The Daily: Oilers Fire Ex-Red Wings Scouting Head; Talbot Right for LA?

The Edmonton Oilers didn’t explain why they dismissed their director of amateur scouting director Tyler Wright and replaced him with Rick Pracey.

This is probably an Occam’s Razor situation: the simplest theory is probably the correct answer. The Oilers haven’t drafted well since Wright took over. They were one of the teams that didn’t have a single player listed on the NHL Network’s Top 50 prospects.

Red Wings fans can relate to that kind of result. Wright held the same position with the Red Wings in Ken Holland’s final seasons. Detroit fans weren’t pleased with his drafts, which included Dennis Cholowski, Filip Zadina, etc.

Pracey is coming from the Philadelphia Flyers, a team that has drafted well of late. But he was previously director of scouting for the Colorado Avalanche when they drafted Nathan MacKinnon, Gabriel Landeskog and Matt Duchene.

Red Wings Offseason

The Detroit Red Wings announced Tuesday  that the start time for their Saturday, Feb. 24 game at LCA has been moved from 7 p.m. to noon, ET.

Red Wings In Case You Missed It

• The Red Wings re-signed Joe Veleno for one season at $825,000. The message is clear: he needs to step it up to get a better deal.
•  Albert Johansson is more NHL ready than other Red Wings’ prospects.
• Petr Klima’s twin sons have fond memories of their father’s parenting style.
• Alex Chiasson has accepted a PTO with the Boston Bruins.

Hockey Now Network

Chicago: Is the Blackhawks’ roster brutal beyond Connor Bedard, as some are commenting? Nate Brown has a dissenting opinion. Chicago Blackhawks.

Florida: Colby Guy writes that Carter Verhaeghe’s stature has grown exponentially in South Florida. Florida Panthers. 

Los Angeles: Is Cam Talbot the answer in the net for the Kings? Austin Stanovich has three Kings’ concerns for the 2023-24 season.

Philadelphia: Chuck Bausman discusses what it means that not a single Flyers player was listed on the NHL Network’s lists of top players at each position. Philadelphia Flyers. 

San Jose:  Sheng Peng explores what kind of players have first-round pick “trade value” at the deadline. The Sharks will likely be looking to move players at the deadline next season?