Welcome back to NHL Notebook — the series here at CanucksArmy where we deliver you news and notes from around the National Hockey League — oftentimes through a Vancouver Canucks-tinted lens!
The Vancouver Canucks have packaged themselves back-to-back wins for the first time since December 1 after defeating the league-leading Washington Capitals and St. Louis Blues. They faceoff against the Nashville Predators tonight to try and push that win streak to three, a feat they’ve only reached twice this season.
While the entire talk surrounding the league seems to be with the Canucks, other teams around the league are making headlines by handing out lengthy extensions, placing notable names on waivers, teams deciding on a new team name and star players withdrawing from the 4 Nations Face-off tournament that is just around the corner.
Let’s open up our NHL notebook and jot down exactly what’s been happening around the league.

Utah Hockey Club narrows down team name search

The Utah Hockey Club have narrowed their search for an official team name to three options: The Utah Hockey Club, The Utah Mammoth or the Utah Wasatch. The club will give fans an exciting opportunity to participate in a vote for all those attending the following four home games (between January 29 – February 4) on one of those three names.
The Hockey Club was supposed to be just a placeholder for the first year before deciding on a team name, but now it is one of the final three choices. The Mammoth has always been considered, but the new name is the Wasatch.
Fun fact: I didn’t know what Wasatch was before this announcement, but here is how Utah described the name in their press release:
“Utah Wasatch is a new option created to honor the idea of a mythical snow creature with a Utah-centric approach inspired by the Wasatch Mountain range.”
Here are some quotes from the SEG, who own the Hockey Club, regarding why the presumed favourite “Yeti” is no longer a choice:
“As fans will see, one name is not on the list: Yeti, which was also one of the top six names included in the most recent survey round. An SEG executive shared that it explored every avenue to make Yeti work but that YETI Coolers, LLC was ultimately unwilling to agree to a co-existence agreement. SEG has confirmed it is no longer pursuing Yeti as a potential name for the team.”
While no date has been set for the team name announcement, the SEG stated that they are on track to have a name for the 2025-26 season.

Pietrangelo steps down from Team Canada

Due to the condensed schedule due to the 4 Nations Face-off, this was a nice two-week break for players to unwind and reset before the final stretch toward the playoffs. However, not every player gets a break, as the players selected to represent their Nation at this tournament don’t.
Well, one of those players selected will, as Vegas Golden Knights defenceman Alex Pietrangelo has chosen to step down and not attend Team Canada for the 4 Nations Face-off to tend to an ailment.
There’s nothing wrong with that. Missing the tournament to not cause further damage to an ailment. That’s fine.
However, Pietrangelo’s ailment isn’t causing him enough issues to miss games with the Golden Knights, as he suited up against the night of the announcement against the Florida Panthers.
From a personal point of view, Pietrangelo already has national accolades. Pietrangelo won a World Junior Championship gold medal in 2009, an Olympic gold medal in 2014, and an IIHF World Championship gold medal in 2016.
Pietrangelo is choosing to get healthy and focus on the chase for the Stanley Cup rather than chasing his nation’s glory at the 4 Nations Face-off.
Now, there is no Canuck defenceman that will contend to be Pietrangelo’s replacement – sorry Tyler Myers, Carson Soucy, Noah Juulsen and Vincent Desharnais. A few of the top options to replace him are Aaron Ekblad, Brandon Montour, Drew Doughty, Dougie Hamilton, Evan Bouchard and MacKenzie Weegar.
We’ll see which of those defenceman will join Cale Makar, Colton Parayko, Devon Toews, Josh Morrissey, Shea Theodore and Travis Sanheim in February for Team Canada.

Brandon Saad done in St. Louis

The St. Louis Blues placed forward Brandon Saad on waivers on Tuesday, and he cleared earlier on Wednesday.
Oddly enough, Saad was placed on waivers after the Blues most recent game against the Canucks. Saad finished the game playing just 11:58 minutes of ice time and was held pointless and shotless with a minus-one rating.
But it doesn’t stop there. After Saad cleared waivers on Wednesday, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman shared that the two sides are working on a contract termination that would end his time in St. Louis.
Saad has had a disappointing season. He has scored just seven goals and nine assists for 16 points, with a minus-14 rating and an average ice time of 14:36 minutes through 43 games. His minutes have declined since Jim Montgomery took over as the Blues bench boss. Saad averaged 15:30 minutes per game under Drew Bannister, but his ice time dipped to 13:53 under Montgomery.
Once he clears waivers again, the 32-year-old will become an unrestricted free agent and will be free to sign anywhere he chooses to continue his NHL career.

Philip Grubauer on waivers

The Seattle Kraken placed goaltender Philip Grubauer on waivers on Wednesday afternoon.
Grubauer signed a six-year $35.4 million contract with the new expansion team, the Seattle Kraken. The former fourth-round pick of the Washington Capitals signed this deal after a fantastic season with a 30-9-1 record, a 1.95 goals against average (GAA), and a .922% save percentage (S%) with the Colorado Avalanche.
However, it hasn’t been as easy for Grubauer during his time in Seattle. The German netminder has a 54-76-12 record with a 3.17 GAA and a .887% S%. This season has been especially bad for Grubauer, holding a 5-15-1 record with a 3.83 GAA and a .866% S%.
Seattle’s decision to make him available is largely due to the emergence of Joey Daccord. Daccord has been the better of the two options this season, with a 17-12-2 record, a 2.45 GAA, and a .916% S%.
We’ll see by tomorrow if any team puts a claim in for the expensive netminder. Putting our Canucks glasses on, they likely wouldn’t be the team to make a claim, considering their current goaltending situation.

Logan Thompson extension

The Washington Capitals have extended goaltender Logan Thompson’s contract to a six-year, $35.1 million deal that pays him $5.85 million annually.
Washington acquired Thompson from the Golden Knights on day two of last year’s NHL entry draft, which took place in Vegas. They shipped a pair of 2024 and 2025 third-round picks to the Capitals. Thompson was coming off a 25-14-5 record with a 2.70 GAA and a .908% S%.
However, this season, his numbers have drastically improved.
Thompson has taken over the starter’s crease from Charlie Lindgren, holding a 23-2-3 record with a 2.05 GAA and a .927% S%. The Canadian netminder was a shocking snub from Team Canada’s 4 Nations Face-off roster after his strong season and has made the selection committee regret that decision as the tournament approaches.
The Capitals are tied for first place with the Winnipeg Jets with 73 points in the NHL standings. They have a seven-point lead over the Carolina Hurricanes with a game in hand in the Metropolitan division. It is safe to say they would not be in this position had it not been for Thompson’s stellar outings, which ultimately earned him this extension.
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