Morning everyone. Here is the first newsletter where we’re actually talking about sports. Lots of stuff going on in the hockey world these last couple days.

Hoping to send these bad boys out 3x per week (Mon, Wed, Fri) if we can. Enjoy!

Pierre-Luc Dubois finally gets his Wish

The Winnipeg Jets and Los Angeles Kings have agreed to a sign-and-trade that sends Pierre-Luc Dubois to LA. Here are the full details of the deal from Frank Seravalli (who’s going to be helping us out a lot today):

Now here’s the thing about Dubois. I am a massive Winnipeg Jets fan, and have watched probably 90% of PLD’s games as a Jet. He might be the most frustrating player I’ve ever watched because he can dominate, but he rarely does. He leaves so much to be desired, and as a fan it will drive you insane. Maybe he’ll be more consistent now that he’s in a place he wants to be, but I have my doubts. Overall, Pierre-Luc Dubois is (usually) a very good hockey player and will help the LA Kings win a lot of hockey games, but I am certainly not upset that he’ll no longer be in Winnipeg.

Here is PLD’s player card from The Athletic, and a quick analysis of his new 8 year x $8.5M AAV (Average Annual Value) contract with the Kings from Dom Luszczyszyn:

I would now like to give a shoutout to Winnipeg Jets GM, Kevin Cheveldayoff. Not long ago, many people (including myself) thought that the Jets would lose PLD for almost nothing. That was far from what actually happened, as the package the Jets received was headlined by Gabriel Vilardi, a 23-year-old up and coming player who plays a very strong 200-foot game. The Jets also received Alex Iaffalo, a solid middle six forward who can help all over the lineup (or be another trade chip to further accelerate the Jets’ rebuild/retool), former 1st rounder Rasmus Kupari, and a 2024 2nd round draft pick. Well done, Chevy.

Connor Bedard gets his Wingman

Taylor Hall has been traded to the Chicago Blackhawks from the Boston Bruins. Here are the full details of the trade:

As our boy Franky said, this is a pure salary cap move by the Bruins. There was zero chance the Bruins could run it back with anything close to their regular season record-breaking roster, as they still have a bunch of guys that need to be signed with only about $11M in cap space. Here is a breakdown from CapFriendly on the Bruins’ roster and salary cap situation:

For the Blackhawks, I’m a fan of this move. Let’s be real, that roster had no talent and they needed to find someone to play with (likely) first overall pick Connor Bedard. Playing him with guys like Jujhar Khaira was definitely not the move (lol) - it would do nothing but frustrate Bedard and hurt his confidence.

Hall is still an effective all around player (as shown in his player card below), but he doesn’t move the needle enough for the Blackhawks to the point where they are contending for a playoff spot. They will still be bottom feeders - which is exactly where they want to be.

Bedard didn’t just get his winger for the next few seasons though, he also got himself a clothing deal with lululemon.

Been a good couple days for the kid… lulu shorts are unmatched.

Unlimited lulu shorts > being the 1st overall pick, IMO.

Other Trades

Tyler Toffoli to Jersey for Yegor Sharangovich and a 3rd

Jersey is going to be gross next year (and beyond). Toffoli is in his 30’s now, but it seems like he’s still got a lot of good hockey ahead of him.

Pretty light return for the Flames. Sharangovich is younger sure, but you expect a better return than that for a guy like Toffoli. Tough start for Calgary’s new GM, Craig Conroy.

Kevin Hayes Traded to the St. Louis Blues for a 2024 6th

Former Philadelphia Flyer Danny Briere is the new GM for the Flyers and it seems like he is trying to clean house. I get it, you want to get rid of the big contracts that the previous GM gave out and put your stamp on the franchise, but overall I think this is a pretty insignificant move for Philly.

I don’t understand the direction the Blues are taking with this trade. Hayes is a fine player, but the Blues have an older and slower team and just got even older and slower with this move. Seems like the Blues are going to be a middling team in the West next year, which is the worst possible spot to be.

Alex Newhook to the Canadiens for a HAUL

Wyd Montreal? A 1st and a 2nd for this guy?

Seems like a knee-jerk move after not landing Dubois if you ask me…

Sharks add Goalie Mackenzie Blackwood for a 6th

Mid.

Are the Devils making room for Connor Hellebuyck though? 👀 

Ryan Reynolds Purchases Minority Stake in Alpine F1 Team

Now here’s some content for my sports business lovers. Good Western Canada boy Ryan Reynolds, along with Michael B. Jordan, his Wrexham FC co-owner Rob McElhenney, and other investors, purchased a 24% stake in the F1 team for €200M - valuing Alpine at approximately €900M.

