The NHL Thread

Beamer, welcome to the thread!! Who is your team? I guess it can't be Philly. I see lots of boos next to Pronger's name.

Edmonton does seem rather cold, but it appears to have great fans there.

Sabres also lost Vanek for a month or so around the time Miller went down.

I think they could sneak into the playoffs next year. Besides Boston they'll probably be the only team from the Norhteast.

Pronger fucked a female TV reporter in Edmonton and his wife made them leave.

Heatly is from Calgary........ in case you ddin't know, there's a bit of an Edmonton / Calgary rivalry. Edmonton is kind of a shit town, but the players get treated like royalty. The night life is actually pretty decent there. Heatly would have had too much media attention in Edmonton.

Hey, where's Clit been?

The Isles are having their training camp where the fan base is...........................
Saskatoon!!! That'll bring up attendance in Long Island. Way to think about the fans, Wang!

I saw that we resigned Staff. I guess it's only a 2 year deal though. I'm ok with it. I'm wondering who Kessel will sign a sheet with and more importantly will the B's match it (I doubt it). Johnni said he thinks it'll be the Preds I think. And of course there's those Leafs rumors that have been going on for months. I assume Dman if he does sign elsewhere, you want him out west.

Here we go with the divisional picks...Northeast

1. Bruins-they looked great last year, I know they'll probably lose Kessel, but I love Lucic

2. Habs-I know they have basically a completely new team, but after last year, they have to do something, it was an utter failure last year. Price will be healthy too.

3. Sabres-As much as it pains me to say it, they pretty much changed nothing. Lalime is a reasonable backup but until Ruff learns how to use a backup, they'll ride Miller. Vanek did break his jaw last year and wasn't the same after that. They've got to prove to me that they're better than last year with basically the same team, hopefully they do it.

4. Ottawa-I think they'll be fighting for the 8th spot with Buffalo and I hate them.

5. Leafs-They're rebuilding but they'll be good in 3 years.

Thanks for having me, I'm a die hard Oilers fan having been born and raised in Alberta by, you guessed it, a die hard Oilers fan ( hence the boos for Pronger(boooo)). MikesBandit is bang on about Edmonton as a city as well, shit town, feels almost dirty compared to Calgary and other cities i've visited. It is a great place to party though and it's filled with some of the most hardcore fans you'll ever come across because they have very little else going for them.

But Northlands Colisseum has the best ice!! Or so I hear.

It's great to have you here as well. It will be nice to get an Oilers perspective here all season. I can definitely tell that the fans in Edmonton are passionate and loud. I have heard them over the years. I am in NY and see how lively the crowds are when the locals play each other. Edmonton/Calgary must be a great game to see in person.


Sykora trying out for the Wild. I expect him to make the team.

TSN:


The Minnesota Wild have invited forward Petr Sykora to training camp for a tryout.

The 32-year-old Sykora has played for 14 seasons and was fourth on the Stanley Cup champion Pittsburgh Penguins last year with 46 points.

A former first-round draft pick for New Jersey, Sykora has scored 300 goals in his NHL career.

After losing Marian Gaborik to the New York Rangers in free agency, the Wild are looking to add more scoring punch in a faster-paced system under new coach Todd Richards.

Sykora has scored at least 20 goals a year for 10 straight seasons.

Sykora actually has had a pretty darn good career

He really has for a guy that moved around a bunch of times. I wanted the Pens to keep him. He plays so well with Malkin, but struggled in the playoffs. I hope he does well for the Wild. They need lots of offense over there.

I am surprised this guy is not signed yet.

TheFourthPeriod.com

Former Hurricanes defenseman Dennis Seidenberg would have liked to have re-signed with Carolina, he told the Raleigh News & Observer.
Seidenberg, an unrestricted free agent, remains on the market as training camp is about to get underway.

He wanted to re-sign with the Hurricanes at a higher rate the team was willing to pay, and once GM Jim Rutherford re-acquired Aaron Ward, Seidenberg knew his time was up.

"I was hoping I was coming back here," he told the paper. "[Thursday] I was driving into Raleigh and I really liked the place. I wished I could stay here instead of packing up, but that's how it works out.

"Once they added Aaron, I kind of figured that they had replaced me."

Seidenberg made $1.2 million with the Hurricanes last season. He was reportedly looking to at least double his salary.

"I was told in free agency it could take a while and just to stay patient," he said. "I did for a while. Lately I've been calling my agent more often just asking what's going on.

"It's now 10 to 12 days before [training] camp. Not to have a team is worrisome. But that's the nature of the game and the business."



Edit: Seidenberg signs with the Panthers.

It's 11 pm in NY and I'm watching Isles-Canucks pre season on MSG. I can't wait for hockey to start.

Devils-Rangers will be on MSG this Wed and I'm looking forward to it like it's a playoff game. October can't get here fast enough.


