There were certainly no shortage of headlines coming out of the world of hockey this week. (Credit: Derek Cain/Getty Images, @Adam_B888 Via.X, Matt Slocum/AP Photo)
Every week, we’ll update you on all the important musings in the hockey world over the past seven days — from the NHL and beyond.
There were plenty of viral happenings around the game last week, including a pair of Maple Leafs fans getting roughed up in Philly, Brad Marchand beefing with Boston media, Fleury’s final game in Vegas, the driver who allegedly killed the Gaudreau brothers pleading not-guilty, a couple former NHLers battling Canada’s Tax Man, Zach Hyman purchasing an OHL squad, an Evander Kane injury update, another Alex Ovechkin milestone and more.
Here’s the top sights, sounds and news you might have missed in hockey last week.
Maple Leafs fans get attacked in Philly
It’s well known that Philadelphia — ironically tabbed “The City of Brotherly Love” — is not a very welcome place for visiting sports fans, and a pair of Toronto Maple Leafs supporters unfortunately got to experience that sentiment first hand.
In a video that went viral following Toronto’s 3-2 win in Philadelphia last Tuesday, two fans in Auston Matthews jerseys are seen waving at an angry dude as he comes charging down the bleachers toward them, before the latter takes several massive swings at the two fans — who ate these punches admirably.
This is sports fandom at its absolute worst:
Look at this Philly loser with the worst punches thrown… these Leafs fans made him look even dumber just brushing it off and then he’s escorted out https://t.co/0sT0vGan7X
— ABBA Oil (@Adam_B888) January 9, 2025
Flyers fans took to social media as the viral video ripped across the interwebs, with many trying to distance themselves from the idiotic fan in questions.
“Things like this make me embarrassed to be a fan of the Eagles… it’s all in good fun, it’s sports. No need to bring violence into it. It’s not that serious,” read one reply on X.
“Nah that guy’s a clown. Ban him from the arena,” wrote another fan.
“Don’t promote this… this is a terrible look for Philly,” replied another.
Leafs fans, Enter the Wells Fargo Center at your own risk.
Leafs and Flyers fans weren’t the only ones beefing last week, as Boston Bruins captain Brad Marchand duked it out in public with a member of the Boston media last week.
Radio personality Rich Keefe said Friday on WEEI’s “Jones & Keefe show” that the Bruins locker room is a “disaster” and that David Pastrnak, Boston’s best player, has reportedly made it known to the club that he does not wan’t to play on same line as Marchand.
Upon getting word of the report, Marchand stormed out of the room following Boston’s practice on Friday to address the comments, saying there is “zero truth” to any of the allegations.
The Bruins captain then blasted Keefe for about five minutes straight:
“I know reporters have a job to do and that job is to report on the team. Usually, you try to be fact-based. But when there’s just blatant lies told in the media, that’s where there’s a problem. The fact this guy has a platform and is just making this up is embarrassing. There’s zero truth to anything he said. This is how you lose a job very quickly. The fact that he’s gonna have a job after this is insane.”
Marchand said that him and Pastrnak are “best friends” before he laid into Keefe some more.
“I’m not gonna let some random guy come in the media and spit absolute nonsense,” Marchand said. “From this point forward, this guy has zero credibility. The fact he’s coming out with this is ridiculous and embarrassing. Anything he puts forth in the future is not going to be deemed as truth because he’s completely making all of this up.
“If he would have fact-checked, he would have found out it’s all nonsense. There’s zero truth to this. It’s ridiculous. … I’m not gonna let it become something it’s not. This guy can go pound sand and go back to the closet where no one knew he was before and report on nothing because that’s what he’s going to be doing after this.”
Marchand also posted a slideshow featuring him and Pastrnak to his Instagram account with the caption “Wolves don’t lose sleep over the opinion of sheep!”
Keefe responded to Marchand on X:
“Now I got Marchand calling for my job? No one acts this way if the story is really false. Thanks for the confirmation,” Keefe wrote.
The friendship between Marchand and Pastrnak may be thriving, but the Bruins certainly are not. The team has lost seven of its last nine games and sits 4th in the Atlantic division.
Fleury’s final game in Vegas
Marc-Andre Fleury on Sunday returned to T-Mobile Arena for what was likely his final game in Las Vegas, and the veteran netminder got a special message from his former team and fanbase during his emotional return.
The Golden Knights showed Fleury — now with the Minnesota Wild — on the scoreboard before the crowd gave their former goalie a massive standing ovation while Fleury appeared to tear up a bit on the bench.
Always a class act, Fleury took plenty of time before the game to sign autographs and mingle with fans of his old squad.
Fleury was the franchise’s first starting goaltender and marquee player, spending four seasons with the Golden Knights after being selected by the team in the 2017 Expansion Draft. The future Hall of Famer, who ranks second all-time in wins among NHL goaltenders, won the Vezina Trophy as the league’s best goalie during his final season with the team in 2020-21. He’s a three-time Stanley Cup champion.
Fleury’s, who is in his 21st NHL campaign, announced last spring that this season will be his last.
