Thomas Drance

1 week ago | nytimes.com | Thomas Drance

With the end of the NHL's flat cap era, our relentless focus on spending efficiency is on the verge of relaxing significantly. And thank goodness for that. The artificial austerity imposed on the NHL system as a result of the NHL and the NHLPA's compromise reaction to pandemic conditions in the spring of 2020 was downright exhausting.

1 week ago | nytimes.com | Thomas Drance

Under Jim Rutherford and Patrik Allvin, the Vancouver Canucks have thrown significant assets, money, draft capital and time to upgrade the club's defense corps. Slowly, but surely, those efforts have paid off. Even as the club has bled depth and talent up front, especially down the middle of their forward group, Vancouver's back-end is as chock full of upside, talent and potential as it's ever been in franchise history.

1 week ago | ourcommunitynow.com | Bowen Byram |Buffalo Sabres |Thomas Drance

Will this be the summer that NHL teams belatedly, and genuinely, decide to lean into utilizing offer sheets?The concept of restricted free agency and offer sheets has been around for a generation. While offer sheets have been a frequent subject of fan and media conversation over the years, they’ve rarely been tendered, have rarely been accepted and have only sparingly resulted in players actually changing teams.Could this be the summer, however, that the NHL paradigm around offer sheets flips?

1 week ago | nytimes.com | Thomas Drance

Will this be the summer that NHL teams belatedly, and genuinely, decide to lean into utilizing offer sheets? The concept of restricted free agency and offer sheets has been around for a generation. While offer sheets have been a frequent subject of fan and media conversation over the years, they've rarely been tendered, have rarely been accepted and have only sparingly resulted in players actually changing teams. Could this be the summer, however, that the NHL paradigm around offer sheets flips?

2 weeks ago | nytimes.com | Thomas Drance

This conference final round of the Stanley Cup playoffs has something of a repeat feeling to it. In the West, the Edmonton Oilers and Dallas Stars are familiar foes, facing off for an opportunity to advance to the Stanley Cup Final for a second consecutive season. Both Western Conference powerhouses are competing in their third conference final across the last four seasons.