The Wild West

One of the surest ways to stay competitive in your keeper pool with a salary cap is to move on from your expensive players in a timely fashion and acquire entry-level players who produce when they are cheap. It sounds easy enough, but it is one of the most difficult things to put into practice [...]

Last week, we looked at the impending UFA forwards and their possible valuations and this week we will look at the most intriguing defensemen. Here is the full list of 2023-2024 Defense valuations. Remember that this value is based on what each player did in the 2023-24 regular season, not on future performance or what [...]

This week, we will look at some intriguing UFAs and what they might sign for in free agency using the range of my salary valuations. Remember that this value is based on what each player did in the 2023-24 regular season and not on future performance or what a team will pay them in free [...]

This week, we will look at each team in the Western Conference and see who had the fastest top speeds during the 2023-24 regular season. I will also look at what players hit 20 miles per hour the most per game. These stats are available at Dobber’s Frozen Tools here. In looking at the NHL [...]

This week, we will continue looking at significant first and second round draft picks that were traded and see how the return worked out for each team from the West. It was somewhat easier to conclude from the earlier draft years, but most of the trades for picks below will still be open to interpretation [...]

This week, we will continue looking at significant 1st and 2nd round draft picks that were traded and see how the return worked out for each team from the West. There were some pretty big trades over this period from Western teams and while it might not be fair to say that teams would have [...]

This week, I will go back to 2015 and look at Western teams and see if they dealt their first or second-round pick and if the pick was worth more than the roster player or picks they got back. The point is that teams try to add that last piece of the puzzle to help [...]

This week, we will look at the salary cap space for each team in the West and look at the UFAs leaving and the RFAs who need to be re-signed. From the surface, it feels like there is far more cap space available for teams to sign free agents this off season than has been [...]

Not every NHL team gets good value for the salary that they give out. With a salary cap of $83.5 million for every team, some teams get their roster playing to a value of $90-100 million while others have their roster play to a value of $60 million.  Injuries are going to adversely affect this [...]

I always like to look back and see how some of my articles pan out over time, especially if there is some sort of ranking or goal. Before the 2023-2024 season, I ranked the 16 Western Conference teams in order with the following tiers: (here and here) Out of the playoffsOn the bubbleIn the playoffsContenders [...]