met. Despite them not playing in the same division since 1994, the series between Pittsburgh and Philadelphia are still highly anticipated.
Not only is there a buzz because of the in-state Pennsylvania rivalry, there’s a lot to be excited about because of the great talent on both of these teams. The powerful Philly combo of Bryce Harper and Kyle Schwarber almost always guarantees fireworks. The Pittsburgh tandem of pitcher Paul Skenes and slugger Ryan O’Hearn adds to the excitement surround the Pirates’ new-look roster for 2026.
For whatever reason, the city of Pittsburgh is obsessed with fireworks, and a firework show at PNC Park is like no other. The first game of this series will be a night contest with Zambelli Fireworks being scheduled following the game. A night game at PNC Park is already an incredible time, as the sun sets over the city’s skyline, but throw in some fireworks, and you’ve got a perfect yinzer night out. These two teams are primed to make big moves within their respective divisions, but a classic brawl between historic rivals is almost just as important.
Let us know in the comments which series yinz are looking forward to the most as the season is fast approaching!
The Montreal Canadiens hoped that bringing Jacob Fowler up and sending Samuel Montembeault down to the AHL for a conditioning stint would sort out their goaltending issues, and for a time, it looked like it might have worked. Still, the wheels are starting to come off the wagon again.
After the Habs’ heartbreaking loss to the Boston Bruins, Martin St-Louis was asked whether he felt Montembeault was again fragile, and he replied:
No, no, I don’t think so. Listen, the last goal, the puck’s direction changes…No, I don’t think so.
- St-Louis on whether Montembeault seemed fragile lately
While the puck might have changed direction, the cold, hard facts remain: the coach decided to use Montembeault for two crucial divisional matchups in a row, and in both games, his save percentage was below .815. Whatever the context, that number is just not good enough. On the season, the Becancour native has a 9-8-2 record with a 3.46 GAA and a .869 save percentage.
While Jakub Dobes’ numbers aren’t exactly brilliant either ( 3.01 GAA and a .887 SV), the Czech netminder at least has a winning record, and it’s not even close. He’s 15-5-3 on the season. Whatever the reason is, the Habs seem to give Dobes more offensive support than Montembeault, and that plays into it as well.
When Kent Hughes met the media for his mid-season review, he said he didn’t like to put labels on people and that the goaltender playing the best would play the most, but that’s not what’s happening right now. Dobes has a 5-0-1 record in his last six games, while Montembeault is now 1-2-1 in his previous four starts.
The Canadiens have three games this week, they’ll take on the Vegas Golden Knights, the Colorado Avalanche, and the Buffalo Sabres. To win, they will need someone to stand up and make the saves, and right now, it doesn’t look like that someone can be Montembeault.
On Sunday night, the Spurs hosted the New Orleans Pelicans. Before the game, interim head coach James Borrego spoke with the media.
If his name sounds familiar it is because he served as assistant coach to Gregg Popovich twice. The first time was from 2003-2010 where he started as assistant video coordinator before working his way up to assistant. He rejoined the Spurs from 2015 to 2018.
Since 2023, Borrego has served as associate head coach for the New Orleans Pelicans. Last November, after a 2-10 start, the Pelicans fired Willie Green and named Borrego interim.
During his pregame presser, he was asked about Herb Jones. Jones, who recently returned to action after being sidelined with an ankle sprain, is considered an elite defender. In his first game back last Friday, he failed to score but impacted the game defensively, leading to a win for the Pelicans.
Considering his time with the San Antonio Spurs, Borrego’s response was telling:
“He impacts winning at the highest level…he raises everybody’s standard — their level, their energy, their focus…he’s gotta own that defense, hold his group accountable…hye’s an example guy. And, I think, the greatest to do it here, Tim Duncan same thing. He led by example. Over time though, [Duncan] found a voice to lead. There’s a leadership quality through his words as well. When Tim Duncan spoke up everybody listened. When Herb Jones speaks up, everybody listens.”
Borrego stressed that when a player takes ownership, the team as a whole elevates. And he knows. He witnessed two championships here in San Antonio. The former Spurs assistant understands the value of leadership required to make a team compete.
And he wasn’t wrong.
