Goalie Hugs

How the Buffalo Sabres almost acquired Connor Hellebuyck and what kind of a package would extract Hellebuyck from the Winnipeg Jets. Is everyone looking too deep into the Zach Werenski saga? Can we say that? Is it really a "saga" or is he going to get mad at us and release another statement? Plus, we recap a bunch of trades made leading up to, during and since the 2026 NHL Draft, as well as free a...

The Carolina Hurricanes are Stanley Cup champions, Mike Babcock is a huge fan of Mike Babcock, everyone's lost their minds making trades and we somehow still managed to do a mock draft as a result.

The 2026 Stanley Cup Final is underway and the Carolina Hurricanes tied the series 1-1 with the Vegas Golden Knights shortly after we finished recording this episode. You're welcome, Hurricanes fans! Or sorry about that, Vegas fans. Did Lindy Ruff get snubbed? In a related story, have we been overhyping "best defender" qualities in the entire history of awarding the James Norris Memorial Trophy? ...

The Montréal Canadiens had their hands full with the Carolina Hurricanes (we recorded this before Carolina finished Montréal off in Game 5) and the Vegas Golden Knights swept the Colorado Avalanche as the Conference Finals came and went. What does the offseason look like for the Avs? Is Colorado's Stanley Cup window closed? Is Jared Bednar in the hot seat? Vegas still technically needs a head coac...

After surprising everyone, what are the Buffalo Sabres going to do this offseason? The Montréal Victoire won the Walter Cup and the PWHL is adding San José to the expansion list– joining Detroit, Hamilton and Vegas. The Nashville Predators still need a general manager to replace Barry Trotz. Jamie Langenbrunner left the Boston Bruins and so did Jay Leach. Daniel and Henrik Sedin are running the sh...

Can the Carolina Hurricanes go undefeated this postseason? No, obviously. But they did sweep the Philadelphia Flyers. Can Lindy Ruff make the right adjustments and the Buffalo Sabres keep their cool as their series with the Montréal Canadiens continues? What if Evan Gold gets hired by the Vancouver Canucks? Why the Boston Bruins should follow Montréal's model… The Colorado Avalanche took a 3-1 ser...

This week on Goalie Hugs: Making sense of the Toronto Maple Leafs. The John Chayka Era begins with a lottery win and some future implications. You can't swing your stick like that, Charlie. Victor Hedman opens up about mental health. The First Round is complete and the Second Round of the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs is underway. More awards finalists were announced including the Jack Adams, Masterto...

This week on Goalie Hugs: The Carolina Hurricanes swept the Ottawa Senators.  Anže Kopitar's playing days came to an end after the Colorado Avalanche swept the Los Angeles Kings.  The Philadelphia Flyers won a series on home ice for the first time since 2012, and ousted the Pittsburgh Penguins in the process.  What's the offseason roadmap for the eliminated teams?  What would a Jason Robertson tra...

This week on Goalie Hugs: A little bit about every First Round series in progress and why we're tuning in, not tuning in or falling asleep during late games (hint, it's because we're old now).  

This week on Goalie Hugs: A preview of the First Round of the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs. Horrible audio for, like, 20 minutes because Lanci has a new setup and was learning on the fly!

This week on Goalie Hugs: The Buffalo Sabres are back in the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the first time since 2011! How worried should we be about the San José Sharks? Is this the year the Edmonton Oilers finally get it done (they're getting hot again, if you haven't been paying attention)? Patrick Roy was fired by the New York Islanders, so who inevitably hires him next? Is Pete DeBoer really the an...

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 Toro...

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 r...

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 a...

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...

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...

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 rost...

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 mi...

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).

This week on Goalie Hugs: A Thanksgiving mashed mush ranking. Mikko Rantanen and the terrible, horrible, no good, very bad week. Mike Matheson is good and that's scary. Well, not too good, but, you know. Brenden Dillon reached 1,000 games. Helmets aren't being worn when they should be worn. What would you have to give up for No. 97? A lot of playoff talk because of that statistic (you know the one...

The Columbus Blue Jackets exist. The San Jose Sharks are going topless. Brad Marchand is the latest thief. Oh and we spent a surprising amount of time talking about goal scorers from just one game in the last week out of the many that occurred. Jeff Petry and Justin Faulk hit 1,000 games. Connor Bedard and Macklin Celebrini are trying to one-up each other. The Edmonton Oilers kind of suck again. P...

It's November and you know what that means for the Buffalo Sabres. We also talk about the ethics of stealing, sweaters, Alex Ovechkin's actual total goal totals, Nazem Kadri at 1,000 games, what's up with the Tampa Bay Lightning, Marcus Johansson at 1,000 games and much more-- like the PWHL's Seattle Torrent and Vancouver Goldeneyes' branding, the 2025-26 Takeover Tour plans and where we'd like to...

Jake Wallinger joins the show to talk about the "CinnaBEC," Toronto's multi-sport curse, a look around the NHL, the future (and the now) of the Boston Bruins, Sidney Crosby, Alex Ovechkin, Jim Montgomery, Jack Eichel's Hart campaign and Pod on Lansdowne . He also suffered through "Off the Cuff" as the first victim of the game show segment's debut on Goalie Hugs. Meanwhile, our Jake's per 60 is ris...