The Anaheim Ducks added established NHL winger Valeri Nichushkin and 2 exciting prospects to their organization on Thursday. While Nichushkin is a strong and defensively-responsible player capable of putting the puck in the net (122 points in 343 career NHL games), it’s clear he wasn’t the centerpiece of the deal. 

Let’s take a deeper look at the 2 prospects that are now part of Anaheim’s rapidly improving farm system.

Erik Brannstrom, 22, was selected in the first round of the 2017 NHL draft. A future PP quarterback, Brannstrom loves to have the puck on his stick and possesses great passing skills and a good shot. By acquiring Erik, Anaheim has a rising star on the blueline under club control for many years – and he should come with an affordable price tag after this year’s RFA. Brannstrom joins Calen Addison, Scott Perunovich, and Braden Schneider as key parts of the club’s future on the backend – all 23 years old or younger and skilled at moving the puck up ice. All 4 prospects are expected to join Adam Pelech and Jamie Oleksiak – key defensive stalwarts – at the start of next year’s campaign, if not sooner dependent upon any additional personnel changes leading up to this year’s trade deadline.

William Eklund is the second – and perhaps even more coveted – prospect in the deal. A fast, creative forward that can play both center and wing, Eklund was drafted 7th overall as part of the most recent, 2021 draft class. He has great on-ice vision and seemingly fits well with any linemates. His dynamic play has already earned him a 9-game look at the NHL level in his first year of professional eligibility.

Eklund, 19, joins Cole Sillinger, 18, (2021 #12 overall) and Alex Nylander, 23, (2016 #8 overall) as young, hungry forward prospects that have already had a taste of NHL action in Anaheim’s prospect pool.

The Penguins headed into UFA with two things: lots of cap space and a desire to spend it. These two factors combined to form three big UFA signings in Evgeni Kuznetsov, Chris Kreider, and Jake Allen. The Penguins believe in these players, which is shown by the money spent on these players as the first two got 7.5M over 4 years, while Allen got 5M over 3 years. At a press conference following the signings, GM Juliet Richards had this to say:

“Looking at the group of young players I have, I believe that this team is closer to contending for a playoff spot than we are to the start of our rebuild. Given the massive amount of cap space we already have, combined with a need to hit the salary floor, I decided now would be a good time to go out and make some big money bets. Evgeni Kuznetsov has proven in years past that he has it in him to be a first line center and we believe he still has that type of talent. Kuznetzov also expressed interest in coming in and playing with his countrymen Kaprizov and Svechnikov on his wings, so we believe this was the perfect fit. Chris Kreider is a big powerful winger who has shown he can score goals and be a high end contributor, so it made perfect sense to go out and add him into the fold. We see Kreider as a guy who can anchor our 2nd line for years to come while also being capable of slotting into the top line in a pinch. Jake Allen is a good bet to be capable of playing a 1A/1B role, and seeing as our goalies in the pipeline are years away, it made perfect sense to make a bet and potentially gain a starting goalie. Overall we’re very pleased with our moves, and can’t wait to see everything we’ve built over these past few years begin to come together”.

What do you think of the Penguins moves?

The New York Rangers concluded their busy offseason by filling out their top six, adding two veteran forwards in the ever consistent David Perron and rugged two way forward Marcus Foligno.

They may not be the flashiest names available on the open market, but GM Shank feels the value they can provide will prove worthy of their $7.9m and $5m cap hits respectively. Perhaps quietly, Perron has put up no less than 16 goals and 46 points in each of the last 5 seasons, and has been near a point per game player the last 4. Marcus Foligno looks to provide some physicality in the Rangers top 6, which was the main thing they were lacking up until now.

The Rangers lineup seems set now with training camp opening up soon, perhaps only adding some farm players and depth pieces. GM Shank seems to be living up to his promise to the fans of New York, but only time will tell if he’s done enough to add up to a playoff appearance.

