Pro Hockey Rumors Originals

Here is a rundown of the original content at PHR over the past seven days.

Our trade deadline primers continued as we wrapped up the Central Division and got the ball rolling on the Pacific.  Zach broke down the Blues and Flames, Holger looked at the Sharks and Golden Knights, and I did the same for the Blackhawks.

The rest of our UFA power rankings have now been revealed with our top-10 as well as the honorable mentions.  Sharks defenseman Erik Karlsson took home the unanimous number one ranking while Blue Jackets winger Artemi Panarin narrowly edged out Senators winger Mark Stone for the second spot.  Despite a down season, Blue Jackets goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky got the top goalie slot, coming in at number six.

One player that didn’t crack the top-20 in the rankings was Rangers winger Mats Zuccarello.  I took a closer look at his situation leading into the trade deadline and as far as secondary rental players go, he’s likely to garner quite a bit of interest in the coming weeks.

Gavin held his weekly Thursday live chat.  Topics included the potential for a pair of long-time Chicago defensemen to be traded, what Columbus could expect in return for Panarin and Bobrovsky, Boston’s potential trade deadline activity, what Winnipeg should be on the lookout for, and much more.

The Jake Muzzin trade is likely only the beginning of a sale in Los Angeles in the weeks to come (and quite possibly the offseason as well).  Who will the Kings move next?  Make your prediction by voting in our poll.

Here’s a rundown of the original content on PHR over the past seven days.

While the Ducks would like to lock up winger Jakob Silfverberg, a little-known CBA element could make that a challenge.  Zach broke down what the rule is and went over how it’s going to present a significant challenge for GM Bob Murray to overcome.

With the trade deadline quickly approaching, we’ve kicked off our annual Deadline Primer series.  The Central Division is where we’ve started this season.  I took a look at the situations in Winnipeg and Dallas, Zach did the same for Nashville and Minnesota, and Holger previewed Colorado.

With the All-Star Game marking the unofficial midway point of the season, we began our look at the upcoming free agent market with the players ranked 11 through 20.  Brock Nelson and Jake Gardiner narrowly missed out on a spot in the top ten.

Gavin held his weekly live chat on Thursday.  Topics included the Wayne Simmonds situation in Philadelphia, Jason Zucker’s down season with Minnesota, who Winnipeg might try to target in the weeks to come, what Edmonton should do next, and much more.

Defensemen are in high demand with Carolina attracting plenty of attention.  With that in mind, we asked which Hurricanes blueliner is the most likely to be on the move.  Kings rearguard Jake Muzzin is also in high demand but the asking price reportedly involves a first-round pick and a quality prospect.  Will that scare teams off from acquiring him or will he be on the move?  Make your prediction here.

We had plenty of questions for the mailbag in our last call for submissions that I ran another mailbag on Saturday to cover the ones that weren’t addressed last weekend.  Not surprisingly, the trade deadline dominated the queries this time around.

In recent years, not many goaltenders have changed places leading up to the trade deadline.  For the most part, teams have been content with the depth they have with only the odd squad looking for an upgrade on their current backup or someone to serve as a third-stringer and injury insurance.  Plenty can change between now and the February 25th trade deadline but this year certainly has the potential to buck the trend.

For starters, the supply of rental goaltenders is higher than usual.  There are multiple number one goalies out there in Jimmy Howard (Detroit) and Semyon Varlamov (Colorado) while who knows what will happen with Sergei Bobrovsky (Columbus).  On top of that, there are also quite a few veterans who could be viewed as a number two upgrade, including Keith Kinkaid (New Jersey), one of Petr Mrazek or Curtis McElhinney (Carolina), and Chad Johnson (Anaheim) while Cam Talbot (Edmonton) has been in trade speculation as of late as well.  Once they return from their respective injuries, it wouldn’t be surprising to see Philadelphia try to find takers for Brian Elliott and Michal Neuvirth.

