THW Daily - Jets Acquire Monahan From Canadiens & Why Panthers Could Struggle To Extend Reinhart
Also, the Maple Leafs' struggle to address depth issues, preseason predictions that have aged poorly & more
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In today’s edition, we have another trade as the Jets acquire Sean Monahan from the Canadiens, why the Panthers might struggle to extend Sam Reinhart, and much more.
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New Jersey Devils: 5(ish) Questions With Devils Forward, "The Cobra" Chris Tierney by Josh Reinitz
Columbus Blue Jackets: Blue Jackets' Writer Mark Scheig Discusses David Jiricek by William Espy
Hockey History: Winnipeg Jets 1.0 Rookie Rewind: Teemu Selanne by Matthew Zator
Minnesota Wild: Wild Player of the Month: Joel Eriksson Ek by Tyson McKay
Prospects & Draft: AJHL Exodus Mirrors the Formation of the WHL by Dayton Reimer
Anaheim Ducks: Ducks Player of the Month: Troy Terry by Jordan Reinhardt
Detroit Red Wings: Red Wings Prospect Check-In: Defensemen Lead the Way & Kasper Catches Fire by Jordan Orth
News & Rumours: First Look: How the Lindholm Deal Happened, The Delay, and Tanev Part of Trade Talk by Jim Parsons
Buffalo Sabres: Sabres' Prospect Update: Feb. 1 by JP Gambatese
Arizona Coyotes: Kachina Corner Weekly Audio Report: A Rough Trip Down South by Chase Beardsley
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Maple Leafs’ Focus on ‘Grit’ Proving Costly to Addressing Depth
February 2, 2024 by JP Gambatese
Every season, the story seems to be the same — the Toronto Maple Leafs consistently perform well during the regular season, comfortably keeping themselves in a playoff spot year-round, only to fall short in the playoffs. This season, though, their regular-season success is faltering. They sit in the first wild-card spot, though they were expected to frontline the Atlantic Division again. Their problem? Depth scoring. General manager Brad Treliving was brought in to pilot the team in May 2023, and his biggest priority was adding what he called “snot” or grit. The narrative was that the Maple Leafs were too “soft” to compete for the Cup and that their lack of grittiness was holding them back from postseason success. After all, hits increase in the playoffs.
Whether or not that’s the case — that grit means postseason success — is beside the point. There’s nothing inherently wrong with gritty players, but those players need to perform on top of their physical play. Skilled grit is a coveted asset in the league, with players like Timo Meier, J.T. Miller, Tom Wilson, and the Tkachuk brothers revered for holding their own physically while providing offensive as well.
Jets Acquire Sean Monahan From Canadiens
February 2, 2024 by Matthew Zator
After the Vancouver Canucks made a splash on Wednesday (Jan. 31) acquiring Elias Lindholm from the Calgary Flames, the Winnipeg Jets have now joined the festivities and added Sean Monahan from the Montreal Canadiens. While the deal involving Lindholm was blockbuster in nature, this one is not with the Canadiens getting a 2024 first-round pick and conditional third-round pick in 2027 for the veteran center.
The Canadiens didn’t retain any salary in the deal and continued to add more assets to their ongoing rebuild. The Jets, meanwhile, increased their center depth and now have an adequate replacement for Mark Scheiefle until he returns from injury.
Oilers’ Perry Could Leave Lasting Pest-Like Impact on Holloway
February 2, 2024 by Sean Panganiban
It didn’t take long for the newest Edmonton Oiler, Corey Perry, to make his presence felt during his first game against the Nashville Predators on Jan. 27. Playing on a line with speedsters Ryan McLeod and Dylan Holloway, on his second shift he charged towards the Predators’ net and hacked at the puck, causing a stir and bringing his younger Oilers’ linemates into the scrum almost immediately.
Perry, a former Hart Trophy winner, is highly regarded for his gamesmanship and uses pest-like tactics to disrupt the opposition. Before his debut against the Preds, his linemate Holloway was asked if he was prepared for some after-whistle activities with the elite agitator now on his line, and he joked, “Yeah, I’m down for it. It’ll be fun, as long as he’s taking the bigger guy, then I’ll get in there.”
Canucks, Oilers, Jets & Maple Leafs: Building for the Playoffs
February 2, 2024 by The Old Prof
Earlier this week, the Hockey Central Panel talked about what second-half success might look like for the Vancouver Canucks, Winnipeg Jets, Edmonton Oilers, and Toronto Maple Leafs. David Amber, Jamal Mayers, and Luke Gazdic shared their thoughts on each of the four Canadian teams that seemed destined to make the postseason. That video can be seen just below. Here are their thoughts.
Panthers Extending Reinhart Would Create Salary Cap Casualties
February 2, 2024 by Joey Ganzi
The Florida Panthers roll into the All-Star Break on a fantastic run. They have won four straight games and have snagged points in eight of their last 10. Because of that, they sit in second place in the Atlantic Division and fourth in the NHL with a 31-14-4 record and 66 points. They trail the Boston Bruins for first in the division by five points.
A big key to their success has been the emergence of forward Sam Reinhart, who is having the best season of his career and the best since he was dealt to the Panthers three offseasons ago. However, he is currently in the last year of his current deal. All signs point to him returning with how well he’s played. However, it could come at a massive cost.
2023-24 Preseason Predictions That Have Already Aged Poorly
February 2, 2024 by Mike Fink
The 2023-24 NHL season has hit the unofficial halfway point with the All-Star Break underway. At this point in the season, the contenders are starting to separate themselves from the pack and likewise, the bottomfeeders are preparing to trade away players for value at the trade deadline in a few weeks. Before the season began, many fans and experts partook in a longstanding tradition of making predictions, inaccurate ones that is.
The Hockey Writers made a handful of predictions and some have looked good but a lot of them are already showing they aren’t going to happen this season. With this in mind, let’s look at some of the predictions and perceptions that are aging poorly and when exactly it became clear they weren’t going to hit.
More stuff from THW and around the NHL:
Boston Bruins - 3 Under-the-Radar Bruins’ at the All-Star Break
Pittsburgh Penguins - Penguins’ Most Impactful Trades Since 2000
Winnipeg Jets - 3 Takeaways from Winnipeg Jets’ Sean Monahan Trade
NHL News & Rumors - Kings, Jets, Canadiens, Ducks, Olympics
From TSN - Bettman: NHL to let judicial process play out in 2018 WJC case
From Sportsnet - NHL waits on legal system before deciding on punishment for 2018 WJC players
From ESPN - NHLPA's Walsh says Coyotes' arena limbo 'not the way to run a business'
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