NHL 2013-2014: Islanders sold, Wang stops losing money, on to the next save-all

Pages

[youtube]The newly horrifically renamed division, the Metropolitan Division (I mean, naming a division after the Mets?), cuts a swath through the Atlantic and Central divisions, and the Pacific Division remains unscathed. But all there is to ask right now is: What will happen this year?

Eastern Conference

Atlantic Division:

Boston Bruins
Buffalo Sabres
Detroit Red Wings
Florida Panthers
Montreal Canadiens
Ottawa Senators
Tampa Bay Lightning
Toronto Maple Leafs

Metropolitan Division:

Carolina Hurricanes
Columbus Blue Jackets
New Jersey Devils
New York Islanders
New York Rangers
Philadelphia Flyers
Pittsburgh Penguins
Washington Capitals

Western Conference

Central Division:

Chicago Blackhawks
Colorado Avalanche
Dallas Stars
Minnesota Wild
Nashville Predators
St. Louis Blues
Winnipeg Jets

Pacific Division:

Anaheim Ducks
Calgary Flames
Edmonton Oilers
Los Angeles Kings
Phoenix Coyotes
San Jose Sharks
Vancouver Canucks

- Can the Islanders bolt their crap lease early for Brooklyn? (repeat question from last season) and why mess around with the horrible Nassau Coliseum?
- First major star to go down in 2013 with an injury? (repeat question from last season)
- Does Seattle really need an expansion team? Does the NHL really need an expansion team?
- What's up with Quebec City?
- Henrik Lundqvist's last season as a Ranger, or the Ranger's last season with salary cap space before signing him?
- Probably Martin Brodeur's last season, what will he accomplish?
- Any more Russian league defections?
- Can Winnipeg make the playoffs and bring back the true "white-out"?

That new division format is just...ugh. I understand it's intended purpose is to reduce travel time and inflame rivalries but it's new so it's weird.

MaxShrek wrote:

- First major star to go down in 2013 with an injury? (repeat question from last season)

Gotta go with Crosby.

MaxShrek wrote:

- Does Seattle really need an expansion team? Does the NHL really need an expansion team?

I'm all for more hockey. I'd also think a Seattle/Vancouver rival would be inevitable.

MaxShrek wrote:

- Henrik Lundqvist's last season as a Ranger, or the Ranger's last season with salary cap space before signing him?

Rangers last season with cap space. Rangers will resign Lundqvist for 5-8 years @ around $7.5mil per.

MaxShrek wrote:

- Probably Martin Brodeur's last season, what will he accomplish?

Few more wins. With the loss of Parise, Kovalchuk, and Clarkson, I don't see the Devils making the playoffs this year. Brodeur will go out as the greatest goalie ever.

MaxShrek wrote:

- Any more Russian league defections?

I don't see it happening but who knows. Russians hockey players are extremely unpredictable on and off the ice.

So this is fun: http://www.sbnation.com/nhl/2013/8/2...

A bunch of hockey people I follow on Twitter who've mentioned the story in the past also received phishing messages, either through DM on Twitter or e-mail, today.

Canes take The Cup! I feel it! Or end up in the cellar, one or the other.

I am curious how Danniel Alfredsson will play out on the wings, hopefully much better then Modano did =/

Here's an interesting solution to no longer being allowed to take your helmet off to fight.

This helmet rule is a steaming pile of bull. Unless they ban it altogether the players who want to fight are going to fight and are deliberately making a mockery of it the rule preseason in order to prove its inefficacy.

In other news the Bruins and Wings in the East both look terrifyingly excellent.

the strict enforcement of jersey tucked in rule is gonna be a pain too...

The NHL is kind of a joke. I love the sport but the last few seasons, it's seemed like the NHL has actively tried to hamper enjoyment.

Vector wrote:

The NHL is kind of a joke. I love the sport but the last few seasons, it's seemed like the NHL has actively tried to hamper enjoyment.

I think that's what NHL 14 is for now.

Hey Coldforged and Ranger Rick, thanks for Dalpe!

PS: We still, inexplicably, have Alberts. He just won't go away.

Really looking forward to the NHL this season. Lots of interesting teams and storylines. Nice to see my Maple Leafs finally looking like a semi-contender again.

The NHL cannot afford to expand right now, but I think teams would be quite successful in both Seattle and Quebec City. It'll come down to teams needing to move. Phoenix looked like a no-brainer, guess the Panthers are next in line.

Going to throw some predictions out there for ridicule at the end of the season since I did it in the soccer thread before the season. Despite plans to watch fewer games than last season (so less than a dozen) I still end up reading a fair bit of statistical analysis stuff because that still interests me, which is probably a bit weird. Anyway, point and laugh:

FlorthEast
1) Detroit (P)
2) Boston (P)
3) Ottawa (P)
4) Montreal (P)
5) Florida
6) Tampa Bay
7) Toronto
8) Buffalo

Metropolit:
1)Pittsburgh (P)
2) New York Rangers (P)
3) New Jersey (P)
4) Washington (P)
5) New York Islanders
6) Philadelphia
7) Carolina
8) Columbus

Central
1) Chicago (P)
2) St. Louis (P)
3) Minnesota (P)
4) Winnipeg
5) Dallas
6) Nashville
7) Colorado

Pacific:
1) San Jose (P)
2) Los Angeles (P)
3) Vancouver (P)
4) Phoenix (P)
5) Anaheim
6) Edmonton
7) Calgary

San Jose wins the Cup, Calgary finishes 30th, Nonis fired by the draft.

random elusive wrote:

Phoenix looked like a no-brainer, guess the Panthers are next in line.

