Athlétique.Canadien Posted October 10, 2008 Share Posted October 10, 2008 Thought I'd start o thread about the season and the 30 teams in general. After all, it's better than having 30 threads for each team. I wouldn't want to be the Flames today. Drills, drills and more drills. By noon the players legs will be wobbly no doubt. Keenen and Co. looked totally lost. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
markierung Posted October 10, 2008 Share Posted October 10, 2008 Thought I'd start o thread about the season and the 30 teams in general. After all, it's better than having 30 threads for each team. I wouldn't want to be the Flames today. Drills, drills and more drills. By noon the players legs will be wobbly no doubt. Keenen and Co. looked totally lost. i think this thread is a bad idea. I doubt you have to worry about ppl starting threads about the thrashers. Besides, that's what the NHL section is made for. Merging all NHL discussion into one thread is just going to mix everything up and ensure that people don't read through pages of this to respond to a single topic. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jetsniper Posted October 10, 2008 Share Posted October 10, 2008 Thought I'd start o thread about the season and the 30 teams in general. After all, it's better than having 30 threads for each team. I wouldn't want to be the Flames today. Drills, drills and more drills. By noon the players legs will be wobbly no doubt. Keenen and Co. looked totally lost. No kidding. I felt bad about losing 5-4 to the B's last night then I wake up this morning and see 6-0. It made me feel better, no one can say anything at Thanksgiving. Bwahahaha. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jean Posted October 11, 2008 Share Posted October 11, 2008 Alfredsson is injured for at least 2 weeks. Expect the Sens to suck very bad until he returns. Last year they had 2 wins in the 11 games he didnt played... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jetsniper Posted October 11, 2008 Share Posted October 11, 2008 Alfredsson is injured for at least 2 weeks. Expect the Sens to suck very bad until he returns. Last year they had 2 wins in the 11 games he didnt played... I'm not expecting much out of the Sens this year even when he does play. Of course this is also the year I finally decide to see them play a live game. :puke: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fanpuck33 Posted October 11, 2008 Share Posted October 11, 2008 I was quite impressed with the new NHL Gamecenter Live. Best live stream I've ever watched. It even looks like they're working on being able to sync radio broadcasts with the video. It was good enough that I'm considering throwing down for the whole season and giving up on all hope of buying a 360. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MAK Posted October 11, 2008 Share Posted October 11, 2008 I'm not expecting much out of the Sens this year even when he does play. Of course this is also the year I finally decide to see them play a live game. :puke: I think it's worse having to see the FLames regularly Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lazy26 Posted October 11, 2008 Share Posted October 11, 2008 Alfredsson is injured for at least 2 weeks. Expect the Sens to suck very bad until he returns. Last year they had 2 wins in the 11 games he didnt played... The latest I heard was that it might be 3-4 weeks. Heater will apparently wear the C in his absence... and he'll have to carry that team. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fanpuck33 Posted October 11, 2008 Share Posted October 11, 2008 I was quite impressed with the new NHL Gamecenter Live. Best live stream I've ever watched. It even looks like they're working on being able to sync radio broadcasts with the video. It was good enough that I'm considering throwing down for the whole season and giving up on all hope of buying a 360. I take back my previous endorsement. Even though almost nobody gets NHL Network, it can cause games to be blacked out. 15 Habs games are on NHL Network, so there's 15 games right away I wouldn't be able to watch. Not worth it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jetsniper Posted October 12, 2008 Share Posted October 12, 2008 I think it's worse having to see the FLames regularly Yeah, they suck. I'll be surprised if they make the playoffs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BTH Posted October 12, 2008 Share Posted October 12, 2008 Yeah, they suck. I'll be surprised if they make the playoffs. I picked them to lose to the Habs in the Cup Finals. I needed to find someone I could see the Habs beating and someone that I could also see upsetting Detroit. Calgary it is. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MAK Posted October 12, 2008 Share Posted October 12, 2008 I picked them to lose to the Habs in the Cup Finals. I needed to find someone I could see the Habs beating and someone that I could also see upsetting Detroit. Calgary it is. Calgary would be my favourite team to beat in the Final !! I still Remember 89 !! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMMR Posted October 13, 2008 Share Posted October 13, 2008 Calgary would be my favourite team to beat in the Final !! I still Remember 89 !! But do you remember 86? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jean Posted October 13, 2008 Share Posted October 13, 2008 Yeah, they suck. I'll be surprised if they make the playoffs. Who will make it in the NW, in your opinion? For me that's by far the most intriguing division as they're is no team that truly stands out, either in a good or a bad way. Every other div have a clear bottom feeder for instance NE - Leafs Atlantic - Islanders SE - Trashers Central - Columbus / St Louis Pacific - LA But the NW? