NHL Hockey 2017-2018

[crgildart]

Schools are out today for teacher work day so we decided to have hockey school instead!

 

[antigonowhere]

Not so sure about route to the NHL as far as Canada goes. Certainly not scientific numbers, but the majority of the players I am seeing have had their chance and for whatever reason as using CIS as their kick at getting something out of their final days in competitive hockey. I think it's a good thing that the rules were changed to better facilitate these guys having a bash at continued upper tier hockey, it's benefitted everyone.

IMO, the Canuck side making a solid differentiation between major junior and the university ranks was one of the wisest moves in years and immediately brought new relevancy to university hockey.

In the US: different story entirely and agree completely with the comment that it can be a road to the NHL. Among other new avenues. I was somewhat skeptical that Austin Matthews hadn't played in the major ranks here, thinking he might be a bit soft when hit because of it. He's proven me completely wrong. Not certain it is everyone's best route, Matthews is an elite level player in and elite level right out of the gate.

 

[scott43]

Sorry..I should clarify..NCAA college hockey...not CIS..which is still..not there yet..

 

[crgildart]

Rumor mill is churning out hints of Bill Peters being fired very soon and a new coach coming to Raleigh.

 

[Bill Talbot]

When I last looked CO had a decent start to the season, now looking today they have faded back to 'normal'...
what's going on out there? @SBrown , you out there???

 

[scott43]

Big trade. Dumped Duchene. Officially in rebuilding mode now. Got back picks and players.

 

[scott43]

 

[SBrown]

When I last looked CO had a decent start to the season, now looking today they have faded back to 'normal'...
what's going on out there? @SBrown , you out there???

They are great at home! 7-1? Something like that. And have games in hand against everyone in division, aren't too far back as it is. (Except to STL.)

The Duchene trade should be very helpful, for a lot of reasons. We shall see. His situation was an enormous distraction, and Sam Freaking Girard! I would have liked this as a one-to-one trade for Duchene, but the Avs got three other players and a 1st, 2nd, and 3rd out of it.

Dunno. It's a very different team from last season, thankfully, but it's a brutal division.

 

[scott43]

Not looking good for the Habs..

 

[antigonowhere]

Bergevin should be a goner.

Typically, if you're not in a playoff spot by American Thanksgiving, you have little hope of being there in April.

Looks just fine on them from here!

 

[Jilly]

Not looking good for the Habs..
View attachment 33425

Great Birthday present for you!!

 

[scott43]

Great Birthday present for you!!

It was pretty cool. Apart from the horrific selection of beers at the Centre Bell... Leafs lit them up..as you would expect with the second and third string goalies in place.. Weber and Gallagher buried them with selfish plays. Weber especially..ridiculous. Leafs and Habs are at different places.. We've suffered a long time..they're in a tough stretch. It'll come around again.

 

[antigonowhere]

Hopefully not all that soon though

 

[scott43]

@crgildart sorry but it looks like the Lafs are going to hand the Canes a loss. Have to say, the score doesn't reflect the play..just some lucky breaks and a bit more talent from the Leafs. Canes are well coached.

 

[scott43]

Or did I speak too soon!!!!

 

[Scotty I.]

They are great at home! 7-1? Something like that. And have games in hand against everyone in division, aren't too far back as it is. (Except to STL.)

The Duchene trade should be very helpful, for a lot of reasons. We shall see. His situation was an enormous distraction, and Sam Freaking Girard! I would have liked this as a one-to-one trade for Duchene, but the Avs got three other players and a 1st, 2nd, and 3rd out of it.

Dunno. It's a very different team from last season, thankfully, but it's a brutal division.

Don't know if you saw the double spinorama that Girard pulled off against Dallas, but the entire Pepsi Center let out a collective "WHOA!!!". And to think this kid is only 19 years old! So far, I am very pleased with the trade.

 

[antigonowhere]

What in the eff is going on with the Oilers?

Did Talbot bail out the entire defense last year and is just playing like a human now?

Can you do anything to fix this? Newer GM, newer coach, already traded some "problem" players.

 

[scott43]

It's interesting..cuz I thought they were well built nowadays. But we've been talking about that and you can kinda see that something is rotten there..the players have that thousand yard stare..nobody is getting through to them. I know they're fighting the flu..McDavid has been sick for 10 days or something..but I think it's more than that. Kleftbom was supposed to be an up and coming 1-2 D guy and he's slid backward. I watched a game last week and they were terrible..I don't know you could use the word "system" with what they were doing. Looked like high school hockey.

 

[antigonowhere]

So, big surprises to me, almost a third of the way through the season:

Good: Winnipeg. I thought their time was coming, but not to the stretches that they have been putting together. They have a scary combo of guys who can find the neet, and Hellebuck is doing awesome.

Bad: Habs. On paper, even with some dumb moves, they're better than this.

Worse: Oilers. Oddsmakers wouldn't shy away from predicting the Oilers in the final before the season began.

Good: Jersey. I don't think anyone saw them doing what they're doing so far.

Good: The Nucks: they're out of the picture as of today, but I think they're a sleeper and their system seems to be working.

Indifferent: Vegas. I am not a fan of sunbelt teams (no offense to fans of any sunbelt team), but do think that this expansion model benefits the league as a whole.

More to lose than most: Calgary. They need to put together an impressive showing and deep post season run to quell the chatter about the arena.

MAJOR: Rene Rancourt is still alive. He just gave 6 fist pumps and a salute but the camera cut away before he asked if the crowd wanted more. Usually he starts getting really ramped up the last week of the season.

 

[scott43]

I thought the Nucks were going to be a tire fire...but they've actually done ok.