Please don't ask questions, just use google.
Never let good music get in the way of making a profit.
I'm only here to reglaze my bathtub.
Please don't ask questions, just use google.
Never let good music get in the way of making a profit.
I'm only here to reglaze my bathtub.
Henrik Lundqvist announcing today that he will not be playing this upcoming season after discovering a heart condition that will make it too risky. As a Ranger fan since the days of Eddie Giacomin, I wasn't looking forward to seeing the King in Caps gear, but I certainly wish now that he was going to be suiting up. He's one of the best ever and I hope he can overcome this and get back on the ice.
Lundqvist is a class guy. I hope he can get his health back, whether he plays again or not.
My crystal ball thinks they won't start until deep into the spring. Try to get a 40 game season in at best. As much as I enjoyed watching playoff 3 or more games in a day, the players do not want to be locked up in the bubble for a month or two. Can't really blame them and seeing that the US is breaking covid19 records almost daily, I don't think there is any chance at a full season.
There is no way that the Canadian Government is going to let players cross the border back and forth on a regular basis. They didn't allow it for baseball or basketball, and I don't see them allowing it for hockey - even if it is our national winter sport. Based on the increasing numbers in Canada and the crazy daily cases in the US, the border is not opening any time soon. My prediction is that if there is going to be a season the league is either going to have to play 100% in one country, or be split into teams playing only in Canada and teams playing only in the US.
The vaccine could be a game changer. It remains to be seen how quickly they can manufacture and roll out vaccinations. I personally would be upset if athletes were allowed to jump the line.
Rumor has it that the Canadian teams may be forced to relocate to the US for the duration in order for anything to happen in terms of a season. The provincial governments (perhaps rightfully so) are skeptical of US teams crossing the border. And I can't imagine that the Canadian teams would be too happy with that plan.
The timing is just bad right now given everything Covid related. Initially they wanted to start Jan. 1st, then mid-January, and now starting any earlier than mid-February appears to be nothing but a pipe dream.
I think we end up with a 40ish game regular season and some version of the Stanley Cup playoffs.
Our local ECHL team is playing this year and has inherited a couple of players from squads that elected to not make a go of it this season. Fans are able to attend but the arena is going to be limited to about 10% capacity, so around 800-850 per game. Sad thing is that I've attended many games where that is just about the number of attendees anyway. We're not exactly a hockey market...
In the meantime, this may very well be the most excited I've ever been for the World Juniors. The itch for some hockey has been unbearable since about mid-November.
So this thread was started in 2013 after the lock-out ended. Remember when we thought that was the worst thing that could happen to hockey?
NHL and players reach tentative agreement to a 56 game season starting in mid January. Fingers crossed, but I would not bet on this one.
So what do you guys and gal think about the new divisions and schedules? Definitely going to get sick of seeing the same teams over and over, but hopefully it will lead to some good, angry, hard-nosed, rivalry hockey. Ultimately I'm just glad to have hockey back...really hopin it works out.
"Who would have thought a whale would be so heavy?" - Moe Sizlak
I'm looking forward to it. I mean, every game the Oilers are going to play is a game against an opponent that I would make a special effort to watch them play. Going to be interesting to see how things develop over the course of the 56 games for each team too as some are playing natural/longtime rivals anyway but now they get a slew of games against teams that aren't even been in the same conference as they would normally be.
Speaking of the season, we have an opening in our standard fantasy hockey league this year. This isn't the keeper league so you would be starting the season fresh just like every other team would be. If you're interested, send me a PM.
In the meantime, I'll sit down sometime over the next couple of days and set up the draft dates/times for both of our fantasy leagues--will post here once that's been completed.
With only 56 games, every game is going to count. Playing the same teams over and over again might get redundant, but at least we will have hockey to watch. The expectations for my Red Wings would be to at least make the playoffs this year. If that does not happen I think Blashill will be out. He is in his 6th season and the team made some moves in the off season that should improve their situation. If the addition of Thomas Greiss in goal works out, that should make a difference. The free agent signings and continuing development of some of their young talent should boost the Red Wings up from last year. With their lackluster finish last year, it can't get much worse.
This season will deserve an asterisk to be sure, but I think they did the best under the given circumstances, and like most if not all, I'll be happy to have some hockey to watch. Hard to properly evaluate the chances of the blueshirts this year, but the foundation is looking strong (or at least has the potential to be strong).
Please don't ask questions, just use google.
Never let good music get in the way of making a profit.
I'm only here to reglaze my bathtub.
Also, how are the playoffs working? Which divisions are they combining/which divisions have a chance to play against each other for the cup? In as weird a year as this is going to be, I would like to see a matchup that we would otherwise never get.
Please don't ask questions, just use google.
Never let good music get in the way of making a profit.
I'm only here to reglaze my bathtub.
I'm kinda psyched for an all Canadian division. At least we know that four Canadian teams will make the playoffs.
The World Juniors start tomorrow. https://www.iihf.com/en/events/2021/wm20/schedule
Gold medal game on my birthday. . Go Team Canada!!!
Last edited by ForeverAutumn; 12-24-2020 at 08:54 PM.
From the NHL website:
There are no details about where the semi-final round will be. Hopefully, by the time we get there the world will be in a better place and maybe borders will be, at least, partially open.The first two rounds of the playoffs will be intradivisional, with the first-place team playing the fourth-place team and the second-place team facing the third-place team in the first round. The four teams that advance from the second round to the Semifinal Round will be seeded by their points total in the regular season (No. 1 vs. No. 4; No. 2 vs. No. 3).
Go Red Wings!
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"Who would have thought a whale would be so heavy?" - Moe Sizlak
I was just looking at the Leafs schedule. It looks like the NHL is taking the MLB approach of playing games in a series. I see a lot of two and three night stands, I'm assuming to minimize travel for both cost and safety reasons.
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