NHL 2012-13 Season Discussion Thread (1 Viewer)

[Scott Merryfield]

Hm. . .four(!) Original Sixers, a reincarnation of another ancient franchise, the Sabres, and. . .two Florida teams. Yay Florida!!! On a side note, weird for a Boston team to have no NYC-area teams in its division. . .

The Bruins do not have a NYC-based team now, so that is no change. You and Scott should both be happy, though, as your Bruins will play more games in Florida and Michigan, giving you more opportunities to watch them -- either in person, or on TV. That is the same reason I like the Wings moving into the division.

 

[Ockeghem]

Scott and Aaron, Yes, I think I am pleased. More later once the HTF Board comes back online after the weekend.

 

[Ockeghem]

This morning, I was talking with a friend of mine about the original six teams and the expansion that occurred back in 1967. We couldn't remember all of the teams that were added. For some reason, I recall vividly the addition of the Blues and the Penguins, and after some work I remembered the North Stars and the Seals. But I forgot about the remaining two teams.
I was quite surprised to see how they aligned the original six teams in one division and the 1967 expansion teams in the other in 1967–68.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1967_NHL_expansion

 

[Scott Merryfield]

This morning, I was talking with a friend of mine about the original six teams and the expansion that occurred back in 1967. We couldn't remember all of the teams that were added. For some reason, I recall vividly the addition of the Blues and the Penguins, and after some work I remembered the North Stars and the Seals. But I forgot about the remaining two teams.
I was quite surprised to see how they aligned the original six teams in one division and the 1967 expansion teams in the other in 1967–68.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1967_NHL_expansion

Yes, that was a strange alignment. It resulted in Scotty Bowman's St. Louis Blues making it to three straight Cup Finals (losing them all), while one season defending champ Montreal failed to make the playoffs in the East even though they had a better record than the West Division winner.

Marty Brodeur was credited with a bizarre goal last night, being the last Devil to touch the puck before Jordan Staal's centering pass went the length of the ice into an open net during a delayed penalty. I saw "Brodeur (1)" on the NHL Network's score crawl on the bottom of the screen and was confused what the stat represented until they soon showed a replay of the goal -- that game was being televised by the network. You just do not expect to see a goalie with that stat line.

 

[Ockeghem]

Yes, that was a strange alignment. It resulted in Scotty Bowman's St. Louis Blues making it to three straight Cup Finals (losing them all), while one season defending champ Montreal failed to make the playoffs in the East even though they had a better record than the West Division winner.

Marty Brodeur was credited with a bizarre goal last night, being the last Devil to touch the puck before Jordan Staal's centering pass went the length of the ice into an open net during a delayed penalty. I saw "Brodeur (1)" on the NHL Network's score crawl on the bottom of the screen and was confused what the stat represented until they soon showed a replay of the goal -- that game was being televised by the network. You just do not expect to see a goalie with that stat line.

Scott,The way those divisions were set up back then surely didn't give the expansion teams much of a chance. I love at least one of those teams that Bowman lost to in that three-year period. I'm fairly certain that you have posters of them all over your house.
Wow, neat stat on Brodeur! I was watching the Bruins - Penguins game last Sunday, and Marchand was being compared stylistically to Lemieux. But I wasn't sure which Lemieux they were talking about -- Claude or Mario. I think they were comparing him to Claude Lemieux.

Your Habs are playing too well lately. Please tell them to ease up on the gas pedal, okay? Thanks. The Canadiens have a heck of a game coming up in a week or so at Pittsburgh. I'd love to see that game. It could be a preview of a playoff series between those two teams, which I would also dearly love to see. That would be one heck of a series, especially the way both teams have been playing the past month or so.

 

[Scott Merryfield]

Scott,The way those divisions were set up back then surely didn't give the expansion teams much of a chance. I love at least one of those teams that Bowman lost to in that three-year period. I'm fairly certain that you have posters of them all over your house.
Wow, neat stat on Brodeur! I was watching the Bruins - Penguins game last Sunday, and Marchand was being compared stylistically to Lemieux. But I wasn't sure which Lemieux they were talking about -- Claude or Mario. I think they were comparing him to Claude Lemieux.

