Hockeywiztalks Hockey Blog

With the Chicago Blackhawks seemingly in a state of rebuild, I think it makes sense for the Chicago Blackhawks to trade Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews. Here are some trades that would make sense for the two franchise stars. Patrick Kane Trade Destinations: New York Rangers Edmonton Oilers Buffalo Sabres   Patrick Kane Trade 1: NY Rangers get Patrick Kane CHI Blackhawks get Kappo Kakko/Vitaly Kravtsov, Nils Lundkvist, cond. '23 2nd round pick, cond. '25 3rd round pick.  If the Rangers make the second round of the playoffs, 2nd round pick becomes a 1st round pick.  If Patrick Kane re-signs with the Rangers, Chicago gets a 2025 3rd-round pick. This trade benefits both teams and the deal will reunite him alongside his former linemate Artermi Panarin. Patrick Kane Trade 2: EDM get Patrick Kane CHI Blackhawks get Jesse Puljujarvi, Tyson Barrie, 2024 1st round pick. Chicago retains 25% of Patrick Kane's Contract.  This trade is strictly a rental for Edmonton, while for Chi...

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...

 The Colorado Avalanche haven't had a great start to the season, due to a combination of injuries and because they lost a few key players in the offseason. Let's discuss the issues with the Colorado Avalanche and how to fix them. Issues with the Colorado Avalanche: 1. Loss of Philipp Grubauer, Brandon Saad, Ryan Graves 2. Injuries early in the season 3. Darcy Kuemper's slow start 4. Lack of Scoring Depth 5. Defense is too soft The Colorado Avalanche lost a couple key players in the offseason, which is a major reason why they have gotten off to a mediocre start to the season. Philipp Grubauer signed with the Seattle Kraken and Brandon Saad signed with the St.Louis Blues in Free Agency. Ryan Graves was traded to the New Jersey Devils for a 2021 2nd round pick. To replace Philipp Grubauer, the Avs went out and acquired Darcy Kuemper; Jack Johnson and Darren Helm were added in Free Agency. Injuries played a big part in why Colorado has had a .500 record out of the gate, and whi...

 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...

This is an extension of podcast 113-2021 Stanley Cup Playoffs: Semi-Finals Preview. The Result of the Vegas/Minnesota series is still unknown, so I will do a preview with both of the teams included. West Division Semi-Finals Colorado Avalanche vs Vegas Golden Knights/Minnesota Wild Key Players:  COL-F: N.MacKinnon, M.Rantanen, G.Landeskog, Alex Newhook, A.Burakovsky, J.Donskoi, Tyson Jost, Valeri Nischuskin | D: C.Makar, S.Girard, D.Toews, R.Graves VGK-F: M.Stone, J.Marchessault, W.Karlsson, R.Smith, A.Tuch, C.Stephenson, Cody Glass, Mattias Janmark | D: S.Theodore, A.Pietrangelo, A.Martinez, B.McNabb, Z.Whitecloud MIN-F: K.Kaprizov, M.Zuccarello, K.Fiala, J.Eriksson Ek, J.Greenway, M.Foligno, V.Rask, N.Bjugstad, R.Hartman | D: J.Spurgeon, R.Suter, M.Dumba, J.Brodin X-Factor: JT Compher (COL), Nicholas Roy (VGK)/Z.Parise (MIN) Goalies: P.Grubauer (COL) vs M-A.Fleury (VGK)/ C.Talbot (MIN) If you are the Colorado Avalanche right now, I think they would rather face the Vegas Golden Kn...

This is Honda West Playoff Preview.   Colorado Avalanche vs St.Louis Blues Key Players:  COL-F: N.MacKinnon, M.Rantanen, G.Landeskog, N.Kadri, Alex Newhook, A.Burakovsky, J.Donskoi | D: C.Makar, S.Girard, D.Toews, R.Graves STL-F: R.O'Reilly, V.Tarasenko, J.Schwartz, B.Schenn, D.Perron, R.Thomas, M.Hoffman | D: T.Krug, J.Faulk, C.Parayko, V.Dunn X-Factor: Tyson Jost (COL), Jordan Kyrou (STL) Goalies: P.Grubauer (COL) vs J.Binnington (STL) The Colorado Avalanche have owned the season series against the St.Louis Blues, winning 5 out of the 8 games. St.Louis certainly knows what it takes to win the Stanley Cup but Colorado is not a good first-round matchup for them. The Colorado Avalanche is led by Nathan MacKinnon, Mikko Rantanen, Gabriel Landeskog and Cale Makar, and have a great supporting cast which includes players such as Nazem Kadri, Alex Newhook, Joonas Donskoi, Sam Girard, Devon Toews, and Andre Burakovsky. Philipp Grubauer has had a tremendous regular season and is a pot...

 The Colorado Avalanche was a Dynasty in the NHL from 1996-2003, winning 2 Stanley Cups during that timeframe. If the Colorado Avalanche wants to become a dynasty, they will need to make a few adjustments to the team. At the trade deadline, two major trade is made: Colorado Avalanche trade Andre Burakovsky, Valeri Nischuskin, Conor Timmins, 2021 1st round pick to the Buffalo Sabres for Sam Reinhart, Colin Miller.   The Avalanche add Sam Reinhart and Colin Miller to bolster their depth for an extensive playoff run. The Avalanche also trades Greg Pateryn, Pierre-Edouard Bellemare, and a 2022 4th rd pick to the Detroit Red Wings for Valtteri Filppula, Luke Glendening. The Avalanche add some key role players in Filppula and Glendening for a playoff run. The Colorado Avalanche ends up winning the Stanley cup in 6 games over the Tampa Bay Lightning. Before the expansion draft, the Avalanche trade Erik Johnson, 2023 1st round pick to the Ottawa Senators for Vitaly Abramov, 3rd r...