Tristin McKinstry Articles - Page 6

The Tampa Bay Lightning are taking on the Boston Bruins in the 2026 NHL Stadium Series. Tampa is looking to create some real distance between itself and other contenders in the Atlantic Division. And they got off to a blazing fast start thanks to Brandon Hagel. Hagel was fighting for a loose puck in the […]

The NHL will freeze its rosters on February 4th in advance of the 2026 Winter Olympic Games. As a result, there is little time left for teams across the NHL to make their moves before the 2026 NHL Trade Deadline in March. With this in mind, teams like the Carolina Hurricanes may strike before the […]

The St. Louis Blues are trying to salvage this season as much as they can. If the season ended today, the Blues would have the third-highest odds at landing the No. 1 pick in the 2026 NHL Draft. This is not the sort of campaign they hoped to have, and unfortunately, the news has gone […]

The NHL is preparing to break for the Olympic Games in Milan. On February 4th, teams will see their rosters freeze, putting a brief pause on any potential trade activity across the league. Before any last-second moves — such as a potential Artemi Panarin trade — shake up the first round, ClutchPoints is presenting its […]

The Florida Panthers are not having the season they envisioned when raising their second straight Stanley Cup back in June. Aleksander Barkov has missed the entire season due to an ACL injury suffered in training camp. Matthew Tkachuk just came back from an injury of his own. And the team is missing other important depth […]

Veteran reliever Kenley Jansen signed with the Detroit Tigers this offseason on a one-year contract. The 38-year-old will continue his impressive career for a 17th season in the Motor City. And he has a chance to achieve some impressive milestones with Detroit. If he can reach those goals, a spot in Cooperstown could be his. […]

The Detroit Red Wings are gunning for a playoff spot as the Olympic break draws near. Fans are still waiting to see how general manager Steve Yzerman plans to operate ahead of the 2026 NHL Trade Deadline. Before any of that, the former Detroit captain elected to reward one of his pending free agents, defenseman […]

Seattle Kraken forward Shane Wright has had a very up-and-down career in the NHL. He was the fourth overall pick in the 2022 NHL Draft and was the consensus best player in that draft process up until the event itself. Unfortunately, things have not worked out for him. So much so that the Kraken are […]

The Detroit Red Wings are on track to make the Stanley Cup Playoffs in 2026. Their performance this season has been rather vindicating for general manager Steve Yzerman. The former Detroit captain has preached patience through an extensive rebuilding process. He’s willing to make splash moves, but things need to align in order for this […]

The New York Rangers are looking to retool their roster ahead of the 2026 NHL Trade Deadline. New York is dead last in the Eastern Conference at this time. And they look increasingly unlikely to contend for the postseason anytime soon. As a result, many are waiting to see what the team does with its […]

The Detroit Red Wings are one of the best teams in hockey at this time. Detroit is second in the Atlantic Division after a loss to the Los Angeles Kings on Tuesday. They are only one point back of the Tampa Bay Lightning, though. And with their current pace, they are a legitimate threat to […]

The New York Islanders traded for Carson Soucy in a deal with the New York Rangers on Monday. That was apparently their first shot of the 2026 NHL Trade Deadline, as they made their next move around 24 hours later. Ondrej Palat is now headed to Long Island after a deal with the New Jersey […]

The New York Islanders are searching for a playoff spot at this point in the season. They have a slight grip on the third seed in the Metropolitan Division, and hope to keep it that way. On Tuesday night, the Islanders added a bit of Stanley Cup experience to their roster in the form of […]

The New Jersey Devils are open to making some moves this season, especially after failing to trade for superstar defenseman Quinn Hughes. One name that has drawn some attention is veteran winger Ondrej Palat. The two-time Stanley Cup champion has not had a great tenure in New Jersey. And on Tuesday night, it appeared as […]

The Boston Bruins are on a roll at this time. Boston entered play Monday having won 10 of their last 12 games. They were climbing the Atlantic Division standings and threatening for a playoff spot. One major reason for their success is star winger David Pastrnak, as evidenced by his feat on Monday. Pastrnak dished […]

The Edmonton Oilers are trying to gain a foothold atop the Pacific Division before the NHL breaks for the 2026 Winter Olympics. On Monday, the Oilers had to take on the Anaheim Ducks. And they got a massive contribution from veteran defenseman Mattias Ekholm in this Pacific Division showdown. Ekholm completed the first hat trick […]

The Utah Mammoth are battling for a playoff spot as the Olympic Break draws near. Utah had a rather tall task ahead of them on Monday night, as well. Sean Durzi and his teammates took on the Tampa Bay Lightning on the road. Unfortunately, Utah came up short against Tampa, but Durzi caught the attention […]

The Washington Commanders have been searching for a new defensive coordinator all offseason. They interviewed a number of candidates, including Minnesota Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores. Washington did not land Flores, but they are reportedly poaching a coach from the Vikings defensive staff. The Commanders are working to hire Daronte Jones as their new defensive […]

The Calgary Flames are near the bottom of the NHL at this time. Calgary experienced a surge not too long ago, but it’s since returned to Earth. They are seventh in the Pacific Division, with very minimal hope of making the Stanley Cup Playoffs. As a result, the team is likely to look to sell […]