Suspect charged with killing Gaudreau brothers pleads non-guilty
The alleged impaired driver charged with killing former NHL star Johnny Gaudreau and his brother, Matthew, pleaded not guilty to the indictment Tuesday.
Sean M. Higgins, who turned down a plea offer of 35 years in prison, appeared briefly in a New Jersey court and entered a formal plea in the Aug. 29 deaths of the brothers. The case will now head to trial.
REPORT: Sean Higgins has formally rejected a plea offer that would have seen him spend 35 years in prison for the deaths of Johnny and Matthew Gaudreau.
The Gaudreau brothers’ parents and sisters were in attendance during the five-minute hearing this morning.
Higgins’ attorneys…
— NHL News (@PuckReportNHL) January 7, 2025
Johnny Gaudreau, 31, and his brother, Matthew, 29, were killed near their childhood home in New Jersey on Aug. 29 — the night before their sister’s wedding. Both Johnny and Matthew were supposed to serve as groomsmen.
Per the CBC:
“Police say Higgins, of Woodstown, had a history of road rage and was impaired that day after drinking five or six beers. He said he had been driving around for two hours, sometimes talking by phone with a friend, after an upsetting conversation with his mother.
“A driver in front of Higgins told police that he had been driving aggressively. When she and another driver slowed down and moved left to go around the cyclists, Higgins sped up and veered right, ‘striking the Gaudreaus,’ she said.”
Higgins, according to police, had a blood-alcohol level of .087 — above the state’s .08 legal limit — and apparently failed a field sobriety test.
The 44-year-old is being held without bail on several charges, including two counts each of aggravated manslaughter and vehicular homicide, along with leaving the scene of an accident and evidence tampering.
Former Maple Leafs suing CRA over contract taxes
Another legal battle is unfolding in Ontario as a couple former Toronto Maple Leafs players have joined current Leafs centre John Tavares in a battle with the The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) over back taxes related to signing bonuses.
Jake Muzzin and Patrick Marleau, according to the National Post, have filed separate appeals to the Tax Court of Canada, claiming their signing bonuses should only taxed at 15 per cent and not at the top income tax bracket that can climb to well over 50 per cent.
According to the Post’s report, Marleau is appealing more than $3.8 million in tax on signing bonuses paid in 2017 and 2018, while Muzzin is fighting for $3.7 million in taxes and more than $131,000 in interest for the 2020 tax year.
Marleau’s appeal reads:
“The signing bonus was consideration for this sought after unrestricted free agent, Marleau — a veteran NHL player who had garnered widespread respect for his skill, versatility, dedication and leadership — committing to the three-year contract with the Toronto Maple Leafs.
“Marleau’s signing bonus is not salary, wages or other remuneration in respect of an employment.”
Current Leafs forward Tavares is also in an unresolved battle with the CRA, fighting over $8 million the tax agency claims he owes.
Oilers’ Hyman, family buying OHL’s Brantford franchise
Edmonton Oilers forward Zach Hyman and his family are reportedly set to purchase the Ontario Hockey League’s Brantford Bulldogs, according to TSN Hockey Insider Darren Dreger.
The sale is pending league (OHL) approval, but could be made official as early as Monday, according to Dreger.
The OHL franchise, born in 1981 as the Belleville Bulls, relocated to Hamilton and was re-named the Bulldogs when now-Ottawa Senators owner Michael Andlauer bought the junior team in 2015. The Bulldogs captured OHL titles and went to the Memorial Cup in 2018 and 2022.
Hyman grew up in the Greater Toronto Area and played for the Maple Leafs for six season before inking a lucrative seven-year deal with the Oilers in 2021. The 32-year-old went to the Stanley Cup final with the team last spring.
Evander Kane suffers surprise injury setback
The Oilers last week issued a surprise injury update regarding the status of forward Evander Kane, who hasn’t played a single game this season after undergoing abdominal surgery in September:
“Edmonton Oilers forward Evander Kane underwent successful knee surgery on Thursday in Edmonton. It is expected that he will require four to eight weeks of recovery time.
“While this procedure is unrelated to his abdominal surgery in September, it will require him to pause his current rehabilitation schedule to recover from Thursday’s operation.
“His rehabilitation will continue to take place in Edmonton under the supervision of the club’s medical staff,” the statement read.
It was originally believed that Kane would return to the Oilers lineup in January, but this latest development likely extends that by a couple months. Kane could come back for the playoffs if he returns this season at all.
Stats of the Week: A pair of milestones and an eerie postponement
Capitals sniper Alex Ovechkin on Sunday moved within 22 tallies of breaking Wayne Gretzky’s elusive all-time NHL goals record.
Ovechkin joined another exclusive club with the marker, becoming the only other player besides the great Gordie Howe to hit the 20-goal mark in 20 straight seasons. Outrageous.
Meanwhile, Carolina Hurricanes captain Jordan Staal’s three-goal effort versus Toronto last Thursday put him in exclusive company, too:
And an eerie one relating to the wildfires currently tearing through Southern California:
This season Tampa has had a game against the Hurricanes postponed due to a hurricane, and now Los Angeles has had a game against the Flames postponed due to a fire
— Pete Blackburn (@PeteBlackburn) January 8, 2025