The Hockey Writers Daily - September 25, 2023
A daily Substack newsletter with all the best content from The Hockey Writers
Welcome to The Hockey Writers Daily
In today’s edition, we have the four worst trades from the 2023 NHL offseason, why the Maple Leafs can contend this season, huge questions for the Flames leading into training camp, and much more.
It would be great if you’d share the THW Daily with your friends and family so that they can subscribe and enjoy every day.
Also, don’t forget to check out all of our FREE team Substacks, and sign up for your favorite…or all of them if you want.
Here’s the good stuff…
Tyson Barrie Confirms Oilers’ Failed Blockbuster Trade Attempt
September 24, 2023 by Jim Parsons
In a recent bombshell revelation on the Mitts Off Podcast, former Edmonton Oilers defenseman Tyson Barrie pulled back the curtain on a potential blockbuster trade that never came to fruition. Barrie disclosed that he was the pawn in the Oilers’ bid to acquire San Jose Sharks’ superstar defenseman Erik Karlsson, shedding light on a behind-the-scenes saga that left fans and analysts speculating.
It’s an interesting confirmation that makes you wonder just how close the Oilers got and had they been able to make the trade, how different things would have been.
4 Worst Trades From 2023 NHL Offseason
September 24, 2023 by Alex Chauvancy
A few days ago, we looked back at the best trades of the 2023 NHL offseason. With preseason games underway, it’s now safe to say we can look back on the worst deals from the summer. The lack of movement on the trade market limited chances for general managers to put their team in a hole, but there were a few moves that were questionable, to say the least.
Jets Seem Destined to Lose Star Players for Nothing
September 24, 2023 by Hunter Tycholis
The Winnipeg Jets recently kicked off their 2023 training camp and there was a decent amount of anticipation mixed with uncertainty surrounding the upcoming season. Much of this uncertainty revolved around the future of two of their best players, Mark Scheifele and Connor Hellebuyck.
The comments made by Jets general manager (GM) Kevin Cheveldayoff prior to and during the start of the training camp have, in my opinion, stirred the pot on his plan to treat Scheifele and Hellebuyck as self-rentals in hopes of them re-signing. Unfortunately, this would most likely lead to their departure for nothing after a short playoff run in the upcoming season.
3 Burning Questions for the St. Louis Blues in 2023-24
September 24, 2023 by Ethan Carter
The St. Louis Blues are a team with several questions to answer as they try to get back into the playoffs this season. Even without wholesale changes in the summer, the Blues should still be improved from last season, because it would be hard for them not to improve from 81 points in 2022-23. There are plenty of questions to come up with, but I’ll cover three big ones in this article. Let’s get into three burning questions for the 2023-24 Blues.
Maple Leafs Have All the Pieces to Contend This Season
September 23, 2023 by The Old Prof
The Toronto Maple Leafs have a number of new pieces. First, they have a new general manager (GM) calling the shots. Second, they have a number of new players suiting up. On Thursday (Sept. 21), they had their first day of training camp, which means that the 2023-24 NHL season is only a few weeks away.
While it has been a regular prediction for many hockey writers over the past few seasons (see the video below) that the Maple Leafs have the pieces to make a regular run at Lord Stanley’s Cup, there is no reason to believe this season’s goals shouldn’t be just as lofty and even far more successful. In fact, there are a couple of contextual pieces that differ from previous seasons. I’ll explore these further in this post.
Calgary Flames Still Have Questions Heading Into Training Camp
September 24, 2023 by Derek Olsen
It is late September, and the 2023-24 training camp is officially underway for the Calgary Flames. Fans and media alike are surely ecstatic to see many faces, old and new, step on the ice for the first time. 35 forwards, 22 defensemen, and seven goaltenders have been invited to take part and divided into three teams: Team Iginla, Team Vernon, and Team McDonald.
Rookie head coach Ryan Huska and his team will be tasked with getting the most out of this group and using this time to experiment and perhaps create some chemistry. The first preseason contest will come on Sept. 24 at home against the Vancouver Canucks.
More stuff from THW and around the NHL:
New York Rangers - Rangers’ Will Cuylle Can Develop Into a Steal
Detroit Red Wings - Predicting the Outcomes for Red Wings’ Pending Free Agents
NHL News & Rumors - Flyers, Rangers, Maple Leafs, Hurricanes, Canucks
From TSN - Canucks will be comfortable family not a dictatorship, says new captain Hughes
From Sportsnet - Stutzle scores twice, Senators open pre-season with win over Maple Leafs
From the NHL - Malkin aiming to play 3 more seasons with Penguins
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!