The Hockey Show, Canada's only campus-produced radio show that strictly talks hockey, returns to the UMFM radio frequency and internet streams tonight with a show that will wrap-up a number of things. If you listened last week, our hosts got part-way through one interview while not having enough time to play the second, so they'll clear those off the docket tonight. There's also leagues that are wrapping up which need some discussion and some news from other leagues that will generate chatter. There will be lots of wrapping up tonight on The Hockey Show at 5:30pm CT!
Tonight, Teebz and Jason will finish off the second-half of the interview with Ottawa Charge netminder Kendra Woodland before playing the interview with Charge insurance goalie Kaitlyn Ross to wrap up the chatter about the PWHL in Winnipeg as both were in the city for the Charge's victory over the Victoire. From there, they discuss John Tortorella replacing Bruce Cassidy in Las Vegas, the Toronto Maple Leafs dismissing GM Brad Treliving, the Montreal Canadiens being in a weird broadcasting situation, and they'll go over all the results from Europe where professional seasons are wrapping up this month. There's even announcements for the next two shows! It's going to be a busy hour on the program tonight, so get your ears perked up for The Hockey Show at 5:30pm CT on one of 101.5 FM, Channel 718 on MTS TV, or via UMFM.com!
If you live outside Winnipeg and want to listen, we have options! The UMFM website's streaming player works well if you want to listen online. We also recommend Radio Garden if you need an easy-to-use online stream. If you're more of an app person, we recommend you use the TuneIn app found on the App Store or Google Play Store.
If you have questions, you can email all show queries and comments to hockeyshow@umfm.com! Tweet me anytime with questions you may have by hitting me up at @TeebzHBIC on Twitter! I'm here to listen to you, so make your voice heard! And because both Teebz and Jason are on the butterfly app where things are less noisy, you can find Teebz here and Jason here on Bluesky!
Tonight, Teebz and Jason chat more PWHL, coaching changes, management changes, broadcasting changes, European leagues, future shows, and much more exclusively on 101.5 UMFM and on the UMFM.com web stream!
Today might be a big day for some, but you won't find any jokes or pranks here! This time of year is where the grass starts to turn green, the leaves start budding on trees, the ice and snow recede to places no one needs to think about until October, but it's also the month where the NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs begin. With the latter event about to settle into life on April 18, The Hockey Show is preparing for another postseason of fun where 16 listeners get a shot at claiming the title of "champion"!
We've been teasing and promoting Survivor: NHL Playoffs on The Hockey Show, so we'll re-plant the flag on the beach that says Survivor's NHL Island is open for business once again this year! As we've been talking about on the radio show over the last couple of weeks, our take on a Survivor contest is returning to the airwaves again as we look to crown a winner, award prizes to worthy competitors, and bestow fame and glory on the final entrant standing as The Hockey Show's 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs survivor!
It's pretty clear that UMFM owns no island in a tropical climate nor a boat that will get you there, and our annual show budget of $0.00 says Jason and I will never get to broadcast from an island in the south Pacific. However, if you're aware of the Survivor pools that are run, our contest is based on the same idea where you randomly pick a name of one of the contestants, and that person on Survivor is your person for the run of the show. If he or she is voted off the island, the game for you is over. In our contest, though, we put our own twist on the game so it becomes much more hockey-centric.
Jason and I are seeking sixteen people to call The Hockey Show on April 16, 2025 where each of those callers will choose a number from 1 to 16. Each of those sixteen numbers will have a corresponding NHL playoff team assigned to it randomly. Whatever number you've chosen will reveal your team for the playoffs, and that team becomes YOUR team in a similar random fashion to Survivor pools. All you have to do is be near your phone that evening between 5:30pm and 6:30pm Central Time, call us, and choose one of the numbers on the board to find out what playoff team you'll be rooting for in the playoffs!
If you need a real-world example of how this works, let's say that Jason were to call in and choose #6. We'll flip that card over to reveal that #6 has the Dallas Stars under it. Officially, Jason's team becomes the Stars until they're eliminated or they win, and card #6 is no longer available as a choice for the next callers. Jason will hopefully be cheering as a Stars fan this spring until they're done playing.
