Lane Hutson AL FREY/for the Free Press / USA TODAY NETWORK The NCAA season is coming to an end as teams battle to decide the conference champions. The best of the rest will also put their best foot forward in hopes the Div. I Men’s Ice Hockey Committee names them to the 16-team national championship. The NCAA has long been a fantastic avenue for players to develop their games. We’ve seen so many more high-end players — especially Americans — opt for the college hockey route instead of going to the CHL. Many of the best prospects in hockey at the moment are in the NCAA, inc ..read more

Brent Burns and Connor McDavid Perry Nelson-USA TODAY Sports With rumors of the NHL taking a dip into the reality TV pool with a documentary series focusing on 10 to 12 NHL players in a behind-the-scenes approach, it’s as good a time as any to make some suggestions as to which players should be followed. Interesting nugget coming out of today's NHL GMs Meeting: A couple managers mentioned that the league has signed on to do a behind-the-scenes series with Amazon that will centre around 10-12 star players. It's due for a fall release. — Chris Johnston (@reporterchris) March 18, 2024 We’l ..read more

Simon Benoit Stephen R. Sylvanie-USA TODAY Sports Not every player on a contender is thrilled internally when a GM brings in reinforcements. Specifically, when the new guy is coming for your job. We usually elevate the ripple effects of deadline deals from a macro lens — how much it improves a team — but we rarely look at it from a microlens, from the viewpoint of players themselves. And it’s not always pretty. Here are five players who have seen their role reduced since their team added pieces before the deadline. Cole Perfetti, C/LW, Winnipeg Jets Cole Perfetti’s sophomore season ..read more

Tyler Toffoli James Carey Lauder-USA TODAY Sports The 2024 NHL trade deadline is now nearly a week in the past, and we’re continuing our look at each team in all four NHL divisions.  We looked at which teams in the Atlantic and Metropolitan Divisions were trending upward or downward earlier this week. Today, we’re grading each team in the Central Division based on how effectively they're pursuing their season goals. Here they are in their place in the division standings: 1. Colorado Avalanche, 42-20-5, 89 PTS, .664 Point Percentage Post-Deadline Grade: A The Avalanche were already an elit ..read more

The Hockey News Pre-Game Show is presented by BetMGM and Northland Hockey. The Hockey News This season's trade deadline was eventful to say the least with over 20 trades going down around the league. Whether your favorite team was buying high to prepare for the post-season push or selling veteran assets for a rebuild, the deadline truly is a special time of year for the hockey world. For a segment on Saturday's edition of The Hockey News Pre-Game Show, Ryan Kennedy and Michael Traikos answered some deadline-themed rapid fire questions. They covered everything from the weirdest deadline moves ..read more

Elias Lindholm facing off against Sean Monahan Bob Frid-USA TODAY Sports From 2018 to 2022, Elias Lindholm and Sean Monahan were the one-two punch down the middle for the Calgary Flames.  "We had some good years together," Lindholm recalled after his new team, the Vancouver Canucks, bested Monahan's Winnipeg Jets 5-0 on Saturday night. "We're still good friends and keep in touch, and it was a pleasure." During the All-Star break, the pair became the first two rental players to move ahead of the trade deadline. When Lindholm was dealt to the Canucks on Jan. 31 and Monahan to the Jets on Fe ..read more

The Vancouver Canucks celebrate after defeating the Vegas Golden Knights Stephen R. Sylvanie-USA TODAY Sports Now that the NHL’s trade deadline has come and gone, it’s a good time to take stock of the Canadian teams. In the paragraphs below, we’ll be examining each of the seven teams and analyzing their capability to win both now and in the future. Let’s get to it.  In order of competitiveness: 1. Vancouver Canucks If we go back early this season and include all deals Canucks GM Patrik Allvin made, you’re talking about the additions of a veteran defenseman in Nikita Zadorov and ..read more

Tyler Toffoli Steve Roberts-USA TODAY Sports Winnipeg Jets GM Kevin Cheveldayoff has done it again. The Jets have acquired forward Tyler Toffoli from the New Jersey Devils in exchange for a 2025 second-round pick and a 2024 third-round pick. The Devils will retain 50 percent of Toffoli’s $4.25-million cap hit. Let us cook ?‍? pic.twitter.com/p2dqzSG2Ri — Winnipeg Jets (@NHLJets) March 8, 2024 Toffoli, 31, is a bona fide top-six winger who has recorded 26 goals and 44 points in 61 games with New Jersey this season. On pace for his second straight 30-plus goal season, the 2014 Stanley Cup winne ..read more

Easton Cowan John E. Sokolowski-USA TODAY Sports Let’s get this out of the way before any of you jump all over me: Any NHL player can get traded for the right price. With that said, the right price usually isn’t a rental at the NHL trade deadline. Teams have either expressed they do not want to move these players or it just wouldn’t make sense for the team to move them. Many of them are their club's top prospects, who will be relied upon to step into the lineup and make a difference as soon as next season. As mentioned, anyone can get traded, but these players would likely only be m ..read more

Aleksander Barkov and Dylan Samberg Sam Navarro-USA TODAY Sports The Florida Panthers retain the top spot on The Hockey News' NHL power rankings with an impressive 8-2-0 run in February, with both losses being one-goal games.  The Panthers have no real weakness. They have one of the NHL’s best two-way centers, a cast of really high-end wingers, three defensemen who are capable of playing over 20 minutes a night and two goalies having excellent seasons. There are still quite a few teams in playoff contention, and with roughly 25 more games to go, it’s still anyone’s call who’s going to mak ..read more