That type of supply of rental options hasn’t been there in recent years and we haven’t even got to players with term yet.  Craig Anderson (Ottawa) has one year left after this one and may attract some interest for a team not wanting to turn to the UFA market next summer.  Jonathan Quick (Los Angeles) has been in speculation lately but with four years after this one, that may be a move for the offseason.  Jake Allen’s time in St. Louis has been in question all season long.  Anyone looking for help between the pipes has plenty of options to choose from.

Also different from recent years is the number of teams that could be on the lookout for another netminder.  David Rittich in Calgary has done quite well but with Mike Smith struggling, they’ll likely want some insurance.  Florida has two goalies under contract but the performances of Roberto Luongo and James Reimer have shown that an upgrade is needed so they’re a team that would target someone with term remaining.  Aaron Dell has been shaky in San Jose so it wouldn’t be shocking to see them looking for other short-term options.  Vegas has been hesitant to play Malcolm Subban so they’re likely on the lookout for a number two upgrade as well.  Other teams could view some of the rental options as injury insurance.

There are some years where in-season goalie moves are few and far between.  With the number of netminders that appear to be available and the number of teams that could be looking for upgrades or extra depth, that’s not likely to be the case within the next month.

Here’s a rundown of the original content here at PHR over the past seven days.

The William Nylander saga is likely coming to an end sometime between now and Saturday as if he’s unsigned by then, he’ll sit for the remainder of the season.  How will this eventually end?  Will he be dealt, re-sign, or go past the deadline without a contract?  Voting is very close so far but there’s still time to make your prediction.

With American Thanksgiving coming and going, our Thankful For series has returned.  I took a look at the Ducks and Bruins, Gavin assessed the Coyotes, and Holger reviewed the Sabres who have been one of the bigger surprises through the opening quarter of the season.

Bruins winger David Pastrnak set a career high in goals last season with 35.  Boston fans were hoping that the logical next step would be for him to push to reach the 40-goal mark but to say he has gone a step further than that would be an understatement.  He’s already at 17 through just 23 games and if that pace is maintained, he’d wind up with 61 tallies.  Only one player has reached that plateau in the past decade; can he be the second?  Make your pick here.

Gavin held his weekly Thursday live chat.  Topics this week included his prediction on what happens with Nylander, potential trade targets in Anaheim, Edmonton’s decision to hire Ken Hitchcock, Western Conference predictions, Boston’s secondary scoring concerns, and more.

We’re nearing the end of our 2006 redraft series as we’re up to the 29th pick, held by the then-Phoenix Coyotes.  While the top players have already been scooped up, there are still several capable forwards on the board to choose from.

Here’s a rundown of the original content here at PHR over the last seven days.

It has now been a full year since the Senators surprisingly acquired center Matt Duchene in a three-way swap that has worked out well for the other two teams involved (Colorado and Nashville) but not Ottawa.  Zach examined what needs to happen for the Sens to get the best they can out of this trade and why a decision on whichever route they choose to go happens as soon as possible.

Gavin held his weekly Thursday live chat.  Topics discussed included Evgeni Malkin’s hit on T.J. Oshie (that did not draw supplemental discipline), Randy Carlyle’s future in Anaheim, Max Domi’s surprising start in Montreal, Buffalo’s Rasmus Ristolainen, Arizona’s start to the season, and more.

We’re getting closer to the conclusion of our 2006 redraft series.  The Stars are up with the 27th selection and will undoubtedly wind up with a more productive player than their original selection who played just a handful of games.  Who should they take?  Cast your vote here.

I took questions about Joel Quenneville’s future, potential trade targets for the Bruins, the ongoing William Nylander contract squabble, plus whether Vancouver’s strong start is a sign of things to come in our latest mailbag.

It’s Hall of Fame weekend and with that in mind, Zach took a look at center Eric Staal’s case.  The veteran tallied his 400th career goal recently and will probably reach the 1,000 point mark sometime next season.  Those numbers would put him ahead of quite a few notable players that have already been enshrined and he is young enough that he’ll add to them in the years to come.  Is that enough to make him worthy of the honor?  Weigh in with your opinion here.