Ahhh, the best time of the year is here - the start of a new NHL season. Lets hear some predictions for the season. Who is coming out of the west? And who will represent the east?
Are you as sick of the media polishing the knobs of the Red Wings and Rangers as I am? John Buccigross has actually picked the Rangers to finish first in the east. Granted adding Holik and Kasper the unfriendly defenceman will help, the Rangers (unless they discovered the fountain of youth for Messier) will still be a bad team. Face it, Lindros went to Sather and said that the Rangers should not hire Ken Hitchcock as their coach. Any player who doesn’t want the best coach possible for his team is doomed to a career of mediocrity (that does sound like Lindros doesn’t it?).
Coming out of the east will be either Philly (depends if JR buys into Hitch’s system), Ottawa (if they develop the grit that they have been missing in the last few years) or Toronto (if Eddie still has anything left).
In the west, the media is saying that this is the Sharks year (for about the 4th straight year). While you can never count out the Avs, I think that Roy has lost his aura of being a money goalie and it will be interesting to see if the loss of Drury affects them at all (it might if they have injury problems). Is CuJo a suitable replacement for Dom? (CuJo is currently the most overrated goalie in the game). Will the Stars offseason moves work out better than last years? (They can’t be any worse).
Coming out of the west it will be one of those 4 teams. Sharks have never done anything in the playoffs so they are the longest shot. The Wings are a big question mark, is CuJo the guy and will Yzerman even play again at all? The Avs need to stay healthy, something they have trouble with. The Stars need the defence to rebound from a poor year last year, and Turco to show he is a true no. 1 goalie.
My ideal Stanley Cup match up has Dallas beating the Avs in the Campbell final and playing the winner of a Leafs - Flyers series in the east. Dallas should skate with the Cup this year.
The top contenders in the West are Detroit, San Jose, Dallas, and Colorado. Detroit’s my pick to advance.
It’s wide open in the Eastern Conference. Every team, with the exception of Florida and Tampa, has a shot. I’m picking Philadelphia to go to the finals, but it’s equally as likely they won’t even make the playoffs.
I’m surprised you said you were sick of hearing about the media and it’s love affair with Detroit. Almost every hockey analyst I’ve heard or read is picking the Avalanche.
OK, I know they playoffs are out of reach unless Curt Fraser makes a pact with Satan, but they should be pretty improved and at least be strongly competitive with a wider swath of the NHL.
Down in the states, yeah, but up here in the Great White North, we have to endure the media darling Maple Laffs.
From TSN (which stands for “Toronto Sports Network”) to Hockey Night in Canada showcasing the Leafs every Saturday in the east, the Leafs are always picked to be the team with the best chance of the 6 Canadian teams to do us proud. Christ, you’d think they had won a Stanley Cup in the last 35 years!
Screw’em all: Oilers vs Habs final…you read it here first!
Satan has somehow managed to convince his runt-minion, Gary Bettman, to install fucking netting above the glass.
I’ve been salivating like the pathetic dog that I am, in anticipation of the Leafs season opener against the Penguins (sorry sköt) and, instead of savouring Toronto’s strong 1st period play, I’ve been completely distracted by bullshit, migraine-inducing, moiré patterns from Hell. Well, maybe not that bad, but they really are irritating.
I haven’t seen a game yet this season so I am curious to see how the net affects things. Stars home opener is tonight so I’ll find out. And remember, the net is in place to protect the people who couldn’t watch a game on TV unless there was a blue dot on the puck.
