Hockey cards, collectibles and culture
Last week was an eventful one in the NHL. The only hard thing for me to do was to chose which five topics I wanted to cover. I tried my best to touch on a variety of things. Perhaps the two most important stories were Patrick Kane scoring his 400th career goal and the drama surrounding Artemi Panarin.
Happy Monday!
Football season is over, which means hockey season is officially in full swing. Last week we saw a major front-office move. With the lack of other major storylines, I’m bringing you some of my favorite highlights I saw across the NHL last week. Buckle up because you’re in for some fun.
In this week’s column, I finally caught up on all of the signings I couldn’t report in the past weeks. I’ll touch on those transactions and one notable injury. My favorite story this week involves my favorite team and a fight between two best friends.
Oh, and the Columbus Blue Jackets and Winnipeg Jets completed a monster trade this week. I’ll lead with that.
Happy Monday!
Continue reading “Blake’s Takes: Winnipeg and Columbus Make Blockbuster Trade”
Outdoor games will be played this season. It won’t be the Winter Classic or Stadium Series, but the NHL will travel to Lake Tahoe to provide us with some outdoor entertainment. That was the biggest news of the week but not the only news. A new captain was named and a few legends of the game switched teams. I’ll fire off takes about all of those topics and more.
Happy 2021 everyone!
Continue reading “Blake’s Takes: NHL to Play Outdoor Games in 2021”
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”
Hockey is right around the corner! The NHL will officially be back on August 1st. With that being said, the league has a lot of work to do before that. Just this week they announced most of their award finalists and have continued to test players for COVID-19. There was also some interesting news surrounding the league including a stupid lawsuit and an international signing.
Last week we saw a few major trades in the NHL. I’ll dive deep into those and why I think all teams involved actually made smart decisions. I’ve scoured the internet for a few other takes I think everyone will enjoy, too!
Continue reading “Blake’s Takes: The Trade Deadline Approaches”
Sorry I kept all of you waiting! Of course, the one weekend I go on vacation I miss all the great storylines. Regardless, in this edition of Blake’s Takes, I’ll take a look at the league’s response to abusive behavior that has dominated the headlines recently. I’ll also shoot off a few takes about fired coaches and recent player honors.
Continue reading “Blake’s Takes: Big Changes Announced at Board Meeting”
How many synonyms can I use for the word extension? You will have to keep reading to find out because this edition of Blake’s Takes is all about extensions. Mitch Marner finally signed an extension. Many of the other big-name RFAs followed suit, making last week one of the most memorable weeks of the summer in the hockey world.
Continue reading “Blake’s Takes: The Marner Bomb Drop and Other Extensions”
For this week’s Blake’s Takes, we look at the effect of our lottery-bound teams will have on next season. I also make my next award prediction and examine one more unloved team.
