***Official 2007-2008 NHL Season Thread***
 

The season kicks off Saturday at 9AM Pacific with Ducks vs. Kings in London. The defending champs are starting the season without 4 of the key components of their Cup run...Giguere (injury), Pahlsson (injury), Niedermayer (suspended/retired?), and Selanne (unsigned/retired?). The Kings are much improved up front, but they still have goaltending issues which means they may not fair a whole lot better this season in a difficult Pacific.

Who is everyone picking as their favorites? I'm going Anaheim to repeat if Selanne and Niedermayer return at some point this season (both a homer pick + they'll be even better on paper than last year with those 2 plus Bertuzzi/Schnieder additions). If neither play this year, I'm going with the Rangers. The offense is looking pretty nice and they have a great goalie. The D is suspect, but I think it should be enough for the Rags to have a great season.

My division winners:
Pacific - Ducks
Northwest - Flames
Central - Wings
Southeast - Lightning
Northeast - Senators
Atlantic - Rangers


Oh yeah and the pic I saw today that inspired me to start this thread [img]/images/graemlins/laugh.gif[/img]
http://www.daveyg.com/Pictures/Cup75percent.JPG

Re: ***Official 2007-2008 NHL Season Thread***
 

sharks + roenick - toskala - guerin - bell = cup champs

mark it

Re: ***Official 2007-2008 NHL Season Thread***
 

[ QUOTE ]
sharks + roenick - toskala - guerin - bell = cup champs

mark it

[/ QUOTE ]

LOL, I'm not sure how that equation is supposed to equal Cup champs, but I definitely do think they have a shot. They have the talent, but just need to pull it together come playoff time.

Re: ***Official 2007-2008 NHL Season Thread***
 

i've always hated toskala, i thought he was overrated and overvalued and a liability in the net. the only reason he had such a great record was because the offense put up 6 goals a game when he played and the defense would hold the opposition to 25 shots or less most of the time. nabakov on the other hand was stuck with 2-3 goals of offense defending 40 shots a night.

old and washed up as roenick is, he gives the team added intensity that they desperately needed (went to all the home games against the wings in the semis and they were just getting their teeth punched in and nobody had the balls to finish a check, let alone knock a red wing the [censored] out)

guerin and bell were utterly useless, pavelski's a star in the making, cheechoo had a great 2nd half last year and i feel like an entire season with rivet shoring the defense can't possibly be a bad thing.

plus, how can u bet against the new badass shark logo?

Re: ***Official 2007-2008 NHL Season Thread***
 

you totally stole my official nhl season thread

the west puzzles me. i don't really tihnk the ducks will do it again this year, though they could. i guess top dog is san jose... detroit will probably do as well or maybe a bit worse than last year, but I think Colorado will do very well. most think it'll be either CGY or VAN winning the NW but I'm going to go with COL

Re: ***Official 2007-2008 NHL Season Thread***
 

[ QUOTE ]
you totally stole my official nhl season thread

[/ QUOTE ]

Sorry, but as the #1 fan of the reigning champs on 2+2, I figured I could call dibs on the official thread.

[ QUOTE ]
the west puzzles me. i don't really tihnk the ducks will do it again this year, though they could. i guess top dog is san jose... detroit will probably do as well or maybe a bit worse than last year, but I think Colorado will do very well. most think it'll be either CGY or VAN winning the NW but I'm going to go with COL

[/ QUOTE ]

The only thing holding me back from picking Colorado in the NW is goaltending. You could make the case that they have the worst goaltending in the division (not saying they do, but it could be close). Vancouver didn't really do much to address their offensive woes, so I don't like them.

While San Jose is really good, I don't see how they've leaped over Detroit in the offseason and they only leap over the Ducks due to the 2 "retirees".

BTW, I'm holding onto the hope for the Ducks that Nieds is holding out just long enough to get enough cap space for Selanne. I'll be happy with both returning near the end of 2007.

Re: ***Official 2007-2008 NHL Season Thread***
 

I agree that Colorado's only serious weakness is it's goaltending. Budaj < Backstrom = Roloson << Kipprusoff = Luongo. But I love the look of it's offense and defense, especially with Smyth and Hannan added this offseason. If Svatos and Hejduk don't underachieve again...

