NHL 2021

[Jim at Gentex]

I saw some of the highlights.
Great game.
Too bad the NCAA hockey tournament isn't as popular as basketball, but still, good for Minnesota to be the powerhouse!  

[Tim Johnson]

not NHL, but did you see the UMD vs UND game Saturday?  Longest game in NCAA tournament history.  Went into the 5th overtime.  Good thing those boys didn't have to play again the next day.

Also, 3 Minnesota teams in the Frozen Four, including my alum MSU-Mankato!

I watched that game. The minimum span of time that UND made the 2 goals to get to overtime had me believing it would be over 5 minutes into the next period. Very good game and congrats to UMD.

[Jim at Gentex]

Congrats also to Wisconsin for winning the NCAA Womens' Championship again.

A few players in the final from both Wisconsin and Northeastern came through the Pens Elite youth hockey program, which is awesome to see!
Womens' hockey is growing more popular!  

[Here's Johnny!]

[quote="Jim at Gentex" post_id=9009 time=1617049579 user_id=83]
Congrats also to Wisconsin for winning the NCAA Womens' Championship again.

A few players in the final from both Wisconsin and Northeastern came through the Pens Elite youth hockey program, which is awesome to see!
Womens' hockey is growing more popular!  
[/quote]

The young lady that scored the winning goal is a generational player, my daughter played on a spring hockey team with her at one point. Unbelievable skills.

The girl she banked the puck off of both of my daughters played with her, we are friends with the family.

[Jim at Gentex]

Oh wow, so you have very close connections to some of these players!
I think it's fantastic that womens' hockey is getting more popular here in the U.S.  

Hockey in general isn't popular in some areas of the U.S., so it's even harder to generate interest for girls and young women to try it.
I mentioned the Pens Elite program, which has a girls' division that is growing every year.
I was reading somewhere that scholarships for womens' hockey on the collegiate level are increasing as well, so it is heading in the right direction.  

[Jim at Gentex]

Well the NHL trade deadline is April 12th, so we'll have to wait and see who moves where.
Should be interesting.

I don't think the Pens will be making any major moves, but with our new GM being known as a mover and shaker, nothing would surprise me.

[Jim at Gentex]

Well, a few players moving around the league, but no real blockbuster deals made at this year's trade deadline.
I think it's just a weird season with the salary cap rules and taxi squad situation that were put in place to deal with COVID.

I think some players who would normally have been traded at the deadline are being kept by bumping them to their team's taxi squad, which is a way of keeping them in reserve but not on the active roster.

The Pens did acquire Jeff Carter from LA, which is no surprise considering Hextall's Philly connection where Carter played quite a bit of his career.
He is still a good veteran depth player who can fill almost any spot in the lineup.

Regular season games are winding down, and playoffs are just around the corner!  

[Tim Johnson]

Are the teams going to be able to cross the country line during the playoffs?

[marshal]

[quote="Tim Johnson" post_id=9734 time=1618597860 user_id=68]
Are the teams going to be able to cross the country line during the playoffs?
[/quote]

They won't have to until the Conference Finals, and only one Canadian team would have to cross the border.  If the border is still closed at that point, I imagine they'd do a bubble set up again for the last 2 rounds.

[kevin43]

Yea it will be interesting to see who the final four are .

[Jim at Gentex]

Yeah I think they have a plan in place to deal with the US / Canada border issue for the playoffs.

I think they need to wait to see which teams advance in the playoffs before anything can be finalized.

Probably will be a bubble type of thing like they did last year, only a much shorter time frame.
I think the players and coaches last season felt like they were in prison, so the league should be able to shorten the bubble time to the last series or two of the playoffs.

Strange days indeed...  :huh:

[kevin43]

The Leafs have gone all in ..... will see how they make out .Only been 53 years  

[Jim at Gentex]

More bullshit from the leagues #1 cheap shot goon, Tom Wilson.
This time he injured 2 Rangers players in the same game.
Enough already.  

The guy has 5 suspensions and is out there every night disrespecting the game and looking to injure people.
IMO the league will not have a shred of credibility until they suspend this guy permanently.

/rant

[Jim at Gentex]

Update:
So the league gives Wilson ANOTHER $5K fine, and Panarin, arguably the Rangers' best player, is finished for the season.

What a joke.
The Rangers are scrapping and clawing these last few games for a playoff spot, so to lose their best player to more of Tom Wilson's bullshit is beyond belief.  The league obviously isn't interested in seriously dealing with this guy until he permanently injures somebody, then it will be too late.  

[marshal]

The rangers were already out of the playoffs after that game.  But yeah, Wilson shouldn't be in the league.  And the fact that the max fine is only $5k is ridiculous considering the league minimum salary is $750k.  That's not even a slap on the wrist