Hockey Free For All
Weekly content regarding what’s going on in hockey
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Episodes
5 days ago
5 days ago
Hello hockey fans. Take a listen to Episode 148 of the Hockey Free For All Podcast and get your hockey fix this week. Topics include-
#1. Why would anyone think Mitch Marner should have waved his no trade clause for the Toronto Maple Leaf’s?
#2. Mitch Marner has more than earned the privilege to determine where he wants to go.
#3. Mitch Marner is the Number one player on the Toronto Maple Leaf’s Roster.
#4. Mitch Marner is the Swiss army knife of the Toronto Maple Leaf’s and bring more to the table than any other player on the Toronto Maple Leaf’s Roster by far.
#5. William Nylander is the number 2 and 2nd most important player on the Toronto Maple Leaf’s roster.
#6. Austin Matthews is the number 3 player of importance on the Toronto maple Leaf’s roster, has a concerning injury history and is a one trick pony.
#7. Hockey is a business. Organizations understand that, and the players understand that.
#8. What is wrong with those in Montreal, that want the Canadiens Organization to mortgage away all of its prospects for overpaid, underperforming, overrated and yet to do anything at the NHL level players with bloated long-term contracts, that will negatively saddle the club financially for the better part of a decade?
#9. Kent Hughs and Jeff Gorton are doing it right.
#10. If I had been offered a 2nd round draft pick for Joel Armia, I don’t know if I could have passed that up, but Kent Hugh’s stood his ground and has given his players a chance to prove it and made no additions or deletions to his roster.
#11. It’s going to be very interesting to see where the Montreal Canadiens finish in the standing and to see if they can make and take a playoff spot?
#12. At a minimum, the players have to know that Joel Armia, Christian Dvorak, Michael Pezzetta and David Savard won’t return next season and that there is a better than average chance that Patrik Laine, Kirby Dach, Alex Newhook and Josh Anderson could not return as well, in 2025/2026 season.
#13. No one has drafted better than the Montreal Canadiens for the last 5-years and the 2025 NHL entry could be extremely interesting as Joel Armia, Christian Dvorak, Michael Pezzetta and David Savard could just end up walking away. But, what if Patrik Laine, Kirby Dach, Alex Newhook, Filip Mesar and Logan Mailloux were moved for 1st round picks, and Josh Anderson and Joshua Roy were moved for 2nd round picks in the 2025 NHL entry draft?
Friday Mar 07, 2025
Friday Mar 07, 2025
Hello Hockey Fans out there, take a listen to Episode 147 of the Hockey Free For All Podcast to get your hockey fix, and catch up the annual NHL trade deadline that expired at 3pm eastern time today.
#1. The Kirby Dach experiment in Montreal is over.
#2. Moving forward at best, Dack is the 1st or 2nd line right winger or will be no longer be with the organization at the end of his current contract.
#3. The Montreal Canadiens do not need to acquire a 2nd line center. They already have the 1st, 2nd & 3rd lines centers in Nick Suzuki, Michael Hage and Owen Beck moving forward, and Can finish the 2024/2025 season with Nick Suzuki, Alex Newhook, Jake Evans and Christian Dvorak.
#4. It’s time for Alex Newhook to prove to the organization he belongs there or its time to move on.
#5. Jake Evans signs a new 4-year contract with an annual cap hit of 2.85 million dollars per season, rather than the insane numbers of 4 or 5 million dollars that were being thrown around.
#6. The Montreal Canadiens have so many centers, that Oliver Kapanen, Florian Xhekaj and Jared Davidson will be vying for 4th line center minutes, that is stiff roster competition right there.
#7. The Montreal Canadiens do not need to and have no need to acquire Simon Nemec, Trevor Zegras, Casey Mittelstadt, Mavrik Bourque or Dylan Cozens and give away far more talented prospects in Logan Mailloux, Joshua Roy or Future 1st round draft picks for unproven severely over paid players, who have all done absolutely nothing to this point of their careers.
