The NHL is Locked!
Alright it’s time for the witching hour for some of the NHL teams on the bubble!
The trade deadline came and went yesterday and not very much happened in big moves but for a lot of the bigger teams with a great chance to do well in the playoffs they picked up some grinder players.
The Colorado Avalanche picked up Josh Manson a week before the deadline and man was that a great move. He’s big, he provides some scoring and can help out the defense core who are already well stacked. Artturi Lehkonen will bolster the third line scoring and give some more speed to this team.
Boston Bruins kept up their excellent way of finding great players to join their team with Hampus Lindholm signing him to an eight year deal. They got some size on defense with Josh Brown from Ottawa for a prospect and a draft pick. The Bruins are always hard to beat in the playoffs but with these upgrades they might make a deep run.
The Florida Panthers meanwhile have made themselves look like a bull in a china shop. Adding Ben Chiarot will help matters, but the deadline acquisition of Claude Giroux makes this team ready for the playoffs beyond a doubt.
The New York Rangers added some depth guys to their lineup in Mott,Copp and Braun. In Copp they get guy who can help anywhere they need help but especially on the penalty kill. Mott can help make their third line better and Braun helps bolster their defense.
Another great move that happened on Monday was Carolina trading for Max Domi. In the playoffs you need guys who can stir the pot and Domi can do just that. The Hurricanes are doing everything they can to have the right combination of speed, size and skill.
The Edmonton Oilers were pretty quiet on deadline day and are pretty much going with what they have. Picking up Brett Kulak from the Canadiens and Derek Brassard will give them a bit of a boost but not as much as some of the other players that were out there. They played great against the Avalanche on Monday but Koskinen looked suspect against the Dallas Stars and let in a bad goal that tied the game. So that’s their issue and it will continue into the playoffs.
Marc Andre Fleury is going for one last try for the cup with the Minnesota Wild. The Wild are good defensively, so they got Fleury to try and help out a struggling Talbot. I think they will surprise some people and might even win their opening series.
St. Louis managed to pick up Nick Leddy from the Red Wings which will bolster their blue line. It also seems Krug has sustained an upper body injury in their game against Washington. So Leddy’s presence is even more valuable now. The Blues will need everyone to perform above their pay grade if they want to make it out of the first round of the playoffs.
The Toronto Maple Leafs managed to make some small moves with acquiring Mark Giordano and Colin Blackwell from the Kraken. They still have trouble at the goalie position but it’s that kind of situation for a lot of teams. In order to get a good goalie any team will have to give up a lot. So with this lineup going against the Lightning or the Panthers the Leafs will have to work hard to beat either team.
So the stage is set and with it some desperate teams are making a run for the playoffs. Dallas beat the Oilers last night and are in by one point with twenty games left. The Winnipeg Jets also won with a shutout against the Vegas Golden Knights and knocked them out of the playoffs. Dallas has the biggest advantage with four games in hand on Vegas and two games on Winnipeg. If they can three out of those four they would well positioned to make the playoffs.
Once the final playoff matchups are set I will make my predictions on each series.
Until then have a great day.
Joseph
