THW Daily - Struggling NHLers With New Teams & Rangers’ Strong Start Can Lead To Much More
Also, defensemen whom Sens can target in trades, why Flyers' Gauthier can develop quickly at NHL level & more
Welcome to The Hockey Writers Daily
In today’s edition, we have a few struggling NHLers with new teams, more on the Rangers’ strong start, defensemen whom Sens can target in trades, and much more.
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Here’s the good stuff…
There Were No NHL Games Yesterday…
Oilers Fans Wrong to Accuse McDavid of Getting Woodcroft Fired
November 21, 2023 by Jesse Courville-Lynch
The Edmonton Oilers underwent some massive changes last week as they decided to move on from head coach Jay Woodcroft and assistant coach Dave Manson to hire Kris Knoblauch as the team’s new head coach and bring legendary defenseman Paul Coffey in as the Oilers’ new assistant coach.
The Oilers had a surprisingly weak start to the 2023-24 season, so this change wasn’t completely out of the blue, but it did spark arguments online about whether or not Oilers’ superstar and captain Connor McDavid had any say in the recent coaching change. Fans were quick to point out that Knoblauch was McDavid’s coach during his time in the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) with the Erie Otters and began jumping to conclusions.
NHLers Struggling With New Teams After Offseason Moves
November 21, 2023 by Alex Chauvancy
Late last week, we looked at some offseason moves that have been working out for their new teams to start 2023-24. Now, we’ll go over some that have failed to meet expectations heading into American Thanksgiving just a couple of days from now.
Maple Leafs’ Progress After 17 Games: 2022-23 vs. 2023-24
November 21, 2023 by The Old Prof
With all of the angst surrounding the Toronto Maple Leafs’ slow start to the season, they might be happy to know that following their 4-3 win over the Minnesota Wild in Stockholm, Sweden, on Sunday (Nov. 19), the Maple Leafs are one point ahead of where they were last season after 17 games.
Senators Should Have These 3 Defencemen as Trade Targets
November 21, 2023 by Dayton Reimer
All eyes are on Calgary Flames defenseman Nikita Zadorov after he requested a trade midway through a game against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Nov 11. Immediately, the Maple Leafs emerged as the frontrunner, but there isn’t a team in the NHL that wouldn’t like to add a 6-foot-6, physical and defensive-minded defenceman like him. That includes the Ottawa Senators, who have found themselves in a bit of a bind after Thomas Chabot went down with a broken hand at the end of October, and Artem Zub has struggled to stay healthy.
However, the Senators can’t afford Zadorov. The team bet the farm on Jakub Chychrun and Alex DeBrincat last season and recouped far fewer assets after the latter didn’t work out. Not to mention, the bidding war that is likely happening for Zadorov will quickly price Ottawa out. But that doesn’t mean the Senators shouldn’t look at the trade market to address the gap on their blue line. Here are three defencemen that the Sens should consider acquiring.
Rangers’ Strong Start Has Them Poised To Win Metro Division
November 21, 2023 by Lucas Standel
The New York Rangers have had the best start to the season of any team in the Metropolitan Division. They currently have a 12-3-1 record and are 8-1-1 over their past 10 games.
With the rest of the Metro around them playing inconsistent hockey, the Rangers are primed to win it for the first time since the 2014-15 season, when they also won the Presidents’ Trophy as the NHL’s best regular-season team. If the Rangers can continue their strong play throughout the season, they should have no issues being in first place come the 2024 Stanley Cup playoffs.
Flyers’ Cutter Gauthier Can Quickly Flourish in the NHL
November 21, 2023 by Justin Giampietro
The Philadelphia Flyers have a special player in the fifth-overall selection of the 2022 NHL Draft, Cutter Gauthier. In what is likely his final collegiate season in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), he has been nearly unstoppable. By the time he is ready to come over to the NHL and play for the Flyers, his game could be polished enough to be a difference-maker right out of the gate.
More stuff from THW and around the NHL:
Edmonton Oilers - 4 Teams the Oilers Can Target to Find a Goalie & Defenseman
Columbus Blue Jackets - Blue Jackets News & Rumors: Laine, Jenner, Werenski & More
Winnipeg Jets - Jets Prospect Check-In: McGroarty, Lambert & DiVincentiis
NHL News & Rumors - Blue Jackets, Avalanche, Canucks, Islanders
From TSN - Predators' Glass placed in IR with upper-body injury
From Sportsnet - Meet Kris Knoblauch: 'Teacher by nature' and the 18th coach in Oilers history
From ESPN - Canadiens' Rafael Harvey-Pinard (lower body) out 8 weeks
We hope you enjoyed today’s THW Daily, and we hope to expand our daily offerings as we develop and experiment with this new platform. Cheers!