I didn’t see a thread on the subject, and I know there are some NHL fans out there among the Forumosans that post from time to time, so we’ll see if this flies or not.
It’s mid-season, we’ve got a pretty good idea of some of the trends this year, who started hot, has stayed hot, the large middle of the pack, and the teams that basically suck this year. With the exception of a couple of teams at the very top and bottom, there is parity overall this year in the NHL.
I’ve really enjoyed the NHL season this year thus far, but it’s been an up and down affair for me and my New York Islanders, as usual. But all is not lost on Long Island. They have a solid defense corp and are getting great goaltending from DiPietro. If they start scoring a wee bit more, it’s looking good. I see the Isles making the playoffs this year. Ted Nolan is doing good work in NY. Good to see him back coaching in NHL as well. The Isles recent 6 game losing streak was tough to stomach, but all it took was a trip to Madison Square Gardens and a victory over the hated Rangers to put an end to that. Nice.
Did anyone honestly expect Philly to suck as much as they do?
Did anyone honesty expect Anaheim to be as good as they are?
Ottawa finally got it’s act together, but for a while I wondered if they were going to be sitting out the post-season this year.
What are they putting in the water in Montreal? Bob Gainey and Guy Charboneau have them playing great hockey. Too bad for me, I hate the Habs.
What have you got to say? What are ya thinking?
Let’s talk hockey! (where’s the ‘he shoots, he scores!’ emoticon when you need it…)
I’m A Toronto fan, however I would be happy to see the the hardware come home to any one of the 6 teams. The last 2 cups were heartbreakers in that we lost(Canadian teams) but very entertaining. In fact the best finals I’ve ever seen was the 2003-04 final, I took some comfort in the fact that many of their(TBay) big dogs were Canadians. If I were a coach, my all star strating line up would be:
That aside, I haven’t been into watching hockey for a while. When I was back home, I’d watch the playoffs, but became quite disinterested in catching regular season games.
Going to live games? That’s another story. TV broadcasts just don’t do it for me anymore. I’m more into the NFL the last few years.
Sports were more fun for me from my late elementary-school age to my late teens/early twenties. Back when they had some sort of meaning.
As a Manitoban, and thus, a Winnipeg Jets fan, you’ll understand that I will never, ever, ever, cheer for the Flames or Oilers, especially the Oilers.
I don’t mind Vancouver though, like 'em quite a bit actually. Couldn’t stand the Habs growing up. Never been a Leafs fan. Ottawa can’t seem to win in the playoffs, and disappoint yearly, but I like them. There you go.
Since losing the Jets, I’ve not had much nationalistic instinct to cheer for a team from Canada so much. I was an Islanders fan before the Jets were ever in the League.
I was very happy to see both Calgary and Edmonton lose the past two years in a row. Too close for comfort though. Those were entertaining Cup series.
I am indeed a Sens fan, and therefor not a Leafs fan at all.
We generally pound the crap out of them when it doesn’t matter, then choke when it does.
They’ve had a rough start this year, but they should get back on track when Spezza returns.
They’re definitely missing Chara this year, and they should have held on to Hasek too.
He can get it done in the playoffs, and I’m not so sure about Emery.
He’s doing alright so far though.
Gerber’s been the biggest disappointment of my year so far.
I remember the oilers were close to packing in it, as far I know that isn’t an issue anymore. I think the new structure of this league is a blessing for the Canadian teams and the smaller markets alike. Maybe the Jets will fly again one day!
Gerber has been a total bust. And it’s valuable salary cap space too, I think he’s getting $2 mil plus per year. They are stuck with him for now.
The Sens have gotten their shit together though in the last month or so, after a brutal start. They should make the post-season dance.
Seriously man, the Flyers are hard to figure out this year. Nobody picked them to be dead last in the League halfway thru. On paper, this team should be pretty good, except for their goaltending. They are troubled there, and were last year too. Forsberg also is as good as gone.
Which is too bad, because I’ve got him in a few of my pools.
I wasted some high picks on him, for some reason I thought he could have a comeback year.[/quote]
He could retire, or go back to Europe and play for his dad, but before that, this season the Flyers will trade him for draft picks and/or prospects to a team making a playoff run. If he can stay healthy…
The trade deadline has been bumped up too (since the lockout), meaning late Feb and not March, so things could heat up soon as the playoff spot jostling begins.
