Toronto Maple Leafs

Blake’s Takes: The Playoffs Are Set

Sunday night marked the end of the Qualifying round and the beginning of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. The most important takeaway of that sentence is that the NHL has succeeded in building a bubble to protect players and staff from COVID-19. Because of that, the odds that a Stanley Cup champion will be crowned in 2020 look higher than ever.

The Qualifying Round was exciting and upsets were plentiful. In this week’s column, I’ll revisit some of the most notable matchups of the Qualifying Round and a few other interesting tidbits from the last week.

Keep staying safe everyone.

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Blake’s Takes: Racism in Hockey

The most important thing I can share are my thoughts on the radical racial injustices occurring in this country. These injustices are abhorrent and I needed to speak out. My comments will tie into hockey, of course. But, hockey is only a vehicle to illustrate how we need to improve. I hope this makes some of you outraged and encourages you to speak out. I also hope it makes some of you uncomfortable and more willing to listen to your fellow humans that just happen to look different than you. This is a time for all of us to get involved and improve as people. We need to stop the horrific injustice towards black people and other minorities in the US and Canada.

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Blake’s Takes: The NHL Brainstorms Ways to Continue the Season

I hope you’re all healthy and safe during this quarantine season. It was a busy week for me as I celebrated my 25th birthday last Monday. To stay busy, I’ve been exclusively watching full movie series in my spare time. I’ve watched all five films in the Jason Bourne series. I’ve also watched all three Star Wars trilogies. Yes, all three TRILOGIES, and Solo, which was surprisingly much better than I expected it to be.

In hockey news, it was a sad week. Over the weekend, we lost Edmonton Oilers player Colby Cave, who was 25-years-old. Obviously, nothing else comes close to the importance of the loss of Cave. However, discussions have taken place on how to move forward with the season after quarantine ends. More on that below.

Lastly, Happy Easter and happy Passover to all my monotheistic homies. Here’s a song I recommend you turn up to if you’re celebrating either, or just want to jam.

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Blake’s Takes: Player Polls & Trick Shots

Although it was a quiet week in the NHL, most of my takes this week are not COVID-19 related. We could all use some positive news. On that note, today is my 25th birthday, so please include your birthday wishes in the comments. Stay safe everyone!

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Blake’s Takes: Extensions in New York

The trade deadline ended last week but I missed some things in the aftermath. I’ll give my opinion on a few notable trades that also yielded extensions. There were a few other major stories around the NHL that I found worth mentioning. Happy Monday!

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Blake’s Takes: Another Emergency Goalie!

Happy Monday and welcome back to my takes. The NHL was buzzing this weekend with big stories and exciting plays. I’ll obviously write about Hurricanes instant superstar, David Ayres, and Ovechkin finally reaching another milestone. You’ll want to read all five takes for a few other fun stories I highlighted this week.

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Blake’s Takes: Players Needing Attention

This was a weird week in the NHL. The most notable story was an odd scandal involving the league’s least-valuable team. That doesn’t mean there aren’t takes to be made. I’ll check in on players around the league that are flying under the radar that deserve your attention.

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Blake’s Takes: The Battle of Alberta

In this edition of Blake’s Takes, I’ll share my thoughts on the latest chapter in the Battle of Alberta and chaos that ensured last weekend. There was a goalie goal last week — and I can’t ignore that. I’ll take a look at why I think Auston Matthews is the NHL’s coolest player.

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Blake’s Takes: Hall Moves to Phoenix for the Holidays

Happy third night of Hannukkah and merry Christmas Eve. This edition of Blake’s Takes won’t be very festive, but it will have some interesting content. Last week was a busy week in the NHL. Taylor Hall was finally moved and Ilya Kovalchuk is now a free agent! I’ll also highlight a breakout performer and take a closer look at one of my favorite plays of the week.

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Puck Junk Podcast: December 13, 2019

Interview with former NHLer Mike Brown

In this episode of the Puck Junk Hockey Podcast, host Sal Barry talks with former NHL right wing Mike Brown, who played in over 400 regular season games — and dropped the gloves over 100 times! Brown recounts his youth hockey days in Chicago, playing college hockey under legendary coach Red Berenson, the highlights of his nine-year NHL career and how his dedication to physical fitness helped him succeed. This episode clocks in at just under 30 minutes.

Show Notes and Links
Mike Brown’s career stats via NHL.com.
Picture of Brown’s awesome mustache while with the Oilers.
Brown’s fight history on HockeyFights.com.
Brown had the most fights in his NHL career against Zenon Konopka.
Brown’s website for the Michael S. Brown Performance LLC.
The Skokie Park District’s Web of Fame page about Brown.

Follow Sal Barry on Twitter @PuckJunk.
Follow Tim Parish on Twitter @TheRealDFG.
Podcast intro music by Jim “Not the Goalie” Howard.

Subscribe to the Puck Junk Hockey Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Play Music, iHeartRadio, Stitcher, Podchaser, PocketCasts, Castbox , Castro, Overcast, and SoundCloud .

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