On Episode 29 of The PuckPedia Hockey Show we welcome recurring guest, founder of the Will Sports Group, NHLPA certified agent Ian Pulver.

We begin the episode recapping the Olympics (2:30), where the United States won the Gold Medal in a thrilling 2-1 overtime victory over Canada thanks to the game-winning goal from Jack Hughes and stellar play from Connor Hellebuyck.

Ian lends some great perspective on the condensed schedule given the Olympic break and how that might affect the teams and players as they enter the stretch run towards the playoffs (6:30).

Then we talk about the NHL Trade Deadline coming up on March 6th, and how he generally approaches this time of year as an agent (9:00), and how he communicates everything with his clients. Given the new media world we live in, we discuss how he handles when the top NHL insiders break news, sometimes before that information gets to the players.

With his prior work as an NHLPA counsel, we also discuss the current situation in the MLB as a potential lockout looms given no salary cap is in place (17:00). Ian provided great insight into why he believes the salary cap won’t provide the MLB the parity they think it will.

We wrap up the episode talking about a couple of Ian’s clients. Tyler Seguin was having a strong year for the Dallas Stars before he got a torn ACL that potentially ended his season (22:00). We talk about how he handles the low moments like these for his clients. Then we discuss an exciting rookie he represents, Beckett Sennecke of the Anaheim Ducks (26:00). We touch on his breakout year and how the right environment has enabled him to succeed this season.

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On Episode 28 of The PuckPedia Hockey Show we welcome two-time Olympic Gold Medalist, Hart and Norris Trophy Award winner, six-time NHL All-Star, Stanley Cup Champion and Hockey Hall of Famer Chris Pronger.

We start off the episode talking about Chris’s background (2:30) and how he didn’t go the conventional path, playing high school for a couple of years, and planning to go the NCAA route before going to the OHL with Peterborough.

Then he was drafted 2nd overall in the NHL to the Hartford Whalers (7:00). He played a couple seasons there before being traded for Brendan Shanahan to the St. Louis Blues. His first couple of years were a struggle, but Wayne Gretzky was able to take the heat off Chris. He was named captain in his third season.

He talks about a serious situation where he suffered a cardiac arrest during the 1998 playoffs when he took a slapshot to the chest (12:00), but somehow returned to play 48 hours later. Then we dive into his 1999-00 season when he won both the Hart and the Norris trophies. He was the first defenseman to win the Hart Trophy since Bobby Orr in 1971-72.

Then we talk about his first crack at the Stanley Cup in 2006 with the Edmonton Oilers (18:30), losing in 7 games to the Carolina Hurricanes, and how heartbreaking that was. Then Chris finally breaks through in 2007 winning the Stanley Cup with the Anaheim Ducks (20:00). We talk about that team and how they were able to accomplish this feat.

Then we get into the end of his career, and how the NHL looked into his contract with the Philadelphia Flyers in 2009 for salary cap circumvention (22:30). He signed a 7-year deal that would have taken him to age 42.

Then we talk about this year’s Olympic team and how Team Canada looks through the group stage as they prepare for the medal round (27:30). Chris loves the “checking line” of Sidney Crosby, Mitch Marner, and Mark Stone. We also talk about how Jon Cooper is able to load up the top line of Connor McDavid, Nathan MacKinnon, and Mark Stone.

He goes through his experiences in his four Olympic experiences and how Canada will need to prepare to win Gold. We also talk about Team USA (37:00), what they have done so far and how the fight the Tkachuk brothers bring can lead this team to Gold.

We wrap up the episode talking about Chris’s book EARNED (40:00), which comes out on April 14, and how if you pre-order it now you receive a lot of bonus features such as a podcast interview with Chris, Jon Hamm, and Joe Buck.

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On Episode 27 of The PuckPedia Hockey Show we welcome on former Edmonton Oilers beat writer for The Athletic Daniel Nugent-Bowman.

We start off the episode talking about Daniel’s background (2:30) and how he got his start covering sports. He spent time covering the OHL and the Saskatoon Blades. He was there for the 2013 Memorial Cup that featured Nathan MacKinnon, Seth Jones, and Jonathan Drouin to name a few (5:00).

He also covered the 2014 World Juniors that had Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl, which worked well to his Oilers coverage in the future. He started at The Athletic in 2018 and covered the Oilers through January of this year.

He talks about how he got into hockey, and how it was his favorite sport growing up right outside of Toronto (7:00).

Then we talk about the 2020 season and what it was like to cover hockey during the COVID bubble (9:00). Then we get into the Oilers Stanley Cup runs the last two seasons and what it was like to cover those seasons (13:00).

DNB had to be the first person to ask McDavid a question in the media scrum following their Game 7 loss in the first season. Then we take a deep dive into the current state of the Edmonton Oilers and what they’ll have to do to make a third straight Stanley Cup run (20:45).

