#NHL EXPANSION

[offsidenewsco]

"For the entire ‘80s and 90’s, only three different players won the Art Ross trophy for scoring lead: Gretzky, who won ten times; Lemieux, who won six times; and Jágr, who won five."

Read Part V of @sergeifyodorov's history of the #NHL here.

[stereax]

[annieqattheperipheral]

Move over blues we got another musical genre looking to get into hockey ba-ding-tsss🥁 ty ty im here all week

[sergeifyodorov]

favorite hockey father adopted son relationship

three cities you think deserve a team in the future

create your own hockey awards what would the first award be and who would you give it to?

12. favorite hockey father adopted son relationship

this is a difficult one because it is such a common and also . good dynamic. old man pavs and my comrade wyatt a good candidate but i think i have to go with ultimate dilf john tavares and his children mitchy and matt knies. about to make a controversial statement but i think notorious worm corey perry and notorious firecracker connor bedard are about to have THE sickest and twistedest evil parent/evil child dynamic

19. three cities you think deserve a team in the future

i wont say qc because frankly it's been said far too much but. here we go

atlanta . 3rd time will work i promise. not to praise the nhl but their two new expansion teams have actually done a REALLY good fucking job, not necessarily out of building a competent roster (i mean, vegas absolutely has done that and seattle looks alright so far) but by marketing the game and team to its city. i want whatever lone competent nhl management committee has done that to go back to atlanta. cmawn. please. please. please

houston . i understand the stars' current shtick is that they are the one team for the whole of texas but i firmly believe there's one thing better than being united through hockeyloving and that's SPORTS RIVALRY!!!!!!!. back to trashing the nhl: now that both the lightning and cats are allegedly good or at least competent they should market the hell out of the battle of florida. and you know what? they do not do that. houston v dallas though? texans are the albertans of america so you know they would be immediately down to watch a rivalry in the Sport Where You Are Allowed To Fistfight.

toronto (bear with me). what does the league have? an abundance of canadian fans all of whom seem to hate the leafs but most of whom live near toronto anyway. easy solution: give them a second team in the area thats not american (ew sabres) not out in Fucking Kanata (sorry sens) and that you can also conveniently market a battle of the centre of the universe . or something. it's always about the leafs !!

23. create your own hockey awards. what would be the first award and who would you give it to?

the bill barilko award for most iconically cursed player. current finalists are of course quinnifer himself and mcdavo. think i have to give it to connor atm tho considering. The Events.

[hockeyconfessional]

I wish Bettman would expand more into Canada. Go where the life is, dude.

🏒

[breast-man-69]

San Diego: The NHL's Next Frontier?

Could America’s Finest City be ready to add another jewel to its sporting crown? San Diego boasts a vibrant sports scene. However, the city has been without an NHL team since 1977 when the World Hockey Association’s San Diego Mariners folded. In fact, San Diego is currently the largest city in the U.S. without a championship in any of the “Big Four” major professional leagues. The city lost the…

[grunge-mermaid]

for all the towns that have NHL feeder teams, it'd be cool if they could establish PWHL feeder teams

[mrhockeywiz77]

Hockeywiz777 Youtube Videos & Hockeywiztalks Podcast: September 9, 2024-November 25, 2024

Youtube Podcast Podcast 282-Stanley Cup Contenders thus farPodcast 281-Current NHL Standings + Scoring LeadersPodcast 280-Top Stanley Cup ContendersPodcast 279-NHL Storylines for 2024-25 SeasonPodcast 278-2024-25 NHL Season Preview + Prediction

[hughesybear]

guys I can’t keep doing this

can the Canucks get through one season without media members speculating about one of our 1Cs getting traded ffs

[linskywords]

2024 HRPF recs

As has become my wont, I spent the last few weeks trying to catch up on some of the new fics in the hockey RPF tag that I missed over the course of the year. I definitely didn't get to everything, or even all of the most popular ones; there may also be a bias towards shorter fics here, as I was trying to get through a lot. 😅 But I hope you enjoy, and possibly find a gem or two that you missed!

First, some general favorites:

Scoring Effects by @helenish (McDrai, 30K): Ah, Helenish. A goddess among us. I love a good mistaken identity story, and this is a GREAT mistaken identity story.

barons by dilangley (MattDrai, 43K): Future fic in which Houston gets its own expansion team, Matthew coaches it, and Leon and Trevor Zegras play on it. Gorgeously done. The Trevor POV section broke me a bit, but it was worth it.

