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Good morning, hockey folks. It’s only 35 days until Hockey Christmas: the World Juniors. And 76 until the puck drops at the Olympics.
Get your flags ready.
It’s been an exciting season in the NHL, for sure, with historic starts from youngsters such as Matthew Schaefer and absolute chaos in the standings. But it also feels like any time you check the newswire, another NHL star is hurt.
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Yesterday, it was Victor Hedman headed to long-term injured reserve in Tampa. Over the past six days, Charlie McAvoy, Alexander Romanov, Eetu Luostarinen, Matthew Knies, Jack Hughes and André Burakovsky all went down with various maladies (including “a barbecue accident” and a sliced hand at a team dinner 😳).
Some teams, such as the Maple Leafs, meanwhile, are missing $35 million in salary and dressing five or six call-ups or waiver claims.
I checked in with the folks at the great NHL Injury Viz site, and they confirmed that, yes, man-games lost are wayyyyy up this season so far, with “around 110 players currently out” leaguewide. (And PuckPedia has 75 players on IR and 21 on LTIR right now.)
That’s a lot higher than last year (dark gray line in the chart below) and the typical seasonal average (red) at the 20-game mark:
The big question for the league is: Why?
Is it because the NHL is playing a heavily condensed schedule due to the Olympics and teams are cramming in more games with less rest and practice time than ever?
One NHL exec I checked in with yesterday believes it’s largely a coincidence at this point. LW3H, who runs the injury site I mentioned above, agrees. He points out that we haven’t seen a run of injuries like this in Olympic years in the past. So make of that what you will.
It’s plausible that, sometimes, in this random and physically demanding sport, a lot of players will simply get hurt early in a season. Which stinks, for them and for the product on the ice. And it will likely only lead to even more parity in the standings with so many AHL call-ups on NHL rosters.
We all needed some more hockey to watch, and the PWHL is going to deliver starting tonight.
The women’s league’s third season kicks off with games in Minnesota and Vancouver (whole schedule here), the latter of which will feature the first-ever game for the two new expansion franchises, the Vancouver Goldeneyes and Seattle Torrent.
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Our ace women’s hockey analyst Hailey Salvian has been hard at work pumping out PWHL content this week — don’t miss her comprehensive preview that includes breakdowns of all eight teams plus vital TV info.
I caught up with Hailey last night as she prepared for the big game in B.C. to find out what we should expect from the new season.
What are the biggest storylines for the PWHL this season?
“This season, it’s how the original six markets might fare after a summer of change brought on by the expansion draft process.
“But my personal favourite storyline is Abby Roque, who was once one of the most irritating American forwards in women’s hockey, sliding onto Montreal’s top line with Captain Canada, Marie-Philip Poulin. Roque’s addition to the Victoire should also help the team finally get over the hump after back-to-back first-round losses.
“I’ll be watching the back-to-back champs in Minnesota closely, too. The Frost lost three of their top defenders through the expansion draft process but still have their No. 1 (Lee Stecklein) and a stacked forward group. I wouldn’t count them out in 2025-26.”
Will the new expansion teams be competitive?
“Both Seattle and Vancouver look poised for success this season after the league’s generous expansion rules stacked the deck to ensure its newest teams will be competitive from Day 1. Each original six team was allowed to initially protect only three players, which led to tough decisions and elite players on the move.
“Seattle snagged Hilary Knight, Alex Carpenter and Jessie Eldridge, three of the league’s most productive players. Vancouver started its franchise with a pair of elite defenders from the Minnesota Frost in Claire Thompson and Sophie Jaques, then added star forward Sarah Nurse.
“On-ice performance is never as simple as the rosters on paper, but these teams look very good.”
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In Year 3, where is the PWHL business-wise? Where does it have room to grow?
“Amy Scheer, the league’s executive vice president of hockey operations, said this week that Seattle and Vancouver are already two of their strongest markets, and that original six ticket sales have gone up year-over-year, including season tickets. Takeover Tour ticket sales set an internal single-day record last week, too.
“The biggest area of improvement would be continuing to attract more consistent fans to U.S. markets in New York and Boston. The Sirens have drawn the fewest fans in the league for two straight years. Perhaps returning to Prudential Center in New Jersey and putting down roots will help. The Fleet will play a few more games in Boston proper at Boston University’s Agganis Arena this season. Those games should help grow the team’s fan base in the area.”
I highly recommend getting out to a game if you live near a PWHL market, as it’s a great atmosphere. And, of course, keep tabs on Hailey’s work as the season unfolds here.
I’m going to try something a little different this week. I mentioned above that a lot of rosters are decimated: Today’s trivia will test how well you can identify which team I’m talking about simply by looking at a piece of the roster.
How many of these six clubs can you name (from easy to hard)?
Write down your answers and check the key at the bottom.
🎱 The Great 8 put up a hat trick to move into 10th all-time in NHL points last night, passing Burnaby Joe Sakic. I think I’ve run out of superlatives for the 40-year-old Alex Ovechkin at this point.
🏅 Shayna Goldman makes the case for sending the young bucks to the Olympics. Count me in, especially given it would mean Team Canada could stop wrestling with the tough (?) call of Connor Bedard or Tom Wilson.
📣 The Calder Trophy front-runner right now is rather obvious (Schaefer has been that ridiculous), but who are the other top rookies around the NHL? We have a list for that.
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🏒 If you missed it, Chris Johnston has a good breakdown of the 25 most likely trade targets around the league, as we slowly start to enter rumor season. (No. 25 is particularly interesting 👀)
🎤 Check out “The Athletic Hockey Show’s” Prospect Series as the guys break down their World Juniors depth charts for Canada and the U.S. — and make sure to subscribe while you’re there.
In order, we have your answers:
🫂 If you got 1-2: You’re still a mere MirTrivia mortal.
👍 If you got 3-5: You’re on your way to MirTrivia immortality.
🚨 If you got all 6: You’re where you belong here with the Red Light Ra-sickos.
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James Mirtle is a senior writer covering the NHL for The Athletic. James joined The Athletic as the inaugural editor in Canada in 2016 and served as senior managing editor of The Athletic NHL for four years. Previously, he spent 12 years as a sportswriter with The Globe and Mail. A native of Kamloops, B.C., he appears regularly on Sportsnet 590 The Fan and other radio stations across Canada. Follow James on Twitter @mirtle
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