Quick News Hits

The NHL Awards were handed out tonight despite them being done weeks before leading up to a few of the major awards being presented tonight. The NHL usually turns their Awards Night into an Oscars-like affair with moies stars, musicians, and all walks of celebrities doing their part to extend the show into a three-hour extravaganza that really could be pared down to an hour at most. With the pandemic affecting large crowd sizes over the last two seasons, the NHL has presented the trophies virtually, and I'm actually appreciating this setup more than their star-studded evenings.

While it might be fun to see celebrities talk about hockey players and make hockey-based jokes for a while, I personally don't care about all that filler. Show me the nominees, the winner, and the voting cards of how those winners were determined. That's the stuff where greater debate can be found, and social media loves dissecting the voting on each trophy. The entire event could take place in an hour.

I can hear you all snickering as "old man yells at cloud", but I don't care if D-List Celebrity is presenting whatever trophy brought to me by Corporately-Sponsored NHL Partner. Just award the trophy to the player that earned it, let them thank their teammates and coaches and family, and on to the next one.

If I wanted to spend three hours rolling my eyes at people patting themselves on the back, I'd just watch Gary Bettman's State of the Union speech on repeat.

Buffalo Found Their Man

The Buffalo Sabres interviewed a pile of people and did their due diligence in their efforts to find a permanent head coach, and it appears that the best man was already at the helm as Don Granato was named the head coach of the Buffalo Sabres after being the interim head coach following Ralph Krueger's dismissal last season.

There's no question that the Sabres played a better game overall under Granato's guidance, and there has to be some hope that Jack Eichel is happy with Granato's hiring to be the permanent guy. I can't see the Sabres hiring a guy for which Eichel didn't care if they're hoping to bridge the chasm between the team and the star player, so here's hoping that Granato finds a way to get the Sabres playing some inspired hockey so Eichel can have his shot in the playoffs.

It should be noted that the Sabres were Buffalo went 9-16-3 under Granato in a season where they finished with a 15-34-7 record. Players such as Casey Mittelstadt, Tage Thompson, and Rasmus Dahlin looked much more comfortable in Granato's system than they did under Krueger, but the dissent among Eichel and Sam Reinhart can't be ignored. If Kevyn Adams doesn't move those two players, it will be up to Granato to get them to buy into his systems as the Sabres look to snap a decade-long run of missed postseasons.

Congratulations to Don Granato for taking what some may say is currently the hardest job in hockey. Being the head coach of the Buffalo Sabres doesn't come without some major challenges.

Winkler Found Their Man

Speaking of Buffalo, former Sabres defenceman Justin Falk has landed himself back in hockey in a big way as the Snowflake, Manitoba native was named the new General Manager for the MJHL's Winkler Flyers! The former Swan Valley Stampeder gets the big chair in Winkler in the circuit where he was first noticed, and will work to see more players make The Show like he did!

Falk is no stranger to the Flyers organization as he served as the Assistant GM and Assistant Coach since March 2021, and he's certainly familiar with the expanding Manitoba junior league having played in it. That experience saw him land in the WHL with Calgary and Spokane before he turned his solid play there into an 11-year career in the NHL and AHL.

The Flyers boast alumni such as Ed Belfour and Travis Sanheim as NHL players who played in the organization, and it will now be on Falk's shoulders to find the next impact players who may see the same success as he, Belfour, and Sanheim found. Falk has a ton of contacts in the hockey world, so this new role with Winkler may suit him very well while helping the Flyers contend for a Turnbull Cup!

Congratulations, Justin Falk, on your new role!

New Affiliation - Part One

The Seattle Kraken, currently getting themselves ready for a busy off-season prior to their inaugural season, announced today that they have affiliated themselves with the AHL's Charlotte Checkers presumably until Palm Springs is ready to host an AHL team. The Checkers are currently affiliated with the Florida Panthers, so one might wonder how this cross-country affiliation will work when the trend has seen NHL teams wanting their AHL affiliates closer.

Regardless of distance, there's some familiarity there as Rob Francis was the GM for the Carolina Hurricanes when they were affiliated with the Checkers, so it makes sense that he'd turn to a team he knows can develop players like the Checkers do when seeking an AHL partner for the 2021-22 season. The Checkers graduated a number of players to Carolina before their affiliation switched, so this makes sense in the bigger picture.

It may not be the most ideal situation for the Kraken, but it should work well for Seattle until Palm Springs is ready for the "Baby Squids" to invade that city.

New Affiliation - Part Two

The New York Rangers announced today that they have a new ECHL affiliate as they've partnered with the Jacksonville Icemen starting in 2021-22! The Icemen were bolstered with the Rangers sending their ECHL players to Jacksonville last season after Maine opted out of the season, so the Rangers simply went ahead and made it an official thing with their players already in the Florida ECHL city.

It seems like a bit of a pain to shuffle players between the Hartford Wolfpack and the Icemen considering the distance, but the Rangers seem to believe it will work. Whatever growing pains there might be likely can be absorbed by the Rangers as they have a number of young players already on their roster as they build for the future, so this may allow both the Wolfpack and Icemen to really start developing the next wave of good young New York Rangers.

New Duds For The Rivermen

The SPHL's Peoria Rivermen have decided to modern their looks for the home, road, and alternate uniforms for the upcoming 2021-22 season, and they did a pretty decent job!

Honestly, I like these despite the red and navy blue uniforms feeling a little like the Florida Panthers. The white uniform feels a little like the Nashville Predators' Winter Classic uniform, but all three work pretty well when it comes to a classy minor-league team's set of uniforms. Thumbs up from me, Rivermen!

So there are some quick hockey stories and one opinion about the NHL Awards to digest. It's not fancy, but these news stories were quick hits based on their brevity in the hockey world. Keep your ear to the ground, folks, but we're getting closer to the expansion draft, free agency, and more!

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!