Hockeywiztalks Hockey Blog

 After losing to the Montreal Canadiens in the 3rd round of the playoffs, the Vegas Golden Knights have some major decisions to make in the offseason before free agency because they really need to address some weaknesses on the team. Heading into the offseason, the Vegas Golden Knights have a little over 6 million in cap space to spend in free agency, so they will need to make some moves to free up some cap space.  Before the Draft, Vegas need to trade one of their starting goalies . The most logical thing to do is to trade Marc-Andre Fleury because he is the more established goalie and is coming off a Vezina Caliber year. Fleury's value has never been higher and if they don't trade him now, his value could drop off a cliff next year, so it is best to trade him before his play starts to decline. Vegas Golden Knights make a 3 team trade with the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Edmonton Oilers. The Toronto Maple Leafs get Marc-Andre Fleury and Alex Chiasson (who is a pending UFA)

 The Colorado Avalanche got eliminated in the second round of the playoffs, so they will certainly be active in free agency to bolster their roster, in an attempt to build a championship roster. Heading into the Free Agency period, the Colorado Avalanche has about 25.5 million in cap space to spend, but before going out and signing new players, they will need to take care of some of their own free agents. Colorado has 9 UFAs; notable UFAs include Gabriel Landeskog, Philipp Grubauer, Brandon Saad, Pierre Eduoard-Bellemare, Devan Dubnyk, Matt Calvert and Patrik Nemeth. The Avs also have 3 RFAs; notable RFAs include Cale Makar and Tyson Jost. Devan Dubnyk, Matt Calvert, Patrik Nemeth don't get re-signed, so they walk to free agency. The top two UFAs that Colorado needs to re-sign are Gabriel Landeskog and Philipp Grubauer. Landeskog is the Captain of the team, so he should be the first priority; the Avs should pay Landeskog anywhere from 6-8 million for a long-term contract. Landeskog

 The Nashville Predators have never won a Stanley Cup in their Franchise history, the closest they came to winning a Championship was in 2017 when they lost in the Stanley Cup Finals to the Pittsburgh Penguins. This is how the Nashville Predators could become Stanley Cup Champions. Before the expansion draft, the Nashville Predators make a huge trade. Nashville Predators trade Mikael Granlund, Rocco Grimaldi to the Seattle Kraken for 2021 2nd round pick, 2022 4th round pick. The Predators get a few draft picks in exchange for Mikael Granlund, who was going to be a UFA, and Rocco Grimaldi, who was seldomly used last season. Nashville Predators lose Erik Haula to the Seattle Kraken in the expansion draft. Before the 2021 draft, one trade is made. Nashville Predators trade Mattias Ekholm to the Boston Bruins for Urho Vaakanainen, Jeremy Lauzon, Nick Ritchie, 2021 1st round pick. The Predators trade Mattias Ekholm to the Bruins for Vaakanainen and Lauzon, two good young defensemen, Nick R

 The Seattle Kraken is set to join the NHL in the 2021-22 season, so I thought i would be fitting to try and draft the Seattle Kraken from scratch and turn them into a contending team. At the Expansion draft, the Seattle Kraken make a few trades: Seattle Kraken acquires Zach Parise, Connor Dewar, 1st round pick 2021 from the Minnesota Wild for a 2021 4th round pick. The Kraken is willing to take on Zach Parise's contract but it will cost the Wild Connor Dewar and a 1st round pick as well. Seattle Kraken acquires 3rd round pick '21, 3rd rd pick '23 to protect Cizikas, Clutterbuck from being selected by Seattle. This is a no-brainer for the Islanders because Cizikas and Clutterbuck are part of their identity line; they need to keep them at all costs. Seattle Kraken acquires Marc-Eduoard Vlasic, 2022 1st round pick from the San Jose Sharks for 2021 3rd round pick. The Kraken takes on Vlasic's terrible contract at the cost of the Shark's first-round pick in 2022. Seattl

 The Arizona Coyotes have never won a Stanley Cup in their franchise history, so my goal is to turn the Arizona Coyotes into a Championship caliber team. It will take some time to do so, but the Coyotes could potentially be a Stanley Cup Champion if they rebuild correctly. At the Expansion draft, the Coyotes make a major trade. The Arizona Coyotes trade Phil Kessel to the Seattle Kraken for their 2023 1st round pick. Phil Kessel gives the Seattle Kraken a household name that can draw people to the game, and at the same time give Kessel a change of scenery. Arizona Coyotes lose Antti Raanta to the Seattle Kraken in the Expansion draft. Before the 2021 Draft, two trades are made: Arizona Coyotes trade the rights to Niklas Hjalmarsson, Derick Brassard to the Tampa Bay Lightning for the rights to Blake Coleman. This is a good trade for both teams because the Lightning probably isn't going to be able to re-sign Coleman, so they get two veteran players who could be signed for a cheap co