When I saw this deal, my mind immediately went to how F1 has continuously made the right strategic decisions to continue to grow their popularity in North America, and the NHL has done the opposite.

Not long ago, Reynolds was very interested in purchasing the Ottawa Senators, but the NHL/Senators seemed to want nothing to do with Reynolds, or any of the other major celebrities, who were interested in purchasing the team. Instead, Michael Andlauer, a diehard Montreal Canadiens fan and part-owner of the Habs, will become the new owner of the Senators. Make it make sense. I understand Andlauer’s bid might’ve been better, but come on. The long-term value someone like Reynolds would bring to the league is a lot more valuable than a bid for a few more dollars.

So kudos to Formula 1 for continuing to make all the right moves when it comes to growing and marketing their sport. Meanwhile, the NHL seems content being passed in North American popularity by the MLS (which is around the 15th best soccer league in the world btw).

McDavid Dominates NHL Awards (shocker eh?)

Here’s a quick recap of the NHL Award winners and finalists from Monday night (winner in bold):

• Hart Trophy (Most Valuable Player): Connor McDavid, David Pastrnak, Matthew Tkachuk

  • McDavid received 195/196 first place votes, with one voter putting him FIFTH on their ballot… I hope whoever did that never gets to vote again (I don’t even like McDavid that much, but he is hands down the best player in the world).

• Norris Trophy (Best D-Man): Erik Karlsson, Adam Fox, Cale Makar

• Vezina Trophy (Best Goalie): Linus Ullmark, Connor Hellebuyck, Ilya Sorokin

• Ted Lindsay Award (Most Outstanding Player): Connor McDavid, Erik Karlsson, David Pastrnak

• Calder Trophy (Rookie of the Year): Matty Beniers, Owen Power, Stuart Skinner

• Selke Trophy (Best Defensive Forward): Patrice Bergeron, Nico Hischier, Mitch Marner

• Lady Byng Trophy (Most Gentlemanly Player): Anze Kopitar, Jack Hughes, Brayden Point

• Jack Adams Award (Coach of the Year): Jim Montgomery, David Hakstol, Lindy Ruff

• King Clancy Trophy (Humanitarian Contributions): Mikael Backlund, Anders Lee, Darnell Nurse

• Masterson Trophy (Dedication to Hockey): Kris Letang, Clayton Keller, Alex Stalock

• Maurice Richard Trophy (Most Goals): Connor McDavid

• Art Ross Trophy (Most Points): Connor McDavid

• Jennings Trophy (Goalies w/ Fewest Goals Allowed): Linus Ullmark & Jeremy Swayman

• Mark Messier NHL Leadership Award: Steven Stamkos

LIV Golf Introduces Soccer-Style Relegation System

Earlier today, LIV Golf announced their new League Standings system:

From an entertainment perspective I like this idea (he says as he has watched less than 15 minutes of a LIV Golf since it began). It gives the team aspect a traditional offseason sport feel, and puts some pressure on the mid players to not suck or they might lose their big signing bonuses.

But that isn’t the main reason I found this interesting. After the PGA Tour-LIV Golf merger announcement, based on everything I heard it seemed like LIV would cease to exist in 2024 and all the LIV players would migrate back to either the PGA Tour or DP World Tour. But implementing this relegation and player transfer system makes it seem like LIV Golf may be operating in 2024 (and maybe beyond?). We’ll see what happens, there are lots of new possibilities as the result of this merger (will PGA Tour players be forced to participate in LIV tournaments?), and I think the merging of these entities will only benefit the game of golf from an entertainment standpoint in the long run.

But Saudi Arabia isn’t just focused on golf, they are also looking to further diversify their sports portfolio:

👀 

We’ll see where this goes.

John Collins Traded to the Utah Jazz

Mini Monday Woj Bomb:

I don’t have much to say about this trade. Guy used to be a fairly decent prospect I guess. I do like what the Jazz are building in Utah though - fun, young team with a ton of draft capital. Wouldn’t be surprised if them and OKC are the two teams running the Western Conference in a few years time.

Bron to Atlanta?

That’s all I got for y’all. I don’t think the newsletters will typically be this long or this focused on hockey moving forward, just lots of player movement in the NHL these last couple days. Feel free to reply to this email with your thoughts. Hope everyone enjoyed (and if you did please share with your friends and follow Nosebleed Sports on Twitter and LinkedIn)! Thanks for reading!

From,

The Nosebleeds🩸