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MAK Posted October 13, 2008 Share Posted October 13, 2008 Who will make it in the NW, in your opinion? For me that's by far the most intriguing division as they're is no team that truly stands out, either in a good or a bad way. Every other div have a clear bottom feeder for instance NE - Leafs Atlantic - Islanders SE - Trashers Central - Columbus / St Louis Pacific - LA But the NW? Colorado Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bombTHEice Posted October 13, 2008 Share Posted October 13, 2008 Colorado If they only could get a real Nr. 1 goalie ... Budaj might not be bad but he isn't a a strong Nr. 1. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MMPL Posted October 13, 2008 Share Posted October 13, 2008 Hollweg up to no good again. 5 and a game for boarding vs blues. That guy should just get 25 games. He doesn't play hockey at all, he's just out there to hurt people. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lazy26 Posted October 13, 2008 Share Posted October 13, 2008 Hollweg up to no good again. 5 and a game for boarding vs blues. That guy should just get 25 games. He doesn't play hockey at all, he's just out there to hurt people. That and take 2-handers to the face... The guy's an idiot. That was his first game back from suspension. I doubt he'll see more than 5 games though, unless there's dire consequences. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jetsniper Posted October 15, 2008 Share Posted October 15, 2008 (edited) Who will make it in the NW, in your opinion? For me that's by far the most intriguing division as they're is no team that truly stands out, either in a good or a bad way. Every other div have a clear bottom feeder for instance NE - Leafs Atlantic - Islanders SE - Trashers Central - Columbus / St Louis Pacific - LA But the NW? No, you're right, the NW is a big wild card. You can say every team has a shot at the playoffs while in the same breath saying 4 of them can miss. Edmonton, IMO, has the best chances of everyone. Great mix of youth and veterans in their forwards and a good mix of offense and grit on the backend with guys like Souray, Staios and Visnovsky. Garon is heavily underrated around the league and I think is good enough to get them the division. Minnesota lost a lot of scoring in Rolston and Demitra and didn't replace them with anyone. Calgary is banking on some big wild cards in Bertuzzi and Cammalleri but probably have the worst overall back 6 in the division. Phanuef and Regehr are both great but theres a significant drop-off after that. Sarich? Vandermeer? Aucoin? These guys aren't going to get a team a Cup. Kipper has been struggling heavily as well and I'm wondering if this is the year he never gets out of it. Vancouver has their very well publicized scoring problems but are probably the best defensive team in the division so who knows how much of a detriment thats going to be to them. Looking at Colorado behind my rose-colored glasses, I would say they have the best group of forwards in the division and their defense is arguably as good as Vancouver's. As everyone is so quick to point out though, goaltending is a question mark. Worst team in the division though? It's a toss-up between Calgary and Minnesota IMO. Oh wait, I never actually answered the question. Edmonton, Colorado and Vancouver will all make it IMO. Edited October 15, 2008 by jetsniper Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BTH Posted October 15, 2008 Share Posted October 15, 2008 I think Colorado and Vancouver (and Calgary) have better teams than Edmonton. Unless Sam Gagner breaks out, they're a leaderless bunch of pretty good players. Cole, Penner, Gagner, Cogliano, Brule, Souray, Visnovsky, ... some good players but since when has that ever made a playoff team? They have neither the scoring depth of Colorado, the great defence of Vancouver, nor the great goaltending of Calgary and Vancouver. They aren't especially good at anything, they have no identity at all. They'll have to rely on a lot of shootouts and powerplays. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jetsniper Posted October 15, 2008 Share Posted October 15, 2008 Cole, Penner, Gagner, Cogliano, Brule, Souray, Visnovsky, Brule didn't make the team and you forgot their best two players in Horcoff and Hemsky. If anyone has the scoring depth in the division to match the Avs, it's these guys. They're the only other team who play a similar high octane style based around their speed. You're right that nothing stands out but thats because they're the most balanced team in the division. Vancouver and Minnesota, how are they going to score? Colorado, can we depend on consistent goaltending or are the last three games a sign of things to come? Calgary, where has 2006 Kipprusoff gone and can their group of 4th d-men make up for it? Also who is going to score outside of Iginla's line? Edmonton doesn't have any huge question marks that the other teams do. Garon was incredible down the stretch last season and was helped out by everyone coming back from injury. Edmonton was 5th in the league last year in man games lost to injury and still only missed the playoffs by 3 points. A healthier squad last season figures they would've been right in the division race as well. Edmonton was the only team in the NW who improved themselves over the off-season as well. Everyone else either got worse or stayed the same. That figures to work in their advantage as well. And the last thing they have over everyone else is the upside of most of their players. A lot of last seasons team was young, most rookies. Gagner, Cogliano, Gilbert, Nilsson, Grebeshkov, Brodziak and Stortini were all productive for them last season and are all being given a chance to improve this season. They're expecting a bounce back year out of Smid as well. I