The Flames are at their 2023 All-Star break and have placed themselves firmly as a bubble playoff team. With 32 games remaining, and a dogfight stretch drive ahead in the Pacific Division, Calgary has numerous areas they can, and will likely need, to improve in. Highlighted here are the three biggest ones, at least for me.
Continue reading “3 areas of development for the Flames after the All-Star break”
Bo Horvat is no longer a Vancouver Canuck. After 621 games with the organization, Horvat was traded on Monday to the New York Islanders for Anthony Beauvillier, Aatu Raty, and a top-12 protected first round pick in the 2023 NHL Entry Draft. The Canucks are also retaining 25% of Horvat’s contract for this season.
It was obvious that big changes were coming for the Canucks and Horvat’s breakout season meant that the team couldn’t afford to re-sign him. It was crucial that the Canucks t a good return on the 27-year-old All-Star centre to set the foundation for this retool/rebuild of the roster.
All in all, Jim Rutherford and Patrik Allvin did a pretty good job at getting a sizeable package back for Horvat. It was clear that it was going to be difficult to get a monster return. Every team in the league is aware of the Canucks’ cap issues and Horvat’s inflated shooting percentage means that his true value is less than his gaudy goal-scoring pace this season.
Getting a useable middle-six winger, a prospect that immediately becomes one of the best in the organization, and a first round pick is a pretty solid haul. The acquisition of futures such as the first round pick and Raty allows the Canucks to focus on moving money out in the short term while aiming to be competitive down the line.
The Canucks did not have a ton of leverage when making this trade. The organization has handed out plenty of money over the last 12 months, signing Ilya Mikheyev, J.T. Miller, and Andrei Kuzmenko to significant contracts. Coupled alongside the bloated contracts already on the roster, it was no secret that the Canucks didn’t have much money to play with.
There wasn’t much threat of the Canucks pulling Horvat off the trade market. If they had done so, the odds that he would’ve walked in free agency and left the organization empty-handed were very high. This meant that other teams could wait it out.
The Canucks also didn’t let other teams discuss an extension with Horvat during this process. Lou Lamoriello confirmed in a press conference yesterday that the Islanders had not discussed a new contract with Horvat’s camp. This also likely played a role in how trade negotiations went down.
This three-pronged return is similar to what was being discussed for J.T. Miller last season as it includes a roster player, a prospect, and a first round pick. Although the salary commitment is the same for the Canucks this season due to the 25% of Horvat’s contract they’ll continue to pay, this deal offers some cap relief in the near future.
Anthony Beauvillier has one season on his contract remaining after this one at a cap hit of $4.15 million. After scoring 21 goals in 71 games as an NHL sophomore, his stats have steadily trended downwards. While he’s never broken the 40 point mark, he has scored double digit goals in each of his last five seasons and needs one more this year to make it six.
Aatu Raty is the most intriguing piece of this trade. He was selected 52nd overall in the 2021 NHL Entry Draft and has 15 points in 27 AHL games this season. He’s a centre that possesses a strong shot. He will get a chance to play with some of the organization’s best young talent in Abbotsford for the rest of this season.
Last but not least, trading for a first round pick is a huge milestone for the Canucks’ organization. Finally, the team is acquiring a draft pick instead of sending them away. While the pick may be top-12 protected this year, having it roll over to next season would not be the worst thing for the Canucks. The Islanders are not a great team and have plenty of ageing pieces, meaning they could regress next season.
This trade makes the Canucks a weaker team in the short-term. However, it’s good to see management accept the fact that they’re not going to be contenders for a few seasons at least and make a big move that opens some cap space and brings in young assets.
This trade is a great way to start performing the major surgery that this roster needs. The focus now shifts to moving other players in an attempt to receive more of these futures-focused trade packages.
While some may rue the lack of a defenceman in the return, the positional factor can come second. The Canucks are not going to be a Stanley Cup contender for years and getting as much young talent and picks as possible should be the current goal, no matter the position.
To get better, the Canucks are going to need to get worse. They made the best of this bad situation. While it sucks to see Horvat move on, it was a necessary loss to set the stage for what could be a very strong team in a few years time.
Silly season officially began yesterday with the New York Islanders acquiring Bo Horvat from the Vancouver Canucks. The response to the return was mixed, however, the Canucks received Anthony Beauvillier, Aatu Raty and a first round pick from the 2023 NHL Draft. Could this trade now force the hand of other general managers around the NHL, specifically Ken Holland?
Continue reading “Oilersnation Everyday Silly Season Has Begun”
John Tavares notched two assists in his 1000th NHL game as the Leafs erupted for four unanswered second period goals on route to a 5-1 beatdown of the Washington Capitals.
With the victory, Toronto (31-12-8), who chased the red-hot Darcy Kuemper after he surrendered four goals on 20 shots, improved to 3-1-0 on its five game homestand.
Furthermore, it took 36 games, but finally, the goal drought is over for Morgan Rielly. The 28-year-old scored for the first time since Game 7 against Tampa last spring. Additionally, Michael Bunting notched a goal and an assist while Ilya Samsonov made 23 stops to beat his former mates for the second time and improve to 15-1-1 on home ice this season.
After missing 10 games with a rib injury, T.J. Brodie tallied an assist and logged 21:15 of ice in his return to the lineup. Meantime, William Nylander potted his 28th to extend his point streak to seven games. Also, Pierre Engvall chipped in with his 10th of the campaign.
