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PHT Morning Skate: On Blake Wheeler being an underrated superstar

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DEREK LEUNG

Welcome to the PHT Morning Skate, a collection of links from around the hockey world. Have a link you want to submit? Email us at phtblog@nbcsports.com.

--Former NHL defenseman Dennis Wideman has been named an assistant coach with the OHL’s Kitchener Rangers. (KitchenerRangers.com)

--Nazem Kadri apologized for hitting a penalty box official in the face with a stick. He said he apologized to the official a lot. (TSN.ca)

--Blackhawks forward John Hayden was fined for high-sticking J.T. Brown during Wednesday night’s game against the Lightning. (NHL.com)

--The Columbus Blue Jackets have put together a decent amount of wins, but scoring goals hasn’t been easy for them. (Columbus Dispatch)

--Houston has been rumored to be in the mix for an NHL team lately. That talk has opened up discussions about the Calgary Flames and the city’s lack of desire to build a new arena for the team. Could they be on the move? (Flamesnation.ca)

--Slapperandstats.com explains how compliance buyouts and escrow came back to bite the players over the last couple of years. (Slapperandstats.com)

--Blake Wheeler is one of the more underrated stars in the NHL. Since 2015-16, only Patrick Kane, Sidney Crosby, Nikita Kucherov and Jamie Benn have put up more points than the Jets forward. (Fanragsports.com)

--With Daniel Sedin quickly approaching his 1000th point, Vancourier.com looks at which games would be perfect for him to reach the milestone in and why. (Vancourier.com)

--Red Wings forward Gustav Nyquist has created plenty of scoring chances this season, but he’s capable of finding the back of the net with a little more regularity. His coach is pleased with his effort, now he just needs to translate that into success. (Detroit News)

--Earlier this week, the Morning Skate looked at the Top 5 moments from Auston Matthews’ first 100 NHL games. Now, The Hockey News looks at some of the incredible numbers he’s put up during that span. (The Hockey News)

--The NWHL and CWHL have no issue admitted that they are open to including everyone. “I think that we’re our own — I don’t want to say circle or bubble — but at (CWHL) events it’s 100 percent inclusive,” Boston Blades goaltender Lauren Dahm said. “It’s OK to be who you are. Hearing stories about other leagues or just in society in general where that’s not the case is eye opening.” (Sporting News)

Joey Alfieri is a writer for Pro Hockey Talk on NBC Sports. Drop him a line at phtblog@nbcsports.com or follow him on Twitter @joeyalfieri.