NHL Thread

[WMR]

Are the Blackhawks really going to be any good this year? Early signs have been positive... everyone always said the only way they'd get Wirt$ out of there was in a coffin...

To those who follow the sport: What is your favorite team and who do you think will win the Stanley Cup?

Anyone ever been to a Blue Jackets game? How is it? How much are good seats?

[Patrick Bateman]

The Hawks better be for real or I am going to be very sad. Anyways, they are an entertaining group with Kane and Toews leading the show. But I think they need Havlat to get healthy to make a serious run.

[westofyou]

Who will win teh Cup?

Way too early to even tell what and who the real players will be in that hunt.

Me?

I'm a Wing fan and I like what I see from everyone but Dom, that said he's old enough to warm up at his own pace.

Columbus best find some offense, and no I don't think the Hawk are real.

Though they are bunch better then usual.

[WMR]

Originally Posted by westofyou

Who will win teh Cup?

Way too early to even tell what and who the real players will be in that hunt.

Me?

I'm a Wing fan and I like what I see from everyone but Dom, that said he's old enough to warm up at his own pace.

Columbus best find some offense, and no I don't think the Hawk are real.

Though they are bunch better then usual.

Well of course you don't, you're a dead thing fan!!

[Patrick Bateman]

Originally Posted by westofyou

Who will win teh Cup?

Way too early to even tell what and who the real players will be in that hunt.

Me?

I'm a Wing fan and I like what I see from everyone but Dom, that said he's old enough to warm up at his own pace.

Columbus best find some offense, and no I don't think the Hawk are real.

Though they are bunch better then usual.

That's all probably true. As I said, they need Havlat to get consistent scoring.

Still, they have had a tough schedule to date and came out 5 and 3, including 2 tough victories over Detroit.

If anything, Toews and Kane are the real deal. No question about it. Those two alone will make this season entertaining enough for me.

[WMR]

Originally Posted by Austin Kearns

That's all probably true. As I said, they need Havlat to get consistent scoring.

Still, they have had a tough schedule to date and came out 5 and 3, including 2 tough victories over Detroit.

If anything, Toews and Kane are the real deal. No question about it. Those two alone will make this season entertaining enough for me.

What's their draft story, AK? I'm just getting back into following the Hawks. Who are our best players? Who's the goalie nowadays?

Is Eric Daze still in the NHL? What about Tony Amonte?

[westofyou]

Originally Posted by WilyMoROCKS

Well of course you don't, you're a dead thing fan!!

38 years and counting...

[WMR]

Originally Posted by westofyou

38 years and counting...

Wow, so you suffered through the bad times... great franchise nowadays, that's for sure. Is Chelios still playing?

[westofyou]

Originally Posted by WilyMoROCKS

Wow, so you suffered through the bad times... great franchise nowadays, that's for sure. Is Chelios still playing?

I also was a big Stinger fan too.
(BTW The Stingers were owned by Cardinals owner Bill DeWitt Jr.)

Chelly?

Yep he is... I remember when they picked him up I thought he'd be retired in a year.

That was in 98 or 99.

Seriously though the league is a little big to know every team without giving the game some serious time out of your life. I tend to be soft on the eastern teams, especially the ones that are in the south. I follow mostly western teams and watch most of my hockey in the evenings, thus I tend to miss most o fthe eastern conference games.

I think that the eastern has gotten way more offensive in the past years, and that the western more defensive. The Penguins are interesting as are the Rangers, who are slow out of the gate.

I think the west will be the usual suspects with maybe St Louis coming back form the dead.

But the season for me doesn't really start to show its true colors until around Christmas, then you get the idea who is hot and who is isn't and won't be.

[WMR]

Originally Posted by westofyou

I also was a big Stinger fan too.
(BTW The Stingers were owned by Cardinals owner Bill DeWitt Jr.)

Chelly?

Yep he is... I remember when they picked him up I thought he'd be retired in a year.

That was in 98 or 99.

Seriously though the league is a little big to know every team without giving the game some serious time out of your life. I tend to be soft on the eastern teams, especially the ones that are in the south. I follow mostly western teams and watch most of my hockey in the evenings, thus I tend to miss most o fthe eastern conference games.

I think that the eastern has gotten way more offensive in the past years, and that the western more defensive. The Penguins are interesting as are the Rangers, who are slow out of the gate.

I think the west will be the usual suspects with maybe St Louis coming back form the dead.

But the season for me doesn't really start to show its true colors until around Christmas, then you get the idea who is hot and who is isn't and won't be.

I remember when the Blackhawks had that incredible streak of playoff appearances... then that one season when they finally missed the playoffs they fell... and fell HARD.

Where were the Stingers located? Were they in the NHL? Were they contracted or did they change their name?

Me too on Chelly. I figured he'd play maybe 2, 3 at the MOST years for the Red Wings... amazing how long hockey players can hold on with experience and guile.

Is one conference dominant over the other?

Did they ever work out what is going to happen in Pittsburgh? Are they going to finance a new stadium? Will the team stay?

