Author Topic: On The Eve of the New Season: North of the Border Editio  (Read 184788 times)

xcanuck

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On The Eve of the New Season: North of the Border Editio
« on: October 03, 2006, 04:30:00 pm »
The new NHL season starts tomorrow. Any predictions? High hopes? Wishful thinking?
 
 My predictions:
   - Anaheim vs Calgary duke it for the West title
   - Ottawa vs Tampa for the East
   - President's Cup winner will lose in the second round
   
 High Hopes:
   - Montreal finishes fourth in the east and makes it to the second round of the playoffs. Huet doesn't turn out to be a fluke.
   - Please, God....let us have an Ottawa vs Calgary final. Then I can watch the finals in total peace.
 
 Wishful Thinking:
   - Chris Pronger gets caught cheating with Elisha Cuthbert and gets his ass beaten by Chris Avery (to be fair to Elisha...both their names are Chris. How was she supposed to keep them straight?)
   - Domenic Hasek blows out his groin before Christmas (there's a joke in there somewhere)
   - Vancouver, normally a place where goalies go to die, thrives with Roberto Luongo
   - Todd Bertuzzi gets eaten by a crocodile

Venerable Bede

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Re: On The Eve of the New Season: North of the Border Editio
« Reply #1 on: October 03, 2006, 04:32:00 pm »
somewhere, russian secret agents are devising a way to take back evgeni malkin. . .
OU812

sweetcell

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Re: On The Eve of the New Season: North of the Border Editio
« Reply #2 on: October 03, 2006, 04:45:00 pm »
Quote
Originally posted by xcanuck:
    - Please, God....let us have an Ottawa vs Calgary final. Then I can watch the finals in total peace.
i think you meant to have that under your "wishful thinking" category... ottawa in the finals involves the Sens doing well in the playoffs - something those chokers are unable to do, ever   :)  
 
 ottawa vs. montreal for eastern conference championships - loyalties divided, and my head explodes...
 
 the name of this thread is a little unfair - there are hockey fans on this side of the border.  not that many, but a few...
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sonickteam2

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Re: On The Eve of the New Season: North of the Border Editio
« Reply #3 on: October 03, 2006, 04:54:00 pm »
I will go with a Calgary vs. Montreal stanley cup finals, and i think this is the year for the Habs.  
 
   much as i hate to say it.
 
   Playoff teams
 
   Philly, Montreal, Carolina win the divisions
 
   New Jersey, NY Rangers, Pitt, Toronto, Buffalo in as well
 
   work calls, I'll do the rest later
 
  oh, and Kessel for the Calder.  :)

vansmack

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Re: On The Eve of the New Season: North of the Border Editio
« Reply #4 on: October 03, 2006, 04:59:00 pm »
Quote
Originally posted by xcanuck:
  Wishful Thinking:
   - Chris Pronger gets caught cheating with Elisha Cuthbert and gets his ass beaten by Chris Avery (to be fair to Elisha...both their names are Chris. How was she supposed to keep them straight?)
That would be bitchen.
27>34

Santos L. Halper

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Re: On The Eve of the New Season: North of the Border Editio
« Reply #5 on: October 04, 2006, 10:08:00 am »
Isn't it Sean Avery?  At any rate, he's a douche.  Calgary v. Buffalo for the Cup, Flames take it in 6, Kipper wins Vezina and Conn Smythe.

ratioci nation

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Re: On The Eve of the New Season: North of the Border Editio
« Reply #6 on: October 04, 2006, 10:11:00 am »
Blues don't make playoffs but arent the worse team in the league this time, woo hoo, another season to remember!

xcanuck

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Re: On The Eve of the New Season: North of the Border Editio
« Reply #7 on: October 04, 2006, 11:25:00 am »
Quote
Originally posted by Santos L. Halper:
  Isn't it Sean Avery?  At any rate, he's a douche.  Calgary v. Buffalo for the Cup, Flames take it in 6, Kipper wins Vezina and Conn Smythe.
Oh crap. A perfectly good joke gone to shit.
 
 I'll take your scenario, but then I still have to suffer Stanley Cup Anxiety. An all-Canadian (based) Cup final would leave me stress free.
 
 Ya think Buffalo is for real? They lost McKee - not sure if they reinforced their D. I just worry that teams like Buffalo and Edmonton (teams that overachieve in the playoffs) will buckle under the weight of their own expectations.
 
 There will certainly be darkhorses (who woulda picked any of the conference finalists before last season). It's gonna be a crapshoot with injuries. Youth will lead the day.
 
