Goalie Hugs

This week on Goalie Hugs:

• The Colorado Avalanche won by a lot then gave up a lot of goals.

• The Vegas Golden Knights fired Bruce Cassidy and hired John Tortorella (for now). Who's at fault for Vegas' skid?

• Do the Columbus Blue Jackets make sense as a dark horse for a potential landing spot for Bruce Cassidy? Or should he just go to Toronto, Edmonton, Los Angeles or [insert your team here]?

• The Toronto Maple Leafs fired Brad Treliving and are now searching for their next general manager. Who makes the most sense to hire?

• What about the Nashville Predators and their search to replace Barry Trotz?

• Igor Shesterkin and Jacob Markström fought!

• And Macklin Celebrini is a superstar in the making.

Support Mike Hinrichs and honor Jessi Pierce and their children's memory: https://www.gofundme.com/f/support-mike-hinrichs-after-losing-jessi-pierce-children

This week on Goalie Hugs:

• The answer to the question "why haven't you recorded in a month?"

• Who's in worse shape: The New York Rangers or Vancouver Canucks?

• Would Pete DeBoer be at the top of the list for any coaching change? (Mind you, we recorded this before the Vegas Golden Knights fired Bruce Cassidy.)

• Is a "Gap Year" a bad thing for head coaching candidates?

• D.J. Smith takes over as interim head coach of the Los Angeles Kings after Jim Hiller was fired, but can the Kings get into a wild card spot?

• What about the rest of the wild cards up for grabs?

• Lamenting the days of the old 1v8 playoff format.

• Did the Bruins, Islanders, Red Wings or Senators do enough at the trade deadline?

• Jared Spurgeon, Mika Zibanejad, Adam Larsson and Anže Kopitar all hit milestones and more!

This week on Goalie Hugs:

• The NESN 7th Player Award nominees are...
• Double majoring in gold in Italy.
• Who thought this was a good idea? Bill Guerin edition.
• Samuel Girard-Brett Kulak trade thoughts.
• Some trade deadline preview chat.

This week on Goalie Hugs:

• Who thought this was a good idea? Dark boards edition.
• The U.S. women are on record pace through the Olympic tournament: Are they the greatest team the U.S. has ever assembled?
• Did Miracle (2004) break everyone's brains?
• How do the men stack up? And a comparison with the 2010 teams...
• Brandon Bussi signed an extension with the Carolina Hurricanes.
• Jeff Skinner is a free agent: Where to next?

This week on Goalie Hugs (& Fights):

• Jeremy Swayman fought Andrei Vasilevskiy and nothing else happened in the 2026 Stadium Series game (let's pretend, anyway).
• The Nashville Predators will be looking for a new general manager as Barry Trotz announced his intent to retire soonish.
• Nick Bjugstad is, in fact, not Niclas Bergfors.
• Artemi Panarin was traded to the Los Angeles Kings.
• Matvei Michkov is probably just slumping and you're overreacting, not us!
• Rapid fire: Who's buying and who's selling after the 2026 Winter Games break?

Locked on Penguins' Hunter Hodies joins the show this week to talk all things Pittsburgh Penguins and more! The Metropolitan Division is a mess, Ben Kindel has been a bright spot and is only 18-years-old, and Kyle Dubas is really onto something. Also, Thomas Vanek and Jason Pominville are going to be honored by the Buffalo Sabres while Josh Doan signed an extension in Buffalo and Jeffrey Viel is now a prolific scorer in Anaheim.

The much-awaited 2025-26 edition of the Midseasonies Awards are presented with new and expanded categories, plus a little shoutout to Zdeno Chára ahead of his jersey retirement night in Boston.

This week on Goalie Hugs:

• Dany's back (and his audio was funky for a bit, sorry for that).
• The Pittsburgh Penguins: Are they back too?
• Listener questions! (Is it time for Michael DiPietro in Boston?)
• It's winter in the northern hemisphere, but is it really classic?
• Lanci predicted the 2027 Winter Classic location (and it's official now).
• Analyzing the 2026 Winter Games U.S. and Canadian men's rosters.
• Is Gavin McKenna still No. 1 after the 2026 IIHF World Juniors?
• Some Heated Rivalry thoughts.

This week on Goalie Hugs:

• PWHL to Vegas in the works?
• 2026 Stadium Series jersey takes.
• Fourth jerseys on the horizon?
• The 2026 Heritage Classic location has been revealed!
• Tristan Jarry and Stuart Skinner swapped places, but not masks.
• Quinn Hughes got traded while Bill Guerin was making meatballs.
• What's up with the Columbus Blue Jackets these days?
• Is Jarmo Kekäläinen doomed to make the same mistakes in Buffalo?
• Is Boone Jenner this season's Brad Marchand?
• Alan Thicke and Taylor Swift go to a hockey game...
• How to build a Stanley Cup champion: 2007 edition.

This week on Goalie Hugs:

• Cannoli talk.
• Are the Colorado Avalanche starting to tumble down the mountain?
• The ethics of adding a third (goaltender, that is).
• How much are the Anaheim Ducks ahead of schedule?
• Is the "Yzerplan" coming to fruition?
• The wild wild West (and East too, if you don't forget about the Metropolitan Division altogether).