Hockeywiztalks Hockey Blog

 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 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...

 The Columbus Blue Jackets drafted terribly from when they entered the NHL to 2013, they have many chances to draft franchise changing talent but they opted instead to draft players that would turn into the biggest bust in recent memory. In this blog, i redraft the Columbus Blue Jackets for a decade and try to turn them into a contending team. 2003: 4-Ryan Suter over Nikolay Zherdev 49-David Backes over Dan Fritsche 103-Joe Pavelski over Kevin Jarman 168-Dustin Byfuglien over Marc Methot The Columbus Blue Jackets draft 2 stud defenseman in Ryan Suter and Dustin Byfuglien as well as an elite scorer in Joe Pavelski and a very solid top 6 forward in David Backes. 2004: 8-Cory Schneider over Alexandre Picard 46-Brandon Dubinsky over Adam Pineault 59-Alex Goligoski over Kyle Wharton 133-Kris Versteeg over Petr Pohl Columbus drafts a very good starting goalie in Cory Schneider along with a solid two way defenseman in Alex Goligoski, a solid two way center in Brandon Dubinsky and a nice r...