Everyone always plays the "how does this old team of nothing but veterans keep winning" on Detroit, and I never really buy into that, but this year I tihnk I will, to an extent. Not sure why, but they're just another year older, now. [img]/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]

as for the east... I hope Philly turns in a big comeback year. I think Toronto will do better than expected as well, and Washington will be better as well.

Re: ***Official 2007-2008 NHL Season Thread***
 

Speaking of Philly, Vegas has them ridiculously high considering they were last in the league last season. 7th best to win the Cup on this list. Washington looks like a fantastic deal out of the longshots. (sorry, not sure what the source of the odds are, just found it on another board as "Vegas odds")...


Anaheim +500
Ottawa +675
Detroit +725
San Jose +750
N.Y. Rangers +900
Buffalo +950
Philadelphia +1,000
Calgary +1,500
Colorado +1,500
Vancouver +1,500
Pittsburgh +1,500
Nashville +1,700
Toronto +2,000
Minnesota +2,100
New Jersey +2,100
Dallas +2,000
Atlanta +2,400
Carolina +2,500
Tampa Bay +2,500
Montreal +3,100
Florida +4,100
N.Y. Islanders +4,700
Boston +5,000
Los Angeles +5,400
St. Louis +5,500
Edmonton +6,500
Washington +6,500
Chicago +8,500
Columbus +8,500
Phoenix +10,500

Re: ***Official 2007-2008 NHL Season Thread***
 

Those are bad odds on Buffalo. They won't contend for the cup without Briere. Best deals out there are Pittsburgh, Toronto, and Washington, according to those odds, at least.

Re: ***Official 2007-2008 NHL Season Thread***
 

[ QUOTE ]
i've always hated toskala, i thought he was overrated and overvalued and a liability in the net. the only reason he had such a great record was because the offense put up 6 goals a game when he played and the defense would hold the opposition to 25 shots or less most of the time. nabakov on the other hand was stuck with 2-3 goals of offense defending 40 shots a night.


[/ QUOTE ]

You do understand that this is variance at its best right? I agree that Nabby is a far better keeper, but Toskala was far from a liability.

Bell was a HUGE bust last year, but I would not of minded seeing Guerin back. Roenick will bring additional leadership as well as a strong game even though his best games are behind him for sure.

BTW, I was at the Sharks-Ducks game on Fraday and the Sharks owned them the entire game!!!! I figure that will be status quo for the entire upcoming season.

Re: ***Official 2007-2008 NHL Season Thread***
 

Preseason hockey = megavariance

Re: ***Official 2007-2008 NHL Season Thread***
 

As much as I like hockey. I can't stand Canadian sports media's coverage on it. Yesterday they spent more time on Panthers Blackhawks preseason game than any baseball game.
I think the Mark Bell suspension is really dumb and very results oriented (shocking!).
Leafs will probably make the playoffs just based on the fact they improved this year and were really close to making it last year.

Re: ***Official 2007-2008 NHL Season Thread***
 

[ QUOTE ]
Preseason hockey = megavariance

[/ QUOTE ]

While true, the Ducks top 2 lines were pretty useless. It was also pretty comical watching how frustrated the Ducks were during the last half of the game. They started drawing stupid penalties left and right and throwing a bunch a cheap shots.

Re: ***Official 2007-2008 NHL Season Thread***
 

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
you totally stole my official nhl season thread

[/ QUOTE ]

Sorry, but as the #1 fan of the reigning champs on 2+2, I figured I could call dibs on the official thread.

[ QUOTE ]
the west puzzles me. i don't really tihnk the ducks will do it again this year, though they could. i guess top dog is san jose... detroit will probably do as well or maybe a bit worse than last year, but I think Colorado will do very well. most think it'll be either CGY or VAN winning the NW but I'm going to go with COL

[/ QUOTE ]

The only thing holding me back from picking Colorado in the NW is goaltending. You could make the case that they have the worst goaltending in the division (not saying they do, but it could be close). Vancouver didn't really do much to address their offensive woes, so I don't like them.

While San Jose is really good, I don't see how they've leaped over Detroit in the offseason and they only leap over the Ducks due to the 2 "retirees".

