32 Thoughts: The NHL is heading into uncharted territory
Ryan Hartman appealed his 10-game suspension. Commissioner Bettman is next on the agenda on the appeal, and he rarely decreases a sentence. A recent exception is Jason Spezza, reduced from six to four games in 2021. But he had a clean record. If Bettman keeps it above six, Hartman can go to an independent arbitrator — where Dennis Wideman and Tom Wilson received reductions. […] One thing I heard about this situation: on-ice officials warned Hartman several times during the Ottawa game that he was in danger of losing control.
I exist because of Canadian/American soldiers (and others) in the Second World War, so anthem booing is not for me. Canadian Flag Day is Feb. 15, and 2025 is the 60th anniversary of the red-and-white Maple Leaf. That night is Canada vs. USA in Montreal. Apparently, there are plans to hand out 20,000 flags at the game. Gonna be nuts.
The Sabres have won four in a row, but we will see if there is any long-term fallout from Sunday, when Stefan Noesen’s hit on Tage Thompson went unaddressed. One player on another team said he heard from a friend on Buffalo that there was talk of the leadership group and/or alternate captaincies being switched over what didn’t happen. What a gamer, Dennis Gilbert. Fought Mathieu Olivier three seconds into Tuesday's game to make everyone look better. Not easy.
It did not go unnoticed that Conroy took a private plane to Philadelphia to pick up Joel Farabee and Morgan Frost. At least one Flyer took time to text the Flames about what great people they were getting.
As Hockey Canada considers a full-time world junior coach, one name to keep an eye on: Kris Mallette. Mallette was fired as WHL Kelowna’s bench boss in January, due to a poor start after three consecutive playoff berths. More importantly, he knows this age group of Canadian players, and has had success with them: three Gold medals at the Hlinka Gretzky Cup — one as a head coach, two as an assistant.