#8. How did the Ryan McDonagh trade work out?
#9. How did the Mikhail Sergachev trade work out?
#10. Jonathan Kovocevic for the first day he landed in New Jersey, has been the lock down, lights out number one defenseman for the New Jersey Devils all season long.
Trade deadline Highlights
#11. Thankfully, the Ottawa Senators have acquired Center Dylan Cozen from the Buffalo Sabres.
#12. The Philadelphia Flyers traded forward Scott Laughton along with 4th and 6th round 2025 draft picks to the Toronto Maple Leaf’s for forward Nikkita Grebenkin and a 2027 top 10 protected 1st round draft pick.
#13. Carolina Hurricanes Trade RW Mikko Rantanen to The Dallas Stars for Center Logan Stankoven, and 2 first round picks.
#14. The Dallas stars have signed the newly acquired RW Mikko Rantanen to a new 8-year 96-million-dollar contract, with an annual cap hit of 12-million per season.
#15. The New Jersey Devils have signed defenseman Jonathan Kovacevic to a new 5-year, 20-million-dollar extension with a 4 million per season annual cap hit.
#16. The Boston Bruins have sent their team Captain Brad Marchand to the Florida Panthers for pending Compensation, TDB.
#17. It looks like the Boston Bruins are in full reload mode.
Friday Feb 28, 2025
Friday Feb 28, 2025
It’s time for Episode 146 pf the Hockey Free For All Podcast, Topics include-
#1. Whinny Patrik Laine is back. The honeymoon in Montreal Canadiens is over.
#2. Montreal needs to trade Patrik Laine to the Vancouver Canucks, so Laine can line up with Elias Pettersson. The Vancouver Canuck can then concentrate on acquiring Mikko Rantanen to complete the line.
#3. What is up with the continued and relentless trade rumors with every possible trade that the Montreal Canadiens could will start with or include Logan Mailloux?
#4. Is there just an abysmal lack of understanding in talent level and excellence of this Montreal Canadiens prospect?
#5. Unless Montreal Canadiens obtains Cale Makar straight up for Logan Mailloux, by the Colorado Avalanche, no one else is worthy of trading for!
#6. Its time to move Patrik Laine’s, Kirby Dach, Alex Newhook, Josh Andersson, Christian Dvorak, Jake Evan, Michael Pezzetta, David Savard, Joel Armia and Cayden Primeau to move on, the organization has the replacements on hand
#7. This just in, Kirby Dach will miss the remainder of yet another regular season. This is ala Jonathan Drouin all over again.
#8. Kirby Dach is far too fragile.
#9. Florian Xhekaj was a 4th round steel in the 2023 draft, hab’s fans will love him.
#10. Tyler Thorp and Luke Tuch will make excellent linemates for Florian Xhekaj.
#11. The Montreal Canadiens have their top 3 centers for the next decade plus.
#12. Samual Montembeau returned from the 4-nations tournament a very different player
#13. The Montreal Canadiens do not need to focus on the QMJHL in the 2025 draft, they need to focus on the best player/players for the organization.
#14. The Montreal Canadiens finally started drafting the organization needs in 2019 after decades of bad drafting.
#15. Kaidin Guhle’s injury though not a Knee or Shoulder injury, should be extremely concerning.
#16. Kaiden Guhle needs to spend the rest of his recovery time, and all of the off season focused on protecting himself.
#17. Arber Xhekaj’s greatest skill above all else is to be told he can’t succeed at something.
#18. A line consisting of Brendan Gallagher, Sean Farrell and Raphael Harvey-Pinard for the rest of the 2024/2025 season would be great to watch.
#19. Can’t wait to see Alexander Ovechkin break Wayne Gretzky’s all time most goals scored record.
#20. I want to see Alexander Ovechkin notch 900 career goals by the end of the 2024/2025 regular season.
#21. What’s with these morons that keep calling into question Martin St. Louis coaching?