The Pelicans, who had the second-worst defensive rating without Jones, handled the Spurs last night despite coming in to San Antonio with an 11-36 record. While Jones contributed only 9 points, it was his +/- of 21 and his disruptive defense that kept the Spurs at arms length for a majority of the night.
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When you are a gunslinger, you show up to the dusty road at high noon. You lock eyes with the opponent. Somewhere, a stereotypical tumbleweed drifts through the silence. The moment arrives. You reach for the holster. You take your shot.
That is what the Suns tried to do against the Miami Heat on Sunday night. They showed up. They stood in the street. But when it was time to fire, there was not enough ammunition to finish the job.
And they did not help themselves. I don’t know if they knew where they left their bullets.
The shooting was rough. 37% from the field. 7-0f-35 from deep. That is not surviving a duel, that is misfiring before the bell rings. The rebounding was no better. 15 chance points allowed in the first half, extra bullets handed right back to the opponent. Ball movement never found a rhythm either. 14 assists on 37 made shots, an assist-to-turnover ratio of 1.4, possessions ending without purpose.
Miami plays at the fastest pace in the league, and on this night they were quicker to everything. Quicker to loose balls. Quicker to decisions. Quicker on the draw. Phoenix finished with 6 steals, never able to flip the script or tilt the floor.
It did not matter that Miami was on the second night of a back-to-back. It did not matter that they did not get into Sky Harbor until 4:30am after being stuck on the tarmac in Utah. None of it mattered. They had more ammunition. They were sharper with their shots. And when the dust settled, that was the difference.
Bright Side Baller Season Standings
Kudos to Devin Booker for the effort against the Atlanta Hawks. He picked up his 12th Bright Side Baller of the season, though I am sure he would trade every one of them for a healthy ankle without a second thought.
“I’m too sad” got plenty of votes, which felt appropriate given the night, but the rightful winner still earned it.
On Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, Bleed Cubbie Blue is pleased to present a Cubs-centric look at baseball’s colorful past. Here’s a handy Cubs timeline, to help you follow the various narrative paths.
“Maybe I called it wrong, but it’s official.” — Tom Connolly, HoF Umpire.
Steve Trout* and others are traded for, plus the expanded strike zone and more!Where were you when it really snowedin Chicago?
Today in baseball history:
1931 – The International League accepts the open draft imposed by the major leagues. Until this time, the top minor leagues could control their players and refuse to sell them. (2)
1963 – Major League Baseball’s Rules Committee increases the size of the strike zone. The zone will stretch from the top of the batter’s shoulders to the bottom of the knees. The committee hopes the return to the 1950s strike zone will result in a decrease in runs scored. The results will exceed the committee’s expectations, and after the “Year of the Pitcher” in 1968, the strike zone will be tweaked again to give the hitters a break. (2)
1531 – Lisbon hit by Earthquake; about 30,000 die.
1784 – Benjamin Franklin expresses unhappiness over eagle as America’s symbol.
1788 – Captain Arthur Phillip and British colonists hoist the Union Flag at Sydney Cove, New South Wales, now celebrated as Australia Day. Referred to as Invasion Day by some First Nations people.
1887 – Ground is broken and construction begins on the Eiffel Tower in Paris, France.
1967 – Chicago “Big Snow” strikes with a record 23 inches of snow fall causing 800 buses and 50,000 automobiles to be abandoned.
Some of these items spread from site to site without being fact-checked, and that is why we ask for verifiable sources, in order to help correct the record.
The Detroit Tigers 2023 draft is currently on track to be among their best ever. That draft is going to be remembered for Max Clark in the first round, and an absolute steal in Kevin McGonigle in the competitive balance round. Second rounder Max Anderson has a shot to make his presence felt in the big leagues as well. Third rounder Paul Wilson was a high school star and one of the best prep left-handers in his class. The pick was well received, but Wilson struggled mightily in 2024 and then needed UCL reconstruction in April 2025. The goal now is just to get him back on the mound and working sometime this summer.
The Tigers paid the Oregon product $755,000 over slot as a third rounder to pass on his college commitment to Oregon State, and Wilson had a lot of other teams interested in doing the same. The Tigers were happy to get to him first, and landed a pretty advanced young pitcher who had been coached up from an early age by his father Trevor, himself an eight veteran MLB pitcher.
