Where Goon meets Glitz, from the Ice to the Armchair, balanced and objective hockey analysis and reporting.
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Detroit Red Wings: The Yzerplan Takes a Hard Attempt at Full-Flight
This past season was the Detroit Red Wings’ fourth under the direction of general manager and franchise legend Steve Yzerman, who has led an intense rebuilding phase after years of the team trading away first round draft picks and attempting to sustain their legacy of dominance. As a consequence, in 2022-23, Detroit missed the playoffs… Read more
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Edmonton Oilers: What Did McDavid do to Deserve This?
The 22-23 season for the Edmonton Oilers ended the same way as the rest of the McDavid era has: With disappointment, a lot of questions, and no real solutions. Heading into the off-season general manager, Ken Holland had very little draft capital and cap space to work with. Most of the team’s transactions, and they… Read more
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Damien’s Deliberations: Blake Wheeler Keeps the Rangers Offense Rolling
I am intrigued by the Rangers signing of 37-year-old Blake Wheeler this off-season to a one year, $800k contract. Wheeler had seven consecutive superstar seasons from 2015 to 2021 where he averaged around 1.00 PPG. Last season, he saw a slight regression by averaging .76 PPG, which qualifies as a star season by hockeyprospecting’s model.… Read more
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Columbus Blue Jackets: Sure Things and Wild Shots
The Blue Jackets were second-to-last and bottom of the Eastern Conference this previous season. Bouncing back and surging forward from such a performance is something that requires patience and diligence. As will be covered at the conclusion of this article, general manager Jarmo Kekäläinen made room for future planning by having an absolutely phenomenal draft.… Read more
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Dallas Stars: “Du” in the Front, “Harley” in the Back
The Dallas Stars had a fantastic 22-23 season that, unfortunately for them, did not end in a Stanley Cup Championship. Heading into the off-season Dallas did not have as many questions as other teams, as most of their core players are under contract, and having been two wins away from their second Stanley Cup finals… Read more
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Damien’s Deliberations: John Klingberg to Shine in a Secondary Scoring Role
A signing this off-season that I am thoroughly excited for is John Klingberg to the Toronto Maple Leafs on a 1-year $4.15 million deal. Over the last three seasons, John Klingberg has had two consecutive superstar offensive production seasons and a star season. Last season, he signed a one year $7 million deal with the… Read more