Coyotes just got new ownership and the NHL has been reluctant to move a team unless ownership specifically bought a team to move them. Wish they'd move but they seemed to have dodged a bullet.

I remember reading that the Panther's ownership group own the rink and the surrounding area. If the team were removed it would destroy the area.

For the moment, it looks like all teams are safe. That could change very quickly.

The Coyotes are a mess, but Bettman is committed to sticking with the people who built an arena for him. Even if it's half-empty and in the middle of nowhere. The Islanders are also a mess, but Brooklyn seems likely there. A few other teams with issues, but I am not convinced the NHL will succeed longterm in Miami, so that seems to be the most likely scenario in the long run. Short term though, nobody's moving.

Another Leafs fan! It's nice to see.

Florida has terrible attendance, but they have an excellent deal in place with the local government for a long time. I think financially the team is pretty secure even if you get some embarrassing pictures like this one from a preseason game:
IMAGE(http://media.zenfs.com/en/blogs/sptusnhlexperts/BUTganBIUAMB2AL.jpg_large.jpg)

I think the Coyotes deal says that they have to stay in Phoenix for at least 5 years. Apparently the new owners were open to that being longer but their creditors were not.

About the Leafs: I'm pretty nervous about how this year will go. I'm looking through the forwards and they're definitely weaker than last year - guys like Orr and McClaren look like they'll get actual ice time this year which will not end well. Our D looks better this year but I've been surprised on that front before (see: Komisarek). I'm hopeful about the Reimer Bernier combination in net though - it looks like that competition will be really good for us.

Panthers fans are often outnumbered by fans of whatever team they are playing as well. Turns out a lot of Northeasterners and Canadians vacation in Florida. Who knew?

Season tickets are still 7 bucks a game, which is less than half the price for the cheap seats of my local AHL team. I find that mind boggling.

yeah thats crazy cheap, I don't buy season tickets but sometimes they run promotions for 2 tickets 2 drinks 2 hot dogs for 55 bucks for upper bowl seats at the Joe.

Vector wrote:

Hey Coldforged and Ranger Rick, thanks for Dalpe!

PS: We still, inexplicably, have Alberts. He just won't go away.

Very weird deal but almost certainly a contract dump on our part. We do the weirdest deals with you peoples.

imbiginjapan wrote:

Panthers fans are often outnumbered by fans of whatever team they are playing as well. Turns out a lot of Northeasterners and Canadians vacation in Florida. Who knew?

Season tickets are still 7 bucks a game, which is less than half the price for the cheap seats of my local AHL team. I find that mind boggling.

Yeah, the snowbirds are why the two Florida teams being with the northeast division kind of makes sense. Travel for those two teams is going to suck, but they'll be able to boost attendance a bit by playing Toronto and Montreal more often.

ColdForged wrote:
Vector wrote:

Hey Coldforged and Ranger Rick, thanks for Dalpe!

PS: We still, inexplicably, have Alberts. He just won't go away.

Very weird deal but almost certainly a contract dump on our part. We do the weirdest deals with you peoples.

Once traded Jan Hlavac & Harold Druken for Marek Malik & Darren Langden. Only time in NHL History ad Czech and a Newf had been traded for a Czech and a Newf.

Sens are first in the league by xmas.. and then collapse under bankruptcy by the olympic break.

Vector wrote:

Marek Malik

SUMMONS!

two periods into the season.. and hot damn it feels great to have real hockey again!

also, I'm now utterly charmed by the new helmet fighting rule... these are the most hilarious fights ever

two gentlemen, jauntily tipping their hats to each other

boss

Well, after 3 games the goals per game average is 8.7, versus 5.3 for last year as a whole. Looks like the league's efforts to increase scoring are working.

Quick breakdown of rules changes:

Hybrid Icing
Purpose - To reduce the risk of bad collisions on the end boards. Example 1 Example 2
Function - The hybrid system allows a linesman to blow his whistle and stop play, calling automatic icing, if he thinks the puck will cross the goal line and the defending player is not behind in the race to the end zone faceoff dots. Here's a good example of the linesman calling icing before anyone gets to the puck because the defending player was much closer to it. This also might have prevented a bad injury as the defending player lost and edge and under the old system might have been run into the boards by the opposing player in the race to the puck. If the opposing player is ahead in the race, the linesman should let play continue.
Enactment - Judgement call

No more Attainable Pass rule
With the new hybrid icing system, the attainable pass rule has been eliminated. This rule required linesmen to wave off icing if they determined that a pass could have been touched. This rule was largely eliminated due to the opposition from managers who felt the game was getting sloppy and wanted a non-judgement call rule in black and white.

