The Hockey Writers Daily - September 9, 2023
The Hockey Writers Daily - September 9, 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 latest news & rumors from Edmonton, how dominant the Canes have been under Rod Brind’Amour, thoughts on possibly removing the NHL’s point system, and much more.
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Here’s the good stuff…
Oilers News & Rumors: Hyman, Draisaitl, McDavid, Brown
September 8, 2023 by Jim Parsons
In an Edmonton Oilers news and rumors update, the team is back at camp, with all 22 skaters on the ice. Some of the stars of the team spoke with the media and you can tell there’s a different mindset going into the 2023-24 NHL season. Among those who seem especially energized are Leon Draisaitl, Connor McDavid, Connor Brown, and Zach Hyman.
Hurricanes Under Brind’Amour Simply Dominate Corsi
September 8, 2023 by Mack Gordon
The Carolina Hurricanes organization has reached new heights under the leadership of head coach Rod Brind’Amour. He has led the team to the playoffs in each of his first five seasons at the helm, including two trips to the Eastern Conference Final in 2018-19 and 2022-23. The team had missed the playoffs nine straight seasons prior to his hiring.
So you might be wondering, what’s the secret? How did Brind’Amour take a struggling franchise and turn them into a consistent contender overnight? While it’s impossible to attribute the success to just one person or one area, one advanced statistic might hold a piece to the puzzle. That statistic is known as Corsi, an advanced metric that is derived by taking shots attempted for and dividing it by the shots that the opposing team attempts.
NHL Must Remove Current Point System and “Hockey .500”
September 8, 2023 by Colin Newby
Many hockey fans insist that the unique element of an eight-seed’s ability to reach the Stanley Cup Final makes the sport special. The same type of competitive balance doesn’t exist in other major North American professional sports. Gary Bettman has refused to give any indication whatsoever that the NHL will consider expanding its playoff system, however. An expanded field that now includes 32 teams will continue to fight for 16 spots every season.
The point system used for the NHL regular-season standings and the playoff tiebreakers has now reached maximum importance. The league must finally recognize that the broken system admits its own illegitimacy. It’s time to alter a system that awards one loser point for overtime and shootout losses without any greater reward for different types of victories.
Flames Have 3 Short-Term Replacements for Elias Lindholm
September 8, 2023 by Derek Olsen
The start of the 2023-24 NHL season is rapidly approaching with under 20 days until the start of the preseason. For the Calgary Flames, however, there is still much uncertainty. New general manager Craig Conroy made his first splash by trading leading scorer Tyler Toffoli to the New Jersey Devils. Unfortunately, the roster headlines eight pending unrestricted free agents (UFAs) to go along with three restricted free agents in need of contracts at season’s end. In a perfect world, all or most of them would re-sign with the Flames.
An abundance of rumours of destinations and packages for Lindholm have been floating around and if the Flames don’t get a solid roster player in return and feel that no one within the organization is ready to fill the void of his departure, another trade may be made to do so. Let’s have a look at three potential players the team could acquire to bridge the gap until a prospect or big summer signing fixes the issue.
2023-24 Maple Leafs Lineup Far Different Than Last Season
September 8, 2023 by The Old Prof
When the Toronto Maple Leafs met the Montreal Canadiens for the first game of the 2022-23 season, 19 Maple Leafs’ players saw the ice. Although we’re not quite sure what the 2023-24 lineup for the first game of the season against the Canadiens on Oct. 11 will look like, fans should count on it being quite different.
Red Wings 2023 Training Camp: 5 Storylines to Watch
September 8, 2023 by Devin Little
The air outside is slowly getting cooler, and your local grocery store is starting to stock apple cider and Oktoberfest ales. The Detroit Lions have officially kicked off the National Football League season with their win against the Kansas City Chiefs. Costume stores are beginning to pop up again as Halloween draws closer and closer. All of this can only mean one thing: It’s almost hockey season.
For the Detroit Red Wings, that means all of the organization’s players and prospects are set to travel to Traverse City in northern Michigan to partake in the team’s training camp. That’s right: a new year doesn’t begin in January, it begins in September.
More stuff from THW and around the NHL:
New Jersey Devils - Patrick Kane to the Devils: Does it Make Sense?
Buffalo Sabres - Sabres Front Office Shakeup Could Really Go Either Way
NHL News & Rumors - Blues, Oilers, Canucks, Jets
From TSN - Burke, Brown, Langenbrunner headline U.S. HHOF Class of 2023
From Sportsnet - Quenneville, Bowman meet with NHL GMs and coaches in Chicago
From the NHL - O'Rourke completes 6-week fundraising bike ride for blind
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!