This week's episode features a continuation of our discussion on neck protection and some salary cap talk before an amazing discussion with Dakota artist Cole Redhorse Taylor, from the Prarie Island Community, about his art and designing the goalie mask that Marc-Andre Fleury wore in warmups on the Wild's Native American Heritage Night. This week, Benjamin welcomes SJ, Trevor, and John to the Neutral Zone Hotel for their shift. 3:04 First, the crew has a short discussion about the IIHF's new rule requiring neck protection for events at all levels, including the Olympics, and what that might mean in the NHL. 8:38 The NHL announced that the salary cap will be going up approximately $4.5 million next year. The crew discusses how much that might help the teams with the highest payrolls. 18:37 Next summer's draft will be the last centralized NHL draft, so they're throwing a big draft party at James Dolan's utterly ridiculous Sphere in Las Vegas as a final hurrah. 20:42 Benjamin and Trevor introduce special guest Cole Redhorse Taylor to the Neutral Zone Hotel. Cole talks with the crew about his art, how he got started, how his art reflects and is inspired by his heritage and his people, and how he came to work with the Minnesota Wild to design the goalie mask and another piece that were auctioned off in conjunction with the Wild's Native American Heritage Night. You can find more information about Cole at his website and social media: https://coleredhorsetaylor.com/ https://www.instagram.com/coleredhorsetaylor https://www.facebook.com/coleredhorsetaylorart/ Neutral Zone Hotel is a production of the Neutral Zone Hotel Team You can find more information at https://neutralzonehotel.com Logo design by Emily Mowbray You can follow us on social media if you're so inclined: Instagram: @neutralzonehotel Bluesky: @neutralzonehotel.bsky.social

It was another ridiculous news week in the NHL. Marc-Andre Fleury broke a stupid rule, Corey Perry broke an unspecified rule and got fired, the Panthers and Senators broke all the rules and got kicked out of the game, and Dean Evason forgot to tell his goalies to make a save and he got fired. The crew breaks all that down, talks up the start of the PWHL season, and introduces a new segment, The Vibes Cup. Trevor welcomes Alex, Benjamin, and John to the Neutral Zone Hotel for their shift. 01:42 First up, the crew talks about Monday night's Panthers-Senators game. If you missed it, an entire line was tossed from the game 12 minutes into the third period. 05:37 The coaching shuffle continues as Dean Evason is fired by the Minnesota Wild and replaced with John Hynes. 14:30 Marc-Andre Fleury becomes the latest player to break the NHL's rule on not visibly supporting causes on the ice. 23:10 Corey Perry's contract is terminated by the Chicago Blackhawks. The crew reflects on the things that the team got right and what still needs some work. 36:23 Patrick Kane signs for a year in Detroit. The crew is not particularly hopeful it will work out well. 42:34 Benjamin gives a quick update on the announcement of the first games of the PWHL season and the status of his season tickets. 47:29 Trevor introduces The Vibes Cup. Which team has the best vibes? Which has the worst? It's time for a vibe check at the first quarter of the season. Neutral Zone Hotel is a production of the Neutral Zone Hotel Team You can find more information at https://neutralzonehotel.com Logo design by Emily Mowbray You can follow us on social media if you're so inclined: Instagram: @neutralzonehotel Bluesky: @neutralzonehotel.bsky.social

