The NHL thread

[CFH]

I started one of these for the playoffs last year and though it mostly consisted of amat and I talking to one another, I thought I'd start one for this season so us hockey fans would have a place to talk about it.

I know we have a few fans on here, wesrman is a Leafs fan, amat is a Sharks fan, Lyle is a Hurricanes fan, and I am a Canucks fan (the most cursed fans in all of hockey. Management even managed to fuck up a trade which would've got them Wayne Gretsky).

So far the Canucks are 6-0 in the preseason, not that it means anything, and some of the kids are looking really good. Hanson, Raymond, and Bernier are all performing well, Schnieder was fantastic (though he's been sent to the minors, with Luongo and Sanford there was no place for him) and first round draft pic Cody Hodson has shown some flashes of the player he can become.

Some of the vetrans like Kessler and Burrows look great so far. Demitra has also looked really good, and the loss of Naslund and Morrison seem, atmospherically at least, to be addition by subtracktion. This will make wesrman sick, but Kyle Wellwood has quietly been having a great preseason. He will most likely make the team.

Luongo was named Captain, which seem to me to be a somewhat desperate attempt to convince him to stay after his contract expires following next seaon. The assitant captains are Mitchell, Kessler, and Ohlund.

Bieska still sucks and is the 'Nucks most overrated player.

[amat]

A guy came into my work yesterday and had books and books of Sharks tickets, thousands of them. I know a few people at the arena who work there and name dropped them, talked to him a bit about the Sharks and I guess he comes in every Wednesday, he sells them to vendors who then give them out to their supporting companies but ends up with a big backload of them all the time, he said he would hook me up. So I'm going to be going to some games this year. He had everything, luxury box tickets to tickets that take up an entire section.

Sharks have had an OK offseason. I'm glad they got Roenick back, team stayed largely the same. There are going to be changes, Setoguchi is getting a chance on the first line which is awesome because he was a real bright spot in the postseason and arguably our best player really.

Pretty clear what we needed more then anything was more defensive prescence, Lukowich brings that to a degree and he's someone who will most likely show his worth in the postseason as someone who has won 2 Cups already.

We played Vancouver today again I'm assuming we lost given your post I have to check OnDemand, so far the only preseason game they've shown was the Ducks and Cannucks games at home so I'm assuming this one won't be on there.

I don't know, it's so hard to judge a team pre-season but not mch has changed except the guys at the top and a few notable injuries, losing Torrey Mitchell is rough. But we obviously have a playoff team it's just a matter of getting there then getting the job done. For the last 2 years we've had the hottest teams going into the postseason then essentially came out flat. Don't know what to make out of that. Hockey isn't a real momentum game, the postseason is a grind and the Sharks up to this point just haven't had a grinding team. Maybe the most talented team in the league but haven't put it together, as I am with basically all of the Bay Area teams in all the sports, I'm cautiously optimistic but certainly San Jose is our best title hope.

This is my favorite time of year in sport, boxing is always good at this time. Football gets in full swing, Baseball postseason is great and hockey and basketball both start up. Heaven.

[Mikkel_K]

As this might be the only thing I can contribute with in this thread, even if it would run for the entire season, I'll post it: It's Hansen, not Hanson. People ending with -sson stem from Sweden, while people with -sen surnames hail from Denmark.

Hey, we dont have that many NHL-players, so we need all the credit we can get from those (two) we have

[CFH]

As this might be the only thing I can contribute with in this thread, even if it would run for the entire season, I'll post it: It's Hansen, not Hanson. People ending with -sson stem from Sweden, while people with -sen surnames hail from Denmark.

Hey, we dont have that many NHL-players, so we need all the credit we can get from those (two) we have

Hansen has been oustanding in the preseason. He's pretty much a lock to make the team.

Boedker is going to be an elite talent. I was really hoping he would drop to #10 at the draft so the Canucks could snag him.

[CFH]

A guy came into my work yesterday and had books and books of Sharks tickets, thousands of them. I know a few people at the arena who work there and name dropped them, talked to him a bit about the Sharks and I guess he comes in every Wednesday, he sells them to vendors who then give them out to their supporting companies but ends up with a big backload of them all the time, he said he would hook me up. So I'm going to be going to some games this year. He had everything, luxury box tickets to tickets that take up an entire section.

Sharks have had an OK offseason. I'm glad they got Roenick back, team stayed largely the same. There are going to be changes, Setoguchi is getting a chance on the first line which is awesome because he was a real bright spot in the postseason and arguably our best player really.

Pretty clear what we needed more then anything was more defensive prescence, Lukowich brings that to a degree and he's someone who will most likely show his worth in the postseason as someone who has won 2 Cups already.

We played Vancouver today again I'm assuming we lost given your post I have to check OnDemand, so far the only preseason game they've shown was the Ducks and Cannucks games at home so I'm assuming this one won't be on there.

I don't know, it's so hard to judge a team pre-season but not mch has changed except the guys at the top and a few notable injuries, losing Torrey Mitchell is rough. But we obviously have a playoff team it's just a matter of getting there then getting the job done. For the last 2 years we've had the hottest teams going into the postseason then essentially came out flat. Don't know what to make out of that. Hockey isn't a real momentum game, the postseason is a grind and the Sharks up to this point just haven't had a grinding team. Maybe the most talented team in the league but haven't put it together, as I am with basically all of the Bay Area teams in all the sports, I'm cautiously optimistic but certainly San Jose is our best title hope.

