#Connor Bedard

The bottom line is that the LIV players are not earning any OWGR points and plummeting in the world rankings as a result. Fair or unfair? OWGR ranking points are important, because a player's position in the rankings is used to determine qualification for some important events. The Masters, for instance, uses the OWGR points list to invite the top…

If sports gambling has taught me anything it's that there's always a profitable angle. No matter the game there's always a way to make some money. You, the NHL -watching public might not think that applies to your sport but it really does. There's a way to make money even off of bad teams. Here are a few tips on how to bet on some of the worst…

A Central division battle is set for Sunday night when the Arizona Coyotes (31 points) visit the Winnipeg Jets (57 points). Arizona is second from the bottom in the division and are firmly in the Connor Bedard sweepstakes. Winnipeg sits at the top of the Central but are in a battle with the Dallas Stars. Below is my NHL best bet for Coyotes vs…

If you saw this stretch of excellence coming from the Philadelphia Flyers, raise your hand. Didn't think so. The Flyers, who all season have been without their top-line center (Sean Couturier), their MVP from last year (Cam Atkinson), and their best all-around defenseman (Ryan Ellis), are the NHL's hottest team. They have won seven of their last…

DETROIT - It was only one game, but those hoping the Blue Jackets finish with the best odds to win the "Connor Bedard Sweepstakes" in the 2023 NHL draft lottery might've felt a chill go through their spine Saturday night. It wasn't the Blue Jackets' nail-biting 4-3 victory over the Detroit Red Wings at Little Caesar's Arena that did it as much as…

SAN JOSE - Sharks general manager Mike Grier attended the recent IIHF World Junior Championships in Canada and just like everyone else, was blown away by the unbelievable performance of Connor Bedard. "It's a 19-year-old tournament," Grier said Friday. "For a kid to go in there and do what he did as a 17-year-old. After one game I said, 'I don't…

Although there are still 41 games left to sort it out, at the midpoint a 19-19-3 record has to register as a disappointment, after so much hype over off-season signings and improvements. As the buzzer sounded on Game 41, a 5-3 win in Arizona, the Senators clocked back in as a.500 team at precisely the halfway point of the NHL regular season. Should…

The NHL Central Scouting Bureau released its mid-season rankings today, giving Montreal Canadiens fans a better idea of the type of player they're likely to welcome to the team this summer. It comes as no surprise that phenom Connor Bedard tops the North American skater list, powered by a fantastic showing at the 2023 World Junior Championship that…

The Chicago Blackhawks defeated the Colorado Avalanche on Thursday night. They skated with the defending Stanley Cup champions on home ice and pulled out a victory which is not an easy thing to do. Of course, the Avalanche are not the team they were last year right now. There is a clear Stanley Cup hangover that has been helped by injuries and…

Rebuilds in the NHL are different. There can be tanking for long periods of time, or really short rebuilds where teams rebound quickly and become contenders. One thing that helps a short rebuild is lottery luck. Teams like New Jersey and the New York Rangers have been able to flip around rebuilds quickly and construct contending teams by winning…

With 41 games played, the Columbus Blue Jackets are officially halfway through the season. Their record is 12-27-2, with 26 points being tied with Chicago for worst in the league. The Blackhawks have played one fewer game as of this writing, so by points percentage the Blue Jackets are dead last. Worst team in the league. Oof. There's not much hope…

The NHL just wrapped up the 2023 Winter Classic and is now looking ahead towards the 2023 NHL All-Star game in South Florida. That means we are officially in the second half of the season, and we are getting ever so close to the 2023 NHL Draft. The consensus number 1 overall pick to go in this year's draft is Connor Bedard and he has already made…

They say sports are unpredictable. Unfortunately for Canucks fans, there tend to be a lot more surprises that make you say "YOU HAVE TO BE KIDDING ME" as opposed to "F***ING RIGHTS, YES!" At this point, watching this team flounder isn't a huge surprise...until you remember that there were realistic playoff odds entering the season. Most outlets had…

Colorado heads to the Windy City of Chicago to face off against the NHL's worst team, the Chicago Blackhawks. The last time these two played this season, a banner was being raised to the rafters at Ball Arena. Boy, feels like forever ago. In said matchup on October 12 on Opening Night, the Avs wound up on top 5-2 to start the season off as most…

The Montreal Canadiens have hit the halfway point of the 2022-23 season and while their overall record is better than last year at this time, it's clear the team is still suffering through rebuilding pains and the roster remains a work in progress with significant holes to fill. The arrival of 2023 means that the fun is about to begin for the front…

It's no surprise that after an abysmal first half, the Chicago Blackhawks are in the running for the highest odds to land the number 1 overall pick in the 2023 NHL Entry Draft. What if they actually land it? If the Blackhawks land the top pick in the draft, the list of'What ifs' and'Who to draft?' is longer than a hot summer day in the sweltering…

We're at the halfway point of the 2022-23 Philadelphia Flyers season. Is everyone doing OK? Everyone hanging in there? It's been rough. But through 40 games, following a 6-2 loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs on Sunday, the Flyers were pretty much where everyone expected them to be: Out of playoff contention, but not bad enough to be one of the bottom…

