Ben Shelley Articles - Page 3

With the Chicago Blackhawks near the bottom of the NHL standings, the team is expected to sell at the trade deadline. The issue the Blackhawks will face is that they don’t have many pieces who are likely to bring back big returns. Taylor Hall was just dealt to the Carolina Hurricanes at a low cost, […]

Nearing the NHL trade deadline, the Buffalo Sabres once again find themselves in a position to sell. Jason Zucker is arguably the most likely player to be traded by the Sabres. The winger was signed to a one-year deal last offseason and has put together a really strong season, scoring 18 goals and 38 points in […]

Early into the 2024-25 NHL season, the Montreal Canadiens seemed destined to sell at the trade deadline. The Canadiens sat near the bottom of the Eastern Conference, still just looking to come out of their rebuild. However, the club has turned things around, emerging as one of the league’s hottest teams since mid-December. Montreal has […]

Approaching the midway mark of the season, the St. Louis Blues have seen pretty mixed results. Through 34 games, the Blues hold a 15-16-3 record and just a .485 points percentage. As of now, St. Louis sits 11th in the Western Conference in points percentage. So below, we take a look at the biggest reasons […]

The Seattle Kraken’s start to the 2024-25 season has seen mixed results. After missing the playoffs last season, it’s clear through the Kraken’s offseason moves that there was an emphasis on immediate improvement. However, the team holds a 14-14-1 record through 29 games, ranking 10th in the Western Conference in points percentage. So below, we […]

Early into the 2024-25 NHL season, the Ottawa Senators’ season hasn’t gone according to plan. Coming off seven straight years without a postseason appearance, there’s some pressure for progress in Ottawa. But through 25 games, the Senators carry a 12-12-2 record, sitting 10th in the East in points percentage. With a lot of season left, […]

It’s been four years since the Philadelphia Flyers reached the postseason. Turning over a portion of their roster over the last few years, the Flyers opted to build for the future. However, the team looks to be on the upswing. The Flyers hold a 12-10-3 record thus far and find themselves in the playoff mix […]

Entering the season, expectations for the Los Angeles Kings weren’t wildly high. The team was coming off three straight playoff eliminations at the hands of the Edmonton Oilers, and the Kings didn’t accomplish a ton in the offseason. The subtractions outweighed the additions, and it was tough to view the team as a contender. But […]

There were high hopes for the Nashville Predators coming into the 2024-25 NHL season. The Predators had gotten back to the playoffs last year, for a bit of a surprise success. Then this summer, Nashville made huge additions in free agency, seemingly setting them up to be a contender in the Western Conference. However, the […]

The Carolina Hurricanes once again find themselves near the top of the Metropolitan Division early on, opening their season with a 10-3-0 record. Despite Carolina having a lot of regular season success over the Rod Brind’Amour era, they also suffered some major offseason losses. Jake Guentzel, Brady Skjei, Brett Pesce, Teuvo Teravainen and others departed, […]

In early November 2021, the Buffalo Sabres traded franchise center Jack Eichel to the Vegas Golden Knights. Selected second overall in 2015, Eichel was seen as the player who could help lead the team back to relevancy. But while he arguably did his part, the pieces weren’t put in place around him. The Sabres cycled […]

The Winnipeg Jets sit atop the NHL through 12 games, holding an 11-1-0 record so far this season. The hot start probably shouldn’t come as a giant surprise, given the team’s success last year. They posted 110 points in the 2023-24 season, good enough for second in the Western Conference. But an early, five-game first […]

The Seattle Kraken signed goaltender Joey Daccord to a five-year contract extension on Wednesday. The deal carries a $5 million cap hit as well as a partial no-trade clause, and will kick in for the 2025-26 season. Below, we take a look at how the Daccord’s new contract looks for the Kraken. Joey Daccord’s Success […]

Once again, the Colorado Avalanche enter the 2024-25 season as one of the Western Conference’s top teams. Only two years removed from a Stanley Cup win, the Avalanche roster features some of the game’s top stars. There’s an argument to be made that Cale Makar, Nathan MacKinnon and Mikko Rantanen represent three of the NHL’s […]

In just three seasons since entering the league, the Seattle Kraken have already seen their share of ups and downs. After an expectedly tough inaugural season, the Kraken managed to reach the playoffs in just their second season. However, eliminating the defending Stanley Cup champion Colorado Avalanche and reaching the second round may have resulted […]

Over the last couple of seasons, the Calgary Flames have entered a new era. The Flames captured the Pacific Division title during the 2021-22 season. However, departures followed, with the team losing a chunk of its core after that point. The Matthew Tkachuk-for-Jonathan Huberdeau blockbuster ended up being a massive bust for Calgary, while the […]

For a team in the midst of a rebuild, the Philadelphia Flyers were surprisingly competitive last season. Ultimately, they still missed the playoffs, but they hung around longer than anyone would’ve predicted. Coming off a couple of tough seasons, simply finishing with a record above .500 was a surprise. By the time the season ended, […]

In 2023, the Vegas Golden Knights managed to capture their first Stanley Cup in just their sixth year as an NHL franchise. As a result, with the team running back a very similar roster last season, it seemed as though a rare back-to-back Stanley Cup run was possible. However, Vegas struggled as the year went […]

Over the last half-decade, the Carolina Hurricanes have established themselves as a contender in the East. Building through the draft and seeing improved results under Rod Brind’Amour, the Hurricanes have at times looked like a legitimate Stanley Cup favorite. But after an offseason highlighted by key departures, Carolina may be looking at a bit of […]

