Month: September 2020

That was a fun offseason project — ranking the NHL teams by position. Fun and enlightening, yet challenging since the league’s parity is so prevalent on paper. There were tiers at every position that opened the door to much debate, with the slightest of margins separating several teams. That made for difficult decisions from top

According to a number of reports, the Edmonton Oilers have shifted focus away from Matt Murray of the Pittsburgh Penguins and towards goaltender Darcy Kuemper of the Arizona Coyotes. As the Oilers continue to gather information, trying to make the best possible decision for next season’s goaltending tandem as possible, Elliotte Friedman noted on a

In today’s NHL rumor rundown, there is new out of Vegas where the Golden Knights have reportedly agreed to a deal with Robin Lehner on a five-year extension. The only problem? The goaltender is denying it. Vancouver Canucks forward Tyler Toffoli reveals his priority as a pending unrestricted free agent, and there are updates as

During the remainder of the Stanley Cup Playoffs and the offseason, we’re going to look into all things Florida Panthers. Yes, that includes the draft and free agency, but it will also shed a little bit of light on a franchise that doesn’t get a lot of love. One series will focus on the best

In today’s NHL rumor rundown, there is news that Mikko Koivu and the Minnesota Wild have come to the end of their road together. In Montreal, speculation is the Canadiens might shop two forwards, potentially keeping the one most thought might be moved. The Edmonton Oilers have apparently switched their goaltending focus, the Colorado Avalanche

Occasionally I will be asked for my thoughts as to whether hitting (bodychecking) should be allowed in women’s hockey. For those unfamiliar with the rules for the women’s game, while body contact is allowed and happens quite regularly, bodychecking is not. Delivering a bodycheck constitutes a two-minute minor penalty. If you really want to know

In this post, I am going to make a case that the Toronto Maple Leafs might have a unique opportunity to create the best fourth line in NHL history by keeping Jason Spezza and by signing two restricted free agents (RFAs) – Joe Thronton and Wayne Simmonds. Might it be possible to utilize the experience,

The Edmonton Oilers have not made the playoffs since the 2016-17 season. Prior to that they had not made the playoffs since 2005-06 season when they lost in the Stanley Cup Final to the Carolina Hurricanes. This is a stark contrast to when the team was winning five Stanley Cups from the 1983-84 season to

Flyers fans rejoice. After several years of legitimate consideration and a second place finish in 2018, Sean Couturier has finally won his first Frank J. Selke Trophy. It’s been quite some time since a Flyer brought home any kind of personal hardware. The last to do so was Ian Laperriere, awarded the Bill Masterton Memorial

The National Hockey League has witnessed a number of sensational rookie campaigns throughout its storied history and this trend is set to continue. With the next squad of exceptional young stars, the NHL is stronger than ever in terms of elite young talent. However, despite the incredible skills of these players, it is highly unlikely that any

Despite the 2020 NHL Draft being one of the most unconventional in history, there is no denying how exciting this year’s edition will be, as the board is stacked with some of the best prospects the NHL has seen in a long time. The Los Angeles Kings have an especially exciting draft on tap, as

In this edition of Toronto Maple Leafs News & Rumors, I’ll take a look at a potential draft prospect and consider who else the Maple Leafs might trade if the organization’s goal is to clear salary-cap space. Finally, I’ll look at a new post about an old rumor that Alex Pietrangelo might be coming to

On Tuesday, Pierre LeBrun posted an article that cited comments from pending unrestricted free agent forward Wayne Simmonds. During Simmonds interview with the hockey insider, he said he was, “open to everything”. The article was discussing specifically Simmonds comments that he’d looked at the Toronto Maple Leafs and wondered if there might be a fit

With informal practices about to get underway (around Sept. 21), most NWHL teams are just about set on their rosters for the league’s upcoming sixth season. Both of the signings announced this past week will be looking to make their NWHL debuts when the puck finally drops on a new season in January. Hunter Accursi

Edmonton can be a tough place to live, especially if you’re a professional hockey player. The only surer thing in the City of Champions — Do city monikers lapse if they’re not renewed every couple of years, like unused library cards? — than seven hours of daylight and temperature of minus-20 in early January, is

In this edition of Vancouver Canucks News & Rumors, I’ll look at some of the work that general manager Jim Benning should do during the offseason. Who will he re-sign? Who will he trade? There must be real chemistry on the team, because, almost every player has reported that they want to stay in Vancouver