The first strides were reserved for Connor McDavid, but it wasn't long before his point of reference took the ice at Rogers Place as well.
Wayne Gretzky and members of his legendary hockey family toured the new rink in Edmonton on Thursday, with the Great One lacing up the skates for a whirl around the new surface.
The Montreal Canadiens are honoring a legend with the naming of their AHL affiliate.
The fans acted as nickname-choosers in this case, and after an extensive voting process, the minor-league affiliate will be known as Club de hockey Rocket de Laval, or, in English, the Laval Rocket.
The team is set to begin playing at Place Bell in nearby Laval, Quebec in 2017-18.
"From the opening day of the contest it was clear that the ROCKET entry would be a heavy favorite among some 850 different names submitted," said Place Bell president Vincent Lucier. "At the completion of phase I it was the most popular choice. In fact, throughout phases II and III, it earned more votes than all other names combined.
"The message was loud and clear from fans looking for a meaningful identity for their team while paying tribute to Maurice 'Rocket' Richard as one of the Canadiens’ most legendary figures."
Richard, of course, was a member of eight Stanley Cup-winning rosters in Montreal, and won the Hart Trophy as NHL MVP in 1947.
A logo and color scheme will be unveiled in the coming months.
Entering his 17th season, Fisher's been with the Predators for the last five-plus years. He assumes leadership duties that previously belonged to Shea Weber, who was traded to the Montreal Canadiens in late June.
Fisher's experience, coupled with the example he has set, made him the ideal candidate in the minds of Predators management.
"Mike Fisher is a terrific choice to be named captain of this team," head coach Peter Laviolette said. He added, "He's a guy that's been through the battles, has been around a long time, gained a lot of experience, and has learned from a lot of people. ...
"Fisher's probably one of the best pros I have ever seen. He comes into camp in shape. He works as hard as any guy on the ice, if not harder, every day. He plays with passion and purpose. For young players who rub shoulders with that on a regular basis, and to be able to watch him and learn from him, those experiences will help grow our team."
With 13 goals and 23 points, Fisher is coming off one of the worst statistical seasons of his career, but Laviolette still relied on him heavily. He finished with the fifth-most ice time among Predators forwards, and took 451 more draws than any of his teammates.
The 36-year-old is scheduled to reach free agency next summer, and, barring an extension, would have an opportunity to seek employment elsewhere. But it doesn't appear either side envisions this arrangement will last just one year.
David Poile on @mikefisher1212 on being named #Preds captain entering last year of deal "Mike can play here as long as he likes"
The Montreal Canadiens have hired Sean Burke as a professional scout for the western region, general manager Marc Bergevin announced Thursday.
The former NHL goalie spent six seasons in the Coyotes organization, beginning as a goaltending coach and moving on to director of player development before being promoted to assistant general manager on July 10, 2012.
He chose to leave the club last summer in search of greater opportunities elsewhere.
Burke played for several teams over the course of his 18-year career, appearing in three All-Star games and winning a silver medal with Canada at the 1992 Winter Olympics.
Tales of a rocky relationship between Matt Duchene and former Colorado Avalanche head coach Patrick Roy were way overblown.
So says Duchene himself, who let it be known that Roy called him personally just hours after announcing he was resigning from his post.
"We had an awesome chat," Duchene told Mike Zeisberger of Postmedia. "We didn’t discuss why he left. We mostly talked about the past. I learned a lot from him. He said he enjoyed coaching me. That was great to hear from one of my heroes as a kid.
"That’s the end of that chapter and it ended on a great note for him and I. There was never any problems there."
One of the examples of possible contention between the two - aside from rampant trade speculation as recent as last season - was Roy's criticism of Duchene celebrating his 30th goal of the season amid another loss.
Again, Duchene says that was much ado about nothing.
"At the end of the day it wasn’t anything against me," he said of Roy's call out. "He was just trying to set a precedent for the team and make an example of me. He expected me to be a leader and at that moment I let him down. We had a great chat the next day and right then everything was fine. It was blown out of proportion in the media. It was really nothing after that.