 Leafs vs Sens at 7:30 tonite!

vansmack

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Re: On The Eve of the New Season: North of the Border Editio
« Reply #8 on: October 04, 2006, 01:20:00 pm »
I know coming from me it means absolutely nothing, but this is the Ducks year!
27>34

ratioci nation

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Re: On The Eve of the New Season: North of the Border Editio
« Reply #9 on: October 04, 2006, 01:53:00 pm »
Quote
Originally posted by vansmack:
  I know coming from me it means absolutely nothing, but this is the Ducks year!
if only they had a couple of decent defensemen

xcanuck

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Re: On The Eve of the New Season: North of the Border Editio
« Reply #10 on: October 04, 2006, 03:23:00 pm »
Quote
Originally posted by pdx pollard:
   
Quote
Originally posted by vansmack:
  I know coming from me it means absolutely nothing, but this is the Ducks year!
if only they had a couple of decent defensemen [/b]
Oh yeah...they got that Pronger guy and then Niedermayer. Vansmack's opinion seems to concur with what alot of the experts are saying. Ducks all the way. They got the goaltending, they got the best D in the league, and they've got some of the slickest playmakers on skates.
 
 I totally expect them to win the President's Trophy....and then fall apart in the second round. Hopefully a similar fate will await the 'Canes.
 
 4 hrs, 10 mins to The Battle of Ontario. Got my six pack of Molson chilling in the fridge. Can't wait to see Darcy Tucker get bitch-slapped.

sonickteam2

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Re: On The Eve of the New Season: North of the Border Editio
« Reply #11 on: October 04, 2006, 04:08:00 pm »
i cant wait to see Raycroft let up 5 goals tonight.
 
  (is he even their number 1?)

sweetcell

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Re: On The Eve of the New Season: North of the Border Editio
« Reply #12 on: October 04, 2006, 04:17:00 pm »
Quote
Originally posted by xcanuck:
  4 hrs, 10 mins to The Battle of Ontario. Got my six pack of Molson chilling in the fridge. Can't wait to see Darcy Tucker get bitch-slapped.
molson?  really, i would have gone for something finer... like moosehead.
 
 aside: is it possible to find sleemans around here?  they were selling in boston, i wonder if that delicious nectar made it this far... mmmmm, cream ale... (wow, a hockey conversation turning into a discussion about beer - shocker)
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sweetcell

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Re: On The Eve of the New Season: North of the Border Editio
« Reply #13 on: October 04, 2006, 04:26:00 pm »
despite the abuse one takes in hockey, some vets manage to eek out lengthy careers in the NHL - i've always admired those who can still play well into their 30's, and kinda breaks my heart when they haven't won the cup yet.  below is a list of vets that have never held the cup over their heads - according to  this poll, Pronger is favored to get off this list. who's your prediction?
 
 More than a dozen very prominent NHLers, all 30 or older, all with at least 650 career games, begin the 2006-07 season hoping against hope that this will finally be the year their personal Cup drought ends. For most or all of them, however, it will continue.
 
 Here's the list:
 
 â?¢ Teppo Numminen, Buffalo Sabres, age 38
 â?¢ Priceline: $2.6 million, 1,235 games, 591 points
 For years, a reliable, multitalented and honest worker, Numminen came close to at least reaching the Cup finals last season when he and the Buffalo Sabres were stopped in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference finals.
 
 â?¢ Jeremy Roenick, Phoenix Coyotes, age 36
 â?¢ Priceline: $1.2 million, 1,182 games, 1,142 points
 The chatty one got to the Cup finals with Chicago back in '92, but he and his Blackhawks were swept by Pittsburgh.
 
 â?¢ Tony Amonte, Calgary Flames, age 36
 â?¢ Priceline: $1.85 million, 1,093 games, 870 points.
 He's been agonizingly close. He was dealt at the 1994 trading deadline by the Rangers to Chicago, and then watched from a distance as the Rangers ended a 54-year Stanley Cup drought.
 
 â?¢ Mats Sundin, Toronto Maple Leafs, age 35
 â?¢ Priceline: $7.6 million, 1,156 games, 1,167 points
 The elegant center has won a world title with Sweden and captained his country to Olympic gold earlier this year in Torino. The No. 1 pick of the 1989 draft has twice been to a conference final with the Maple Leafs, but lost both times.
 