As the World Juniors tournament came to a close and Canada took the gold medal in a thrilling overtime win, the chatter around top prospect Connor Bedard did not quiet down. He scored a thrilling goal to send Canada to the medal game, and was named the MVP for the entire tournament. The buzz around Bedard, who is expected to go first overall in the…

Welcome to Blackburn's Big Board, a weekly check-in on the hockey things that I currently care about. It'll go a variety of ways, including teams that are earning my attention, players of note, storylines generating buzz and any other hockey topics that my weird brain finds compelling. The 2023 World Junior Championship concluded last week after an…

There is no rest for the San Jose Sharks as they visit the Los Angeles Kings just a day after playing the Arizona Coyotes. The Sharks are thus underdogs on the NHL betting lines as the Kings look to make it four straight wins against them. However, San Jose could hold value, as this team has had success playing in L.A. in recent years. Let's check…

Now that the calendar has flipped to 2023 and the holidays have come to an end, the 2022-23 NHL season has hit its midway point. And surprisingly, we've yet to see a head coach fired by the halfway juncture. Given how high the turnover often is in the NHL at the head coaching position, it's rare to last this long into a season without seeing one…

A Pacific division battle is set for Wednesday night when the San Jose Sharks (34 points) visit the Los Angeles Kings (54 points). San Jose is second from the bottom in the division and are one of the main contenders for Connor Bedard. Los Angeles is second in the Pacific and trail Vegas by just two points. Below is my NHL betting prediction for…

Move over, Connor McDavid. There is a newer, younger and hotter Connor on everyone's radar: Connor Bedard. The consensus first-overall pick in the 2023 NHL Entry Draft just increased the hype with a record-setting performance at the World Juniors. And he has not slowed down. Thus, a handful of NHL teams are shamelessly tanking in hopes of winning…

There were moments during this year's World Juniors where Team Canada, the prohibitive favourites, were pushed to the brink. The continued development of international players over the past few decades has laid the foundation for parity in men's international hockey we historically aren't accustomed to, and it can lead to stretches (or full games)…

The 2023 NHL Draft is scheduled to take place on June 28 and 29 in Nashville, Tennessee. While we still have a few months before the event, teams are starting to think about their future with the NHL Draft Lottery taking place at the end of the season. The NHL Draft Lottery is held at the end of the regular season with the 16 teams that did not…

The Toronto Maple Leafs and 30 other NHL teams just watched an amazing performance at the World Junior Tournament. Normally when there aren't any Toronto Maple Leafs on Team Canada, we lost a bit of interest in the tournament, but not this year. Connor Bedard scored nine times in seven games and added 14 assists and basically made an entire country…

It will be East vs West Monday night when the Nashville Predators (42 points) visit the Ottawa Senators (39 points). Nashville is fifth in the Central division and are five points out of the third place and the automatic playoff spots. Ottawa is second from the bottom in the Atlantic and are firmly in the Connor Bedard sweepstakes. Below is my NHL…

The Toronto Maple Leafs actually did something to perfection. Seriously. Because of this, smart teams and their fans need to follow their lead. It seems strange, doesn't it? The Toronto Maple Leafs and perfection shouldn't be used in the same sentence. A team who has lost six consecutive opening-round series shouldn't be given this kind of credit…

This Sunday has an exciting slate of games, including a couple of teams playing well recently. We also have a matchup with some struggling teams that would love to come away with two points. And check out our other best bets for Sunday: (All odds courtesy of FanDuel Sportsbook) The Panthers' offense has continued to carry them throughout this…

Watching the World Juniors led every person who follows hockey to the same conclusion: Drafting Connor Bedard will be franchise-altering. With the season nearly half over, teams far outside the playoff picture may start experimenting with their lineups in ways that might make them less competitive in the near term. Give young players an outsized…

San Jose heads down to the Honda Center to face the Anaheim Ducks later tonight. For two "tanking" teams, both the Sharks and Ducks are hovering right around.500 in their last ten games. Meanwhile, while the rain comes pouring down outside, quietly the Ducks and Sharks are showing flashes of offense which could make this an entertaining tilt. Let's…

Welcome to the first 2023 edition of Screen Shots, a THN.com regular feature in which we tackle a few hockey topics and analyze them in a few paragraphs. You know how this works by now, right? Onward we go: The NHL revealed most of the rosters for the league's upcoming All-Star Game in South Florida. The best news is the league has decided to give…

A new name makes it into the Who's Hot list as winger Travis Konecny leads the way for the suddenly resurgent Philadelphia Flyers. Familiar faces Alexander Ovechkin and Erik Gustafsson of the Washington Capitals and Linus Ullmark of the Boston Bruins join him. Ullmark continues his pursuit for the goaltending triple crown as the Bruins remain the…

In the grand scheme of things, the Philadelphia Flyers' current four-game winning streak is a blip on the radar screen of the 2022-23 season. This season, the Flyers have become a hard-working and more resilient club than they were in the recent past. Over the last month or so, they've started to have more of the 25-and-younger contingent take a…