"After that, it was tough to read stuff that pitted us against each other because it was never that way."
Duchene, along with many Avalanche players, was shocked to hear Roy was leaving the team, and will get a chance to meet new head coach Jared Bednar following his time with Canada at the World Cup of Hockey.
Chicago has been a kind destination to many NHLers - even when the stay is fleeting. That wasn't the case, however, for Dale Weise.
Weise, who brokered a long-term agreement with the Philadelphia Flyers this summer in free agency, labeled his stint with the Blackhawks "a disaster."
"Because I played like five minutes a night," Weise told Sam Carchidi of the Philadelphia Inquirer. "It's pretty tough to do anything when you play so little. It was a new experience for me."
Weise isn't completely accurate with his usage in Chicago (he took almost 10 minutes nightly before losing about 90 seconds, on average, in four playoff appearances). But, suffice it to say, he expects more ice in Philadelphia.
After the Team USA and Columbus Blue Jackets head coach said he'd bench any players who decided to sit during the national anthem as NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick has done, the Tampa Bay Lightning forward tweeted the following.
Wouldn't benching a black man for taking a stance only further prove Kap's point of oppression? But hey 🐸☕️ https://t.co/p6aUjXYlq4
While Brown has no such plans to protest during the anthem, he believes it's important to speak out for the benefit of young fans of the game.
"(Tortorella) sees the situation through his reality and I see it through mine, as a black athlete in the NHL," he wrote in a statement to Joe Smith of the Tampa Bay Times. "I know I’m not on the United States World Cup roster, but I have had a chance to represent my country on other occasions. My tweet was a hypothetical. What if I took a stance to promote awareness for one of the many injustices still occurring in our country and was punished despite there being no rule or law against it? My tweet was a response to that question."
.@JTBrown23: "I don’t want young minorities who love the game of hockey to think that what’s going on in America today is going unnoticed."
"I love America and thank the military for protecting our freedoms, as well as law enforcement for protecting and serving our communities, but that doesn’t mean I can’t acknowledge that there is still racism today," Brown continued. "I am glad my tweet provoked a discussion, because we need to start having a conversation about racism if we want to work towards a better America."
Brown added he will look for opportunities to positively impact his community and bring awareness to racial issues.
The outspoken longtime "Hockey Night in Canada" analyst praised Team USA's coach at the World Cup of Hockey for his headline-making stance that he'd bench any player who sat in protest during the American national anthem.
Cherry shared this in a TwitDoc on Thursday morning:
John's whole family, including his son who is in the service, loves USA and feels that the anthem should be honoured. God bless them.
Cherry previously weighed in on San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick's anthem protest and questioned Kaepernick's timing, suggesting the athlete chose to take a stand when he was "finished" in professional sports, thus having little to lose.
He later credited Kaepernick for donating $1 million of his $12-million salary to charity.
Cherry has long been an impassioned advocate for the military.
The Winnipeg Jets goaltender had worn No. 30 since cracking the NHL lineup, but wore No. 37 while playing for the AHL's Manitoba Moose and in international competition.
However, the franchise had unofficially retired that number due to the death of Atlanta Thrashers forward Dan Snyder as a result of a 2003 car accident.
Hellebuyck has apparently received permission from the Snyder family to revert to his old number, and he will honor Snyder with a patch sewn inside his jersey.
Connor Hellebuyck's #37 jersey will have this patch sewn inside. Thank you to the Snyder family for their support. pic.twitter.com/20qLgSMeIa
The Jets hand out the Dan Snyder Memorial Award after every season, given to the player who "best embodies perseverance, dedication, and hard work without reward or recognition, so that his team and teammates might succeed."
The veteran defenseman, who made 23 appearances last season in stints with the Winnipeg Jets and Edmonton Oilers, has reportedly signed a professional tryout agreement with the Panthers, according to TSN's Gary Lawless.
The new-look management team sank major dollars into Keith Yandle and Jason Demers in order to fill the void, and has an NHL-ready prospect in Mchael Matheson, but does still require a little depth.