Hockey

[Siriuscat]

It'll be an interesting season I think,

East - I think we'll be looking at the best to come from Pensylvania, Philly vs Pens final, Sid will bounce back and with a healthy Geno Pens will be awesome. Caps will flatter to decieve once again. Boston will be good again but I don't think they'll be strong enough.

West - the usual suspects Red Wings, Chicago and Vancouver. Loungo will stink from game one of the regular season. Keen to see how the Jets get on.

......and finally my beloved Leafs - I think they have improved over the summer and that this is our best chance of reaching the play offs in the last 5 years.

 

[palmerq]

what is wrong with crosby, still the same thing at the end of last season ?? he was on great form before he was injured, amazing he has been out for so long..

I'm going to predict the carolina whalers are going to have a good season..

 

[pedaling squares]

Crosby is still suffering from the concussions he suffered in January. His team and medical staff are handling this one properly, they're not going to put him in the lineup until he is symptom-free after practicing in contact drills. He's finally able to participate in non-contact drills at 100% effort and remain symptom-free, which is a great sign. The way he played last year - just amazing, what a shame it would be not to have him in the game.

My predictions, with a word of warning: the surest way to lose your money and reputation is to follow my predictions. History has been unkind to me.

Capitals will still not learn what it takes to win, ie more than talent alone. Last year I said they would learn. They did not, so I flip positions this year, which of course means they will win the cup. The east is anyone's to lose, so I'll shoot from the hip and say the Penguins.

The west is tough, tough, tough. I say Canucks but by the skin of their teeth and due to a power play and goaltending (!) that carries them through the playoffs.

palmerq: sorry I missed the fantasy draft. Of course I just would have had my face rubbed in it all season. We should do a CN hockey fan playoff pool.

 

[pedaling squares]

So what do you guys think of Shanny's tough stance on head shots? I'm all for it but I think it's going to cost a marginal player or two his career. So be it.

 

[palmerq]

Crosby is still suffering from the concussions he suffered in January. His team and medical staff are handling this one properly, they're not going to put him in the lineup until he is symptom-free after practicing in contact drills. He's finally able to participate in non-contact drills at 100% effort and remain symptom-free, which is a great sign. The way he played last year - just amazing, what a shame it would be not to have him in the game.

My predictions, with a word of warning: the surest way to lose your money and reputation is to follow my predictions. History has been unkind to me.

Capitals will still not learn what it takes to win, ie more than talent alone. Last year I said they would learn. They did not, so I flip positions this year, which of course means they will win the cup. The east is anyone's to lose, so I'll shoot from the hip and say the Penguins.

The west is tough, tough, tough. I say Canucks but by the skin of their teeth and due to a power play and goaltending (!) that carries them through the playoffs.

palmerq: sorry I missed the fantasy draft. Of course I just would have had my face rubbed in it all season. We should do a CN hockey fan playoff pool.

I actually had to change the draft if you want it is in 30 minutes :S

 

[pedaling squares]

I actually had to change the draft if you want it is in 30 minutes :S

Oh crap I missed it. What a bad time to play lite brite with the kids!

 

[palmerq]

Oh crap I missed it. What a bad time to play lite brite with the kids!

bad luck, I changed it from sunday because some people were complaining about not being able to make it so I moved it to monday at a time to suit the north americans so I was up till 1 am here.... I got a good team I think took iginla in the first round, I was last in a 10 team league so the very best were gone already and I think jarome is good for 80 or maybe even 90 points and some penalty minutes :S

I took crosby aswell but in the 6th round or something stupid no one else was touching him but I think at that stage he is well worth the risk even if he misses half the season come on sid the kid get well soon, even though I don't like the penguins

 

[pedaling squares]

bad luck, I changed it from sunday because some people were complaining about not being able to make it so I moved it to monday at a time to suit the north americans so I was up till 1 am here.... I got a good team I think took iginla in the first round, I was last in a 10 team league so the very best were gone already and I think jarome is good for 80 or maybe even 90 points and some penalty minutes :S

I took crosby aswell but in the 6th round or something stupid no one else was touching him but I think at that stage he is well worth the risk even if he misses half the season come on sid the kid get well soon, even though I don't like the penguins

Sid in the 6th might be the steal of the draft. Well worth the risk.

