A big deal across town.
Welcome to a new week, folks!
The Bruins hiring Marco Sturm as their new head coach was the biggest headline in the Boston sports scene for a hot second, before the Red Sox stole the thunder back on Sunday by trading Rafael Devers.
If nothing else, the Jacobs Family probably appreciates Fenway Sports Group’s commitment to making all of the other team owners in Boston look golden by comparison.
In hockey circles, the minor Bruins news from the weekend was the acquisition of defenseman Victor Soderstrom, who the B’s promptly signed to a one-year contract.
The Florida Panthers continued their march to what (at this point) looks like an inevitable Stanley Cup win, steamrolling the Oilers 5-2 on Saturday night to take a 3-2 series lead back home to Sunrise.
While not as thorough a win as their 6-1 trouncing in Game 3, Saturday’s game was impressive for how the Panthers simply smothered the Oilers, jumping out to a lead early and then taking away their will by scoring immediately after the Oilers cut the deficit to 3-1.
By now, we all know that Brad Marchand has been integral to the Panthers’ success in this postseason, particularly in this series.
Depending on how the next game goes, the former Bruin has a shot at winning the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP, unless the Oilers complete a surprising comeback; at this point, he has to be considered a neck-and-neck favorite alongside Sam Bennett.
That, in turn, will reignite a Take Firestorm in Bruins circles (though not really here, you people are pretty sensible), so…buckle up.
Elsewhere in the NHL, we learned over the weekend that Mitch Marner will not be returning to Toronto (shocking), Nikolaj Ehlers plans to test the free agency waters, and the Buffalo Sabres may be open to trading JJ Peterka after all.
It’s shaping up to be a pretty intriguing run up to July 1 across the league.
Anyways, what’s on tap for today?