Following Jason's call, let's say that I call in next and select #13 as my number, revealing the Carolina Hurricanes. Carolina would become my team until they're eliminated or they win, and card #13 is no longer available as a choice for the next callers. Wash, rinse, repeat until there are no numbers and teams remaining. Easy, right?
If you think you're up for this, you'll need to have your radio tuned to The Hockey Show on April 16 and have your phone close to you. Before you commit, though, what we haven't told you yet is that there's a twist in all of this radio fun. And this twist is where things get crazy fun for everyone involved because you participate!
Just when you think you're out, you're still in the contest until "Tribal Council". You may be wondering how a radio show does "Tribal Council", but we already know your team was eliminated so you've technically been voted off Survivor's NHL Island. However, every episode of Survivor ends with the contestant voted off doing their exit interview, and that's precisely what you will do: you'll deliver an exit interview for your team! We'll call you, set up the quick two- or three-minute chat about your team, and then you're officially done with the contest and sent off the island. Easy-peasy, right?
Some of you may worry about talking on the radio, but I assure you it's just like talking on the phone. In other words, don't think we're going to make it sound weird or anything. But knowing that this is going to happen, what might you say? You're free to talk about how you're disappointed that a specific player didn't show up in the playoffs or how you never thought there would be an upset this early or how you're just lucky that your chosen team made the playoffs. Or you can be like Jacob and talk about your team embarrassed you.
While the CBS version of Survivor promises a big cash prize and whole bunch of prizes from sponsors - both of which The Hockey Show doesn't have - we will be offering up some prizing that aligns with our lack of CBS's budget. There will be some smaller prizes handed out as "challenge prizes" much like the network reality show does, and those challenges that all teams can win in the contest are as follows:
First shutout recorded in the playoffs.
First hat trick recorded in the playoffs.
First goaltender point recorded in the playoffs.
First team eliminated from the playoffs.
First to advance from the second round to the third round.
First team to score seven goals in one game in the playoffs.
First upset of the playoffs.
The first team that accomplishes any of these challenge goals will earn their Survivor player a corresponding prize! We have various hockey books and other assorted smaller prizes to be won this year, but you'll need to earn them through the challenges above. Any prizes won through these challenges will be handed out chronologically while supplies last in the order they were completed! Teams can also earn more than one prize in this challenge part of the contest, so choose wisely when it comes to the randomly-distributed teams! Or choose your favorite number. Either strategy works in this contest!
Just like the TV show, we do offer prizes for the finalists! The grand prize winner who captures the Survivor crown will take home their choice of an NHL jersey plus a few additional prizes! The finalist will get a jersey not chosen by the winner as a runner-up prize, so you're going home with a prize as long as your team makes it through three rounds which is pretty awesome! This year's two jerseys are a 2018-21 Pittsburgh Penguins alternate jersey and a 2021-24 Washington Capitals alternate jersey, so the winner may have a difficult choice to make when it comes to which jersey he/she takes home!
As a new wrinkle to this year's contest, The Hockey Show will also be asking if you plan on supporting UMFM's Pledge-O-Rama event that runs between April 24 at 6:30pm until 8:00pm on May 1. For anyone who enters the Survivor: NHL Playoffs contest AND donates to Pledge-O-Rama, we'll put you into an additional draw for even more prizes! You help us, we'll reward you - it's that simple.
I should also be upfront and inform you that we have some requirements that need to be met before you can participate. The good news is we won't need a medical team available like CBS does for their version of Survivor, but we do have a few must-have REQUIREMENTS for anyone to participate. They include:
You must call into the show on Thursday, April 18 between 5:30pm and whenever we fill all the spots in the contest. If all 16 spots aren't filled within the hour, Jason and I will get creative to fill the empty spots. Don't complain - you had an hour to make one phone call!
You must have a phone number and an email address. If you're calling us, I'm pretty sure you have at least one of these already. If you have neither, are you even alive?