Living Things by @makeit-takeit (TK/Patty, 115K so far): I am so deeply invested in this series. It's very real and vivid-feeling future fic that does an amazingly thoughtful job exploring the NHL wife-and-kids pipeline and what happens when that doesn't fit you as well as you thought it would. The stories that are written so far feel nicely complete, but if you'd rather hold out for the full HEA, you can check out her Wild Ice for a different highlight from the past year.

put the stars in our eyes by @notthequiettype (McDrai, 17K): the McWedding story that I wish I had written. I thought it was going to destroy me, and instead it left me all warm and fuzzy.

Lost and Found by angry_geno_is_score (MattDrai, 2K): angry_geno_is_score had so much to choose from this year, as always, and I loved this as a microcosm of the hurt/comfort they do so well. If you like it, you know where to find more from them!

Next, we move to the irresistible new Sharks babies. I'm not sure I can oversell how hot these three stories managed to be:

come on (leave me breathless) by countthestars @moondoggiestyle (Will/Mack, 10K): I've already talked about how much I loved this one. There can never be too many stories of one player catching the other getting off in the shower, especially if they're as hot as this.

revising the shoreline by ohyellowbird @teex (Will/Mack, 6K): another super well done exploring-their-sexuality-while-not-talking-about-it story, aka my kryptonite.

teamwork makes the dreamwork by canary @bigdogenergy (Will/Mack and Will/Mack/Ryan Leonard, 19K): I'm sure a lot of you have already read this in the last week or so, but I couldn't not recommend it. Mack goes into heat and Will needs an alpha to help him out. Who to call but the ex?

And then we enter the realm of vaguely devastating but gorgeously written JDTZ trade fics:

home by now by donderwolk @donderwolkenblog (Jamie/Trevor, 6K): The moment they found out about the trade, and a little bit after. Brilliant, impeccable, ruinous.

heat check by jolach @hyggles (Jamie/Trevor and also Carts/Richie, 4K): Outsider perspective on Jamie and especially Trevor as they deal with the aftermath of the trade, through the eyes of Mike Richards, who may have some experience in the area. I don't know how anyone writes this well, honestly.

Finally, one of my favorite things about reading through the past year's fics is finding a prolific new author I love who I had totally missed in my year of mostly reading people I'm already subscribed to. This year it was unsay (@tungpin). They seem to have started writing HRPF this year, and they tend toward the kind of complicated sometimes-ambiguous stories that I never manage to write but love to read. Here are a few of my favorites of theirs from this year:

malt (MattDrai, 4K): Leon meets Sasha Barkov and has feelings about how he wants to be more serious than Matthew does (OR DOES HE).

accessory to the rockstar (McDrai, 5K): once again we have Leon having thoughts about how he feels more than the person he's into, this time about Connor. Bittersweet and lovely.

the care and keeping (Jamie/Trevor, 12K): in which Trevor's friends get on Jamie's case about neglecting him post-trade, and Jamie does something about it.

That's it from me, at least for now! I know there were many excellent stories this year I didn't get to, especially the long ones that I just didn't commit to while reading for this list. Perhaps this is the year I do what I've been telling myself to do for the past two years and keep track of what I read and love throughout the year. We can only dream. 😅

Happy reading!!

[offsidenewsco]

"Almost all NHL relocations have been tactless, narratively nonsensical, and extremely unchic. Here are some suggestions to improve the state of things as we brace for new teams."

Read our listicle here.

[intheupside]

lol tanger on the next nhl expansion team:

Kris Letang: Dubai, they seem to do everything perfectly.

[butterflyintochains]

My PWHL Expansion Take

Here's my quick take on a PWHL Expansion, adding another eight teams like the NHL did. Current teams are in bold.

North Division

Montreal Victoire

Toronto Sceptres

Ottawa Charge

Vancouver Millionaires (after the original hockey team in the city)

Quebec Saints (after the St Lawrence River)

Seattle Emeralds (after the city's nickname)

Edmonton Owls (after the provincial bird)

South Division

Boston Fleet

New York Sirens

Minnesota Frost

Pittsburgh Falcons (keeping up the bird theme)

Chicago Symphony (after the city's music history)

Philadelphia Freedom (after the Liberty Bell)

Washington Justice (as a play on women in politics)

Just my opinions, feel free to disagree (politely) or add in team names of your own!

Edit: I've changed Seattle and Philly's team names, and added Washington and Edmonton teams.