We also look at the upcoming Milano Cortina 2026 Olympics (26:00), and preview the top teams in the tournament (USA and Canada), but also some guys on the Oilers who were close to making their respective teams but did not (Evan Bouchard, Zach Hyman, and Mattias Ekholm).

Then we wrap up the episode talking about what’s next for DNB’s career and where he sees himself in the future (35:00).

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For Episode 11 of PuckPedia Cap Central, Hart Levine and Keith Kavanaugh dive into the blockbuster trade that happened yesterday. First they talk about the current roster freeze, and how certain teams might approach these rules to accrue cap space. Then they dive into the big Artemi Panarin trade. He was traded to the Los Angeles Kings from the New York Rangers in exchange for Liam Greentree and a conditional 2026 3rd round pick. Panarin then signed a 2-year, $22M ($11M AAV) contract extension with the Kings that kicks in starting next season. Panarin is over a point-per-game this season yet again. We discuss why the return on the trade may seem light and just how much leverage Panarin had over this entire situation. We look at the Kings salary cap picture to see what other moves they might end up making. Then we talk about the New Jersey Devils. Despite sinking in the standings they acquired Nick Bjugstad from the St. Louis Blues in exchange for Thomas Bordeleau and a conditional 4th round pick. Bjugstad is signed through next season at $1.75M AAV. Then they wrap up the show with user-submitted questions.

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On Episode 26 of The PuckPedia Hockey Show we welcome on former Los Angeles Kings Assistant GM and current Sportsnet analyst Mike Futa.

We start off the episode talking about Mike’s background (3:00), starting by playing hockey and then working his way up through the OHL as an Assistant Coach then a General Manager, before transitioning to the NHL with the Los Angeles Kings.

He worked in the Kings front office for over a decade, with the team winning 2 Stanley Cups in 2012 and 2014. He talks about the relationships along the way that helped navigate his path in hockey (13:00). Then we dive into his work with the Los Angeles Kings and how he and GM Dean Lombardi and the staff were able to build a sustainable Stanley Cup contender (23:00).

Futes tells a great story about how once it was determined the Lightning were going to draft Stamkos 1st overall in the 2008 NHL Draft (25:00), he called Stamkos to see who he would personally take 2nd.

Then we dive in on the process of drafting players, but once they’re drafted how important it is to develop these players (31:00). Mike goes on about how much Dean Lombardi invested in development for the Kings and how that played a key factor in their success. But also how many late-round picks the Kings hit on that ended up paying dividends for them.

Then we talk about what’s happening around the NHL right now (44:00). Barry Trotz stepped down as GM of the Nashville Predators, and Mike could tell the job was taking a toll on Barry when he saw him at the Hall of Fame in November. Then we talk about the awesome Stadium Series outdoor game between the Tampa Bay Lightning and the Boston Bruins.

We also touch on the Toronto Maple Leafs and what exactly has gone wrong in Mike’s opinion (49:00). Then we wrap up the episode talking about his favorite part being on the media side for Sportsnet. 

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For Episode 10 of PuckPedia Cap Central, Hart Levine and Keith Kavanaugh dive into the big trades and extensions that happened this week.

The New York Islanders made 2 deals, 1 with each of their tri-state rivals. First the Islanders traded their 2026 3rd round pick to the New York Rangers in exchange for defenseman Carson Soucy (7:00). It’s only the 4th time these teams have executed a trade together in franchise history.

Then the Islanders traded Maxim Tsyplakov to the New Jersey Devils in exchange for Ondrej Palat, a 2026 3rd round pick, and a 2027 6th round pick (2:00). This trade is viewed as a cap dump by the Devils which is why the draft picks were added to the package.

Then they dive into a couple of contract extensions that happened this week. Sam Malinski was extended by the Colorado Avalanche (10:00) to a 4-year, $19M contract ($4.75M AAV). The Detroit Red Wings extended Ben Chiarot (14:00) to a 3-year, $11.55M contract ($3.85M AAV).

Then we wrap up the episode going over the details of the Olympic Roster Freeze that will be in effect starting February 4, and a new feature on PuckPedia for the Trade Deadline (17:00).

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On Episode 25 of The PuckPedia Hockey Show we welcome on multi-platform Montreal Canadiens reporter and NHL insider Eric Engels. We start off the episode talking about Eric’s background, how he had to work multiple freelance jobs for years before landing his full-time gig at Sportsnet (3:00).

Eric provides really good insight into how hard work and passion is only half the battle (9:00), and what else it takes to get to land a “dream job.”

Eric is on his 18th season covering the Canadiens so we take a look down memory lane at some of his favorite moments on the Canadiens beat (19:00). There was one moment that really stuck out to him, aside from the playoff runs, COVID bubble, PK Subban for Shea Weber trade, and more.