wouldn't call them leaderless either, Ethan Moreau has fantastic leadership skills and is a hero in Oil Country. They don't have one single gamebreaker but are going to do a lot of scoring by committee. nor the great goaltending of Calgary I want to expand here too because theres some weird misconception Kipper is still an elite goalie. He hasn't been elite for about a year and a half now. Last season was his worst season ever (and thats coming off his other worst season ever). His numbers have progressively gotten worse each year and he consistently gets off to just horrendous starts every season, he's doing it again this year. There is a growing number of Kipper dissenters in Calgary (I haven't talked to someone with something positive to say about him since the Detroit series in 07 when he was the only one who showed up) and it looks to skyrocket should the trend of his poor play continue based on the contract that kicked in this season. If he wants to turn it back up a notch then thats up to him but lately it hasn't looked good. If you compare his numbers last season to the other 4 starters (Backstrom, Garon, Luongo and Theodore) then Kipper was the worst goalie in the division. His numbers are fairly similar to Garon's but if you want to be technical, his numbers are still worse then Garons (a 2.66 GAA compared to a 2.69 GAA plus a .913 save % compared to a .906) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoeLassister Posted October 15, 2008 Share Posted October 15, 2008 NYR are freaking on fire. So are the Sharks... and the Habs. Every year, it's the same thing about the Sharks : will they go as far as they seem to be able to on paper ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lazy26 Posted October 16, 2008 Share Posted October 16, 2008 Question: what has happened to Anaheim's offense? Getzlaf, Perry, Morrison and Kunitz have yet to score. ROB Neidermeyer leads the team with 2. Of course, I have most of these guys in my fantasy pools. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bombTHEice Posted October 16, 2008 Share Posted October 16, 2008 NYR are freaking on fire. So are the Sharks... and the Habs. Every year, it's the same thing about the Sharks : will they go as far as they seem to be able to on paper ? Vanek is on fire, good to see the Rags being stopped by him! Sharks ... hmm, I think they really got much better on D with Blake and Boyle - I'd like to see a HABS - Sharks final this season ... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BTH Posted October 16, 2008 Share Posted October 16, 2008 He's still no worse than Garon. I watched the Colorado-Calgary game the other night and he was mediocre but he hasn't collapsed the way Theodore did, he's still a capable #1 with the upside to become a Vezina winner. Brule didn't make the team and you forgot their best two players in Horcoff and Hemsky. If anyone has the scoring depth in the division to match the Avs, it's these guys. They're the only other team who play a similar high octane style based around their speed. You're right that nothing stands out but thats because they're the most balanced team in the division. Vancouver and Minnesota, how are they going to score? Colorado, can we depend on consistent goaltending or are the last three games a sign of things to come? Calgary, where has 2006 Kipprusoff gone and can their group of 4th d-men make up for it? Also who is going to score outside of Iginla's line? Edmonton doesn't have any huge question marks that the other teams do. Garon was incredible down the stretch last season and was helped out by everyone coming back from injury. Edmonton was 5th in the league last year in man games lost to injury and still only missed the playoffs by 3 points. A healthier squad last season figures they would've been right in the division race as well. Edmonton was the only team in the NW who improved themselves over the off-season as well. Everyone else either got worse or stayed the same. That figures to work in their advantage as well. And the last thing they have over everyone else is the upside of most of their players. A lot of last seasons team was young, most rookies. Gagner, Cogliano, Gilbert, Nilsson, Grebeshkov, Brodziak and Stortini were all productive for them last season and are all being given a chance to improve this season. They're expecting a bounce back year out of Smid as well. I wouldn't call them leaderless either, Ethan Moreau has fantastic leadership skills and is a hero in Oil Country. They don't have one single gamebreaker but are going to do a lot of scoring by committee. They're pretty much a big group of second line talents. They're probably a good team to be a fan of right now because they're fast and have some young players and are soon going to be a good team... but they're still a player or two away. They need a guy who they can all depend on. They're in a pretty similar spot to what the Habs were in a year or two ago: a whole bunch of talented guys but no direction and nobody knowing who was leading who. Since this team lost Ryan Smyth, they've been a band of lost players. When they're down by a goal and it's the final minute, who are they going to be counting on for a goal? Right now, I see Sheldon Souray is the most likely possibility and though he is a clutch player and an awesome guy to have in that situation, they need one guy who stands above the rest, the way Kovalev did for the Habs and that was the change we needed to go from 10th seed to 1st in the East. Brad Richards would have been the perfect player for these guys, I think. I'd love to see him on a line with Hemsky. And since it hasn't been mentioned in this thread yet: Fabian Brunnstrom with the hat trick in his NHL debut. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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