With the Jackets spending most of yesterday in travel out to British Columbia, the NHL made plenty of news while we were waiting.
The biggest headlines came from the Southeast Division, where both the Washington Capitals and the Carolina Hurricanes dropped their head coaches.
For a look at the turnover in Raliegh, check out the takes from Backhand Shelf, SBN, Puck Daddy, and two looks at the situation from PHT.
If you’re more interested in former London Knights’ coach & GM Dale Hunter stepping behind the bench in Washington, we’ve got plenty of coverage for that, too. ( BSH, PD, PHT, SBN), but the better question is: can he really fix the problem?
On the Jackets side of things, Ryan Johansen is enjoying his homecoming, while Curtis Sanford talks a bit about his in-game ritual as he prepares to face another former team tonight, and Steve Mason discusses getting back into the lineup.
Another “kind of a big deal” moment for the NHL came as the New York Rangers finally unveiled their Winter Classic gear.
Reactions from Icethetics are generally positive, Puck Daddy is lukewarm, and the Blueshirt Banter guys are pretty pleased.
Over at Full Mental Jackets, Greg has a post-loss Mental Monday, while Alison talks PROSPerity at Heart of a Jacket.
Brendan Shanahan lowered the boom on Max Pacioretty for his hit on Kris Letang, suspending him for three games. In case you were wondering, he’ll be eligible to return just in time for Montreal’s 12/6 matchup against the Jackets.
Over at DBJ, Gallos sees the team running a gauntlet over the next few weeks, while DBJ himself tries to take stock of the past week.
Cam over at Backhand Shelf sees several teams showing warning signs of a deceptive start, while PHT has injury updates on Taylor Hall’s shoulder, Chris Pronger’s “virus” that somehow requires knee surgery, and Canucks winger Alexander Edler being ready to go tonight.
The guys at Puck-Rakers picked up the news that Boone Jenner will be attending Team Canada’s WJC selection camp (barring a major upset, he’s almost certain to make the club), and the guys at Columbus Wired have one of their “On the Bench” digest reports.
Over at Puck Daddy, the Winter Classic war of words is heating up, the Adirondack Phantoms attempts at a music career tell us they should stick to hockey, there’s no time for goalie controversies in Vancouver, and a look at the success of the NHL’s Thanksgiving Showdown game.
Finally, over at TMM Jeff looks at some of the bumps and bounces from the weekend, and PHT wonders if the next CBA might include an amnesty clause for some of the more ridiculous contracts.