BTW, I'm holding onto the hope for the Ducks that Nieds is holding out just long enough to get enough cap space for Selanne. I'll be happy with both returning near the end of 2007.

[/ QUOTE ]

going into last year the ducks were the #1 team in the west and the sharks were 1a. the sharks are a better team than they were last year and the ducks, imo, are gonna be far more complacent now that they have the cup. they seriously played a lot of that season way out of their heads.

as for toskala variance, c'mon, 2.5 years of the same [censored] is not variance, he was always a liability with deceptive stats.

Re: ***Official 2007-2008 NHL Season Thread***
 

[ QUOTE ]
As much as I like hockey. I can't stand Canadian sports media's coverage on it. Yesterday they spent more time on Panthers Blackhawks preseason game than any baseball game.
I think the Mark Bell suspension is really dumb and very results oriented (shocking!).
Leafs will probably make the playoffs just based on the fact they improved this year and were really close to making it last year.

[/ QUOTE ]

I rather get coverage of the Panthers-Hawks game than nothing but Baseball/Basketball/Football.

Also, this wasn't the first time Mark Bell was in trouble... I think it was an automatic suspension, so I don't understand how it's results oriented.

Re: ***Official 2007-2008 NHL Season Thread***
 

Carolina at +2500 is waaay better than Washington +6500 - Washington signed some nice players but their depth is crap, all over the roster. They've still got guys like Brooks Laich and Boyd Gordon playing major minutes for them. They also signed 3 of the softest players in hockey history this offseason. All this overrating of Washington has to stop - they're still a year away.

As for divisions, I've got:

Atlantic: Rangers
Northeast: Senators
Southeast: Hurricanes
Central: Red Wings
Northwest: Canucks
Pacific: Sharks

I genuinely believe that Scott Niedermayer will not come back. But since he's a selfish ass, he's keeping everyone in suspense.

As for playoffs, I've got, out West:

1. Detroit
2. San Jose
3. Vancouver
4. Calgary
5. Anaheim
6. Dallas
7. Colorado
8. Nashville

and East, I've got

1. New York Rangers
2. Ottawa
3. Carolina
4. Pittsburgh
5. Buffalo
6. Toronto
7. New Jersey
8. Philadelphia

Pudge,

I envy your problem.

Re: ***Official 2007-2008 NHL Season Thread***
 

[ QUOTE ]
they seriously played a lot of that season way out of their heads.

[/ QUOTE ]

I highly disagree. They were one of the best teams all season and played like it. If anything they played below their level more often than out of their heads. They were spectacular when it mattered because they were built to win big games. They had the best record against playoff teams during the regular season for a reason. The only times they appeared to be anything but the best team was the games against the bad teams (played down to their level too much), during the injury stretch in Dec-Jan, and parts of the Detroit series.

Re: ***Official 2007-2008 NHL Season Thread***
 

NHL 08 predicts the Sharks winning the cup with Thornton receiving the Conn Smythe. I'm guessing a lot heads explode if that happens [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

CAN THE SEASON START ALREADY!??!

Re: ***Official 2007-2008 NHL Season Thread***
 

the answer to this is probably no, but if you order the center ice package, can you get the games in HD?

Re: ***Official 2007-2008 NHL Season Thread***
 

et in the center of the action with NHL CENTER ICE

Did you see over 1,100 NHL games last season?

Our NHL CENTER ICE subscribers did. That's over 40 fast, powerful and aggressive games each week, including some available in high definition! Plus, select games from the first two rounds of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

--

I'd wait until the free trial starts and they release the schedule if HD is important to you (hockey is the best HD sport)

Re: ***Official 2007-2008 NHL Season Thread***
 

[ QUOTE ]
sharks + roenick - toskala - guerin - bell = cup champs

mark it

[/ QUOTE ]

have you actually seen roenick play this millenium?

