Hockeywiztalks Hockey Blog

 The Vancouver Canucks' 2023-2024 season was a successful and surprising campaign because they were not expected to be major contenders initially, however, the Canucks exceeded expectations by winning their division and making a significant playoff run. Vancouver Canucks won the Pacific Divison title and managed to defeat Nashville in 7 games even though they were playing without Thatcher Demko and moved onto to play the Edmonton Oilers in the second round, but they would ultimately fall short in Game 7. After the success of last season, Vancouver should look to improve the team in the offseason, but they only have so much cap space to fill many holes on the roster. Vancouver Canucks buyout Ilya Mikheyev ; Buyout will leave a 1.55 million cap hit until 2028. A three-team trade is made between the Vancouver Canucks, Boston Bruins, and Carolina Hurricanes Vancouver Canucks get rights Jake Guentzel Boston Bruins get rights to Elias Lindholm  Carolina Hurricanes rights to Jake DeB...

 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 ...

The Pittsburgh Penguins have an aging core and might not be good enough to make the playoffs anymore, so I think the Penguins should seriously consider rebuilding. It would take some time, but if they rebuild correctly, the Penguins could be a playoff-caliber team in a few years. This is how the Pittsburgh Penguins should rebuild. At the 2022 Trade deadline, a few major trades are made: Pittsburgh Penguins trade Evgeni Malkin to the Dallas Stars for Roope Hintz, Denis Gurianov, Mavrik Bourque, and a 2022 1st round pick. With the addition of Evgeni Malkin, the Stars become immediate contenders, while the Penguins get three very top 6 caliber players and a 1st round pick. The Penguins also trade Kris Letang to the Nashville Predators for Dante Fabbro, Philip Tomasino, 2022 1st round pick. The Nashville Predators bolster their defense with the addition of Kris Letang, while the Penguins get two good young players and a 1st round pick. Jeff Carter, Bryan Rust are traded to the Edmonton Oil...

 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...