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Official NHL October thread - where fashion is sent to die!

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W

Wolf

GO HABS GO
Burke's THE MAN.

Kovalev is the key: While there has been an emphasis on the youngsters in this camp, the key to the Canadiens' success this season is Alex Kovalev.

Montreal fans haven't seen anything close to Kovalev's 'A' game and Gainey had an interesting response when he was asked whether rookie Mikhail Grabovski might be able to get Kovalev going.

"The only person who can get Kovalev going is Kovalev," Gainey replied. "Let's not put the cart before the horse. We should be asking what Kovalev can do to help Grabovski."

Finding linemates for Kovalev has been a problem, but he'll be starting the season with Grabovski and Andrei Kostitsyn. They speak the same language off the ice and seemed to have some good chemistry in their preseason appearances.
Click to expand...

Gainey's putting the pressure on Kovalev it seems. Good.


With a night to go before the unofficial start of the season, here's my in depth, thought over the last 4 mins predictions

East

Sens
Devils
Lighting
Pens
Habs
Rags
Leafs
Flyers

West

Sharks
Canucks
Wings
Stars
Ducks
Sharks
Avs
Wild

Habs vs Pens round 1, Price vs Fleury. Book it.
 
K

Karakand

Member
Seattle Thunderbirds are GO

Unrelated: Who cares Burke? K-LOL caused some short term inflation in the FA market, but so are you with the shit contracts you handed out in the summer. If it really bothers you that much I'm sure you can trade 3 or 4 second round picks for him in a year or so when they realize they're playing a role player 4.25 million dollars a year...
 
B

blah141

Member
high expectations wolf? I still say they make the playoffs, but mabey at 7 or 8, NOT at 5
but ya know anything can happen!
 
S

sefskillz

shitting in the alley outside your window
bluemax said:
So the Kings suck, hmm. Maybe I shouldn't have picked a team based upon geography after all :/
Click to expand...
they're a longshot this year, but definitely on the upswing
 
Barrage

Barrage

Member
Wolf said:
Burke's THE MAN.



Gainey's putting the pressure on Kovalev it seems. Good.


With a night to go before the unofficial start of the season, here's my in depth, thought over the last 4 mins predictions

East

Sens
Devils
Lighting
Pens
Habs
Rags
Leafs
Flyers

West

Sharks
Canucks
Wings
Stars
Ducks
Sharks
Avs
Wild

Habs vs Pens round 1, Price vs Fleury. Book it.
Click to expand...

I knew the Sharks were good, but DAMN! 1st AND 6th? I think we have a new dynasty on our hands.
 
W

Wolf

GO HABS GO
Barrage said:
I knew the Sharks were good, but DAMN! 1st AND 6th? I think we have a new dynasty on our hands.
Click to expand...

whoops. Fuck it, it stands. Thornton forms a one man spin off Sharks team and finishes 6th all by his dam self, all the while still finding ways to rack up more assists then goals...


blah141 said:
high expectations wolf? I still say they make the playoffs, but mabey at 7 or 8, NOT at 5
but ya know anything can happen!
Click to expand...

I think you have to think a little positive when it comes to your team, what's the fun in expecting a shit season? The way I see it, 5th spot is as high as the Habs could end up if everything goes right. Let's see.

ForzaItalia said:
You Habs fans have a lot more faith in your team than your captain does...
Click to expand...

Hey, I put your team in the playoffs, in 7th no less, you should be thanking me.

I'm a stats man and you can't ignore that Leaf stat of not missing the playoff's 3 years in a row. Anyways 5th to 8th will be a dogfight again this year with any luck(exciting stuff) so in the end the bottom half is a crapshoot.
 
T

TemplaerDude

Member
hell, if we're gonna play like that.

canucks
canucks
canucks
canucks
canucks
canucks
canucks
blue jackets

i love garret. he's such a canucks homer. canucks vs. flyers in the finals, canucks win baby!
 
P

Pochacco

asking dangerous questions
Prediction time?

Here are my awful 2006 predictions:
(http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=121675)

This is a total crapshoot
Rankings in terms of points.

East:
[1] Ottawa Senators - their offense is still tops
[3] New Jersey Devils
[4] Buffalo Sabres
[5] New York Rangers
[6] Philly Flyers
[7] Boston Bruins
[8] Pittsburg Penguins - Crosby will be a MONSTER all season

-Habs am cry
-Leafs am cry
-Panthers will SUCK
-wtf Canes?