This is my favorite time of year in sport, boxing is always good at this time. Football gets in full swing, Baseball postseason is great and hockey and basketball both start up. Heaven.

Fuck man, I wish I could get tickets to a Canucks game that easily. How much do they cost? Even the cheapest, more nose-bleedy tickets here are well over $120, and oncee the vendors get a hold of them .

They sell out as soon as they go on sale as well.

Once again, the Sharks are one of the favorites to win the cup, maybe the coaching change will finally push them over the top.

What can you tell me about Steve Bernier? I know he used to be a Shark. He's developed some chemistry with the Sedins and will start the season as their right winger.

[Trainer Monkey]

I dont need to follow the NHL,Im an Islanders fan

[Von Milash]

I like the Isles a thousand times more than the Rangers.

But it looks like my team'll shit the bed this year. The Leafs aint looking too fuckin good....on paper, anyway. But that's why you play the games, as they say...

[amat]

Luongo is captain I don't think I've ever heard of the goalie being the captain? That's pretty cool I mean he is their best player but that's interesting.

Boyle is looking fairly awesome thus far, hopefully worth all that money he's due for. Looks like his biggest contribution will be on power play and Ludowich's will be on the kill, both areas which bit us in the ass in the playoffs last year. Warriors and Sharks, can't wait. If one makes the playoffs I'll be happy, the other's expectations are just a little higher lol

[CFH]

Luongo is captain I don't think I've ever heard of the goalie being the captain? That's pretty cool I mean he is their best player but that's interesting.

Boyle is looking fairly awesome thus far, hopefully worth all that money he's due for. Looks like his biggest contribution will be on power play and Ludowich's will be on the kill, both areas which bit us in the ass in the playoffs last year. Warriors and Sharks, can't wait. If one makes the playoffs I'll be happy, the other's expectations are just a little higher lol

Honestly, I think the Luongo captaincy is nothing more than a very thinly veiled attempt to feed his ego and thus help to convince him to resign here.

I wonder if the Sharks not being favored to win the cup this year (for the 1st time is 3 years) will help them get over the hump. That and the fact that they got rid of that douchebag Ron Wilson.

I'll be happy if the Canucks make the playoffs, but if not I hope they come in dead last, which will never happen with Luongo, so they can actually get a blue-chip prospect in the draft (though Schnieder and Hodgson are looking like great picks so far).

[Youngblood]

Go Pens.

I've officially had the transition from angry year end to hopeful new season again and again Leaf fan...to the Pens.

Yea I know. Wesrman and likely a few others will call me a bandwagon jumper, but the truth is, the Leafs consistant bad management and bad trades and bad performance, in the richest market in Canada has sent me packing. I went shopping for a team, and that team largely due to Sidney Crosby and it's youthful influence and talent, is now the Pittsburg Penguins.

Sorry Leaf fans. I still hope you do okay, but when our teams line up...no longer will I cheer under of the veil of "Maybe this year." Been too many.

[CFH]

Go Pens.

I've officially had the transition from angry year end to hopeful new season again and again Leaf fan...to the Pens.

Yea I know. Wesrman and likely a few others will call me a bandwagon jumper, but the truth is, the Leafs consistant bad management and bad trades and bad performance, in the richest market in Canada has sent me packing. I went shopping for a team, and that team largely due to Sidney Crosby and it's youthful influence and talent, is now the Pittsburg Penguins.

Sorry Leaf fans. I still hope you do okay, but when our teams line up...no longer will I cheer under of the veil of "Maybe this year." Been too many.

Join the rest of us in hating the Leafs Youngblood. Join us.

[amat]

You're 14 Youngblood I think you can get away with it. A few years ago when the Warriors were absolutely unwatchable, with Baron and J Rich injured, when Troy Murphy, Mike Dunleavy and Adonal Foyle were running the show , I went shopping for a team to root for aswell. Not that I became a non-Warriors fan, it's just that their brand of basketball was absolutely unwatchable. I loved them with all my heart but with not much time to dedicate to basketball I couldn't waste it on the garbage they yielded every night so I became a huge LeBron James fan. Not really a Cavs fan but a James fan. Still am, except for the past few years the Warriors have actually been fun to watch so I was able to actually get behind a team that would make it worth my effort. I can definitely see why someone would be drawn to Sidney Crosby and the Pens were great last year.

[CFH]

The Canucks just DOMINATED Calgary (fuck Calgary). 6-0, Luongo gets a shutout, great game. This team in noticable tougher than last year, noticably faster, and they're actually playing like a team. They out player, out hit Calgary, and just generally beat the shit out of them.

They had a tear-jerking tribute to Luc Bourdon before the game. If you don't know, he was one of their highly touted young prospects who was poised to make a big impact on the team this year, but he died in June in a motor-cycle accident (with his girlfriend watching ).

[amat]

Yeah FUCK CALGARY, and FUCK JAROME IGINLA. Now that Nolan is gone there is nothing pure in Calgary except that little kid imitator Kiprusoff has, that kid is the man.

[CFH]

Yeah FUCK CALGARY, and FUCK JAROME IGINLA. Now that Nolan is gone there is nothing pure in Calgary except that little kid imitator Kiprusoff has, that kid is the man.

That kid is awesome. The only thing I hate more in life than Calgary is Edmonton. I hope a giant black hole swallows up Alberta (and somehow transplants all that oil to B.C. in the process).