Wilson’s 2024 Complex League debut was really rocky. He didn’t pitch that much, making eight starts, until he was shut down in late July with an undisclosed injury. Prior to that, he’d shown a pretty deep repertoire of pitches, but was also plagued by some stretches of wildness as he tried to implement some adjustments to his delivery.
In 2025, he started the season with Single-A Lakeland and while his stuff looked nastier, he was still fighting his delivery through a couple of short outings before the injury ended his season. Wilson has a quick arm and some deception from a pretty prototypical high three-quarters arm slot. He appeared to have added some good muscle and his balance and lead leg blocking both looked better than in his high school days. Unfortunately, his velocity was also down a good bit, and he still sometimes threw some very wild pitches, both proving to be harbingers of the elbow injury brewing.
UCL reconstruction at Wilson’s age obviously delays his progress, but nowadays the odds are quite high that the surgery and rehab will be a success. Tarik Skubal didn’t have access to the top surgeons in the game when he had the procedure as a college freshman, and he’s done alright. So with a bit of luck, Wilson will be back on the mound sometime late this summer for a little work, and then ready to go full speed again in 2027. The problem is that he’ll be 22 years old by the time he gets a full season of work in, putting him on the same track as a college draft pick, but with far less experience.
With two and half years since his draft day, minimal progress and now a major injury, it would be reasonable to drop Wilson off the board entirely, but the potential he showed in high school is still actionable and it’s worth giving him through 2027 before writing him off. Drafting prep pitchers is a high risk, high reward game, but either way one has to expect that in most cases things are not going to go smoothly. The advantage is that while top college pitchers are safer, they’re also snatched up in the first two or three rounds of the draft. Using your bonus pool to sign a bunch of talented prep pitchers later in the draft gives you a shot at some real home runs. That’s going to come with some big misses too. Wilson may prove to be one of them, but for now we’ll give him the same amount of time we’d give a college pitcher before making any final verdicts on his future.
As a highly regarded prep pitcher, Wilson was comfortably 92-94 mph with his fourseamer, occasionally reaching back for a little extra. In high school he also showed off an advanced curveball-changeup combination and both pitches showed out pretty well in his brief 2025 work though command remained sketchy. The fourseam shape needed some tweaking to get better carry, and there were signs of that, as well as good progress with his slider, in 2025. Combined with good control, a projectibile frame that promised more velocity, and good feel for pitching overall for his age, there was a ton to like on draft day.
What we need to see this year is Wilson back on the mound after the All-Star break with his velocity intact. In 2027, a real leap is going to be required or Wilson may just drift off into org starter territory, a far cry from the mid-rotation upside he had on draft day.
Happy Monday, Camden Chatters! If you’re in Maryland or one of the other areas that got hit with winter weather, I hope you’re staying warm. Here in Columbia, we got about seven inches of snow and a whole lot of ice. I’ll be staying home again today, because who wants to go out if they don’t have to?
If you were hoping to spend the cold weekend warming your hands at the Hot Stove, you were left disappointed. There was no Orioles news and little other news. The White Sox signed Seranthony Dominguez to be their closer, and José Ramírez agreed to a contract extension with the Guardians through 2032. He must really like it there!
There was a bit of Orioles-adjacent info that came out, neither of which was too exciting. Hanser Alberto, whose best MLB season came with the Orioles in 2019, announced his retirement. Alberto hadn’t played in the majors since 2023. In 2019, Alberto hit .305/.329/422. He also had 12 home runs, which was nine more than in any other season. Best of luck in retirement, Hanser!
The other info that came out was an announcement by Tomoyuki Sugano that he doesn’t intend to return to Japan after one season with the Orioles. He plans to stay in MLB and is “waiting for offers.” I hope he gets one.
Of course, there is also the thing that we’ve been talking about the entire off-season: pitching. Jim Bowden had a story in The Athletic on Friday ranking the remaining free agents. At the top of the list is Framber Valdez, who has surprisingly not signed yet. In his blurb on Valdez, this is what Bowden had to say:
Most in the industry believe that he will eventually land with the Baltimore Orioles for fewer years than he anticipated at the beginning of free agency.
Anything written by Bowden has to be taken with more than a few grains of salt, but I have to admit I enjoy reading that. Maybe this will be the week!
