Thursday LNN: Suspensions, Milestones and More
Thursday's Edition of the Links, News and Notes
- When Ryan Hartman took down Tim Stützle with a dangerous move off the face-off, we all knew a suspension was coming. I think very few expected the 10-game suspension as the NHL has been very inconsistent with how it handles discipline. The Minnesota Wild and Hartman are not happy with the suspension and have filed an appeal.
- At almost 40 years old, Alex Ovechkin is not showing signs of slowing down. The question is, will he beat Wayne Gretzky's record this season?
- The IIHF has decided to extend the ban on Team Russia and Team Belarus for the 2025/2026 season. This ban extends to the 2026 Winter Olympics which will be welcoming back NHL competition to the fold.
- The Florida Panthers had their traditional White House Visit as Stanley Cup Champions. This isn't the first Presidential visit the Panthers took part of, as they had been hosted by the President of Finland after their Global Series in November.
- The league is taking a deep dive into stats and this time it's taking a global overview. The NHL is launching a site that focuses on the international stats of NHL players dating back 40 years and includes every single player that has participated in international tournaments.
- It doesn't matter if the Winnipeg Jets wins multiple Stanley Cups or overpay for stars, it seems they still have to fight to shake off their reputation of being a "bad city" to live in. The Athletic recently launched a poll and the Jets got almost 49% of the votes for places to be first on the "no-trade" list. One of the most prominent reasons cited was that it was too cold. If you're a hockey player afraid of some cold then maybe you're on the wrong career path.
