Quest for the Cup 2008
Monday, August 20th, 2007 - 8:26am
NHL training camps open in a few weeks, and of course, my team, New Jersey, still is awaiting completion of the Prudential Arena in Newark- the safest city this side of Baghdad (oh, wait). I stumbled across this shot on Yahoo!Sports:
Nice line of sight!
Ed Belfour is headin' for Sweden, and for some reason, the NHL has a $500 million fee for expansion. Talk about starting the season bankrupt, the NHL has no clue.
MaxShrek .. looks like Jake.. drives like Elwood.
I've been in South America all month so I don't have much to add. I do find it interesting that so many teams are changing their colour schemes/logos.
McChuck wrote:
Not to mention the new tighter uniforms to prevent clutching and grabbing. But easier to fight in.
MaxShrek .. looks like Jake.. drives like Elwood.
I don't think they'll prevent clutching and grabbing at all. In fact this is the first time I've ever heard that. It's just a marketing thing anyway.
McChuck wrote:
A loud off-season in some places, a quiet one altogether, as always.
MaxShrek .. looks like Jake.. drives like Elwood.
I hope Vrbata does well in Phoenix ... and I hope I can figure out why we thought it was a good idea to deal our second leading scorer. I guess we'll see.
Elysium: The democratization of the web ... has installed an illusion of a digital first amendment that protects speech no matter how poorly spelled or stupid.
XBL: E Munnie
elementsofmeaning.blogspot.com
Any chance of Columbus being at .500 for the year?
He's inconsistent and if Pat Kane plays as well as everyone thinks (I personally think he'll be very average this year) Vrbata became expendable.
I'd say so. Hitchcock is a world class coach. Columbus has some very talented players (Nash, Zherdev, Fedorov, Vyborny, Klesla, and Modin) as well as some great prospects (Platt, Brule, Brassard, and Russell). Coaching has been their problem. Peca is a great addition. I see Peca and Hitchcock making sure this team competes every night and a .500 season is not out of the question.
McChuck wrote:
I would say they could be around .500 for the 2007 portion, then towards the All-Star break they will collapse.
MaxShrek .. looks like Jake.. drives like Elwood.
No. Zherdev is a bust, Federov is ancient, and Nash is inconsistent. They have no goaltending, and Foote is a shadow of his former self.
Sorry Columbus. Hopefully the new GM will bring some change.
It's basically the equivalent of saying "we don't want expansion right now". Nor should they.
Frankly, the NHL was a LOT more clueless when they blackballed Balsillies offer to buy the Preds because he wanted to move them to Hamilton. The NHL just has to clue in that there is a TON of unexploited market in Ontario (Toronto alone could support 3 NHL teams) and do as much as possible to get more teams there asap.
Thank god the Habs are sticking to their old-school guns. Virtually zero design change. Love it.
Morrolan wrote:
XBLA / Steam: Dysplastic
I don't know if Toronto could support 3 teams. People in Toronto don't like hockey they like the leafs. The Marlies their AHL? team sells poorly which is pretty inexcusable for such a large city especially compared to how well the 67's sell in Ottawa. Teams in and around Toronto where people don't consider themselves part of that city besides work (Hamilton the no brainer) would work.
The dream NHL moves in my book would be re-locating 3 teams to Hamilton Winnipeg and Las Vegas. Vegas is the such an obvious pick for the first league that sucks it up and gets in. The casinos alone will comp sellout the entire building... if the people actually go is another question but financially it would be bullet proof.
I think Toronto could support another NHL as long as the tickets are cheaper than the Leafs.
I honestly think Columbus could stay around .500 all year. Hitchcock is a difference maker and Peca is a real leader. Calling Zherdev a bust is really premature, especially since he's already had 2 extremely promising seasons and one disappointing year. This year will be the determining factor with his time in Columbus.
My fantasy expansion teams Seattle/Portland, Winnipeg, and Halifax. As crazy as a Halifax team sounds if good roads were built you could create a Maritimes team.
McChuck wrote:
Funny, the AHL team in Chicago seems to sell a lot better than the 'Hawks...
