Snap Shots: Tons of Trades

Snap Shots is three days late, but better late than never, as they say. I had a busy weekend selling at a sports memorabilia convention, then other things got in the way. Such is life. But I still wanted to chip in my two cents about what went on around the NHL over the past seven — make that 10 — days. Two players skated in their 1,000th games, and set some interesting records in the process. Wayne Gretzky’s all-time goal scoring record got a little closer to being broken, and, of course, there was the NHL trade deadline. 

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Snap Shots: Tuukka Rask is Back!

Happy Monday, Party People! Here are the top five hockey stories from the past week, including a star goaltender who made his NHL return after being sidelined for six months, a look at the 2022 NHL All-Star Game rosters, and an NHL team that has steadily become a force to be reckoned with this year. 

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Blake’s Takes: Jerseys in Jersey and Happy Hanukkah

A day late, but better than never! Last week was a huge week around the NHL. This week, I’ll share my thoughts on Evander Kane’s potential return to the ice as well as a dustup involving two of the league’s most frequent offenders.

On a lighter note, a few new uniforms were released last week and they are deserving of my attention. I wrote more than a few words about those uniforms as well another take or two.

Happy Tuesday and Happy Hanukkah!

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Blake’s Takes: The 2021-22 Season Starts Tomorrow

The day we’ve been waiting for is almost here. The 2021-22 NHL season starts on Tuesday at 7:30 pm EST when the puck drops in Tampa Bay as the Lightning take on the vising Penguins. In addition to looking at the upcoming season, I’ll also look at a massive contract extension, and a few very notable injuries. 

Happy Monday and let’s get this season started.

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Blake’s Takes: NHL Releases Vaccination Requirements

As the offseason continues to roll on, it gives the NHL time to get their affairs in order, too. Last week, the NHL released its vaccination requirements for all league and team personnel. I’ll start with my thoughts on those requirements this week. As promised, the remainder of my takes will examine some major offseason transactions over the last week or two.

Happy Monday!

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Blake’s Takes: Lightning Go Back-to-Back

The Lightning have won the 2021 Stanley Cup. This team thrives off unusual circumstances. They have now won a Stanley Cup in the middle of a pandemic in a bubble in Edmonton, and won another at the tail end of the pandemic during a truncated season. This column will be mostly dedicated to the Lightning and their accomplishments.

It won’t be all Tampa Bay, though. My last two takes will be a little spicy and cover two topics I think all of you will enjoy reading about.

Happy Monday!

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Blake’s Takes: Marleau Makes History

It was a rather quiet week in the hockey world. That gave me the opportunity to write about some of my favorite random things I saw throughout the week. That includes Stanley Cup championship rings, NHL records being broken, and very difficult goals to swallow.

Happy Monday!

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Blake’s Takes: Big Moves at the Trade Deadline

The dust has settled and the 2021 trade deadline is behind us. Two major trades occurred during the deadline in addition to a plethora of other smaller deals that will surely pay dividends come playoff time. Other than the deadline, last week we saw three NHLers play in their 1,000th game, the Frozen Four champion was crowned, and the Memorial Cup was canceled. Read all about it here.

Happy Monday!

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Blake’s Takes: The NHL Partners with ESPN for New TV Rights

This week was fun to write about. The big news was that the NHL and ESPN agreed to a new broadcast deal bringing NHL games back to ESPN. In addition to my take on the new broadcast deal, I’ll weigh in on a contract that I predicted a few years ago, as well as my all-time favorite hockey/music collaboration.

Happy Monday!

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Blake’s Takes: Rangers Waive DeAngelo

It was a rather calm week in the NHL. That doesn’t mean I don’t have five awesome takes for you. In this week’s column, I’ll share with you one major surprise around the league, one of the funniest things I saw, and a few of the best goals I saw this week. You can thank me later.

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