It's an American Thanksgiving special edition of Neutral Zone Hotel. All of our Canadian hosts are working while SJ and Alex are off. We have a special report on the Mullet Arena Experience(tm) from our friend Nick. But before that, there is plenty of dicussion on Luke Prokop's callup to the AHL, the NHL's Global Series games in Sweden, The Fake World Cup of Hockey, the province of Quebec paying up to $7 million to bring the Los Angeles Kings to Quebec City for some preseason games, and the opening of PWHL training camps. First up, Jess welcomes Benjamin, Trevor, and John to the Neutral Zone Hotel. 2:34 We would like to note that we all saw the news about an NHL player who was arrested for an act of domestic violence. There is a brief mention of this fact and a quick note about why we are not talking abour it on this week's episode. We expect to cover the subject in a thoughtful, in depth, manner sometime in the future. If this announcement is something you do not wish to listen to, please skip from 2:34 to the start of the next segment at 3:53. 3:52 Luke Prokop, the first openly gay player signed to an NHL contract, was called up from the ECHL to the Milwaukee Admirals, making him the first openly gay player to play a game in the AHL. The crew discusses this and talks about Luke's story and why it is important. 21:04 The crew discusses the recent NHL Global Series games in Sweden. Oddly, none of us tuned in to watch the Leafs play the Senators at 8AM. 34:19 The NHL is proposing a Fake World Cup of Hockey in 2025. The tournament would feature games in North America between Team Canada and Team United States, games in Europe between Team Finland and Team Sweden, and a final round somewhere. The crew, unsurprisingly, has thoughts. 40:58 The government of Quebec is going to pay up to $7 million to bring the Los Angeles Kings to Quebec City for a couple of preseason games. The Canadiens said they would have done it for free. Benjamin is not happy and he's going to tell you why. 49:13 PWHL training camps are opening and the crew is excited. Too bad about those jerseys. 59:16 Speaking of the Kings, our friend Nick recently traveled to Arizona to see the Kings play the Coyotes at Mullet Arena. Jess and Benjamin welcome him to the Neutral Zone Hotel's guest lounge to talk about it. If you or someone you know is affected by domestic violence, you can reach out to: Canada: https://endingviolencecanada.org/getting-help/ USA: https://www.thehotline.org/ or 1-800-799-SAFE If you or someone you know is in immediate danger, call 9-1-1. Special guest Nick Vasquez can be found on X at @NickVaz Neutral Zone Hotel is a production of the Neutral Zone Hotel Team You can find more information at https://neutralzonehotel.com Logo design by Emily Mowbray You can follow us on social media if you're so inclined: Instagram: @neutralzonehotel Bluesky: @neutralzonehotel.bsky.social

This week SJ welcomes Jess, Alex, and John to the Neutral Zone Hotel. 1:52 The Oilers finally fired coach Jay Woodcroft and replaced him with Connor McDavid's junior coach and noted shithead Paul Coffey. The crew has thoughts. 37:01 John leads a discussion on some statistical records set by all-time bad NHL teams and the crew decided whether or not this year's Sharks can break those records. 48:31 Alex has four surprising teams this season: one from each division.

This week Benjamin welcomes Trevor and Alex to the Neutral Zone Hotel where they once again are faced with poor starts, hot seats, and suspensions. 9:34 The crew discusses the Oilers waiving Jack Campbell and how hot Jay Woodcroft's seat is. 18:44 Andrew Mangiapane got suspended for one game for mauling Jared McCann. The crew, unsurpringly, has takes. 26:33 The crew analyzes the horrible start to the Sharks' season. 41:45 It's break time! 9 episodes and half the members of the staff, SJ, Jess, and Trevor, finally get to take a break and watch a hockey game.

Alex welcomes Benjamin, Jess, and John to the Neutral Zone Hotel. 4:06 First up this week, a discussion of the tragic death of Adam Johnson, who was killed by a skate cut in a professional game in England. Next up, it's suspension news. The crew discuss two suspensions announced in the last week. 16:13 Ottawa's Shane Pinto was suspended 41 games for a breach of the NHL's gambling rules. 28:07 Boston's Charlie McAvoy was suspended for a head shot on Florida's Oliver Ekman-Larsson. 33:52 In the second half of the show, the crew turns first to the plight of the Calgary Flames, owners of the second-worst record in the league for October. 49:48 The PWHL made a trademark filing for six possible team names... and they're bad. Really bad.