Is today your birthday? Happy birthday! You have three Orioles birthday buddies: Jemile Weeks (39), Rick Schu (64), and Bob Nieman (b. 1927, d. 1985). Weeks appeared in just three games with the Orioles, but I will always remember him as the trade return for Jim Johnson. By 2013, Johnson had been with the Orioles for eight years and was coming off of back-to-back 50-save seasons. He was due $10 million in salary, which seemed too much for the Orioles. So they sent him packing. The trade was a bit of a head-scratcher, but it turned out in the Orioles’ favor. Johnson was terrible in 2014. Anyway, sorry about not having a Jemile Weeks story on his birthday.
On this day in 2004, the Orioles re-signed Sidney Ponson to a three-year deal. They had traded him to San Francisco at the 2003 trade deadline and the Orioles just had to get him back. Ponson’s second stint with the Orioles did not go so well. In two seasons, he was terrible. The Orioles released him with a year left on his contract for violating their morals clause. Ponson had a number of legal run-ins, including the infamous judge-punching incident.
In 2015, the Orioles signed Chris Parmelee to a minor-league contract. He was called up in early June and had four hits, two of which were home runs, in his first game. It was very exciting! Things fell off after that, and he ended up missing the last few months with injury. He was never heard from again in Baltimore.
In 2021, the Orioles signed infielder Freddy Galvis. He played in 72 games with Baltimore before going back to Philadelphia at the trade deadline.
And in 2023, the Orioles traded for pitcher Cole Irvin. They sent prospect Darrell Hernaiz to the then-Oakland Athletics and got Irvin and minor-leaguer Kyle Virbitsky in return. Irvin spent two seasons in Baltimore, splitting his time between the rotation and the bullpen. He did not have much success, but was an easy guy to root for. There was some heartburn among Orioles fans over sending away an interesting prospect in Hernaiz, but so far he hasn’t done much with the Athletics. He’s still young, though, just 24 years old.
I have a feeling that one of the bigger stories entering spring training and the 2026 season is going to be the lineup and how Rob Thomson constructs it. There is a linked story down below about it, but even then, what goes on after the top three in the order hit? Where does Adolis Garcia fit in all of this?
As the Winter Olympics come screaming into focus, the league has experienced a bit of a frenzy of moves to get assets before the great unknown of playing in Milan and/or Cortina potentially leaves them without stars for the last few months of the NHL season. Thanks to the truncated schedule, a bunch of teams are already beginning to make moves after looking at their upcoming schedules, their current records, and their current trends, and making painful decisions on whether or not they’ve got any real shot in the NHL Playoffs.
One such team is the Vancouver Canucks, who have been a never ending cavalcade of Drama, Woe, and Disaster for the better part of half a decade, and at the center of it all is their # 1 Center, who they are finally willing to listen to other teams about offers for.
According to Frank Seravalli, the Bruins have checked in on this player.
On the Surface
Oh boy this is a doozy.
Elias Pettersson is generally supposed to be Sweden’s big wunderkind player right now. Should be, anyway. He should’ve shown up with an “A” at minimum for Tre Kronor at the Olympics and we should all be looking at Sweden with him at the top of his game and going “oh they’re gonna medal and it’s gonna be a short game.” Still might be, too.
And yet!
Pettersson is by all accounts an extremely high skill forward, able to do a little bit of everything; he’s got incredible hands, he’s a damn strong skater, he’s willing to get into the dirty areas of the ice and cause a little havoc that way, his shot can feel like a game-warping moment, and when he is on his horse, he never, ever, ever gives up on a play. Even when he should, but he doesn’t need to; he can make something happen.
All of this can be yours…assuming the team around him isn’t actively self-injecting poison into itself in a desperate attempt to make their insane owner or alternate captain or general manager or fanbase happy.
Which unfortunately for Mr. Pettersson, is where the problem starts, and why he is reportedly available.
Pettersson is like Quinn Hughes, in that he has been part of propping up a Canucks team that was much farther back on their development curve than they believed, and struggled to really find a place for himself in multiple systems, and watched as his impressive point totals slowly fell into hell, and while he is rebounding this year and looks to be on pace for a 60ish point season, which has been around where his floor is, and what’s hoping to be a reasonably deep run in the Olympics, its a far cry from his 100 point ‘22-‘23 season and his 89 point ‘23-‘24, and trying to replicate those two seasons has been an active nightmare for the Canucks. They know he’s good!…they just gotta make JT Miller happy, or change coaches, or keep swapping deck chairs on the Titanic, or go through like six goalies in a month leading into the playoffs.
