BHN Puck Links: Congrats to Chris Wagner on upcoming nuptials

Congrats to Boston Bruins fourth liner Chris Wagner, who has is making the very most of an unorthodox offseason for NHL players.

That’s because Wagner proposed to his longtime girlfriend Kate Macdonald over the weekend and announced the engagement on his Instagram stories with a series of social media posts from Sunday night. The 29-year-old Walpole native got on one knee at Surf Drive Beach in Falmouth, Mass and popped the question to the former Northwestern lacrosse player from Norwell, Mass.

Congrats to both on a wonderful engagement and a warm welcome to Ms. Macdonald to the Boston Bruins family AND the first family of Walpole.

*Our lead story over at Boston Hockey Now actually involves Wagner and other locally born Bruins players that make up a significant portion of the B’s team-building philosophy. It’s obviously good for any NHL team to have some local flavor, but is there a danger of focusing too much on bringing in the local guys at the cost of a worldwide hockey talent pool? (BHN)

*Good job by former Friars goalie Spencer Young of putting his thoughts into words and creating a blog detailing what it was like to have the remainder of his Providence College hockey season painfully taken away from him due to COVID-19 safety measures. This young man has a bright future and is one of so many young people losing out on meaningful life experiences these days.

*Speaking of hockey seasons coming to a close, the state of Massachusetts has put a two-week ban on all youth hockey activities by closing all rinks around the state. FOH (Friend of Haggs) Mike McMahon has some thoughts about the ban and how it should be handled by the state moving forward. (Neutral Zone)

*A former NHL player has turned government official in Canada and is trying to ban fighting in hockey. What a turncoat. Nobody wants long term concussion problems in hockey. How about banning blindside hits and headshots that do much more damage than a punch that a player can see coming his way? (Barstool Sports)

*Former NBC Sports Washington studio host Rob Carlin has started a Washington Capitals podcast called “The Capital Building” and I’m here to tell you it’s a must-listen if you’re a Caps fan. (The Capital Building)

*FOH (Friend of Haggs) Adrian Dater has compiled an interesting list of the Greatest Avalanche Players from Finland. The B’s list would begin and end with Tuukka Rask. (Colorado Hockey Now)

*The Detroit Red Wings and Tyler Bertuzzi have exchanged their arbitration figures with the Wings forward looking to get over $4 million AAV in his contract. (Detroit News)

*Since we can’t get enough Doc Emrick stories, here’s a great column of the NBC Sports hockey play-by-play man recounting some of his favorite stories as he rides off into retirement. We all hope Doc sticks around the hockey landscape in some form or fashion. (New York Post)

*For something completely different: Who knew that eating a Spicy Ghost Pepper Donut would be a life-changing experience? (The Ringer)