The Tampa Bay Lightning’s incredible 2021 Stanley Cup run gave Ross Colton his first Stanley Cup in just his first try, however it wasn’t the rookie’s first time at a Stanley Cup Final. The New Jersey native grew up a huge fan of the New Jersey Devils, and in speaking with NJ.com’s Ryan Novozinsky, discussed his fandom, which included attending every home game of the Devils’ 2012 run to the Stanley Cup Finals. When approached with the idea of playing for his hometown team one day, Colton said “[t]hat would obviously be so cool.”
As much as the prospect of a New Jersey native and Devils fan playing for the team would be, Colton did pump the brakes on the narrative a bit when speaking to NHL.com’s Adam Kimelman, saying he would like to spend his entire career with Tampa Bay, but acknowledged the business-end of the sport, with players needing to be paid and teams having to conform to the salary cap. Colton is entering the second year of a two-year, $1.125MM AAV contract that will leave him a RFA for one more year ahead of his 2024 UFA status. Considering Tampa’s cap issues over the past few seasons, the gritty Colton could be a luxury they can’t afford, however the organization has shown a willingness to get creative in order to keep as much of their core as they are financially able to.
- Speaking on TSN, and relayed by The Athletic’s Corey Pronman, IIHF President Luc Tardif said Belarus and Russia will be suspended for the next year, and that decisions on whether to permit the countries to participate in IIHF events will be made year-by-year going forward. Pronman adds that this “next year” would likely refer more specifically to the 2022-23 hockey season. Being suspended for at least that length will cost the countries the ability to participate in IIHF-sanctioned events, including most notably the World Junior Championships and the World Championships. The two countries were suspended by the IIHF in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine earlier this year.
- Sticking with the topic of IIHF tournaments, TSN’s Gord Miller reports that the 2026 World Juniors will be held in the United States. Miller adds that a likely destination would be Las Vegas, Nevada, a location he notes was a dream of the late Director of USA Hockey, Jim Johansson. Putting the tournament in Las Vegas would be a feat not only for USA Hockey, but the NHL, whose expansion into the area, as well as other warm climates, was met with skepticism. A successful 2026 tournament in Las Vegas, should it happen, would no doubt be a testament to the growth and success of ice hockey throughout North America and could lead to continued growth and exploration in other non-traditional markets.
- Since abruptly stepping away from his duties as General Manager of the Pittsburgh Penguins just a few games into the 2020-21 season, fans and media alike have been trying to figure out what exactly made Jim Rutherford leave the organization so suddenly. Many speculated that his departure had to do with disagreements over the direction of the team, but as the now-Canucks executive told Jason Mackey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, that was not the case. Carefully wording his response, Rutherford explained that when the COVID-19 pandemic hit, being largely confined to his home took a toll on him, which left him without the necessary mental toughness to handle his duties. He added that he didn’t believe he necessarily had any mental health issues, but that things he could generally shake off as typical of the job, began to stick with him. It’s an interesting response, and not as dramatic as a feud with upper management like many had thought, but is surely relatable to the experience of many during the height of the pandemic. As much as owners, executives, coaches, and players may feel super-human or not-so-tangible to fans, Rutherford’s experience shows their experiences are just as human as that of their fans.
Sorry, @John, but …
Old = “… who’s expansion into the area …”
New = “… whose expansion into the area …”
(Don’t shoot the messenger, just the proofreading plugin/app)
Is Josip on vacation?
@forwhomjoshbelltolled – Probably not, and neither am I! But, you and I probably both agree that many fan bases need a bottle of chill pills if they win ONE cup in a row, right? Only a few teams are built to be competitive year in and year out. The rest just rely on “hope” and try to jinx their rivals, so they can back into the 8-slot. They also forget that most GMs don’t have 100% success on personnel moves. It’s just how it works.
Well when you have a dominate team like the lightning and one that looks the part and won last year in the Avs, other teams fans hope to break through and win one. And if not the GM gets the brunt of the failure. It’s not fair but if a team gets hot they can make a playoff run and fall short in the end but still heads have to roll. I dont understand it honestly.
