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Chicago Blackhawks

Today in Hockey History: July 23
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A pair of “Original ”6 National Hockey League rivals made a one-sided trade on this date. Also, July 23 saw a long-time executive take a new job, the face of a franchise get traded to a new team and a rare NHL Entry Draft take place. The THW time machine has plenty of fuel to take us back through the decades to relive all the memories. Blackhawks Acquire Two Legends The Detroit Red Wings made a deal on July 23, 1957, that they went on to regret. They traded forward Ted Lindsay and goaltender Glenn Hall to the Chicago Blackhawks…

Blackhawks Bytes: Foligno, Richardson, Reichel, Roenick & More
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Welcome to the latest edition of Blackhawks Bytes, a series featuring quotes and comments from players, coaches, management, journalists and fans alike concerning everything Chicago Blackhawks. The purpose of this ongoing column is to capture a slice of the existing outlook, attitudes and culture surrounding the team. Please join me as we have some fun with the everyday, albeit fascinating aspect of human nature; the power of words. Since we’re in the middle of a summer stand-still in the hockey world, I thought it would be a good time to dust off the old Blackhawks Bytes column. Even this time of year…

Questions About Blackhawks’ Lukas Reichel Remain Ahead of 2024-25 Season
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Lukas Reichel was a walking question mark and, for us Chicago Blackhawks‘ writers, a muse for a lot of content last season. How would he do in his first full NHL season? How would he fare going from wing to center? Could he bounce back after a terrible start to the season where he had 10 points in 50 games and was eventually sent down to the Rockford IceHogs? Going into next season, Reichel is in the same predicament. The 21-year-old was signed to a two-year contract extension in May ($1.2 million AAV), and less than two months later, his…

Colorado Avalanche

Colorado Avalanche Won’t Be Contenders This Season
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It feels like just yesterday that the Colorado Avalanche were Stanley Cup champions. More importantly, it felt as though they had a core to remain serious contenders to the crown for years to come. The core is largely the same, but the 2023-24 season feels like a harsh lesson learned. After being dispatched by the Dallas Stars in the second round of the NHL Playoffs, the Avalanche made adjustments in free agency and added to the prospect pipeline in the 2024 NHL Draft. Going into the 2024-25 season, however, there are glaring weaknesses that must be addressed. Unfortunately, they aren’t…

Colorado Avalanche Lineup Projection for 2024-25
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The Colorado Avalanche are now in their offseason “downtime” after the drafting, trading, and free-agent signing frenzy. With two months to go until training camp and the preseason, the Avalanche have re-signed players and added pieces to fill out the bottom six.  Now that the Avalanche has traded for and extended goaltender Kevin Mandolese, they can focus on signing other exciting players still available on the market or start negotiations for crucial contract extensions for key players. At this point, the best we can see of the opening lineup is training camp, which will give us a good idea of what to…

Avalanche Giving Nikolai Kovalenko a Chance to Prove Himself
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The Colorado Avalanche still have a couple big question marks surrounding their line combinations, but one of their prospects might have an inside track to get some good minutes to prove himself. No, this isn’t about Calum Ritchie – who the team also has high hopes for. Instead, former sixth-round pick Nikolai Kovalenko could be in line to get a good audition in the early stages of the season. With Gabriel Landeskog due to miss the early part of the season rehabbing from knee surgery, and Valeri Nichushkin still suspended through the league’s player assistance program, that leaves a Kovalenko-sized…

Dallas Stars

Today in Hockey History: July 22
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This date in National Hockey League history has not been the most eventful by any means, but it has still provided some interesting tidbits. One veteran player got traded twice on the same day, Matthew Tkachuk got dealt to the Florida Panthers, and the birth of a Hall of Fame defenseman are three of the biggest July 22 memories. Sillinger’s Busy Day July 22, 2003, is a day that Mike Sillinger will never forget as he was a member of three different teams within a span of a couple of hours. The veteran started the day on the Columbus Blue…

9 NHL Teams That Missed in Free Agency
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Last week, we looked at which teams fared best in free agency. Today, we’ll look at some teams who took the wrong approach or maybe didn’t improve their rosters as much as it may seem. Of note, this article only includes UFA signings, so if your favorite team made some trades, those transactions will not be discussed in great detail. Boston Bruins Notable UFA Signings The Boston Bruins made a few depth additions, but their most notable acquisitions were signing Elias Lindholm and Nikita Zadorov to some pretty pricey contracts. Center depth was a problem for the Bruins this past…

