few small takes: perfecttakes.beehiiv.com patreon.com/pucksoup
one last new take for @thehockeynews.bsky.social: hey so if the stars don't compete for a cup this year and jason robertson starts looking at the door, who's gonna get in trouble?
Has Jason Robertson's Contract Put Stars Coach Glen Gulutzan On The Hot Seat?Glen Gulutzan had a phenomenal first season back with the Dallas Stars, but lost in just six games in the first round. Can he and the team improve on that performance, or is his seat already heating u...thehockeynews.comnew take for @thehockeynews.bsky.social: who are the three best defensemen in the metro division right now? #1 is easy, but what about the other two?
Top Three Defensemen In The NHL's Metropolitan DivisionThe NHL's Metropolitan Division is home to the reigning Norris winner, as well as multiple past winners. But who are the three best defensemen in the entire division?thehockeynews.comNEW TAKE: it's the weekly free post from me, with takes on: - whether macklin celebrini took a discount - the possible contract for quinn hughes - what's going on with detroit's GM search? all you gotta do to read is sign up for the free tier. you can't even name a better price than "free"
Take Town: Celebrin good times come onA new contract for Macklin Celebrini, the possible starperfecttakes.beehiiv.comnew take for @thehockeynews.bsky.social: i saw some people saying the sharks overpaid for celebrini. i couldn't disagree more. this new deal is a bargain
Macklin Celebrini Will More Than Live Up To His Gargantuan ContractThanks to Leo Carlsson, the sticker shock on Macklin Celebrini's new $18.8-million cap hit is already muted. But because of the rising salary cap, there's a real chance Celebrini makes it look like an...thehockeynews.comNEW TAKE: the sportsnet/amazon deal announced today is bad for fans. just like it's bad for sportsnet. in fact, only amazon and the NHL come out ahead. funny how that works out.
Sportsnet continues screwing the fans, but the NHL doesn't have to careWith another move that will only cost hockey fans more money, Rogers is passing on the cost of its own bad decisions. But if one company's not shivving you, another one will.perfecttakes.beehiiv.comnew take for @thehockeynews.bsky.social: in the first of an ongoing series of ranking top players by position in every division, i ranked the top three goalies in the atlantic division (and did a perfect job)
Top Three Goalies In The NHL's Best Goaltending DivisionThe Atlantic Division is home to two 2025-26 Vezina finalists and two other Vezina winners. But who are the three best goalies in the Atlantic going into next season?thehockeynews.comnew take for @thehockeynews.bsky.social: i ranked the top three teams that have never won the cup before, in order of who's most likely to win it next
Top Three Teams To Win The Stanley Cup For the First Time In Franchise HistoryOnly 10 active teams in the NHL haven't won a Stanley Cup yet. Here are the top three teams among those title-less franchises that are next in line to win the Cup.thehockeynews.comNEW TAKE: in an attempt to be positive about a team in a bad spot, i tried to fix the kraken without just advocating for a tear-down rebuild. - plus a quick thought on all 32 teams
What We Learned: Can you fix the Seattle Kraken without blowing up the roster?In the first-ever Perfect Takes Possible Positivity Exercise, let's try to see if there's any realistic way to turn this Kraken roster around without tearing it down to the studs.perfecttakes.beehiiv.comnew take for @thehockeynews.bsky.social: the panthers may be among the best teams in the league again this year, but here's why you shouldn't be fully dialed in on them being a "cup favorite"-level team yet
Why Panthers Still Must Prove 2025-26 Was A One-Off Before Stanley Cup ExpectationsThe Florida Panthers have a fair excuse for why they missed the playoffs this past season, with long-term injuries to key players. But with a new-look goaltending tandem and another star in Brady Tkac...thehockeynews.comnew take for @thehockeynews.bsky.social: the senators say they want a """pure sniper""" so here are their reasonable options to do that
Ottawa Senators Are Looking To Add A 'Pure Sniper,' But Who Is Left To Target?Ottawa Senators GM Steve Staios feels good about the work they've done this off-season, but he would still love to add a "pure sniper." The issue is that there aren't many available at the moment.thehockeynews.comjust updated the summer grades with thoughts on the new contracts for: - danton heinen - jet greaves - patrick kane CHECK IT OUT
Summer 2026 transaction grades (part 2)Apparently they have a max word count on here, so this is even more transaction grades that will be updated throughout the summer. Hopefully things chill out a little.perfecttakes.beehiiv.comFREE TAKE: it's the weekly post that doesn't cost you a penny to read, including thoughts on: - the senators' changes this summer - the caps being "cup or bust" - patrick kane maybe returning to chicago - various thoughts on what "the odyssey" is """about"""
Take Town: It's not just Matt Damon who's on an Odyssey this weekTperfecttakes.beehiiv.comanother new take for @thehockeynews.bsky.social: the NHL's new centralized broadcast effort is a real chance to increase fan interest in the league at large. now they just need to do a good job.
How The NHL's New Centralized Broadcasts Grows The Game And Increases Fan Interest League-WideFans may feel skeptical about the NHL's new centralized broadcasts, but it will increase fan interest league-wide and grow the game of hockey in the long run.thehockeynews.comnew take for @thehockeynews.bsky.social: who wins and who loses with jason robertson's one-year deal, and why
Why The Stars, Robertson Could Both Be Winners And Losers After One-Year Contract AgreementWith Jason Robertson and the Dallas Stars avoiding arbitration with a one-year contract, here are some reasons why both parties could be winners or could be losers following this deal.thehockeynews.comnew take for @thehockeynews.bsky.social: if you're the sabres, you go get hellebuyck if you can. but does the best goalie in the world boost their performance next year?
Is Acquiring Connor Hellebuyck Really Worth It For The Sabres?The Buffalo Sabres are strongly linked to Winnipeg Jets goaltender Connor Hellebuyck, but is the price required to land him really worth the trouble for the Sabres?thehockeynews.comnew take for @thehockeynews.bsky.social: what should a cutter gauthier deal look like for anaheim?
Examining What Cutter Gauthier's Contract With The Anaheim Ducks Could Look LikeFollowing the contracts signed by Leo Carlsson and Connor Bedard, the attention shifts to the remaining RFAs. Notably, Cutter Gauthier is without a contract, and with rumors circulating, narrowing dow...thehockeynews.comNEW TAKE: the NHL has a history of teams just deciding a big contract like leo carlsson's doesn't count as precedent for future signings (doughty/karlsson in 2019, marner also in 2019) - plus a quick take on all 32 teams
What We Learned: Will NHL GMs just decide the Carlsson contract doesn't count?The AAV on Leo Carlsson's deal is so big that most of the league might partake in the time-honored tradition of pretending it's not real.perfecttakes.beehiiv.com