A three-game losing streak and a 5-3 loss to the New York Islanders last night means we could all stand some hope for the future right now, right?
Good thing I come bearing good news this morning: The Hockey Writers have been doing their mid-season prospect pool ratings and the Los Angeles Kings were ranked as the best farm system in the NHL.
Though both NHL.com and The Hockey Writers focus primarily on Alex Turcotte — a 2019 fifth-round pick who is compared to Anze Kopitar as a two-way center — but for me, Arthur Kaliyev is still far and away the most exciting and perhaps highest ceiling player coming down the pipeline right now.
Read more about it below, along with news and notes from around the league:
Kings Things
- LA Kings Farm System Ranked #1 by The Hockey Writers [NHL.com]
- Adding Tyler Toffoli at NHL trade deadline? Analyzing the Flyers’ case [NBC Sports]
- Is Jonathan Quick still trade bait or will he remain a King? [The Athletic]
- Kings general manager Rob Blake knows he has more moves to make [Los Angeles Times]
- NHL trade rumors 2020: Los Angeles Kings should go all in, trade Alec Martinez and Tyler Toffoli [Sporting News]/
Elsewhere in the World
- NHL Power Rankings: Who Are the True Contenders Ahead of the Trade Deadline? [Sports Illustrated]
- The cases for, against every top NHL MVP candidate [ESPN]
- N.H.L. Takeaways From January [The New York Times]
- Why the Buffalo Sabres are the NHL’s biggest disaster [ESPN]
- Parise’s road to 1,000 NHL games ‘not easy’ for Wild forward [NHL.com]
- NHL defends controversial call that negated potential game-winning goal for Blackhawks [Yahoo! Sports]
- Nine overage CHLers who could play their way into an NHL deal [The Hockey News]
- NHL Numbers: Hockeytown, we have a problem [The Hockey News]
- For the Alaska Heat high school hockey team, the player pool is geographically gigantic [Anchorage Daily News]/
Scores & Recaps
- San Jose Sharks 6, Edmonton Oilers 3
- Anaheim Ducks 2, Montreal Canadiens 3 (OT)
- Los Angeles Kings 3, New York Islanders 5
- Vancouver Canucks 2, Minnesota Wild 4
- Pittsburgh Penguins 2, Tampa Bay Lightning 4
- Detroit Red Wings 4, Buffalo Sabres 3 (SO)
- Vegas Golden Knights 7, Florida Panthers 2
- New Jersey Devils 5, Philadelphia Flyers 0
- Colorado Avalanche 4, Ottawa Senators 1
- Winnipeg Jets 4, St. Louis Blues 2
- Nashville Predators 3, Calgary Flames 2
- Carolina Hurricanes 5, Arizona Coyotes 3/
Click each team’s name to find a recap on their own SB Nation team site!
On the Schedule
- Anaheim Ducks at Toronto Maple Leafs, 4 PT/7 ET on SNO, PRIME
- Buffalo Sabres at New York Rangers, 4 PT/7 ET on ESPN+, TVAS, MSG, MSG-B
- Detroit Red Wings at Columbus Blue Jackets, 4 PT/7 ET on ESPN+, FS-O, FS-D
- Minnesota Wild at Dallas Stars, 5:30 PT/8:30 ET on NHLN, FS-SW+, FS-N, FS-WI/