The Hockey Writers

On Feb.15, 1927, Conn Smythe bought the struggling Toronto St. Patricks, preventing the franchise from moving to Philadelphia. He quickly renames them the Toronto Maple Leafs and soon changes the team colors to blue and white from green and white. He goes on to oversee one of hockey’s greatest dynasties — the Maple Leafs win […] The post NHL Dynasties: Which One is No. 1 appeared first on The Hockey Writers.

In today’s rumor rundown, The New York Rangers might be looking at moving one of the “extra” centers they employ, the Oilers have called Ottawa about Erik Karlsson but the ask is huge, the Maple Leafs and one of their young core haven’t started discussions about an extension, and a few other notes from around […] The post NHL Rumors: Hayes, Draisaitl, Marner, More appeared first on The Hockey Writers.

With the 2018 NHL Entry Draft less than a week away, it’s an exciting time for organizations and their fans, as they are on the cusp of infusing their prospect pools with more young talent and hope for the future. The Anaheim Ducks, despite being in existence for not even 30 years, have a strong […] The post Ducks’ Rich History of Drafting Defensemen appeared first on The Hockey Writers.

In about two weeks, New York Islanders center John Tavares might hit the open market. If he makes it to free agency, he’ll be the best player to hit the open market in a very long time. While he doesn’t become a free agent until July 1, he can start listening to other offers before […] The post San Jose Sharks’ Pitch to John Tavares appeared first on The Hockey Writers.

The Boston Bruins are prepared to have a rather difficult summer. With eight combined UFAs and RFAs, the Bruins are exploring opportunities that will allow them to be competitive in the near future. With rumors that they may have interest in re-signing Rick Nash and discussions about bringing Ilya Kovalchuk to Boston, it’s become adamantly […] The post Khudobin Is Key for Bruins Crease appeared first on The Hockey Writers.

With the 2018-19 hockey season coming to an official close, signing season is now upon us. Free agents, both unrestricted and restricted alike, are hoping their individual performances throughout this past season were exceptional enough to earn a new contract with a team. Whether a one-year bridge contract or a long-term deal, or re-signing with […] The post Dallas Stars Need Curtis McKenzie appeared first on The Hockey Writers.

Some players become victims of their organizations — one of them is Nic Petan. The Winnipeg Jets are profoundly deep at forward and have a proliferation of top-six options. Mark Scheifele, Blake Wheeler, Kyle Connor, Nikolaj Ehlers, and Patrik Laine are firmly entrenched on the first two lines, and other players such as Mathieu Perreault […] The post Jets’ Potential Partners in Petan Deal appeared first on The Hockey Writers.

Tristen Nielsen 2017-18 Team: Calgary Hitmen (#15) Date of Birth: February 23, 2000 Place of Birth: Fort St. John, British Columbia Ht: 5’10” Wt: 180 lbs Shoots: Left Position: Center NHL Draft Eligibility: 2018 first-year eligible Rankings THW (Pike’s Picks): 104th (final) Future Considerations: not in top 100 (final) ISS: not in top 31 (May) […] The post Tristen Nielsen – 2018 NHL Draft Prospect Profile appeared first on The Hockey Writers.

What’s The Grind Line? Apart from the once-famous line of Kris Draper, Kirk Maltby, and either Joe Kocur or Darren McCarty, The Grind Line is also The Hockey Writers’ weekly column about the Detroit Red Wings. Jacob Messing and Tony Wolak are the muckers who make up THW’s forechecking unit and sound off on Red […] The post The Grind Line: Potential Draft Day Deals appeared first on The Hockey Writers.

A year ago, the Calgary Flames made a big splash at the NHL Draft in Chicago. Not only did Brad Treliving’s crew land highly-touted Finnish defender Juuso Valimaki in the first round, but they stole the show on the second day with a blockbuster trade for blueliner Travis Hamonic – continuing a trend of being […] The post Calgary Flames 2018 NHL Draft Primer appeared first on The Hockey Writers.

Two things are clear at this point in the 2018 NHL offseason. The Boston Bruins are in need of a two-way left-shot defenseman, and former first-round pick Noah Hanifin may want out after a rather bitter end to the 2017-18 season for the Carolina Hurricanes (36-35-11, 14 points out of a playoff spot). Given that […] The post Would Bruins Trade DeBrusk for Hanifin? appeared first on The Hockey Writers.

Twelve years ago, Boston Bruins goaltender Andrew Raycroft took the National Hockey League by storm. Boston’s fifth-round pick in 1998 had spent the previous three seasons bouncing back and forth on Interstate 95 between Boston and Providence. In fact, a majority of Raycroft’s early professional career in the AHL, playing in 121 games on the Bruins’ farm […] The post The Rise And Fall Of Andrew Raycroft appeared first on The Hockey Writers.

When the 2017-18 season ended, it was evident that the Calgary Flames would be making some changes after a disappointing year. The first, and arguably most major, change they made was clearing their bench staff by parting ways with head coach Glen Gulutzan and assistants Dave Cameron and Paul Jerrard. Following on the heels of […] The post New Flames Coaches Fit What’s Needed appeared first on The Hockey Writers.

The Detroit Red Wings have had some incredible goalies don the Winged Wheel over the past 90 years. Many of these masked men rank among the top goaltenders to ever play the game, so narrowing them down to the top three isn’t an easy task. When ranking the top three Red Wings goalies of all-time, […] The post Top 3 All-Time Red Wings Goalies appeared first on The Hockey Writers.

The love of hockey isn’t something inherent or happened upon for most people. Like many other sports, players spawn from those who played. Thanks to players, raising their families rinkside, many children grow to love the game and end up playing it. The sacrifice is great. The community and family found within the walls of […] The post Red Wings Dads: Raising the Next NHL Generation appeared first on The Hockey Writers.