NHL Daily: Brett Connolly, Colorado Avalanche, Tampa Bay Lightning

NHL Daily: Brett Connolly is the Washington Capitals player of the week, Colorado should consider trading Landeskog, keeping Duchene, Tampa Bay Lightning not quite out of it just yet, and more! (Morning Coffee Headlines)

Grab your morning cup of coffee and join us here at Puck Prose for a compilation of NHL daily links that will help keep you updated with everything going on in the hockey world.

Three games were scheduled for Sunday afternoon. The Washington Capitals made easy work of a hot Kings squad with a 5-0 victory. Cam Talbot and Al Montoya each carried a shutout into extra time, with Edmonton edging the Habs 1-0 in a shootout. Also, the New York Rangers edged the Calgary Flames 4-3 at MSG.

Here is your highlight of the night:

NHL Daily: Morning Coffee Headlines

Bleacher Report Power Rankings

The experts over at Bleacher Report put together their weekly power rankings list on Monday. Sitting way down at the bottom in 30th place is Colorado, while the Washington Capitals take top spot. [Bleacher Report]

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Flame for Thought

Connolly is Caps Players of the Week

The team over at Stars and Sticks has named Brett Connolly the Washington Capitals player of the week. He racked up four points in three games over the past seven days, including a multi-point contest on Sunday – all of this while averaging just 11:03 of ice-time. [Stars and Sticks]

Trade Landeskog, Keep Duchene?

It was only a matter of time before someone went down this road. Cory Wilkins over at The Score discusses why he believes Colorado should trade Gabriel Landeskog and keep Matt Duchene instead. More on this in my daily rant at the bottom. [The Score]

Lightning Still in the Mix

There has been a lot of talk surrounding the Tampa Bay Lightning as sellers following the Nikita Nesterov deal. Chase Kimball over at Bolts by the Bay discusses why it’s way too soon to count out the Bolts. [Bolts by the Bay]

Salary Cap for 2017-18

The latest rumors from Larry Brooks (New York Post) and Yahoo Sports is that the NHL’s salary cap may be stagnant in 2017-18. Last time the NHL had a flat cap with no movement was back in 2008-09 during the financial crisis. Latest reports suggest the cap will either stay the same, or raised by just a couple million. [Yahoo Sports]

Rangers Bottom Six Group Needs to Step Up

Alexandra Russo over at Blue Line Station thinks the New York Rangers bottom six forward group needs to step up in a big way. As she explains, much of NY’s success early on was due to four complete lines of productivity. [Blue Line Station]

NHL Daily Morning Rant

Re: Trade Landeskog, Keep Duchene

I’m not a big fan of creating news because it hasn’t been done yet, but that’s what this feels like. All the rumors have been around why the Avs must trade Duchene, so it was only a matter of time before someone argued otherwise.

You really need to think these thoughts through before making yourself look silly. I don’t even know where to start on this one. Duchene is the logical trade chip because of his position and high-end value. Landeskog won’t fetch that premium defensive piece, and it doesn’t solve the confusion up the middle.

Next: Hypothetical Deals for Lightning G Ben Bishop

I think Mr. Wilkins also forgot there’s a good chance Tyson Jost leaves college and signs with Colorado following his rookie season in the NCAA. His domination at the World Juniors suggests he’ll be a guy ready to step in immediately. Would it really make that much sense to give him the Pavel Zacha treatment? New Jersey insisted on keeping Zajac/Henrique at center as well, and look how it’s affected the Czech in his first year.

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