Daily Nuggets: Golden Knights Unlucky; Blackhawks, Gibson Trade Rumors

Yesterday, the Vegas Golden Knights received more bad news regarding defenseman Shea Theodore. Team Canada, on the other hand, is allowed to “parachute in” a defenseman to be on call in the 4 Nations Face-Off Tournament. Also, I tried my hand at predictions for the rest of the Golden Knights’ season. Elsewhere in the Daily Nuggets, the Chicago Blackhawks are rumored to be preparing for a busy deadline. Team USA dominated Team Finland, and Elliotte Friedman wonders if John Gibson will finally be on the move. 

I know that hockey fans don’t exactly love the 4 Nations Face-Off Tournament. But wasn’t it entertaining to watch Jack Eichel play on a line with the Tkachuk brothers last night? Also, please remember that this tournament is in lieu of the All-Star Game. Last year, Nikita Kucherov’s performance was a testament to how little he wanted to be there. The same can’t be said for the players involved in the 4 Nations Face-Off; they’re honored and thrilled to represent their countries. 

Vegas Hockey Now is doing a mailbag. If you’ve got questions about the season, trade proposals, etc., click this link and leave them in the comments!

Golden Knights News

Well, it’s official. The Golden Knights announced that Shea Theodore is expected to be week-to-week due to his injury at the 4 Nations Face-Off. That’s a devastating update. 

Shea Theodore is expected to be out week-to-week due to the upper-body injury he sustained at the 4Nations Face-Off.

— Vegas Golden Knights (@GoldenKnights) February 13, 2025

With Theodore’s injury, there’s a lot of uncertainty around the Golden Knights. Here are my predictions for how the rest of the season will play out.

Jack Eichel was a treat to watch last night during Team USA’s decisive victory over Team Finland at the 4 Nations Face-Off. He had two assists, including this one on Brady Tkachuk’s second goal of the night.

Sportsnet: Thomas Harley’s two-week break is going to end early. Team Canada is calling on the young defenseman to replace Shea Theodore in the 4 Nations Face-Off. Harley will join the team when the tournament shifts to Boston and will be “on call” in adherence to tournament rules. 

NHL Trade Talk, News, & National Hockey Now

Sportsnet: On his most recent episode of the 32 Thoughts Podcast, Elliotte Friedman wonders about Ducks goaltender John Gibson. His name has been in trade rumors for years; does anyone remember a few years ago when an insider claimed that Gibson “refused to play another game for the Ducks”? Anyway, Friedman says that Gibson’s preferred destinations are Carolina and Edmonton, although he thinks it’s less likely that the goaltender will be an Oiler.

The Athletic ($): Sidney Crosby is 37 and still plays at a remarkably high level. His talents were on full display at the Bell Centre on Wednesday night when Canada defeated Sweden in overtime. According to Jon Cooper, Crosby will go down as the greatest player to ever represent his country.

Chicago Hockey Now: The first rule of a rebuild is not to get attached to players. The Blackhawks will be very active around the deadline if rumors are any indication. Here is a complete list of all the trade rumors around this Blackhawks team.

Florida Hockey Now: It was all Tkachuks last night in the second 4 Nations Face-Off game between Team USA and Team Finland. Team USA won 6-1, and the two brothers combined for four goals and one assist.

NHL History: On February 14th, 1986, Wayne Gretzky had his career’s third and final seven-assist game.