 â?¢ Petr Nedved, Philadelphia Flyers, age 34
 â?¢ Priceline: $2.4 million, 942 games, 705 points
 A poster boy for career underachievement, which is one reason he's played for seven different teams. Nedved has participated in only six NHL playoff games since 1997.
 
 â?¢ Keith Tkachuk, St. Louis Blues, age 34
 â?¢ Priceline: $3.8 million, 897 games, 868 points
 The winger won the World Cup with Team USA in 1996, but as an NHLer in pursuit of the Cup hasn't come within shouting distance as of yet. Throughout the '90s, he was part of the Winnipeg/Phoenix franchise that has failed to win a playoff round since 1987.
 
 â?¢ Owen Nolan, Phoenix Coyotes, age 34
 â?¢ Priceline: $1.225 million, 915 games, 735 points
 Like Amonte, Nolan was traded by an eventual Cup winner, exiting Colorado midway through the 1995-96 season, then watching the Avalanche go on to win the Cup. The only player picked ahead of Nedved in the 1990 draft, Nolan has been part of teams that have missed the playoffs seven times.
 
 â?¢ Eric Lindros, Dallas Stars, age 33
 â?¢ Priceline: $1.55 million, 711 games, 839 points
 With the Flyers, he was part of the group that was swept in 1997 final by Detroit. He won Olympic gold in 2002 with Team Canada, but has appeared in only 50 NHL playoff games over his 13-year career.
 
 â?¢ Daniel Alfredsson, Ottawa Senators, age 33
 â?¢ Priceline: $4.7 million, 706 games, 671 points
 The Senators captain was victimized last spring on the shorthanded game-winning goal that helped Buffalo upset Ottawa in the playoffs. In his last two postseasons, Alfredsson has managed a total of three goals.
 
 â?¢ Alexei Yashin, New York Islanders, age 32
 â?¢ Priceline: $7.6 million, 792 games, 731 points
 The Russian center has never played beyond the second round and has participated in only 43 playoff games in seven visits to the spring tournament. In three of those postseasons, he failed to score a playoff goal.
 
 â?¢ Michael Peca, Toronto Maple Leafs, age 32
 â?¢ Priceline: $2.5 million, 693 games, 394 points
 The two-way pivot has twice been to the Stanley Cup finals (Buffalo in 1999, Edmonton in 2006) and has twice been a bridesmaid. After a career spent with teams handcuffed by economic restraints, he now joins the Leafs at a time when the salary cap has made the big spenders just faces in the crowd.
 
 â?¢ Paul Kariya, Nashville Predators, age 31
 â?¢ Priceline: $4.5 million, 739 games, 790 points
 He was part of the Anaheim team that lost in Game 7 of the Cup finals to New Jersey in 2003, absorbing a fearsome Scott Stevens hit and then scoring a dramatic goal in the sixth game. Other than that spring, however, he has played in only 20 NHL playoff games.
 
 â?¢ Chris Pronger, Anaheim Mighty Ducks, age 31
 â?¢ Priceline: $6.25 million, 802 games, 456 points
 The 6-foot-6 rear guard joined Peca and the rest of the Oilers in their surprise trip to the Cup finals last year, losing in the seventh game. He's been in 109 playoff games, and last spring became the first defenseman to score on a penalty shot in the finals.
 
 â?¢ Todd Bertuzzi, Florida Panthers, age 31
 â?¢ Priceline: $5.3 million, 710 games, 529 points
 Like Yashin, Bertuzzi has never played beyond the second round. A rookie in 1995, he didn't play his first playoff game until 2001 and has only six career postseason goals.
 
 â?¢ Saku Koivu, Montreal Canadiens, age 31
 â?¢ Priceline: $4.75 million, 569 games, 460 points
 He won a world title as captain of Team Finland, but has been past the first round of the playoffs just twice in his 10-year career. He suffered a season-ending eye injury in the spring against Carolina, and without him, the Habs blew a 2-0 series lead.
 
 â?¢ Ryan Smyth, Edmonton Oilers, age 30
 â?¢ Priceline: $3.5 million, 717 games, 496 points
 Nicknamed Captain Canada for the countless times he has played internationally for his country, Smyth has won Olympic gold, a World Cup title and a world championship title. He got to the Cup finals for the first time with Edmonton in the spring and saw his dream ended in the seventh and deciding game.
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HoyaSaxa03

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Re: On The Eve of the New Season: North of the Border Editio
« Reply #14 on: October 04, 2006, 05:46:00 pm »
the lightning are for real this year, going to put it all together
(o|o)