The Complete 32 Team In 32 Days List (And Some Other Writing News And Thoughts)
Looking at all 32 NHL Teams as well as some updates on where else you can find me writing about hockey and all sports.
It was a little over a month ago now that NBC Sports made the decision to eliminate its Pro Hockey Talk website (as it has done with several other of its sports websites over the past couple of years) and sending our awesome team into free agency.
It was then that I started this Substack to hopefully help supplement my other freelance income. So far, it has been an enjoyable experience and, quite honestly, has helped me rediscover my passion for writing after fearing that I was starting to burn out a little on it. That burn out feeling still creeps in sometimes, but this has been great, not only in terms of hockey writing, but also general sports writing, Pittsburgh sports writing, and writing in general.
My first major project here was an offseason 32 Teams in 32 Days outlook, taking a daily look at each NHL team. My goal was to not simply do a basic, boilerplate offseason primer saying who they lost, who they gained, and what their record was a year ago. I wanted to take a deeper look at each team and how they related to some sort of league wide trend.
The Minnesota Wild and what happens when teams try to win on a tight budget (by necessity or choice). The New York Rangers and why teams with elite goalies sometimes struggle to really reach a championship level. Why Winnipeg and Nashville always so mediocre. Why good teams like Toronto sometimes fail. The New Jersey Devils and Jack Hughes and when good young players become superstars. The Carolina Hurricanes and when great teams break through to greatness and championships. So on and so on.
Below is the entire list of teams and a brief primer on what each topic was for each team (as well as a link).
Consider a free seven-day trial to check them out, and if you like, subscriptions are $5 per month or $30 for the entire year.
Below the list is some additional writing news.
Anaheim Ducks: Finally a direction, finally worth watching.
Arizona Coyotes: The long and bumpy road to contention.
Boston Bruins: They always get their guy at their price.
Buffalo Sabres: Do not trust late season surges will carry over to the next season.
Carolina Hurricanes: When good teams finally break through to greatness.
Chicago Blackhawks: Why teams tank, when it works, and when it does not work.
Colorado Avalanche: They have a major impact on their goalie’s performances. What can they do for their new goalie, Alexandar Georgiev?
Columbus Blue Jackets: Not all major free agent signings work out as you hope. Some of them do. They might have made one of the good ones this offseason with Johnny Gaudreau.
Dallas Stars: The problem with being a top-heavy team.
Detroit Red Wings: Things should be starting to come together for them, and it is time to finally show some real progress here.
Edmonton Oilers: They have two of the league’s best players. They also have one of the league’s most underappreciated players.
Florida Panthers: They might take a step backwards this season, and did they miss their best chance with this current core of players?
Los Angeles Kings: They are building something special.
Minnesota Wild: The struggle of trying to win on a budget.
Montreal Canadiens: Hiring Martin St. Louis and the rare time when teams think outside the box.
Nashville Predators: Always good. Never bad. But never really a true contender.
New Jersey Devils: Jack Hughes is ready to go crazy, and when great players break out.
New York Islanders: Does general manager Lou Lamoriello have a problem attracting and retaining star players on his teams?
New York Rangers: The curse of elite goaltending. Yes, sometimes it is a problem. The New York Rangers should know this better than anybody else in the NHL.
Ottawa Senators: They are going to be fun, and that is progress.
Philadelphia Flyers: Some teams are bad on purpose. Other teams are bad because they have no idea what they are doing. Say hello to the Philadelphia Flyers.
Pittsburgh Penguins: When and why good teams start to decline.
San Jose Sharks: The steps teams take just before starting a massive rebuild.
Seattle Kraken: How long should it take for an expansion team to become a good, strong Stanley Cup contender? Or even any kind of a playoff contender?
St. Louis Blues: Did they keep the right goalie?
Tampa Bay Lightning: Sometimes the salary cap is just simply a suggestion.
Toronto Maple Leafs: Sometimes good teams fail and there is really nothing you can do about it and nobody to blame. Sports happen.
Vancouver Canucks: How little mistakes add up into big mistakes.
Vegas Golden Knights: When you treat the NHL like it is a video game it is not always going to work out as you hope.
Washington Capitals: When you sign the top free agent goalie on the free agent market. It is exactly what they needed.
Winnipeg Jets: The problem with only building through the draft.
As for some other writing news.
You can still find me on a weekly basis (and three times a week during the season) writing Pittsburgh Penguins content at PensBurgh, as well as my occasional hockey related stuff at YardBarker.
Some recent entries at each place:
PensBurgh
Over/under on Evgeni Malkin for this season: 70.5 points.
Does Jake Guentzel have a chance at 50 goals for this season?
Looking at the Pittsburgh Penguins center depth and how it compares across the NHL.
Looking at some questions that still exist for the Pittsburgh Penguins.
YardBarker
Faces In New Places For Start Of 2022-23 NHL Season.
Players That Could Still Be Traded This Offseason Or During The NHL Season.
Winners And Losers Of The NHL Offseason (So Far).
NHL Team-By-Team Offseason Grades.
Along with all of this stuff there is some other new stuff on the horizon involving some other sports.
I will be contributing to The Athletic a couple of times a week helping to do some college football and NFL preview stuff, while also working at YardBarker a few days per week to write about general sports stuff.
Along with all of that, I will also remain active here on a daily basis writing about both hockey and some general sports and general Pittsburgh sports stuff. I have more projects planned, including weekly Power Rankings, maybe some travel adventures, and more.
Thank you for reading (and subscribing) both here and everywhere else.