After missing the playoffs for the first time in several years, the Minnesota Wild stayed fairly quiet in NHL free agency. The Wild made a few minor additions, but overall, there wasn’t a ton of turnover. Of course, their hands have really been tied by the Zach Parise and Ryan Suter buyouts. The total cap […]

The Winnipeg Jets are coming off somewhat of a surprisingly strong 2023-24 campaign. Just one year ago, the organization’s direction seemed to be up in the air, with the futures of two franchise cornerstones in Mark Scheifele  and Connor Hellebuyck unclear. However, not only did the duo ink matching seven-year contracts, but the Jets went […]

The New York Islanders once again suffered from a lack of cap space, heading into the offseason. Perpetually in a cap crunch over the last few seasons, the Islanders have struggled to add. As a result, the organization finds themselves in a bit of a stale spot right now. Much of the team’s core, in […]

Riding a 13-year playoff drought, the Buffalo Sabres find themselves still struggling to make meaningful progress. This past season, the Sabres finished 12th in the East. With a young core established though and an abundance of cap space, free agency seemed like a good opportunity to make improvements to their roster. However, Buffalo stayed relatively […]

Following a second straight first round exit, the Tampa Bay Lightning made some major shake-ups to their roster. After re-acquiring Ryan McDonagh from the Nashville Predators, then sending Mikhail Sergachev to Utah, the Lightning made their biggest moves up front in free agency. Tampa Bay signed Jake Guentzel to a seven-year contract, after acquiring him […]

The Seattle Kraken were active in free agency on July 1, as they build back towards a playoff appearance. Perhaps their biggest addition came on the blue line, adding defenseman Brandon Montour. The defender signed a seven-year contract with the Kraken, carrying a $7.25 million cap hit. The deal comes with a full no-trade clause […]

The Carolina Hurricanes face quite a bit of uncertainty this offseason, with many of their core players set to become free agents. Among those who could leave the Hurricanes is Teuvo Teravainen. The winger will be turning 30 years old in September and has been a fixture within the team’s forward group for the last […]

The Carolina Hurricanes may be facing a worse cap crunch than any other team in the NHL, entering the offseason. The team’s list of players in need of a new deal includes Jake Guentzel, Brady Skjei, Martin Necas, and others. Without enough available cap space to keep everyone in the fold, we can expect some […]

With the Stanley Cup Playoffs underway and the regular season in the rearview mirror, we’re now nearing NHL Awards season. Starting Monday, NHL Award finalists will start to be announced ahead of the June ceremony. While some awards will be a close race though, this year, the Vezina Trophy is unlikely to be one of […]

For the seventh year in a row, the Ottawa Senators have missed the postseason. The team was officially eliminated from playoff contention a little over a week ago after falling well short of expectations on the year. Entering the season, excitement levels around the team were higher than they’ve been in a long time, and […]

The Vegas Golden Knights signed defenseman Noah Hanifin to an eight-year, $58.8 million contract extension on Thursday. Hanifin was acquired by Vegas from the Calgary Flames at the trade deadline and was set to become an unrestricted free agent. Between the teams this season, Hanifin has managed 13 goals and 44 points in 77 games. […]

The Chicago Blackhawks were the first NHL team to be officially eliminated from playoff contention back in March. While it’s been a terrible year for the team though, it also comes as no surprise. Gone are the days of the Blackhawks contending from year-to-year, with the roster now in a continued overhaul. Chicago’s fully committed […]

The Carolina Hurricanes made the biggest splash of the NHL trade deadline, acquiring Jake Guentzel from the Pittsburgh Penguins. Guentzel had spent his entire career with the Penguins, winning a Stanley Cup with the team in 2017. Over parts of eight seasons in Pittsburgh, the forward managed 466 points across 503 games. In order to […]

The Vegas Golden Knights were active once again at the trade deadline this year, looking towards possible back-to-back Stanley Cups. The team made several moves leading up to the deadline, adding both Noah Hanifin and Anthony Mantha. However, the most surprising addition came on deadline day itself, when Vegas acquired Tomas Hertl from the San […]

The Carolina Hurricanes loaded up at the trade deadline, acquiring not one, but two high-end forwards to prepare for a deep playoff run. Adding Jake Guentzel – the top trade piece available – was the most notable move of the entire deadline. However, the Hurricanes followed up with another sneaky addition to their forward group […]

Currently sitting at the bottom of the Eastern Conference, the Columbus Blue Jackets are set to miss the playoffs for a fourth consecutive season. It’s not an overly new position, given the organization struggled through much of their first 15 years in the NFL. Between their inaugural season in 2000-21 and 2015-16, the team reached […]

The Calgary Flames continued their trade deadline sell-off on Wednesday, sending Noah Hanifin to the Vegas Golden Knights. This three-team trade also involved the Philadelphia Flyers for salary retention purposes. In exchange for Hanifin, the Flames received a 2026 first-round pick, a conditional third-round pick in 2024, and defenseman Daniil Miromanov. Vegas also received forward […]

With the NHL trade deadline coming up on Friday, we can expect a few more big-names dealt around the league. One of the teams we can expect to be active in these trades is the Pittsburgh Penguins. For over a decade now, the Penguins have continued to add whenever possible, often throwing future assets to […]

The Detroit Red Wings announced on Tuesday that they’ve signed forward Michael Rasmussen to a four-year contract extension. Kicking in for the start of the 2024-25 season, the deal carries a $3.2 million cap hit. Below, we take a look at what kind of value the Red Wings are getting with the deal. The Player […]

Nearing the midway mark of the season, the St. Louis Blues find themselves fighting for a playoff spot in the West. A few years removed from contender status, the Blues are more or less now just another team in the mix. The team isn’t as deep as it once was, with some of the bigger […]