Episode 0098: Houston Franchise?, Rangers Sale Value, Crawford & Kruger Concussions, Vezina For Halak, New Flyers, Lundqvist Slowing Down, B's Player Milestones, The Panthers, Twitter Poll and More!

We are fast approaching the end of the calendar year 2018 but there is still some business to take care of here at the Two Man Forecheck. 

The Forecheckers start of episode 98 with a brief discussion on the return of Shea Weber.  Mike teases us with the thoughts of some “behind the scenes” goings on.  We are also looking to do a mailbag show so please send us your feedback at: 

thosetwo@twomanforecheck.com.

This week’s holiday extravaganza starts out with a frank discussion regarding the possible sale of the Arizona Coyotes which could take place before the end of the regular season. The sale of the team could spark a possible move of the franchise and a possible location to land would be Houston, Texas. Tilman Fertitta, Houston Rockets owner, has expressed interest in the ‘Yotes in the past.

On a much less possible note, James Dolan, owner of the New York Rangers, has stated that if someone wanted to purchase the team, the discussion would start at around 2 billion dollars.  He is doing his due diligence, but that is where it stops at this point.

The Chicago Blackhawks have had two players suffer concussions on the same night, Marcus Kruger and Corey Crawford.  While neither situation is to be taken lightheartedly, Crawford’s may be the more serious. Having suffered a season ending concussion last year at this time, Corey may find himself out for another extended period of time.  Could this be the end of a career?

Sticking with the goaltending position, I would like to pose this question to everyone…can a “backup” goaltender win the Vezina trophy?  Jaroslav Halak has taken his new-found opportunity with the Boston Bruins and made the best of it.  He currently leads the NHL in save percentage at .930 and is second in GAA at 2.19.  He has started more games than Tuukka Rask and has not been beaten at home this season.  So, you tell us, is he a candidate for the award at this point in the season?  Let us know. In fact, the Forecheck Twitter poll this week also focuses on the award.

We veer sideways for a moment and discuss the new members of the Flyers.  The new GM, Chuck Fletcher has fired Dave Hakstol and replaced him with interim head coach Scott Gordon.

Back to goalies and the slow decline of Henrik Lundqvist.  His numbers have been dipping for the past few seasons and we are trying to figure out if this is a Rangers issue or a Lundqvist issue.

The Boston Bruins have seen some milestones past this week.  Krug, Backes, Bergeron and Krejci have set some marks of their own.  The fact that 3 of these players have done this with the same team says something about the players and the organization.  Congrats to all!

Last week’s Twitter poll asked who among the Kings would you like to see on your team.  Fifty percent of you said Tyler Toffoli, while 30 percent said Jake Muzzin, 20 percent Jeff Carter and no one wanted either of the back up goaltenders.  How do you feel about this?  We have stated here that Muzzin may be the most desired member of the Kings at the trade deadline.

Finally, the Florida Panthers have three players that are currently better than a point per game.  Huberdeau, Dadonov and Barkov are excelling this season for a franchise that is struggling overall.  Could one of these players have a new home at the deadline?  Is this team another that should be blown up?

Thank you all for giving us a little of your precious time, we wish everyone the happiest of holidays and a Merry Christmas!  Enjoy the show!