On the second episode of the new Hockey Writers Podcast, I went from Edmonton to St. Louis, Philadelphia, Chicago, and Montreal, then stopped in with TSN’s Jason Gregor to talk all things hockey.
Related: THW Podcast – Ep. 1: Nylander, Wilson, Fuhr One-on-One & More
What to Expect on the Podcast This Week…
Segment 1: The Latest in NHL Rumors
JD covers all the newest rumors in the NHL this week from St. Louis, the Ottawa Senators, San Jose Sharks and Erik Karlsson and more.
Segment 2: The Under 5-Minute NHL Runaround
As we travel around and talk to the writers here at THW, we check in with Ryan in Montreal, Jeff in Buffalo, Ryan in Calgary, Ryan in Toronto, Joseph with the New York Rangers, Stephen in St. Louis, Matt with the Flyers, JD with Colorado and Drew in Boston.
What’s going on in each of those respective NHL cities? They’ll get you up to speed in under five minutes.
Segment 3: Special Guest – TSN 1260’s Jason Gregor (13:03 min mark)
We traveled to the TSN studios in Edmonton where we stopped in with the host of the Jason Gregor Show on TSN 1260, Jason Gregor who chatted all things hockey. We started with the ever-changing updated in St. Louis, transitioned over to the Edmonton Oilers where Gregor suggested everything from a Cam Talbot trade, a fit for Phil Kessel, updates on the status of GM Peter Chiarelli and what’s ahead for coach Ken Hitchcock. Can the Oilers turn around their power play struggles and stay on their current winning streak? Gregor tells us what he thinks.
Just for fun, he also gave his take on the William Nylander signing.
Segment 4: Stephen Ground – St. Louis Blues (29:50 min mark)
We went straight to the source regarding the St. Louis Blues mess this season when we stopped in with THW Blues writer Stephen Ground. He tried to break down the issues in St. Louis, what to make of the rumors that Alex Pietrangelo, Vladimir Tarasenko and more. Will the Blues be able to turn this around? Will they start making moves immediately and what will it take for other teams to grab some of the Blues big stars?
Related: Blues Unexpectedly Call Up Binnington
Segment 5: Matt Mastrogiovanni – The Philadelphia Flyers (43:21 min mark)
One of the more discussed teams in the NHL these past couple weeks was the Philadelphia Flyers. Ron Hextall was fired as the GM and Chuck Fletcher hired to replace him. Will the Flyers immediately start to make changes to the roster. Will they search for a goaltender and try to sign a player like Wayne Simmonds? Matt gives us his best answers.
Segment 6: Meghan Dillion – The Chicago Blackhawks (51:51 min mark)
Meghan joined us to chat the struggles of the Chicago Blackhawks this season. Now sitting last place in the NHL standings, Meghan details what’s gone wrong including their abysmal defense. Will the Blackhawks make trades? Meghan suggests perhaps the Arizona Coyotes and/or Dallas Stars as options. Meghan also let us know how new acquisitions Dylan Strome and Brandon Perlini have fit in so far.
Segment 7: Ryan Szporer – The Montreal Canadiens (58:14 min mark)
Finally, we stop by in Montreal and chat with Ryan who helps us examine the surprising season of the Montreal Canadiens who are in an Eastern Conference race towards the playoffs. Their offense has been unexpectedly strong, Shea Weber returned but Ryan still wonders if the Canadiens are a playoff team and whether or not they should add and try to make a run or miss the postseason and attain another high draft pick.
