THW Daily - Why Maple Leafs Should Push for Fleury & Coyotes’ Growth Halfway Through Season
Also, Oilers' Hyman having a terrific season, the latest from Boston & more
Welcome to The Hockey Writers Daily
In today’s edition, we have why the Maple Leafs should make a push for Marc-Andre Fleury, the Coyotes’ growth halfway through the season, the great season for Zach Hyman in Edmonton, and much more.
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Toronto Maple Leafs: Should the Maple Leafs Go After Fleury? Where Does Robertson Best Fit? by Jim Parsons
Florida Panthers: Is Spencer Knight Becoming a Bust? by Joey Ganzi
Philadelphia Flyers: Flyers Flash: A Quick Turnaround by Justin Giampietro
Tampa Bay Lightning: What the Numbers Tell Us After 35 Games by Jordan Orth
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[Premium] Canada/USA Team Previews & 2024 Draft Prospects to Watch at the World Juniors by Logan Horn
Yesterday’s NHL Scores…
Oilers’ Hyman Deserves More Praise For Incredible Start to Season
December 27, 2023 by Brian Swane
Leon Draisaitl has the second most goals in the NHL since the start of the 2018-19 season. He’s also a four-time 40-goal scorer and last season scored 52 times to become the only Edmonton Oilers player since the 1980s with back-to-back 50-goal campaigns. Connor McDavid has the second most goals in the NHL since the start of the 2020-21 season.
He’s a four-time 40-goal scorer and last season scored 64 times to win the Maurice Rocket Ruchard Trophy as the league’s leader in goals. And neither one of them leads the Oilers in goals this season. They’re actually not even that close. Nor is Evander Kane, an eight-time 20 goal-scorer, or Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, who potted 37 goals in 2022-23. Through Edmonton’s first 31 games this season, Nugent-Hopkins has eight goals, McDavid has 12, Kane has 13, and Draisaitl has 14. They, along with everyone else in the Oilers lineup, are looking up – way up – at Zach Hyman, who has already lit the lamp 19 times.
Maple Leafs Should Make a Push for Marc-André Fleury
December 27, 2023 by Andrew Forbes
It was a question mark coming into the season and with the week-to-week recovery for Joseph Woll, the Toronto Maple Leafs have an even bigger goaltending question than they did in October.
So, with that in mind, are there other options for the Maple Leafs that could provide them with more stability at the position for the remainder of the season? There’s one option — a rumoured target from a previous season — that the Maple Leafs should consider on the trade market before the deadline hits and that’s Minnesota Wild goalie Marc-Andre Fleury.
Flames Have the Worst Salary-Cap Era Contract in Huberdeau
December 27, 2023 by Rupert McDonald
In any professional sports league with a salary cap, teams are going to have bad contracts. The NHL is no different in that regard, as there have been plenty of ugly deals over the years since the salary cap was first introduced ahead of the 2005-06 season.
The Flames, like many teams, have had their fair share of bad contracts over the years. Troy Brouwer’s four-year deal signed ahead of the 2016-17 season was a bad one in retrospect, while James Neal’s five-year deal signed prior to the 2018-19 campaign was an outright disaster. That said, neither were nearly as bad of contracts as one they are dealing with right now.
A Jake Guentzel-to-Islanders Trade Has Obstacles in the Way
December 27, 2023 by Mike Fink
The Pittsburgh Penguins went all in this offseason with the addition of Erik Karlsson. The move signaled they were doubling or even tripling down on the aging core with the hopes of making one last run at the Stanley Cup. At 15-13-4 and in seventh place in the Metropolitan Division, the Penguins are in a difficult spot as a teardown looks possible if not likely not only in the offseason but at the trade deadline in a few months.
Guentzel, who has 14 goals and 21 assists this season with 211 goals and 238 assists in his career, is the Penguins’ most valuable trade asset. Trading him will help with a rebuild and both restock the farm system and add younger players to the roster. Eventually, this team must hit the reset button, and dealing Guentzel sends that message but it puts them on track to rebound sooner rather than later. The New York Islanders are one of the teams that would love to acquire him and add him to their top six. Yet, there are some if not many obstacles preventing them from making the deal.
Coyotes Seeing Growth as Season Nears Halfway Point
December 27, 2023 by Cooper Krigbaum
In Melbourne, Australia, the Arizona Coyotes were set to play two games against the Los Angeles Kings in the 2023 Global Series. There was excitement around the organization that this ship was truly being turned around by general manager Bill Armstrong and head coach André Tourigny. The message to the team in Melbourne from Armstrong was to play meaningful games down the stretch. To play games that could make or break their playoff odds down the line.
In the course of this season, they have accomplished just that. The team is sitting in the second wild card spot as we speak, and it’s been quite a turnaround from two seasons ago. Even though the season is still far from over, the Coyotes’ growth in 2023-24 has been impressive to watch and one of the top storylines in the NHL.
Bruins 3 Up, 3 Down: DeBrusk, Pastrnak, Poitras & More
December 27, 2023 by Scott Roche
The month of December has not been too kind to the Boston Bruins. They have just three regulation wins and they crawled to the three-day Holiday break by losing four in a row for the first time in three years. There have been multiple reasons for the Black and Gold’s struggles, but despite those struggles, they come out of their break four points ahead of the Toronto Maple Leafs and Florida Panthers on top in the Atlantic Division.
As the Bruins return to the ice on Wednesday night (Dec. 27) in Western New York against the division-rival Buffalo Sabres looking to snap their skid, it’s time for the latest Bruins 3 Up, 3 Down.
More stuff from THW and around the NHL:
Columbus Blue Jackets - Blue Jackets’ Prospects Making an Early Impact at 2024 WJC
Toronto Maple Leafs - Maple Leafs News & Rumors: Matthews, Robertson & Bellows
St. Louis Blues - Blues’ 3 Up, 3 Down: Win Streak, World Juniors, Thomas & More
NHL News & Rumors - Penguins, Bruins, Maple Leafs, Capitals
From TSN - Longtime Sens winger Smith named Swift Current assistant
From Sportsnet - WJC Takeaways: Latvia no match for Celebrini’s skill, Canada’s depth
From ESPN - PWHL Minnesota adds Ken Klee as coach before inaugural game
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