Hockeywiztalks Hockey Blog

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 LA Kings are sitting just outside a playoff spot right now, with a 12-10-5 record (29 points) through 27 games this season. Although the Kings have some nice pieces, they aren't quite good enough to be a contender just yet. In this blog, I explain what is wrong with the LA Kings and what they can do to become a contending team. Issues w/ LA Kings: 1. Not enough Scoring 2. No Secondary scoring 3. Best Prospects are Not NHL ready 4. Don't have a successor for Jonathan Quick The LA Kings do not score enough; they have only scored 76 goals this season, which is the 8th least in the NHL. Anze Kopitar leads the team in points with 25 points in 27 games, Alex Iaffalo has 9 goals and 17 points in 27 games, Adrian Kempe leads the team in goals with 11 goals and 16 points in 27 games. Viktor Arvidsson has played in only 20 games, but he has 6 goals and 14 points in those games. Phillip Danault has 14 points in 27 games and is a +5; Drew Doughty leads defenseman in scoring, with 13 p...

 The Philadelphia Flyers have had a brutal stretch recently, having lost 6 games in a row and not registering a win in 10 games. This has caused the Flyers' record to drop to 8-12-4 and has led to the firing of head coach Alain Vigneault. What are the issues with the Philadelphia Flyers, and what can be done to fix them? Issues w/ Philadelphia Flyers: 1. Lack of Goal Scoring 2. Too many wash up veterans 3. Poor Defense 4. Inconsistent Goaltending The Philadelphia Flyers are struggling to score goals this season; only the Arizona Coyotes and New York Islanders have scored fewer goals than the Flyers. Claude Giroux leads the team in scoring with 21 points, followed by Cam Atkinson and Sean Couturier, who both have 14 points apiece. Travis Konecny has 12 points, Derick Brassard has 11 points, Joel Farabee has 10 points. No other players have more than 10 points. Ivan Provorov, Justin Braun both have 8 points, and Keith Yandle has chipped in 7 points. Kevin Hayes and JVR are two import...

 The Boston Bruins are having a subpar start to the season, but there is still tons of time to turn it around this year. This is what is wrong with the Boston Bruins and how can they fix those issues. Issues w/ Boston Bruins: 1. David Krejci's departure has left a massive hole in the lineup 2. Taylor Hall's slow start  3. Lack of Secondary scoring 4. No impact defenseman outside of McAvoy One of the major issues with the Boston Bruins this season is that they do not have a second-line center. The loss of David Krejci was huge, and they never really replaced him in the lineup. Boston signed Nick Foligno, Erik Haula, and Tomas Nosek to fill out the lineup but none of them were able to fill the void that the departure of David Krejci left. Charlie Coyle has been playing as the second-line center for most of the season, and the major issue with that is that he is very inconsistent and is not a reliable source of offense. Taylor Hall is having a slow start to the season, tallying 5...

 The Tampa Bay Lightning are the defending Stanley Cup Champions but they haven't exactly had the best start to the season. While Tampa has a good 11-4-3 record; they currently sit in 3rd in the Atlantic Division. What's are some of the Issues with the Tampa Bay Lightning and how should they be fixed? Issues w/ Tampa Bay Lightning 1. Nikita Kucherov and Brayden Point's Injuries 2. Not enough Scoring Depth 3. Defense Has Not been good at all 4. Young players have not developed well It's not a stretch to say that Nikita Kucherov is the focal point of the Lightning' offense, and his absence in the lineup is very noticeable especially on the powerplay since his presence requires other teams to pay special attention to him. Kucherov underwent surgery back in late October and was given a timeline of 8 to 10 weeks. The Lightning was able to play well enough without Nikita Kucherov because they still had Stamkos, Point, and Vasilevkiy, however, unfortunately, Brayden Point ...

 There's are a lot of off the ice controversy surrounding the Chicago Blackhawks, but I wanted to focus on the team on the ice. The 2021-22 Chicago Blackhawks have gotten off to a terrible Start to the season, with a 3-9-2 record; only Arizona has a worse record. This bad start has caused the Blackhawks to fire head coach Jeremy Colliton, and Derek King was named the Interim coach. In this blog, I discuss what is wrong with Chicago Blackhawks and how to fix them. Major Issues w/ Chicago Blackhawks: 1. Offseason acquisitions haven't panned out 2. Defense is flat out bad 3. Dylan Strome's poor play 4. Lack of Depth Scoring The Chicago Blackhawks make a few major offseason moves to improve the team, including acquiring Seth Jones, Marc-Andre Fleury, and Tyler Johnson. They also went out and signed Jake McCabe, Jujhar Khaira, Erik Gustafsson in Free Agency.  The only move that is looking good so far is the Seth Jones move, he has 12 points in his first 14 games, while logging o...