West:
[1] Detroit Red Wings - their powerplay will still kick ass
[2] San Jose Sharks
[3] Anaheim Ducks
[4] Edmonton Oilers - Homerism!
[5] Nashville Predators - Central Division still stinks
[6] Los Angeles Kings - are actually a good team when not injured
[7] Calgary Flames
[8] Dallas Starz

-I'll get to experience Vancouver's dissapointment in person!
-Theodore will suck
-Minny Wild will be competitive all year
-Yotes will be mediocre
-Blues goaltending will let them down
-Blackhawks = worse record in the league?


I'm like 3% confident on these predictions.

Also, Crosby will lead the league in points this year
Click to expand...
And now, 2007-2008:

East:
[1] New York Rangers - this year's version of the Buffalo Sabres
[2] Ottawa Senators - Rocket Richard for Heater
[3] Pittsburgh Penguins - Crosby struggles in a 31 point season
[4] Buffalo Sabres - Young kids step up
[5] Toronto Maple Leafs - o_0
[6] Atlanta Thrashers
[7] New Jersey Devils
[8] Boston Bruins

-Sorry Habs fans; your team is gonna get injured lots this year
-Lightning will SUCK
-Nolan gets fired again
-Flyers still suck

West:
[0] Edmonton Oilers - 2 words: Zombie Gretzky
[1] Calgary Flames - wtf?!
[2] San Jose Sharks - Chechooo train will return
[3] Detroit Red Wings - Zzzz
[4] Anaheim Ducks - Pronger will put someone in a coma this year
[5] Colorado Avalanche - Sakic with another 90+ point season
[6] Minnesota Wild - Gaborik will be top 5 in scoring
[7] St. Louis Blues - because Nashville will suck
[8] Dallas Starz

-Blues, Kings, Blue Jackets, Blackhawks? Who cares.
 
P

Pochacco

asking dangerous questions
Oops. I totally forgot about the Canucks.
Meh. Vancouver Canucks = this year's version of the Edmonton Oilers. PWNED.
 
B

bishoptl

Banstick Emeritus
Pochacco said:
Oops. I totally forgot about the Canucks.
Meh. Vancouver Canucks = this year's version of the Edmonton Oilers. PWNED.
Click to expand...
Roloson = Luongo? o_O

Only if you stick to the fact they're both carbon-based life forms.

Oh, and more big ups to Brian Burke for shitkicking Kevin Lowe some more. Throw his ass under the bus at every opportunity, Burkie! :D
 
P

Pochacco

asking dangerous questions
So I'm scanning through the 2006-2007 prediction thread and there are some hilarious quotes, including this one from Karakand:
Karakand said:
Dustin Penner will be an suitable Lupul replacement.
Click to expand...
:lol

Karakand: PLEASE say "Getzlaf will be an suitable Penner replacement." ;)
 
P

Phthisis

Member
bluemax said:
So the Kings suck, hmm. Maybe I shouldn't have picked a team based upon geography after all :/
Click to expand...

Mark my words: the LA Kings will win a Stanley Cup in the next 5 years. They certainly won't "suck" this year and should challenge for a 6-8 playoff seed.

C'mon man. You and me will keep the Kings afloat on NeoGAF. Everyone thinks LA is some backwater hockey city, but that's not the case at all. There are tons of hockey fans here.

Pochacco said:
-Blues, Kings, Blue Jackets, Blackhawks? Who cares.
Click to expand...

See?

We'll see how much not caring people in this thread are doing once Cammalleri is near the top of the league in goals and Dustin Brown and Jack Johnson are putting their favorite players through the glass.

Purple and black, baby.
 
T

TemplaerDude

Member
kings are going to be awesome. they got some wicked young talent. how they managed to get what looks to be a starter and a grade a defense man is mind boggling. kopitar and cammelleri are amazing, same with brown and frolov, visnovsky... pretty awesome shit.
 
C

Cold-Steel

Member
Last minute predictions time (about 5 minutes of solid thinking):

EAST

1 - New York Rangers
2 - Ottawa Senators
3 - New Jersey Devils
4 - Pittsburgh Penguins
5 - Buffalo Sabres
6 - Philadelphia Flyers
7 - Toronto Maple Leafs
8 - Tampa Bay Lightning**

**This is a tough one, being the offensive nightmare the Lightning are - they may or may not make the playoffs based on their ability to light the lamp like crazy.

EAST WILDCARD TEAMS:
-Boston Bruins
-Atlanta Thrashers
-New York Islanders*
-Montreal Canadiens
-Florida Panthers*

Panthers OR Islanders have best chance of making playoffs in EAST Wildcard.

WEST

1 - Detroit Red Wings*
2 - San Jose Sharks
3 - Colorado Avalanche
4 - Anaheim Ducks
5 - Vancouver Canucks
6 - Calgary Flames
7 - Dallas Stars
8 - Minnesota Wild

Red Wings will win President's Trophy.

