How important are special teams to an NHL team’s success? Well, based on numerous analytics and statistics, very. According to StatMuse, eight out of the ten top penalty killing teams were in the playoffs. Furthermore, nine out of the league’s top ten power plays made the playoffs. Special teams may be a small timeframe of
Dougie Hamilton
The NHL is in an unprecedented situation financially, with the salary cap barely rising after next season. Cap space is at a premium as teams try to shed salary by moving out expensive contracts via trade or the expansion draft. The Arizona Coyotes weaponized their available cap space to accumulate draft capital. They took on
The Carolina Hurricanes entered the 2021 offseason with a lot of question marks surrounding the defensive group. The top four still had three mainstays locked in, but Dougie Hamilton’s unrestricted free agency and subsequent departure created a lot of cloudiness around the group. Along with Jake Gardiner’s health concerns, Jake Bean’s clear lack of trust
Welcome to a brand new series here at The Hockey Writers called “Road to the Draft.” In this series, our draft contributors will count down from 32nd overall all the way to 1st overall and revisit each player taken with that pick between 2010 and 2021. Now that the 2021 NHL Draft is in the
In today’s NHL rumors rundown, while Ken Holland wouldn’t say much, a deal between the Edmonton Oilers and Zach Hyman seems imminent. Will it be an eight-year deal or a seven-year deal? Meanwhile, could Eric Staal return to the Montreal Canadiens and Marc Staal to the Detroit Red Wings? The Chicago Blackhawks are reportedly taking
In today’s NHL rumors rundown, the Carolina Hurricanes are allowing defenseman Dougie Hamilton to speak with other teams about a potential extension. Meanwhile, a few scribes look at the offers the Colorado Avalanche might make to Gabriel Landeskog, the St. Louis Blues might make another pitch to Mike Hoffman, and Owen Power might not join
In today’s NHL rumors rundown, there is talk the Toronto Maple Leafs are more likely to work out an extension for defenseman Morgan Rielly than they are to trade him. Meanwhile, Mattias Ekholm and the Nashville Predators have a mutual interest in getting an extension done. The Arizona Coyotes haven’t talked to Conor Garland at
A major part of the Carolina Hurricanes’ turnaround over the past three seasons – going from being a perennial disappointment to becoming a team on the verge of legitimate Cup contender status – has been the seamless fit of trade acquisition Dougie Hamilton. He’s impacted the group in a multitude of ways from the blueline;
In this edition of Toronto Maple Leafs’ News & Rumors, I’ll once again collaborate with long-time Maple Leafs’ fan Stan Smith to review and comment on some of the news and rumors emerging from the team. Two rumors seem to persistently pop up in different places: one is that Zach Hyman will be leaving the
One of the biggest stories to come out of the NHL this week was that the Carolina Hurricanes have granted star defenseman and pending unrestricted free agent Dougie Hamilton permission to speak to other teams about a new contract. A veteran of 607 regular season games with the Boston Bruins, Calgary Flames and the Hurricanes,
In today’s NHL rumors rundown, there is a bit of back and forth going on between Dougie Hamiltion of the Carolina Hurricanes and Nikita Kucherov of the Tampa Bay Lightning over the Lightning’s salary cap during the playoffs. Sam Reinhart is getting plenty of interest and there’s a theory the Edmonton Oilers might try to
In today’s NHL rumors rundown, what is defenseman Dougie Hamilton worth on the open free agent market? Meanwhile, are the Los Angeles Kings going to make a play for a couple of top-six forwards? Tuukka Rask is going back in net for the Boston Bruins in Game 6, but is something off? Finally, players from
In today’s NHL rumors rundown, the New York Rangers could be interested in the services of Nazem Kadri, while the Philadelphia Flyers could go after defenseman Dougie Hamilton. The Edmonton Oilers will need to take a serious look at what to do about their roster after a disappointing loss to the Winnipeg Jets and what
The 2020-21 hockey season is nearly set after much bickering between the NHL and the Players Association. The new season is expected to begin on Jan. 13, 2021, and will be played in a condensed, 56-game schedule. From an NHL team exec this monrning, FWIW: “NHL is season is starting Jan 13th. Confirmed last night.
In today’s NHL rumor rundown, what kind of deal are the Carolina Hurricanes looking at for Dougie Hamilton? Who will start in goal for the Vancouver Canucks when the season starts? Are the Edmonton Oilers having financial struggles? Finally, what’s the latest on when the season will start and will we see fans in attendance
Defense wins championships. It’s a saying as old as hockey itself, but there is truth to this wisdom. A stout defense can both limit the opponent’s scoring chances while placing additional pressure on them in the offensive zone. When a defense is playing near perfection, it also helps ease some of the burdens on both
In today’s NHL rumor rundown, there is an update on contract negotiations between the Carolina Hurricanes and Dougie Hamilton, the Pittsburgh Penguins have said they’ll be moving on from one of their defensemen, and are the Edmonton Oilers a team that could make a deal with the Penguins for an available goaltender? Finally, Torey Krug
Rod Brind’Amour doesn’t mince words. The Carolina Hurricanes’ bench boss certainly didn’t hold back following their 4-3 overtime loss to the Boston Bruins Wednesday. After a frustrating afternoon that featured several instances of Hurricanes players jawing with the referees – most notably regarding a controversial second-period goal by the Bruins’ Charlie Coyle – Brind’Amour sounded