Las Vegas makes sense for Team Canada. They could make a field trip to the Cadilac Ranch and relieve the sexual tension legally!
@Johnny Z – Don’t forget about that exciting theme park, known as “Area 51”—hazmat suits extra, though! :)
Not sure any franchise in sports has a wider gap between the quality of the organization/team and the fan base than the Pens.
Without Jim Rutherford, Sidney Crosby retires with one Cup on his resume…but the yinzers decided he was Mr. Magoo and couldn’t wait to run him out of town.
Their evidence?
He didn’t win the Stanley Cup EVERY SINGLE YEAR.
Because, of course, if Rutherford weren’t senile they would have won the Cup EVERY SINGLE YEAR. Because, of course, that’s how things work in the real world. Unless you blow it, you win the Cup EVERY SINGLE YEAR.
Well, to give them the little credit they’re due, it isn’t just the yinzers. There’s this insane presumption in many a fan base that a season without a championship means that the team is a band of underachieving losers and that management are clueless bums and likely corrupt into the bargain. Playoff streaks, Cup Finals appearances, President’s Trophies, none of that matters.
I could have explained that with a bit more nuance…
It’s not that the Pens are expected to win the Cup every single year (only a few teams like the Yankees and Steelers are genuinely expected to win every year by their fans).
It’s the fact that his moves were judged to be good vs bad based on it. Any trade, no matter how sound, could be dismissed as a mistake and/or failure if they don’t win the Cup.
And, of course, once the yinzers judge a move, they NEVER let facts or reality change it.
Maybe Jimmy is putting the pandemic spin on it but the real answer is “I was sitting at home all day long reading the comment sections of DK and the Athletic and I said “f*** those ingrates”.
Come to that, does this syndrome prevail in the Pittsburgh press (as it does the Boston press)? Any time a Boston team wins three games in a row — four or five when we’re talking about the Red Sox, two if we’re talking about the Patriots — the reporters are doing handsprings crowing about the team’s preordained march to the championship, where they might never lose another match.
If a Boston team LOSES three in a row, however … then they’re all losers and bums, and the GMs are incompetent for assembling such a crew of losers and bums, and the team needs to be broken up at once.
The press shows no shame in making both pronouncements for the same team in the same season. Sometimes they do it *back to back*.
Thank you, @John!
Maybe that explains he has been to doing some different things. Hiring Women assistant gms. A non north american gms. open his mind to what has been outside the box thinking.
(nods) And really, there are cementheads (*cough* WP *cough*) who dig their heels in with every such change, but they’ve been doing that since the days when NHL stalwarts thought that neither blacks nor Americans nor European players were capable of big-league hockey.
And like the handful of cementheads (*cough* WP *cough*) who scream “Woke!!” at every non-traditional hiring, the Don Cherrys of the world were doing that fifty years ago too. “Oh, look, Hardy Astrom was a bum, so that means Scandinavians can’t play manly man hockey.”
Oh no it’s not “Woke”. It’s got nothing to do with the narrative. Not pride nights, nor blm stuff, nor hirings, nor chicago thing, not whatever sircus is going on before canucks games. Yall just stupid deplorables who think that. Follow the science! Take a jab!
“Science and basic human decency towards others? No thank you!”
Your science is wrong all the time but collectivist doggies like you dont care.
For all i care you can build your commune and eat your bugs and shower with vaccines happily. Why you think others must live like you think they should?
Ross Colton signing w/ NJ in 2024 would be great timing.
▪︎Luke Hughes & Nemec will have had a full season in Jersey rounding off the D. Plus, the thin hairs would have been clipped trimming the actual too thin Fwds like Tatar & Johnsson who are too soft.
▪︎Final decisions on extending McLeod, Wood, Bastian, Boqvist or not will be done. ▪︎They’ll know where they stand w/ Zetturlund, Foote, Thompson, Walsh, Bahl,Okhotiuk Mukhamadullin, by then & most likely Gristyuk/Stillman’s Outlook.
▪︎Last, I’d assume NJ will sign/trade for a top 6 Pwrfwd whe brings brings size/strength/grit/scoring threat