The Daily: Legendary soccer goalie dons pads with Blackhawks; Former Red Wings Mantha showing frustration

His hockey idol is a former Detroit Red Wings goalie. His best friend in hockey is a former Red Wings goalie.

Peter Cech, though, is best known for stopping soccer balls. He’s a four-time English Premier champion with Chelsea. Cech also was a five-time FA Cup winner with Chelsea (four) and Arsenal (one). He was a UEFA Champions Legue winner and the former captain of the Czech Repbulic side.

Cech is also pretty handy at stopping a puck.

A crazy story:

Petr Mrazek is close friends with Petr Cech, the legendary former Chelsea goalkeeper. Cech now plays second-division ice hockey in England — at age 40.

And today, Cech, Mrazek and a handful of other Blackhawks are playing soccer in Chicago.

Mrazek goes 1-for-1: pic.twitter.com/3K70X42X1M

— Ben Pope (@BenPopeCST) January 9, 2023

He plays for the Chelmsford Chieftains. They’re in the second tier of Britain’s National Ice Hockey League. Cech, 40, wears No. 39. That’s to honor his hockey hero, two-time Red Wings Stanley Cup winner Dominik Hasek.

A few from up close: pic.twitter.com/DDkjQHf158

— Ben Pope (@BenPopeCST) January 10, 2023

On Tuesday, Cech was able to don the gear for a Blackhawks practice. Arrangements for this were made thanks to his other hockey buddy. That would be Chicago Blackhawks goalie and ex-Red Wings netminder Petr Mrazek,

Red Wings In Case You Missed It

• Red Wings coach Derek Lalonde was harshly critical of his team’s overall performance against the Winnipeg Jets. He said it “was maybe our worst game of the year.”
• It was a record-tying performance for Red Wings defenseman Moritz Seider
• What Detroit coach Derek Lalonde is saying about five of his players
• Left-winger Tyler Bertuzzi (broken hand) was back on Tuesday in the Detroit lineup

Red Wings Next Game

Detroit plays host to the Toronto Maple Leafs on Thursday (7 p.m. ET). The Red Wings haven’t beaten the Maple Leafs at Little Caesars Arena since a 3-2 overtime victory on February 1, 2019.

Hockey Now Network

Pittsburgh: Injured goaltender Tristan Jarry, defenseman Jeff Petry and forward Josh Archibald all skated prior to Tuesday’s morning skate. Pittsburgh Penguins

Boston: Make no mistake, Brad Marchand is back. As a result, like his Boston Bruins teammates, he appears to be a man on a mission.

Philadelphia: Prospect Bobby Brink needs to spend the entire season in the AHL to enhance his development. Philadelphia Flyers

Florida: The Panthers were placing goalie Spencer Knight on injured reserve. Florida Panthers

Montreal: Investigating the curse of the Montreal Canadiens reverse retro jerseys.

Islanders: A blunder by Anthony Beauvillier ending up costing the New York Islanders a victory.

Washington: “We talked, and he’s frustrated, as he should be,” Washington Capitals coach Peter Laviolette told Washington Hockey Now’s Sammi Silber about former Red Wings forward Anthony Mantha.

[bet-promo id=”4002″ ]

Colorado: Frequently the subject of trade rumors, injured Colorado Avalanche defenseman Bowen Byram is back skating.

San Jose: San Jose Hockey Now’s Sheng Peng shares his thoughts on Mullet Arena. It’s home to the Arizona Coyotes. San Jose Sharks

Calgary: It was a Duehr do-over. The Calgary Flames were recalling forward Walker Duehr to play in his second NHL game.

Vegas: Brayden Pachal and Jake Leschyshyn are no longer among the team’s roster. Pachal has been given assignment to the Henderson Silver Knights. Leschyshyn will be joining him if he clears waivers. Vegas Golden Knights