THW Daily - Week 12 NHL Power Rankings & Evan Bouchard's Rise Under New Oilers Coaching Staff
Also, the latest news and rumors from Toronto, a trip to the archives with Chicago's DeBrincat trade & more
Welcome to The Hockey Writers Daily
In today’s edition, we have power rankings for Week 12 in the NHL, the rise of Evan Bouchard under the new Oilers coaching staff, the latest news and rumors from Toronto, and much more.
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Check Out Some THW Premium Substack Content:
New Jersey Devils: 5 Questions With Devils Forward Curtis Lazar by Josh Reinitz
Hockey History: Forgotten Red Wings: Daniel Alfredsson by Matthew Zator
St. Louis Blues: Blue Note Weekly Audio Report: Thrilling Comeback Win Over Blackhawks by Ethan Carter
Carolina Hurricanes: Chaotic Canes Ep. 3: Merry Canesmas by Zach Martin
Buffalo Sabres: Sabres' Prospect Update: Dec. 24 by JP Gambatese
2024 World Juniors Are Underway - Check Out Our THW Coverage:
10 Things to Watch For at the 2024 World Junior Championship
[Premium] Canada/USA Team Previews & 2024 Draft Prospects to Watch at the World Juniors by Logan Horn
Oilers Must Make a Decision on a 3rd Line Centre
December 25, 2023 by Rob Couch
The Edmonton Oilers’ needs have remained generally the same for a number of years. To help this team reach its potential, they need a solid goaltender to split starts with Stuart Skinner, a top-four right-shot defenceman, and a top-six winger. We’re going to focus on the latter here but with a bit of a twist.
The Oilers’ internal options are limited, but instead of looking at potential top-six wingers on the trade market, their sights should/could switch to a cheap player who checks a number of boxes and can play centre on the third line. This type of trade isn’t anywhere close to happening as the Oilers do have a couple of options they will have to properly evaluate before making their first trade of the season. I think the main focus of management at the moment is goaltending, so acquiring a forward, whether that be a top-six winger or a third-line centre, isn’t the top priority.
NHL 2023-24 Power Rankings: Week 12
December 25, 2023 by Eugene Helfrick
Drama. It happened again this week. In last week’s Power Rankings article, I discussed that there could be another big change before the NHL’s Holiday roster freeze kicked in this week. Well, I ended up being dead on the money as the Ottawa Senators decided that enough was enough, and they relieved head coach D.J. Smith of his duties and named Jacques Martin interim head coach on Monday.
With their underperformance this season (and in recent years), it wasn’t a surprise to see Smith fired, but the timing was a bit odd and it’s still difficult to see a move like this made with the holidays mere days away. So, if you like drama and unique outcomes, this was the week for you. Due to all of this, there’s been a lot of changes in the Rankings, which feels right heading into the holiday break. So, let’s get right to Week 12 of THW’s NHL Power Rankings!
Maple Leafs News & Rumors: Minten, Jones & the Marlies
December 25, 2023 by The Old Prof
Happy Christmas to all those who read The Hockey Writers. In this Christmas Day post, I’ll take a look back at the past week in a few key areas. First, I’ll share that prospect Fraser Minten has been named captain of Team Canada’s World Junior team. Second, I’ll share news of a connection I just learned about on the weekend. That’s the close friendship between goalie Martin Jones and Maple Leafs defenseman Morgan Rielly. Both are Vancouver natives and have known each other for a long time.
Finally, I’ll share about how the American Hockey League (AHL) Toronto Marlies did in their two games just before Christmas and note some of the key players. A surprise among them is Kyle Clifford, who’s still going strong.
Blackhawks: Revisiting the Alex DeBrincat Trade
December 24, 2023 by Connor Smith
The Chicago Blackhawks signaled they were going scorched-earth rebuild hours before last year’s NHL Draft on July 7, 2022. They dealt fan favorite Alex DeBrincat to the Ottawa Senators, landing last year’s seventh (Kevin Korchinski) and 39th (Paul Ludwinski) overall picks in return, along with a 2024 third-rounder.
Because of DeBrincat’s age and the fact he was coming off a career season, this move was naturally unpopular among Blackhawks fans.
Oilers’ Evan Bouchard Flourishing Under New Coaching Staff
December 25, 2023 by Jesse Courville-Lynch
The Edmonton Oilers struggled to start their 2023-24 campaign. Coming into the new season, they had extremely high expectations and were considered favourites to win the Stanley Cup.
While a slow start has them near the bottom of the Pacific Division as they attempt to climb their way back up, they still have a strong roster that shouldn’t be counted out just yet, even with their record looking severely underwhelming. One player who has been criticized heavily by many fans is defenseman Evan Bouchard, who seemed to be a strictly offensive defenseman with major defensive issues.
4 Things We Learned About the Islanders by Christmas Break
December 25, 2023 by Mike Fink
The 2023-24 NHL season has officially hit the Christmas break. Teams won’t play again until Dec. 27, and the few days off will give everyone, from front offices to coaches to players to those who work in the arenas, some much-needed time off. Now is the perfect time to take a step back and look at the New York Islanders’ season thus far. They’ve played 33 games, which should provide enough insight into how they’ve changed and how they’ll be successful down the stretch.
At one point, the Islanders were a mess. The sky was falling when they lost their seventh game in a row on Nov. 16, a 3-2 overtime loss to the Seattle Kraken to drop them to 5-6-5 on the season. Since then, they’ve gone 11-2-4 and have leaped into second place in the Metropolitan Division, indicating that the sky is the limit for this team. While the next few months will bring a lot of uncertainty, we’ve learned a lot of lessons so far, specifically about the roster.
More stuff from THW and around the NHL:
Minnesota Wild - Minnesota Wild Roundtable: Christmas 2023
St. Louis Blues - Can the Blues Repeat 2018-19 with Drew Bannister at the Helm?
Columbus Blue Jackets - Blue Jackets’ Danforth’s Rise Provides Great Example to Many
NHL News & Rumors - Maple Leafs, Oilers, Lightning, Devils
From TSN - Kaprizov, Zibanejad and Kane named NHL's three stars of the week
From Sportsnet - Alone atop the standings, Canucks prepared to keep proving skeptics wrong
From ESPN - Ducks' Leo Carlsson out up to six weeks with knee sprain
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