Maple Leafs have seven forwards with at least 10 goals before the all-star break.
— luke fox (@lukefoxjukebox) January 29, 2023
12 different Leafs registered at least a point on Sunday night.
MUZZY’S MUZINGS:
JT1000
First and foremost, I thought the Leafs put on a terrific pre-game ceremony to commemorate John Tavares’ 1000th NHL game. From a young age dating back to when he was granted exceptional status at 15 in the OHL, Tavares has been the epitome of class. He just gets it. If there was ever a night to be distracted, it was this one, but knowing what we know about the captain, of course he played an instrumental role in another Maple Leafs victory. I’ve said it time and time again, right now, Tavares is the perfect captain for this squad. Nothing seems to faze him. It’s remarkable.
RIELLY FINALLY SCORES
If you have a heart, you can’t help but feel good for Morgan Rielly. It took 36 games, but finally, the 28-year-old tallied that elusive first goal of the season. Furthermore, it’s not how you start, it’s how you finish. If the Leafs are going to do anything substantial this spring, they’ll need their No. 1 defenceman. If you can believe it, that was his first goal since Game 7 against Tampa. Here’s hoping that Rielly’s best hockey this season is ahead of him. That’s a good start. Atta boy, Mo!
GOOD RESPONSE
After letting the Ottawa game get away from them a bit on Friday night, I thought the Leafs had a really good first period. Despite that, they trailed 1-0 at the intermission after Nick Backstrom’s late power play tally. That said, they deserve a lot of credit for sticking with the program. Ultimately, it paid off for them.
ANOTHER SOLID SECOND
It’s been their bread and butter all season long, and Sunday night was no different. Toronto erupted for four unanswered second period goals to go from a 1-0 deficit after one to a commanding 4-1 lead after two. For some reason, Sheldon Keefe’s squad just has this second period thing figured out, regardless of how the opening 20 goes. The Caps had no answer.
HIGHLIGHT OF THE NIGHT:
🎯 BEAUT BY BISCUIT 🎯 pic.twitter.com/bQBiW04p80
— Toronto Maple Leafs (@MapleLeafs) January 29, 2023
WHAT’S NEXT?
In their final outing before a nine-day layoff (All-Star Break/Bye Week), the Leafs will host the Boston Bruins (38-7-5) on Wednesday night to finish off their five game homestand (3-1-0). The two Atlantic Division rivals have split their two previous meetings this season with the home team winning both times.
PSA: Don’t forget to check out ‘Leafs Morning Take’ with yours truly, Nick Alberga, and former Leaf Jay Rosehill every weekday morning LIVE at 11 a.m. ET on The Nation Network YouTube page.
Date: 01/31/2023
Player: David Diebolder (F)
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The National: Former NHLer Bobby
Hull has passed away at the age of 84:
NHL legend Bobby Hull dead at 84 Former NHLer Bobby Hull has actually died at the age of 84. On the ice, he was unstoppable and tough over a 23-year pro-career,
however his individual life was ruined by domestic abuse claims and questionable remarks. “I believe it’s just a couple errors that we want we could reclaim, “Neighbours stated.” But it’s something to discover and develop from.” Morrissey had actually yelled” let’s [
bleeping] go” after his very first objective to rally his colleagues. He joked he “sort of blacked out” to explain his cursing. “You can feel the tension in the rink, “Morrissey said.” Obviously fans are getting on us and sometimes truly so, for sure. “But we have a great group, we have a great group of people here and it
coach Rick Bowness agreed Morrissey kind of took over the game.
” To score 40 seconds after they got that second objective simply turned the entire game around in our favour,” Bowness stated. “That was a hell of a shot and an excellent rush.
” He ‘d been playing that method the entire game. In some cases you step up and be the difference-maker, and he was tonight.”
780px,( max-width: 1180px) 1180px” src= “https://i.cbc.ca/1.6731557.1675138774!/fileImage/httpImage/image.JPG_gen/derivatives/original_780/hkn-blues-jets-20230130.JPG” > Winnipeg Jets ‘Josh Morrissey, centre right, celebrates with goaltender Connor Hellebuyck, right, after beating the St. Louis Blues throughout NHL action in Winnipeg on Monday Jan. 30, 2023.
( Fred Greenslade/The Canadian Press) In the only game on the NHL’s Monday schedule, there was no scoring in the very first duration however great deals of squandered opportunities.After the Blues showed up empty on the video game’s first power play, the Jets were handed a four-minute male advantage when Alexandrov was dented with a double small for high-sticking Jets forward Kyle Connor in the face.The prolonged power play was a bust, with the Jets only getting one shot on Binnington.The St. Louis netminder then foiled shots by Pierre-Luc Dubois and Maenalanen.” He was obviously a huge part of why we
were in that game the entire game,” Blues defenceman Colton Parayko stated of Binnington.” He made some big conserves early on, huge conserves throughout the video game.”‘ We just didn’t handle it sufficient’ The Jets had another set of power plays in the first half of the second period
, however a total of 6 shots could not manage Binnington.St. Louis made great on its next power play.Binnington sent the puck to Nick Leddy, who made a stretch pass to Neighbours that he utilized for a backhand shot to beat Hellebuyck at 14:36.” Our kill was actually good and we got a power-play goal there. It was a good play,” Blues head coach Craig Berube stated.
the middle frame, but was 0-for-6 on the power play after 40 minutes. St. Louis was 1-for-2. VIEW
Jets beat Blues as Morrissey, Scheifele lead rally:
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