It was when the Canadiens went through multiple 8 game losing streaks in a season, and how the story to break one of the losing streaks wasn’t the players who scored. It was how Carey Price (23:00), who took the blame for the losses, pitched a shutout and was seemingly not the player the media wanted to talk to following the game. Eric received a nice message following his article from Price directly letting him know how much it meant to him.

Then we talk about the current Montreal Canadiens team (29:00), how they are led by captain Nick Suzuki, Cole Caufield, Lane Hutson and Ivan Demidov. The offense is not the problem with this team, their goaltending and defensive structure has been the areas of their game needing improvement.

We talk about what the plan might be as we approach the Trade Deadline at the beginning of March (34:00). We wrap up the episode with Eric telling us how he thinks this season will end for the Canadiens (46:00).

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For Episode 9 of PuckPedia Cap Central, Steve Werier and Keith Kavanaugh dive into the big trades and extensions that happened this week. The Calgary Flames traded Rasmus Andersson to the Vegas Golden Knights in exchange for Zach Whitecloud, a 1st round pick, a conditional 2nd round pick, and an unsigned prospect. Calgary retained 50% salary in that deal. The Vancouver Canucks traded Kiefer Sherwood for the San Jose Sharks in exchange for 2 2nd round picks and a prospect. The Buffalo Sabres extended Josh Doan to a 7-year, $48.65M contract ($6.95 AAV). Doan was an RFA at the end of the season. He was traded to Buffalo this off-season in the JJ Peterka deal. Chris Drury and the New York Rangers released a letter letting fans know they were going to retool their team. Steve had an interesting take on that before we dove into the futures of Panarin, Trocheck, Lafreniere, Schneider, and more. We also talked about the playoff salary cap this year, a new article of the CBA, and how teams might approach managing that. Then we wrapped up with Steve’s World where he talked about his thoughts for how he thinks the agency world might evolve in the future with the emergence of social media and building players’ brands. Then he touches on the Kraken as they’ve been rumored to have been shopping former first round pick Shane Wright.

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On Episode 24 of The PuckPedia Hockey Show we welcome on Director of Analytics & Insights for Sportlogiq Mike Kelly.

We start off the episode talking about Mike’s background (3:00), and how he started in more of a broadcasting role and path before shifting gears with tech company Sportlogiq. We talk about how Sportlogiq data is being presented on broadcasts, not just at the national level (TNT, Sportsnet, NHL Network) but also on regional broadcasts (MSG and FanDuel Sports Network).

We discuss how the data is just one piece of the larger pie that includes scouting, coaching, development, performance sciences to name a few (6:00). Then we talk about how Mike’s role evolved at Sportlogiq to add more media to explain Sportlogiq’s proprietary data to the hockey audience.

Mike mentions how shots on goal are not one of the top metrics he looks at when evaluating how a game played out (10:00). Then we talk about how NHL teams use the Sportlogiq data and platform, and how they each leverage that information differently (12:00).

Then we talk about the difference between the private and public expected goals models, as this is the most mainstream metric to come out of the analytical wave (16:00).

Then we talk about some of the things that are catching Mike’s eyes this season (22:30). Connor McDavid’s speed is one thing, the NHL EDGE data gives him 92 speed bursts of 22+ MPH and 2nd place was Roope Hintz with 29.

Then we talk about New York Islanders goaltender Ilya Sorokin and how he has the most “Goalie Steals” this season, which is when a goalie has more Goals Saved Above Expected than the actual Goal Differential of the game (27:00).

We also dive into San Jose Sharks forward Macklin Celebrini, and what makes him such a special player (30:00). Then we wrap up the episode talking about if Mike thinks any team can compete with the Colorado Avalanche to win the Stanley Cup (33:00). 

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For Episode 8 of PuckPedia Cap Central, Hart Levine and Keith Kavanaugh dive into the big signings that happened over the last week. First they talk about the Philip Broberg extension with the St. Louis Blues, he signed a 6-year, $48M contract ($8M AAV). Then they talk about the Alexandre Texier extension with the Montreal Canadiens, he signed a 2-year, $5M contract ($2.5M AAV). Then Hart goes on a rant about the Salary Cap Floor, and why he thinks deals like the Chicago Blackhawks acquiring Ryan Ellis and his $6.25M contract to get to the floor isn’t the most efficient way to get to the floor. Then they dive into 2 teams salary cap situations, the Edmonton Oilers and the New Jersey Devils. Both teams are up against the cap and had to do some gymnastics recently to activate healthy players from LTIR. The Oilers added Adam Henrique to LTIR before activating Jake Walman and Tristan Jarry. The Devils added Stefan Noesen and Zack MacEwen to LTIR before activating Johnathan Kovacevic and Evgenii Dadonov. They finish the episode answering user-submitted questions.

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