Evan’s NHL Daily: Beer League Luongo, MacKinnon Defends Marner

Imagine showing up to your Mens League hockey game after a hard day of work, looking across the ice, and seeing one of the best goaltenders in NHL history on the other side of the ice? You’d probably have some mixed emotions. That’s what happened when Roberto Luongo stepped in to help a team in need.

Nathan MacKinnon is out in Las Vegas for the NHL Media Tour, and as is tradition, everyone has to ask about the Toronto Maple Leafs. He’s been skating with Mitch Marner this summer, and took the time to defend the Leafs star who is entering the final year of his contract.

Colorado Hockey Now

Later today, we’ll take a look at some of the concerns I have about the team, but yesterday, we looked at three reasons to look forward to the Avalanche season.

Speaking of MacKinnon, when the Avalanche take on the Columbus Blue Jackets in their home opener, it will be Nathan MacKinnon night.

News And Rumors

X: Roberto Luongo has always been one of the more charismatic people in the NHL, especially on social media. A beer league team needed a goaltender for a playoff game to take down the defending champs, and Luongo, who won 489 NHL games in his career, stepped up to the challenge.

Roberto Luongo responded to a “goalie needed” ad on Facebook and helped a beer league team defeat the 5-time defending champions in their playoff game 4-2 😂🔥

(via IG/bryceshockeylife) pic.twitter.com/OkNdjvPUXY

— B/R Open Ice (@BR_OpenIce) September 10, 2024

Now, bringing in the ultimate ringer for a playoff game? A little sketchy if you ask me. At the same time, the other team has won five straight championships, so maybe they needed to be humbled a little bit. One of two of those players can also go home and tell their significant others that they scored on a former NHL goaltender.

Daily Faceoff: Maybe MacKinnon could be trying to hype up a good friend, but it probably shouldn’t be news that one of the better playmakers in the NHL in Mitch Marner looks really good.

Marner is entering the last year of his contract and some NHL Insiders thought he was going to be traded this summer. That didn’t happen, and Maple Leaf fans are running out of patience, so it will be interesting to see how he’s treated this year.

San Jose Hockey Now: Auston Matthews shared some stories of what it’s like to be around Joe Thornton, as Macklin Celebrini will be living with the future hall of famer this year.

Philly Hockey Now: The Flyers debuted their new Fanatics practice jerseys, and let me just say that I’m not a fan of how they look for any team.

Detroit Hockey Now: Just a week until training camp, and the Red Wings are still trying to get a few big contracts completed, including one for Lucas Raymond.