 

[TRDean]

what is wrong with crosby, still the same thing at the end of last season ?? he was on great form before he was injured, amazing he has been out for so long..

I'm going to predict the carolina whalers are going to have a good season..

I hope so...Skinner/Stall need to keep it at a high level..and Ward solid in net!

 

[palmerq]

Cam ward is really good, I look at a lot of the stats due to the fantasy hockey and he had a lot of wins last year and in preseason this year he's been good again.. Carolina dont have good back up for him though, hopefully he doesnt get overworked.. I think halak couldnt handle as many games as he played last year and ended the season quite poorly.

 

[VeloCity]

"Simulation sees Pittsburgh winning the Stanley Cup"

4-2 over Chicago in the finals.

http://tsn.ca/nhl/story/?id=377442

Yes, it's just a simulation based on the EA Sports NHL 12 video game, but keep in mind that the same simulation predicted Vancouver winning in 7 over Boston last year, which was pretty damn close

 

[VeloCity]

So what do you guys think of Shanny's tough stance on head shots? I'm all for it but I think it's going to cost a marginal player or two his career. So be it.

They had to do something about headshots, and it's a shame that it only came about after what happened to top players like Savard and Crosby. And I couldn't care less if it costs someone like Matt "the Elbow" Cooke his career, he should've been kicked out of the league a long, long time ago.

Hopefully they'll also end fighting - come on, it's the main thing that keeps the NHL a joke among North American pro sports leagues - and the touch-up icing rule, which just cost an Oiler player (Fedun I think?) his season and possibly his career.

 

[fatandfast]

not sure why the Rangers are just not passing on Avery. with all the talk of new attention to head shots and overly rough play he would appear to be a liability. He spends lots of time in the penalty box, while he is on the ice he is a good player for the most part

 

[Alpe d'Huez]

Nice to see this thread come back. I think this is going to be the best hockey season in decades. I really do. First, the NHL is in a better position, and with better rules, than it's had in years. It's also in good financial shape, and the CBA they signed that a lot thought would hurt the players and maybe the owners, has worked out quite well. They are also managing the league well, like some of the games outside, and the retro stuff.

But also because of the NBA is going to cancel games for certain, and maybe, just maybe, the entire season, the sport and league that benefits the most is the NHL.

One other thing. With the advent of HD television, plus that all TVs are now widescreen, the sport that has benefited the most is hockey. The rink is shaped that way, and with better resolution it's easier to see the puck on TV.

 

[ramjambunath]

Lokomotiv Yaroslavl will play their first game since the crash that killed their whole squad on December 12th against Neftyanik Almetyevsk. They will play in the VHL not the KHL.

 

[VeloCity]

Nice to see this thread come back. I think this is going to be the best hockey season in decades. I really do.

I agree - there's almost 10 teams by my count that have a legitimate shot at winning the Cup, and there seems to be far more parity in the NHL than in other leagues. I watched the Pens-Canucks game last night and it was a thriller from beginning to end despite it being the very first game of the season for both clubs.

Off the ice, I think the NHL still has some problems to deal with, mainly what to do with teams like Phoenix, Florida, Dallas, maybe even the Islanders. I still believe that the NHL tried to expand too far, too fast, without building fan bases in some of the southern cities and they're paying for it now (Thrashers relocating to Winnipeg the main eg). Is contraction or further relocation the answer? Dunno. But I think Bettman has to swallow his pride and accept that the southern experiment didn't quite work out as well as they'd hoped. I'd love to see a team back in Quebec and another in Seattle.

 

[Siriuscat]

Forced to listen to opening night on the TSN radio because the NHL and their inherant greed have bu&&ered about with rights to screen games so much there's nothing in northern Europe because ESPN America have lost out. They in turn haven't bothered the ar$es to tell subscribers about this.... I was gutted last night!!

if Bettman wants to bleat on about expanding the NHL and it's viewing he needs to pull his finger out!

 

[Alpe d'Huez]

IOff the ice, I think the NHL still has some problems to deal with, mainly what to do with teams like Phoenix, Florida, Dallas, maybe even the Islanders.

