Colorado Avalanche

NHL Trade Talk Morning Roundup: Leafs, Oilers, Jets, Avs & Ovie

In our NHL Trade Talk Morning Roundup (Jan 23), Leafs lose to Blue Jackets, Ovechkin visits Oilers Hall of Fame, Jets end losing streak.

by
Old Prof
January 23, 2025

Welcome to today’s NHL Trade Talk Morning Roundup (January 23). Each morning, we will bring you three key NHL stories. Here, you can stay updated on the latest team wins and losses, trade talk, and player news from around the NHL. In today’s roundup, the Toronto Maple Leafs lost one of those games when nothing seemed to go right against the Columbus Blue Jackets. The Winnipeg Jets broke their two-game losing streak against the Colorado Avalanche.

However, perhaps most interesting was Alex Ovechkin’s Gretzky Moment when he visited the Edmonton Oilers Hall of Fame. Ovechkin found the equipment used by The Great One to be “sick.”

In a Strange Game, Columbus Beats Toronto 5-1

The Columbus Blue Jackets’ Adam Fantilli picked up his first NHL hat trick to lead his team to a 5-1 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs last night. The Maple Leafs couldn’t solve Elvis Merzlikins, who made 29 saves in a strong performance.

Auston Matthews got the only score for the Maple Leafs and extended his streak to five games. Despite a strong first two periods, Toronto couldn’t generate enough offense to keep them in the game.

Jets Beat Avalanche on Neal Pionk’s OT Winner

Neal Pionk’s overtime goal was the difference as his Winnipeg Jets beat the Colorado Avalanche 3-2. Jets goalie Connor Hellebuyck made 25 saves and even picked up an assist on the game-winning goal. The win snapped the Jets two-game losing streak.

Ovechkin Gretzky Goal record — Ovechkin is close to beating Gretzky’s Goal record.

Alex Ovechkin Visits Oilers Hall of Fame, Comments on Gretzky’s Sticks

While Alex Ovechkin was in Edmonton for the Washington Capitals game against the Oilers, he had a Gretzky moment while visiting the Oilers Hall of Fame. He tried on gloves, held Gretzky’s old Titan hockey stick, and shared his relationship with The Great One. He’s just 21 goals behind Gretzky for the all-time NHL scoring record.

Most interesting were Ovechkin’s thoughts about the aged equipment. He thought, “It’s pretty sick” when he felt the different equipment Gretzky played with. The heavy wooden Titan stick Gretzky used to help Edmonton win the Stanley Cup four times (1984, 1985, 1987, 1988) was interesting.