Hockeywiztalks Hockey Blog

The Pittsburgh Penguins just missed out on the playoffs again in the 2023-24 season, and finished the season with a total of 88 points, a 38-32-12 record; With Crosby and Malkin another year older and Letang and Karlsson also getting up there in age, the window to win another cup is quickly closing for the Pittsburgh Penguins. To make things even more complicated, the Penguins will only have 12.9 Million in cap space to fine tune their roster, so they can make another playoffs run. Unlike most other teams that missed the playoffs, the Penguins are not trying the rebuild, in fact they  might have to be ultra aggressive in the offseason to surround Crosby with the personnel he needs to make another run at the Stanley Cup.  Before the 2024 NHL Draft, two trades are made: Pittsburgh Penguins acquire the rights to Chandler Stephenson from the Vegas Golden Knights for 4th round pick '24. The Penguins also trade Ryan Graves, Samuel Poulin, Jonathan Gruden, 1st round pick '25 to Ottaw...

 The St. Louis Blues just missed out on the playoffs again in the 2023-24 season, and finished the season with a total of 92 points, a 43-33-6 record; St. Louis is one of those teams that has no direction, as they are stuck with a lot of aging players with bad contracts and are stuck in mediocracy unless they can find a way to move some of those contracts. Moving forward the Blues' primary goals should be trying to unload their bad contracts to gain picks and cap space and retool through the draft.  St. Louis has 8 draft picks in the 2024 NHL draft, this is who they should select. 2024 NHL Draft: 16-Michael Hage (C) 48-Spencer Gill (D) 56-Carson Wetsch (RW) 81-Timur Kol (D) 94-Hagen Burrows (LW) 113-Felix Lacerte (C) 145-Dawson Cowan (G) 209-Jan Golcic (D) 211-Maxim Velikov (RW) Though no big names jump out at you, this group of prospects is pretty solid and could play a vital role on the team a few years down the road. Retooling the Prospect pool is a long process, but the cr...

The Detroit Red Wings just missed out on the playoffs in the 2023-24 season, taking a major step forward from the previous season, and finished the season with a total of 91 points, good for a 41-32-9 record. Moving forward the Red Wings will continue to improve their team by building through the draft and adding free agents that Steve Yzerman feels will help the team in the future. Detroit has 8 draft picks in the 2024 NHL draft, this is who they should select 2024 NHL Draft: 16-Michael Brandsegg Nygard (RW) 47- Simon Zether (C) 80-Teddy Stinga (LW) 128-Alexis Bernier (D) 144-Elliott Groenewold (D) 176-Owen Allard (C) 208-Charlie Cerrato (LW) Though no big names jump out at you, this group of prospects is pretty solid and could play a vital role on the team a few years down the road. Adding Brandsegg Nygard, Simon Zether and Owen Allard are all two-way forwards capable of playing in all situations, Alexis Bernier and Elliott Groenewold are two solid defensemen with good upside, while ...

Keeper fantasy leagues are a variation of traditional fantasy sports leagues where participants are allowed to keep a certain number of players from their previous season's roster onto their team for the upcoming season. The number of players that can be kept, as well as the specific rules regarding keeping players, vary from league to league and are typically determined by the league commissioner or by a set of agreed-upon rules among league members. In a keeper league, the kept players usually come with a cost, such as forfeiting a specific draft pick in the upcoming draft or having to pay a predetermined fee. This adds a strategic element to the game, as managers must decide which players to keep based on their performance, potential, and value relative to the cost of keeping them. Keeper leagues often provide a deeper level of engagement and strategy compared to standard fantasy leagues because managers need to consider long-term player development and roster management beyond ...

Here are some Defenseman you should trade for in Fantasy Hockey Brock Faber Brock Faber has been on fire in the last month of the season for the Minnesota Wild, putting up 2 goals, 11 assists, 7 PPP, 24 SOG, and 35 Blocks in that span. Faber is technically still a rookie this season, but he is already playing on the 1st D pair and 1st PP of the Wild. The Only defenseman who has more PPP in the last month is Cale Makar, who also has 7, so if you need powerplay production, Faber is an option. Since the Minnesota Wild isn't a team that many people pay attention to you might be a steal this gem of a defenseman for a lower price than he should be. Noah Hanifin Noah Hanifin is a defenseman who is rumored to be on the move, as the Calgary Flames are expected to be sellers at the Trade Deadline. If Hanifin is traded, he will be playing for a contending team and will likely put up better stats, so you should definitely try to acquire him before the trade deadline, while he doesn't have ...

Here is a list of Players who you should consider trading for in Fantasy Hockey. Tage Thompson Tage Thompson had very high expectations of him heading into this season but has been a massive disappointment to this point in the season with only 7 goals, 8 assists, 4 PPP, 60 SOG, and 99 FW. Thompson has been better after coming back from injury and you would think that he is going to eventually start putting points in bunches. Because of how bad Thompson's statline is this season. it would be a good idea to trade for him because you may not have to give up a lot in return.  Elias Lindholm Elias Lindholm is another player who has had a slow start to the season with only 7 goals, 10 assists, 3 PPP, 68 SOG, and 297 FW so far this season. Lindholm is definitely going to want to play better if he wants to increase his value for his next contract and also showcase himself for a trade at the deadline. If Lindholm gets dealt to a contending team, his fantasy value would drastically improve b...

Here are some players you should pickup in Fantasy Hockey, sorted by position. Center Colton Sissons Colton Sissons is one of the best 4th line centers in the league, but in fantasy hockey, he could be even more valuable than he actually is in real life because of what he provides in the peripheral categories. So far this season Sissions has 5 goals, 1 PPP, 1 SHP, 12 PIM, 20 SOG, 89 FW, 15 hits, and 9 blocks. This is a terrific stat line and although you can't count on Sissons scoring a ton, he will fill out the FW, Hits, and blocks usually. Sissons is owned in 6% of fantasy leagues, snag him up while you can. Nick Bjugstad Nick Bjugstad is having an excellent year so far with the Arizona Coyotes, in fact he has played so well that he earned himself a promotion to play on the 2nd line along with Mattias Maccelli and Lawson Crouse. Bjugstad also gets time on Arizona's 2nd PP unit and 2nd PK unit. Bjugstad may not be a name who stands out to casuals, but his fantasy stat line is ...