#22. The Montreal Canadiens do not need to trade Brendan Gallagher to the New Jersey Devils and the Montreal Canadiens do not need to acquire any more players on the smaller side.
#23. The Montreal Canadiens need to net a 1st round draft pick for Jake Evans.
Friday Feb 21, 2025
Friday Feb 21, 2025
Hello Hockey Fans out there. Here is Episode 145 of the Hockey Free For All Podcast to take a listen to and get your hockey fix, topics this week include-
#1. The fights at the beginning of the game were an unexceptionable disgrace.
#2. Matthew Tkachuk and Brady Tkachuk should have been ejected from the game
#3. Canada had injuries too, Cale Makar, Shea Theodore and Alex Pietrangelo.
#4. Cale Makar is the undisputed best defensemen in the NHL
#5. Fighting is not part of the game, it’s been allowed. There’s an enormous difference and distinction there.
#6. Policing, protecting and retaliation to intent to hurt a player on purpose dose justify the permanent elimination of the offender, and sends a message, it will not be tolerated in any way, shape or form, or at any time.
#7. Canada looked old in the first game against the United States
#8. Canada looked flat in the first game against the United States
#9. Canada was clearly relying on its history and past reputation, and didn't show up in the first game against the United States
#10. Sidney Crosby was a non-factor in the first game against the United States
#11. Connor McDavid was taken out of the remainder of the first game against the United States after scoring.
#12. Team Finland and Sweden clearly outmatched in the 4 nations tournament by the United States and Canada, it wasn’t even close.
#13. The 4 Nations Tournament was an enormous success for the NHL and far better than any traditional all-star game format.
#14. Sidney Crosby and Connor McDavid showed up and were engaged in the 4 Nation’s final game, there was a clear difference in their level of intensity, and everyone else fed off of it.
#15. NHL All-star games should be replaced with tournaments like the 4 nations tournament, Rendezvous 87 where the best of the NHL lined up in a 2-game contest with the Soviet Selects or go to a different international city, every year and play that countries top team/teams. It would be far more interesting, result in far more viewership, and would be the best possible marketing for the NHL.
#16. The 4 Nations Tournament would have been even better if Czechoslovakia, Russia, Slovenia and Germany were part of it.
#17. It’s time to stop punishing Russian athletes. They are responsible in any way for the Ukraine war against Russia. The Athletes are being used as Pawns in a geo-political game. The athletes have dedicated their lives to and trained for tournaments, the Olympics and international contests, they have nothing to do with the war, and yet are being punished for it.
Friday Feb 14, 2025
Friday Feb 14, 2025
Hello Hockey fan’s, take a listen to episode 144 of the Hockey Free For All Podacst as Rumors and behaviors are running rampant.
#1. The only way it makes sense for Jakub Dobes to be returned to Laval is?
#2. The unacceptable behaviors of Montreal Canadiens fan’s after the the completion of the 4 to nothing shut out by the New Devils.
#3. The Unprofessional conduct and treatment of Samual Montembeau at the 4 Nations Tournament?
#4. The insanity of acquiring center Dylan Cozens from the Buffalo Sabres, who carries 7.1 million dollar annual cap hit until the 2029/2030 season, are you kidding me? That makes sense on what or who’s planet?
#5. Its time for Patrik Laine, Kirby Dach, Alex Newhook, Josh Anderson, Christian Devorak, Joel Armia, Jake Evens, Dave Savard, Mike Matheson, Michael Pezzetta, Rapheal Harvey-Pinard and with the resent treatment of Samual Montembeau to all move on
#6. The honeymoon ends with the completion of the 2024/2025 season.
#7. The Injury to Kaiden Guhle has clearly shows how far away the Montreal Canadiens are from an actual playoff contending team. The loss of this player should not have affected the Canadiens to the level that is has.
The Pittsburgh Penguins have lost Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin, The Edmonton Oilers have lost Connor McDavid and the Colorado Avalanche have lost their captain Gabriel Landeskog for 277 games and counting and it remained game on, next man up and none of the 3 teams have so much missed a step, let alone catastrophically fallen into despair, like the Montreal Canadiens have since Kaiden Guhle’s injury.