A desire to watch your chosen team's progress in the NHL Playoffs. You don't need to follow them religiously, but it's better to know something if/when your team is eliminated.
Beyond that, this is a fun contest meant for laughter with a few rewards for those who get lucky. It's not to be taken seriously in any way, and it's a nice way for us to reward our loyal listeners with some free gear. If this has enticed you to listen for the first time or come back to the show after not listening, welcome to the show and here's hoping you get into the contest! Just remember, though, that if your team gets bounced, we're calling you for that exit interview. If that scares you in any way, work through that fear... or just win!
Be ready, folks, because this contest always is fun for everyone involved. Like CBS' Survivor, only one person can be crowned as "survivor" in this contest, and we're ready to kick things off on April 16! Here's hoping you'll call in for the best radio contest in hockey!
It seemed like the only thing holding up the decision by the New York Islanders to move the Bridgeport Islanders to Hamilton, Ontario was the AHL Board of Governors. It was rumoured for a while before the announcement finally came that this would be the reality for 2026-27, but it still needed the rubber stamp from the league's membership. That vote took place today, and AHL President and CEO Scott Howson made it official by announcing that the Islanders would move into the renovated TD Coliseum in Hamilton where they would shift from the Atlantic Division to the North Division next season.
This feels like the wrong move by the Islanders' franchise to make considering that the Bridgeport Sound Tigers had a solid following in Bridgeport for years since they began play in 2001-02 as an expansion team. Head coach Steve Stirling took them to the Calder Cup Final in their first season of existence before falling in the second round one year later, but Stirling was promoted to head coach of the New York Islanders in June 2003 after Peter Laviolette was fired.
From that point on, the Bridgeport Sound Tigers never won a playoff round again, missing the playoffs in nine of sixteen seasons prior to the pandemic. After the AHL returned to play a full season in 2021, the Islanders had decided to rename the team in its own image where it has continued to struggle. In four seasons, the Islanders missed the playoffs three times. They're in a battle with four teams this season for play-in game berths in the Atlantic Division standings.
In short, the Islanders are leaving Bridgeport, Connecticut without having seen a ton of success for their 25 seasons. Perhaps a fresh start with a clean slate in Hamilton, Ontario is what they need?
The last time that the AHL was in Hamilton, that franchise found success. The Hamilton Bulldogs called the southern Ontario city home from 1996 until 2015 where they won the 2007 Calder Cup, lost in the Calder Cup Final in 1997, and lost in the third round of the playoffs three times. They averaged slightly more fans that what Bridgeport has seen over the years, but moving into a renovated building within a hockey-ready market should be good for the franchise's health.
What may hurt the Islanders is the fact that they're not very good. With their current point total, they'd be in sixth-place in the North Division and would sit one point back of Rochester who has two games in-hand and holds the final play-in game berth in the division. Needless to say, moving into a more competitive division will mean that the Islanders need to improve their roster. Putting a winner on the ice would help both walk-up and season ticket sales immediately.
The other thing that could really get the people of Hamilton interested is the name chosen for the team. Despite the branding strategy used by the Islanders, the team moving to Hamilton needs to abandon the "Islanders" moniker as soon as possible for something better. If you recall, this franchise used to be the Bridgeport Sound Tigers while the city of Hamilton had an NHL team named the Hamilton Tigers from 1920-25. Might we see the return of the Tigers?
What sucks in this whole situation is that there are hockey fans in Bridgeport who are losing their team with no way of preventing it. These fans did nothing to deserve this fate, but it seems that a fresh coat of paint and some new luxury suites were all that the Islanders needed to pull their AHL franchise from Bridgeport. My hope is that hockey fans in Bridgeport can get another team shortly. They have shown they'll support hockey even if the team on the ice is bad.
Roadtrips for AHL teams can now flow through Belleville-Toronto-Hamilton or teams can play the corner of Lake Ontario with games in Toronto and Hamilton. It's a longer commute for AHL Islanders to get to the big club when recalled, but the New York Islanders won't complain if their AHL affiliate is playing winning hockey. I don't think Hamilton hockey fans will complain about that either.