This week Alex welcomes John, SJ, and Jess back to the Neutral Zone Hotel. 1:46 First, John and SJ update the crew on their feelings about their teams' start to the season. Spoiler alert: it's not good. Taping day was a big news day and the crew talk through a few of the stories: 5:41 First up, it was Craig Anderson Day in Ottawa. 8:30 Then, it's yet another update in the NHL Pride Tape saga as the league rescinds its idiotic ban following Travis Dermott's use of it in a game on Saturday night. 25:32 In the second segment, John leads a discussion on the theme night schedules of the various NHL teams. 38:27 In the third segment, the crew discusses the upcoming Heritage Classic game between the Oilers and Canucks: 39:57 A look at this year's uniforms 45:59 A (very) brief look at the venue 48:37 A discussion of the injury to Connor McDavid that may keep him out of the game 51:51 Rasmus Andersson is going to miss the Heritage Classic, and maybe he should have thought of that before boarding Patrik Laine in the last two seconds of a blowout loss. 58:10 Finally, the reason for the random interjections throughout this episode is revealed to be three members of the crew watching ESPN's Frozen Frenzy feed on another device during recording. Neutral Zone Hotel is a production of the Neutral Zone Hotel Crew Emily Mowbray designed our fabulous logo You can follow us @neutralzonehotel on Instagram and @neutralzonehotel.bsky.social on Bluesky

This week, Benjamin welcomes Alex, Jess, and Trevor to their shift at the Neutral Zone Hotel. 1:31 The crew talks about how they're feeling about the start of the season. 8:23 The crew quickly discusses recent signings by the Winnipeg Jets and the Buffalo Sabres. 17:48 This week's PWHL updates include training camp rosters and waiver rules. In the second segment, the crew talks more about the NHL Pride Tape ban: 25:18 Trevor and Jess give their thoughts on the NHL Pride Tape ban, and the crew discuss updates over the past week, including front office pushback and whether players will use Pride Tape despite the ban 45:14 Two of the 200 Hockey Men, Brian Burke and Ron McLean, issue statements, as does the PWHL 55:27 A discussion about a possible Third(!) Memo from the NHL. Maybe one more draft and they'll get it. No, who are we kidding? They'll never get it. 1:00:53 In the final segment, Trevor has brought a new game, McCannections

This week, Alex welcomes Benjamin, SJ, and John for their shift in the Neutral Zone Hotel. 1:40 The crew discusses the biggest story on opening day of the NHL season: The NHL's ban on specialty jerseys, Pride Tape, and any other on ice support for "special initiatives," instituted because seven players opted out of wearing special warmup jerseys on Pride nights last year. 47:53 Next up is our first ever movie review. SJ has watched Slap Shot for the first time, and has thoughts. 1:04:19 Finally, the members of the crew talk about one surprising thing, positive or negative, about their teams on the first night of the season. Neutral Zone Hotel is a production of the Neutral Zone Hotel Team Logo design by Emily Mowbray

This week on the Neutral Zone Hotel, Benjamin welcomes the crew, SJ, Alex, and John, to their shift 02:30 First, the crew discuss a new contract for Trevor Zegras 09:00 Shane Pinto rejects what he considers a lowball offer from the Ottawa Senators 15:48 The WHL does another racism, Kai Uchacz is named captain of the Red Deer Rebels 20:35 The crew discuss what Andrei Vasilevskiy's injury means for the Tampa Bay Lightning 29:09 In the second part of the show, Benjamin leads a deep dive on the effects of the Russian war on Ukraine on the game of hockey. 31:12 The start of the war, and the response of the NHL and IIHF 36:18 The effects of the war on the NHL and NHL players 55:08 How the KHL has been affected by the war 1:01:26 The effects on Ukranian players, both in Ukraine and refugees Eliezer Sherbatov's interview is available here: https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2022/mar/03/eliezer-sherbatov-israeli-canadian-ice-hockey-player-escape-ukraine Sergei Varlamov's interview is available here: https://www.sportsnet.ca/hockey/longform/a-former-nhlers-bravery-and-sacrifice-on-the-ground-in-ukraine/ Read Volodymyr Karpachov's story here: https://ottawacitizen.com/news/local-news/how-a-15-year-old-escaped-war-in-ukraine-and-found-refuge-in-ottawas-hockey-rinks Read about or view Margo Biestuzheva's story at: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/how-a-minnesota-hockey-league-helped-a-ukrainian-refugee-and-her-family-feel-at-home-i-love-this-community/ Note: The text thread Nikita Zadorov discussed in the quoted interview was started by Sergei Bobrovsky, not Zadorov.