Last week in the NHL: Trump and Putin discuss USA-Russia hockey clash, Leafs get a little help from the ref, Ovechkin closing in on Gretzky

Every week, we’ll update you on all the important musings in the hockey world over the past seven days — from the NHL and beyond.

There were plenty of viral happenings on and off the ice this past week, including a hockey-related phone call between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin, Alex Ovechkin closing in on Wayne Gretzky, the Leafs cashing in a wild referee blunder, the NHL re-evaluating its All-Star weekend, Pat Maroon announcing his retirement, a heartwarming gift from a Canadiens fan to Brendan Gallagher, LeBron James repping the Blue Jackets and more.

Here are the top sights, sounds and news you might have missed in hockey last week.

Trump and Putin reportedly discuss Russia-USA hockey clash

During a phone call last Tuesday, U.S. President Donald Trump reportedly backed Russian President Vladimir Putin’s idea to organize hockey games between the two countries, according to a summary released by the Kremlin.

According to the Russian government, via ESPN’s Greg Wyshynski, Trump and Putin talked about “hockey matches in the USA and Russia between Russian and American players playing in the NHL and KHL,”

The Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) is Russia’s top pro hockey league.

The NHL’s relationship with Russia took a dramatic dip following the country’s invasion of Ukraine under Putin’s watch in February 2022, with the league suspending its partnership with the KHL and asking NHL clubs to stop contacting KHL teams and Russian-based hockey agents. The NHL also cancelled the broadcasting contract it had in place with Russian TV networks.

The International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) took a stand against Russia following the Ukraine Invasion in 2022, suspending it, along with Belarus, from international hockey tournaments. That ban, now more than three years old, was extended last month through the 2025-26 season.

The IIHF cited security concerns as its reasoning.

“As the current security conditions do not allow the necessary requirements for the organization of tournaments guaranteeing the safety of all, the IIHF must maintain the current status quo until further notice,” the federation said in a statement.

The NHL, meanwhile, said it was caught off guard by the meeting between Trump and Putin.

“We learned about it from the media reports,” NHL commissioner Gary Bettman said at the annual NHL GM meetings in West Palm Beach, Florid last week. “I’m not going to speculate or anything else. It is what it is.”

Ovechkin poised to break Gretzky’s goal record this season?

Speaking of Russian hockey players, the greatest to ever come out of that country is poised to grab the NHL’s all-time goals record sooner rather than later.

With another tally last week versus the Philadelphia flyers, his 35th of the season and 888th of his career, Alex Ovechkin sits just six goals back of what was once thought to be an insurmountable record — Wayne Gretzky’s mark of 894 career goals.

Gretzky himself has been following Ovi’s goal chase over the past couple season, and reportedly plans be in the house when his longstanding record is broken.

The former NHL great, now an analyst with TNT, owns an absurdly long list of individual NHL records, including the one Ovechkin is about to break. The Great One has boasted the league’s all-time goals record since March 1994 when he overtook Gordie Howe’s mark with his 802nd career tally.

If Ovechkin, who has averaged well over .50 goals per game over his illustrious career and is topping that pace again this season, can stay healthy the rest of the way, he has 12 games left this season to tie (6 more goals) or break (7 more) the Great One’s record.

The NHL is reportedly planning accordingly, with several initiatives planned to honour Ovechkin, including an in-arena celebration when the record-breaking tally is scored. League commissioner Gary Bettman, like Gretzky, will travel for Ovechkin’s final few games this season so he can be in the arena when elusive goal No. 895 tickles the twine.

Maple Leafs benefit from referee’s wild blunder

This has to be one of the weirdest, wildest goals we’ve seen in the NHL, but the Toronto Maple Leafs will take it. The Colorado Avalanche, maybe not so much.

Toronto, locked in a 1-1, third-period tie with the Avs last Wednesday, was short-handed when forward Steven Lorentz planned on heading to the bench for a change.

One factor, however, changed Lorentz’s mind at the very last moment as referee Kelly Sutherland took a massive tumble in the neutral zone before the puck ricocheted off the veteran official’s body and right back to the middle of the ice.

Lorentz, noticing the puck had squirted back into harms way on his way to the bench, changed course, picked up the biscuit and ripped one top corner for his first tally in 19 games — giving Toronto the lead with a goal that stood up as the game-winner.

A fortuitous bounce for the Leafs, indeed.

Sutherland appeared to be trying to avoid a Leafs defender’s clearing attempt when he took a hard fall on the ice.

Lorentz, who has been snake bitten over the past few weeks, said he will happily take it while describing the wacky play from his vantage point post-game.

“I’ll take that bounce,” he said. “You know I’ve been robbed a couple times this year. I was heading to the bench for a change and saw the puck just lying there, so I thought ‘what the heck,’ might as well go down.”

It was a big two points for Toronto, who are in an absolute dog fight with the Florida Panthers and Tampa Bay Lightning for the coveted top spot in the Atlantic Division.

Gallagher’s wholesome exchange with ‘incredibly kind’ fan goes viral

Lifelong Montreal Canadiens fan, Lucie Lachance, went viral for the most heartwarming reason imaginable last week.