Please, I beg you, just don't call them the Hamilton Islanders.
Far be it for me to question anyone's position in hockey from where I sit, but I always found it strange that the Toronto Maple Leafs hired Bred Treliving to be their general manager three years ago. That's not to say that Treliving wasn't able to do the job, but it's hard to ignore the immense pressure that comes with sitting in the big chair in a city that demands a winner. Being that 1967 is a lifetime ago and the Leafs moving away from a playoff spot has to come with consequences, and Toronto brass made the move today to correct the path the team is on by firing GM Brad Treliving.
The idea of a playoff spot is all but lost at this point in this season, but it's some of the asset mismanagment that likely called for a change in the management structure for the Maple Leafs. After all, the "trade" to move Mitch Marner for Nicolas Roy was one of the worst in the history of the Maple Leafs while his deal to trade prized prospect Fraser Minten and a first-round pick to Boston for Brandon Carlo is hard to even rationalize. Add in baffling free agent signings like John Klingberg, Ryan Reaves, and David Kampf while not finding elite goaltending, and the writing started to appear on the wall.
Toronto won't have a first- or a second-round selection this season at the NHL Draft, so finding some immediate help will have come via trade or free agency. The team will need to make decisions on Calle Jarnkrok, Matias Maccelli, and Nick Robertson, but it's hard to see either of Maccelli or Robertson sticking with Toronto if another team appears interested. Robertson has asked for a trade out of Toronto for the past two seasons before finding a roster spot this season, so we'll have to see if he'll return on a new deal next season.
If that mismanagement of depth players isn't enough, making the decision to fire Sheldon Keefe while hiring the defensively-minded Craig Berube is also a head-scratcher. Keefe recognized that the defence and goaltending was, at best, in the middle of the pack. To counter this, he pushed the offensive side of the play as the Leafs scored a lot during the regular season. That wasn't a great strategy for the Leafs in the playoffs where the defensive play gets ratcheted up a few notches, but Keefe was playing the hand he was dealt.
Treliving was questioned for firing Keefe who was 212-97-40 over parts of five campaigns, but his playoff record shows that success was fleeting as he recorded a 16-21 record in the postseason including a 1-5 series mark. At the time, Treliving stated, "Sheldon is an excellent coach and a great man. However, we determined a new voice is needed to help the team push through to reach our ultimate goal."
Craig Berube was hired by Treliving following his brief success in St. Louis, the Leafs finally won just their second playoff series in more than 20 years under Berube's watch, but the Leafs dropped from 54 wins to 52 wins in 2025 before winning just 31 games to this point this season. If losing Mitch Marner had that much of an effect on the Leafs, this squad under Berube is more than just a few tweaks and minor moves away from being a Stanley Cup contender again.
In three consecutive seasons under Treliving, the number of wins and points fell. For the first time in ten seasons, the Maple Leafs are poised to miss the playoffs. For the first time since 2016, it appears there's a good chance that the Leafs won't have a 30-goal scorer on their roster. Some of that can be attributed to coaching, but a lot of it has to do with the roster that was assembled this season. The Leafs weren't good enough, weren't deep enough, and didn't get the contributions they needed with the personnel they currently have.
As was discussed in yesterday's article about the Golden Knights, accountability for the roster's successes or failures ultimately falls on the general manager. Based on the significant drop-off this season and the slight decline last season, changes had to be expected in Toronto. The first domino fell today with the dismissal of Brad Treliving as the Maple Leafs will look for a new candidate to lead them out of this mess and into a better, more successful era.
I can't deny that Toronto amplifies it by a million times, but hockey is still a results-driven business where winning matters. Brad Treliving is the latest evidence of that reality after being dismissed today.
I have never met Bruce Cassidy, but people have said that he's a well-spoken, thoughtful man who would give insights to his decisions made while coaching. We can debate all day about his reluctance to name Logan Thompson the starter in Las Vegas, eventually leading to Thompson being traded to Washington where he's now 4-0 against his former team including stoning them in the shootout yesterday, prompting the reaction above. The knee-jerk reaction by Vegas to fire a coach who led the team to the Stanley Cup and who has turned in excellent results since that victory reeks of "what have you done for me lately". Being in a results-driven business, Kelly McCrimmon fired Cassidy and hired John Tortorella for the rest of the season.
