Yesterday we got the news that Mark Giordano is not going to be playing tonight as the Leafs face the Kraken, beyond that we don't know his status.
John Klingberg has been seeing a specialist and details on his path forward are supposed to be forthcoming.
Speaking of details, Frank Seravalli has some unconfirmed sourced information here:
Frank Seravalli
He discusses the idea of a material breach contract termination and covers why it's so rare. He also got a non-specific reply from the NHLPA about a possible grievance. They have 60 days from yesterday to decide this, so this saga might not be over. Perry has not been suspended by the NHL, so the door seems open to other teams signing him, but no one knows the story, which could put that into stasis.
The standard (hoary old clichéd) joke about this is that Chicago is bad, has done bad things and is hiding something because they are bad. I agree with Seravalli that the polar opposite is more likely to be true. There is no such person as "Chicago" and the owner of the team is now Danny Wirtz, and he is much more likely to go overboard in a swift and extreme reaction to whatever this is about than try to hide something.
The purpose of public accountability here is to allow the sunlight to shine in and assure everyone that what has happened is appropriate and proportionate. I've seen many people claim that the NHL's choice not to spill all is why scurrilous slander ran rampant, and why now still, we have people insisting the false things said online must be true because, hey, if it's in a Tweet, it's true, right?
I am sad to report to these people who think the NHL controls their actions, that they themselves are responsible for what they choose to do. The desire or need for secrecy – we don't know which – hasn't helped, but it's not an excuse.
The WHL is getting a new boss (they need one):
While working with Adidas Near was a driving force behind the Reverse Retro jerseys in the NHL.
— Jeff Marek (@JeffMarek) November 29, 2023
I'm not sure that's a great rec for a guy who needs to bring back accountability and maybe some standards on how you hire coaches to a league plagued with problems, but okay.
We have to monitor the Flames now.
Some how Chris Tanev is practicing today. What a beast. https://t.co/En6DuNsnrS pic.twitter.com/N0cPW2Dcat
— FlamesNation (@FlamesNation) November 29, 2023
Are the Flames really going to start trading players? I think it's a bit too soon to tell if they've blown the whole season, so I don't think they're going to move in a hurry.
Yes, they sure do. They have Klingberg's minutes to fill, and the list of guys to do that are:
They need to at least short-term fill Giordano's minutes, and that list is very similar to the one above.
Sometimes, when you choose to do nothing, when you buy in too hard on "if you have time, use it" and you fail to act, that's the biggest mistake of all. Brad Treliving failed to improve the defence via trade. And now here we are. You choose the consequences of your actions and your inactions both.
I listened to Keefe's postgame, which I often don't, and this one is worth a listen:
He covers the problem causing too many men penalties, and the reason he was all yelly on the bench in the last game. They are, interestingly, the same reason. I actually liked him getting tetchy with reporters over how all they ever ask about with defenders is why haven't they scored, when they never ask about their defence. I almost feel like he was talking to someone not holding a microphone there.
Yesterday was the deadline for PWHL teams to reduce training camp rosters a bit. Final rosters are due at the end of next week. I'll try to update the PPP spreadsheet with the roster signings that have come in front of what is now the first PWHL waiver period, and we should expect some to come out of the waiver process too.
That's about it for a dull day of hockey news yesterday. Preview for today's game will be out later today, until then Happy Thursday, or Torsdag, if you want to pretend the Leafs never left Sweden.
