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Have you ever seen a transaction so weird that you must have dreamed it, or at least woken up in some sort of parallel universe? That was my first thought when I saw the Colorado Avalanche had signed former number one draft pick Nail Yakupov. Having spent four seasons languishing in Edmonton, Yakupov’s trade to the St. Louis Blues in October 2016 seemed to be the 23 year old’s last chance saloon. His last shot at redemption and avoiding that dreaded ‘draft bust’ label that’s been stalking him. Embed from Getty Images After failing to find regular ice time in St. Louis, Yakupov’s season was eventuallyRead More →

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The Alexander Radulov saga has come to an end today. Due to Montreal’s failure to secure a long-term deal with the big Russian, Dallas Stars have come swooping in. It was announced that Radulov has been signed on a five-year deal worth $31.25 million. Although one of the top free agents available, it has taken until July 3rd to secure a deal. It’s obvious that Dallas is putting a lot of faith into this deal, but just how much will it pay off? Embed from Getty Images 2016-17 was undoubtedly Radulov’s ‘audition year’ to see if he still belonged at NHL level. To the man’s credit,Read More →

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When it was announced that Las Vegas was getting a new franchise, the first thing many thought of was: Expansion Draft! And that time is finally here. On Wednesday, June 21st during the NHL Awards ceremony the Vegas Golden Knights will have their roster officially announced. The entire list of players available to Vegas can be found on the NHL website. The Knights have to pick at least 14 forwards, 9 defensemen and 3 goaltenders from the other 30 NHL teams. Embed from Getty Images Joe Martini, Kyle Willaert, Mike Laybourne, and special guest, Managing Editor of Wings Nation, Mr. Nick Seguin, are here toRead More →

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While the Hart Trophy is rightfully awarded to the league’s best player, it also leaves a trail of broken hearts. There are only three spots available for nominees which always causes immense competition. As a result, many of these fine players on this list missed out on the big prize. While they might not have graced the list, these players were still a key presence for their teams. Here are the MVP candidates for each Central Division team. For previous editions, check out: Atlantic Hart Trophy Nominees Metropolitan Hart Trophy Nominees Pacific Hart Trophy Nominees Chicago Blackhawks: Patrick Kane Embed from Getty Images While youRead More →

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The final 4. With the Stanley Cup Final here, we look at the last 4 surviving teams to see who will be protected and who will be left for the Vegas Golden Knights to select from. With 4 clearly quality rosters, there ought to be something worth selecting for the Knights.   Mike, Joe and Carl make the picks this time. For the previous teams selected: Oilers, Rangers, Blues, Capitals Bruins, Blue Jackets, Leafs, Canadiens Flames, Blackhawks, Wild, Sharks Sabres, Hurricanes, Panthers, Kings, Islanders, Flyers, Lightning Coyotes, Avalanche, Stars, Red Wings, Devils, Canucks, Jets Rules and regulations for the expansion draft can be found on NHL.comRead More →

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The Stanley Cup Finals aren’t even over yet and already we’re hearing about which players are likely to be traded this offseason. There’s no shortage of rumors and plenty of speculation, with reports of numerous offers being fielded by many different teams for their players potentially available in a trade. Besides the potential availability of draft picks (like the Dallas Stars’ coveted 3rd overall pick), plenty of big names seem likely to be moved this offseason. Matt Duchene After one of the first seasons in franchise history, the Avalanche are looking for a fresh start next season and are hoping to rebound from a dreadfulRead More →

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It’s time to look at the next bunch of lovable losers in the NHL playoffs.  These four lost in the conference finals, with a wide range of emotions. The Oilers were happy to get that far while the Capitals were furious to get bounced by the Penguins for the second year in a row. Today, Mike, Kyle, Joe and Carl let you know who will be chosen to be protected and left unprotected for the Edmonton Oilers, New York Rangers, St. Louis Blues and Washington Capitals. Previous teams can be found here: Bruins, Blue Jackets, Leafs, Canadiens Flames, Blackhawks, Wild, Sharks Sabres, Hurricanes, Panthers, Kings, Islanders,Read More →

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Fans in New Jersey were no doubt going crazy Saturday night. The New Jersey Devils have scored the first overall pick in 2017 Entry Draft. Names like Nolan Patrick and Nico Hischier will on the lips of many. First of all, picking a player is the easy part of a draft. Most times we can predict who will go number one, though this doesn’t mean guaranteed success. Seems like for every Sidney Crosby there is a Patrik Stefan waiting to happen. Predicting young kids future is a difficult thing. Alexandre Daigle was predicted as a sure fire winner for Ottawa in 1993. Despite some glimmers ofRead More →

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As the playoffs rumble on, Joe and Mike are here to take a look at which players teams should protect from the upcoming Las Vegas Golden Knights expansion draft. Today we’re looking at the Western Conference teams eliminated in round one of the playoffs. Click here and here to read about the teams that couldn’t even make it that far. The Western conference gave us some of the biggest surprises seen in recent playoffs, with the Chicago Blackhawks being swept in just four games and being held to just three bracket busting goals. Rules and regulations for the expansion draft can be found on NHL.com Calgary Flames (Joe) ExcitementRead More →

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This June, Gerard Gallant and the Vegas Golden Knights will be selecting some team-mates for Reid Duke, and on June 18 we will be able to see which players each team protected and which will find out that they’re not the favorite child. In the sections that follow, Carl Landra, Joe Martini and Mike Laybourne bring you their selections for who the second lot of 7 teams eliminated from the NHL playoffs will protect, and who they’ll leave exposed in the upcoming expansion draft. You can read about the first 7 here. But first, the rules. The Rules The most basic rules of who can and cannot be protected for the Golden Knights expansion draft areRead More →