By Chris Johnston NorthStar Bets Fri., Jan. 6, 20234 min. read No one is explicitly using the'T' word. You know, the one that rhymes with "sank." But it may not be a complete coincidence that three teams at the bottom of the NHL standings are currently pacing towards some of the lowest point totals we've seen recorded in the last two decades. Not…

The Toronto Maple Leafs will be buyers before the March 3 trade deadline, meanwhile the San Jose Sharks are at the other end of the spectrum, as general manager (GM) Mike Grier will look to sell off some of the team's assets. This is likely going to include star forward Timo Meier and if this is indeed the case, Leafs GM Kyle Dubas needs to be…

It was about this time, seven years ago, that the hockey world was agog about a Canadian teenager named Connor. That one, surname McDavid, had arrived at the World Junior Hockey Championship as the almost-certain first overall pick in the upcoming NHL Draft, off a stellar junior career with gaudy point totals and a string of ridiculous…

With the new year upon us, one can expect a bold year from Montreal Canadiens General Manager Kent Hughes, so here are some hot-take predictions that could be on the way in 2023. The Montreal Canadiens currently have some of the best odds to win the 2023 NHL Draft Lottery as we speak, and it might even get better as they continue into the dog days…

It's a busy night across the NHL with 10 games on Thursday's betting menu. And with the halfway point of the regular season approaching, we're starting to get a stronger idea of who's for real. Let's jump right in with my favorite plays for today's slate: Arizona Coyotes ( +130) at Philadelphia Flyers ( -150), Total: 6 Puck drop: 7 p.m. ET Who's…

Coming off a pair of dramatic wins in the semifinals, Canada and Czechia will meet in the IIHF U20 gold medal game tonight in Halifax as the heavily favored Canadians (-420) will look to avenge their only loss of the tournament back in the Boxing Day opener. With Czechia possibly emptying the tank yesterday vs. the Swedes and the Canucks getting…

Czechia humbled Canada in the WJC opener, but the host nation and pre-tournament favorites have dominated since, and will look to exact revenge in Thursday's final. See why our WJC picks are all over the faves. Coming off a pair of dramatic wins in the semifinals, Canada and Czechia will meet in the IIHF U20 gold medal game tonight in Halifax as…

Hello, Canadian and American hockey fans! It's that time! The IIHF World Junior Semifinal is tonight. The semifinal comes live to you from Scotiabank Centre in Halifax. Nova Scotia, Canada. Below is a table with some numbers from BetMGM and DraftKings. The round-robin stage showed us how vulnerable Canada and the USA were in this tournament. Again,…

Last time we looked, Mark Messier was approaching his 62nd birthday later this month, he was ensconced as a hockey commentator on ESPN and, even though he still looks like he spends hours in the gym, he's well past his playing days. But the Edmonton Oilers could use some of Messier's old dressing room fire. He would be in somebody's face or giving…

Connor Bedard was a highly touted prospect before the IIHF World Junior Championships got underway. However, playing in Canada and putting on one of the most impressive showings in recent memory has only increased his profile. The next step is to lead Canada to the gold medal. First, comes a semifinal showdown on Wednesday night against the U.S.…

Unlike the NFL, the NHL doesn't simply reward the worst team in the league with the first overall pick at the entry draft. The NHL has taken steps to prevent teams from tanking by establishing a lottery system for the first overall pick. I disagree wildly with those steps - tanking is going to happen whether the league tries to discourage it or not…

Canada and Team USA meet at the 2023 World Juniors on Wednesday, January 4. Faceoff is set for just after 6:30 PM ET at Scotiabank Centre (Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada), and the game will be live on NHL Network and TSN. Now, both teams are trying to get to the Final on Thursday. The Americans are currently a one-goal betting underdog and the total…

It was about this time, seven years ago, that the hockey world was agog about a Canadian teenager named Connor. That one, surname McDavid, had arrived at the World Junior Hockey Championship as the almost-certain first overall pick in the upcoming NHL Draft, off a stellar junior career with gaudy point totals and a string of ridiculous…

Frank Seravalli: San Jose Sharks defenseman Ryan Merkley has requested a trade according to sources and the Sharks are trying to work out a deal. The 22-year-old was a 2018 first-round pick. He's still waiver-eligible. He's played in 39 NHL games. TSN: Pierre LeBrun notes that if teams at that the bottom of the standings plan on moving some rentals…

The Toronto Maple Leafs begin their new year at home against the St. Louis Blues. The pregame narrative: When these teams last met a week ago, fans were treated to a 5-4 barnburner that titled in Toronto's favour. We expect much of the same in tonight's matchup and are looking for the Leafs to carry the scoring burden. Odds as of 8:57 a.m. on…

The bad news with the New Jersey Devils as we start 2023 is that they went 4-7-2 in December, eliminating much of the cushion and goodwill they built up in November when they peaked during a 13-game winning streak where everything that could go right did. The good news with the Devils? Everything is still right there in front of them this…