I won't bother saying why. There are too many reasons.
I haven't been to Hamilton on a few years, but I agree that they'd probably be an alright place for a new team if the league is so certain it needs one (I say we've already got about 10 teams too many -- maybe 24
).
Elysium: The democratization of the web ... has installed an illusion of a digital first amendment that protects speech no matter how poorly spelled or stupid.
XBL: E Munnie
elementsofmeaning.blogspot.com
Wasn't the Wolves slogan "We're Just Like the 'Hawks, Only We Win" a few years back?
McChuck wrote:
Yeah, that's been their general riff for a few years now. It's one of those "laugh to keep from crying" jokes.
Elysium: The democratization of the web ... has installed an illusion of a digital first amendment that protects speech no matter how poorly spelled or stupid.
XBL: E Munnie
elementsofmeaning.blogspot.com
As a Canucks fan you have my sympathy. At least Chicago has had some success. The most we have to celebrate is making it to the SCF 13 years ago.
McChuck wrote:
Yeah, I guess it's only been 6 years since we've seen a playoff game.
Elysium: The democratization of the web ... has installed an illusion of a digital first amendment that protects speech no matter how poorly spelled or stupid.
XBL: E Munnie
elementsofmeaning.blogspot.com
McChuck wrote:
I'm sure the league could use a Bruins-Blackhawks Stanley Cup Final.
MaxShrek .. looks like Jake.. drives like Elwood.
I'd be happy to beat Detroit, but I think you're very right about that. It's really sad that one of the biggest markets in the game could be so badly under served.
Then again, $8 tickets at game time is still a pretty sweet deal.
Elysium: The democratization of the web ... has installed an illusion of a digital first amendment that protects speech no matter how poorly spelled or stupid.
XBL: E Munnie
elementsofmeaning.blogspot.com
The cheapest tickets in GM Place are $50.
McChuck wrote:
Yeah, that's more Bears and Cubs territory around here. Just silly if it's not a special occasion, if you ask me. Do you have any idea how many beers you can get at the bar down the street for that much money?
A: Enough to make you lose count!
Elysium: The democratization of the web ... has installed an illusion of a digital first amendment that protects speech no matter how poorly spelled or stupid.
XBL: E Munnie
elementsofmeaning.blogspot.com
Try Toronto tickets for 100.00 up. I don't know about 3 team in T.O. but I'd be content with one more. I'd drop the leafs mega corporation in a heartbeat if there was another local option in southern Ontario.
Oh for those of you who are hockey fans if you want in on my yahoo league send me a PM.
I've done one for the last few years. I think we had coldforge/certis and swampyankee in it last year.
The voices say hello.
I played with you guys two years ago but found that I had a hard time caring about stats. If this is anyway your thing I HIGHLY endorse it.
McChuck wrote:
Thanks for the props Vector.
Yeah it's stat heavy if you don't follow every team daily (and unfortunately/fortunately I do). Still we enjoy our little obsession.
The voices say hello.
Anson Carter is in training camp with the Oilers now...which could be interesting. I think he could find a spot in that depleted lineup.
Morrolan wrote:
XBLA / Steam: Dysplastic
Saw my first game of the season. Watching rookies make mistakes and the vets desperately cover for them is a lot of fun. Very fun game and good exhibition for myself and the players.
McChuck wrote:
Bill Wirtz is dead. Chicago hockey fans can rejoice. I don't like to dump on someone who just died but this is amazing news for Blackhawks fans. Cheers Wordsmythe, maybe you can watch some home games on TV now.
McChuck wrote:
I started a sep. thread about it. I'm not really sure which feelings to allow right now.
Elysium: The democratization of the web ... has installed an illusion of a digital first amendment that protects speech no matter how poorly spelled or stupid.
XBL: E Munnie
elementsofmeaning.blogspot.com
http://youtube.com/watch?v=322zqTkL0-c First horrible hit of the season and hopefully there will be nothing worst. Pretty inexcusable, they should just toss him out for the entire season as an example and set the bar.