THW Daily - Maple Leafs Sign McMann to 2-Year Extension & Wild's Playoff Hopes Hinge on Top Line
Also, two candidates for the Sabres' vacant captaincy spot & more
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In today’s edition, we have an extension as the Maple Leafs reward forward Bobby McMann, how the Wild’s playoff hopes hinge on the top line’s success, and much more.
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Yesterday’s Scores…
2 Candidates for the Sabres’ Captaincy
March 13, 2024 by Harper Cotie
It’s never easy to part ways with the captain of your team, but that’s exactly what the Buffalo Sabres did by sending forward Kyle Okposo to the Florida Panthers before the NHL’s trade deadline on March 8. Sabres general manager (GM) Kevyn Adams was visibly emotional last week while talking to the media about Okposo and said there’s no rush to name a new captain. However, it’s only natural to look ahead and identify who could potentially be the 21st in the history of this franchise. Here are the two candidates.
Maple Leafs Sign Bobby McMann to 2-Year Extension
March 13, 2024 by Andrew Forbes
The Toronto Maple Leafs announced on Wednesday that they have agreed to terms on a two-year contract extension with depth forward Bobby McMann, worth. The contract carries an annual average value of $1.35 million. McMann, 27, is in his second season with the Maple Leafs, having played just 10 games in 2022-23 with one assist to show for it.
Jets Need to Be Concerned With Gabriel Vilardi’s Repeated Injuries
March 13, 2024 by Declan Schroeder
Gabriel Vilardi’s lack of durability — which have been the biggest challenge thus far in his fledgling career — has continued to be an issue during his first season with the Winnipeg Jets.
Check Out Some THW Premium Substack Content:
Philadelphia Flyers: Flyers Flash: The Real Stretch Begins by Justin Giampietro
Carolina Hurricanes: Chaotic Canes Ep. 6: Trade Deadline Storm by Zach Martin
Vancouver Canucks: Canucks' 3 Up, 3 Down: Demko Injury, Hoglander, Soucy & More by Matthew Zator
Prospects & Draft: 2024 NHL Prospect Deep Dive: Ivan Demidov by Dayton Reimer
New Jersey Devils: Lindy Ruff Was Not the Devils' Problem by JP Gambatese
Edmonton Oilers: The Trade Deadline Moves That Almost Happened by Jim Parsons
Anaheim Ducks: Five Biggest Questions for Ducks in Final Five Weeks of Season by Jordan Reinhardt
Canadiens’ Draft Busts Having Success With Other Teams
March 13, 2024 by Luc LeBlanc
In recent years, the Montreal Canadiens have had a relatively low success rate when drafting in the first round. Highly-touted prospects such as Nikita Scherbak, or to an extent Alex Galchenyuk, simply failed to meet the lofty expectations set by the fanbase. Granted, a bulk of these disappointing draft picks have been late first-rounders, which can be attributed to the team’s playoff success in the early-to-mid 2010s. Nonetheless, numerous prospects received ample opportunity to prove themselves with the big club and ultimately failed to do so.
Minnesota Wild Playoff Hopes Hinge on Top Line Success
March 13, 2024 by Mariah Stark (Holland)
After making several changes throughout the season, the Minnesota Wild have found a top-line worthy of that name. Their top line has been jumbled around most of the season. It started with Kirill Kaprizov and Mats Zuccarello, together with different centers from Ryan Hartman to Joel Eriksson Ek, and even rookie Marco Rossi got a crack at it.
Ducks News & Rumors: Gibson, Vatrano, Zegras, Fowler & More
March 13, 2024 by Corey Abbott
The Anaheim Ducks started a four-game road trip with a 7-2 loss to the Chicago Blackhawks on Tuesday (March 12). The Ducks have dropped three-straight contests while being outscored by a 19-5 margin during that span. The latest edition of News and Rumors discusses mixed messages following an on-ice skirmish, revisits some trade deadline fallout, and highlights a couple of milestones.
More stuff from THW and around the NHL:
Toronto Maple Leafs - Kyle Clifford Can Bring Depth & Grit to Maple Leafs’ Playoff Roster
Tampa Bay Lightning - Lightning’s Next 2 Opponents Will Test Playoff Readiness
St. Louis Blues - 3 St. Louis Blues’ First-Round Targets in the 2024 NHL Draft
NHL News & Rumors - Canucks, Devils, Oilers, Kings
From TSN - Scuffle between Chiarot, Raymond broken up at Red Wings practice
From Sportsnet - The Misadventures of Matt Rempe: A timeline of the rookie’s wild year
From ESPN - Flames drop Topi Ronni after 1-year prison sentence for rape
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