Portland could easily absorb one of these teams, if an owner stepped up (new one in) and a deal could be struck with the Rose Garden (where the Trailblazers play), it could be very successful, and has been talked about for years. Jr. Hockey already plays many games there, the team (Winterhawks) have good fans, and Oregon in winter is cool, dark and wet, perfect for indoor sports. Plus, with the parity in the league you mention, there's a chance whatever team moves here would have a chance to be decent, helping fill seats.

With hockey doing so well (otherwise) now would definitely be the time for it to happen.

MLB and NFL I'm not quite so sure about in Portland, simply because of things like new stadium, more hotels, and quite frankly there isn't the big money here there is in other cities.

 

[palmerq]

errr maybe i spoke too soon about the hurricanes... hopefully I can see some of the midnight games here( I have to go away for a while soon so I will miss the euro games ) and not fall asleep, I want to watch the devils v flyers I've got a few of the big players for my fantasy team there....

what do you guys think about milan michalek? I thought he looked pretty good sometimes but ottawa have been so bad recently...


and from the look of the news on yahoo crosby might be back soon great news!(for my team :S)

 

[pedaling squares]

Lokomotiv Yaroslavl will play their first game since the crash that killed their whole squad on December 12th against Neftyanik Almetyevsk. They will play in the VHL not the KHL.

Good for them. Can't imagine how tough that was logistically and emotionally.

I'd love to see a team back in Quebec and another in Seattle.

Quebec is a small but rabid market and would probably due far better now that there is a salary cap and we're no longer giving up 30 cents on the dollar. Seattle has been talked about a lot lately. Would be a great natural rivalry with Vancouver and I'd love to drive down for a couple of games a year (hard to get tickets in Van!). Both cities need new arenas though, and it's always a battle to get the funding for those buildings. I'm with you though, would love to see it (via moving an existing franchise, not expansion).

 

[ramjambunath]

The sole survivor of the Lokomotiv plane crash, airplane mechanic Alexander Sizov, said in his first public interview on Thursday that passengers knew something was wrong before the Yak-42 took off.

http://www.themoscowtimes.com/news/article/lokomotiv-survivor-we-knew-we-would-crash/445468.html

 

[on3m@n@rmy]

Anyone have any thoughts or predictions on who the contenders for the Stanley Cup this year are? Last year's finalists are off to kind of a slooooow start. The Flyers looked descent beating the Sabres tonight. The Penguins, Caps, Blackhawks and couple of other teams are off to a good start.

I agree the NHL would benefit from a shortened or cancelled NBA season. It would be nice to see the NHL get a boost as a result.

 

[pedaling squares]

The Flyers aren't going anywhere until their goaltender gains some confidence. And if Pronger is out for the year, they might be done. The Caps might have learned a thing or two about teamwork this year, which is about the only thing that's kept them from making the finals. Maybe this is their year. I like the Penguins though, what they've done without Crosby and for the most part without Malkin is really impressive. They could be really tough when they add those pieces to the lineup. The west is a crapshoot, I figure the Canucks will get back on track soon.

 

[VeloCity]

I think the Leafs are for real this year. I may be biased.

Edmonton is a big surprise so far - only 2 losses in 11 games. Some talented kids up there, but who'd have thought Khabibulin would be goalie of the month? Overall, still think the Caps are going to be the team to beat, even if Ovechkin still can't get it going. Also depends on how Vokoun plays. Might be time to start considering trading Semin - all he can do is score and he's not doing that.

Also still think Vancouver will be the team to beat in the west, but they have to make a decision about Luongo soon - I think they've lost all confidence in him and anyway he might be better off getting a fresh start elsewhere, maybe in a market where there's less pressure. But moving that contract is going to be a problem.

Biggest surprise to me though is how many good teams are off to mediocre-to-bad starts - Boston, Montreal, Nashville, Detroit, Vancouver, San Jose.

 

[palmerq]

Bryzaglov is very strange, he started off really well then fell apart and after the winnepeg loss he sounded suicidal, now the 2 games he has played since then he is back on good form :S... some of the strangest comments I have ever heard from a sports man after the winnepeg game though, maybe his head is still not right.