The Hockey Writers Daily - August 26, 2023
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Welcome to The Hockey Writers Daily
In today’s edition, we have a trade destination for William Nylander, what the Matthews extension means for McDavid, the Red Wings potentially taking a big step this season, and much more.
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Here’s the good stuff:.
Islanders Have Nylander Trade Opportunity with Matthews Extension Done
August 25, 2023 by Mike Fink
The big news in the NHL this week was the Auston Matthews extension. The Toronto Maple Leafs signed him to a four-year, $13.2 million per year deal that makes their best player the highest-paid in the NHL.
The extension prevents Matthews from entering free agency and testing the market. But it also puts the Maple Leafs up against the salary cap, most notably after this season when the contract kicks in. As a result, the clock is ticking on their other star, who will be a free agent in the 2024 offseason, that being William Nylander. The Maple Leafs can keep Nylander on the roster for the season ahead, but it’s unlikely they will keep him long-term, and it could prompt them to trade him at some point.
5 Canadiens Most Likely to Be Traded Next & When
August 25, 2023 by Rob Couch
The Montreal Canadiens have made a couple of trades this offseason already and there is a possibility that more might still come before the start of the season. The team has acquired players like Alex Newhook, Casey DeSmith, Nathan Legare, and Gustav Lindstrom, but traded away Joel Edmundson, Gianni Fairbrother, Mike Hoffman, and Rem Pitlick while acquiring then trading Jeff Petry.
The Canadiens have possibly been the most active in the trade department this offseason as they shape the team for this season and the future. The position they are at once the trade deadline rolls around will determine exactly what is done at that point in the season, but the consensus seems to be that the Canadiens won’t be in the playoff race and will sell what they can.
Oilers: What The Matthews Extension Means For Connor McDavid
August 25, 2023 by Jesse Courville-Lynch
The Toronto Maple Leafs recently signed their superstar forward, Auston Matthews, to a four-year contract extension worth $13.25 million a season, making him the highest-paid player in the NHL with the most expensive contract in league history. Matthews became a stud when he joined the Maple Leafs, quickly earning a reputation as one of the league’s most lethal shooters and creative goal scorers.
Edmonton Oilers forward Connor McDavid – considered the best player in the world – has three seasons left on the massive extension he signed before the 2018-19 season with a $12.5 million cap hit. What does Matthews’ extension mean for McDavid’s next contract? He’ll likely end up taking less than he’s worth to stay with the Oilers and lead them to a Stanley Cup.
Derek Lalonde & Red Wings Hope to Take a Big Step in Year 2
August 25, 2023 by Devin Little
In some ways, Derek Lalonde was playing with house money in his first season as the head coach of the Detroit Red Wings. The coach he replaced was highly unpopular with the fanbase, his name is on the Stanley Cup twice as an assistant coach with the Tampa Bay Lightning, and he was hand-picked by general manager Steve Yzerman to lead the Red Wings into the next phase of their rebuild. Barring a huge step backwards or a personal meltdown, Lalonde’s first season was almost guaranteed to be viewed as a success right from the get-go.
Luckily, Lalonde’s first season was indeed a success, and not just because he had a ton of good will to operate with. The Red Wings’ defensive play was decisively better, and they remained in the playoff race right up until the trade deadline.
Minnesota Wild’s Foligno & Zuccarello First in Line for Extensions
August 25, 2023 by Tyson McKay
The boringly slow offseason is primarily because the Minnesota Wild had basically zero extra cap space to spend on any of their unrestricted free agents (UFA), no matter how badly they would’ve liked to keep them. Long-term players like Matt Dumba and deadline pick-ups like Gustav Nyquist have all moved on and signed with new teams.
A single restricted free agent (RFA) in Calen Addison is left to sign for the upcoming season with his projected deal, leaving the Wild with just enough left to spend on a 13th forward at the league minimum of $775,000. Therefore, they won’t be signing any new players, but they will likely start looking into extending key players on expiring contracts, such as Marcus Foligno and Mats Zuccarello, as early as they can.
Flames Fans Still Have Cause for Concern in 2023-24
August 25, 2023 by Ben Hockley
Recently, I took to Instagram to ask fans why they believe the Calgary Flames will be good or bad in 2023-24. I got a plethora of responses, most of them positive with reasons to be optimistic. I covered those reasons in a previous article. But there are still reasons to be concerned.
Of the 40 or so responses that I received, most of them were from fans of teams other than the Flames, however, both Flames fans and non-Flames fans made good points on both sides of the argument. Although the sentiment I got from the responses seemed to be that there were more reasons to be optimistic than there were to be concerned, it is still important to not disregard potential concerns.
More stuff from THW and around the NHL:
St. Louis Blues - 3 Bold Predictions for 2023-24
Chicago Blackhawks - 3 Keys to Success for 2023-24
NHL News & Rumors - Flames, Bruins, Canucks, Rangers
From TSN - Jets announce ECHL affiliation with Norfolk Admirals
From Sportsnet - Biggest unanswered question for each team in the Pacific Division
From the NHL - Ruggiero hired by Rangers as hockey operations adviser
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