On the sixth episode of the Hockey Writers Podcast, we brought in two regular contributors from The Hockey Writers family. We spent a good hour and change with J.D. Killian who covers the Colorado Avalanche and Kyle Gipe who covers the Nashville Predators for thehockeywriters.com. Both, along with host Jim Parsons, gave their thoughts on the season that was in 2018 and what to expect out of the new year in 2019.
What to Expect on the Podcast This Week…
In an attempt to leave no stone unturned, the crew covered everything from results and predictions, trades, rentals, intriguing stories, coaching, contracts and specific teams like the St. Louis Blues, Toronto Maple Leafs, Edmonton Oilers, and both of our guests answered questions while looking at things from a league-wide perspective and as per how it relates to their specific teams.
Do the answers change depending on the perspective in which you choose to approach the question?
Related: Calling Ex-Edmonton Oilers… You Can Come Back Home
Segment 1: Teams Coming Out of the Eastern and Western Conference
We asked both JD and Kyle who they thought would be the team to make it out of the Eastern Conference and the Western Conference. Is Tampa the favorite in the east or does another team have a shot? What about in the west where the race is a lot tighter?
The Calgary Flames, Vegas Golden Knights, Winnipeg Jets and San Jose Sharks are among the favorites. Who will our panel choose?
Segment 2: NHL Trades in 2019
We then asked, who is the most likely to be traded? Who is the name that might shock fans if they’re traded? And, who makes for the best rental at this year’s NHL Trade Deadline?
In our top 10 trade list posted earlier this week, we looked at names like Matt Duchene, Artemi Panarin, Kevin Hayes, and half the roster from the St. Louis Blues. Who do you think our panel picked and who would you select?
Related: NHL Trade Deadline: Our Top 10 Must-Watch List
Segment 3: The Most Intriguing Story in 2019
We then shifted gears and asked our guests what story they think would be the most intriguing to follow in the 2019 calendar year? Every answer was different but all were well-thought-out choices.
Is Toronto and the drama going on with contracts for some of their star players still the center of the hockey universe when it comes to 2019?
Segment 4: NHL Award Winners
Who was going to walk away with some of the NHL’s biggest prizes? Who wins the scoring race? Who wins rookie of the year? In both cases, the answers might surprise listeners.
Can Connor McDavid do it again? Or will a player like Nikita Kucherov, Nathan MacKinnon or Mikko Rantanen win the scoring race? What about the Calder? Is it Elias Pettersson’s race to lose?
Segment 5: Closing Thoughts on the NHL in 2019
What’s left? A quick discussion on coaching, on restricted free agents and more, finished off this week’s show. JD gets passionate about one topic in particular and she’s not alone. It’s certainly a problem for the NHL these days and needs to be addressed in the next 12 months.
Related: NHL Rumors: Bobrovsky, Simmonds, Matthews, More
Where You Can Hear Our Podcast
A big thanks to both Kyle and JD for coming on this week and you expect they’ll be sharing the link on their social media. If you don’t follow them, you can use any of the below links to subscribe to or download our podcast each week:
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