THW Daily - Week 16 NHL Power Rankings & Why Connor Hellebuyck Is a Hart Trophy Contender
Also, the Flames are making a risky move by not playing Dustin Wolf & more
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In today’s edition, we have power rankings for Week 16 in the NHL, why Jets goaltender Connor Hellebuyck has a Hart trophy case, and much more.
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Nashville Predators: Primetime Predators Ep. 1: New Year, New Predators by Alex Wauthy
NHL News & Rumours: Everything We Know About Corey Perry's Signing With the Oilers by Jim Parsons
Carolina Hurricanes: Chaotic Canes Ep. 4: Honoring Mr. Game 7 by Zach Martin
New Jersey Devils: Devils Sunday Brunch - Goals are scarce by Josh Reinitz
Columbus Blue Jackets: 3 Candidates to Replace Elvis Merzlikins by William Espy
Detroit Red Wings: Red Wings Weekly Recap: Larkin Leads the Way & Offense Sputters vs Carolina by Jordan Orth
Florida Panthers: 10 Thoughts on the Florida Panthers: From Winning Ways to Loser's Lounge by Joey Ganzi
New York Rangers: Rangers Have Some Questions to Answer at the Halfway Point of the Season by Jesse Courville-Lynch
Check Out THW’s Professional Women’s Hockey League Coverage
Welcome to the THW Professional Women's Hockey League Substack
Schroeder & Downie-Landry Lead PWHL New York and Loren Grobel & Alina Müller Lift PWHL Boston
Yesterday’s Scores…
Evander Kane Turning Heads on Oilers’ Second Line
January 22, 2024 by Sean Panganiban
The Edmonton Oilers set a record for the longest winning streak by a Canadian team in NHL history with their 13th straight win over the Calgary Flames on Jan. 20 and with so many things going so smoothly, there aren’t many noticeable flaws. Yet, the winning streak has led to differing opinions among Oilers’ fans about Evander Kane over the last couple of weeks — some have been hard on him because of his lack of production and that his recent promotion to the second line wasn’t warranted, while others argue he deserves a shot because naturally, he’s a top-six calibre player.
It’s a simple statement, yet it caused a stir among the Oilers’ faithful and also hockey analysts because they felt his focus on personal opportunity instead of the team was indicative of self-centered behaviour. Yet, early signs are showing that he’s capitalizing on his rejuvenated opportunity on the second line and is set for a promising second half of the season if he stays on track. Â
NHL 2023-24 Power Rankings: Week 16
January 22, 2024 by Eugene Helfrick
When it comes to weekly articles like this one, you expect there to be ebbs and flows in the news cycle. You may see a big trade or head coaching change happen, but you also know that most weeks, the only thing worth talking about will be the actual games played. The 2023-24 NHL season has not followed this expectation.
On the ice, I’m going to call 2024 the year of the streak. It felt like every team this week was either on or ending a winning/losing streak. This play has made it difficult to really judge the league, because we’re seeing a bit of pullback for those teams who won a lot to start the new year and finally competitive play turning to wins on the scoreboard for others. That doesn’t mean that there won’t be movement this week, but I’m not expecting as much as I made last week. I think things are settling in at the lower and higher parts of the Rankings, with only the middle portion really making it had to judge. So, with another head coach firing on our minds, let’s take at look at THW’s Week 16 Power Rankings!
Flames Not Playing Dustin Wolf is a Risky Move
January 22, 2024 by Rupert McDonald
After it was announced that Jacob Markstrom was able to dress in Saturday night’s (Jan. 20) game versus the Edmonton Oilers, I felt like it was only a matter of time before Dustin Wolf was re-assigned to the American Hockey League (AHL). That turned out to be the case, as the Calgary Flames announced the transaction on Sunday morning.
Wolf’s time with the Flames on this latest call-up was brief, as Markstrom was only forced to sit out for two games after suffering an undisclosed injury. On the season, the 22-year-old phenom has suited up for a career-high five performances with the Flames. While it is an improvement on years past, it is not nearly enough.
Shanahan Was Right to Veto Maple Leafs’ Fleury Trade
January 22, 2024 by Jesse Courville-Lynch
The Toronto Maple Leafs have had some interesting goaltending troubles in recent seasons. Matt Murray, Ilya Samsonov, and Petr Mrazek are just three names that come to mind when thinking about goaltenders who haven’t lived up to expectations after they joined the Maple Leafs. Samsonov still plays on the team, Mrazek was traded to the Chicago Blackhawks where he has revived his career as an NHL goaltender, and Murray is out with an injury and on the Long Term Injured Reserve but is still owned by the Maple Leafs. A team as strong on paper as the Maple Leafs shouldn’t be fighting to keep themselves in a playoff spot like they are, but rather should be dominating their division.
A story came out recently from John Shannon on the Bob McCown Podcast in which he references a failed 2022 trade between the Maple Leafs and Blackhawks which would have sent legendary goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury to the Maple Leafs in exchange for Mrazek, Matthew Knies, and multiple first-round picks. In the podcast, he mentions that while the deal could have had some steam, it was vetoed by Maple Leafs president Brendan Shanahan. As Darren Dreger had stated in his tweet, the deal never got to a stage where Fleury was asked to waive his no-trade clause.
Connor Hellebuyck Is a Hart Trophy Contender This Season
January 22, 2024 by Connor Hrabchak
In recent years, the NHL’s Hart Memorial Trophy for the most valuable player has been dominated by skaters. However, Connor Hellebuyck has been the best goaltender in the NHL this season by a fairly decent margin, and is on pace to set career highs in a handful of statistical categories. While he is currently the favourite to win the Vezina Trophy for the NHL’s best goaltender, his play of late should build some traction from the national media for the NHL’s MVP award.
Before I dive into Hellebuyck’s case, I should make my thoughts clear: I don’t believe Hellebuyck should be the outright front-runner for the Hart Trophy. Players such as Nathan MacKinnon, Nikita Kucherov, and Connor McDavid, all have very strong cases for the award. This article will focus on why his name should be right up there beside those players as we move past the midway point of the 2023-24 season.
Canadiens 2023-24 Midseason Prospect Report: Top 5 Prospects
January 22, 2024 by Blain Potvin
The Montreal Canadiens have an enviable prospect pool filled with talented young players, and that pool doesn’t include all the 23 years of age and under players already graduated to the NHL lineup. Players such as Kaiden Guhle headline that list, there is even rookie Jayden Struble who is making decisions for management very difficult.Â
General manager (GM) Kent Hughes and his scouting staff are poised to add significantly to the team’s prospects with the 2024 NHL Entry Draft as the Canadiens are loaded with 11 picks, four of which are in the top 90 and one may even be in the top 10 in a draft that could provide them with a quality offensive player. This article is part two of the top 10 Canadiens prospects, this part, listing the top five ranked players.Â
More stuff from THW and around the NHL:
New York Islanders - Pros & Cons of Islanders Hiring Patrick Roy
Toronto Maple Leafs - Friedman Says Maple Leafs Continuing to Search for Defence Help
Buffalo Sabres - Sabres Have Mismanaged Their Goalies This Season
NHL News & Rumors - Oilers, Capitals, Ducks, Maple Leafs
From TSN - Oilers sign Perry to $775K deal plus bonuses, waive Erne
From Sportsnet - Kylington's first Flames practice in 19 months makes for emotional day in Calgary
From ESPN - Sources: Rangers' Filip Chytil returns from training in Czechia
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