 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 LA Kings have a great young core now, but they aren't quite ready to be contenders yet. However, if they make the right trades, and draft correctly in the coming years, they could be. This is how the LA Kings can become a legit contender in three years At the 2022 trade deadline, a few trades are made: LA Kings trade Dustin Brown to the Minnesota Wild for Mitchell Chafee, 2022 2nd round pick.  If the Wild make the playoffs, the 2nd round pick becomes a 1st round pick. This is a win-win trade for both sides; the Wild gets a veteran forward in Dustin Brown, who has plenty of playoff experience, while the Kings get a prospect and a conditional 2nd round pick, that could become a 1st round pick.  The Kings also trade Olli Maatta, Adrian Kempe to the Columbus Blue Jackets for Vladislav Gavrikov, Eric Robinson, 2022 2nd round pick.  This is basically two trades in one; first, you have an Olli Maatta for Vladislav Gavrikov swap, which is pretty even; then the Blue Jackets ge...

 The Arizona Coyotes have made it clear that they are rebuilding, and have already taken steps towards that process by trading away Oliver Ekman Larsson and Darcy Kuemper, as well as adding numerous draft picks over the next three seasons for taking on bad contracts. As good a job as the Coyotes have done so far, they are far from done, and I suspect they will be making a few more trades before the season. It will be a long process, but in time, the Coyotes could become a contending time in three years. This is what the Arizona Coyotes should do to become a contending team in three years. Before the season, the Arizona Coyotes make a few major trades: Arizona Coyotes trade Phil Kessel to the Colorado Avalanche for JT Compher, Valeri Nishushkin, and a 2023 2nd round pick. If Kessel re-signs with the Avalanche, the Coyotes get Colorado's 2024 1st round pick. This is a win-win trade for both teams; the Avalanche get Phil Kessel to play alongside Nazem Kadri on the second line, while t...

 The LA Kings are a few years removed from their dynasty years, but they are assembling the pieces to become a dynasty once again. This is how I would transform the LA Kings into a dynasty again. Before the Expansion draft, the LA Kings make two trades LA Kings trade Jonathan Quick to the Detroit Red Wings for a 2022 4th round pick.  This trade gives the Red Wings a solid goalie to tandem with Thomas Greiss, while Kings get to unload Jonathan Quick's contract. The LA Kings also trade Dustin Brown to the Seattle Kraken for 4th round pick '22.  If Dustin Brown scores 20 goals, the Kings also get a 2022 3rd round pick. This is a good trade for both teams because it gives the Kraken a good veteran presence in the locker room, while the Kings get to dump Dustin Brown's contract. LA Kings lose Matt Roy to the Seattle Kraken in the Expansion draft. Before the 2021 draft, the LA Kings make one major trade. LA Kings acquire Patrik Laine from the Columbus Blue Jackets for Adrian K...

 The Pittsburgh Penguins are far from being a contending team now, in fact they would be better off trading everyone except Crosby and going forward with a full rebuild. Two major trades are made by the Pittsburgh Penguins in the 2020 offseason: Evgeni Malkin is traded to the San Jose Sharks for Tomas Hertl, Ryan Merkley, Ryan Donato, 1st round pick '21. The Sharks get a superstar center in Evgeni Malkin to help propel the Sharks to new heights, while the Penguins get Tomas Hertl, a very good top 6 forward, Ryan Merkley, the Sharks top prospect, Ryan Donato and a 1st round pick. Kris Letang is traded to the Ottawa Senators for Erik Brannstrom, Josh Norris, Drake Batherson, 1st round pick '21. The Senators get an elite puck moving defenseman in Kris Letang, which makes them a legit contender; the Penguins get 3 very good young players in Brannstrom, Norris and Batherson as well as a 1st round pick. With Malkin and Letang gone, the Pittsburgh Penguins finish the 2020-21 season wi...

 After losing Taylor Hall in Free Agency, the Arizona Coyotes did little to nothing to fix the team due to the fact they are stuck with many bad contracts, so if the Coyotes want to build a legitimate contender, they must first move some salary and dump off some bad contracts. Arizona Coyotes make a few trades: Arizona Coyotes trade Alex Goligoski to the Carolina Hurricanes for Haydn Fleury, 2nd rd pick '21. The Hurricanes get a veteran two way defenseman in Alex Goligoski, while the Coyotes get a young top 6 defenseman in Haydn Fleury and a 2nd round pick. The Coyotes also trade Derek Stepan to the Ottawa Senators for Chris Tierney, Connor Brown, 2nd rd pick '21.  The Sens get a veteran 2nd line center in Derek Stepan, which will allow their young centers to develop at the right pace. The Coyotes get Chris Tierney, a top 6 center and Connor Brown, a top 9 winger as well as a 2nd round pick. Darcy Kuemper is traded to the Buffalo Sabres for Linus Ullmark, Tage Thompson, 2nd rd...