Hockey cards, collectibles and culture
We have finally reached the NHL playoffs. In this week’s column, I’ll deliver a few takes that will tie up some loose ends from the regular season. After this week, playoff hockey will be priority number one.
This week’s set of takes are still top-tier. The NHL celebrated a few major milestones last week. I’ll give you all my two cents about each of those and one notable player’s return from injury.
Happy Monday!
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!
Another exciting week in the NHL. Unfortunately, there was some sad news as Brent Seabrook decided to retire due to injury. I’ll provide some context and honor him as he deserves to be honred. I’ll also touch on a few other important honors as well as a horribly tone-deaf coaching hire.
Happy Monday!
Continue reading “Blake’s Takes: Brent Seabrook Hangs Up the Skates”
NHL news has been plentiful over the past week. Right after I submitted my column for last week, the NHL announced firm plans for this season’s divisional alignment and playoff structure. I’ll comment on that news as well as a few additional major announcements around the league.
I hope everyone who celebrates had a Merry Christmas and celebrates New Year’s Eve safely.
Continue reading “Blake’s Takes: One Step Closer to Next Season”
I’m back after a two-week hiatus. I hope everyone ate themselves sick during Thanksgiving or just another Thursday for our Canadian readers. Most of all, I hope everyone stayed safe.
It’s been an odd last two weeks. The biggest news was Tampa Bay inking Mikhail Sergachev to an extension. The rest of my takes this week will cast a wide net from interesting to flat out weird. If I accomplish anything this week, I hope you learn something.
And if you don’t learn anything, at least listen to this song. But, if you don’t like my column, you probably won’t like the song either.
Continue reading “Blake’s Takes: Evander Kane’s Twitter Brawl”
After the NHL season was paused in March, no one was sure if we would see the Stanley Cup lifted. Well, the circumstances surrounding the Stanley Cup Final may have been odd and unexpected, but, the Stanley Cup was awarded to the Tampa Bay Lightning.
In this week’s column, I’ll explore how the Lightning’s legacy has changed with their Stanley Cup win.
The rest of the league was busy last week, too! I’ll share my takes on a few notable signings and trades. Happy Tuesday!
Continue reading “Blake’s Takes: Tampa Bay Wins the Stanley Cup”
After everything that’s happened since the league paused for COVID-19 back in March, the Stanley Cup will be lifted this week. Tampa Bay won three straight games, but couldn’t close it out against Dallas in Game 5. They’ll face off again in Game 6 tonight with Tampa up 3-2 in the series.
The Stanley Cup Finals has provided its share of storylines, from the return of Steven Stamkos, the dominance of Joe Pavelski, and bad luck of Tyler Seguin.
Outside of the Stanley Cup, the other 30 teams have been busy handing out extensions and making trades.
You can find five of my favorite storylines below.
Also, here’s the best song I heard last week!
Continue reading “Blake’s Takes: Lightning One Win Away”
Saturday marked the first day of the Stanley Cup Finals between the Tampa Bay Lightning and the Dallas Stars. Tampa was without their captain Steven Stamkos, and it looks like they could use him. I’ll share my thoughts on Dallas’ big win in Game 1.
Outside of the bubble, the other 29 teams were busy making moves and on the personnel and marketing side. I’ll spit out some hot takes on everything that happened around the league, including a horrific logo change.
Happy Monday!
Continue reading “Blake’s Takes: Dallas Takes 1-0 Lead in Stanley Cup Final”
After everything the NHL has been through since March, we’re a maximum of six games away from the Stanley Cup Finals. Both series are going into Game 5 with one team up 3-1. I’ll highlight each series as well as a few other notable storylines around the NHL.
P.S. I need the Stanley Cup Finals to start ASAP to take my mind off another soul-crushing Detroit Lions loss.
2020 finally showed us mercy and gave us three game sevens in one round of playoff hockey. We deserved it. In all seriousness, last week was an awesome week for the NHL, as three out of four playoff series went to a game seven. I’ll share my thoughts on each of those series as well as a few notable stories that impacted the hockey world.