This Week in the NHL: Hall of Fame enshrines a stacked class of 2025
With 32 teams, games every night and countless narratives emerging, the NHL season can make one’s head spin, and it’s easy to miss out on the weekly storylines. Not to worry; every Monday from October to April, I’ll map out the major events, games, plotlines and milestones on tap for the next seven days.
So what’s happening the week of Nov. 10-16?
Nov. 10: Hockey Hall of Fame Induction night
A loaded class will be enshrined in Toronto Monday night. The players: forward Jennifer Botterill, defenseman Zdeno Chara, center Brianna Decker, defenseman Duncan Keith, right winger Alexander Mogilny and center Joe Thornton. The builders: Jack Parker and Daniele Sauvageau. Note: Mogilny will not be attending the ceremony in person and will deliver an acceptance speech remotely from his native Russia.
Nov. 11: NHL GM meetings
The latest gathering will take place in Toronto following Hall induction night. Chances are the controversial overtime goal scored by the Minnesota Wild’s Marcus Johansson last week, after Nashville Predators goaltender Justus Annunen had dislodged the net, will be a topic of interest.
Nov. 14-16: NHL Global Series in Stockholm
The Predators and Pittsburgh Penguins tangle for a pair of games at Avicii Arena, Friday at 2:00 p.m. ET and Sunday at 9:00 a.m. ET. Among the Swedish players expected to see action: Preds left winger Filip Forsberg and defenseman Adam Wilsby (if recovered from his lower-body injury) and Penguins defenseman Erik Karlsson. Swedish Pens center Filip Hallander was just diagnosed with a blood clot in his leg and won’t participate. Pens left winger and local Stockholm boy Rickard Rakell remains shelved with a broken hand and will miss the games, too.
Nov. 15: Battle of Florida for first time since 322-PIM bloodbath
Tampa Bay Lightning @ Florida Panthers, 5:00 p.m. ET
Set aside 3.5 hours to watch this one. We could see a penalty-box parade. Saturday marks the Bolts and Cats’ first meeting since they closed out the preseason with a slugfest in early October. In that contest, 322 penalty minutes were handed out. Tampa forward Scott Sabourin earned a four-game suspension for a sucker punch on the Panthers’ Aaron Ekblad, and Lightning blueliner J.J. Moser got a two-game ban for boarding the Panthers’ Jesper Boqvist. What carnage will the rematch bring?
Brad Marchand’s 1,000th point
Not bad for an agitator. The Rat has put together a career that should land him in the Hall of Fame. Marchand was an impactful player from his rookie season in 2010-11 but bloomed into an elite offensive force relatively late in his career, so it’s impressive to see him at 996 points, just four back of 1,000. The Panthers play three times this week. Once he gets point No. 1,000, he’ll become the club’s 102nd member.