Replacing Nikita Kucherov on the top line was a top priority for the New York Islanders heading into the offseason.  A tough break for New York who lose one of the top players in the league this year.  After numerous talks involving a bunch of different players on many different teams, the Islanders acquired Zach Hyman from the Ottawa Senators for two high picks and Lawson Crouse.  It was a very high price to pay for a rental, but keeps NYI in the hunt for a Stanley Cup.

Hyman is very highly rated across the board which will make him invaluable to the team.  He can score goals, pass the puck, and play exceptional defense.  He will be highly utilized on both special teams as well as 5 on 5.  The addition pretty much completes the team for the coming season as this was by far the most pressing need and biggest hole to fill.  He is expected to line up alongside Johnny Gaudreau and Connor McDavid on the top line, in front of Quinn Hughes and Drew Doughty.  Hyman will be a high point man playing with that talent.

New York had tried to acquire Hyman for the past number of months which includes contacting 3 different general managers over that span who have been in control of the Ottawa franchise.  To finally get their man, even if it is only for a year, is considered a big win for Islander management as he will be a core piece for the franchise heading into this season.

A few years of hiatus in some foreign land of the east somewhere GM TN is back as a full fledged Sensei… and he get back to work quickly. After a few days  with a trade here and there GM TN called for a press conference in which your truly was apart of. He did not say anything except gave all of us a look and then turned on Eminem song lose yourself before leaving.

But this reporter did some digging and apparently GM TN waited a few days before calling for a press conferense because he wanted to finish building the team he have planned for first, and today the building was done… that was quick.

From the look of it the Senators dont need to go throught FA to fill up the teams roster as all the positions and then some are filled. But the price was not cheap as GM TN as usual mortgage the future in term of first rounders and prospects to get his top 6 forwards along with the top 4 defenseman he had in his blueprint.

As for the cryptic Eminem song, well its not hard to uncover the reason behind the first phrase of the song:

Look
If you had
One shot
Or one opportunity
To seize everything you ever wanted
In one moment
Would you capture it
Or just let it slip?

Take a look at the Senators and you will see that 7 of the teams 20 roster players is on a 1 year contract before becoming UFA, so its truly ONE SHOT to take it all for GM TN this year before what we think will be a massive rebuilding the next few years.

Well fans of Ottawa Senators, prepare your champagne as it wont be long before GM TN will bring you his signature President Trophy and if the Sim God are smiling upon him, also The Cup!

Stay tuned for more people.

Im Blah, Blah, Blah signing out…

The New York Islanders were busy wheeling and dealing at the draft, in the end coming away with 4 selections.

G – Leevi Merilainen – 4th Round – 92nd Overall

New York selected a goalie who was drafted in the 3rd round of the 2020 NHL Entry Draft, but went unselected in the GVFHL draft.  After being picked by the Senators, he put up a .934 save percentage in the Liiga Finnish League.  Merilainen has starter upside and was a nice replacement for the recently traded Ivan Prosvetov in the pipeline.

D – Johannes Kinnvall – 6th Round – 172nd Overall

The Isles went for an older defender with this pick, but despite just turning 24, he will be pushing for a spot with the Calgary Flames this coming season.  He was signed as a free agent and is an offensive defenceman with strong puck moving skills and can run a powerplay.

LW – Liam Kirk – 6th Round – 173rd Overall

The first British player to be drafted in the NHL back in 2018 has been on an upward trend since being selected.  Now 21, Kirk has been playing in North America and had a great World Championships which earned him a contract with the Coyotes.  He has the skill to be a middle six forward in the NHL.

LW – Joel Teasdale – 7th Round – 188th Overall

After trading their 7th round pick to acquire Scott Mayfield, the Islanders acquired the next pick and selected Teasdale.  He’s a strong two way forward who was on the Habs taxi squad this past season, but hasn’t played in the NHL just yet. Like Kirk, he has the skills to be a middle six winger in the NHL.

Habs management was pondering the secrets of the universe when the thought of how to make their team better crossed their mind. They already had a bunch of good ole grit and grind players to hit those nerds into submission but Habs management couldn’t help but feel like they needed more. And then the perfect idea popped up that had no real downside at all and always works when a team wants to recapture their glory days. Bringing the boys back together. The Habs already has guys like Ovie, McDonagh and Gudas from their 2018 championship squad, but they knew in their heart that bringing more of the gang back together would win them a cup for the glory of the boys club.

