Page 44 - Sports Energy News, Cornwall, Issue No 135

44 Issue #135 April 2024 www.sportsenergynews.com

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Stories And More About The People In Stormont, Dundas & Glengarry
The NHL trade deadline passed last month, with many of the contenders making big moves. Which
teams improved their Stanley Cup odds the most, and which teams failed to improve their chances

of winning the Cup?
Jake Lapierre - Conditioning Coach -Based on my review of sources such as “Hockey News,” hockey analysts commentaries and
podcasts, teams who fared well at the end of the trade deadline include the Vegas Knights and Colorado Avalanche.
Vegas acquired Noah Hanifin, wingers Tomas Hertl, and Anthony Mantha to their franchise without taking any players off their
current roster, which is less disruptive to the groups chemistry and should be the shot in the arm the Knights need to make another
strong run into the playoffs.
Colorado added forward Casey Mittlestadt, blueliner Sean Walker, and forwards Brandon Duhaime and Yakov Trenin to the lineup,
positioning the Avs neck-and-neck with Vegas as the dominant teams in the Western Conference.
Teams failing to improve their roster includes the Boston Bruins because of salary cap restriction.
The Bruins didn’t make any blockbuster moves at deadline, but they did get tougher and grittier with the acquisition of rugged forward, Pat
Maroon, and defenseman, Andrew Peeke; with or without these two players, the Bruins can’t be overlooked as a strong playoff front-runner and
major Cup contender.
The Toronto Maple Leafs are a tough call. They were in dire need of help with their defense corps heading into the trade deadline but were hard
pressed to locate the help they hoped to find primarily due to market availability.
Toronto did sign defensemen Ilya Lyubushkin and Joel Edmundson; (both players having a reputation as rugged competitive players) to solidify
their back end. Toronto’s newest acquisitions and defensive squad has the monumental task of providing sufficient depth to help the Leafs core
forwards thrive when the games matter most. Inevitably, Torontos wins and losses will come down to the contributions of their “core four” forwards.

Jim Riddell - Seaway Karate Club - Each of the NHL teams that are in playoff contention made some tweaks to their roster, in
hopes of improving their chances of winning the Stanley Cup. We won’t know until June which teams made the right moves, but a
few have taken assertive steps in the right direction.
The Carolina Hurricanes landed Jake Guentzel, the top player available, without giving Pittsburg a guaranteed first round pick
or any of their top prospects. They also added depth by picking Evgeny Kuznetsov from Washington for a 2025 third round pick.
The Vegas Golden Knights certainly improved their chances to repeat as Stanley Cup Champions, acquiring forwards Tomas Hertl, Anthony
Mantha, and the top defenseman available, Noah Hanifin. The Colorado Avalanche addressed their few needs by adding second line center Casey
Mittelstadt, and RD Sean Walker. This year’s trade deadline was a buyers’ market, but several teams did very little, choosing to only make a few
low key moves. In Detroit, GM Steve Yzerman didn’t make any additions at all. The Pittsburg Penguins trading of Jake Guentzel in a quantity for
quality trade may work out in the future, but it won’t help them much this season. The Toronto Maple Leafs added some depth on defense and got
bigger, but that may not be enough to get past the teams that did make significant additions.

Peter Collins - Sports Enthusiast - At or before the NHL trade deadline this year, most of the contenders acted like contenders.
Many went all-in with the hope of advancing deep into the playoffs. The Vegas Knights were among the busiest of teams, adding
Hertl, Hanifin, and Mantha to an already good team. In fact, the reigning Stanley Cup champs realized that if they wanted to make
another run, they would need the help. Last year they added Ivan Barbashev, and he was one of their top playoff performers. At this
writing Vegas was barely hanging on to a playoff berth, so their moves were really out of necessity.
Next on the list are Colorado and Carolina, and both those teams improved their odds by adding depth players. The Avalanche
added Sean Walker and Casey Mittlestadt to their formidable lineup. Sniper Jake Guentzel was an important addition to the Hurricanes offensively
challenged but defensively disciplined team. The only Canadian team to make a lot of noise were the Jets, they added two excellent players in
Monahan and Toffoli. The Leafs, the Bruins, and the Oilers decided to tweak their rosters with minor transactions that probably will not change
their Stanley Cup chase results. We won’t know until June how this will all turn out, but my money is on Vegas, based on their moves! That’s if they
make the playoffs!