It’s finally here — tonight, the Dallas Stars retire Sergei Zubov’s No. 56 to the rafters. He will be the first defenseman in franchise history to earn the honors, and will join teammates Mike Modano and Jere Lehtinen:
“I loved [playing with Zubov],” Modano said during a phone interview this week. “I thought he was talented and phenomenal and the way he played the game was nothing I’d ever seen before. It made me look a lot better than I was most nights, with his ability to make plays and open up ice and find some seams, the way he operated the power play.”
Modano will be in attendance tonight for the ceremony before the Stars’ game against the Washington Capitals, along with several other members of the 1999 Stanley Cup team. It’ll be fun watching old teammates reminisce and honor the Hall of Famer’s career with Dallas:
[Jamie] Langenbrunner: “His ability to invite the forecheck on him, hold it until the last minute to make a good play for everyone else and somehow never get hit. There was kind of like ice in veins with the way he was able to play and the way he could slow down the forecheck and manipulate the defenders coming at him.”
You can read more from Matthew DeFranks here.
Stars Stories
Going to the game? Here’s what you need to know:
Honor Sergei Zubov with us tomorrow beginning with the Forever56 Green Carpet show presented by @PNCBank on #PNCPlazaDallas tomorrow at 5:15pm.
MORE » https://t.co/5nze68PZTY#Forever56 pic.twitter.com/VS0DlZmATS
— Dallas Stars (@DallasStars) January 27, 2022
Speaking of incredibly talented offensive defensemen on the Stars…
As a Stars fan you don’t get to celebrate Zubov and run Klingberg out of town at the same time. Sorry, those are the rules. https://t.co/az8LpcC3YB
— Sean Shapiro (@seanshapiro) January 27, 2022
Around the League
A few Central teams played last night:
- After getting embarrassed by the Calgary Flames 7-1 on Monday, the St. Louis Blues settled the score with a 5-1 drubbing. [Matchsticks and Gasoline]
- Meanwhile the Winnipeg Jets were on the wrong side of a 5-1 game, losing to the Vancouver Canucks. [Nucks Misconduct]
- Finally, the Nashville Predators lost the coin flip to the Edmonton Oilers: 3-2 in the shootout. [On the Forecheck]/
Speaking of Edmonton, they actually went and did it:
Here’s the latest on Evander Kane. Now that NHL has cleared his investigation, he’s ready to sign with the Oilers.
He’ll be paid ~$1 million, with a no move clause & pro-rated cap hit of ~$2 million, per @KevinWeekes.
Kane could debut this weekend.https://t.co/6fkArAqtbI
— Emily Kaplan (@emilymkaplan) January 27, 2022
The second most important jersey retirement tonight:
The day is here. #30Forever pic.twitter.com/wVAWbO30vL
— New York Rangers (@NYRangers) January 28, 2022
Down Goes Brown tries to instill optimism in the league’s struggling teams in his latest Grab Bag:
It’s the return of the Friday Grab Bag:
– Good thoughts for bad teams
– The three comedy stars
– The Wendel Line
– An obscure player with a horrifying instagram account
– The infamous (and hilarious) Olympic “Silver” sketchhttps://t.co/3w9lBrOfXn— Down Goes Brown (@DownGoesBrown) January 28, 2022
A pretty significant roster update for NHL 22:
🚨 LIVE IN #NHL22 🚨
IIHF Women’s National Teams are now available for the first time ever 🏒🎮
Play now 👉 https://t.co/ssJWNJ4j8f pic.twitter.com/2BXmcBXnJk
— EA SPORTS NHL (@EASPORTSNHL) January 27, 2022
Remind me again why Trevor Zegras wasn’t selected to the NHL All Star Game?
Trevor Zegras scores with the Michigan 😳 pic.twitter.com/dqGY8hrKk2
— Brady Trettenero (@BradyTrett) January 28, 2022
Of course, it’s not nearly as impressive as this non-goal:
Meanwhile in the @OHLHockey, @KidNelly89 of the @OHLBattalion literally *broke the puck in half* on his shot
half in, half out
goal didn’t count
Unlucky
— ᴀʀᴅᴀ Öᴄᴀʟ (@Arda) January 28, 2022