Elias Pettersson’s career has been a lot of really cool skill plays and solid work as an NHL center buried under a mountain of bulls#!t; some of it from his own team, some of it from slumps he made himself, some of it the natural consequence of a team riding the PDO wagon until it fell out from under them, all of it too much for both parties at this point. Vancouver needs to make major changes and make them fast, and they are reportedly okay with asking about just about anyone, and that does include Pettersson, who would likely fetch another big return after the Quinn Hughes trade.
Under the Hood
Look.
The big issue that Pettersson has faced throughout his career is that there’s been some horses#!t going on around him pretty much at all times. Anyone’s game would suffer because of that. Great players have had miserable years thanks to their organization making life difficult. Pettersson’s game has had a lot of that, and as a result he’s had a ton of linemates and a ton of revolving wingers and he’s never really been able to get a good bead on who he should be with coach after coach either loving or despising him. That’s forced him to play very into his game, very out of it, and it has messed with his analytics. I cannot definitively prove this, but I believe it contributes to the issues he faces.
The other big issue is that the Canucks committed a ton of money to him…and he’s struggled quite a bit to justify that since putting pen to ink, especially recently.
Pettersson has not been playing like a 1C for a very long time, and the Canucks have attached a nice big dead sea bird (of which it is bad luck to kill, Willem Dafoe said so.) to his neck, ensuring that every game where he doesn’t have a point feels worse and worse and piles doubt after doubt after doubt on this player.
And sure, that one viz is gonna maybe make people feel a little concerned, but I need to make it clear that this is a long-standing problem for him; over the last three years, he’s 12th among Canucks skaters in shot attempts and unblocked shot attempts for per 60 minutes, and 11th in expected goals-for per 60 minutes.
Hronek, Hughes, and Tyler actual Myers have better rates of unblocked shots than him. Nils Hoglander, a player the Bruins once checked in on fiercely before joining the NHL and is playing like 12 minutes a night in Vancouver, has objectively better rates of getting the puck up ice than Pettersson.
This does ignore however that, if we are being fair to him and acknowledging that he is also playing on a dogass team full of dog-ass players, he has improved. He is now 4th on the Canucks in expected goals for per 60, and 8th in shot attempts and unblocked shot attempts for. That is…maybe not worth the obscene price tag? But it is decidedly better than he’s been, and a trend in the right direction for him.
And to be mean, 51.09% on the year is a damn sight better than another center on the Boston Bruins who gets similar ice time to Pettersson. It may not be the most efficient use of money…BUT! he would be An Upgrade.
There is also the chance, especially given his skill ceiling and who his linemates would be, that the Bruins, with their world class wingers and culture of Making Players Feel Valued and Want To Give Back and the fabled “Bruins Bump” and all that…that he could in fact resurrect the player he was in his earlier years. This guy is still in here somewhere in theory; if you figure out where he is under what you will be hoping are years of mismanagement by Vancouver.
What would they need to part with?
The Canucks are in shambles. They are by far the worst team in the Pacific Division as well as the Western Conference, and that is stiff competition at the moment. You will be going for one of maybe players who’s getting anything done on the Canucks right now (and one of them is now in San Jose), and it will herald the beginning of a great big long down-to-the-studs rebuild for Vancouver.
That is a first round pick among many to begin with; especially for the Bruins, who will likely find themselves with a half-decent choice in the middle or top 10 of the draft.
That’s Alberts Smits. That’s Adam Novotny, Oscar Hemming, Caleb Malholtra, Ryan Lin that you are giving to the Canucks, which is not including the roster player and one of the vanishingly few prospects of note in the Bruins’ system.
They may not turn into anything! But they might become something, and you gave them that for an asset that they have well and truly spent a lot of time crushing the confidence of and now you gotta rehab and convince the Canucks to retain salary on, because there’s no way in hell they can fit his preposterous contract under their cap right now.
Should they do it?
