Hockey Analysis

The Bruins appear to be the consensus pick by many to win the Stanley Cup, though the Rangers may be that one dark-horse team to win it all. Read more »

The Ducks, Blues, Blackhawks, Penguins and Avalanche move into our Top-Five NHL Teams at the Sochi Olympics break. Read more »

The Bruins, Blackhawks, Penguins, Kings and Rangers are in the top-five of our preseason NHL Power Rankings. Read more »

Usually, I applaud teams for signing young core players for multiple years, allowing a successful team (in this case, a Stanley Cup winning team) to maintain chemistry and consistency, but there is a lockout ongoing. Read more »

The 1999 draft was the one that GM Brian Burke has built his entire career around, acquiring both of the Sedins for the Canucks. Read more »

The Oilers should be elated about locking up an important piece of their puzzle in Taylor Hall, but the one worry is health. Read more »

Power forwards Scott Hartnell and Wayne Simmonds of the Philadelphia Flyers were recently rewarded for career years with a new six-year contract each. Read more »

The positive momentum has yet to stop for the Carolina Hurricanes this offseason. After trading for and extending Jordan Staal, signing Alexander Semin to a no-risk one-year contract, GM Jim Rutherford announced the team had come to terms with former Calder Trophy winner Jeff Skinner on a long-term deal. Read more »

Pavel Datsyuk was drafted 171st overall in 1998, but would go first if we redo the draft, even ahead of Vincent Lecavalier. Read more »

The Blue Jackets chose quantity over quality in their long anticipated trade of Rick Nash. Read more »

The Minnesota Wild came out as big winners in free agency by Zach Parise and Ryan Suter Read more »

Breaking down the big contracts signed by Sidney Crosby, Jonathan Quick, Ondrej Pavelec, Cory Schneider, Dennis Wideman, Jarret Stoll and more. Read more »

The Jordan Staal trade by the Penguins to the Hurricanes went down as the biggest move of an eventful weekend. Read more »

The Senators did not have to make Erik Karlsson the highest paid at his position in the league, and this did not drag out all summer and into training camp. Read more »

Zach Parise and Ryan Suter are the best two players available in free agency, giving teams who need a forward or blueliner excellent options. Read more »

All in all, this draft produced a couple of likely Hall of Famers (Thornton, Hossa, Luongo) and some others who have had very productive careers that saw them earn All-Star and Olympic berths. Read more »

If Tampa can get near-All-Star goaltending, they would return to being a big threat in the Eastern Conference, and even average goaltending would get them back into the playoffs. Read more »

The Jets averaged the exact same number of shots for and shots against, yet were outscored by 21 goals on the season. Addressing their goaltending situation, while spending to improve their defense should help them take a step forward next season. Read more »

Should they spend $5M-$10M on two or three secondary forwards to alleviate the scoring pressure that falls on Eric Staal and Jeff Skinner, the Hurricanes could make a positive step forward next season. Read more »

The Kings ability to have a total of 18 off days by winning all of their series early will prove to be the difference as their forwards will wear down the New Jersey defense faster than the opposite can happen. Read more »