Re: ***Official 2007-2008 NHL Season Thread***
 

hahaha the rangers won't even make the playoffs, maybe at #7 again if they get lucky. there will not be any concept of team. jagr's attitude / constant retarded hooking penalties last year was the absolute max hit a playoff team could take. forwards playing defense on a team that can score is THE most imporant component of success, otherwise the defensemen simply break down, which is what will happen. lundqvist will also have a subpar year, at no real fault of his own -- similar to richter's years in late '90s.

it pains me to say, but the rangers are done for another few years. what really sucks is that all of this will lower trade values of all the rangers defensemen and lundqvist, while they will still command huge contracts b.c. the rangers will never be able to give them up for nothing in fa market. 1998 starting all over again, uugh -- hopefully they trade lundqvist+any other value quickly & draft well with their numerous top10 picks so it doesn't take another 7 years.

the dolans seriously need to be executed for pulling this $hit in new york with TWO teams, jim alone is a pefect campaign for the inheritance tax.

Re: ***Official 2007-2008 NHL Season Thread***
 

[ QUOTE ]
Those are bad odds on Buffalo. They won't contend for the cup without Briere.

[/ QUOTE ]

What makes you say that? Buffalo for the last two seasons has been the deepest team in hockey, the only one that has legitimately, night in and night out, run out FOUR quality lines over that time period. Losing ANY two players, even of the quality of Briere and Drury, is not going to ruin the Sabres. They're not going to win the President's Trophy again, probably, and Ottawa probably has to be favored to win the division over them (although the Sabres have a good chance because of that sieve of a goaltender the Sens have),but they are a top 4 team in the East, and they have a coach in Lindy Ruff who is almost universally acknowledged around the league as one of the very best, and who is not going to let this team forget their little el foldo of last season's playoffs. This should be a breakout season for Ryan Miller, especially since word out of the Sabres camp is that they're going to focus a little more on staying back and playing in their own zone rather than have everything be transition, transition, transition all the time.

All they have to do to win the Cup is get into the tournament, which they're easily going to do, and then actually get HOT at the right time rather than have their WORST streak of luck at that time and survive the Stanley Cup Crapshoot...excuse me, Playoffs. What I think they're planning to do is start out the season with the team they had last year, minus Briere and Drury, and see what happens. Remember, because of those 2 defections, they have something they didn't have the last 2 seasons for the Cup run - a LOT of room under the cap to go pick up a missing piece or two for the Cup run if they find they need it. Personally, I'd love to see them pick up someone like the Kings' Dustin Brown (a native of Ithaca, NY, about 2 and a half hours from Buffalo) before the trade deadline, but the point is they're going to have the money to make a move or two this year. None of the articles out there predicting the decline of the Sabres seem to take that fact into account.

Reports of the Buffalo Sabres' demise have been greatly exaggerated.

Re: ***Official 2007-2008 NHL Season Thread***
 

who can i bet that buffalo will finish higher than the rangers including playoffs?

Re: ***Official 2007-2008 NHL Season Thread***
 

i cant believe they picked philly, nashville, and minnesota over new jersey to win the cup.... none of those three teams have a playoff proven goalie (which is what a TON of the games come down to). Biron was playing behind miller for most of last season, and was doing decently @ the end when he moved to philly. pretty similar case with mason, playing behind vokoun and backstrom with fernandez.....

Re: ***Official 2007-2008 NHL Season Thread***
 

APXG - you're nuts. that is all.

Re: ***Official 2007-2008 NHL Season Thread***
 

[ QUOTE ]
APXG - you're nuts. that is all.

[/ QUOTE ]

i was going to say something along those lines, but i don't have moniez to bet

Re: ***Official 2007-2008 NHL Season Thread***
 

[ QUOTE ]
who can i bet that buffalo will finish higher than the rangers including playoffs?

[/ QUOTE ]

I'll take that one for a C note. Even money.

Re: ***Official 2007-2008 NHL Season Thread***
 

i would bet that buffalo finishes higher than the rangers as well. i got monies too. the depth chart on their d goes:

Michal Rozsival
Paul Mara
Marek Malik
Fedor Tyutin
Daniel Girardi
Marc Staal


just today Barry Melrose (who has picked the last two cup winners) picked the Rangers to win the cup. Well I guess two years is still a good run. Overrated.

Re: ***Official 2007-2008 NHL Season Thread***
 

wow, and what's Buffalo's like, exactly?

Henrik Tallinder
Toni Lydman
Brian Campbell
Jaroslav Spacek
Dmitri Kalinin
Nathan Paetsch

yeah, that's not great either.