WEST WILDCARD TEAMS:
-Los Angeles Kings*
-St. Louis Blues
-Nashville Predators
-Edmonton Oilers

Kings have best chance of making playoffs in WEST Wildcard.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

I'm hoping I'm somewhat close, a lot of these ranks goes into offense (how much the lamp is lit, versus shitty goaltending) to goaltending (how much the goaltender bails out the team) and 'team defense' (teams that play a great system that gets them the points).
 
E

elgringoblanco

Member
Okay, book these.

...And before you get upset... Well don't.

h082106A.jpg

(Finger indicates 2008-2009 conference position)

East:

1. Ottawa,
Keys to success: Spezza will manage 63 games healthy
2. Sidney Crosby Hockey Jesus
.
3. Buffalo,
This even with Vanek crashing into Miller in last tuneup practise and causing a Double Groin Injury.
4. Florida,
WTF?
1573.jpg
....
1573.jpg
....
jokinen_olli.jpg

5. Rangers,
Old timey rags effect: great roster -> lack of motivation
6. Philly,
No uh, they wont suck.
7. Tampa,
Although Tortorella really needs to get fired.
8. Boston,
Yes. Sorry Habs and Leafs

Notes:

-Feaster will start reading Hfboards -> Offseason megaton: Lecavalier + 2nd for Koivu
-Toskala will suck so bad. He's Finnish. We can't really handle pressure situations at all.
-5' 7" Brett Sterling will score 35 goals, but Atlanta wont make the playoffs

West:

1. DALLAS STARS,
Will get eliminated first round of playoffs by Chicago.
0106turco.jpg

2. Detroit,
Hasek will spontaneously combust when Ovechkin crashes his crease
3. San Jose,
Nabokov will suck
4. Anaheim,
Sports herniated early season
5. Vancouver,
Naslund - 50 fucking pts. alongside Kessler, H. Sedin - 3 G/120 A, D. Sedin - 70 G/30 A
6. Colorado,
Who plays for them again?
7. Nashville,
Great D and an okay Mason.... until Weber accidentally beats Chelios into a life-threatening coma, from which he fully recovers to play 5 more seasons. But Weber gets suspended for the season.
8. Chicago,
WTF? WHAT ABOUT MINNY AND CALGARY YOU RETARD! :lol

Notes:

- Keenan Front Office Takeover Watch: Rick Nash will get traded to Edmonton, Phaneuf to CBJ and Horcoff + Smid to the Flames
- Cloutier is acquired from re-entry waivers by Toronto, A press conference will be held to reinstate his goaltender of the future status
- Niklas Backstrom will suck cause he's Finnish, and he'll get anxious about his big contract and mediocore performance and start slumping, Harding will be rookie of the year (if he's still eligible)
 
M

Manics

Banned
YakiSOBA said:
ottawa is gonna win the stanley cup, i called it! you saw it here first folks!
Click to expand...


You didn't call what year though.

I say Leafs knock out Ottawa in round 1 of the playoffs this season.
 
M

May16

Member
TemplaerDude said:
kings are going to be awesome. they got some wicked young talent. how they managed to get what looks to be a starter and a grade a defense man is mind boggling. kopitar and cammelleri are amazing, same with brown and frolov, visnovsky... pretty awesome shit.
Click to expand...
That O'Sullivan (sp?) dude impressed me too.
 
M

Mii

Banned
1) Detroit
2) Calgary
3) Anaheim
4) Minnesota
5) San Jose
6) Colorado
7) St Louis
8) Los Angeles
---------------
9) Dallas (LA edges them out in the last games)
10) Columbus
11) Vancouver (Roberto = Injuredo)
12) Nashville
13) Chicago
14) Edmonton
15) Phoenix

Not making any calls on the East
 
K

Kingpen

Member
I had a much easier time predicting the West then I did the East this year....


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

9. Florida
10. Montreal
11. Buffalo
12. Tampa Bay
13. Boston
14. Atlanta
15. New York Islanders


1. San Jose
2. Anaheim
3. Calgary
4. Red Wings (I think Hasek will get injured this year)
5. Vancouver
6. Minnesota
7. Colorado
8. Los Angeles

9. Dallas
10. St. Louis
11. Chicago
12. Nashville
13. Columbus
14. Edmonton
15. Phoenix
 
F

Fifty

Member
Kingpen said:
11. Buffalo
Click to expand...


The team with the most points last year (113) you ranked #11th in their own conference this year? Wow. I'm not one to criticize people's picks but that's pretty ballsy/crazy

Also, Washington THIRD? Man, this is why I don't like picks. You so crazy.
 
