SpaceMountain16
Disgruntled
Sharks got Heatley! This could be their most exciting first round playoff loss yet!
Official 2009-2010 NHL Thread
- Thread starter TheJetsBlow
- Start date
mrfluffy02
Practice Squad
^^^ Beautiful (!)
Pens 1st preseason game tonight vs. Columbus.
Does anyone else remember preseason starting this early? (3 days of camp, and a game?)
Does anyone else remember preseason starting this early? (3 days of camp, and a game?)
TheJetsBlow
Active Roster
Pens 1st preseason game tonight vs. Columbus.
Does anyone else remember preseason starting this early? (3 days of camp, and a game?)
Yeah, that's usually the way it is... the Islanders played thier first pre-season game last night, and the Devils first game is tomorrow night.
TheJetsBlow
Active Roster
Yep. They'll score plenty of goals, win plenty of meaningless regular season games, probably grab the #1 seed in the West again... and then lose to Edmonton or Anaheim or whoever has the 8th seed. I feel bad for Sharks fans.
Will the Sharks get to hoist another President's Cup banner up after yet another embarassing 1st round exit?
Definitely one of the biggest chokers in sports.
Definitely one of the biggest chokers in sports.
Finally, the season is starting. The start of the NHL and NFL seasons is definetly my favourite time of year as far as sports go.
So pumped about the season. I think Vancouver has a legit shot at making the conference finals this year. Gillis had a great offseason and Luongo signing long-term was the icing on the cake.
They were also talking today on the radio about Balsillie possibly going after the Panthers next if he doesn't get the Coyotes. They might have been basing it off a recent Steve Simmons piece. It sounded like pure speculation, but this is how the whole Phoenix saga started so you never know. Was wondering if someone around here knew anything? This whole Phoenix thing and that quote from Moyes is going to really amp up the southern market bashing in the media, but I'm sure you guys are used to it by now.
So pumped about the season. I think Vancouver has a legit shot at making the conference finals this year. Gillis had a great offseason and Luongo signing long-term was the icing on the cake.
They were also talking today on the radio about Balsillie possibly going after the Panthers next if he doesn't get the Coyotes. They might have been basing it off a recent Steve Simmons piece. It sounded like pure speculation, but this is how the whole Phoenix saga started so you never know. Was wondering if someone around here knew anything? This whole Phoenix thing and that quote from Moyes is going to really amp up the southern market bashing in the media, but I'm sure you guys are used to it by now.
SpaceMountain16
Disgruntled
They should move a team back to Winnipeg and a team back to Hartford.
Fleury scored the lone shootout goal in the Flames' win tonight:
http://sports.espn.go.com/nhl/recap?gameId=290917003
http://sports.espn.go.com/nhl/recap?gameId=290917003
mrfluffy02
Practice Squad
Phoenix should go back to Winnipeg. Hartford? Eh...yes and no. The problem with Hartford is it's proximity to NYC (3 teams) and Boston. The Yotes moving to Hamilton would have the same affect as something going to Hartford (with Buffalo and Toronto right next door). Balsille has the right idea as far as moving a team, but he's got this moronic hard on for Hamilton.
SpaceMountain16
Disgruntled
They say that but i just don't see it. Hamilton couldn't possibly cut into the revenues of Buffalo and Toronto that greatly. Buffalo for one is a very small and tight-knit community, it's not like the Sabres have this huge following across southern Canada that would be eliminated with a new team, and the Leafs are still Leafs i don't think loyal Leafs fans are going to give up on them for a new team. Hamilton is a hockey starved city that should have had a team years ago.
And no matter what you can't keep a team in Phoenix, they're just doing horrible there. You can say ideally that they never should have left Winnipeg or the Canes left Hartford but those cities were extremely small markets with decrepit arenas, i also think they might have neglected their teams a little (Hartford especially, even though they had a loyal fan base it wasn't like the arena was always packed). It's easy to see why Bettman wanted to expand Hockey into new areas with lots of people in big markets, but it clearly didn't work. Perhaps it's time to return to Hartford and Winnipeg, at least there you know you have a definite interest in the product and have created a thirst after a long break.
mrfluffy02
Practice Squad
You're right. Even Moyes (the current owner) says they can't stay...it just won't work. What you said about Hartford goes for Winnipeg. It wasn't that Winnipeg didn't sell out every night (they did), it was that Bettman had a wet dream to make hockey as popular as baseball and football in America, so any teams that made less than a certain amount were to be moved. Winnipeg and Hartford fought to keep their teams, but Bettman found ways to move 'em. Both arenas in those cities were somewhat small at around 15,000 seats, and both were fairly old.
Looks like Shirokov is gonna make the team over Hodgson. Hodgson is still clearly hurting from that offseason back injury. They might keep him up hoping he'll heal and turn it around, but I think they'll be smart enough not to rush him this year. If Shirokov keeps up his pre-season success I can see him taking a shot at the Calder. That throw in 5th round pick from the Luongo deal turned out pretty good after all.