If that happens with an injury to Kaiden Guhle, what would happen if Nick Suzuki or Ivan Demidov got hurt? It should be business as usual next man up, but will it be?
#8. The expectations increase exponentially on day one of training camp and the regular season of 2025/2026 with the full time arrivals of Ivan Demidov, Michael Hage, Owen Beck, Joshua Roy, David Reinbacher, Logan Mailloux , Adam Engstrom, Jakub Dobes, Oliver Kapanen, Jacob Fowler and maybe even Tyler Thorpe, along with sandpaper/grit players Florian Xhekaj, Luke Tuch and Jared Davidson.
Friday Feb 07, 2025
Friday Feb 07, 2025
Hello Hockey Fans Episode 143 of the Hockey Free For All Podcast is ready to listen to, topics include-
#1. Everyone should be ready for another inevitable bottom 5 finish in the league for the Montreal Canadiens for a 3rd year in a row?
#2. Why is has Kaiden Guhle’s injury effected the Montreal Canadiens to the degree that it has?
#3. The Pittsburgh Penguins have lost and survived without Sidney Crosby, Kris LaTang and Evgeni Malkin.
#4. The Colorado Avalanche traded an elite level roster and star player in Mikko Rantanen and have been without their captain Gabrial Landeskog who if he misses the 2024/2025 season, has not played since game 51 of the 2021/2022 season and let’s do the math on that for a moment. That is 271 games consecutively missed, or 3 and 1/3 seasons without their captain, a key player, a cornerstone, and league star, and have remained a top level club?
#5. The Montreal Canadiens loose Kainden Guhle and go into a nose dive and completely fall apart?
#6. Kaiden Guhle is a good, solid, but he is Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Kris LaTang, Mikko Rantanen’s or Gabrial Landeskog. Nor is he on that level of importance or impact to his team, sorry, let’s be brutally honest here.
#6. The Montreal Canadiens do not have a team wolf pack mentality, clearly, as the St. Louis Blus, Dallas Stars and Boston Bruins do.
#7 The Montreal Canadiens lack team resolve.
#8. The Montreal Canadiens have no sandpaper element on their roster outside of Arber Xhekaj and Michael Pezzetta, and it’s very obvious.
#9. Kaiden Guhle’s injuries and injury history should be a major concern to the Montreal Canadiens, both in the short and long terms.
#10. Kaiden Guhle’s Injury should have been simply mitigated by moving Mike Matheson back to his natural left side, so that the left side of the Canadiens defense would then consist of Mike Matheson, Lane Hutson and Arber Xhekaj.
The right side of the defense has Alexandre Carrier, David Savard and Jayden Struble, that’s it. Nothing more radical than that. Not wholesale changes of any kind.
#11. Why do the Montreal Canadiens have an entire team meltdown when any player on their roster gets hurt?
#12. Why have the Montreal Canadiens remained such and extremely fragile team since the end of the 70’s?
#13. Chris Nilan is 100% correct, the Montreal Canadiens severely lack bite, fight and unity on their team.
#14. Why does an overwhelming amount of people want to make endless ridiculous amounts of trades and pay ridiculous amounts of contract money, when highly skilled players, such as David Reinbacher, Ivan Demidov, Logan Mailloux, Michael Hage, Adam Engstrom, Owen Beck and Jacob Fowler haven’t even arrived yet, or the sandpaper grit players, such Florian Xhakaj, Tyler Thorpe, Luke Tuch and Owen Protz have no even arrived yet?
Friday Jan 31, 2025
Friday Jan 31, 2025
Hello Hockey Fans out there. Hear is episode 142 topics to take a listen to, to get your hockey fix for the week. Topics include-
#1. The Colorado Avalanche decided it was time to change things up and refresh the team.
#2. Why is head coach Martin St. Louis being questioned about given the team day’s off. The reasons are obvious and he’s right, and doesn’t need to answer to anyone.