Do you think the league has gotten too big? Would you support contracting a few teams?

Sorry to barrage ya with questions! lol

[Patrick Bateman]

Originally Posted by WilyMoROCKS

What's their draft story, AK? I'm just getting back into following the Hawks. Who are our best players? Who's the goalie nowadays?

Is Eric Daze still in the NHL? What about Tony Amonte?

Wow you really are just getting back .

Eric Daze wil never play again. He has a wonky back. he's tried to get back, but he just can't do it. I expect him to get a role in the front office some day.

Tony Amonte is a free agent because nobody wants him. He failed for a few years in Calgary as he is on his last legs. he might make a decent 4th liner for somebody as the effort and leadership is there, but his relevance is gone.

Our goaltender is Nikolai Khabiibulin. He won the SC for the Lightning before the lockout and th Hawks gave him a 4 year deal at just under 7M per season. His first 2 seasons he has suffered thanks in part to his own poor play, injuries, and a flat out awful team around him. This season he has had an incredible start, and as long as he stays healthy, I expect that he will be returning back to his former status.

Our best scorers are the young kids Pat Kane and Jonathon Toews. We just got Kane in the most recent draft by winning the draft lottery to get the number 1 selection. he's just an 18 year old midget, but he has amazing playmaking skills and has been our best player this season.

Toews was drafted during the previous season and is more of an all around player. He was the number 3 overall pick and was the main reason why Canada won the most recent world juniors. He is in the Joe Sakic/Steve Yzerman mold. Big shoes to fill, but there is no question he has the talent, and is likely the future captain.

Martin Havlat is generally our best player when healthy. Kane and Toews may give him a run for his money. However, he has had an array of major shoulder injuries and his status is up in the air. They say about 4 weeks, but that usually means 2 months with the Hawks. They are paying him 6M a season so people are beginning to get frustrated ala Griffey. If he can get back on the ice the Blackhawks just may have a chance.

Tuomo Ruutu is my personal favorite. He's a crasher that can score and is currently playing with Toews and Kane. He's pretty young as well, but has had the injury problems too. he's now been healthy for 1 full season, so a breakout could be in the near future.

Robert Lang is other decent scorer for the Hawks. He was with WOY's team for awhile and he ahs already burned the Wings twice. I wasn't a fan of the move, but he has scored tons of key goals already and has been an asset on the PP, so it's hard to be displeased with him right now.

[WMR]

Wow, great stuff, thanks. Sounds like we have an exciting nucleus of young players to hopefully build around. Who is taking the reins of ownership now that Wirtz is gone? Will it be business as usual or do you foresee a shift in the organization's direction?

Honestly, Wirtz is one of the main reasons I quit following the Hawks. I don't have the close ties that I have with the Reds and Bengals and it was just no fun.

#1 overall pick? Wow, that is awesome. Sounds like Toews has ROY type potential?

Honestly, another thing that got me back into the game is the unbelievably good NHL 08 for Xbox 360. I used to play the HELL out of the NHL 94-98 era games on the Sega Genesis. This is the first hockey game to be as fun and playable as those games were.

And I love the new rules. I guess purists might dislike them, but the game is so much more exciting, and I love that they have moved to allow the truly talented players to show their stuff w/o being constantly dragged down by the "knuckle draggers." haha

[Ben]

Any fellow Ottawa Senators fans on the board? The top line of Spezza-Heatley-Alfie has been lights out this season so far (35 pts combined). The two headed goaltending situation has the potential to be very good or very bad. Emery looked good last night. Hopefully he's 100% and they can flip Gerber at the deadline to pick up a young defensemen. They're going to need the cap space saved with Gerber's salary (3.7 million this year and next) to sign Spezza/Redden/Vermette long term.

[westofyou]

Robert Lang is other decent scorer for the Hawks. He was with WOY's team for awhile and he ahs already burned the Wings twice. I wasn't a fan of the move, but he has scored tons of key goals already and has been an asset on the PP, so it's hard to be displeased with him right now.

Lang and Babcock had issues, Lang is not a great two player and perhaps needs more creativity to up his offensive game, the Wings like to play the puck possession game and that usually revolves around point play by the big defensive men, Daysuk and Zetterberg are faster then Lang and able to create more space in that sort of setup, Lang and Babcock had words about what was expected from him and what he in turn expected to contribute based on what he could do.

WMP, The Stingers were in the WHA... a fun time when Hockey was actually in the papers in Cincinnati.

[westofyou]

Originally Posted by Ben

Any fellow Ottawa Senators fans on the board? The top line of Spezza-Heatley-Alfie has been lights out this season so far (35 pts combined). The two headed goaltending situation has the potential to be very good or very bad. Emery looked good last night. Hopefully he's 100% and they can flip Gerber at the deadline to pick up a young defensemen. They're going to need the cap space saved with Gerber's salary (3.7 million this year and next) to sign Spezza/Redden/Vermette long term.

The Sens are hot, I like the up tempo game they play. I wouldn't be too hot to flip a goalie just yet though, you never know when you need a pro. Who back up the top two?