Hockeywiztalks Hockey Blog

The Calgary Flames just missed out on the playoffs again in the 2023-24 season, and finished the season with a total of 81 points, a 38-39-5 record; they like a few other teams in the Pacific Division seem like they are going through a rebuild and it might take a few seasons of losing before they are back in the playoffs. The first order of business is moving Jacob Markstrom, who has become disgruntled with the trade rumors, and they have to do everything in their power to get the most in return for their number 1 goalie. GM Craig Conroy will be a very busy man from now and the draft as they try to work out a deal for the Swedish netminder. If the Calgary Flames play their cards right this offseason, they will be building a very good team for the future. Before the 2024 NHL Draft, the Calgary Flames make two trades Calgary Flames trade Jacob Markstrom, Matthew Coronato, 1st Round pick '24 (from VAN) to the New Jersey Devils for Alexander Holtz, Jonas Siegenthaler, Akira Schmid, 1st...

The New Jersey Devils the playoffs in the 2023-24 season after making it into the second round of the playoffs last season, and finished the season with a total of 81 points, a 38-39-5 record; With Jack Hughes and Nico Hischier in the midst of their primes, the New Jersey Devils really need to start to buckle down and put together the pieces for a contending team. The good news is that the New Jersey Devils have the benefit of having the 10th overall pick, which they could move to acquire a netminder, and they also have plenty of cap space to add other players as well. This coming offseason is a big one for the New Jersey Devils front office because after striking out on a netminder last offseason, the pressure to acquire a netminder this offseason is immense for GM Tom Fitzgerald, who might be on the hotseat if he can't find a way to fix the mess. Before the 2024 NHL Draft, the New Jersey Devils make two major trades New Jersey Devils acquire Jacob Markstrom, Matthew Coronato, 1st...

The Pittsburgh Penguins just missed out on the playoffs again in the 2023-24 season, and finished the season with a total of 88 points, a 38-32-12 record; With Crosby and Malkin another year older and Letang and Karlsson also getting up there in age, the window to win another cup is quickly closing for the Pittsburgh Penguins. To make things even more complicated, the Penguins will only have 12.9 Million in cap space to fine tune their roster, so they can make another playoffs run. Unlike most other teams that missed the playoffs, the Penguins are not trying the rebuild, in fact they  might have to be ultra aggressive in the offseason to surround Crosby with the personnel he needs to make another run at the Stanley Cup.  Before the 2024 NHL Draft, two trades are made: Pittsburgh Penguins acquire the rights to Chandler Stephenson from the Vegas Golden Knights for 4th round pick '24. The Penguins also trade Ryan Graves, Samuel Poulin, Jonathan Gruden, 1st round pick '25 to Ottaw...

 The St. Louis Blues just missed out on the playoffs again in the 2023-24 season, and finished the season with a total of 92 points, a 43-33-6 record; St. Louis is one of those teams that has no direction, as they are stuck with a lot of aging players with bad contracts and are stuck in mediocracy unless they can find a way to move some of those contracts. Moving forward the Blues' primary goals should be trying to unload their bad contracts to gain picks and cap space and retool through the draft.  St. Louis has 8 draft picks in the 2024 NHL draft, this is who they should select. 2024 NHL Draft: 16-Michael Hage (C) 48-Spencer Gill (D) 56-Carson Wetsch (RW) 81-Timur Kol (D) 94-Hagen Burrows (LW) 113-Felix Lacerte (C) 145-Dawson Cowan (G) 209-Jan Golcic (D) 211-Maxim Velikov (RW) Though no big names jump out at you, this group of prospects is pretty solid and could play a vital role on the team a few years down the road. Retooling the Prospect pool is a long process, but the cr...

The Detroit Red Wings just missed out on the playoffs in the 2023-24 season, taking a major step forward from the previous season, and finished the season with a total of 91 points, good for a 41-32-9 record. Moving forward the Red Wings will continue to improve their team by building through the draft and adding free agents that Steve Yzerman feels will help the team in the future. Detroit has 8 draft picks in the 2024 NHL draft, this is who they should select 2024 NHL Draft: 16-Michael Brandsegg Nygard (RW) 47- Simon Zether (C) 80-Teddy Stinga (LW) 128-Alexis Bernier (D) 144-Elliott Groenewold (D) 176-Owen Allard (C) 208-Charlie Cerrato (LW) Though no big names jump out at you, this group of prospects is pretty solid and could play a vital role on the team a few years down the road. Adding Brandsegg Nygard, Simon Zether and Owen Allard are all two-way forwards capable of playing in all situations, Alexis Bernier and Elliott Groenewold are two solid defensemen with good upside, while ...