The 2022 NHL Draft is inching closer and some teams already have their focus set on Shane Wright and the rest of the class. More rankings have come out today, including an update to Sam Cosentino’s list for Sportsnet. Brad Lambert, who was second in October, is now down to 11th on Cosentino’s ranking after a poor start in Finland.
Scott Wheeler of The Athletic doesn’t have him quite so far down, but Lambert certainly isn’t second for him either, as Matthew Savoie takes that spot on Wheeler’s list. That’s not surprising, as Savoie was in the same spot in his September preseason ranking. There are still many months to go before a true consensus starts to take shape, but early returns are interesting to follow.
- The Nashville Predators will raise another banner to the rafters this season, this time honoring franchise icon Pekka Rinne. The goaltender will have his No. 35 retired on February 24, 2022. Rinne played his entire career in Nashville, appearing in 683 games and posting a 369-213-75 record over parts of 15 seasons. The 2018 Vezina Trophy winner, it’s hard to even imagine anyone else breaking some of the franchise records he holds. Juuse Saros, Rinne’s protege and current starter for the Predators, would need 520 more appearances to match his total–only 71 goaltenders in the history of the league have played 520 games.
- Brad Aldrich’s name has been crossed out on the Stanley Cup, Ryan Rishaug of TSN confirms. Last week, Chicago Blackhawks owner Rocky Wirtz wrote a letter to Lanny McDonald, head of the Hockey Hall of Fame, asking for Aldrich’s name to be crossed out. In it, he explained that Aldrich’s conduct “disqualified him” from having his name engraved and apologized for submitting it in the first place.
Love that Pekka gets what he deserves, the guy was someone you would want your kids to be like… not just on but off the ice, well deserved Mr. Rinne
Aldrich getting crossed out like a hated gang member on the street… poetic justice in full effect.
They just put X’s over it. XXXX XXXXXXX.
Savage and deserved.
Man, if you told me to guess the nationality of a guy named Brad Lambert, I would probably guess 100 countries before I got to Finland.
That’s what happens when you have a Canadian hockey player meet a Finnish flight attendant while playing in the UK!
@Gavin – And, she was known to whisper sweet nothings in his ear on the flights – “You’d get a window seat on this plane if your plus/minus was better!”