THW Daily - Senators Prospects Who Deserve Call-up & Questions for Maple Leafs To Answer in Second Half
Also, latest results in the PWHL, burning questions for the Canucks & more
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In today’s edition, we have a few Senators prospects who deserve a call-up from the AHL, the second-half questions to answer for Toronto, the latest results from the PWHL, and much more.
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Vancouver Canucks: Canucks Prospect Report: Brzustewicz, Bains, Bloom & More by Matthew Zator
St. Louis Blues: Blue Note Weekly Audio Report: Blues Continue To Play Well in Tough Stretch of Opponents by Ethan Carter
Detroit Red Wings: Red Wings Prospect Check-In: Cossa Settling In & ASP Injured & Red Wings Weekly Recap: Third Line Gets Rolling for Red Wings by Jordan Orth
Tampa Bay Lightning: Where Things Stand for Lightning with Steven Stamkos by Jordan Orth
Chicago Blackhawks: Blackhawks: Dickinson & Foligno Signings Mean More than Points by Brooke LoFurno
Prospects & Draft: Reacting to the NHL's Midterm Rankings by Dayton Reimer
Check Out THW’s Professional Women’s Hockey League Coverage
Welcome to the THW Professional Women's Hockey League Substack
Introducing THW's Professional Women's Hockey League Substack Coverage
Yesterday’s Scores…
PWHL: Montreal Wins First Home Game Defeating New York
January 17, 2024 by William Espy
On Tuesday, in Professional Women’s Hockey League (PWHL) action, New York visited Montreal at the Place Bell in Laval for their second meeting in a week. In their last meeting, Montreal walked away with a 5-2 win thanks to a hat trick from Marie-Philip Poulin. Last night, New York was looking for revenge, while Montreal hoped to become the first Canadian team to win a PWHL home game.Â
This game featured two of the league’s three stars of the week, as Poulin was named the first star after earning a hat trick, and New York’s Ella Shelton was named the second star with a goal and four assists in two games.Â
3 Senators Prospects Who Deserve Call-Up From AHL
January 17, 2024 by Paul Quinney
The Ottawa Senators have no chance of making the playoffs this year. That leads some fans to secretly hope their team throws in the proverbial towel so they get Macklin Celebrini – the presumed number one draft pick in the 2024 NHL Entry Draft. The best way to bring that about, they say, is to start playing more prospects from the team’s American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate in Belleville.
I admit that it would be difficult to slot any Belleville call-ups into the lineup for extended stays given the Senators’ non-existent cap space. What’s more, of the regular roster, only Ridly Greig and Jake Sanderson are waivers exempt, but they aren’t going anywhere. Even so, some depth players would clear waivers if they were sent down to Belleville to make room for some up-and-comers. It’s worth the risk given what little would be at stake. This, combined with injuries and possibly some deadline trades may give head coach Jacques Martin the wriggle room to give some Belleville prospects meaningful NHL playing time. With that in mind, here’s a look at three Belleville players the Senators will want to see more of as the season grinds on.
Flyers Can Move a Defenseman After Adding Jamie Drysdale
January 17, 2024 by Andrew McGuinness
There’s a chance the Philadelphia Flyers have already made the biggest trade of 2024, not just for themselves but for the entire NHL landscape. Trading Cutter Gauthier, a No. 5 overall pick lighting up college hockey and World Juniors, to the Anaheim Ducks for another highly-skilled former top-10 pick in Jamie Drysdale (plus a 2025 second-round pick) is a true blockbuster. Gauthier was considered a massive piece of the Flyers’ long-term future, more important to the success of the team’s rebuild than arguably anyone outside of Matvei Michkov. Then, in the blink of an eye, he was gone.
The Flyers were very comfortable with their six-man unit on defense before adding Drysdale. In his first two games in Philadelphia, the Flyers opted to go with seven defensemen rather than scratching one of their blueliners. While things may remain somewhat status quo, for now, how the Flyers handle the March 8 trade deadline could be much different now that Drysdale’s in the fold.
Canucks’ Burning Questions: Hughes, Pettersson, Trades & More
January 17, 2024 by Matthew Zator
The Vancouver Canucks have been one of the most surprising teams in the NHL this season and currently sit tied with the Winnipeg Jets for first in the NHL with 62 points (29-11-4). They also boast the league’s best goal differential at a gaudy plus-54 and are both lethal offensively (168 goals for – second) and stout defensively (112 goals against – tied for fourth). What many thought was a hot streak that couldn’t be sustained has become the norm and now fans and analysts alike are calling this team not only playoff contenders but Stanley Cup contenders as well.
But let’s not get too far ahead of ourselves. There are still 38 games left in the regular season and the playoffs are always a different animal – just ask the 2022-23 Boston Bruins who dominated the league only to be eliminated by the Florida Panthers in the first round. With that said, let’s get to a few burning questions for the rest of the season.
Maple Leafs Need to Answer These 3 Questions in the Second Half
January 17, 2024 by Peter Baracchini
It’s almost certain that if you were to ask anyone on the Toronto Maple Leafs, they would like to improve on their first half. While their 21-13-8 record does look decent, when you watch the games, it has been a roller coaster for this team filled with inconsistencies, goaltending issues and bad puck management.
The Maple Leafs’ goal differential is at +12, which is average for this team. Their 13 regulation wins has them towards the bottom of the league with teams that are nowhere near a playoff spot compared to them. The first half was a bit of a disappointment, considering the expectation is to build off of a postseason where they finally won a series, but a lot needs to happen as they need to find their game and improve on the current roster. With a 4-2 loss against the Edmonton Oilers to kick off the second half the issues still linger for this team. Here are three questions that need to be answered.
Valeri Nichushkin’s Absence Will Be Felt by the Avalanche
January 17, 2024 by Stefano Rubino
The Colorado Avalanche have one of the best offences in the NHL this season, currently ranked second in goals for per game (GF/GP) with 3.82 and eighth in power-play percentage (PP%) at 25.2. The is built to score tons of goals, and has been even better with the additional help of Valeri Nichushkin, who has capitalized on the power play, has been playing on the top line, and seeing increased chances in front of the net.’
Nichushkin is getting a bit overshadowed by the sheer dominance of Nathan MacKinnon and the play of Cale Makar and his current push to outperform the season he won his first Norris Trophy. Even with his teammates playing at trophy-winning levels, Nichushkin been able to capitalize on their play, setting him up for a career season.
More stuff from THW and around the NHL:
New Jersey Devils - Devils Acquiring Elvis Merzlikins Would Come With Risks
Minnesota Wild - Minnesota Wild 2023-24 Top 15 Prospects Midseason Rankings
Calgary Flames - Flames May Want to Put Out Feelers on Mangiapane
NHL News & Rumors - Maple Leafs, Canucks, Senators, Wild, Blue Jackets
From TSN - Hodgson signs AHL PTO, ending retirement after eight years
From Sportsnet - Systems Analyst: How one Oilers goal highlighted Maple Leafs’ biggest issues
From ESPN - Sharks to retire Joe Thornton's No. 19 in 2024-25
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