Last week, we put together a nice little mailbag, and had a lot of great questions! Since the questions deadline has closed, I’ve been combing through what everyone asked, adding the A’s to the Q’s and whatnot. It’s been a lot of fun!
I’m shooting for publishing the article early this week (currently eyeing Tuesday morning), so keep an eye out for that!
Tracking the Stanley Cup
Over the weekend, Nicolas Deslauriers took the Stanley Cup to North Wildwood, N.J., for some partying on the boardwalk before assistant general manager Tyler Dellow took the full tour of Cranford, N.J., eating ice cream out of it with the kids, hitting up the local police and fire stations, and visiting the bookstore. Even general manager Eric Tulsky came to Dellow’s celebration.
While I’m unsure who will get the Cup next, it seems we know where it will be going at the end of the month. Per Minnesota’s Eden Prairie Boys High School Hockey on Instagram, Jackson Blake – who is an alumni of the organization – will bring the Stanley Cup there on July 30th.
Minnesota @canes fans, so you know before it happened. (Apparently because I’m a Caniac, the algorithm pops things like this into my IG feed as suggestions.) I don’t follow players, so I’m relying on @keeperofthecup to see the highlights. But if I see something, I’ll share. pic.twitter.com/RQlItXnIlB
— DMD (@DMED142426) July 15, 2026
Minecraft Player Creates Incredible Lenovo Center Build
As you likely know from my previous morning rumbles here at Carolina Hockey Now, I take any excuse I can to talk about video games. This column is no exception.
Over the weekend, an X post of the Lenovo Center recreated in Minecraft generated a ton of attention, gaining over 20k views. The video itself originated from TikTok, and was created by rocketmanbuilds, who has been sharing builds of full-scale sports stadium replicas in the Bedrock Edition of Minecraft since April.
In the video’s description, which was originally posted to TikTok on June 14, 2026, rocketmanbuilds shared that the Lenovo Center replica was accomplished in just four and a half hours. He also created a build for the Vegas Golden Knights’ T-Mobile Arena a few days before, which was just as incredibly crafted.
Only thing missing is an exterior shot with a $75 event parking sign and a million orange cones for Svech to knock over pic.twitter.com/R5HIt6wZ8r
— Teuvo’s Heavy Bronze Medal 🥉 (Michelle) (@michmondo) July 17, 2026
NHL News, Trade Talk, and National Hockey Now
Chicago Hockey Now: Connor Bedard is now the third-highest paid player, but he didn’t go for the maximum contract term. Jack Bushman has the full analysis on Bedard’s brand-new deal with the Chicago Blackhawks!
San Jose Hockey Now: One of the biggest frustrations with the San Jose Sharks as of late has been their defensive corps. This offseason, they addressed that issue head-on, and four non-Sharks scouts had some fascinating thoughts to share with Sheng Peng on the revamped blueline.
Another story from the Bay that deserves a little extra attention is the new front office hire, Jeff Kealty. The new assistant general manager has one heck of a resume.
NHL Trade Rumors: According to a recent rumor, the Minnesota Wild – who were hot on the trail of acquiring Vincent Trocheck at the trade deadline – decided against going for the former New York Rangers centerman this offseason to instead put all of the focus on acquiring Dylan Larkin.
On a separate note, forward Adam Erne – who last played for the Dallas Stars, including their recent postseason run – is reportedly leaving the NHL for the KHL’s Dinamo Minsk, which is located in Belarus.
Rachel Barkley is a beat writer covering the Carolina Hurricanes for Carolina Hockey Now on Sportsnaut. Painting stories with … More about Rachel Barkley