As a Manitoban, and thus, a Winnipeg Jets fan, you’ll understand that I will never, ever, ever, cheer for the Flames or Oilers, especially the Oilers.
I don’t mind Vancouver though, like 'em quite a bit actually. Couldn’t stand the Habs growing up. Never been a Leafs fan. Ottawa can’t seem to win in the playoffs, and disappoint yearly, but I like them. There you go.
Since losing the Jets, I’ve not had much nationalistic instinct to cheer for a team from Canada so much. I was an Islanders fan before the Jets were ever in the League.
I was very happy to see both Calgary and Edmonton lose the past two years in a row. Too close for comfort though. Those were entertaining Cup series.[/quote]
I worked for CCM in Quebec and they had annual employee sales. My co-worker/friend bought a Winnipeg Jets authentic pro jersey for two dollars.
[quote=“Mer”][quote=“j99l88e77”]
I’m a Flyers fan. (shhh)
[/quote]
Seriously man, the Flyers are hard to figure out this year. Nobody picked them to be dead last in the League halfway thru. On paper, this team should be pretty good, except for their goaltending. They are troubled there, and were last year too. Forsberg also is as good as gone.[/quote]
I heard that they’re too slow. The fans must be pretty brutal on them right now.
It was a magical time when they were making runs for the Cup during the Oilers era. Really exciting. Pelle Lindberg, Ron Hextall, Rick Tocchet. I’ve never seen the likes of Tocchet and the Flyers’ forchecking ability. They had an amazing defensive corps at one time, too.
[quote=“j99l88e77”][quote=“Mer”][quote=“j99l88e77”]
I’m a Flyers fan. (shhh)
[/quote]
Seriously man, the Flyers are hard to figure out this year. Nobody picked them to be dead last in the League halfway thru. On paper, this team should be pretty good, except for their goaltending. They are troubled there, and were last year too. Forsberg also is as good as gone.[/quote]
I heard that they’re too slow. The fans must be pretty brutal on them right now.[/quote]
Ya, I would imagine the Flyers faithful are pretty rowdy at home games. It’s not been pretty.
They took a hit at the start of the season with Keith Primeau having to retire. Eric Desjardins called it quits in the off-season too. You don’t just replace a defenseman like him overnight. Besides that, yes, they are too slow. Buffalo exposed that weakness in the playoffs last year skating circles around the Flyers’ hulking d-men. They didn’t correct that problem heading into this season.
PHI will likely have a bit of a fire sale come trade deadline, Forsberg, Hatcher, Knuble, Sanderson, but they do have some good young talent like Richards, Carter, and of course Gagne, that they should hold on to. Re-jig for next year.
Don’t get me wrong though…it’s been a bonus this year to see Philly struggle so mightily.
I didn’t buy anything. I actually somehow happened to have that jersey in my bag on a trip to Riviere de Loup and sold it to some guy for 15 bucks because I was strapped. Didn’t matter though because a customer in Toronto sent me an authentic Flyers visitor jersey with Lindros’s name and numbers and I gave that to him. Funny thing is that it was a Bauer.
Los Angeles Kings goalie Yutaka Fukufuji (fans are going to razz him with that last name…) became the first Japanese-born player in the NHL when he started the third period against the St. Louis Blues on Saturday. He’s a backup and with the team only because they have starting goalie injuries, but hopefully he’ll stick around.
And, on Jan 6th, Frans Nielsen of the New York Islanders got called up from their AHL farm team in Bridgeport Sound to become the first Danish-born player to ever appear in an NHL game.
Thank God Alfie has finally decided to start putting some points on the board for the Sens…Was beginning to regret him as a first round pick in the pool…
Ya, Alfie and the Sens are starting to score, but can Emery shoulder the load in net for the remainder of the season, and do the Sens want to go into the playoffs with him and bust-free-agent-of-the-year Gerber? That’s if they make the playoffs. It’s looking more stable now than a month or so ago.
Me thinks someone notable is going to go in a trade for another goaltender, and maybe OTT will do a kind of duo in net type thing like the Sharks and Habs and Ducks (were doing before Giguere got hurt). But what do you do with Gerber and his $2 mil plus salary? No one wants him at this point.
Gerber’s won his last few games and has played much better than the beginning of the season.
I think they will try playing him a bit more and give him another chance to steal back the #1 position.
It’ll be hard to do though, as Emery’s looking pretty good.