Top Contenders for 2025 Calder Trophy
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If you thought the race for the Calder Trophy was a fun one last season, the battle for the award in 2024-25 could be even better. With numerous of the NHL’s best prospects entering the league, who are the top contenders to be crowned as the best rookie this season? In order to be eligible for the award, the guidelines are that “A player cannot have played more than 25 games in any single preceding season nor in six or more games in each of any two preceding seasons in any major professional league. Beginning in 1990-91, a player must…

Minnesota Wild

Wild Report Cards 2023-24: Vinni Lettieri
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The offseason continues, and so do the Minnesota Wild report cards. Connor Dewar and Brandon Duhaime were the most recent recipients, which means next up is one of the centers on that line, Vinni Lettieri. He is a Minnesota native with a famous grandpa in the hockey world, Lou Nanne. During the season, Nanne made the call on his grandson’s first goal in a Wild jersey, which made for a very special memory for them both.  Before his time in his home state, Lettieri played for various other teams, including the New York Rangers, Anaheim Ducks, and Boston Bruins. While…

Wild Report Cards 2023-24: Brandon Duhaime
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The Minnesota Wild report cards have restarted and reached the forwards, with Connor Dewar being the most recent; now it’s time for his nickname buddy, Brandon Duhaime’s turn. Like Dewar, he was also dealt at this past trade deadline, but he went to a division rival in the Colorado Avalanche, which was followed by a short prank war between Duhaime and Marc-André Fleury.  Duhaime was often on the fourth line with Dewar and they both loved to throw hits, especially Duhaime with his big frame. He has shown a lot of potential over the past few seasons but hasn’t been…

Minnesota Wild Report Cards 2023-24: Connor Dewar
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The Minnesota Wild report cards for the defensive core is all wrapped up so now it’s time for the forwards. While some of their forwards moved on at the trade deadline, they will be included in the report cards for how many games they played. The first forward up was Connor Dewar, who despite his small size, loved to throw his body around.  The fourth line is typically known as the checking line, and while that wasn’t lost on Dewar, he also showed a scoring side. In this article, we’ll look at a rough part of his game and a…

Nashville Predators

Looking Back on Tom Fitzgerald’s Nashville Predators Tenure
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The Nashville Predators began their play in the NHL during the 1998-99 season. They added quite a bit of significant talent to their debut campaign. They brought in forward Cliff Ronning from the Phoenix Coyotes; and received significant offensive contributions from other players like Greg Johnson, Sergei Krivokrasov, Andrew Brunette, and Scott Walker among others. One of the biggest leaders added to the group in the first season came from winger Tom Fitzgerald. Before Fitzgerald became an executive who is currently the general manager (GM) of the New Jersey Devils, he was a journeyman forward who had previously suited up…

9 NHL Teams That Missed in Free Agency
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Last week, we looked at which teams fared best in free agency. Today, we’ll look at some teams who took the wrong approach or maybe didn’t improve their rosters as much as it may seem. Of note, this article only includes UFA signings, so if your favorite team made some trades, those transactions will not be discussed in great detail. Boston Bruins Notable UFA Signings The Boston Bruins made a few depth additions, but their most notable acquisitions were signing Elias Lindholm and Nikita Zadorov to some pretty pricey contracts. Center depth was a problem for the Bruins this past…

Get to Know New Nashville Predator Jonathan Marchessault
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The Nashville Predators have had the best free agency period they could have. Not only did they sign superstar forward Steven Stamkos to a four-year contract, but they also brought in winger Jonathan Marchessault and defenseman Brady Skjei. This was after they already had other skilled players in their lineup such as captain Roman Josi, goalie Juuse Saros, and forwards like Ryan O’Reilly and Gustav Nyquist. Marchessault, in particular, signed a five-year contract with Nashville worth $27.5 million. With Marchessault, it took some NHL seasons under his belt and a few changes of scenery to get his career on track….

St. Louis Blues

Today in Hockey History: July 24
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On this date, the Los Angeles Kings brought back one of the great players in their franchise’s history for the third time. Also, a dramatic coaching move was finally made official. Plus, some talented Stanley Cup winners are celebrating birthdays today. Let’s begin our daily trip back in time to relive all the best memories July 24 has given us. Robitaille Returns to Hollywood…Again The Kings signed free-agent forward Luc Robitaille on July 24, 2003. This marked the third time Robitaille wore a Kings sweater. He was originally one of the best draft picks in franchise history when he was…

