We’re now more than two months into the NHL season and finally starting to see some separation in the standings. All four divisions have a gap of at least 11 points between first and last place, with the Metropolitan continuing to be the tightest race. As the holiday transaction freeze approaches, teams are starting to call around to garner interest on potential trade bait or look for ways to plug their roster holes.
With that in mind, it’s time again to run a mailbag and answer any questions you may have. Our own Brian La Rose will be on hand to give his insight, and break down all your queries and concerns. Submit a question on Twitter by including #PHRMailbag, or leave a comment down below. The mailbag will run this weekend, so check back in a few days.
When Brian released our last mailbag in November, he touched on several topics including the William Nylander saga, the Vancouver Canucks hot start and Joel Quenneville‘s most likely landing spots. You can read that issue right here, including the part where he noted that Mike Yeo and Todd McLellan were close to losing their jobs.
With the Hurricanes looking for a top 6 forward, where do they look? Does a guy like Kevin Hayes or Mats Zuccarello make sense from the division rival Rangers? Do they go for a impending FA like Matt Duchene? Do they target a Kings player?
Why are the B’s finding it so hard to trade for help they have a lot of good quality youngster but there seems to be nothing out there
How much worse do you think it gets for the Blackhawks before it gets better?
What could the Blues get in a potential Tarasenko or Pietrangelo trade?
Would the Leafs/Dubas be willing to part with Willie now, along with Gardiner, to facilitate a massive trade to get Pietrangelo? Their D would be stellar and it’s clear they don’t need Nylander as long as Matthews stays healthy!
nylander and gardner is way too much for Pietrangelo.
What should I look forward to in the world junior championships later this month? Also, can you think of any teams that will either go through a major surge or decline in the second-half of the season?
Fluery is currently on pace for 70 games played. Do you think it’s at least partly because Vegas has lost confidence in Subban, and if so, are they in on a Howard or Anderson?
Just when you think things can’t get worse for the Sens, Duchene gets hurt.
Play GM, what should this team be doing in the next 2-3 months? Plenty of moveable pieces, no clear indication or direction what they plan to do (though they’ve clearly sold low on every player they’ve traded since Brassard)
What do you see Chuck Fletcher focusing on now that he is in charge? Does he try and trade one of his young forwards for some D help? Any chance we see Carter Hart before the end of the season? what happens to Wayne Simmonds and is he not the perfect fit for a Bruins org. needing some offensive help with D to spare (when healthy)