1-0 Canucks on a goal by Sergei Shirokov. He put home a rebound on the PP after a save by Isles goalie, Munroe.

Holy crap I forgot about preseason hockey and did not know the Isles were on. I am so exhausted from work and have to wake up early. If this was a regular season game I am so watching it right now.

Hopefully Ervin has a nice time for the Pens preseason game tomorrow.

This season will start soon!!!!!!!


I just saw something interesting.

On the opening Saturday of the season, Toronto, Montreal, and Ottawa are all on the road. That never happens on a Saturday night with HNIC. That is weird.

They are playing in a sports complex in BC and the place holds about 1100. It's full and there are people watching on a big screen outside in the rain. Lol. Canadians love their hockey.

I have to be up early but I never sleep much so I might get through this game.

No Tavares in this game.

Nice fact. I miss HNIC.....it's almost time to order the Center Ice package.....Early Bird special saves 20 bucks.

I'm starting to get tired so I might not make it through this game after all.

But the Isles lineup is awful even for a preseason game. Here are the lines:

Trevor Smith-Gerg Moore-Jeremy Reich
Matt Moulsen-Greg Mauldin-Jon Sim
Jeff Tambellini-Josh Bailey-Blake Comeau
Sean Bentivoglio-Nate Thompson-Tim Jackman

Andy Sutton-Freddy Meyer
Jack Hillen-Andrew MacDonald
Dustin Kohn-Mark Flood

Outside of Bailey is there one player you would want on your team?

That's just a sad lineup there. Looks like the Pens from earlier in the decade.

Nice fight!!

It used to be fantastic, I skated there once when I was a kid, best ice I've ever skated on. It's Rexall Place now same building just different ownership group.

Yeah, I knew it had a different name but couldn't think of it.

The dude that used to be in charge of the ice at Northlands is now the NHL's official ice maker: he travels the league and trouble shoots as well as doing the Winter Classic and playoffs, Olympics, etc. Edmonton still has great ice, but a lot of the new buildings have good ice now too.

Howson is going all out with the extensions this summer. First Nash, then Brassard, Dorsett, and now Vermette.

http://blog.dispatch.com/cbj/

Vermette signs for 5 years

The Blue Jackets have signed forward Antoine Vermette to a 5-year contract extension, the Dispatch has learned.

He will earn $3.75 million per season making the total package worth $18.75 million. Vermette still has one season remaining on his current deal which pays him $2.76 million.

RIP to one of the greatest Hockey announcers of all time..

http://www.boston.com/sports/hockey/bruins/extras/bruins_blog/

I'd rather listen to the dead guy than Jack Edwards.

True that...

You gotta love hockey fans in Canada as they watched a preseason game out in the rain!! Th

The Islanders will have lots of growing pains and it is going to take time. They are a very young team. They will have some tough seasons. If they continue to draft well in the next couple of years then you have to look out for them in the future.

It's sad, but I like watching games on the computer many times, so not sure Center Ice works for me. However, when it is free I am there.


LEAFS' GUSTAVSSON HAS MINOR HEART PROCEDURE

TSN:


Jonas Gustavsson's bid to land a goaltending job with the Toronto Maple Leafs has been stalled by a heart problem coach Ron Wilson describes as a minor concern.

Gustavsson experienced a racing heartbeat following fitness tests Saturday, took part in on-ice sessions Monday and, when he didn't appear at the NHL club's practice facility Tuesday, Wilson was asked about the Swede's absence.

Doctors have performed an ablation, which requires an incision in the groin area, said Wilson.

"They go in and touch a part of his heart that was misfiring," said Wilson. "It's a simple procedure that's actually fairly common with athletes.

"Our doctor said he'll do 10 NHL players in a summer if they're ever shown this (problem). It's not a difficult procedure. We don't expect him to miss more than 48 hours. You don't want him to put his gear on until he's comfortable and there's no risk of infection (at the site of the incision)."

Gustavsson is battling for the backup position behind incument Vesa Toskala. He had a 1.96 goals-against average with Farjestads of the Swedish Elite League last season and was a much-ballyhooed signing by the Leafs earlier this summer.

"He's 24 and this has never popped up before," Wilson said of the racing heartbeat.

Gustavsson was "the most powerful guy we had" in some of the fitness tests before the problem arose Saturday, said Wilson.

Joey MacDonald of Pictou, N.S., who appeared in 49 NHL games for the New York Islanders last season, is also vying for the job of backing up Toskala.

That is too bad. I heard his voice on highlights over the years and it was a very distinct voice that you can't miss. Boston has lost a legend in Fred Cusick.


For those that never heard him here is a clip.

Fast forward to about 14 seconds.

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sGoGEjvvWrQ"]YouTube - SCORE!!! BOBBY ORR!!! -- as called by Fred Cusick with Johnny Peirson[/ame]