Hockeywiztalks Hockey Blog

The Buffalo Sabres showed steps of improvement this season, but they are still far from being a playoff team especially in a tough Atlantic division. If Buffalo wants to be competitive in their division, they will need to improve their roster drastically in both the draft and in free agency. This is what I would do if I were GM of the Buffalo Sabres. Before the 2022 Draft, two trades are made Buffalo Sabres trade Victor Olofsson, Dustin Tokarski to the Vegas Golden Knights for Evgeni Dadonov, Laurent Brossoit, Brendan Brisson, 2022 2nd round pick. The Golden Knights are in win-now mode but they don't have much cap left and they need to dump both Dadonov and Brossoit's contracts, so for them to be able to get Olofsson in this deal is an added bonus. For Buffalo, they are banking on Dadonov having a bounceback season, Brendan Brisson to be a solid prospect down the road, and the scouts to draft someone to help the team in the 2nd round. The Sabres also trade Colin Miller, Vinnie ...

The Philadelphia Flyers are in rebuild mode now, so you can expect them to be very active in making transactions this offseason. Philadelphia should try and trade away any players that have trade value for picks and prospects and build the team up from scratch. This is what the Philadelphia Flyers should do this offseason. Before the 2022 draft, a few trades are made Philadelphia Flyers trade Cam Atkinson to the Vancouver Canucks for Conor Garland, Michael DiPietro, Danila Klimovich, and a conditional 2024 1st round pick.  The Flyers will get Vancouver's 2024 1st round pick if Cam Atkinson scores 25 or more goals in either of the next two seasons. This is a good trade for both teams because the Canucks get rid of Conor Garland's contract while, while adding a legit top 6 forward in Cam Atkinson; for the Flyers, they get two solid prospects in Michael DiPietro and Danila Klimovich, and a potential 1st round pick alongside Conor Garland in the deal.  The Flyers also trade Travis...

 The Pittsburgh Penguins have a tough offseason upcoming because they 6 major UFAs and 2 RFAs to resign and they only have about $29 million to do so. To make things tougher for the Penguins they don't have any of players in the system that can replace those players. Here is what I would do if I were GM of the Pittsburgh Penguins. Before the 2022 Draft, a few trades are made Pittsburgh Penguins trade Evgeni Malkin and Kasperi Kapanen to the Minnesota Wild for Kevin Fiala, Fredrick Gaudreau, 1st round pick '22. This is a win-win trade for both teams; Minnesota gets a top-line center in Evgeni Malkin to pair with Kirill Kaprizov, as well as Kasperi Kapanen to replace Kevin Fiala, while the Penguins get Kevin Fiala, a top 6 winger, Fredrick Gaudreau, an underrated center, and a 1st round pick. The Penguins also trade Kris Letang to the Montreal Canadiens for Kaiden Guhle, Ryan Poehling, Joshua Roy, 2nd round pick '22, 1st round pick '23. Montreal gets Kris Letang to be the...

 The Ottawa Senators have been rebuilding for a few years now, and that trend will continue this offseason, as they try to build a contending team through the draft. In addition, they will also be adding some key free agents as well. This is what the Ottawa Senators should do in the offseason. Before the 2022 Draft, Ottawa Senators make a few trades are made Ottawa Senators trade Chris Tierney, Michael Del Zotto to the Seattle Kraken for 4th round pick '22, 5th round pick '23 Seattle get Chris Tierney and Michael Del Zotto from Ottawa in exchange for two draft picks The Senators also acquire Alex Killorn from Tampa Bay Lightning for Dylan Gambrell, Austin Watson, Lassi Thomson, 2nd round pick '22. The Lightning needs to move some salaries, and Alex Killorn is one of their cap casualties. For Ottawa, they will be getting a solid veteran forward who will help mentor their young players. Adam Gaudette and Victor Mete are traded to the Philadelphia Flyers for 5th round pick ...

 The Detroit Red Wings are having a disappointing season, but they can turn it around in the offseason, and build to be better next season.  These are the moves that I would make if I were GM of the Detroit Red Wings. Before the 2022 Draft, a few trades are made Detroit Red Wings trade Filip Zadina to the Arizona Coyotes for 1st round pick '22 This is a win-win trade for both teams because the Coyotes get a potential top 6 winger, while the Red Wings get Colorado's 1st round pick from this year's draft. Robby Fabbri and Jordan Oesterle are traded to the Toronto Maple Leafs for Ilya Mikheyev and Ilya Lyubushkin. If Neither of these players re-signs with Detroit, they get a 2023 3rd-round pick. Detroit retains 1.5 million of Robby Fabbri's Contract for the duration of it. This is basically a cap dump for the Red Wings, and for the Maple Leafs, they get two players to help the roster for two pending UFAs. The Red Wings also trade Dan DeKeyser to the Anaheim Ducks for Jaco...

The Western Conference Playoffs picture has changed since my podcast was earlier released on Friday. Here are the updated Western Conference Matchups: Colorado Avalanche vs Nashville Predators Key Players: COL: N.MacKinnon, M.Rantanen, G.Landeskog, N.Kadri, A.Burakovsky, A.Lehkonen, V.Nichushkin, C.Makar, D.Toews, S.Girard, J.Manson NSH: F.Forsberg, M.Duchene, R.Johansen, M.Granlund, L.Kunin, C.Sissons, T.Trenin, R.Josi, M.Ekholm, D.Fabbro, A.Carrier X-Factors: COL-A.Newhook, NSH-P.Tomasino Goalie Matchup: D.Kuemper vs D.Rittich The Colorado Avalanche faced the Nashville Predators 4 times in the regular season, but they only managed to win 1 game against the Predators. It's a good thing that Colorado has home-ice advantage because the Avs have allowed an average of 5 goals against on the road in the season series with Nashville. Colorado faced Nashville 6 times in the playoffs, but they have lost 4 times to them in the postseason. Even though Colorado is going to be heavily fav...