[halestrom]

oh my god PLEASE i need to hear about the hockey au

@iprefervillains you also asked about this! BUT

this is straight up my hockey au. as simple as that. basically san diego gets a whole new team as part of an expansion and there is DRAMA between jake and bradley ofc. and maybe spoilers for the whole story since i doubt ill ever finish it BUT the reason jake and bradley dont get along is they dated on the DL in jr's and when they both got drafted they made an agreement to come out. jake did before camp. bradley got terrified even with his family and didn't and they broke up and jake is salty about it and made it bradleys problem and he never backs down from anything so it gets worse even though bradley kinda wants to make up but jake wont let him in but now they're on the same teammmmm.

anyway here's the first part of it i wrote which i am happy about.

Beau rubbed a hand over his face as he leaned back in the chair, already knowing it was going to be a long day. They had just finished their first year and needed to do something to try and prove to the NHL that giving a team to San Diego had been the right choice over one of the other cities who had been trying to get one. He knew the bitching the rest of the league had been doing. Another California team, and another one in Southern California. But they had the population and money talked a lot more than passion did.

He grimaced as he thought about the stupid nickname that had instantly started circling when it had been announced. The Tri-Tip Rivalry.

He pinched the bridge of his nose and took a deep breath, dropping his hand when he heard a chair pull out and lifted his head. Natasha “Phoenix” Trace was the new General Manager for the San Diego Daggers. She had been the leading scorer for the six years she had played professionally between the CWHL and the NWHL before retiring. She had an Olympic gold and silver medal, and multiple gold and silver medals from Worlds. She was a star in her own right, and that was before she had accepted the job as GM.

Beau knew she was a PR gimmick, something to get more fans into the arena, especially female fans, and from the way Trace had stared him down at their first meeting, she knew it as well. The Daggers had been the last place team the last three years since it’s inception, and the fans were few and far between. She was there to try and drum up support, especially in the middle of a rebuild. But she knew her stuff, Beau couldn’t deny that.

“Phoenix,” he said, inclining his head.

“Cyclone,” she replied, inclining her head as well. “Or do you refer Beau? Simpson?”

Beau snorted. Cyclone was an old nickname from when he had scored the Stanley Cup winning goal by doing a spin-o-rama around three players and then scoring with a backhand of the third spin. “Whatever works for you.”

“Beau it is. Call me Nat. I think Phoenix might be a little on the nose for what we’re trying to do.”

That made Beau chuckle. “Fair.”

Nat nodded. “Alright, walk me through what we have.”

“A brand new team,” Cyclone said, picking up the remote and clicking. “Through a combination of, honestly I’m going to go with luck or a deal with a devil for you to get what you got, we have nine new potential stars.”

“The old one wasn’t working,” Nat replied, watching him carefully. “And I didn’t make a deal with the Devil. Most just assumed I didn’t know what the fuck I was doing until I made it happen.”

Cyclone kept quiet at that. He had been one of the ones confused as he watched Nat make trades leading up to the deadline, and then as soon as the off season started she made more. Everything seeming at random until suddenly all the trades came to an end and they had nine new players, all rising stars in their own right and now all on the same team. There had been an outcry when she had traded away the first round draft pick for the next season, but the return had been worth it.

It had been stunning to go back and see what she had done, tracing the trades and deals and it was the sort of move she was known for on the ice.

“Right. First up. Goalies.”

Cyclone clicked a picture. “Robert Floyd, mostly goes by Bob. Went sixth over all and got bumped down to the AHL almost immediately where he’s a solid, if boring goalie. Finally made it to the NHL, carried his team to the finals and lost in triple OT on a rebound. Got the Venezia as well as the Jennings. He’s a hell of a goalie. But, boring.”

“Boring isn’t bad,” Nat said.

“No, especially when the other goalie you got is Billy Avalone, nickname Fritz on account of how spastic he looks every time he makes a save,” Cyclone said, clicking to the next picture. Cyclone had seen more than one meme of Fritz making a save intercut with videos of cat’s spazzing out. The similarities were…obvious, but he kept his mouth shut.

“Fritz is also the only goalie to score two goals in one game and get a shut out,” Nat reminded him.

“He’s also weak on the left side and all the other team knows that,” Cyclone replied. “But, in theory, the new D-pairs should take care of that.”

He clicked the remote and two photos appeared. “Mickey Garcia, drafted fourth over all and Ruben Fitch, fifth overall same year. They were a D-pair out at Boston and their plus minus record is still unbroken. They got split and both of them are playing decent, solidly second or third line, sometimes first depending on injuries but nothing special. Fitch has a bit of a temper and is known for going after anyone who hits his goalie, which is where he got the nickname Payback.”

“They’re excited to work together again, and are assuming they’ll be on the same line,” Nat said.

