Welcome back to The Journey, where we follow hockey prospects and their paths to the NHL, providing fantasy predictions and analysis along the way. Before we recap a hectic first round of this year’s draft, I want to thank everyone that reached out with kind words about my article last week; it was greatly appreciated! [...]
The offseason has begun in full force with trades and free agent signings well underway. As a result, you’ll see more risers and fallers in this month’s rankings compared to last month’s rankings. Keep in mind that these are single-season rankings for a head-to-head or rotisserie league using the following settings: G, A, +/-, [...]
One of the most shocking non-qualified RFAs to come out of the 2021-22 season was Dylan Strome from Chicago. It seemed certain Strome would catch on somewhere, likely with a top-end team that would need a middle-6 scoring centre. That’s exactly what ended up happening: https://twitter.com/FriedgeHNIC/status/1547695918522064897 Let’s get to this signing. What Washington Gets When [...]
The Florida Panthers were up against the cap this offseason, which is one reason why both Claude Giroux and Mason Marchment moved on to other teams. They would be looking at cheap depth signings which is why they got guys like Marc Staal and Colin White on low-cost one-year deals. They continued their bargain hunting [...]
Free Agency Day was one to remember as we saw some high-profile players relocate, we saw some seasoned veterans sign with their hometown teams, and others who opted to chase a cup. Along with seeing valuable depth pieces move around, some players got more money than I had expected but that’s also to be expected [...]
The New Jersey Devils have signed winger Ondrej Palat to a five-year contract worth $6 million per season. Palat had a down regular season by his standards, scoring 49 points (18 G, 31 A) in 77 games. He elevated his game in the playoffs, scoring 21 points in 23 games. In fact, only two players [...]
The Anaheim Ducks have signed center Ryan Strome to a five-year contract with a $5 million cap hit. A former fifth overall pick (2011), Strome’s career didn’t start to pick up until the Rangers signed Artemi Panarin in 2019 and matched the two on the same line. Over an 82-game season, Strome was on pace [...]
The Washington Capitals have acquired Connor Brown from the Ottawa Senators for a second-round pick in 2024. Brown scored 39 points (10 G, 29 A) in 64 games for the Sens in 2021-22. He’s been a remarkably consistent scorer during his three seasons in Ottawa with an 82-game pace of around 50 points each season. [...]
The Columbus Blue Jackets have signed winger Johnny Gaudreau to a seven-year contract with an AAV of $9.75 million. Whoa. Philadelphia, New Jersey, and Long Island were believed to be Gaudreau’s preferred destinations after he informed Calgary that he would not be re-signing there. However, the Blue Jackets swooped in with an offer that Gaudreau [...]
The biggest shocker of Free Agent Frenzy had nothing to do with free agents, or at least not directly. It was the trade of Max Pacioretty and Dylan Coghlan to Carolina in exchange for future considerations. Those aren’t typos, it was a straight cap dump: https://twitter.com/DarrenDreger/status/1547337818334269442 Let’s break this down. What Carolina Gets While Pacioretty [...]
