NHL Articles - Page 170

The Vancouver Canucks were one of the big surprises of the 2023-24 National Hockey League campaign, following up three consecutive playoff-less seasons by winning the Pacific Division and taking the eventual Western Conference champion Edmonton Oilers to seven games in Round 2. Although the year ended in crushing disappointment — losing a Game 7 at […]

It was the end of an era for the Tampa Bay Lightning with the departure of longtime captain and icon Steven Stamkos, who departed the only franchise he’s ever played for by signing a four-year contract with the Nashville Predators. Sensing that a split between the two sides was inevitable, Lightning general manager Julien BriseBois acted […]

The Anaheim Ducks finished near the bottom of the NHL once again in 2023-24. They held the third overall pick in the 2024 NHL Draft as a result. However, Anaheim is hoping to take some steps forward sometime soon. And there are a few Ducks breakout candidates that could help them climb the standings. Anaheim […]

The Philadelphia Flyers missed the Stanley Cup Playoffs in 2023-24. It was a shocking run from Philadelphia in the first place. The fact that the Flyers competed for a playoff spot late in the season is something many didn’t expect. That said, it was a crushing loss for Philadelphia, to say the least. The Flyers […]

The Chicago Blackhawks are looking to take a step forward in 2024-25. The Blackhawks watched Connor Bedard win the Calder Trophy as the best rookie in 2023-24. And they saw promising developments from the likes of Alex Vlasic, Kevin Korchinski, and Philipp Kurashev. The Blackhawks finished near the bottom of the league this past season. […]

The Toronto Maple Leafs have been in salary cap troubles since signing their big four forwards to massive deals. The issue with contracts like that is value deals are integral and young players must contribute even more. The Maple Leafs will need some breakout candidates in the (possible) last season of the John Tavares and […]

The San Jose Sharks had a horrific 2023-24 season. San Jose had a historically bad start to the year. And while things did improve, the overall tone for the year had been set. San Jose eventually won the NHL Draft Lottery before drafting Macklin Celebrini first overall. Finishing dead last in the NHL benefitted them […]

The Nashville Predators made the Stanley Cup Playoffs last year after a brutal start. The Predators surged through the second half of the regular season to make the playoffs. And while they lost round one to the Vancouver Canucks, Nashville hoped they could build upon their second half form. Accordingly, they attacked NHL Free Agency […]

The Boston Bruins overachieved by a wide margin in the 2023-24 season. The team aimed to keep the fans happy by signing some aging veterans to compete for a playoff spot. The Bruins had some well-needed cap relief on the horizon and knew they could sign some big fish in the 2024 offseason. The plan […]

The Detroit Red Wings have left some roster spots open for young players. Lucas Raymond and Moritz Seider are already locked into the lineup. Joe Veleno signed a two-year contract, which should give him a spot on the roster as well. Other young players such as forwards Jonatan Berggren, Carter Mazur, and defenseman Simon Edvinsson […]

The New York Islanders are looking to improve on back-to-back first-round playoff exits. With head coach Patrick Roy in the fold for his first full season, there is some hope that they could go deep in the playoffs once again. The Islanders will need breakout performances from forwards to do so. They ranked 22nd in […]

It’s been tough sledding for the Minnesota Wild over the last couple of seasons, which is to be expected as the club has continued to be hindered by the massive buyouts of Zach Parise and Ryan Suter. Mercifully, this is the last year that the two veterans will cost a fortune, with the franchise set […]

The Anaheim Ducks are coming off another brutal season in 2023-24. They finished with the third-worst record in the Western Conference and extended their playoff drought to a franchise-record six seasons. Now, reports are surfacing that their star forward Trevor Zegras could be on the move. NHL Network’s Stu Grimson said that there is a […]

Seth Jarvis broke out in his third full season with the Carolina Hurricanes, fitting like a glove on the top line alongside Sebastian Aho and enjoying career bests across the board. The 22-year-old amassed 33 goals and 67 points over 81 regular-season games, adding another five goals and nine points in 11 Stanley Cup Playoff […]

General manager Jim Nill and the Dallas Stars have had a lot of success in the last two seasons. The Stars made the Western Conference Finals in 2023, but it didn’t go too well. Dallas lost to the Vegas Golden Knights in six games. In 2024, they returned to the Western Conference Finals only to […]

Entering the 2022 NHL Draft, Shane Wright was expected to go first overall. However, on draft night, things a wild turn. The Montreal Canadiens picked Juraj Slafkovsky with the top pick in the draft. And Wright fell all the way to the Seattle Kraken at fourth overall. Wright struggled during his first season with the […]

Former San Jose Sharks star Joe Pavelski retired from the game of hockey recently. He was a star with the Sharks for a long time and even helped them make the Stanley Cup Final. In 2019, the Sharks allowed him to hit NHL Free Agency where he signed with the Dallas Stars. This decision is […]

The Florida Panthers knew they would lose a few players in NHL Free Agency. One player they did not want to lose, though, was forward Sam Reinhart. Reinhart played a vital role in helping the Panthers win their first Stanley Cup this year, and he would have been tough to replace. Florida worked on a […]

The New York Islanders hired Patrick Roy as head coach midway through the 2023-24 season. New York struggled to remain the hunt for the Stanley Cup Playoffs. And they hoped Roy — coming off a successful stint with the QMJHL’s Quebec Remparts — could steer them in the right direction. In the end, it worked. […]

The Florida Panthers don’t have many things to change about their past four months. They went on a dominant run through the Stanley Cup Playoffs, ending in a Game 7 win over the Edmonton Oilers. There were concerns about losing their leading goal-scorer Sam Reinhart to free agency, but the parties agreed to an eight-year, […]

