Bob Jones’ Diagnosis, Ridly Greig’s Debut, and More

Good morning, folks. I hope everyone has a little extra in the tank this morning coming off a much-needed (for morale purposes) win over the Isles last night. If you missed it, then please check out Ross’ recap here. Among the storylines from last night’s game, we await further information on Cam Talbot who sustained an apparent leg injury midway through last night’s game. In the meantime:

• Sadly we start the news today with some somber information out of the Ottawa Senators organization as assistant coach Bob Jones announced his diagnosis with ALS. Jones has stated that he chose to make his diagnosis public in an effort to raise awareness and promote research into this illness. Jones has a long history of working alongside DJ Smith and contributes to the “player’s coach” culture that the Senators’ players currently enjoy./

Bob Jones is one of the kindest, funniest and most gentle people you’ll ever meet. Brave of him and his family to share his ALS diagnosis to help others. He’s on the job today. #Sens pic.twitter.com/C0GbsUvfZp

— Bruce Garrioch (@SunGarrioch) January 24, 2023

• In other Sens news, Ridly Greig played a heck of a game last night (again, see Ross’ recap) and our old friend Callum Fraser had a solid little write-up highlighting Greig’s upbringing and his pedigree. Obviously no one can fill the void left in the absence of Josh Norris and Ottawa can use all the help they can get in the scoring front. After last night, fans in Ottawa will have even more difficulty containing their excitement about the future fixture in Ottawa’s forward corps.
• In a recent media availability, commissioner Gary Bettman touched (extremely briefly) on a couple of topics pertinent to the Ottawa Senators. Bettman stated that the NHL has neared its conclusion in their investigation into the 2018 world junior sexual assault case. Take that statement as you will. Bettman also stated that bidders interested in purchasing the Senators now have access to the team’s financials. So we could possibly see some resolution into two of the bigger storylines looming over this season in Ottawa. Bettman also weighed in with a rather flimsy (in my humble opinion) take on the whole Provorov-pride night debacle.
• If you want a more insightful and nuanced take on the whole Provorov thing then I highly recommend this piece from Sylvain St-Laurent over at le Droit.
• Obviously everyone has their own take on the how the Canucks mishandled the dismissal of Bruce Boudreau and the hiring of Rick Tocchet. I appreciated this summary out of Columbus because it really drives home the point that I think resonates for a lot of us who follow this league: Bruce seems like a really nice guy who just always finds himself in the wrong place at the wrong time. And I agree with the assessment that part of establishing a winning culture, as we hope to see in Ottawa, includes a crucial human element.
• And finally, a cool story for hockey card collectors and those interested in indigenous hockey history as Upper Deck recently launched their First Peoples Rookie set. In this day and age we can kinda take for granted just how many players get the full hockey card treatment but for players who blazed a trail for this generation it obviously bears a lot of significance to receive this kind of recognition. The indigenous community has never had ample representation in professional hockey and these symbolic gestures can help to provide a sense of belonging to young people on the outside looking in./