Howie Meeker died on Saturday at the age of 97. The Stanley Cup Champion and Hall of Famer was an inspiration to many, not only those who wanted to play hockey, but those who wanted to be on TV and talk about hockey.

Meeker played for the Maple Leafs from 1946 to 1953 but became a national icon after that when he was a member of the Hockey Night in Canada broadcast team using his famous Telestrator to brake down hockey plays for the audience in ways which simply had not been done by anyone until that point in time for hockey.

Meeker was famous across the country for many more reasons. He leaves us taking so much hockey history with him, but he also gave us so much as well.

GOLLY GEE! Howie Meeker made his mark across hockey world for generations of fans - SaltWire
The Order of Canada member and Foster Hewitt Award winner, died Sunday at Nanaimo General Hospital in British Columbia after spending his retirement years on Vancouver Island.

Howie Meeker changed St. John’s hockey and he always said Newfoundland changed him - The Chronicle Herald
‘Whatever Howie Meeker is, it started here,’ once said the Hockey Hall of Famer, who died Sunday at 97.

New Hamburg legend Meeker remembered as jack of all trades with the NHL - Waterloo Chronicle
Howie Meeker's familiar voice was the soundtrack to many hockey fans across Canada, shouting phrases like "Golly Jee Wilikers" and "Keep your stick on the ice," on Saturday nights throughout the 1970s.

Auston Matthews does a pretty good job speaking his lines in this clip where he supports Movember Canada. Imagine William Nylaner trying to do this? He can’t either emote or speak on camera in any fashion other than an AI attempting to immitate a human. Wait, is it possible Willie is an AI?

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If you have seen any of these in Toronto, let me know which store so I can go buy one for fun. I look forward to keeping it in the back of the cupboard for years like how my mother has that can of fake crab meat she bought in 1989 that fell in the back of the Lazy Susan cupboard, except this can will actually be cool to keep.

While we here at PPP generally don’t like graphs with indecipherable and/or unlabelled axes, we’re OK with the ones of the entire league that have Auston Matthews at the top.

Our beloved pineapple assassin has moved up the KHL front office ranks, taking over as interim-head coach of Dinamo Minsk due to a COVID-19 illness.

The Golden Knights have unveiled jerseys for their AHL team in Henderson Nevada (relocated from San Antonio Texas,) called the Silver Knights, and, yes, the cuffs on the sleeves are sparkly!

Despite having no points, Mikko Kokkonen has had a terrific start to his season - Josh’s Newsletter
The Leafs 3rd round pick is a big reason why the Liiga's worst team isn't even worse.

Stars Sign RFA Hintz To New Contract - Defending Big D
Roope Hintz signed a three-year contract with the Dallas Stars at a salary cap hit of $3.15 million per year.

Panthers add Ulf Samuelsson to coaching staff - Litter Box Cats
Experienced NHL player and coach coming to Sunrise.

Pembroke loses a hockey legend as Lionel Barber passes away - The Kingston Whig-Standard
It was almost 70 years ago that Lionel Barber arrived in Pembroke. He came to play hockey and never left. On Sunday, Nov. 8, he took his final breath in the community he adopted as his home so many years ago.

Start of 2020-21 NHL season still a moving target - Sportsnet
While the idea of a Jan. 1 puck-drop makes sense in many ways, it brings several potential roadblocks, including the idea of breaking for the holidays.

Will the NHL pull off a January 1 start to the next season?

It makes sense and they need it, so they will make it happen no matter the cost.36
It’s too soon. They’ll try but it will end up being delayed.71
It’s a stretch goal they have no intention of reaching. They will start in February or later.64
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