Hockey Fight!!!

It's a worrisome episode this week as John talks about the John Tavares incident and whether or not he's worried about the Leafs after a big Game 1 loss to the Canadiens. Meanwhile, Brendan talks Canucks fan worries about the season-ending Canucks press conference and the decision to keep Jim Benning through next year. Plus, we talk "The Code" again after Nick Foligno fights Corey Perry.

The Fighters are forced into an early timeslot on Sportsnet 650 due to the Canucks playing some meaningless games, and so we give the best morning versions of ourselves we can, as we break down the NHL Playoffs by making predictions for each series. We also get into the latest Eugene Melnyk lawsuit, and are asking you, the listener, to decide how the loser of the Playoff Prediction contest gets punished!

It was a big week in the NHL, but not for the reasons we want it to be, as Tom Wilson's latest chicanery causes a firestorm across the league. We run through the whole situation while also touching on the firing in the Rangers' front office, and John explains why he thinks the NHL should ban open-ice hits.

Things get heated this week as John takes umbrage with the Vancouver media's treatment of Wayne Simmonds and the Leafs in the wake of the Alex Edler fight, and Brendan and John discuss the "code" in hockey and whether it was properly served here. We also discuss the new Turner Sports deal with the NHL, and what we'd like to see from hockey coverage moving forward.

After the Vancouver Canucks make their triumphant return following the team's bout with COVID-19 by beating the Toronto Maple Leafs twice, the Fighters wonder if Toronto's goaltending will prove to be a problem in the playoffs. We also discuss whether we'd keep the North Division around or if we're tired of this format, and we ponder the future for the Columbus Blue Jackets.

We're about 6 days and a few games removed from the trade deadline, so the Fighters are here to break down the biggest moves, with our main focus on the Taylor Hall deal that saw him go from Buffalo to Boston for a modest return. We also talk Nick Foligno, and the Canucks' reticence to be active in acquiring draft picks throughout Jim Benning's tenure. And for a show that tried never to talk about COVID, the Canucks force our hand once again, as J.T. Miller's comments help reflect what the players have gone and are going through, and we talk through what the rest of the season for the North Division will look like.

The Fighters are back this week with another topical edition of the show after last week's nostalgia episode, and we fully dig into the Canucks COVID situation over a week removed from the start, as Brendan talks about what he's hearing and we wonder about the rest of the season for the team. Plus, we cover some of the early trade deadline action, the Tanner Pearson signing, we look ahead to Monday's deadline, and Brendan is a new dad!

The Fighters truly drop their gloves this week, as they put them all the way aside to bond over loving hockey as kids and trying to remember what makes the game special for both of them. With all of the talk about COVID and the game lately, we figure we could use a break.

We talk about some of our minor hockey experiences before launching into a discussion about the things that made hockey so vital to us growing up: hockey video games, hockey cards, logos, jerseys, the All-Star Game, and right on down to hockey-related items given out by fast food restaurants. It's a fun trip down memory lane and we hope you'll enjoy it as much as we did.

It was a wild week in the NHL as the Canadian government cut the mandatory quarantine time for athletes in half, leaving some to believe the Trade Deadline will be busier than usual, and Tim Peel got caught red-handed. The Fighters discuss which teams might be sellers and which might be buyers, who we think is most likely to move, and what the cost might be for Taylor Hall. Then, as two former referees, we debate about what the Tim Peel situation means for the league moving forward and we both imagine a better-called game.

After getting a few questions about it in last week's Mailbag, the Fighters devote a long segment to the suffering in Buffalo, as the team's long winless streak continues and they fire head coach Ralph Krueger. We talk about the bad contracts, the bad front office decisions, and whether or not they'll trade Jack Eichel. We find some time in the second half of the show to talk NHL Awards at midseason, as John makes his case for Auston Matthews to win the Hart (not really) and we wonder who might be in contention for the Norris with no clear front-runner outside of Victor Hedman.