#3. Are Mike Matheson, David Savard, Jake Evans, Christian Dvorak, Josh Anderson, Joel Armia, Michael Pezzetta and Cayden Primeau the most likely if anyone to be traded?
#4. Wake up, how has Mike Matheson, one of the most important players and leader on the team, become a scapegoat in the eyes of the significantly incompetent?
#5. The Kaiden Guhle injury could not only drastically alter the Montreal Canadiens 2024/2025 regular season but significantly change what the Montreal Canadiens do at the 2025 trade deadline and who is or is not available.
#6. Really, after an offseason and playing through a continuing regular season, the best 3 names that the NHL’s newest franchise in Utah could come with, are the Mammoth, the current name of the Utah Hockey Club and the Wasatch, seriously! Thankfully the option of the Wasatch has been replaced with the Outlaws today, as its always been the extremely obvious choice from day one, with maybe a distant 2nd option of either the Venom or the Blizzard.
#7. Why, and for what possible reason is the NHL even remotely still interested in Atlanta as a franchise location after not 1, but 2 extreme failures. Why would Atlanta or Phoenix even be a discussion anymore. Why is the focus not on Houston TX, Portland OR or Kansas which are all far better options in the United states, or on Quebec City, Hamilton ONT or a New Brunswick Team In Canada that could not only pull from the entire Maritime region of Canada, but from Vermont and Maine of the United States as well being focused on.
Friday Jan 24, 2025
Friday Jan 24, 2025
Hello hockey fans. Here is Episode 141 of the Hockey Free For all Podcast to take a listen too. It’s a grab bag episode that Discusses-
#1. Kirby Dach’s season has finally turned around and it would seem patients has paid off, and he has found his game.
#2. Kaiden Guhle is quietly having a very solid season.
#3. Yes, the Lane Hutson hype has not only gotten of hand.
#4. Jake Evans is having a career season.
#5. The Montreal Canadiens do not need to acquire Nikolaj Ehlers from the Winnipeg Jets during the season or sign in the offseason as a free agent center.
#6. The Montreal Canadiens are doing a fantastic job at developing and cultivating their own internal prospects and talent.
#7. Hat’s off to Arber Xhekaj. Xhekaj who has evolved a lot as a player this season.
#8 The Montreal Canadiens do not even remotely need to or have a need to acquire Right-Handed Defenseman Simon Nemec from the New Jersey Devils.
#9. Could Jakub Dobes establish himself as the Montreal Canadiens number 1 goaltender by the end of the 2024/2025 season?
#!0. Could Jakub Dobes, who currently has a 1.55 goals-against and a 941 save percentage cause the Canadiens to consider trading Samual Montembeau, if the right team came calling with a can’t refuse offer?
#11. Congratulations to Brendan Gallagher for playing in his 800 NHL game given all of the injuries he has incurred , is very impressive.
#12. Ivan Demidov is excelling, and once again Canadiens Management made the right decision in keeping Ivan Demidov in the KHL, as the coaching and development have been not only outstanding, but better for the prospect.
#13. Michael Hage and Jacob Fowler could both be Hobey Baker award nominees.
Friday Jan 17, 2025
Friday Jan 17, 2025
Hello Hockey Fan’s out there. Here is Episode 140 of the Hockey Free For All Podcast to take a listen too, topics include-
#1. The Jonathan Kovacevic trade to the New Jersey Devils, maybe.
#2. Patrik Laine and a 2026 2nd round pick for Left-Handed defenseman Jordan Harris.
#3. The Alexandre Carrier trade for Justin Barron trade has been nothing short of a home run.
#4. Emil Heineman’s fit.
#5. Pay close attention to late pick Tylor Throp out of Vancouver in the WHL.
#6. Nick Suzuki and Kirby Dach are 1 and 2. Plus you have Qwen Beck, Michael Hage, Oliver Kapanen, Jared Davidson, Lucas Condotta, Vinzenz Rohrer, Xavier Simoneau, Florian Xhekaj and Aatos Koivu at a minimum to arrive all at center, plus others.
