Michael Pezzetta is still pinching himself after signing a two-year deal with the Toronto Maple Leafs earlier this summer.
The 27-year-old, who's spent his entire NHL career thus far with the Montreal Canadiens, grew up in Toronto and was a Maple Leafs fan. A sixth-round (160th overall) pick in the 2016 NHL Draft, Pezzetta recalled sitting in his childhood room and looking at all of the posters on his wall after signing with Toronto.
"I got a big picture of Mats Sundin on my wall and a couple of pictures of CuJo (Curtis Joseph) and some other guys," Pezzetta smiled. "I get to fight for the opportunity to put this sweater on, and it's just something that I've dreamed of my whole life, and I'm just, it feels amazing."
A month after signing his two-year, $1.63 million deal, Pezzetta spoke with the NHLPA about joining his hometown club. He reminisced about a moment from his childhood when he attended an open practice at Scotiabank Arena.
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"One time, when I was a little kid, our team was at Air Canada Centre [now, Scotiabank Arena] to watch the Leafs practice. I was an energetic kid, not really scared of anything, so I found my way down to the locker rooms," Pezzetta said.
"I was running around outside the locker room, and I ended up running into [former NHL defenceman] Wade Redden and one of the goalies from the Ottawa Senators. By that time, my dad realized I had taken off and came looking for me. I was running around, trying to get guys to sign stuff."
He revealed that Sundin was his favorite player growing up. The former Maple Leafs captain holds the franchise record for most points (987) and goals (420) through 981 games with Toronto.
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"I had his pictures in my room, jerseys things like that," said Pezzetta. "I remember his 500th goal, coming across the blue line and blasting a slap shot home, far side, for the overtime winner, and a hat trick. It was a great memory."
Sundin's 500th goal came on October 14th, 2006, and it was a shorthanded overtime-winner against the Calgary Flames. The Bromma, Sweden-born forward also scored 32 goals and 38 assists in 77 playoff games.
Pezzetta is entering his fifth NHL season after tallying 15 goals and 23 assists in 200 games, all with the Canadiens. Although he's likely to be a depth forward for Toronto, there's no doubt Pezzetta will bring more bite to the club's bottom six.
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"It’s the same as Montreal, it is a big market, there is pressure and expectations are high," he said. "But that makes sense and that’s what makes it so great to play in these types of cities. I’m embracing every bit of it."
This article originally appeared on The Hockey News: 'I Found My Way Down To The Locker Rooms': Michael Pezzetta Reminisces On Moments As A Young Maple Leafs Fan
(Top photo of Pezzetta: David Kirouac / Imagn Images)
The cover of EA Sports NHL 26 was revealed to be Florida Panthers’ forward Matthew Tkachuk. In their official reveal trailer on Wednesday (Aug. 6), they also revealed the deluxe edition would include his brother, Brady, and his father, Keith.
With the news in mind and it being that season of video games, where fans either complain or love the cover athlete, let’s talk about three LA Kings who should be considered next year, when NHL 27 comes out.
This one seems obvious. Adrian Kempe is a solid hockey player and one of the most underrated in the NHL.
While he may not be the most flashy player in the league, selecting a player who is a bit off the board but still has the skill to deserve it, combined with the ability to reach fans who still play the game, is exactly why Kempe should be in the running.
In what is likely his final season in the NHL, Anze Kopitar deserves a look for NHL 27. It would be a little odd to have someone who isn’t going to play in the 2026-27 season grace the cover of the video game, but why not shake things up a bit?
Kopitar is a legend and could be considered a Hall of Famer when all is said and done. Rewarding him like this is something EA Sports should consider.
Hear me out here.
A goaltender gracing the cover of an NHL video game? We haven’t seen that since Martin Brodeur did it with NHL 14. Why not give a goaltender a look? It wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world to consider him as a cover athlete, but that is a long shot.
You could also consider Drew Doughty, since he is someone else who is still in the running for an Olympic run, has been a legend of the game, and is arguably one of the most popular players in the league off the ice.
Time will tell, but it would be cool to see anyone from the Kings’ organization on the cover of the next instalment.
Image Credit: © Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images
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Following a new report, it would appear the Philadelphia Flyers don't have much of a chance of landing Mason McTavish in a trade with the Anaheim Ducks at all.
The reason isn't why you might think, either. Surprisingly, the reality is the reported asking price from the Ducks for McTavish starts with a player the Flyers simply do not have and cannot offer.
According to an NHL executive via Jimmy Murphy of RG, the Ducks would at least like a long-term, right-shot future top-pairing defenseman.
"Unless you’re willing to get creative and knock [GM Pat Verbeek's] socks off with a monster offer, I don’t see him getting traded at this point. A right-shot, top-four and future top-pairing defenseman would be the starting point from what I know," the NHL executive told RG. "I don’t see the [Detroit Red Wings] moving Moritz Seider, so you’re likely talking Axel Sandin-Pellikka."
A cabal of Flyers fans have been holding out hope that Flyers GM Danny Briere has one more big move in him this offseason, particularly for McTavish, but based on the above information, there's no way that will happen.
Ironically, the closest thing the Flyers have to offer that would even remotely compare to a player like Moritz Seider or Axel Sandin-Pellikka is Jamie Drysdale, who was traded by the Ducks to the Flyers already last January.
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Prospects like Spencer Gill and Oliver Bonk might make some sense, but neither has the draft pedigree or pro experience that Sandin-Pellikka has.
The 20-year-old Swede has already won the SHL and owns 52 points in 107 regular season games across three seasons in Sweden's top hockey league.
Bonk, on the other hand, will be playing pro for the first time this fall and saw his production drop exponentially with the OHL London Knights this past season.
Plus, Briere and the Flyers already pried forward Trevor Zegras out of Anaheim in an attempt to resolve their issues at center and inject some skill into the top-six.
How many times can these two sides realistically continue to exchange core players and key draft assets?
There is a fit for McTavish in Philadelphia with the Flyers, yes, but it's unlikely the Flyers want to continue to fork over prime assets for more players who may or may not reach their full potential.
Instead, a slow burn towards the finish line of this rebuild is the path of least resistance at this time.
On Monday, Florida Panthers superstar winger Matthew Tkachuk was announced as the EA Sports NHL 26 cover athlete, becoming the first Panther to grace the cover since John Vanbiesbrouck on NHL 97.
Following the announcement, EA Sports revealed that a full preview of the game was to come out today, on Wednesday, Aug. 6. gameplay of the game, which is set to release on Sept. 13, was shown, but it was also revealed the deluxe version of the game would feature a cover of Tkachuk, alongside his brother Brady and his father Keith.
Brady is the captain of the Ottawa Senators, a division foe of the Panthers. The brothers have been wreaking havoc in the NHL and joined forces on Team USA's 4 Nations Face-Off roster. The 25-year-old Brady scored 29 goals and 55 points last season, but has a career high of 37 goals and 83 points.
Keith, the father of Matthew and Brady, never won a Stanley Cup, but if his sons want to catch him in all-time goals and points, they'll have a lot of work to do. Keith played 18 seasons in the NHL, scoring 538 goals and 1065 points in 1201 games. Currently, Matthew is trailing his father by 298 goals and 429 points, while playing 559 fewer games.
Last year's edition of the game featured the Hughes brothers, portraying Vancouver Canucks captain Quinn Hughes and New Jersey Devils stars Jack and Luke Hughes. While still following the theme, EA Sports came up with a clever switch in their marketing.
Matthew Tkachuk featured on cover of NHL 26, first Panthers player selected since John VanbiesbrouckIt’s been a long time since a Florida Panthers player graced the cover of a major NHL video game.