Hockeywiztalks Hockey Blog

The New York Islanders missed the playoffs last season, and they didn't really do anything in the offseason to improve the team. In order for the Islanders to be a contender this season, they will need to make some moves to improve the team. This is how the New York Islanders can become a Contender this season. Before the season, the Islanders make two trades New York Islanders trade Josh Bailey, Kieffer Bellows, 2023 2nd round pick to the Arizona Coyotes for Shayne Gostisbehere, Nick Ritchie and a 2023 3rd round pick. The Islanders and Coyotes basically swap Bailey and a 2nd round pick for Gostisbehere and 3rd round pick, as well as Kieffer Bellows for Nick Ritchie. The Islanders also trade Semyon Varlamov to the Vegas Golden Knights for Laurent Brossoit, 2024 2nd round pick. The Golden Knights acquire a proven veteran goalie, who can help them while Robin Lehner is out this season. At the Trade Deadline, One major trade is made New York Islanders trade Simon Holmstrom, Nick Ritch...

 The St.Louis Blues are a team that is stuck in no man's land; they aren't nearly good enough to be legit contenders, yet they aren't entirely bad enough to be a lottery team. So the most logical thing to do is to move a couple of veteran players and build from the draft. This is how I would rebuild the St.Louis Blues. At the 2022 Trade Deadline, two major trades are made: St.Louis Blues trade Vladimir Tarasenko to the Carolina Hurricanes for Nino Niederreiter, Ryan Suzuki, 2023 2nd round pick. If the Hurricanes make the playoffs, the 2nd round pick becomes a 1st round pick. This is a great team for both teams; Carolina gets a top 6 scorer to play on the first line with Aho and Svechnikov, while the Blues get a top 6 forward in Nino Niederreiter, a solid prospect in Ryan Suzuki, and a draft pick. The Blues also trade David Perron to the Toronto Maple Leafs for Nick Ritchie, Joseph Duszak, 1st round pick '22. St.Louis retains 1 million of David Perron's contract. Si...

 New Jersey Devils' GM, Tom Fitzgerald has said that the Devils want to take that next step this season, and possibly vie for a playoff spot. In this blog, I  explore how the Devils can turn their team into a playoff-caliber team this season. Here is a quick look at the roster right now, and the prospects they have that could potentially crack the lineup. The current lineup looks like this: J.Kuokkanen-J.Hughes-Y.Sharangovich P.Zacha-N.Hischier-J.Bratt M.Wood-M.McLeod-A.Johnsson N.Foote-J.Boqvist-M.Studenic R.Graves-D.Hamilton T.Smith-D.Severson J.Siegenthaler-PK.Subban M.Blackwood J.Bernier Prospects who could potentially crack the lineup are Alexander Holtz, Dawson Mercer, Tyce Thompson, Kevin Bahl The Biggest weakness of the Devils at the current moment is goal scoring; if Holtz and Mercer aren't NHL ready yet, then they need to go out and trade for one. The Devils have been one of the teams that have been linked to Vladimir Tarasenko; Tarasenko is exactly what this team ne...

 This is a big offseason for the St.Louis Blues because they have a couple key free agents to re-sign, and in addition have to deal with the Vladimir Tarasenko saga as well. Before the expansion draft, the St.Louis Blues should work to trade Vladimir Tarasenko so they don't lose him for nothing. St.Louis Blues trade Vladimir Tarasenko to the New York Rangers for Kappo Kakko, Zachary Jones, 2nd round pick '22, 4th rd pick '21. If the Rangers make the playoffs or Tarasneko scores 30+ goals, the 2022 2nd round pick becomes a 1st round pick. This trade works out great for both teams because Tarasenko gets to play with Artemi Panarin, one of his best friends, while the Blues get a highly talented player in Kappo Kakko, who was underutilized by David Quinn, prospect defenseman Zachary Jones, and a 4th round pick. Depending on Tarasenko and the Rangers' performance next season, the 2nd round pick could become a 1st round pick. St.Louis Blues also trade Vince Dunn to the Edmont...

 There have been rumors floating around for a while now that the Florida Panthers were going to be relocated to somewhere in Canada; if the Florida Panthers were to be relocated, they should be relocated to Quebec, because they still have a passionate hockey fanbase. To prepare the Panthers for their move up north, they need to make the team look better on paper. Before the 2021 draft, the Panthers make two trade: Florida Panthers acquire Vladimir Tarasenko from the St.Louis Blues for Anthony Duclair, Owen Tippett, Henrik Borgstrom, and a 2021 1st round pick. The Panthers get Vladimir Tarasenko, a superstar sniper, while the Blues get Anthony Duclair, a top 6 winger as well as Owen Tippett and Henrik Borgstrom, two top prospects, and a 1st round pick. The Panthers also trade Frank Vatrano, Vinnie Hinostroza, Anton Stralman, 2nd rd pick '21 to the Carolina Hurricanes for Nino Neiderreiter, Brock McGinn. The Panthers get Nino Niederreiter, a solid top 6 forward, and Brock McGinn, a s...

 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...

The 2010 NHL draft was headlined by Taylor Hall and Tyler Seguin but there were other star players drafted as well such as Vladimir Tarasenko, Mark Stone, Evgeny Kuznetsov, Ryan Johansen, Justin Faulk and John Klingberg. If the 2010 NHL draft were redraft, the landscape of the NHL would be changed forever. *Check out my previous blogs for my other redrafts* 1. Edmonton Oilers-(C) Tyler Seguin Original pick: Taylor Hall At the time, it was a real debate who would go number 1 overall but now its not even close, Tyler Seguin has a way better resume. Tyler Seguin scored 7 20+ goal seasons, which include 5 30+ goal seasons and one 40 goal season in the 2017-18 season. Tyler Seguin and Logan Couture would form a great one-two punch down the middle for the Edmonton Oilers. 2. Boston Bruins-(RW) Vladimir Tarasenko Original pick: Tyler Seguin Vladimir Tarasenko gets overshadowed by Tayler Hall because of the Media overhyping Canadian players over Russian players, but Taras...