E

elgringoblanco

Member
twinturbo2 said:
So wait, you're saying that the Panthers will make the playoffs? WTF are you smoking, dude??? :lol
Click to expand...

Yes, not as the 4th seed, but I seriously think they'll make it.

Reasons:
-Above average goaltending, even Anderson is okay (fantasy heads up) when Vokoun blows his groin again
-A budding offense that's just going to need some young guys to step up
-New and capable powerplay qb
-A decent overall defense
 
F

Fifty

Member
Yeah, I guess that Caps pick isn't that crazy. Most people seem to be still ranking them last in the east, or very close to it, but that division is pretty unstable. Still, if they beat Carolina, Tampa Bay, Atlanta and Florida with that roster I'd be more than amazed.
 
T

TemplaerDude

Member
1. anaheim ducks

- i think they'll surprise people. they still have a lot of offensive depth past selanne and their defense is still really solid.

2. detroit red wings

- if hasek stays healthy, not much is going to stand in their way.

3. vancouver canucks

- if naslund can chip in 10 more goals, that's a lot of games the canucks can win with luongo in net and one of the leagues strongest defense in front of him. raymond and shannon need to click.

4. dallas stars

- they didn't really have to do much in the offseason since they've got a great team, they're just in the toughest conference in the league.

5. san jose sharks

- nabokovs time to shine i suppose. if cheechoo can pick up where he left off at the tail end of last year they should be alright.

6. calgary flames

- aucoin, sarich and nolan aren't acquisitions that impress me, but you never know. people complain about the canucks offensive depth, but the flames aren't a whole load better off.

7. minnesota wild

- harding and backstrom will impress but they're still pretty new to the game. they'll drop a number of games because of them and steal a number because of them.

8. los angeles kings

- they're my dark horse pick i suppose. i love their young talent. bernier is a huge wild card but i think he'll come up big.

-------

9. colorado avalanche

- they got better with smyth and hannan, but i think their goaltending is still a big question mark and can be exploited since past hannan and liles, their d is a little soft. great young talent coming up though. they might steal 8th if smyth and sakic come up huge.

10. nashville predators

- they lost a lot of talent and i think it'll cost them big time... making them my pick for biggest slip up this season.

11. st. louis blues
12. pheonix coyotes
13. chicago blackhawks
14. edmonton oilers
15. columbus blue jackets.




1. buffalo sabres

- roy, afinogenov and vanek are more than capable of carrying the load in their increased ice time. miller doesn't suck.

2. new york rangers

- i don't like them but their offensive depth is scary and their star power is pretty big. lundqvist is pretty good too.

3. tampa bay lightning

- the big 3 will take them to the division title, but their goaltending is pretty bad.

4. pittsburgh penguins

- could take the division, fleury needs to prove he's a starter and not just part of the crosby effect, mainly because their defense is really weak past gonchar and whitney.

5. ottawa senators

- hard to say their a 5th place team. emery doesn't fill me with confidence. heatley not signing a deal may be distracting.

6. philadelphia flyers

- i picked them last year to be good and look what happened. i'll hesitantly say they'll make the playoffs but there's no doubt they're better. biron needs to prove he can be a starter. timonen and smith will shore what is after them a pretty soft defense. gagne and briere will be lightning. their young kids need to step up and score.

7. new jersey devils

- parise and zajac i think will more than make up for gomez. vishnevski is no replacement for rafalski but any team with brodeur in net is hard to count out.

8. carolina hurricanes

- this could go either way. i'm just picking the canes because i think ward might try to not suck for a few games, which helps.

--------

9. florida panthers

- they've got the young guns and a good goalie again but i still think they're missing something. defensive depth? possibly. uninjured players? possibly.

10. atlanta thrashers

- i think lehtonen with disappoint this year. their defense is not that good and past the big two their offense is limited.

11. montreal canadians

- i'm going to get insulted no matter what so i'll just not say anything else.

12. new york islanders

- they will lose almost every game against their division opponents this year, so they'll be in tough to get anywhere.

13. toronto maple leafs

- read above.

14. washington capitals

- i don't think kolzig will ever carry this team where it needs to go.

15. boston bruins
 
M

May16

Member
Fifty said:
The team with the most points last year (113) you ranked #11th in their own conference this year? Wow. I'm not one to criticize people's picks but that's pretty ballsy/crazy
Click to expand...
I agree with Fifty here.

