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Morning Skate - Wednesday, September 28

Morning Skate - Wednesday, September 28

Morning Skate - 50 Years on the Summit

September 28, 2022

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Last Night's News 📰

BOESER TO BE SAFE: On Monday, the Vancouver Canucks announced that winger Brock Boeser is out for the next three to four weeks after undergoing successful hand surgery. Boeser's injury occurred during the third day of Canucks training camp as the 25-year-old is coming off a season in which he collected 46 points in 71 games.

IT'S KNIGHT TIME: Yesterday, the Florida Panthers signed 21-year-old goaltender Spencer Knight to a three-year, $13.5 million contract extension. Knight has a 23-9-3 record with a 2.74 goals-against average and a .909 save percentage in 36 games over the last two seasons in Florida and will continue to split playing time with veteran Sergei Bobrovsky.

TAVARES INJURY: Captain John Tavares will miss at least three weeks and the start of the regular season for the Toronto Maple Leafs with an oblique injury. Tavares, 32, had 27 goals, 49 assists, and 76 points in 79 games last season and was injured during a preseason game against the Ottawa Senators on Sep. 24.

NOT THE NEW GUY!: Ilya Mikheyev will have to wait a little longer to get used to playing alongside his new Vancouver teammates, as the club announced that the free agent signee was "week to week" with a lower-body injury. Mikheyev appeared to injure himself during the Canucks' split-squad preseason opener against the Calgary Flames on Monday.

Who Said It

1) "A successful year would mean that I had an impact on a lot of games, playing an impactful game where it shows up in the standings. If I can help create chances and not do anything to hurt the team, that's a pretty successful game for me."

Matt Boldy
Alexander Holtz
Owen Power

2) "The first thing that came to mind was how lucky I am to have had so many great people in my life, people who helped me achieve my goal of playing in the NHL. Just how grateful and thankful I am to them for helping me to get there. I really owe a lot to them."

P.K. Subban
Keith Yandle
Kyle Turris

3) "I'm at the age that personal goals are nice, but we understand every year [you get closer] to the end of your career. So I just want to win. I want to be in the playoffs and fight for the Cup."

Zach Parise
Alex Ovechkin
Joe Pavelski

Answers can be found at the bottom of the email.

Wacky Facts: 2021-22 Season (Pt. 3)

A couple of weeks ago, we introduced some intriguing hockey statistics from the record-breaking 2021-22 NHL season. With plenty of "wacky" stats from the past year, we'd like to present part three to this segment. Enjoy!

The Journeyman

Derick Brassard spent last season with the Philadelphia Flyers and Edmonton Oilers and recently signed a PTO with the Ottawa Senators. He has been on nine teams in the past six years, which has made for a compelling accomplishment. The 35-year-old became the 11th player in NHL history to score a goal with nine or more teams last season. If he makes the Senators' roster and scores, he will become the fourth player to do it with 10 clubs.

Young Iron Man

An active player who competes in the most consecutive games is considered the NHL's "Iron Man." That distinction belonged to Keith Yandle (989 games) until he retired and has now passed on to Phil Kessel (982 games). However, there could be a new iron man streak in the league at some point. Montreal Canadiens captain Nick Suzuki has not missed a single game during his three-year NHL career (209 games). He also never missed a game due to injury during his four years in the OHL. With just over 773 games to catch Kessel's streak, Suzuki could be onto something!

The 40-Goal Club

Alex Ovechkin had an impressive year with a 50-goal season. At 37 years old, he drew comparisons to the "Great One," as he tied Wayne Gretzky with 12 40-goal seasons in NHL history. Ovi has proven that he can accomplish greatness with goal-scoring at any age. Does he have another 40-plus season left in him to pass Gretzky?

Playoff Heroics

When thinking of the playoffs, most recall Dallas Stars goaltender Jake Oettinger's monumental performance when the Stars faced the Calgary Flames in Game 7 of the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, making 64 saves in a 3-2 loss. Oettinger finished with a .954 save percentage during the series, which was the highest of the playoffs. The 23-year-old is poised to have more breakout stats in the future.

Little Known Facts About the 1972 Summit Series

It's been exactly 50 years

since Paul Henderson's iconic goal to give Canada a 6-5 win in the deciding Game 8 of the 1972 Summit Series (they won 4-3-1). Everyone in Canada old enough to experience the dramatic series of games against the Soviet Union has memories of the roller coaster saga. Meanwhile, they undoubtedly regaled anyone born after with stories of one of the country's proudest hockey moments.

Paul Henderson (right) and Bobby Clarke (left) celebrate Henderson's series-winning goal in Game 8 of the 1972 Summit Series 50 years ago today. (Photo by Denis Brodeur/NHLI via Getty Images)

But as Henderson's goal turns half a century old, there remains plenty that isn't quite so well-remembered or well-known about the contentious series. It's easy to recall the basic story: an over-confident group of Canadian NHL stars was left stunned by the play of the largely unknown Soviets, only to rally back and triumph by the narrowest of margins with national pride on the line. Here's the stuff that you probably didn't know:

No Bobby(s)

Canada was down two major stars heading into the tournament. Bobby Hull was excluded from participation by the NHL after signing with the start-up World Hockey Association (WHA). Bobby Orr traveled with the team but could not participate due to a knee injury.

Russian Origins

The idea for the Summit Series came about when the Canadian Embassy in Russia saw a newspaper story about the Soviet hockey team seeking a new challenge. A diplomat with the Embassy reached out to Soviet hockey boss Andrei Starovoitov, and the rest is history.

The Hero That Almost Wasn’t

Everyone knows about Henderson’s Series-clinching goal in Game 8, but did you know Henderson almost missed the event? He and his wife had scheduled a European vacation and were about to decline the invitation until his agent Alan Eagleson urged him to play.

Paul Henderson, playing for Team Canada during the 1972 Summit Series (Photo by Melchior DiGiacomo/Getty Images)

Autograph for the Enemy

At an autograph signing ahead of Game 1,

Ken Dryden

noticed one stern-looking fan who accepted his signature without a single sign of appreciation. Ready to say something, Dryden glimpsed a crest on the fan’s jacket that revealed him to be a Russian player.

We All Make Mistakes

Part of the Canadians’ confidence heading into the Series stemmed from a Hockey Canada scouting report that suggested only one Russian player was good enough to crack the NHL. They also came away unimpressed by watching

Vladislav Tretiak

in a blowout loss, not realizing they saw him the day after his wedding.

Jacques Plante (left) and Vladislav Tretiak (right) before the start of the Summit Series (Photo by Denis Brodeur/NHLI via Getty Images)

Heading into the 2022-23 season, the Morning Skate will introduce The Hockey Writers team contributors as they share some quick thoughts on what has been happening with their respective clubs this summer.

In this issue, we connect with Seattle Kraken contributors

Adam Kierszenblat

and

Sean Raggio

, along with Pittsburgh Penguins writers

Shane Seney

and

Ben Wagner

, to preview their teams.