The New England Patriots are headed back to the Super Bowl for the first time since 2018. New England defeated the Denver Broncos in a snow-filled game by a score of 10-7. One major reason for the Patriots’ resurgence this year is veteran wide receiver Stefon Diggs. Diggs did not make a major impact in […]

The Utah Mammoth are working toward a spot in the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the very first time. They need all the points they can get coming up. A matchup against another playoff contender, the Philadelphia Flyers, made for an entertaining game on Wednesday. Thankfully, captain Clayton Keller made sure the Mammoth skated away victorious. […]

The Seattle Kraken struggled mightily to begin the 2025-26 NHL season. It seemed as if the NHL’s second-youngest franchise would once again fail to contend for a postseason spot. However, a recent surge has them contending for a playoff spot and in a position to buy at the upcoming NHL Trade Deadline. And it seems […]

The Toronto Maple Leafs are looking for a spark, having lost three of their last four games. Toronto has a tall task ahead of them on Wednesday, though, as they take on the Detroit Red Wings at home. Unfortunately, the task has grown even taller without the presence of Oliver Ekman-Larsson. The veteran defenseman has […]

The New England Patriots have returned to the AFC Championship Game for the first time since 2018. Young quarterback Drake Maye has helped lead his team to its best season in nearly a decade. However, it hasn’t been an entirely clean postseason for the New England offense. And that could lead to disaster against the […]

The San Jose Sharks are battling for a playoff spot as the NHL season nears the Olympic break. As a result, San Jose elected to fortify its roster for the first time under general manager Mike Grier. The Sharks acquired forward Kiefer Sherwood from the Vancouver Canucks before the trade freeze next month. Sherwood has […]

The Florida Panthers saw Matthew Tkachuk return to the ice on Monday night against the San Jose Sharks. Tkachuk had not skated this season due to injuries suffered during Florida’s Stanley Cup run last spring. His return could not have come at a better time, either, with the Panthers sitting near the bottom of the […]

The Tennessee Titans have sought a new head coach since firing Brian Callahan during the 2025 season. In recent weeks, they had reportedly narrowed their search to three people. Jeff Hafley ended up taking the Dolphins job, which left the field at two. On Monday night, Titans fans learned who won the race to be […]

The Colorado Avalanche are the team to beat in the NHL at this time. They entered play on Monday with five regulation losses on the entire season. Colorado is on quite a run, and they continued their winning ways on Monday when they defeated the Washington Capitals. One player who did not suit up was […]

The St. Louis Blues are trying to climb out of a hole this year. They are near the bottom of the Western Conference at this time. And it appears as if the Blues are preparing for a potential fire sale at the 2026 NHL Trade Deadline. On Sunday, they took on Connor McDavid and the […]

Hockey fans have been anticipating a Rasmus Andersson trade for some time. The veteran defenseman had a falling out with the Calgary Flames during the summer, and it led to a breakdown in extension talks. In recent days, trade rumors reached a fever pitch. And on Sunday, things finally came together. Andersson is now a […]

The St. Louis Blues are not in a good place right now. St. Louis has fallen well behind the eight ball after making the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs. The Blues are sixth in the Central Division and are watching their playoff hopes fade with each passing game. As a result, veteran players such as Jordan […]

The Detroit Red Wings have missed the playoffs in each of the last nine seasons. This is the longest playoff drought in franchise history. Detroit has not made the Stanley Cup Final in nearly 20 years. For a franchise with the history the Red Wings have, this sort of run is simply unacceptable. However, the […]

The Anaheim Ducks are in a bit of a free fall. At one point, Anaheim led the Pacific Division, and appeared to be a true contender in the Western Conference. However, they have fallen off as the season as gone along. Anaheim is now sixth in the Pacific, and they won’t have star forward Leo […]

The Detroit Red Wings are near the top of the Eastern Conference midway through January. At this point, it would take an epic collapse for Detroit to miss the Stanley Cup Playoffs in 2026. This is a team that’s quite familiar with collapsing in the months of February and March. However, they’ve been able to […]

The New York Rangers have struggled mightily over the last few games. They have lost seven of their last eight games. And this past Saturday, they allowed 10 goals to the Boston Bruins, with star winger David Pastrnak notching six assists against New York. Unfortunately, Mika Zibanejad and his teammates had another rough night on […]

The Seattle Kraken are looking to continue their positive momentum heading into the midway point of January. A matchup with the New Jersey Devils provided an opportunity to get another important two points on the board. Unfortunately for Seattle, Dougie Hamilton and the Devils emerged victorious. This did not sit well with Kraken goaltender Philipp […]

The Detroit Lions are searching for a new offensive coordinator after missing the playoffs in 2025. Detroit finished with one of the NFL’s best statistical offenses this past season. However, the offense did not look nearly as dynamic as it had under former coordinator turned Chicago Bears head coach Ben Johnson. The Lions have already […]

The Los Angeles Kings are battling for a Wild Card spot at this time. A January matchup with the Dallas Stars on Monday gave them a chance to claim an important two points. However, this game became historic as Corey Perry achieved an important milestone. And he achieved this milestone in style. Kings defenseman Brandt […]

Robert Thomas and the St. Louis Blues have not had the sort of season they envisioned entering the season. St. Louis made the playoffs last year, pushing the Winnipeg Jets to seven games in their opening round matchup. Fast forward to Monday night, and the Blues are fighting just to stay clear of the last-place […]