Dude...they might have lost Drury and Briere, but they've still got...
Offense:
Afinogenov (so fast and agile, so good), Roy (Briere 2.0), Vanek (40+ goals last year), Stafford, Tim freaking Conolly, Kotalik, Pominville, Hecht, and some other guys that are just solid playmakers with good chemistry.
Defense: Tallinder + Lydman = one of the best shutdown duos around, for the last 2 years. Plus Campbell, like, possibly the best D-man in the East last year. Add in offensive D with Kalinen and Spacek and well, there's not much of a weakness for Buffalo here either.

Goal:
Miller Time.

So ah...yeah...I'm pretty certain people are not going to look forward to their Buffalo games, and equally confident that they'll get into the playoffs. Maybe not in the top 4, but they'll be there.
 
K

Karakand

Member
Pochacco said:
:lol

Karakand: PLEASE say "Getzlaf will be an suitable Penner replacement." ;)
Click to expand...
Fuck noooooooooooooooooooooooooo.

P.S. If you let Getzlaugh get poached because you signed some stupid thug to a 4 million per contract Burke I will punch your drunk face in.
 
E

elgringoblanco

Member
Okay here's my serious prediction..

East:
1. Ottawa
2. Rangers
3. Florida
4. Buffalo
5. Pittsburgh
6. Tampa
7. Philly
8. New Jersey
----------------
9. Boston
10. Toronto
11. Montreal
12. Carolina
13. Atlanta
14. Washington
15. Islanders

West:
1. Detroit
2. San Jose
3. Calgary
4. Anaheim
5. Dallas
6. Vancouver
7. Minnesota
8. Nashville
-----------------
9. Colorado
10. St. Louis
11. LA
12. Edmonton
13. Chicago
14. Columbus
15. Phoenix
 
S

ShutEye

Member
I'll just say that I think there is a very good possibility that the Ottawa Senators will be the only Canadian team to make the playoffs.

And that it will probably be a very violent season followed by a tremendously violent post-season with pre-lockout scoring levels. Hope I'm wrong.
 
K

Kingpen

Member
I picked Washington 3rd because they will beat out the other teams in the southeast division. Ovechkin is deadly, and now they finally have some other young studs to play with him. Carolina is the next best team in the southeast and they just won the cup a few seasons ago. Florida, i don't see how everyone is on their nuts. They have Jokinen, an emerging Horton and what else??? Not too much else. Atlanta has some good fire power, but their D sucks. Tampa could turn some heads as well if they get good goaltending.

As far as Buffalo, not trying to piss anyone off, but i'm not the biggest believer in Maxim A.... I think he is a player that excels when he is paired with a good play making center, and you can't make me believe that Connely is going to replace Drury and Briere in that regard. Vanek's production will go down slightly as well. I think after a year of other teams seeing how Buffalo plays will have an impact on where they place. Right now I see Buffalo the same way I see New Jersey the past decade. Not a lot of offense, but great defense and goaltending. I don't see 2 of these types of teams making it into the playoffs this year, and New Jersey has more depth then Buffalo right now...
 
T

TemplaerDude

Member
if anything vanek will be even better. he skated a good potion of last year with afinomoney and roy if i recall. first line situation will see him get more ice time and pot more goals.
 
P

Pochacco

asking dangerous questions
Buffalo is still damn scary.
And don't forget they have Miller.

Honestly, outside of a few Western Conference teams like the Coyotes, the entire league is a fricking crapshoot.
 
K

Karakand

Member
Pochacco said:
Buffalo is still damn scary.
And don't forget they have Miller.

Honestly, outside of a few Western Conference teams like the Coyotes, the entire league is a fricking crapshoot.
Click to expand...
I'm finding that really exciting. It's almost as chaotic as the way the NFL works.
 
F

Fei

Member
WTF @ NHL Center Ice not available yet. InDemand is still friggin negotiating for the rights. This sucks!
 
F

Foil

Member
"It's the most wonderful time of the year"... NHL kicks it into gear tonight, MLB playoffs are underway, NFL going strong, the NBA right around the corner, and lots of good games being released. Best time of the year.

Too bad I couldn't land any tickets for the Leafs/Sens tonight. And I still hate a lot of the new jersey designs. PUKE. Oh well, hockey is back!
 
S

scissorfight

Banned
heading out for pre-game drinks on the way to the joe

DUCKS ARE GOING DOWN

NHL IS BACK BITCHES

ZETTERBERG MANCRUSH BACK IN FULL EFFECT

WHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
 
K

Karakand

Member
scissorfight said:
heading out for pre-game drinks on the way to the joe

DUCKS ARE GOING DOWN

NHL IS BACK BITCHES

ZETTERBERG MANCRUSH BACK IN FULL EFFECT

WHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
Click to expand...
Yoko's elbow is immune to jet lag.
 
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