Lachance took home the final “Hockey Fights Cancer” warm-up jersey worn by Canadiens forward Brendan Gallagher before the NHL cancelled the initiative in 2022. Lachance tagged Gallagher, who tragically lost his mother, Della, earlier in March after a three-year battle with Stage 4 brain cancer, and offered up the jersey in a post that read, in part: “I feel like this jersey should belong to you.”

Gallagher, clearly touched by the gesture, was quick to respond to Lachance’s kind offering.

“I’m one of his biggest fans,” Lachance explained to LNH.com, the League’s North American French-language site. “I realized that this jersey didn’t really belong to me anymore after the death of his mother. It’s a memento for him, it’s his to claim. I wanted to offer it to him.”

Lachance, according to NHL.com, acquired the sweater in the Canadiens Children’s Foundation auction back in November 2022 after Montreal hosted its annual “Hockey Fights Cancer” Night.

On April 16, after the Canadiens’ final home game of the season, the team will reward Lachance’s kind gesture — inviting her to exchange jerseys with Gallagher on the ice that night.

Gallagher spoke on his mom’s passing for the first time on Thursday after Montreal’s game versus the Islanders — a contest in which Gallagher scored the tying goal in the third period and put a hand to his heart in honour of Della.

“She was incredible,” said Gallagher told reporters. “I’m proud of her and of the battle she fought. Her bravery, too. We lost the biggest link of our family. She did so much for us. Everything I am is from her, it’s a special relationship.

“Hockey is my safe place. When I’m on the ice, that’s when it all goes away. It’s kinda been the thing that’s helped me get through it.”

Bettman, NHL re-imagining format for 2026 All-Star Game

Last month’s 4 Nations Face-Off was an absolute smash hit the for NHL on and off the ice, causing the league to re-consider how they will run All-Star weekends going forward.

“We’re reevaluating how we want to do things because I think we’ve raised the bar about as high as you can for an All-Star Game in any sport,” NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman said as the annual GM meetings came to a close last week.

“We want to make sure whatever we do is up to the standards that we’ve created.”

The New York Islanders are scheduled to host the All-Star Weekend in early February. However, It’s expected to be an unofficial send-off for NHL players who will be heading just days later to the 2026 Winter Olympics in Italy.

The NHL, as a result, “sees an opportunity to celebrate many of the top players attending the Olympics who will already be in the area while also providing the Islanders an opportunity to host a major NHL event at UBS Arena,” according to NHL.com’s Dan Rosen.

NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly said a decision on the format for next year’s All-Star Weekend should come before the puck drops on the Stanley Cup Playoffs next month.

“I can’t provide you clarity yet because I think everything is on the table,” said Daly.

In light of the success of the 4 Nations Face-Off both on and off the ice for the league and its players, the NHL announced the return of the World Cup of hockey in 2028. The WCOH is expected to happen every four years, along with the players’ return to the Winter Olympics, meaning fans should get best-on-best hockey every two years during the same period that All-Star Weekend’s have traditionally been scheduled.

Emotional Maroon announces retirement ahead of clash vs. hometown team

Patrick Maroon had a big announcement for fans ahead of Saturday’s Blackhawks-Blues contest: the three-time Stanley Cup champion is hanging them up.

Maroon, who turns 37 in April, made the announcement in a pregame interview with analyst Darren Pang before facing off against his hometown St. Louis Blues on Saturday.

“Sometimes you’ve got to give up everything you know and everything you dreamed of your whole life,” Maroon told Pang. “I just know it’s time for me and it’s time for my family to go start a new chapter in our lives.”

Following the game, an emotional Maroon had more to say while detailing his decision to retire at season’s end.

“I’ve done everything I could in this league,” said Maroon, holding back tears while detailing his decision following Saturday’s game. “I have no regrets.”

Maroon, who helped the Blues, his hometown team, win their Stanley Cup in franchise history in 2019, earned two more Cup rings with the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2020 and ’21. He became just the fourth player in NHL history — the first since 1964 — to capture the Stanley Cup three years in a row with two different clubs.

“I played 352 games in the minors and 840 games in the NHL right now,” said Maroon. “Who would have thought that? I’m happy I got to win in my hometown and I got to go and win two more.”

Maroon, as of Saturday, has skated in 1,002 regular-season and playoff games with Anaheim, Edmonton, New Jersey, St. Louis, Minnesota, Boston and Chicago, carving out an in credible career after getting drafted in the sixth round in 2007 by the Flyers.

Jersey swap of the Week: LeBron James and Adam Fantilli

Game recognizes game.

Goal of the week: Blues go baseball style

Batter up.

Milestone of the week: McDavid’s league-wide dominance

Another offensive explosion from Connor McDavid last week against the Utah Hockey Club, we saw the Oilers captain take hold of another elusive milestone, becoming the first player in NHL history to have a three-plus-point game against 32 teams.

McJesus indeed.

Stat of the Week: NHL hits record falls once again

On the other end of the milestone spectrum, Kiefer Sherwood has officially smashed more bodies in a single season than anyone else in NHL history. We love to see the grinders thrive.

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