With the NHL ending their lockout over the summer, pre-season games starting in September, and regular season games starting this October 5th, many fans are craving hockey more than they ever had before. New rules have opened up the game to make it more offensively minded, and thus, even more exciting than before. Personally, I've been waiting for this date for months ever since the NHL stated the lockout was over. I'm very excited to see how teams do with new players, an even economic playing field, and the new rules. Many teams had to stop spending all their money on free agents and resort back to developing young talent in the big leagues instead of sending them down to the minors to gain experience. On Wednesday, all 30 NHL teams will be in play for the first time ever. Who will you be cheering for? Of course, I'm a Leafs fan. And I don't have any reason to fret that my team's any worse than they were last season. They're younger, bigger, and faster. If Lindros can stay healthy, Allison can get back into his old routine, and Belfour can keep his back healthy (which relaxation from the lockout has helped), then I think we can surprise a lot of people once the regular season is over. With Nikolai Antropov having a great pre-season and being due for a breakout year, and young guns Alex Steen and Matt Stajan getting better with every game, you may see alot of players who you wouldn't expect to pick up their games and deliver results. Discuss.
thats cool they ended the lockout....but you say its going to be even better this year.then i guess im going to watch some games this year
Go Avalanche! Yes, they may have lost a few of their players (most eventually Forsberg) but they still have that excitement that makes them a damn awesome team. Plus I want to see if this Sidney Crosby kid can do wonders as well.
GO WINGS! That 9-0 victory against Columbus was amazing in the pre-season. We'll definately be kicking some ass as long as we don't utilize our new goalie. (not Osgood...the other one).
Manny Legace? He's great. Speaking of Detroit goaltenders (well, an ex-Wing goaltender), has anyone seen how horrible Curtis Joseph has been with the Coyotes this pre-season? The guy's been going downhill ever since leaving the Leafs to go play for a "cup contender" in the Wings. Then he got swept by the Mighty Ducks in the first round of the 2003 playoffs. I read an interview a few weeks ago where he said he wished he'd never left Toronto. I laughed. Does anyone else think the Flyers have as good a team as they did last season? In my opinion, they may have gotten the best player in the league, but will he be able to pick up the slack where 5 of the Flyers top scorers (Recchi, Roenick, Amonte, Leclair, Zhamnov) have left? It's going to be tough. In addition, they signed 3 huge defenceman in Rathje, Hatcher, and Therien. But are they too slow for the new, more speedy NHL? There's a couple a questions I have about the team. Your thoughts? And lastly, will Sidney Crosby win the Calder Trophy or rookie scoring title? Or will someone along the likes of Ovechkin, Perry, or Carter steal the spotlight? I think he can because he's got great linemates to compliment him. I don't think he's the next Gretzky, but I think he's going to be an amazing player.
I'm still saying Ovechkin gets it. Crosby is good, but like I've always thought, he'd been a tad overrated. Not bad at all, in fact, he's good, but he's not there yet, if you ask me. And I'm looking forward to the Red Wings... everyone thought they'd go downhill with a salary cap, but I don't think they're any worse off than the squad before the lockout. I'm glad both Zetterberg and Datsyuk came back.
My guess is that Ovechkin pulls off a hotdog celebration after hitting an empty net within the first 10 games of the regular season and somebody creams him into the boards, sending him out of the lineup for 3 months.
I think someone like him is exactly what the NHL needs. He's a little bit of a hotdog, yes, but a good amount of European players (specifically, ones from the ex-Soviet Union areas) are, and none have too many problems. Showboating used to be rampant in the NHL... back when it was popular, at least. I remember at least one player every game using his stick like a sword and sheathing (sp?) it in the mid-90's.
Manny Legace? He's great. [/b][/quote] No, not him. He is great. I'm talking about the new draft goalie we have. The rookie. He's only like 19 or 20.
Yes, but in many hockey fans' opinions, it shouldn't be a part of a game and takes away from it. It's like diving in soccer or endzone celebrations in football. Sometimes it's disgraceful. Oh, Howard! Was he in net for both of the Red Wings' losses to the Leafs, or just the first game? He wasn't very impressive at all in the first game.
I don't think Ov's celebrating is anything compared to NFL-style celebrations. Yes, it's something people hate when they're rooting for the opposing team, but it's something that the indifferent fan will normally love, and something that will draw new fans to the game. I don't know what Leafs games Howard was in, but in the pre-season and training camp he's been amazing. He's getting to stay on because of Osgood's slight injury, but I wouldn't be surprised if the Wings keep 3 goalies the entire year.
Yes, but traditionalists dislike showboating. I guess it's just a Canadian consensus. I wasn't comparing hockey showboating to football celebrations on the same scale, I was just saying that they are all frowned upon by some fans of those sports, myself included. Showboating in hockey has been dead or close to it since the mid-nineties when players learned more respect and sportsmanship than insulting the players on the other team through gloating. Howard lost game two to the Leafs, going 25 for 29 saves on Saturday. Not bad.
I'm a traditionalist (at least, when discussing the NHL), and I don't find anything too wrong with showboating. Massive celebrations are part of any sport, and it's just got more creative with time. I think that the NHL barely has any celebration, given how few goals are scored in a game (compared to the NFL and the like), and I think most celebrations are currently tasteful. As long as Ov doesn't do something extremely distasteful I can't see any harm in it -- celebrating's really grown in the NHL since Europeans became so infused with the sport. I do agree with you that the celebrations should be kept to a minimum, though. I hate seeing a lot of it, but every once and a while when there's a huge goal; the thing is, though, I love to see players get excited and celebrate. Edit: Grammar.