The Boston Bruins under Don Sweeney are more than willing to gamble if given the opportunity. They have gambled frequently and sometimes it’s even worked.
Even then…This will be a hell of a gamble if they decide they wanna do it.
If the Bruins think they can rehab this player, and commit to making him work for the long haul, even knowing he may cost them one of their extremely first round picks, even knowing that the last guy you were hoping gets a Bruins Bump Did Not Actually Get One because the team isn’t nearly as good as it used to be, even knowing it may end up losing them one of the few in and out excellent players on the year or one of the potential future stars of the team because let me make it clear you are not sending Elias Lindholm back the other way, they need young guys and they need talented guys and the Bruins don’t really have a lot of either, if you are aware your fanbase and certain sections of this market’s media is gonna be on him from day one if he doesn’t show improvement…then I suppose my answer is go for it.
But you need to be sure. You need to be absolutely sure.
Because if you make this choice, you will be locked into it. His contract has an NMC. You may not pay all of it! But you will be paying some of it. And you will be stuck to it like glue.
Cody Glass had three points, Lenni Hämeenaho tallied his first two NHL points and the Devils held on for a 5-4 win over the Canucks on Friday. [Devils NHL]
Then on Sunday, the Devils rounded out the road trip with a 4-2 loss to the Kraken. [Devils NHL]
“Almost any way you spin it, Glass has been one of the best third-line centers in the league — arguably the best. His goal-scoring production is league-best in that regard, and his underlying statistical profile is similarly high-end. Of all 32 third-line centers in the NHL, there is one (1) who has been above-average in every single metric listed above, from offensive impact to defensive impact to sG to RAPM to point production: Cody Glass.” [Devils’ Advocates]
“It’s no secret that the 2025-26 New Jersey Devils have struggled to score goals consistently. Per Natural Stat Trick, their 1.94 goals per 60 minutes (GF/60) at 5v5 ranks dead last in the league…and it’s not even really that close. Every other NHL team scores goals at least 6.2% more often.” [The Hockey Writers]
“After being scratched on Jan. 11 in a move that appeared to put his future with the New Jersey Devils in doubt, Dougie Hamilton might be set to stay put in the wake of Luke Hughes’ shoulder injury.” [Sportsnet]
Hockey Links
“Hours before his first game as a visiting player at Scotiabank Arena, Mitch Marner said he didn’t want to look back on the nine years he spent playing for the Toronto Maple Leafs.” [The Athletic ($)]
A look back at six ugly returns for NHL stars: [The Athletic ($)]
“In what was expected to be a retooling year, (Penguins GM) Kyle Dubas is in an interesting spot leading up to the trade deadline. Does he stay the course and continue to accumulate prospects and picks? Or will he consider adding to try to help the Pens secure a playoff spot? The second option has to be tempting. Any time you have Crosby on the roster playing at a high level, you don’t want to waste it, and if the Penguins get in, nobody would envy a first-round matchup against one of the game’s all-time greatest players.” [Sportsnet]
Feel free to discuss these and any other hockey-related stories in the comments below.
Artemi Panarin: 19G-37A-56PTS; Mika Zibanejad: 21G-27A-48PTS; J.T. Miller: 13G-19A-32PTS
Jonathan Quick: 3-11-2, 3.20 GAA, .885 save percentage
Game notes
The Bruins are in snowy New York City on this fine Monday to face the New York Rangers, who are at the bottom of the Metropolitan Division after a disastrous first half of the season.
That disastrous first half featured, among other things, a 10-2 shellacking by the Bruins and another open later to Rangers fans talking about an impending retool. Good times.
Jonathan Quick has been shouldering the load in the absence of Igor Shesterkin, who was injured earlier this month. It…hasn’t gone well for Quick, who has lost his last 12 starts (and only two of those losses were beyond regulation). Yikes.
Speaking of losses, the Rangers have lost three games in a row and eight of their last nine. I don’t mean to pile on the Blueshirts, so I guess we could just leave it at “things have not been going well across the board.”
Sorry, last one: the Rangers have been bad at home this season, sitting at just 5-13-4 at Madison Square Garden.
Spencer Martin started the Rangers’ last game, a 3-1 loss to the San Jose Sharks on Friday.
