The Hockey Writers Daily - NHL Draft Day 2
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Welcome to The Hockey Writers Daily and our Draft Day Special for Day 2, with Rounds 2-7 kicking off at 11:00 am (ET) today.
In today’s edition, we have all of the action from Day 1 in our Live Draft Tracker, which is going to be updated throughout Day 2 as the picks happen. We also offer up our comprehensive and FREE Draft Guide, so you can figure out who that kid is that your team picked at #117. And, finally, a few popular and interesting posts from THW that aren’t directly Draft related, like the Rangers rebuild and the Pierre-Luc Dubois trade.
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Here’s the good stuff:.
2023 NHL Draft: Live Tracker
With every pick from the 1st Round, and continued coverage today through to the 7th Round, the THW Draft Tracker is the only place to follow the picks and find out who these kids are.
2023 Draft Guide
Not sure who Brayden Yager is or why he was picked 14th by the Penguins?
How about Reinbacher, Perreault or Stramel?
You can find profiles for every pick in the 2023 NHL Draft with the THW Draft Guide.
Always available. Always FREE.
Kings Didn’t Do Maple Leafs Favors with Dubois Contract
The Toronto Maple Leafs are in the midst of negotiating a contract extension with forward William Nylander. Obviously, many considerations go into these talks. However, what the team gets with Nylander isn’t tough to figure out, and it’s hard not to like what they’ve seen from him.
Still, there are many things to consider when negotiating with Nylander. Salary cap considerations are only one area. The team must also balance his perceived impact with what they feel is needed to get over the hump and compete for the Stanley Cup.
How the Rangers’ Rebuild Went Awry Quickly
The New York Rangers formally announced their rebuild back in 2018. It didn't take long for the project to go astray.
Canadiens Keep Adding to Forward Depth with Newhook Trade
You’re feeling pretty good about yourself today if you’re the Montreal Canadiens, following the acquisition of Alex Newhook from the Colorado Avalanche. At least to start the day, but that generalization just may not include fellow-forward Kirby Dach. There’s undeniably a lot to like with this deal overall.
Oilers’ 3 Worst Draft Day Decisions During McDavid Era
Wayne Gretzky said recently on the “Oilers Now” show that Edmonton Oilers’ Connor McDavid will go down as the greatest hockey player to have ever lived once he hangs up his skates. But in order to be considered one of the greatest to play the sport without an asterisk beside his name, he needs to win a Stanley Cup.
His Oilers’ club gave the eventual Stanley Cup winners the Vegas Golden Knights the toughest matchup en route to their championship win this past season, and the belief is that his team is only a couple of pieces away from hoisting the Cup themselves in the near future. That said, with the NHL Draft looming, I can’t help but think of Oilers’ “what ifs” when it comes to the draft — like what if Edmonton drafted Player A, instead of Player B — would McDavid have his name on the Cup already?
In retrospect, these are glaring cases of what should have been done differently, but let’s look at some bad decisions Edmonton made on NHL Draft Day during the McDavid era.
Jets: 3 Pros and 3 Cons of Pierre-Luc Dubois Trade With Kings
The Winnipeg Jets and Los Angeles Kings swung a big trade Tuesday, with the Jets exchanging disgruntled power forward Pierre-Luc Dubois for Alex Iafallo, Rasmus Kupari, Gabriel Vilardi, and a second-round draft pick in 2024.
The deal ended a year-long saga between Dubois and the Jets, whom Dubois refused to re-sign even a one-year bridge deal with to take him to unrestricted free agent (UFA) status.
The Jets’ return for Dubois looks strong given the circumstances, but like every trade, it comes with some pros and some cons. Here, we’ll take a look at three of each.
More THW stuff from around the NHL:
From Sportsnet - Gotta See It: Blackhawks select Bedard 1st overall
From TSN - Button explains why he wasn't surprised to see Carlsson go ahead of Fantilli
From ESPN - The story behind the Ducks' new 30th anniversary jersey
We hope you enjoyed today’s THW Daily, and we hope to expand our daily offerings as we develop and experiment with this new platform. Cheers!