THW Daily - Bettman Hints at Possible NHL Expansion & Jets’ Slump Coming at Predictable Time
Also, reactions to the Rielly cross-check on Greig, the Rangers' deadline priorities & more
Welcome to The Hockey Writers Daily
In today’s edition, we have NHL commissioner Gary Bettman hinting at possible expansion, why the Jets’ slump is coming at a predictable time, and much more.
Don’t forget to check out all of our FREE team Substacks, and sign up for your favorites…or all of them if you want.
You can also upgrade your subscription to a paid THW account, and get access to ALL of our Premium content from ALL of our team Substacks for one low price.
Now, here’s the good stuff…
Check Out Some THW Premium Substack Content:
New Jersey Devils: Devils' Prospect Update: Gritsyuk Shining in KHL by JP Gambatese
Nashville Predators: Grading the Nashville Predators After the All-Star Break by Emma Lingan
Vancouver Canucks: Canucks Prospects Report: Bains All-Star MVP, Lekkerimaki, Sasson, Mynio & More by Matthew Zator
Chicago Blackhawks: Brooke's Blackhawks Blurbs: Return to the Rink, Injury Updates & Winter Classics by Brooke LoFurno
Edmonton Oilers: Oilers Overtime: Trade Deadline Primer... Everything I'm Hearing by Jim Parsons
Tampa Bay Lightning: Time to Bolt Audio Report: Sergachev Undergoes Surgery, Out Indefinitely by Harrison Smajovits
Philadelphia Flyers: Flyers Flash: Back in Business by Justin Giampietro
Check Out THW’s Professional Women’s Hockey League Coverage
Yesterday’s Scores…
Analyzing the Strengths & Weaknesses of the Maple Leafs’ Lineup
February 11, 2024 by The Old Prof
If we do a quick evaluation of the present roster we see the Toronto Maple Leafs have a solid top-six forward group. This strong top-six unit includes the team’s first line of Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner, and Matthew Knies. The second line is John Tavares, William Nylander, and Tyler Bertuzzi. These lines can stack up against any team’s top two lines in the Eastern Conference. The third and fourth lines are where the Maple Leafs are weak and could use some help.
On defence, the team has Morgan Rielly as the only true top-pairing defenceman. Then there is TJ Brodie and Jake McCabe. They would be middle-of-the-road top-four defencemen on pretty much any team in the league. The Maple Leafs then have three decent third-pairing defencemen, Mark Giordano, Simon Benoit, and Timothy Liljegren. In goal, the Maple Leafs have a veteran goalie who has taken a team to the Stanley Cup Final (Martin Jones), a goalie who has seemed to redefine the term “Hot and Cold” (Ilya Samsonov), and a rookie who before he was injured had played great and won the starter’s role (Joseph Woll).
Bettman Hints at Future Expansion Possibilities
February 10, 2024 by Jacob Billington
Expansion in the NHL is a never-ending conversation. Some believe that 32 teams is enough, if not too many already, while others think that up to 40 teams should be the long-term goal for the league. Regardless of where you stand on that, there will always be speculation about where the NHL’s next franchise could be located.
During the All-Star Event’s press conference, the NHL’s commissioner, Gary Bettman, stated some interesting things about the future of the NHL. On Jan. 24, 2024, a statement was released regarding expansion and the interest drawn from Smith Entertainment Group (SEG) about how they requested the NHL to begin the expansion process formally. This would certainly come into question at Bettman’s next conference, and in answering a question about it, he mentioned that there has been interest drawn from Houston, Atlanta, Kansas City, Omaha, Cincinnati, and, of course, Salt Lake City.
Rielly Takes Exception to Greig’s Empty Net Slap Shot – Reactions
February 11, 2024 by Jacob Billington
In the final installment of the Battle of Ontario for the 2023-24 season, the Ottawa Senators came out on top with a 5-3 victory. It was a pretty quiet game with some back-and-forth scoring for the majority of it, and one takeaway from the game was the lack of penalties called by the referees. Only two minor penalties were called, and the game was starting to get physical in the tail end of the third period.
After taking a few extra cross-checks the shift before, Ridly Greig had the opportunity to seal the game with an empty-net goal. As he hustled down the ice, he realized he was all alone and took a high-effort slap shot from the hash marks. Toronto Maple Leafs defenseman Morgan Rielly didn’t appreciate the extra, unnecessary effort put into the insurance marker and took exception and cross-checked Greig up high after the goal. Here is a look at Greig’s decision, Rielly’s reaction, and some online responses from former NHL players and media members.
Ranking the Canadiens Who Must Go by 2024 Trade Deadline
February 10, 2024 by Ryan Szporer
Ex-Montreal Canadiens forward Sean Monahan was just the first domino to fall. At least Habs fans are hoping that’s the case ahead of the 2024 trade deadline, with so many other players that general manager Kent Hughes must want to trade on some level.
Unfortunately, to quote the Rolling Stones, “you can’t always get what you want.” With that, how must everyone’s collective liquidation wish list look? Here are the top players who would ideally be traded, in order of priority level:
Jets’ Second-Half Slump Has Arrived Right On Cue
February 10, 2024 by Declan Schroeder
It’s become an unfortunate annual tradition: the Winnipeg Jets falling into a slump as soon as the second half of the season arrives. In what is a serious case of deja-vu, the downturn seems to have arrived right on cue.
Rangers Should Prioritize Top Right Wing Over 3rd-Line Center
February 11, 2024 by Lucas Standel
The New York Rangers have come out of the All-Star Break winning three in a row and are currently on a four game winning streak. While they have played better over these last four games, there is still some room for improvement and some holes in the lineup that need to be filled as we get closer to the March 8 trade deadline.
The two areas of need that fans have pointed out that are the most concerning are third-line center and top-line right wing. While it is good to have three good centers going into the playoffs, the Rangers shouldn’t focus all their attention and assets on center. They should be more focused on getting a top-line right wing to help get Mika Zibanejad and Chris Kreider going on a more consistent basis. It is more important to get the top players going than to go out and spend assets on a player who is going to get bottom-six minutes.
More stuff from THW and around the NHL:
Calgary Flames - 3 Reasons the Calgary Flames Have Won 5 Straight Road Games
Columbus Blue Jackets - How Blue Jackets Could Alter the NHL Playoff Scenario
Toronto Maple Leafs - Maple Leafs News & Rumors: Domi, Knies, Timmins, Rielly & Woll
NHL News & Rumors - Devils, Flames, Maple Leafs, Sabres, Oilers
From TSN - Leafs' Rielly to have in-person hearing Tuesday
From Sportsnet - Canadiens' Struble learns valuable lesson from mistake in loss to Blues
From ESPN - Nathan MacKinnon exits Colorado Avalanche loss with injury
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.
I would like to cancel any and all paid subscriptions
Many thanks
Debra