The Hockey News

THIS WAS A COLUMN I did not rush to write. Typically, when a big news story breaks, I jot down my thoughts as quickly as possible, stream-of-consciousness with some structure thrown in. But faced with the tragic deaths of Johnny and Matthew Gaudreau, I knew I had to take a few days before I could get things right. Like anyone else, I mourned the loss of two brothers who meant so much to so many people. But I immediately realized I was going to focus on what made the Gaudreaus so special. We will, of course, commiserate on losing them, but we will also celebrate the lives they lived. (In this issue, we’ll do so with Ken Campbell’s feature starting on pg. 26.) Amazingly enough, social media turned out to be a…

THIS ISSUE, MEET THE New Guys, is where we feature some of the new players on their new NHL teams and provide some analysis of what difference they might make in their teams’ chase for the Cup. Drawing on this theme, I would like you to meet the new guy, a former season-ticket holder for the Atlanta Thrashers, who, in my opinion, will make the difference in bringing the NHL back to Georgia. Vernon Krause is a successful businessman who owns dozens of car dealerships and other investments, but that is not what defines Vernon as a true success. First and foremost, he is successful because he is a dedicated family man who is religious and extremely generous. Vernon and I have a mutual friend who called me up this summer and…

IT MIGHT HAVE BEEN the time in early February when Alex Ovechkin, from his office atop the left-wing circle, hammered a carbon-copy one-timer past Sergei Bobrovsky. Or perhaps it was Ovechkin’s two-goal game against the New Jersey Devils near the end of the same month. For the skeptic, maybe it took until the slick deke he tucked home – his second marker of a pair of tallies and eighth in five games – against the Winnipeg Jets in late March. But at some point, the conversation surrounding ‘The Great Eight’ and his pursuit of Wayne Gretzky’s NHL record of 894 goals transformed from a question of “if” to one of “when.” Make no mistake, there were doubts through a significant portion of last season, almost entirely spurred by Ovechkin’s eight-goal production…

LOGAN THOMPSON | WASHINGTON CAPITALS WE’RE NOT SURE ABOUT Logan Thompson’s credentials as a history buff, but perhaps he was heeding the words of Abraham Lincoln – “Don’t say, ‘If I can.’ Say, ‘I will.’ ” – when he sought to prove himself as a true-blue contender for a starting gig in the NHL. Thompson’s ambition led to him requesting a trade and subsequently landing in Washington, where the Lincoln Memorial’s iconic statue of ‘Honest Abe’ has become a key feature on the back panel of the 27-year-old’s first Capitals mask. Designed and painted by Friedesigns’ Dave Fried, who has worked with Thompson since he was with the WHL’s Brandon Wheat Kings, the new lid embraces the themes of the U.S. capital, incorporating the Capitol Building and a bald eagle, which…

TAHOE KNIGHT MONSTERS | 2024-25 YOU HAVE TO HAND it to the new Tahoe Knight Monsters – they’re coming into the ECHL strong. Sure, they could’ve created one crest and used it on both white and dark jerseys, but the Knight Monsters kicked it up a notch with three distinct sweaters right off the hop. First off, the dragon mascot looks great, particularly on the gold edition. The mountains on the other two are a nice local nod, and there are multiple cool shoulder logos to gaze upon as well. It’s a great color scheme, and the fact Tahoe is carrying on the Vegas Golden Knights name lineage – they’re an affiliate – is a nice touch. Let’s face it: they were never gonna be the ‘Bronze Knights.’…

WAYNE GRETZKY AND MARK Messier started their pro careers with the WHA’s Indianapolis Racers as a pair of 17-year-old rookies, though at different times during the 1978-79 season. But their respective stays with Indianapolis were short-lived. The Racers folded mid-season, and no card company bothered to make WHA cards in ’78-79. So, as cool as it would have been, no official cards of Gretzky or Messier with the Racers were made that season. However, a card of ‘The Great One’ with the Racers was later issued as a part of the 1982-83 Neilson’s Chocolate set, which consisted of 50 cards chronicling Gretzky’s career. A decade later, during the 1992-93 season, Enor – a company that made card supplies, such as pages and albums – released a 10-card set recapping Messier’s…