Hockey History – the NHL “Second Six”
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In March 1965, a formal process began headed by then NHL President Clarence Campbell so that the league would expand its operation to include a second division of six teams. Gone would be the days of the so-called “Original Six” franchises. Joining them would be a half-dozen new teams that would see the NHL reach further into the United States, including both the Midwest and West Coast. Numerous cities sought to be a landing spot for one of these six new teams, including places that were initially passed over by the NHL such as Cleveland, Buffalo, Vancouver, Louisville and Baltimore. Some of…

Oil Kings’ Adam Jecho Fits Well With St. Louis Blues’ Future Plans
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The St. Louis Blues are in a weird position heading into the 2024-25 campaign. They have a solid team with decent goaltending and some money available to spend, but they aren’t considered contenders. Some fans around the league have been calling for them to blow the team up and rebuild, but it doesn’t seem like they’re ready to do that just yet. With that being said, the Blues had a strong performance at the 2024 NHL Entry Draft snagging Adam Jiricek in the first round, Colin Ralph and Lukas Fischer in the second round, as well as Ondrej Kos and…

Utah Hockey Club

Utah Continues to Prioritize Size With Kevin Stenlund Signing

Amidst the 2024 NHL offseason and free agency, the Utah Hockey Club signed forward Kevin Stenlund to a two-year contract worth $2 million annually. Utah’s general manager Bill Armstrong’s recent acquisitions of defensemen Mikhail Sergachev (6-foot-3), Ian Cole (6-foot-1), and John Marino (6-foot-1) prove he wants his roster to have a height advantage over opponents this season. Stenlund, who is 6-foot-4 and 211 pounds, checks the boxes to play a bottom-six role. Here is what fans should know about a player unknown to many. Kevin Stenlund Background The Swedish-born forward was the Columbus Blue Jackets’ second-round selection in the 2015…

Utah’s Young Core Enters Year 4 of Rebuild With High Hopes

It was an exciting time when the Arizona Coyotes were in Edmonton for the 2020 NHL Playoffs. Not only was it the first time the team had been in the playoffs since 2012, but players like Clayton Keller, Christian Dvorak, and Conor Garland were getting their first taste of the postseason. At the time, those were the faces of the franchise, players guiding the team into what most thought was a solid direction. They also had veterans like Oliver Ekman-Larsson, Jason Demers, and Alex Goligoski, who added a lot of experience. After defeating the Nashville Predators 3-1 in the qualifying…

Utah’s Late Round Draft Picks Seeking Chance With New Team

Most Utah Hockey Club fans know first-round draft pick Tij Iginla well now. Many fans also know about Cole Beaudoin and even Will Skahan now after their development camp. However, a handful of other prospects are eager to try to make it to the NHL after being selected by the newest team in the league. While the odds of players being drafted later in the draft and eventually playing in the NHL aren’t the best, there’s always a chance. These three Utah draft picks are ready to fight to make it there eventually. Veeti Vaisanen Drafted 96th overall, Veeti Vaisnanen…

Winnipeg Jets

3 Winnipeg Jets Who Could Earn a Roster Spot in 2024-25
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Coming off of a 110-point regular season, the Winnipeg Jets had a handful of notable departures in free agency. Sean Monahan, Brenden Dillon, Tyler Toffoli, and Laurent Brossoit all signed elsewhere, opening the door for younger players to crack the lineup for the first time in 2024-25. It’s no secret that the Jets, a small market team, will need players to contribute on their entry-level contract (ELC) in order to compete. Young players making a big impact on cheaper contracts is what made the 2017-18 Jets, the team that made the Western Conference finals, so special. Here are three players…

3 Jets Who Will Be Under the Microscope in 2024-25
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The Winnipeg Jets are going to be heavily scrutinized in 2024-25 as they embark on their first campaign under new head coach Scott Arniel after a 52-win season and a second-straight first-round exit. Winnipeg can be a bit of a media fishbowl — not to the extent of Toronto or Montreal — but there’s no doubt the Jets are at the forefront of much coverage and many discussions year-round. However, a few players in particular will be under the microscope of Arniel and his coaching staff, the media, and of course, the fans. Let’s take a look at them. 1: Cole…

Best & Worst Trades in Winnipeg Jets’ History
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The Winnipeg Jets, both 1.0 and current versions, have made plenty of trades. Some were downright steals, while others were total flops. Here’s a look at some of both categories, in chronological order. Trades the Jets Won Acquiring Big-Time Blue-Liner Carlyle — March 5, 1984 Late in the 1983-84 season, the Jets acquired undersized but offensively adept defenseman Randy Carlyle, who had recorded as many as 83 points in a single season. In return, the Penguins received a 1984 first-round pick they used to select Doug Bodger and future considerations that turned out to Moe Mantha. Those players weren’t busts…