THW Daily - Week 11 NHL Power Rankings & Senators Fire Head Coach D.J. Smith
Also, a goalie dilemma in Toronto, the biggest trade rumors throughout the Eastern Conference & more
Welcome to The Hockey Writers Daily
In today’s edition, we have power rankings for Week 11 in the NHL, a coaching change with D.J. Smith out in Ottawa, a goalie dilemma in Toronto, and much more.
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Flyers Flash: Team Keeps Winning Despite Ailments by Justin Giampietro
Blue Note Weekly Audio Report: Craig Berube Fired & Team Responds With Two Wins by Ethan Carter
Yesterday’s NHL Scores…
Maple Leafs Face a Goalie Dilemma With Jones & Samsonov
December 18, 2023 by Peter Baracchini
The Toronto Maple Leafs had a difficult decision to make to keep Joseph Woll in the NHL or risk losing Martin Jones on waivers. Luckily for the team, they got what they wanted as Woll has been very steady in his first season and Jones remained with the organization without getting claimed.
With Jones playing well in a short amount of time, the Maple Leafs once again have a goaltending dilemma. Samsonov is running out of time to try and figure things out and Jones has had his moments in the past, where he has shown his struggles. But lately, Jones has been the better of the two goaltenders.
NHL 2023-24 Power Rankings: Week 11
December 18, 2023 by Eugene Helfrick
Drama, drama, drama. The first few months of the 2023-24 season have been filled with nothing but drama. Before the end of the calendar year, we have our third head coach change (fourth if you count the preseason) after the St. Louis Blues relieved Craig Berube of his duties this week and promoted Drew Bannister from their American Hockey League affiliate to take over as interim head coach. It’s incredible to think that the coach who led St. Louis to their first Stanley Cup is now out of a job, but the NHL is a what have you done for me now league, and the Blues have been a bit of a disaster so far this season.
Throughout the rest of the league, it felt like scoring was up this week. We saw a four-goal game from Steven Stamkos, a handful of hat tricks, and a lot of goaltenders with less-than-stellar save percentages. That’s the nature of the season as injuries set in and teams have to make it work with the pieces they have left, but it’s still interesting to see how everything comes together sometimes. Well, with those notes out of the way, let’s get on with Week 11 of THW’s NHL Power Rankings!
Oilers Can Bolster Team in Multi-Player Trade With Sharks
December 18, 2023 by Jesse Courville-Lynch
While the Edmonton Oilers have been trying to get back on track and back into the hunt for Stanley Cup contention this season, the San Jose Sharks have been on the opposite path. The Oilers at one point were tied with the Sharks in the standings earlier this season, but both of them had different goals in mind heading into the 2023-24 campaign. The Oilers had, and still have, high hopes for their team while the Sharks knew this would be another season filled with losses as they have fully embraced their rebuild.
The Oilers started the season terribly, as did the Sharks, and the Sharks even took their second victory of the season over the Oilers which was shocking and was the main reason the Oilers ended up firing head coach Jay Woodcroft. The Oilers recently went on an eight-game winning streak which allowed them to climb up the Pacific Division standings and closer to a Wild-Card playoff spot, but they still have some issues that need to be addressed if they want to be considered serious contenders.
Biggest NHL Trade Rumors 2023: Eastern Conference Teams
December 18, 2023 by Jim Parsons
This year, there have already been a number of big rumors circulating around the NHL’s Eastern Conference. With the holiday trade freeze almost upon us and a lull in the action, it feels like the right time to look back at some of the loudest trade talks that were, are, and will be out there. This post will specifically focus on the Easter Conference rumors.
Senators Fire Head Coach D.J. Smith
December 18, 2023 by Dayton Reimer
The Ottawa Senators announced on Monday, Dec. 18 that they have fired head coach D.J. Smith, replacing him with interim head coach Jacques Martin. The announcement follows the fourth straight loss for the team and the seventh in the last 10 games, leaving them in last place in the Eastern Conference. The team also announced that assistant coach Davis Payne had been fired and replaced by Daniel Alfredsson.
Smith was hired in 2019-20 after Guy Boucher was let go and was expected to connect with the younger members of the team. He quickly became a well-respected coach among the team’s leaders and forged a positive dressing room environment. However, after four seasons, the team had a record of 131-154-32 and never finished higher than 23rd overall.
Islanders Have 5 Good Trade Partners For Wahlstrom
December 18, 2023 by Mike Fink
The New York Islanders signed Oliver Wahlstrom this offseason to a one-year contract, hoping this would be the season he’d step up and emerge as an elite scorer on the wing. That never happened. The Islanders have played 30 games and Wahlstrom has only played in 17 of them, scoring only two goals and three assists. His last game played was the 4-3 Dec. 2 win over the Florida Panthers and as a constant healthy scratch, that might have been his last game with the team that drafted him with the 11th overall selection in the 2018 NHL Entry Draft.
The interest will be there for Wahlstrom. The question is what type of deal would he be a part of? On top of that, which teams would look to add him to their lineups and take a chance on a player who five years into his NHL career only has 34 goals and 32 assists? The five notable teams that would most likely want to acquire him are rebuilding teams but some of which are ahead of the curve, starting with the first team on this list.
More stuff from THW and around the NHL:
Montreal Canadiens - Likeliest Canadiens to Next Break Out of Slumps in 2023-24
Detroit Red Wings - Ranking Red Wings’ Offseason Acquisitions So Far
Toronto Maple Leafs - Maple Leafs Standing Strong in Atlantic Division Amid Challenges
NHL News & Rumors - Hurricanes, Blue Jackets, Flyers, Penguins
From TSN - Bruins loan F Poitras to Canada for world juniors
From Sportsnet - NHL Rumour Roundup: Who to watch as goalie market gets hot
From ESPN - Dylan Larkin returns to Red Wings' lineup against Ducks
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