Flames fire Darryl Sutter, Snoop Dogg wants to buy the Ottawa Senators, and more: Around the League

These around the league columns are GOLD during the offseason when there really isn’t a whole heck of a lot going on when it comes to the Vancouver Canucks.

Because while the Canucks may be golfing, there’s still plenty going on around the league right now. Last night, we saw the reigning Stanley Cup Champions and this season’s President’s Trophy winners stunned in game seven upsets, and today, we’ve got a couple of big headlines. Let’s get to those first.

As many expected following multiple reports that Flames players were unhappy with Darryl Sutter as their head coach, the club has relieved Sutter of his coaching duties.

The Flames signed Sutter to a two-year contract extension last September. That extension was slated to kick in on July 1st and run through the 2024-25 season.

Calgary is now without both a head coach and a general manager, as GM Brad Treliving departed the organization shortly after the regular season came to a close, with his club missing the playoffs.

Don Maloney, the club’s president of hockey operations will now begin a search to fill both positions.

We’ve already heard Vancouver-born Ryan Reynolds’ name heavily connected to the for-sale Ottawa Senators, but there’s another A-lister interested in buying the team as well.

Rapper Snoop Dogg is part of a bid headlined by Los Angeles-based entrepreneur Neko Sparks that’s interested in purchasing the Senators, sources told The Athletic’s Ian Mendes. Snoop Dogg took to Instagram to confirm his interest in purchasing the Sens.

“Amazing what @neko_sparks is trying to do in Ottawa & I’m looking forward to being apart of that ownership team. I WANNA BRING HOCKEY TO OUR COMMUNITY,” Snoop said in a post Monday morning. Snoop Dogg has long been a hockey fan, often rooting for the LA Kings. He’s even done voice work with EA Sports, serving as a guest colour commentator in their NHL video game series.

We were expecting to hear news regarding Reynolds’ group’s bid to buy the Senators this week, and it will certainly be interesting to follow along as the two celebrities look to purchase the team in Canada’s capital.

As mentioned in the opener, last night was a night of upsets in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

The Seattle Kraken managed to pull off the upset against the reigning Stanley Cup champion Colorado Avalanche, while the 65-win, President’s Trophy-winning Boston Bruins fell in game seven against the Florida Panthers after holding a 3-1 series lead.

Hockey fans expected these results in the opening round about as much as they expected Ryan Reynolds and Snoop Dogg to engage in a bidding war over the Ottawa Senators.

There’s one final game seven to go tonight, as the New Jersey Devils have managed to make things interesting and force the New York Rangers to game seven after dropping the first two games of the series.

Who you got moving on to face the Hurricanes? Let us know in the comments section below!