The PuckPedia Hockey Show

The PuckPedia Hockey Show Episode 41: The NHL Offseason Is About to Get Wild ft. Steve Werier

Episode 41 of The PuckPedia Hockey Show features a very special recurring guest, Steve Werier, former assistant general manager of the Florida Panthers and a friend of the program. We kick things off with a quick look at the playoff picture (0:00). Steve breaks down what Carolina has built from top to bottom and why it shouldn't surprise anyone, while Colorado's struggles against Vegas are dissected with injuries and the Olympic break both playing a role. Then we pivot to the coaching and management carousel that has dominated the offseason conversation (6:00). Steve gives his perspective on what went wrong in Vancouver and why the front office structure, not just the personnel, was at the heart of their issues, and what new GM Ryan Johnson can do differently. We then discuss the Edmonton Oilers and their precarious situation with the Bruce Cassidy coaching pursuit (20:00), what happens if Vegas doesn't grant permission, and what the window really looks like for a team built around McDavid and Draisaitl. We move on to the New Jersey Devils and their new general manager, the decision to keep Sheldon Keefe behind the bench, and what a healthy roster could look like next season (26:00). Then we get into the Nashville Predators and their long-running GM search, the potential domino effect if Chris McFarland leaves Colorado, and the broader landscape of progressive young hockey operations minds across the league (29:00). We wrap up with the Coolbet question of the week: with a rising salary cap and new analytical minds in front offices, will we finally see offer sheets used aggressively this offseason and which players could be targets (34:00)? Visit PuckPedia.com and follow PuckPedia on social media! X: @PuckPedia  IG: @PuckPedia  Go to PuckPedia.com/Coolbet to get in on the action today. Stay Cool, Bet Responsibly Theme song by Lester McLean (https://www.lestermclean.com) Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com [https://pcm.adswizz.com] for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

PuckPedia Cap Central 5/21: Liljegren Extension + Offer Sheet Compensation

For Episode 20 of PuckPedia Cap Central, Keith Kavanaugh and Hart Levine dive into the pressing topics of the NHL salary cap world. They start with the Stanley Cup Playoffs and the Conference Finals (2:00). The East features the Montreal Canadiens and Carolina Hurricanes. The West has the Colorado Avalanche and the Vegas Golden Knights. Then they get into the Bruce Cassidy situation and what to make of his contract situation and if he will have the ability to coach another team next season (6:00). They talk about the Timothy Liljegren extension with the Washington Capitals for 2-years and $6.5M (12:00). Then they touch on the key dates for next season for buyouts, arbitration, and other important events (18:00). They wrap up talking about the offer sheet compensation for restricted free agents and if any of the big RFA’s might receive and sign an offer sheet (24:00). Visit PuckPedia.com and follow PuckPedia on social media! X: @PuckPedia  IG: @PuckPedia  Go to PuckPedia.com/Coolbet to get in on the action today. Stay Cool, Bet Responsibly Theme song by Lester McLean (https://www.lestermclean.com) Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com [https://pcm.adswizz.com] for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

The PuckPedia Hockey Show Episode 40: Quinn Hughes to the New Jersey Devils?! ft. Rachel Herzog

Episode 40 of The PuckPedia Hockey Show features a very special guest, Rachel Herzog, host and analyst for the New Jersey Devils on MSG Network, and as it turns out, Keith's neighbor! We start by hearing Rachel's background: how she grew up in Minnesota playing Division I hockey at St. Cloud State, originally planned to become a doctor before pivoting to sports media, and powered through her first on-camera experiences despite being terrified (2:00). We talk about how a college friend pointed her toward sports broadcasting, how she spent six years at St. Cloud State building every skill she could, writing, producing, anchoring, video editing, before landing her first job in Fargo and ultimately getting the call from MSG on August 14th. Then we go behind the scenes at MSG Network, where Rachel breaks down what it's like working alongside Bryce Salvador, Ken Daneyko, and Don LaGreca, and what the team behind the scenes does to help her be the best she can be on broadcast (6:00). We then dive deep into the New Jersey Devils' season: what went wrong, the injury-riddled stretch from mid-November to the end of January that derailed everything, and what the offseason needs to look like for this team to get back on track (19:30). We also touch on Quinn Hughes and the buzz around where he might end up. We wrap up with the Coolbet question of the week: What advice does Rachel have for women trying to break into hockey media (25:30)? Rachel shares what it takes to carve your own path in a space that is still finding its footing for women, and why trying everything and tuning out the noise are the two most important things you can do. Visit PuckPedia.com and follow PuckPedia on social media! X: @PuckPedia  IG: @PuckPedia  Go to PuckPedia.com/Coolbet to get in on the action today. Stay Cool, Bet Responsibly Theme song by Lester McLean (https://www.lestermclean.com) Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com [https://pcm.adswizz.com] for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

