The Hockey Writers Daily - August 11, 2023
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Welcome to The Hockey Writers Daily
In today’s edition, we have a Canucks roundtable, thoughts on the next contracts for Toronto’s core four, a future star in Philadelphia, a key injury for the Penguins, and much more.
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Here’s the good stuff:.
Canucks Roundtable: Next Captain, Defence, Kuzmenko & More
Welcome to the first Vancouver Canucks Roundtable of the 2023 offseason. With topics ranging from the 2023 NHL Draft and defence pairings for opening night to Andrei Kuzmenko‘s sophomore season and the next player to wear the “C”, The Hockey Writers Canucks crew had plenty to talk about.
This edition will feature writers Matthew Zator, Adam Kierszenblat, Alex Wauthy, and Sartaaj Bhullar. So without further ado, let’s get this roundtable started!
Bruins News & Rumors: Swayman, Thomas, Zacha & Lohrei
In this latest edition of Boston Bruins News & Rumors, Jeremy Swayman spoke with reporters about his arbitration experience. In other news, former Bruins star goaltender Tim Thomas confirmed that he will be a part of the Bruins’ Centennial celebration. Meanwhile, Pavel Zacha will be looking to prove that he can be a top-six center, while Mason Lohrei is a prospect to watch very closely at training camp. Let’s discuss all of this in today’s (Aug. 10) Bruins News & Rumors column.
Predicting the Maple Leafs’ Core Four’s Next Contracts
Over the past four years, much has been made about former Toronto Maple Leafs general manager (GM) Kyle Dubas investing almost half of his team’s salary cap in four players. No team in the history of the NHL had invested more money into only four players. He had allocated 49.7% or $40.5 million of the $81.5 million NHL cap to Auston Matthews, John Tavares, Mitch Marner, and William Nylander.
Then, the worst possible thing happened. A planet-wide health pandemic literally brought the world to a standstill. One of the lesser important side effects of the pandemic was its effect on professional sports, and in particular on the Maple Leafs. The NHL’s salary cap was frozen.
Penguins’ Jake Guentzel Injury: Timeline, Replacements & Impact
The Pittsburgh Penguins’ 2023 offseason is going very well. New president of hockey operations Kyle Dubas has already addressed numerous issues that plagued the team last season, fixing the bottom six and re-tooling the defence. Erik Karlsson, Lars Eller, and Noel Acciari are just some of the new arrivals who will be donning the black-and-gold this season. However, despite all the positivity, they’ve also received a bit of a blow with the announcement that forward Jake Guentzel will miss the start of the 2023-24 campaign recovering from ankle surgery.
Guentzel underwent surgery last Wednesday at Twin City Orthopedics in Minneapolis and is scheduled to be re-evaluated in approximately 12 weeks. This timeline extends well into October, which means he would miss the Penguins’ season opener against the Chicago Blackhawks on Oct. 10. Although he’s only expected to miss the first five games of the season, his presence in the lineup will be missed, especially if the timeline extends beyond projections.
Blue Jackets’ Roster Crunch Makes Jack Roslovic Trade Bait
The Columbus Blue Jackets are absolutely jam-packed with players on NHL contracts. They have 16 or 17 forwards who should spend time with the big club next year, which means general manager Jarmo Kekalainen has some work to do culling the herd.
What was once a dearth of NHL-caliber centers has now become an abundance. The list of forwards who can play the pivot position is long, featuring Adam Fantilli, Boone Jenner, Kent Johnson, Sean Kuraly, Jack Roslovic, Cole Sillinger, Alexander Texier, and Dmitri Voronkov. Someone has to slide out of this crowded house and my first bet is Roslovic. While it would be tough to trade one of the three Columbus-born players on the team, there is a case to be made as to why a trade might be in the best interest of both parties.
Flyers’ Matvei Michkov Will Be an Immediate Star in the NHL
For the Philadelphia Flyers, it’s hard not to be excited about their Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) star in Matvei Michkov. The Flyers have found themselves a gem, and they are not shy about it. Not if, but when he comes over to the NHL, he will be ready to compete with the best in the world right away.
More stuff from THW and around the NHL:
Montreal Canadiens - 3 Trade Destinations for Canadiens’ Jeff Petry
Calgary Flames - Flames Could Miss Lucic More Than Fans Realize
NHL News & Rumors - Stars, Canadiens, Flyers, Maple Leafs
From TSN - Hurricanes sign D Jones to one-year deal
From Sportsnet - Breaking down Kyle Dubas’s bold retooling of veteran Penguins roster
From the NHL - Inside look at Detroit Red Wings
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