Vegas has struggled this season as they currently sit in third-place in the Pacific Division and staring down a first-round matchup with the Edmonton Oilers. They're six points back of the Anaheim Ducks with eight games to play, and they don't face the Ducks again. They still have a shot at capturing first-place in the Pacific Division, but they're going to need some help while playing nearly-perfect hockey from this point forward as the John Tortorella era begins today.
The problem is that the four goaltenders that Vegas has employed this season have a woeful .879 save percentage as they've allowed 216 goals on 1788 shots. The fact that they're even in a playoff spot should surprise people because that kind of mediocre goaltending usually results in management hunting for a significant upgrade between the pipes. Adin Hill, who appears to be Vegas's starter, will bring his 3.10 GAA and .866 save percentage to the playoffs against the likes of McDavid and Draisaitl if Vegas doesn't catch Anaheim.
Logan Thompson played 46 games for the Vegas Golden Knights in 2023-24 where he went 25-14-5 with a 2.70 GAA and a .908 save percentage. Adin Hill, who split time in the crease with Thompson, was 19-12-2 with a 2.71 GAA and a .909 save percentage. As you can see, Thompson likely had every right to believe he could win more games based on his statistics that season, so asking the team for greater responsibility in the crease should have been a discussion where Cassidy and McCrimmon could have laid out a scenario where Thompson was given the opportunity to be the starter, especially after Thompson played well from January through to the playoffs.
Instead, it seemed like there was always going to be a competition between the goalies in Las Vegas, and Thompson made the decision to ask for a trade where he could seek a starter's role with another team. Vegas obliged, and he was traded to Washington at the 2024 NHL Entry Draft in exchange for two third-round picks. The rest, as they say, is history as Vegas has struggled in the crease while Thompson has played well for Washington with two sub-2.50 GAA and .910-or-better seasons, earning a Canadian Olympic roster spot.
Clearly, this problem goes higher than the coach as it wasn't Bruce Cassidy's decision to trade Thompson despite Steven Valiquette's assertion that Cassidy and Pete DeBoer not liking Thompson. Add in the fact that Vegas only has six picks on the first three rounds of the next four NHL Entry Drafts with no first-round picks until 2028, and there's more evidence that management is making bad decisions. It also bears mentioning that Adin Hill and his 3.10 GAA and his .866 save percentage are being paid $6,250,000 until 2031, making the general manager's office the source of Vegas's problems. Spending their way into division titles was a win-now ideology.
Perhaps spending $12 million per season on Mitch Marner was a good idea in the moment as Adin Hill held a 2.47 GAA and a .906 save percentage, but those numbers were the best numbers Hill has posted in any NHL season to date with the number of games he played. They weren't trending in that direction; they were an aberration away from his rather pedestrian baseline numbers. McCrimmon went seeking more help in the crease when he gambled on Carter Hart which, for the most part, has been an utter disaster on the ice as well as for the team's public image, and his follows his trade of fan favourite Marc-Andre Fleury, bailing on Robin Lehner when he needed help, and trading away Thompson. Now we'll see another coach to try cover up the damage that McCrimmon has caused with his short-sighted, win-at-all-costs mentality.
At some point, Kelly McCrimmon has to be responsible for the team he's assembled. Yes, the coach can and will make mistakes when it comes to player deployment or line combinations, but Bruce Cassidy proved he has the skills to do the job with the Stanley Cup ring he earned. Instead, this year's push will fall to John Tortorella after McCrimmon fired Cassidy one day after the Logan Thompson fist pump at the end of the shootout. Tortorella is only signed through to the end of the season, so this coaching carousel could start up again the moment that Vegas is eliminated from the 2026 playoffs.
Perhaps at that point, Kelly McCrimmon will finally be held responsible for results turned in by Kelly McCrimmon's team.
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