Jersey Tuck rule and other uniform changes
Purpose - Officials want a level of professionalism from the NHL. They recognize that it is the premiere level of hockey in the world and want it to appear as such. Uniforms should be "uniform" in that they are all the same. Individual expression via the alteration of a uniform is seen as a detractor from the team concept.
-Any player whose jersey is tucked in will receive a verbal warning to untuck their jersey. If the player does not comply they will receive a 2-minute delay of game penalty.
-Players with less than 25 games of NHL experience are required to wear visors. This will effectively result in all players wearing visors in a few years. Also, the unsportsmanlike conduct penalty for instigating a fight while wearing a visor has been eliminated.
-Uniforms cannot be altered. Sleeves must extend to the gloves, pants cannot be ripped, cut or torn, and no equipment can be exposed.

Helmets
-Players will receive a 2-minute unsportsmanlike conduct penalty if they remove their helmets prior to fighting. The rule was made to prevent injury should a player fall and hit his head on the ice.
-As GrandmaFunk mentioned, players have already circumvented this rule by taking each others' helmets off prior to a fight as can be seen here. Colin Campbell (Senior VP of Hockey Operations) has gone on record as saying a rule against that loophole was proposed but was rejected.

Rule 48
-Rule now reads: "A hit resulting in contact with an opponent's head where the head was the main point of contact and such contact to the head was avoidable is not permitted."
-Prior to the change, the rule included the words "targeted" and "principal point of contact".
Function - Will require greater control on the part of players to be aware of where they are going to hit another player.

Goalie changes
-Smaller nets. The goals are now 4-inches smaller on each side (8 inches smaller total).
Possible outcomes - While it may seem that making a goal smaller will result in less goals, it creates much more space behind the net to make wrap-around goals much more feasible as well as making behind the net passes much easier. There is also the possibility that players will cut closer to the net and increase the chances of collisions with the net, goalie, or goalies' stick. Goalies will have to determine if they are extending too far out and refs will have to determine the same before calling a goalie interference penalty.
-Goalie pads have been reduced in size. Their pads cannot go higher on their leg than 45% of the distance between the center of his knee and pelvis. They can go no higher than 9-inches above the knee for goalies with an upper-leg measurement of 20-inches (the average number for NHL goalies).
-The previous rule was 55% (to the new 45%) and 11-inches (to the new 9-inches).

Well watched my first game yesterday, I don't mind the hybrid icing so far was not that noticible during game which is good.

I intend to watch a ton of hockey this year as literally nothing else on TV interests me at the moment, and I paid good money for that Gamecenter subscription, dammit.

Hybrid icing doesn't seem too awful. I was concerned about judgement calls getting messy but I haven't seen anything particularly controversial yet. I'm not really convinced it really reduces injury risk much, as the close races where the danger is highest can still easily occur. It just makes icing even more confusing to explain to my less avid friends.

I'm actually optimistic that the goal and net changes are going to have a positive impact on scoring. I got awfully tired of watching 3-2 games the past couple years. Goalies can't block the entire bottom of the net anymore.

The tuck and uniforms rules are plain dumb. NFL has done a bunch of stuff like that and it just makes zero difference to the fan or the culture on the field/ice.

I'm on board for the visor rule and hitting changes. I'm all for clearer and more concise safety rules and reasonable precautions. I really really wish they'd find softer, smaller shoulder pads as I think guys armored like tanks make those head hits all the more dangerous. Plus if I guy isn't so heavily armored he might reconsider taking a chance on that missable bone-crushing hit. And, dear hockey arenas: I would appreciate the addition of some 1920's silent film music on top of the fights to complement the guys comedically dancing around offering to doff their cap.

FSeven wrote:

Quick breakdown of rules changes:
-Smaller nets. The goals are now 4-inches smaller on each side (8 inches smaller total).
Possible outcomes - While it may seem that making a goal smaller will result in less goals, it creates much more space behind the net to make wrap-around goals much more feasible as well as making behind the net passes much easier. There is also the possibility that players will cut closer to the net and increase the chances of collisions with the net, goalie, or goalies' stick. Goalies will have to determine if they are extending too far out and refs will have to determine the same before calling a goalie interference penalty.

A small correction: the opening of the goalmouth is not any smaller this year. Shooters have the same space to hit as before. What has been changed is the back of the net, which is now shallower, which creates more space behind the net to skate and maneuver. Wraparounds are slightly more effective because players don't have to go as far to pull that off, and there is more space to handle the puck behind the net.

In the games I've seen so far, it does appear to speed up play behind the net a bit, though I haven't seen anyone score on a wraparound yet. The shallower back does make the puck pop out of the net faster than before, but that's what video review is for.

IMAGE(http://i.imgur.com/Jxaweog.gif)

Roy is going to work out well. He's this pissed off when up 6 to 1, imagine his destructive power when he's actually down.

I would appreciate the addition of some 1920's silent film music on top of the fights to complement the guys comedically dancing around offering to doff their cap.

For some reason I can see that happening at the Joe.

Angry birds music after other goal scored on himself....

http://youtu.be/qaLrX0i9Hyk?t=43s

Pages