That was a fun offseason project — ranking the NHL teams by position. Fun and enlightening, yet challenging since the league’s parity is so prevalent on paper. There were tiers at every position that opened the door to much debate, with the slightest of margins separating several teams. That made for difficult decisions from top
Previews and Predictions
Defence wins championships, right? Well, if that’s true — and the St. Louis Blues were pretty darn good on the back end — then the top teams here could have a leg up on the competition. Defensive depth is crucial, but having a couple studs on the blue line is also invaluable. There is no
With the NHL down to its final four playoff teams, there are a handful of players who have emerged as front-runners for the Conn Smythe Trophy as postseason MVP. After having scored 25 points in 15 games, Nathan MacKinnon looked like he was going to run away with the award until his Colorado Avalanche lost
After wins for both the New York Islanders and Philadelphia Flyers in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, the two teams are set for their first playoff series since 1987. The Islanders had to play in the Qualifying Round where they defeated the Florida Panthers, and the Flyers earned the top seed after
Revenge will be fresh on the minds of the Carolina Hurricanes as they prepare for a rematch of last year’s Eastern Conference Final against the Boston Bruins. The Hurricanes were on a tear, having just swept the New York Islanders, but they ran out of gas against a juggernaut Bruins team and wound up the
When the NHL season was put on pause, the Washington Capitals had racked up 90 points, good enough to cling to third place in the Eastern Conference. While they avoided the qualifying round of the rebooted postseason, the Caps aren’t widely considered to be among the league’s handful of elite teams. So what will it
Anticipation is building as the NHL approaches its return to play on Aug. 1, and it’ll be the Carolina Hurricanes and New York Rangers who kick things off with a Saturday afternoon 12 p.m. drop of the puck. The playoff-qualifying series will be best of five, with the winner advancing to the official 16-team playoff
Is there anything better than the National Hockey League Playoffs? After a four-and-a-half month hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it looks as though the puck will drop on an expanded, 24-team postseason in just under two weeks’ time. The Arizona Coyotes are among the teams vying for a shot at Lord Stanley’s mug. Standing
The Montreal Canadiens go into the next season with a large group of young defensemen trying to make the big club. Alexander Romanov is one of those young defenders that will undoubtedly make the Habs’ roster next season, which will create a log jam on the backend – especially on the left side. Alexander Romanov
It’s hard to be part of an NHL franchise that’s in a rebuild. The team loses more games than they win, fans stop showing up, and there is less of a buzz around the arena and the city. Luckily for the Los Angeles Kings, the ping pong balls fell the right way at last Friday’s
It’s time to start mocking — at least the top 10. Starting today, I’ll be running the Tankathon simulator for the draft lottery on a daily basis and mocking the results for the top 10 leading up to the 2020 NHL draft — or until the actual lottery takes place to determine the official draft
In the first part of this series, I suggested that the NHL end the 2019-20 season after the 68th game (the number of games played by every team at the time of The Great Pause of 2020.) Any games played beyond that would be disregarded, as would any points in the standings earned in those games. Related: Pavel Bure
We now continue our month-long series on the Columbus Blue Jackets and the NHL Trade Deadline. In part one, we discussed why the Toronto Maple Leafs make a perfect trading partner. In part two, we explored why the Blue Jackets have reasons they could trade Josh Anderson. Today, we get right to the heart of
By The Canadian Press October 5th, 2019 Tampa Bay Lightning (1-0-0, second in the Atlantic Division) vs. Florida Panthers (0-1-0, seventh in the Atlantic Division) Sunrise, Florida; Saturday, 7 p.m. EDT Bottom Line Atlantic Division foes Florida and Tampa Bay will play. Florida went 23-19-10 in Eastern Conference play and 20-13-8 at home in the
By The Canadian Press October 5th, 2019 Detroit Red Wings vs. Nashville Predators (1-0-0, first in the Central Division) Nashville, Tennessee; Saturday, 8 p.m. EDT Bottom Line Nashville and Detroit face off in a non-conference matchup. Nashville finished 47-29-6 overall and 25-14-2 at home in the 2018-19 season. The Predators scored 236 total goals last
The best month of the calendar year has finally arrived for hockey fans: October. For Los Angeles Kings fans, this means everything that has transpired during the team’s offseason will be put to the test. After a forgettable 2018-19 season, it was clear that major steps needed to be taken in order to restore the
Training camp is finally underway. From a Columbus Blue Jackets’ perspective, that means starting to get the answers to some important questions surrounding the team. Opportunity is available in a way that it hasn’t been in recent seasons. As head coach John Tortorella put it on Wednesday at Media Day, this was the last time
The summer is starting to wind down. Fall is in the air. And the Columbus Blue Jackets are ready to defend the Matthew Wuest Memorial Cup in Traverse City. The annual prospect’s tournament in upstate Michigan is set to begin on Sept 6 with eight teams vying for the championship. The Blue Jackets are seeking