There are so many stories we don’t know about in the NHL.
And more and more, with podcasts which have gained importance in recent years, we have found a format which allows us to dig up these old stories and make them known.
Here are two that have circulated in recent days.
First of all, we first know Matthew Tkachuk for his years in Calgary. But did you know that he could very well have been drafted by the Edmonton Oilers, who had the fourth pick in 2016?
Here is how the draft took shape before CH drafted Mikhail Sergachev at #9. There was Canadian club per square foot in the top-6, wasn’t there?
- Auston Matthews, Toronto
- Patrick Laine, Winnipeg
- Pierre-Luc Dubois, Columbus
- Jesse Puljujarvi, Edmonton
- Olli Juolevi, Vancouver
- Matthew Tkachuk, Calgary
- Clayton Keller, Arizona
- Alexander Nylander, Buffalo
What you need to know is that Tkachuk says it was between Edmonton and Calgary. He even says he saw a jersey with his name on an Oilers jersey at the draft… in addition to having seen the club owner nod at him.
But when Dubois was released in Columbus, it changed everything in the Oilers’ plans. At least that’s his reading of the situation.
Imagine: because Dubois was drafted by Columbus (a team he managed to leave, by the way), the Oilers said no to Tkachuk drafting a flop.
Ouch.
But there’s also Roberto Luongo, who won the Stanley Cup (as manager) with Tkachuk in 2024, who had something to say about an old hostile offer rumor.
In fact, on the Spittin’ Chiclets podcast, the former goaltender says that when he was traded to Vancouver, he was the target of a hostile offer and therefore could have left the Canucks quickly.
He arrived as a restricted free agent in British Columbia.
He said no to the Detroit Red Wings because he ultimately wanted to play in Vancouver. The decision was simple, in his mind, since he didn’t want to leave Vancouver so quickly.
But in the end, he ended up leaving money on the table. He still got $27 million over four years at that time.
Imagine Luongo with the big Detroit team. Would he have a Stanley Cup ring if he signed the tender and the Canucks let him go? We’ll never know.
In burst
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