PuckPedia Cap Central 5/14: Coyle Extension + Player Raises

For Episode 19 of PuckPedia Cap Central, Keith Kavanaugh and Hart Levine dive into the pressing topics of the NHL salary cap world. They start with the Stanley Cup Playoffs (3:00) and how the Colorado Avalanche came back from 3-0 down to beat the Minnesota Wild 4-3 in overtime and advance to the Western Conference Final, where they await the winner of the Vegas Golden Knights and the Anaheim Ducks. Then the Carolina Hurricanes swept the Philadelphia Flyers and await the winner of the Buffalo Sabres and Montreal Canadiens. They also talked about the coaching changes with the Edmonton Oilers and the Toronto Maple Leafs (6:00), with Craig Berube and Kris Knoblauch getting relieved of their coaching duties, as well as the GM openings in Nashville and Vancouver. Then they dive into the Columbus Blue Jackets extension with Charlie Coyle (8:00). The extension was for 6 years which takes him to his age-40 season. Then they talk about the 376 players that will get raises next season due to the update to minimum base salary in the CBA (14:00). Some of the big names this impacts includes Nathan MacKinnon, Igor Shesterkin, and Tom Wilson. Then they wrap up the episode talking about the Buffalo Sabres decision to play Konsta Helenius, which triggered his 10th game this season thus making him no longer slide-eligible on his ELC (22:00). Visit PuckPedia.com and follow PuckPedia on social media! X: @PuckPedia  IG: @PuckPedia  Go to PuckPedia.com/Coolbet to get in on the action today. Stay Cool, Bet Responsibly Theme song by Lester McLean (https://www.lestermclean.com) Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com [https://pcm.adswizz.com] for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

The PuckPedia Hockey Show Episode 39: McKenna or Stenberg? ft. Shane Malloy

Episode 39 of The PuckPedia Hockey Show features a very special guest, Shane Malloy: the host of Hockey Prospect Radio, co-host of the Hockey Data Show on SiriusXM with Timo Seppa, and a contributor with the Pro Hockey Group. We start by diving into Shane's background and how he got his start in hockey media completely by accident (1:00), writing for free on hockey websites in the early 2000s, cold-emailing NHL contacts using a media guide his Finnish neighbor gave him, and landing a job at Fox Sports, building out prospect coverage before anyone in mainstream media cared about it. We talk about how Shane and Russ Cohen launched Hockey Prospect Radio on XM Satellite Radio in 2005 after boldly cold-calling the program director, and how Shane learned to scout by spending two hundred games a year sitting in the corner of the rink with NHL scouts rather than in the press box with media. Then we get into the evolution of scouting and what has changed over his two decades in the industry (10:00). Shane breaks down his scouting process and what separates his rankings from the consensus, emphasizing the importance of a player's game, including how they compete and impact the game when things aren't going their way. We dive deep into Shane's draft rankings and the top prospects in the 2026 class (16:30), including Gavin McKenna and Ivar Stenberg. We discuss the danger zone of picks twenty-three to thirty-two, where historically only fifty percent of players go on to play two hundred or more NHL games. Then we discuss the 2026 draft class (23:00), including Caleb Malhotra's rise in the rankings as a Jonathan Toews and Nico Hischier hybrid, and what his future looks like at the NHL level. We wrap up with the Coolbet question of the week (38:00). Shane's sleeper pick outside the top fifteen who he believes could shoot up into the top ten of any future redraft: Swedish centerman Alexander Command. Shane compares him to Sebastian Aho, seeing him as the anchor between two talented wingers at the U20 level. Visit PuckPedia.com and follow PuckPedia on social media! X: @PuckPedia  IG: @PuckPedia  Go to PuckPedia.com/Coolbet to get in on the action today. Stay Cool, Bet Responsibly Theme song by Lester McLean (https://www.lestermclean.com) Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com [https://pcm.adswizz.com] for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.