The Dallas Stars thought they were about to advance to their second Stanley Cup Final of the decade when they had a 2-1 series lead in the Western Conference Finals. However, disaster struck when trade deadline pickup Chris Tanev blocked a shot and lost most of his mobility. Tanev may have gotten away with it […]

The Minnesota Wild signed one of their best players to a huge contract in NHL Free Agency. Brock Faber inked an eight-year contract extension with the Wild ahead of the 2024-25 season. This new contract kicks in before the start of the 2025-26 campaign. Faber called this new deal a “dream” for him, and it’s […]

The New York Rangers tried to trade Jacob Trouba earlier in the offseason. Their much-publicized effort came around the NHL Draft. The Rangers reportedly had a deal in place with the Detroit Red Wings. However, Trouba had no interest in going home to Michigan. One complication involved his contract. Not necessarily the money involved as […]

The Columbus Blue Jackets received an update on Patrik Laine rather recently. Laine entered the NHL’s player assistance program during the 2023-24 campaign. However, he recently cleared the program, allowing interested teams to contact him ahead of a trade away from the Blue Jackets. But a trade involving Laine doesn’t appear close, according to general […]

The Utah Hockey Club is about to make its debut in the NHL. Following the sale of the Arizona Coyotes, the Utah HC officially entered the NHL following the 2023-24 season. Utah made a big splash at the NHL draft, trading for Mikhail Sergachev from the Tampa Bay Lightning to announce their arrival. After NHL […]

The Buffalo Sabres have had quite the offseason. They invested in one of their own as goalie Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen signed a new contract after a promising 2023-24 campaign. However, the Sabres bought out Jeff Skinner and shockingly traded Matt Savoie to the Edmonton Oilers. It’s been a bit of a whirlwind, to say the least. […]

The New Jersey Devils are hoping the 2024-25 season brings a better outcome than the one before. New Jersey had a ton of promise heading into the year. However, they floundered, fired their head coach, and missed the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Now armed with Sheldon Keefe behind the bench and an impressive NHL Free Agency […]

The Tampa Bay Lightning don’t have many trade candidates to target. The Lightning have already done plenty of work, with the most controversial coming by letting their longtime captain Steven Stamkos walk to the Nashville Predators. Tampa Bay used Stamkos’ cap space to sign Jake Guentzel to a seven-year contract. They extended Victor Hedman for […]

Pavel Buchnevich may not be a name that hockey fans think deserves an $8 million cap hit from the St. Louis Blues on his contract extension. However, he has been integral for the Blues over the last three seasons. He appeared in 216 regular-season games, ranking third on the team in points, second in goals, […]

The St. Louis Blues are left wondering what they can do to return to the playoffs next season. They were hot down the stretch, led by their defensive core of Torey Krug, Nick Leddy, and Justin Faulk, and almost snuck into a wild card spot. They finished six points short of that spot and fell […]

The Colorado Avalanche made light work of the Winnipeg Jets in the first round of the playoffs. There were concerns about their goaltending, but Alexandar Georgiev proved the doubters wrong and outdueled Connor Hellebuyck. It may have said more about the Jets than the Avalanche, but they also gave the No. 1 seed in the […]

It wasn’t an easy 2023-24 season for the Columbus Blue Jackets. The year started with tons of hope as Adam Fantilli made the team out of training camp. However, Patrik Laine fell with an injury after 18 games and then entered the NHLPA’s Player Assistance Program. They hoped for a rebound season from Elvis Merzlikins, […]

Macklin Celebrini is just weeks away from his first National Hockey League training camp with the San Jose Sharks — and the No. 1 overall pick in the 2024 NHL Draft is ready to help turn the club into a contender. “I couldn’t be more excited,” the 18-year-old phenom said at the Hobey Baker Memorial […]

Ryan Lindgren was on the road to an arbitration hearing, but that will no longer be necessary after the bruising defenseman signed a one-year, $4.5 million contract extension with the New York Rangers on Tuesday. The 26-year-old was a pending restricted free agent, but can now focus on helping the Rangers in their quest for […]

General Manager Craig Conroy and the Calgary Flames have already been busy since he took control of the team. The Flames traded Tyler Toffoli, Nikita Zadorov, Elias Lindholm, Noah Hanifin, Chris Tanev, and Jacob Markstrom over the last 14 months. They’ve added three first-round draft picks, nine young players, and six later-round picks. As much […]

The Florida Panthers won their first Stanley Cup title in 2024. The triumph completed a very long rebuild that started with picking Aaron Ekblad first overall in 2014. The Panthers’ defenseman was outdone by Gustav Forsling and Brandon Montour in the playoffs and is headed to free agency in the 2025 offseason. While he is […]

The New York Rangers are doing whatever they can to finally eclipse the Eastern Conference Finals and compete for a Stanley Cup. They’ve won two games in the East Finals in two of the last three postseasons but haven’t gotten any closer. Their previous trip to the Stanley Cup Final was in 2014, and they […]

The Vancouver Canucks are right up against the salary cap, which is why they may target a trade before the beginning of the regular season. They have just $15,000 projected cap space with 23 players on their active roster, so gaining some flexibility would be at the top of their list. The Canucks made some […]

The Philadelphia Flyers suffered an unfortunate late-season collapse in 2023-24. The Flyers fought for the final wild card spot until the last weeks of the season before ultimately missing the playoffs. Philadelphia had a hold on a Metropolitan Division playoff spot for most of the year. However, they lost that after a brutal run of […]