Gary Bettman shared with Elliotte Friedman on his podcast that the NHL will be cancelling all specialty jerseys from warmups next season. That means no Hockey Fights Cancer jerseys for auction. No Indigenous Night jerseys. No Pride jerseys. Well, it was always about caving into the homophobes that are woven into the fabric of the league. [Correction: Bettman's clarifying language seemed to indicate that teams are free to create jerseys and sell them. The only thing not happening is wearing them in warmup.]
I'm not pretending to have all the answers, but I'm disappointed by the NHL's decision here. Feels like a step backwards. I get that there's some owners that maybe will never be swayed. But further dialogue and education should be the focus. Not giving it to the dissenting voices https://t.co/ENSuLI2JSQ
— Pierre LeBrun (@PierreVLeBrun) June 22, 2023
And with that, the NHL's faint grip with the communities it exists in, standing and impact in the countries it plays in, lessens. Bigotry, ignorance, and hate is harming initiatives to fight cancer because you're scared of a fucking rainbow.
Morgan Rielly of the Leafs at a charity event says the ban won't stop them from being clear and visible with their support for many issues, namely Pride.
Rielly, on no longer wearing Pride-themed sweaters in warmup: "With issues like that, with movements like that, I’ll support them, no matter what, whether we wear jerseys or not ... That support is not going to go away." #Leafs
— Terry Koshan 🇺🇦 (@koshtorontosun) June 23, 2023
God, if Pierre LeBrun writes a tweet about you without using copy/paste from a source, you know you've screwed up.
To recap a lot of news around the Calgary Flames, here's how their contract extension negotiations are going with some players:
- Flames are making a big push to sign Elias Lindholm, but he is reportedly not interested in staying.
- Tyler Toffoli plans not to re-sign.
- Mikael Backlund also not leaning towards re-signing
- Noah Hanifin has clearly indicated he does not plan to re-sign.
So, yeah. That's 82 goals from last season from four players who average 19 minutes per game for the Flames. It's a huge chunk of their team clearly saying they don't believe the team will be competitive and want to bail before they're stuck there for the rest of their careers. Talk about an oof.
To summarize a thread of tweets today from @frank_seravalli
— Brennan Klak (@nhlupdate) June 22, 2023
- Noah Hanifin is leaning on leaving Calgary
- Mikael Backlund is leaning on leaving Calgary
- Tyler Toffoli is leaning on leaving Calgary
- Elias Lindholm is leaving on leaving Calgary
Good luck Craig Conroy.
Spoke briefly just now with Calgary GM Craig Conroy…#Flames
— Salim Nadim Valji (@salimvalji) June 21, 2023
-Has a handful of players he has an idea of will be available at pick 16
-Anticipates a quiet free agency
-Both Hanifin and Lindholm "love the city" & have ?s about franchise directions; convos have been positive
At least they have a coaching staff?
As we talked about on #Flames Talk, Ryan Huska’s staff is taking shape.
— Pat Steinberg (@Fan960Steinberg) June 23, 2023
Sounds like Jason LaBarbera on track to return as goaltending coach.
Adds to @FriedgeHNIC report of Cail MacLean’s return, addition of Dan Lambert from Nash. And @theTonyFerrari report of Marc Savard hire.
Except Mitch Love, who is joining Spencer Carbery in Washington.
Expect Mitch Love to join the Washington Capitals as an assistant coach.
— Jeff Marek (@JeffMarek) June 22, 2023
The Leafs don't have a second round pick in any of the next three years and would have to wait until July 1st to have permission to trade the one in 2026. They do have the 28th pick and some friendly prospects.
NHL insider Frank Seravalli (@frank_seravalli) reported on The DFO Rundown podcast today that Daniel Briere has already turned down a haul for Scott Laughton:
— Flyers Nation (@FlyersNation) June 22, 2023
25th or 29th overall pick, future 2nd round pick
St. Louis GM Doug Armstrong “had Scott Laughton at the Worlds and… pic.twitter.com/efj2IvjABX
The Bobfather has his final NHL Draft rankings for 2023 and Brian has many thoughts on it that will be shared with you later this morning, so stay tuned!

Sports washing steps up a notch as the Qatari sovereign fund has bought a minority stake in the Capitals, Wizards, and Mystics of the NHL, NBA, and WNBA. Oil money is rampant in DC, so it is with no surprise that this is happening there.
State-owned Qatari fund reaches deal to buy a minority stake in D.C.’s Wizards, Capitals and Mystics https://t.co/StZBwTEMJa
— Post Sports (@PostSports) June 22, 2023
The 2025 IIHF men's world juniors will be in Ottawa.
The IIHF World Junior Championship is coming to the nation's capital in 2025, Hockey Canada announced on Thursday. https://t.co/T0XxVG37qY
— TSN Hockey (@TSNHockey) June 22, 2023
I don't know why "females" has become a thing in sports (okay, I know why), and yet no one ever uses the word "males" for men? Okay you caught me, I know why.
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