Kukla's Korner Hockey

Kukla's Korner Hockey

Hockey Thoughts On The Last Tuesday Of 2015

12/29/2015 at 10:49am EST

from Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet,

- Even when they led the Metropolitan Division, coach Alain Vigneault warned it was a mirage. He’s proven correct. I still think New York makes the playoffs, but if they don’t, the first-round pick they traded to the Lightning (Martin St. Louis) slides to 2017.

This is purely me thinking, but what other picks could they get for a Dominic Moore or a Keith Yandle? And, if they really decided to go big, they could test the market on a Rick Nash (who has no-trade protection). Be curious to see if a contender thought he might be a critical piece.

- Flyers captain Claude Giroux told Philadelphia reporters, “I have to be better” the day after the club lost to Anaheim at the start of a western trip.

If there is one critique of Giroux’s game, it’s his dependency on power play points. Scoring with the extra man is critical considering how hard it is to do so five-on-five, but compare Giroux to some of his compatriots. He leads the NHL with 50 such points the past two seasons, and has 101 overall. That’s 49.5 per cent of his total coming with the man-advantage.

- Got to think Colorado has to start serious negotiations with Nathan MacKinnon at some point, too. No one is talking, but rumours were the decision at the start of the year was to wait a little.

He’s not unrestricted, and it sure sounds like the Avalanche have decided to set the salary bar around him, so you don’t expect this to be a huge problem. But the final number probably determines some of their other business.

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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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