NHN Podcast Ep. 3: McGuire, Nichols, NHL Free Agency Opening

The NHL trade rumor chatter is hectic, the opening of NHL Free Agency is upon us, and Episode 3 of the National Hockey Now Podcast is out now!

Long-time NHL Reporter Jimmy Murphy and Producer Blake Thorne bring on longtime NHL analyst and two-time Stanley Cup Champion Pierre McGuire, as well as New Jersey Hockey Now’s James Nichols to talk about the latest NHL trade buzz and the NHL Free Agency opening up tomorrow.

1:00 – Pierre McGuire joins the show to talk about the latest NHL trade rumors as well as the fast-approaching opening of the NHL Free Agency. 

2:10 – Pierre talks about the Columbus Blue Jackets’ third overall draft pick in Adam Fantilli, the current state of the club, and the addition of Mike Babcock as Head Coach. 

McGuire: “I’m not saying he’s Jack Eichel, because I don’t think that’s fair to him, but there are a lot of similarities in terms of athletic characteristics between Eichel and Fantilli.”

5:10 – Jimmy and Pierre talk about the freeze of player-to-player trades around the 2023 NHL Draft. 

6:00 – Pierre gives his opinion of the 2023 NHL Draft class and predicts some teams around the league will be swinging for the fences with big trades as we go into NHL Free Agency.

6:30 – Pierre talks about offer sheets and tells a funny story on how Joe Sakic was able to stay with the Colorado Avalanche because the movie, “Air Force 1” provided them a ton of cash.

8:00 – Pierre touches on the backlash some Montreal Canadiens fans have given the organization as well as the hate messages and death threats sent to their fifth overall pick, David Reinbacher. 

12:00 – Pierre speaks on the current cost of Noah Hanafin.

McGuire: “It’s high…look at what Boston paid for Hampus Lindholm last year, that would probably be a comparable.”

13:50 – Blake tells Pierre a small-world connection between them which brings Pierre to speak on the relationships he built coaching at the college level. 

18:30 – Jimmy and Blake speak on the current rumors surrounding Tyler Bertuzzi.

22:10 – New Jersey Hockey Now Devils’ Reporter James Nichols joins the show to talk about all things New Jersey Devils as well as the big moves they have made leading up to the opening of the NHL Free Agency. 

30:10 – James speaks on Timo Meier signing a big ticket to stay in New Jersey. 

32:50 – James informs Jimmy and Blake that Tyler Toffoli told him he is open to an extension with the Devils past the 2023 season. 

35:00 – James speaks on the depth of the Devils and mentions a few guys in the pipeline that could come up and play solid minutes. 

38:20 – James gives his perspective on the fanbase in New Jersey coming alive with the recent success of the club. 

43:10 – Blake gets James to speak on Jack Hughes’ scoring ability and predicts that Hughes has a 50-goal season in the near future. 

Stay up to date with us on Twitter to see when Episode 4 drops @NatHockeyNow, @MurphysLaw74, and @_BlakeThorne!