Hockeywiztalks Hockey Blog

 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...

The 2009 NHL draft was highlighted with superstars such as John Tavares and Victor Hedman but there were other great players taken later in the draft, such as Ryan O'Reilly, Tyson Barrie, Mattias Ekholm, Anders Lee and Mike Hoffman. If the 2009 draft was redrafted, the landscape of the NHL would be very different. *Check out my previous redrafts on my blog* 1. New York Islanders-(C) John Tavares Original pick: John Tavares New York Islanders still select John Tavares, as he is clearly the best player available in the draft. From the first game with Islanders to his last game with the club, he was dominant, and carried a mostly pedestrian team 3 times. Tavares still managed to put up 272 goals and 621 points n 669 despite never playing with another star player on the Islanders. 2. Tampa Bay Lightning-(D) Victor Hedman Original pick: Victor Hedman Tampa Bay Lightning still select Victor Hedman because he is still head and shoulders the 2nd best player in the 2009 ...