#7. This is exactly the time to trade and not resign, He is having a 1 off career year, which has maximized his trade value. Does the majority suffer from short term memory issues? Here are exhibits (A), (B) and (C) Josh Anderson, Jonathan Drouin, Karl Alzner. Helllloooo!
#8. Let’s not leave out how badly Christian Dvorak needs to go.
#9. At a minimal, Jake Evans, Davis Savard, Mike Matheson, Joel Armia, Josh Anderson, Christian Dvorak, Michael Pezzetta, Cayden Primeau,
#!0 Lane Hutson is the Rookie of the Year, as no rookie has meant more to their club.
#11. Why is nearly everyone so surprised by Jakub Dobes and his success?
#12. Juraj Slafkovsky’s needs to take the next step and needs to become that consistent 96-to-105-point yearly player. Fun and growth time wrap up for his this season.
#13. Nick Suzuki doesn’t need to take his game to even another level. The rest of the team needs to match him and his effort level.
#14. The Colorado Avalanche have a serious issue on their hands with Mikko Rantanen, and Mikko Rantanen needs to decide if its just money, or is about being part of something and winning Stanley Cups. He’s not going to get both.
Friday Jan 10, 2025
Friday Jan 10, 2025
Hello Hockey Fans. Take a listen to Episode 139 of the Hockey Free For All Podcast to get your hockey fix, topics and discussions include-
#1. Jakub Dobes has been outstanding since he arrived. Some are surprised, I am not, at all. Jakub Dobes has not only solved the backup goalie issue, but he is gunning for Samual Montembeau’s starting position and he is making an extremely strong case to this point to become the number one and starting goalie for the club by playing lights out hockey against not just the lower tier teams, but the elite team in the league.
#2. What is with the continued questioning and doubting of Kent Hughes. Is just jealousy by the inept?
#3. There are 2 transactions that Kent Hughes has made that I would love to gain his insight on that he has made. The 1st transaction would be the trade of Right-Handed Defenseman Jonathan Kovacevic to the New Jersey Devils this past offseason for a 4th round pick. The 2nd transaction is the Patrick Laine acquisition. It would have been even better if Right-Handed Defensive prospect Justin Barron was sent to Columbus, instead of Defenseman Jordan Harris. I think Jordan Harris is a class act all the way around. Jordan Harris perfectly meshed with the club; from the moment he stepped on the ice.
Veteran Right-Handed defenseman David Savard who has and remains invaluable to the younger defenseman, the team’s locker room and leads by example showing the way and Christian Dvorak who has like several other roster players this year, has actually found a game and role that he can be a contributing member of the roster and not and every game liability.
#4. Kent Hughes and that entire Management team clearly understands chemistry and the importance of it.
#5. Hockey is a team sport, not an individual sport.
#6. Why is anyone questioning the Montreal Management team for traveling to Russia to evaluate its prospects?
#7. Stop trying to create incompetent and unneeded chaos by saying Ivan Demidov is getting all the love and Bogdan Konyushkov is the forgotten man. Ivan Demidov is a top 5 draft pick, and Bogdan Konyushkov was a 4th round draft pick. Of course, the attention levels will be different. Hello!
#8. Absolutely Jake Evans, David Savard, Josh Anderson, Mike Matheson, Joel Armia, Cayden Primeau and Michael Pezzetta should all be move at or by the 2025 trade deadline.
#9. Look at the A-List prospects yet to arrive in Montreal. Ivan Demidov, Michael Hage, Owen Beck, Logan Mailloux, David Reinbacher and Adam Engstrom.
#10. Where does Emil Heineman end up? Jared Davidson, Luke Tuch and Florian Xhekaj will add grit Montreal needs and doesn’t have yet, and let’s not forget Joshua Roy! Is anyone paying attention to Sam Harris at the University of Denver?