Hornqvist was a key contributor to the cup 3 years ago and the Habs wanted to bring him back as he is still a good ole gritty goal getter, he can likely pot in 20-30 goals for the Habs and put up a decent number of hits for the glory of the boys club. Hornqvist might not be the same player he was 3 years ago because of decline you say? Get out of here with that garbage thinking you f****** nerd. Hornqvist will likely find himself on a line with fellow pain in the ass Brady Tkachuk and the disgrace know as Steven Stamkos so that should be a productive line that puts up a ton of hits. Hornqvist may even find himself playing on the top line with Ovie and Forsberg even if Josh Anderson doesn’t work out on that line. The boys are coming back together and they will be unstoppable! There are teams out there that have more skill then the Habs you say? Pfffft who needs skill when you can just hit your opponent into submission.

The New York Islanders made a big splash to open the offseason, acquiring superstar defender Drew Doughty.  They were looking for a top rated defenceman to play alongside Quinn Hughes on the first pairing, a group that will be play with Connor McDavid and have the chance to light the lamp each night.

In exchange New York gave up promising youngsters Travis Sanheim, Roby Jarventie, and Ivan Prosvetov.  While Sanheim has had a solid NHL career thus far, he hasn’t found his way into the Islanders top four yet.  Adding Doughty made him expendable as the Isles look to win their first Stanley Cup.  Jarventie is a great young shooter and Prosvetov got his feet wet with a little NHL experience, but both were given a chance to move on in order to acquire one of the top defenders in the GVFHL.

Acquiring Doughty is a major piece the Islanders were looking to add this offseason.  There are still a couple moves to be made, but New York checked a big one off the list with this move.

After a quiet season for the Penguins who finished last in the GVFHL, the rewards for the season of suffering have arrived. The Penguins won the GVFHL lotto, the first lotto win in franchise history, and used the selection to take stud defenceman Owen Power. Power is a behemoth on the blueline, and looks to be a top pairing staple for the Penguins for years to come. The Penguins also traded for a pick later in the draft that became pesky forward Zachary L’Heureux.

Days later, the Penguins made another big splash, sending potential young star center Quinton Byfield to the Flames for star winger Andrei Svechnikov. While it’s tough to trade away such a promising young prospect in Byfield, Svechnikov has superstar potential talent and is already a well established top end sniper. It is also rumored that young Penguins star Kirill Kaprizov highly endorsed the trade, wishing to add another star Russian to the team.

The Penguins also made some other trades/draft picks, acquiring goalie prospect Joel Blomqvist, and drafting prospects Shai Buium, Samuel Helenuis, Filip Lindberg, William Trudeau, and Semyon Vyazovoi.

All in all, the future looks bright for the young Penguins, but expect this upcoming season to be another of pain as the Penguins young guns haven’t quite developed in to full fledged impact players just yet.

For the first time in his reign as General Manager of the New York Rangers, Tyler Shank will be attempting to ice a competitive team.

“Our fans have been patient with us through this rebuild, and I think it’s time to reward that.” Shank said in an interview on the draft floor. He has recently added young guns Anthony Beauvillier and Pavel Buchnevich to their thin forward corps, and upstart goaltender Chris Driedger to play with one of Antti Raanta or Jeremy Swayman. He hopes to add a bit more through free agency.

”Jake (Sanderson) and Shane (Pinto) were young guys we were excited for, yes, but some sacrifices need to be made. These guys we got back, while they have already made an impact in this league, are still young and still fit into our future plans.“ Shank added that they also went and acquired Josh Morrissey who, like the aforementioned players, is still young and looking to make an impact on this team.

”The hope this season is to reward the fans with a trip to the postseason. We may not go deep this year, but hey, anything can happen if you make it to the dance.” Shank chuffed as he nodded towards the Blues draft table. Don’t make any jokes however, as this is already by far the most competitive roster the Rangers have iced in Shanks tenure. Only time will tell if that translates during the season