Your Habs are playing too well lately. Please tell them to ease up on the gas pedal, okay? Thanks. The Canadiens have a heck of a game coming up in a week or so at Pittsburgh. I'd love to see that game. It could be a preview of a playoff series between those two teams, which I would also dearly love to see. That would be one heck of a series, especially the way both teams have been playing the past month or so.

I'm sure it was Claude, not Mario. Claude, like Marchand, was an expert diver. Seriously, I hated Claude Lemeiux even when he wore the Montreal colors. He should have been playing soccer in Europe, not hockey in Canada. The guy was a tool.

Yes, the Habs are playing well. They should get Bourque and Prust back soon from injury, too, which will only make them better. The young defenseman Tinordi has looked good in his first few games, as well. He is 6'6", so he gives the Canadiens at least one player close to Chara's size -- although Tinordi needs to fill out a little. He is former NHL defenseman Mark Tinordi's son, I believe.

Slightly off-topic, the Plymouth Whalers opened their Ontario Hockey League playoffs with a 11-2 victory over the Sarnia Sting tonight in Plymouth (we just got back from the game). This is a best of seven round, but shouldn't go more than 5 games. The Whalers have won 17 of their last 18 games, and have looked very impressive since the Christmas break. It's a long playoff season, though -- four rounds of best of seven, just like the NHL -- and the regular season champion (and also the defending OHL champ) London Knights will probably be waiting in a couple of rounds. Mark & Dale Hunter own the Knights, and Dale is the coach (returning from last year's stint coaching the Washington Capitals). Anyway, Plymouth has a rookie goaltender named Alex Nedeljkovic who took over the starting job in early February -- you'll probably see his name called within the first two rounds of the 2014 NHL Draft. He looks very good for a kid who just turned 17. The team is loaded with offensive talent, too (their top 3 lines are loaded with high NHL draft picks), so it should be a fun playoff season.

 

[Ockeghem]

It's not often that I root for the Habs, but tonight will be one of those occasions. I'd like for Montreal to defeat Pittsburgh, so long as they lose tomorrow night. With fifteen to seventeen games remaining (depending on the team), the Eastern Conference no. 1 seed (as well as the overall no. 1 seed) is still very much up-for-grabs, and of course I want Boston to get it.

Go Montreal! (That hurt even putting those words on the screen. )

 

[Aaron Silverman]

Can't. . .do. . .it. . .

 

[Scott Merryfield]

Can't. . .do. . .it. . .

I understand, Aaron. I can never bring myself to root for the Bruins, either, no matter the circumstance. I've been a Leafs fan the past few days (which is tough for a Habs fan) -- damn them for not being able to hold a lead.

This is a tough two day stretch for the Habs, playing on the road back to back against the Pens and Bruins. Montreal is still playing shorthanded, too, as Rene Bourque had a setback in his concussion recovery, Prust is not making the road trip, and Diaz is still quite a ways away from coming back from a concussion.

Brendan Morrow is supposed to be making his Pittsburgh debut tonight, and Halpern makes his first appearance for the Canadiens since being picked up on waivers. It's Halpern's second time around with Montreal. I'm not sure how much Morrow has left in the tank -- he's really slowed down due to injuries the past few years. Pittsburgh gave up a prime defensive prospect for this rental player.

 

[Ockeghem]

Well, it seems as though Aaron was the only one who got what he wanted tonight, as the Penguins won their thirteenth straight game, defeating Montreal 1-0.

There has been some talk about the Bruins thinking about possibly making some deals in order to keep up with Pittsburgh. I don't know how serious the B's are with regard to doing anything at this point, but the article is nevertheless interesting.

http://espn.go.com/blog/nhl/post/_/id/22941/rumblings-all-eyes-now-on-bruins-next-move

 

[Scott Merryfield]

There have been some Iginla to the Bruins rumors. I would not be surprised to see Boston make a deal or two before the deadline, as they are still Pittsburgh's toughest competition in the conference, and the Bruins should be in a "win now" mode.

