Enough with the Blackhawks
Can't believe the NHL put the league's worst team in the Winter Classic for the 4,000th time and got a bad game with bad ratings
Happy 2025.
I was annoyed the Winter Classic had to compete with eight other NHL games on New Year’s Eve, then I gave it a bit more thought. This year I’m controlling what I can control, and who in control of her life is spending a holiday watching the Chicago Blackhawks at all?
Apparently no one, as this year’s Classic got the worst ratings in the history of the event. More on that later.
Five Big Things
1. Team USA won its second straight World Juniors gold last night in an overtime thriller. It was a 4-3 win over Finland, and Predators prospect Teddy Stiga tallied the golden goal.
Now, I’m not exactly a patriot, but the name “Teddy Stiga” sounds exactly like the type of guy I can get behind to make this country proud. The sentence “Teddy Stiga won World Juniors for Team USA on his first shot of the tournament,” is both true and fun.
While we’re at it, remember the name of Team USA and Denver Pioneers head coach David Carle. He’s got a great story and he’ll be a great NHL head coach someday soon.
2. We’re starting to see more creative NHL contracts with a rising cap and players rightfully advocating for more proportional pay.
Anaheim signed star Frank Vatrano Sunday to a three-year, $18 million extension with a twist.
We saw something like this with Seth ‘Moneybags’ Jarvis and the Hurricanes in the offseason, and we’re going to see more and more creativity from the smarter front offices around the league.
3. The Athletic is calling on the New York Times to recognize Athletic editorial workers as members of the Times Guild. Good news for great people.
4. Ozzy Wiesblatt’s NHL debut was awesome.
5. This week’s slate features Panthers vs. Avalanche tonight at 9 PM EST, Hurricanes vs. Lightning Tuesday at 7, Canucks vs. Capitals Wednesday at 7:30, Avalanche vs. Wild and Maple Leafs vs. Hurricanes Thursday, Kings vs. Jets Friday at 8, and a whole lot of potentially horrifying vibes around the clock on Saturday.
The Vibe Report
