Sea Monsters, Lake Tahoe and a Virus: The NHL is Back!

To be honest, I don’t really follow hockey. The only stint of time that I got into hockey was in 2019 when the Blues won the Stanley Cup. I do enjoy watching the games, but for me, there are just too many to keep up with, and unlike basketball, I did not grow up watching or playing it. But because I am The Clocktower’s sports writer, I do feel like it’s essential to talk about all the main sports, and so I decided to call up my hockey-obsessed friend and ask him what is going on in the NHL. Here are five things you can share with your friends so they will say, “Hey, you really know about hockey.”

Division realignments

Due to COVID-19, the NHL revamped their divisions so that teams will not have to travel so far and will have limited exposure to each other. This means that teams in some of the league rivalries, such as the Blues and the Blackhawks, will not play each other. Rivalries are a huge part of sports and this is a big blow for the NHL. 

Oh Canada

Since the Canadian border is closed, the NHL had to get creative with their Canadian teams. They took the divisional alignments one step further and pushed all the Canadian teams into one division. This makes it so the Canadian teams will just play each other until the playoffs. This guarantees that Canada will have a team in the final four, which is great news for Canada. 

Outdoor Game

On Feb. 20 and Feb. 21, the NHL held a COVID-19-inspired outdoors doubleheader event that took place in Lake Tahoe. In the first game, the Avalanche struck early and were able to hold on for a 3-1 win versus the Golden Knights. In the second game, the Boston Bruins crushed the Philadelphia Flyers 7-3.

COVID-19 is stopping a lot of games

COVID-19 has been a problem for many of the NHL teams. Like all the other professional sports, many games have been postponed. For some games, teams are left shorthanded as some players are not able to play due to being exposed. 

The Kraken are Koming

Next fall, Seattle will officially get their new team: the Kraken! What a vivacious name and an upgrade from their previous team’s name: The Metropolitans (that name might sound bad, but their logo was even worse. Don’t believe me? Look it up. That thing is hideous). The Kraken will be the 32nd team in the NHL, finally making the divisions equal.

Jacob Roney is a junior

business administration major

from Sturgeon, Mo.