Hockeywiztalks Hockey Blog

 The Philadelphia Flyers currently sit in last place in the Metropolitan division, so it would make sense for them to be sellers at the deadline, and trade away some of their players on expiring contracts, so they can start rebuilding. This is what the Philadelphia Flyers should do at this years' Trade Deadline. Trades A three-team trade is made between the Philadelphia Flyers, Colorado Avalanche, Ottawa Senators Philadelphia Flyers get Alex Newhook, JT Compher, Jacob Bernard-Docker, Alex Formenton, 2023 1st round pick (from COL) Colorado Avalanche get Claude Giroux Ottawa Senators get Andre Burakovsky, Oskar Lindblom  This trade sends Claude Giroux to the Colorado Avalanche, where he will get a chance to win a Stanley Cup. In exchange for Giroux, the Flyers get Alex Newhook, JT Compher, and a 2023 1st round pick from Colorado as well as a Jacob Bernard-Docker and Alex Formenton from Ottawa. To make the trade work cap-wise, the Senators receive Andre Burakovsky from the Avalan...

The Calgary Flames have gotten off to a terrific start to the season, but have cooled off since getting off to a red hot start. In order for Calgary to have a legitimate shot at winning the Stanley Cup this year, they need to add some pieces to the team. This is how the Calgary Flames could improve their chances to win the Stanley Cup this year. Needs for the Calgary Flames: 1. Top 4 LD 2. Top 6 Winger 3. Goal Scoring Depth The biggest weakness of the Calgary Flames is the left side of their defense. Noah Hanifin, Oliver Kylington, and Nikita Zadorov may be good enough for the regular season, but if the Flames are to make a deep playoff run, they need to really improve the left side of their defense and their defense in general.  Although the Flames have enough goal-scoring from their top 6, it is always a good idea to add a proven veteran player with playoff experience to their top 6. In addition, Johnny Gaudreau and Sean Monahan have not had great performances in past playoff ser...

The Edmonton Oilers are in utter disarray right now, after getting off to a hot start to the season. As the season has progressed, the team's weaknesses have been exposed more and more and if they don't fix them, they won't make the playoffs at all. This is what the Oilers have to do to make the playoffs and potentially win a Stanley Cup. Issues w/ Edmonton Oilers: 1. Goaltending has not been good 2. Goal Scoring depth 3. Defensive depth The Goaltending situation for the Edmonton Oilers has not been stable to say the least. Mike Smith has been constantly hurt, so Mikko Koskinen has been the starter for most of the season, and he has proven to be quite inconsistent from game to game. In 20 appearances, Koskinen has a 3.19 GAA and .900 SV%, and Stuart Skinner started 10 games as well, with a 2.70 GAA and .916 SV%. If Mike Smith is going to be constantly hurt this year, the Oilers will definitely need to make a trade for a veteran goalie because Koskinen isn't going to get...

 The Pittsburgh Penguins currently hold the 1st wildcard spot in the Eastern Conference with a 19-8-5 record and 43 points through 32 games played. With the current team the Penguins have, they won't be able to make a deep run but if they make a few moves at the deadline, they could have one last Stanley Cup run with their current core. In this blog, I write about what the Pittsburgh Penguins need to improve on and what needs to be done to improve their Cup Chances. Issues w/ Pittsburgh Penguins: 1. Lack of Secondary Scoring 2. Goaltending  3. Lack of Offensive + Defensive Depth The Biggest issue that the Pittsburgh Penguins will have in the Playoffs if they do not add any players is that they lack secondary scoring. Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Jake Guentzel, Jeff Carter, Bryan Rust are seasoned veteran players with Stanley Cup pedigree, but the rest of the forwards have yet to prove themselves a scoring threat in the playoffs. If the Penguins are to make a deep playoff run ...