This is the last match-up of the season between these two teams, as aside from the aforementioned 10-2 game, the Rangers beat the B’s 6-2 back in November.
The Rangers are celebrating their centennial season this year, and like the Bruins, they are milking it for all that they can. Tonight is one of their “eras” type celebrations, “Legendary Blueshirts,” which will be “honoring some of the best to ever play the game, some of the best individual seasons and team accomplishments in franchise history.”
Tonight will be the first game of back-to-backs for the Bruins, who will host Nashville at TD Garden on Tuesday night.
Hope your back isn’t too sore from all the shoveling! See ya tonight!
Here are your Pens Points for this Monday morning…
The Pittsburgh Penguins completed their Western Canada swing on Sunday evening, facing off against the Vancouver Canucks. It was a homecoming for rookie forward Ben Kindel, who led the way with two goals as the Penguins won 3-2. [Recap]
However, in the dying moments of the game, amid a Vancouver push for the tying goal, forward Bryan Rust hit Vancouver’s Brock Boeser on the ice as time expired Sunday. Video shows Rust appearing to hit Boeser up high with an extended elbow, an action deemed “dirty” by Vancouver players. [Sportsnet]
Big Justin Brazeau has been one of the many positive revelations this season. The winger has career highs in goals (14) and points (25) in 37 games after Sunday. He’s been able to cash in on his offensive opportunities by “playing the right way.” [Trib Live]
Every club in the league would take 13 goals and 40 points in 36 games for a 39-year-old forward who is set to be an unrestricted free agent at year’s end. However, those statistics belong to an NHL and franchise icon in Evgeni Malkin, who has now publicly said he is willing to take a discount to return to the Penguins next season. General manager Kyle Dubas, with his seemingly infinite pool of cap space, should listen and reward Malkin with the extension he has rightfully deserved. [Trib Live]
News and notes from around the NHL…
Toronto Maple Leafs forward William Nylander has apologized after he was seen on camera flipping the middle finger during Sunday’s game against the Colorado Avalanche. [TSN]
The Seattle Kraken are open to hearing trade offers for 22-year-old center Shane Wright, according to TSN’s Darren Dreger. [theScore]
The NHL may have gained a new fan base as viewers go crazy for the viral HBO streaming hit “Heated Rivalry.” The show, which centers around a romance between two hockey players, has driven a “noticeable spike” in demand for NHL tickets and revenue for the league, according to ticket website SeatGeek. [CBS News]
The Islanders will try to rediscover their game, or at least their look, with a visit to Philadelphia tonight. The Flyers are just two points back with a game in hand, coming off a potential “statement” victory in Colorado. That third position in the Metro the Isles currently (and tenuously) hold has become more prominent lately, as the two current wild card holders are from the Atlantic, Montreal and Boston, each three or more points ahead.
Lots of season left to go, but the first-quarter narrative of the laughable Atlantic has shifted now that Boston has righted itself, Montreal has rebounded from a swoon and the Sabres continue to do whatever the hell they’ve been up to over the past 20 games ever since they started hanging around that Faust guy.
Isaiah George was thrilled to make his season debut Saturday, after missing out on previous callups due to his own injuries. [Isles | Newsday | Post | THN]
Takeaways from Saturday: the benched top line, the overturned goals (well, one was simply after the horn sounded), and “did it to themselves.” [Isles]
The Skinny: In WTF trivia, “Alex Lyon and Tristan Jarry are the only opposing goaltenders with two shutouts at UBS Arena.” [Isles]
Gross: It was the right call to sit Barzal-Duclair-Lee to uphold a standard for the team. [Newsday]
Elsewhere
Sunday scores included the Devils falling in Seattle (two goals for Jordan Eberle), the Senators blowing out Vegas and the Penguins survived a late push by the lowly Canucks.
Also, Brock Nelson completed a hat trick against the Leafs with an empty net goal. [NHL]
So do the Knights, at least for one game. Mark Stone blasted his team for playing “like a junior team” against his old squad. [Sportsnet]
Probably include the Leafs in that self-assessment, too. [Sportsnet]
Linus Ullmark didn’t start, but he was back in the lineup for the Sens after his personal leave for whatever your local tweeter rumored it was for. [TSN]
Sam Montembeault continues to…not inspire confidence in Montreal. [Sportsnet]
