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February/March 2021
In our latest issue, we have in-depth features on Zdeno Chara, Steven Stamkos, Morgan Rielly, the St. Louis Blues and women’s growing role in hockey. Plus, we have stories on Dylan Larkin, Travis Konecny and Neal Pionk, and NHL VP Kim Davis explains what Black History Month means to the league. Also, we count down the new Reverse Retro jerseys, talk diversity with former NHLer Anson Carter, look at a player on the hot seat for each of the 31 teams, and explore whether ads on NHL jerseys are inevitable. Get all this and much more.
INCLUSION IS A YEAR-ROUND SPORT
IN THE EARLY PART of my career in the financial-services industry, banks were coming to grips with a world that – culturally and demographically – was changing at a faster pace than internal practices and traditions, leading to friction, fear and paralysis. Navigating issues of diversity, equity and inclusion within entrenched and long-standing institutions is rife with challenges, but the opportunities are enormous, given the spotlight, scale and high desire to be leaders in society. When I took the position as the NHL’s first senior vice-president of social impact and growth, I immediately recognized the commonalities shared between banking and the hockey industry. Now, three years in, I see too that the way this sport shapes culture, and the way culture shapes this sport, are the differentiating factors that provide exponential…
Ranking the Reverse Retro
WHEN ADIDAS AND THE NHL unveiled a ReverseRetro jersey for all 31 teams this past off-season, the timing couldn’t have been better: fans were hungry for hockey, and the new designs brought a full paint-can’s worth of color and excitement to the table. It was a big undertaking for Adidas, but the company was thinking large, and it paid off. “Almost everybody has done the throwback thing and the retro thing, but when it’s been done, it’s been done on a local basis for the most part,” said Dan Near, head of Adidas Hockey. “Yeah, there have been some interesting stories, but not a scalable uniform initiative that took the history and nostalgia and modernized it where it could be relevant to a 40-year-old season-ticket holder whose glory days were watching…
HOCKEY KARMA FOR KONECNY
NO ONE WOULD HAVE blinked an eye if Travis Konecny had dodged the question. After all, the Philadelphia Flyers right winger had not scored a goal in 19 consecutive games – three regular-season and 16 playoff contests – dating back to last March. So when Konecny was asked the details of what appeared to be a drought-ending goal during the Flyers’ season-opening 6-3 win over Pittsburgh Jan. 13, it showed something about his character when he gave credit where credit was due. Konecny promptly acknowledged the post-game scoresheet had it wrong, that his shot had (barely) nicked off the helmet of teammate Oskar Lindblom. A couple hours later, the NHL stats department made it official. If there’s such a thing as karma for hockey honesty, it came two nights later when everything…
NORTH DIVISION
Calgary acquired NOAH HANIFIN in 2018 in the hope he’d evolve into a top-pair D-man on the left side by the time Mark Giordano aged out in 2022. Instead, Hanifin has spun his wheels offensively and has been error-prone defensively. All this despite 400 NHL games in six seasons. Edmonton was the runner-up team when it came to signing UFA goalie Jacob Markstrom. That left the door open for MIKKO KOSKINEN to keep his starting job – but also polished the target on his back. He’s signed through 2021-22, but this is his last season to prove it or lose it. JOSH ANDERSON for Max Domi and a third-round pick? Following a season in which the power winger scored one goal and had shoulder surgery? Montreal then handed Anderson a seven-year deal…
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