Montreal GM Marc Bergevin has already stated he will not mortgage the Habs future for this single playoff season. I think that is a wise decision, as the Canadiens are still building and have a bright future with the prospects still in the minors. I do not think any rent-a-player currently available is going to make them better than the Pens or Bruins this season anyway, so they are better off taking their chances on pulling off an upset or two in the playoffs with what they have and holding onto those prospects.

 

[Aaron Silverman]

Yeah, the Bruins are in serious need of scoring -- they haven't scored more than 4 goals all season! Unfortunately Iginla's a bit past his prime, but we'll take what we can get at this point. There doesn't seem to be much available. Unless Jagr is planning on turning into Gordie Howe!

 

[Scott Merryfield]

Bad night for Bruins fans. First, they blow a 2 goal lead to the Habs, then the rumors of Iginla being traded to Boston for peanuts turn out to be false, and Iginla ends up in Pittsburgh.

 

[Ockeghem]

This is quite unfortunate.

http://espn.go.com/olympics/hockey/story/_/id/9119643/russian-hockey-player-dmitri-uchaykin-dies-days-hit-head

 

[Scott Merryfield]

This is quite unfortunate.

http://espn.go.com/olympics/hockey/story/_/id/9119643/russian-hockey-player-dmitri-uchaykin-dies-days-hit-head

Wow! That is very sad news.

 

[Scott Merryfield]

Looks like the Bruins got Jagr for two prospects -- Lane MacDermaid and Cody Payne -- and a conditional 1st/2nd round pick. It becomes a 1st rounder if Boston wins two playoff series this year. Here is hoping it ends up being a 2nd round pick.

I am not that familiar with MacDermaid, but Cody Payne plays for the Plymouth Whalers, so I am very familiar with him. Payne is a big, tough kid with a decent scoring touch (24G, 21A in 68 games this year playing on an absolutely stacked team), but he is certainly not a top prospect. So, Scott & Aaron, I wouldn't be worried that you gave up much there. If what I am reading about MacDermaid is true, it doesn't sound like he was a very highly rated prospect, either.

I am not really sure what is going on in Dallas. In the offseason they were acquiring players as if they were going to be a contender, and now they are giving guys away for peanuts. First they trade Ryder and a 3rd to Montreal for a washed up Cole and the two years left on his contract, then dump newly acquired Roy and Jagr at the deadline for very little return. I do not know if Neiwendyk or Gainey is pulling the strings there, but whoever is making these moves clearly has no plan.

 

[Ockeghem]

Scott,
I just saw this about ten minutes ago. I hope Jagr even at his present age can help Boston. A potential playoff match-up with Pittsburgh could be quite interesting this year. Of course, I hope the Habs and Penguins square off in an earlier round.

http://espn.go.com/boston/nhl/story/_/id/9124995/dallas-stars-trade-jaromir-jagr-boston-bruins-source-says

Here is some analysis (ESPN) of the trade:

http://espn.go.com/blog/boston/bruins/

And Scott, you might want to bookmark the second link (Bruins blog) for the best in hockey news.

 

[Scott Merryfield]

Scott, you're reading about the NHL on ESPN? I thought they forgot how to even spell "hockey" since they stopped broadcasting the sport.

Check out http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/ . Much better NHL coverage there.

 

[Ockeghem]

Scott, you're reading about the NHL on ESPN? I thought they forgot how to even spell "hockey" since they stopped broadcasting the sport.

Check out http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/ . Much better NHL coverage there.

Scott,
Many thanks. That's a great link. (I thought it was going to be Habs-centric -- LOL.)

And by the way, your link is quite accurate with regard to their Power Rankings list.

http://www.tsn.ca/fantasy_news/rankings/nhl/

 

[Scott Merryfield]

I thought about giving you a link to the Canadiens area on the Hockey's Future board, but that place can be nuts. I wouldn't do that to anybody... even a Bruins fan.