LNN: Post-All-Star Game NHL

Feb 6, 2023 - 12:00 PM

The All-Star game is in the rear-view mirror, so now it’s time to buckle down and watch some real, playoff-push hockey. The Senators are off until Saturday, but don’t worry, there’s still lots to talk about in the league, with games getting underway tonight.

• Matthew Tkachuk, named the All-Star Game MVP, kept a blog during the weekend, which was a fun read.
• If you want to relive the festivities, NHL.com has a top-10 list of moments from the weekend, including the Atlantic Division (with Brady Tkachuk) winning the tournament
• Last All-Star Game update: next year’s game will be in Toronto. They have a lot to live up to after the previous two were in Miami and Vegas.
• Sarah Nurse was offered a job by the Florida Panthers, to be the leader of their new girls’ hockey initiative
• Bo Horvat was signed to an eight-year, $8.5M AAV extension by the Islanders on Sunday (incidentally, more money than Norris or Stützle, who are both younger), and Lou Lamoriello’s comments on the deal he’d just signed a player to were that it was ‘too long’ and ‘too much money’. Seriously.
• Timo Meier, with 48 points in 51 games, is the hottest commodity remaining on the trade market after the Horvat trade. Friend-of-the-blog Die By The Blade looks at what it would take to make him a Sabre, and if it even makes sense.
• Ian Mendes’ article from the weekend is about Tim Stützle, and how he thinks he needs to be playing even better to be an All-Star (I’m sorry, I know I said no more All-Star content, but this only sort of is...)
• Keep an eye on the Troy Mann firing situation. According to Claire Hanna of TSN (who seems to be receiving leaks from the Sens now instead of Garrioch), Mann was giving Sens scouting reports to other NHL teams. This is all kinds of messy, and could really dampen what was looking like a promising coaching career.
• Some trade deadline looks around the league: the Penguins aren’t ready to start rebuilding quite yet, we don’t think, most likely; the Blackhawks have nine players who could all get shipped out; as always, Toronto media is overreacting to an out-of-context comment, now saying pending-UFA Dylan Larkin enjoying playing with Mitch Marner means he’s possibly waiving his no-move clause to come play with the Leafs; Frank Seravalli predicts we’ll see notable names like Ryan O’Reilly, Jakob Chychrun, Brock Boeser gone at the deadline; the teams with the best available assets on the table appear to be the Leafs, Hurricanes, Flames, Kings, and Kraken