Where Goon meets Glitz, from the Ice to the Armchair, balanced and objective hockey analysis and reporting.
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Montreal Canadiens: A Long-Term Hunt for Seemingly Entitled Glory
For the second season in a row, the esteemed Montreal Canadiens franchise were a draft lottery team, having finished dead last and winning the first overall pick in 2021-22 and, upon the beginning of a rebuild authorized by owner Geoff Molson, finished 28th out of 32 teams this past year and subsequently received the fifth… Read more
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Damien’s Deliberations: It’s Toffoli Time in New Jersey
One of my favorite transactions this off-season is Tyler Toffoli’s trade to the New Jersey Devils with one year left at $4.25M. Toffoli has been a reliable two-way forward since coming out of the OHL, where he dominated offensively, having won the goal scoring title in back-to-back years in 2010-2011 and 2011-2012. In 2013-2014, Toffoli… Read more
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Minnesota Wild: Competing with a $70 Million Roster
The Minnesota Wild’s 22-23 campaign was a step in the right direction by making the postseason and making headlines during the regular season. Most fans and people around the organization are probably disappointed in their first round exit in a series that they were very well built to contend in. There is also chagrin around… Read more
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Florida Panthers: Trying to Stay on the Prowl
After having a fairly truncated 2022 playoff run as that season’s Presidents’ Trophy winners (being swept by in-state rivals the Tampa Bay Lightning in the second round as the Bolts went to their third consecutive finals), the Panthers went on an impressive run to the Stanley Cup Final as the bottom seed in the Eastern… Read more
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Los Angeles Kings: Quality Bait Catches Big Fish
The Los Angeles Kings 22-23 season ended with a first-round playoff exit, extending their streak of not making it past the first round since their last Stanley Cup championship in 2014. In an effort to accelerate their rebuild, the Kings made a lot of splashy moves this off-season to upgrade their top end forwards and… Read more
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Damien’s Deliberations: Karlsson and Graves Improve the Pens’ Backend
The offseason is both an exciting and frustrating time of the year for fans and observers alike across all sports. When a team misses the playoffs for the first time in 17 years with the league’s oldest core and hires a new GM, there are more questions than ever about the future of the team.… Read more