Kukla's Korner Hockey

Kukla's Korner Hockey

Saturday Afternoon Hockey Notes

01/21/2017 at 2:04pm EST

from Fluto Shinzawa of the Boston Globe,

- Tough break for the Wild, who will be without second-pairing defenseman Jonas Brodin for at least one month. The left-shot defenseman was diagnosed with a broken finger after Minnesota’s 4-3 loss to New Jersey on Tuesday. Through 43 games, Brodin had three goals and 13 assists while averaging 19:46 of ice time. It had been a much better season for Brodin. Last year, he fought through a 2-5—7 line in 68 games. But under first-year coach Bruce Boudreau, Brodin has recovered to the point where the Wild face a tough decision regarding expansion. The Wild are not likely to use the 7-3-1 format to protect three defensemen....

- If the GMs are serious about improving their rosters, they would not hesitate to accelerate next year’s trade deadline by at least two weeks. This year’s deadline is March 1, which likely means another month of inactivity while teams debate whether they’re buyers or sellers.

Five weeks of regular-season play isn’t enough for deadline acquisitions to assimilate with their new teams. But the bigger issue is how the lousy points system creates massive clusters in the standings until it’s too late.

The Red Wings, for example, still believe they can extend their playoff streak to 26 seasons, even though they’d have to vault over five teams. More than a half-season of stagnant rosters does nothing to engage trade-hungry fans. Owners fume over gear-grinding while their executives have their hands tied. The solution seems simple: make the deadline earlier.

- As tempting as it might seem for Detroit to re-sign Thomas Vanek, the wiser decision would be to sell the UFA-to-be to the highest bidder. Given Vanek’s resurgence (12-19—31 in 34 games), the rebuilding Red Wings could ask and receive a good return. GM Ken Holland’s problem is the preexisting condition of long-term dough on his books: Niklas Kronwall, Henrik Zetterberg, Johan Franzen, Justin Abdelkader, and Jimmy Howard. Bringing back the 33-year-old Vanek would only compound the problem.

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About Kukla's Korner Hockey

Paul Kukla founded Kukla’s Korner in 2005 and the site has since become the must-read site on the ‘net for all the latest happenings around the NHL.

From breaking news to in-depth stories around the league, KK Hockey is updated with fresh stories all day long and will bring you the latest news as quickly as possible.

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