NHL News: The Cup enters the building; Okposo on ‘playoff’ players
Photo by Mike Stobe/NHLI via Getty Images
The Stanley Cup is in the building for Game 4 Saturday night in Edmonton. If the Panthers pull it off, the league can only do one thing to correct this injustice: As they did in 1984 after the Isles swept the Oil in 1983, they must change the playoff format to 2-3-2 to alleviate the travel burden on those precious Oilers.
An Isles thing: A not-very-convincing case for the Islanders to try to add Mitch Marner. [THN]
An ex-Isles thing: Kyle Okposo spent seven years between playoff appearances, but he was pretty good last time he got the chance. He was asked about “playoff players” and guys who just haven’t gotten the chance to show what they can do:
If Kyle Okposo is speaking, we’re listening. pic.twitter.com/e7bofjlojC— Florida Panthers (@FlaPanthers) June 14, 2024
Introducing Utah (for now) Hockey Club. Uniforms and stuff. These are always great for the absurd descriptions like ”rock black, representing the darkness of night in the mountains and the volcanic rock of Utah’s deserts; salt white, illustrating both the snow on Utah’s peaks and the famous salt flats; and mountain blue, a representation of Utah’s rich winter sports history and its clear skies.” [NHL]
At this point, for the Conn Smythe, is it Barkov or Bob Rovsky? [NHL]
Duncan Keith “inspires” the Oilers with a tale of coming back from a 3-0 series deficit...only to lose in Game 7. [NHL]
Vladimir Tarasenko isn’t doing a lot, but what he’s doing may be enough for the Panthers to accomplish what the Smurfs could not. [NHL]
Even if he’s a playoff player, the Rangers should maybe not hang on to that long Barclay Goodrow contract. [Post]
Another change to the coaching staff in Toronto (where Lane Lambert joined Craig Berube’s staff), as Guy Boucher is confirmed out. [Sportsnet]
Will the NHL shorten the draft?
Some player agents believe the NHL Draft should be shortened to just 4 rounds, and there’s a possibility that the NHLPA could fight for shortening the draft in the next CBA, per @FriedgeHNIC (32TP).The reasoning is players that don’t get contracts are mostly later-round picks,…— NHL News (@PuckReportNHL) June 9, 2024
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