Cyclone nodded. “I saw the Instagram post. I’m not going to promise anything until I see them work together.”

“Fair.”

He clicked the pointer. “Logan Lee out of Yale, and Brigham Lennox out of Harvard. Both drafted 10th in subsequent years. I don’t know how this is going to work since the two of them got into a fight every time they were on the ice together. To the point their previous teams healthy scratched them each time they played against each other.”

“Think they can play together?”

“I think it’s a crap shoot so we’ll see what happens. I know Garcia and Fitch want to play together but if Lee and Lennox can’t get their shit together they may not have a choice.”

“Do you know what caused the rivalry?”

“Lee lost his edge and took out Harvard’s goalie, knocked him out for the season with a concussion. Lennox took offense and it ended up with a line brawl on the ice,” Cyclone explained. “Which is fine, except the next time they played, Lennox high hit Lee’s D-partner and knocked him out, starting another line brawl.”

“Was it on purpose?” Nat asked, head whipping around to look at Cyclone.

He waggled a hand. “Lennox is tall, so head high hits are something he needs to be aware of. People are split fifty-fifty. Looking at the replay he wasn’t coming up into the hit, which is what Yale was screaming about. Personally, I think it was an accident and it would’ve stayed as one, if not for the previous game.”

“Good,” Nat said, looking back at the screen. “We can work with that.”

“Fingers crossed,” Beau said, clicking the remote again. “Javy Machado, mostly know as Coyote on the account of he’s the only player most people can name from the Coyotes. Current holder of the Hart, Lady Byng and Ted Lindsey trophies. Doesn’t score a lot of goals but he’s a team player and has no issue getting assists. He’s a solid offensive player and doesn’t shy away from playing hard. He was the leader in everything for the Coyotes for the past three seasons and the fact that you managed to dig their claws out from him is a minor miracle.”

“Luck,” Nat said, her smile small and Cyclone didn’t want to know what she had bribed or threatened people with.

“Right. He’s a fantastic player, on a team that can never find their footing and I think he would have the makings to be a star player if you didn’t get these two morons,” Beau said, clicking to the next pair of images, the headache he could already feel forming as he stared at the photos.

“Jake Seresin, drafted first overall. Got the Calder, Art Ross, Rocket and the Conn Smythe his first year. Led his team to a Stanley cup victory, scored the most goals and points in the playoffs and got the game winning goals in 12 of the 23 games they played, and the game winning Stanley Cup goal. He’s also the only player to even come close to Gretzy’s goal record with seventy-three his first year,” Beau said. “On the ice, when he’s playing, he is the best, there’s a long list of players people liken him to. But off ice?”

Beau went silent and looked over at Nat who shrugged one shoulder. “Off ice rumors have said he’s hard to work with. Constantly criticizing, judging and will often get into arguments with coaches over the right thing to do. Most of his former team calls him Hangman on the account of the fact he’ll happily hang them out to dry in the press. His only redeeming quality is if he’s an ass to his teammates, from my understanding he’s twice as hard on himself. Or so I was told.”

“You were told?”

“His old Coach and I go way back,” Cyclone said before he sighed. “He’s also the only player in the NHL who is currently out, and he’s been targeted for it more than once. So, I’m willing to give him a little leeway until I see how he is in person.”

“He’s the only player in male pro sports who is out,” Nat corrected.

“He is. And he runs his mouth so the fact he doesn’t get into more fights has more to do with how hard he can hit back. Seresin doesn’t shy away from the physical aspects of the game, even if he prefers to score goals as a fuck you to the rest of the league.”

Beau looked back at the screen and nodded to the second photo. “Bradley Bradshaw. The only child of Nick “Goose” Bradshaw and Godson of Tom “Iceman” Kazansky and Pete “Maverick” Mitchell. He’s a legacy kid, raised in the Kazansky-Bradshaw-Mitchell along with all their friends. There’s photos of that kid ice skating before he could walk. He’s got his Dad’s level head, Maverick’s hands and Iceman’s eye for the game. Drafted first overall, got the Hart and Calder his first year. He’s also the current holder for the Selke. Solid player, not prone to antics like Maverick is, and doesn’t score big goals like Iceman and Goose. He’s amazing at the tip in, which is why most people call him Rooster because he’ll perch himself in front of the net and tip anything that comes his way in.”

“What do you think of him?” Nat asked.

“I think he’s a solid player, but if you’re looking for something to draw a crowd he’s not it. He’s not flashy, and aside from a couple of fights here and there he almost never takes a penalty.

