Thursday Links, News and Notes: Goodbyes, Good Moves and an Olympic Outlook

It has been yet another frustrating week for Ottawa Senators fans, but the end of this road trip is near, and maybe we can see a more settled team at home. Possibly with some new faces? It seems the Sens are already starting to head in the right direction with a much needed waiver today, more on this and more in this week’s edition of the Thursday links, news and notes.

• Sens fans were relieved to see that Brayden Coburn was put on waivers today, mostly because it meant that we will finally be seeing Erik Brannstrom. I don’t expect Coburn to be claimed but if a team were to do us that favour, I think any replacement would be an upgrade at this point.
• There are many good sports reporters within the hockey community but every now and then, we get lucky with one who is not afraid to ask the tough questions and truly brings us a different point of view. For Ottawa fans, Brent Wallace has always provided consistently great coverage of the Senators and endeared himself to fans with his professionalism and different takes. Today, he made the following announcement which shocked the Ottawa community:/

Pivot. We’ve heard that a lot from people and businesses lately. Now it’s time for me to pivot. After 23 years with TSN my time has come to an end. Thank you all for watching and listening. I will miss you. Be kind to one another.

— Brent Wallace (@tsn_wally) February 3, 2021

Good luck to Brent; I think it goes without saying that he will be successful in whatever he chooses to do next.

• The Dream Gap tour will be getting a boost later this month as the New York Rangers announced yesterday that they will be hosting a game at Madison Square Garden on February 28th making them the first NHL team to partner with the Professional Women’s Hockey Players Association (PWHPA).
• On a sadder note regarding Women’s hockey, the NWHL has announced that they will be suspending their season due to COVID-19 concerns and a rise of concern for player and staff safety. While the decision is tough, it is better to be safe than sorry and you wonder if the NHL will be forced to make a similar decision at some point.
• As he is every Wednesday morning at 8amEST, our own Brandon Maki joined Rebel 101.7 Ottawa’s Kornicky and Mel in the Morning, to discuss the Sens’ recent goaltending woes, and more!
• Speaking of the NHL, the Minnesota Wild are the newest team to have their games postponed until February 9th with more players added to their COVID-19 protocol list. In addition, a player from the Colorado Avalanche was added to the protocol list as well as additional players from New Jersey Devils and the Buffalo Sabres.
• While nothing is certain at this point, it doesn’t hurt to get a little bit excited for the potential of the 2022 Winter Olympics proceeding as planned. With NHL players expected to be back, the building of the team has begun. Team Canada has named Doug Armstrong as their GM with Ken Holland, Ron Francis, Don Sweeney and Roberto Luongo making up the rest of the management team./