Re: ***Official 2007-2008 NHL Season Thread***
 

well the NHL screws it up again - Steve Downie suspended for 20 games. Can't wait until open ice hitting is banned from the game entirely.

Re: ***Official 2007-2008 NHL Season Thread***
 

That wasn't exactly a clean hit. It was revenge for a check he took earlier. Downie's hit was a jumping shoulder to the head. 20 games is excessive, but that was a cheap hit.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=kRzapo2BhA0

Re: ***Official 2007-2008 NHL Season Thread***
 

[ QUOTE ]
well the NHL screws it up again - Steve Downie suspended for 20 games. Can't wait until open ice hitting is banned from the game entirely.

[/ QUOTE ]
The NHL is so [censored] stupid.

Re: ***Official 2007-2008 NHL Season Thread***
 

[ QUOTE ]
Steve Downie is so [censored] stupid.

[/ QUOTE ]

Re: ***Official 2007-2008 NHL Season Thread***
 

It was a cheap hit, but McAmmond should have his head up.

McAmmond got hurt, so Downie gets 20 games. If McAmmond skates away, he gets 5 - *maybe*. Hell, Downie was probably just as likely to get hurt on that play as McAmmond.

results-oriented punishment once again

Re: ***Official 2007-2008 NHL Season Thread***
 

[ QUOTE ]
i would bet that buffalo finishes higher than the rangers as well. i got monies too. the depth chart on their d goes:

Michal Rozsival
Paul Mara
Marek Malik
Fedor Tyutin
Daniel Girardi
Marc Staal


just today Barry Melrose (who has picked the last two cup winners) picked the Rangers to win the cup. Well I guess two years is still a good run. Overrated.

[/ QUOTE ]

That defense is f-ugly.

Paetsch is #6 for Buffalo(7 if Teppo comes back), and I'd take him over anyone on that list except Roszival.

Buffalo will surprise. Is that possible?

Derek Roy is going to be MASSIVE this year.

Of course, they are soft, so if they all start going down to injuries, they will suck the big one(there's a decent chance of that happening).

Roy/Vanek/Afinogenov
Pominville/Connolly/Kotalik
Hecht/Gaustad/Stafford
Peters/Mair/Paille

Tallinder/Campbell
Lydman/Spacek
Paetsch/Kalinin

Miller
Thibault

I'll take my chances, maybe then can fit in the right pieces come the trade deadline for a change.

Re: ***Official 2007-2008 NHL Season Thread***
 

[ QUOTE ]
It was a cheap hit, but McAmmond should have his head up.

[/ QUOTE ]

yes, and brashear should have had his eyes on mcsorley's stick too, right?

20 games imo is a bit harsh, I think 15 would have been fine, but really, his feet left the ice, and it was purely on retaliation for a clean check earlier. it may be results orientated but he deserves this suspension

Re: ***Official 2007-2008 NHL Season Thread***
 

Crazy -

I would not take Nathan Paetsch over Michal Roszival, Paul Mara, Marek Malik, Fedor Tyutin, Daniel Girardi, or Marc Staal.

Hm, that's everyone isn't it? The Rangers' defense is underrated. They're not great by any stretch but they should get the job done. Girardi's going to be a solid defender for a long time. If Mara shakes off the aliens who were controlling his play in Boston, he could surprise some people. Staal's supposed to be a stud. If the Rangers don't make it far in the playoffs, it will be because of their defense, but they should suffer few problems in the regular season because of it.

Re: ***Official 2007-2008 NHL Season Thread***
 

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
It was a cheap hit, but McAmmond should have his head up.

[/ QUOTE ]

yes, and brashear should have had his eyes on mcsorley's stick too, right?

20 games imo is a bit harsh, I think 15 would have been fine, but really, his feet left the ice, and it was purely on retaliation for a clean check earlier. it may be results orientated but he deserves this suspension

[/ QUOTE ]

This was my exact point in the other Downie thread.

Re: ***Official 2007-2008 NHL Season Thread***
 

Who cares if McAmmond's head was down or not, Downie broke almost every rule with one hit. If you look at the player interviews, every guy stated how disgusted they were with the hit. I think that says a lot.