“People would say that’s a good thing.”

Beau was silent for a moment. “Hockey is a physical sport, if you’re not taking penalties I’m wondering how much you’re actually playing. Even if he’s not actively doing something, bad calls happen and he rarely even gets those.”

“You think he’s playing because of his parents?”

“Fucked if I know. I don’t give a shit why he chose hockey. All I care about is that he gives me a hundred percent when he’s on the ice.”

“Fair. Now for the elephant.”

Beau sighed, dropping his head back and closing his eyes. “Seresin and Bradshaw have a rivalry that makes the Canadiens and Bruins look like a bunch of kids fighting in a sandbox. The two of them have never said one nice thing about the other, and Seresin doesn’t get into many fights, but the majority has been with Bradshaw. It’s a miracle the two of them were on different coasts and only played each other twice a year.”

Nat folded her hands and looked at him. “You think it’s because Seresin is gay?”

Beau shook his head. “Nah, Bradshaw doesn’t have an issue with that. He was the ring bearer at Iceman and Mavericks wedding.”

Nat raised an eyebrow. “Wasn’t that recently?”

“Yep,” Beau said. “He had that quote.”

“Right,” Nat said, looking down at her notes. “’He’s gay. Congratulations. So are my Uncles. But unlike them, he’s a dickhead.’”

“Right,” Beau said, pinching the bridge of his nose. “And they’re on the same team.”

“Think it’s gonna work,” Nat asked, looking back at the screen.

Beau thought about it for a long moment before he shrugged. “With the way Coyote plays and Bradshaw plays the two of them could make a hell of the team. Coyote getting the puck, making the shot and Bradshaw tipping it in. Seresin is the wild card, which isn’t a bad thing. But I honestly don’t know how they’re going to play together and won’t know.”

“Camp starts soon.”

“It does. And we’re going to have all eyes on us with Seresin and Bradshaw on the same team. Half of them are expecting for them to get into a fight on ice even though they’re on the same team.”

“Can you get five for that?”

“No fucking clue.”

Silence fell for a second before Nat tapped her fingers against the table, the two of them looking at the pair of photos for a long moment. “Do you think this has potential?”

“It does. I just don’t know if it’ll happen, and if it does? It’s not going to easy. Kinda makes me wish I had asked for more money.”

“We’re paying you as much as we can, take it up with the NHL if you want more,” Nat replied before jerking her chin up at the photos. “Do you know how that rivalry started?”

Beau shrugged. “No one does. Hell, I had Bates ask Maverick about it and even Bradshaw’s family doesn’t know. All we know is that from the first time they were on the ice they had issues with each other. They didn’t go to the same college, they didn’t play together growing up, hell, they don’t even play the same position. Didn’t get drafted the same year, nothing. As far as the world is concerned, they never even met until that first game.”

The first game. Where they had dropped gloves five minutes into the first period and had gotten major penalties for fighting by the end of the first period. With both of them scoring two goals each in the same period. It had fueled a new rivalry and started a hundred rumors. Rumors and questions that Bradshaw and Seresin refused to acknowledge.

“Some people just don’t get along,” Beau said finally.

“We’ll they’re going to have to learn,” Nat said, voice steely.

Beau nodded. “Easier said than done. But I’ll do what I can.”

“I’ve talked to both of them, and they understand they need to get along. Understanding and doing are two entirely different things.”

“Think they can?” Beau asked.

“They can. I just hope they will.”

[breast-man-69]

On Thin Ice: Where Will the NHL Expand Next?

The NHL has seen its popularity surge in recent years. Successful expansion franchises like the Vegas Golden Knights (2017) and the Seattle Kraken (2021) have captivated fans. These teams prove that hockey can thrive in non-traditional markets. This trend is driven by several factors. The league is strategically working to grow the game in new regions. Particularly, this is evident in the…

[wehaveagathering]

On 19 May, 1974, the Philadelphia Flyers defeated the Boston Bruins in the sixth and final game of the Stanley Cup Finals. The score was 1-0, Philadelphia; the lone goal was scored by Rick MacLeish, number 19, at 14:48 in the first period. With this win, the Flyers became the first NHL expansion team to ever win the Stanley Cup.

Happy 50 years, Flyers.

jeff vinnick / len redkoles / chase agnello-dean / bruce bennett / john d. hanlon / len redkoles / elsa garrison / andy lewis / len redkoles / andrea cardin / frank o'brien / anonymous / andrew mordzynski / len redkoles

dalton day: THE CHOICE-BETWEEN-A-HAMMER-&-A-FEATHER-POEM