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The Kings’ crown lost its shine last year. The Los Angeles Kings finished last in the western conference with 71 points only seven points clear of league bottom Ottawa Senators. The Ilya Kovalchuk experiment did not go as anticipated. Changes behind the coaching staff showing he was not what new head coach Willie Desjardins was looking for at the time. With Todd McLellan now taking over in Los Angeles he may provide the spark the team needs. Notable Players In: Joakim Ryan, Martin Frk Embed from Getty Images Notable Players Out: Dion Phaneuf, Kevin Dallman, Peter Budaj First Key Game: Vegas Golden Knights – OctoberRead More →

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The Florida Panthers made one of the biggest splashes of the offseason signing Sergei Bobrovsky and added skilled bench boss Joel Quenneville to maximize their talent. Notable Players/Coach In: Joel Quenneville, Anton Stralman, Noel Acciari, Brett Connolly, Sergei Bobrovsky, Spencer Knight Embed from Getty Images Notable Players Out: Roberto Luongo First Key Game: Opening night (10/3/2019) the Panther’s crucial first game will be against in-state and in division rival Tampa Bay Lightning. Odds to win the division 13:2 (4th overall) (via Betway) Is this a bet worth taking? This bet is… Not worth taking. I am impressed with the moves the Panthers have made especiallyRead More →

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Pushing the chips into the center can go one of two ways, and for the Columbus Blue Jackets and GM Jarmo Kekalainen,  their gamble came up empty. While the Blue Jackets were able to knock out the Tampa Bay Lightning, their playoff run did not end in them hoisting the cup. While the silverware cabinet sits empty; the dressing room and cupboard of draft picks are also limited thanks to the team trading away their second and third-round pick in 2020 and a second in 2021. Notable Players In: Gustav Nyquist, Elvis Merzlikins Embed from Getty Images Notable Players Out: Sergei Bobrovsky, Artemi Panarin, RyanRead More →

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Just a bunch jerks… after the team that became the target of Don Cherry made their run to the Eastern Conference finals will they be able to rock the league again this season? Notable Players In: Erik Haula, Ryan Dzingel, Anton Forsberg, James Reimer, Patrick Marleau (aka a 1st round pick) Embed from Getty Images Notable Players Out: Calvin de Haan, Patrick Marleau First Key Game: 10/5/2019 vs. the Washington Capitals Odds to win the division 5:1 (t-3rd overall) (via Betway) Is this a bet worth taking? No, I’d stay away. While the 5:1 odds may seem tempting to be in a division with theRead More →

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Your Stanley Cup finalist Boston Bruins look to back up their finals run and potentially the final ride with their captain Zdeno Chara. While it may be the last season “Big Z” laces them up the Bruins will look to send him out a champion. Notable Players In: Par Lindholm, Brett Ritchie, Danton Heinen Notable Players Out: Marcus Johansson, Noel Acciari Embed from Getty Images First Key Game: October 17th vs. the Tampa Bay Lightning Odds to win the division 13:4 (3rd overall) (via Betway) Is this a bet worth taking? For the value? Yes, the Bruins should be fighting with the Toronto Maple LeafsRead More →

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While teams can’t make no moves in the offseason, some teams took that to the extreme. In the opposite direction, some teams win free agency day one and then by the trade deadline they are selling off those big summer signings for draft picks. There are teams that simply keyed in on their depth third and fourth lines, third pair defensemen and minor league additions for their ECHL and AHL affiliates. As there are injuries that happen throughout any season, the depth is a critical portion of any NHL team. Tampa Bay Lightning Embed from Getty Images Most significant offseason moves: Ryan Callahan to injuredRead More →

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When Andrei Vasilevskiy went down with an injury early in the season Tampa Bay Lightning fans and pundits around the league were left to wonder what would happen to the Eastern Conference contender and preseason Stanley Cup favorite in his absence. The answer is as of December 11th is nothing short of Doming-ate. . . That is due in large part to the man who filled the large hole left in net by Vasilevskiy, Louis Domingue. Embed from Getty Images Domingue  was brought to Tampa in November of 2017 in exchange for Tye McGinn and goaltender Michael Leighton. With two other goalies on the rosterRead More →

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With the winds of trade being rumored around Erik Karlsson since last season it seems the saga is close to a conclusion… or is it? Last week it seemed as if a deal between the Tampa Bay Lightning and Ottawa Senators would be done and the generational talent would walk the sunny beaches of Florida once more. As the minutes became hours and hours became days NHL fans’ Twitter fingers are getting tired. So lets look at some options. Embed from Getty Images Possible But Boring Karlsson stays in Ottawa: As previously mentioned Erik Karlsson is a generational talent. After seeing former captain Daniel AlfredssonRead More →

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A player goes down on your favorite team. It looks like a bad injury. They had to be helped off the ice. You stop paying attention to the game because, hell, it is one out of 82. You just constantly refresh Twitter waiting for a beat reporter to give injury news. Embed from Getty Images This comes to two separate paths: One, the beat reporter says that they have returned to the bench, the other more dreaded tweet to read “Player X is out for the rest of the game”. As a Tampa Bay Lightning fan I’ve been through this more times in the pastRead More →

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As the the calendar page turns from 2017 to 2018, some teams’ hopes turn from the bright and optimistic hopes of the playoffs to the downtrodden truth that this isn’t going to be their year. Below are teams at/near the bottom of the standings and where they can set their goals for the rest of this season and look ahead to the summer. Buffalo Sabres Embed from Getty Images New year, same old Sabres. Currently sitting at the bottom of the Atlantic division with 29 points and a horrid -43 goal differential their goal should be two fold: First is to decide if Robin LehnerRead More →