New season, new thread. Someone had to make it.

Go pens.

1/23/2013 9:52:23 AM

YOU'RE OFF THE FORCE BOBROVSKY

1/23/2013 10:11:17 AM

mmmmmBOBROVSKY!!!!!

1/23/2013 10:16:43 AM

Jay and Dan are hilarious...I wish I had TSN solely to watch their SC.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JnRsYAbEWVs

1/23/2013 10:41:30 AM

The Goons are off to a stellar start. Haha.

I'm okay with the Devils' performance thus far. I'd like to see a stronger power play, but that's not really been their strong suit anyways.

1/23/2013 12:06:34 PM

1/23/2013 1:57:47 PM

Flyers looking rough so far

1/24/2013 12:41:56 PM

Predictions for what happens to PK Subban?

1/24/2013 1:54:03 PM

http://rapidcityjournal.com/news/two-college-students-vomit-during-rush-intermission/article_9b03cb2a-f347-521e-998c-d58bc7be8981.html

1/24/2013 1:58:06 PM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C3b_7S-sGBo

I'm sure this guy entertains all 3 Florida Panthers fans

1/24/2013 5:43:51 PM

I love Randy Moller

1/24/2013 8:26:26 PM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C3b_7S-sGBo


goodness that is hilarious.

1/25/2013 12:45:48 AM

End of the Oilers/Kings game tonight was incredible

1/25/2013 1:01:38 AM

Patrick Marleau is ridiculous. 8 goals already.

1/26/2013 4:42:45 PM

The only thing more annoying than the Pens playing so shitty right now are the Pittsburgh fans who jumped on the bandwagon 6 years ago bitching about the sky falling Sure it's frustrating, but not nearly as much as the stretch of years where our best players were Dick Tarnstrom, Aleksey Morozov and Rico fucking Fata.

That being said, there isn't a chance the Penguins are even in the discussion to compete for the cup this year if Shero doesn't trade for a defenseman and possibly a top 6 winger.

1/30/2013 9:00:00 AM

Come on their roster is still stronger than nearly every other team in the league.

1/30/2013 9:50:37 AM

^^ hey hey, also Martin Straka

yeah, the offensive roster is ridiculously strong but the defense looks not much different from the canes right now

[Edited on January 30, 2013 at 10:50 AM. Reason : bandwagon pens fans also identifiable by the carolina blue throwbacks]

1/30/2013 10:49:18 AM

^How could I forget Marty? And it's ironic but true about the jerseys.

^^True, but there's something seriously wrong with this team that dates back to about three quarters of the way through last season. Some of it is coaching (i.e. special teams, breaking the trap), but a lot has to be put on the players. The bottom finally fell out in the Flyers series last year.

Martin has showed signs of improving this season after two awful ones, but they're still relying on at least two young, more inexperienced defensemen every game to play a decent chunk of minutes.

Then there's the tired, Sid-needs-a-winger argument. I think that's a more valid argument than its ever been though. The pens use a variation of the 2-1-2 that has two skill guys at center and rw with more of a grinder on the left to initiate the forecheck (usually, but sometimes it's reversed). Right now, Sid is centering Chris Kunitz as the "skill guy" and Pascal Dupuis. Kunitz thrives in the grinder role, as pretty much everyone could see last year when he was on the Malkin-Neal line. Dupuis brings speed but not much else. He just isn't the guy to fill either role on that top line. And ever since Kunitz was moved off of the Malkin line, they've had a hard time finding a replacement for him. Basically, we've got a lineup that has three offensive juggernauts and a bunch of third line talent. The result has been heavy line shuffling (which I know is due in part to the shortened training camp) and a lack of offensive consistency so far.

That's why I think it would be ideal if they would pick up an experienced but cheap d-man to fill a spot on the third pairing and then somehow find a way to trade for a top 6 winger. There are enough good prospects in the system to make something happen. If not, it'll be another early exit from the playoffs.

1/30/2013 11:06:22 AM

http://espn.go.com/nhl/story/_/id/8898939/greg-jamison-main-suitor-phoenix-coyotes-produce-capital-purchase-team-according-sources

"Sources: Coyotes' Sale in Question"

in other news, water is wet

Quote :

"Ken Campbell ?@THNKenCampbell From a source with close ties to NHL ownership on Greg Jamison: "He hasn't raised a dollar.""

Bonjour Quebec Nordiques

[Edited on January 31, 2013 at 1:22 AM. Reason : /]

1/31/2013 1:21:40 AM

I think they would be more likely to go to Seattle if they relocated sooner rather than later.

1/31/2013 8:13:31 AM

Can the Seattle market really handle an NBA and NHL team coming in at the same time? I know they have a reputation for being sports crazy but there is only so much money to go around and you've got the Seahawks, Sounders and Mariners.

1/31/2013 9:34:59 AM

Seattle is a very large city with a lot of tech money. I think they can handle it.

1/31/2013 10:49:44 AM

Well that's pretty anecdotal. It's the 22nd largest city in the country and the 15th largest metro area. They average 67,946 attendance for NFL games, 43,144 for MLS and 21,258 for MLB. Sports Business Journal suggests that Seattle has $38.576 billion in available personal income (http://www.bizjournals.com/bizjournals/on-numbers/scott-thomas/2011/08/22-markets-have-nba-potential.html) with a minimum available income of $37.6 billion needed to support an NHL team and $34.2 billion for an NBA team (http://www.bizjournals.com/bizjournals/on-numbers/scott-thomas/2011/08/methodology-for-sports-capacity-study.html). So, if you put any value into those studies, it would seem clear that Seattle is a great prospective market for an NHL or an NBA team, and I'm sure that the NBA and NHL have concluded the same thing. But, it is also clear that having both would result in an extreme over extension of the market, which I'm not sure either side is counting on.

I would love to believe that Seattle can support both, because for me personally it is the most attractive potential NHL market out there, but there are concerns.

1/31/2013 11:04:26 AM

Quote :

"Seattle is a very large city with a lot of tech money. I think they can handle it."

It seems like a problem looking for a solution as opposed to any real local demand for an NHL team (kind of like when the NHL kicked the can on Kansas City a year or two ago, and the only reason it was even mentioned was Kings owner AEG needed a tenant for their arena in Kansas City, not because people in Kansas City would support an NHL team). Is there an owner that wants to own a team in Seattle? Do sports fans there want a hockey team or would it be subjected to little brother status to the Sonics? The NBA and NHL seasons heavily overlap. Hockey is a sport I've never understood why it's not more popular in the Pacific Northwest and Big Sky country (even outside the NHL, college and high school hockey almost don't exist there I believe).

Quebec has an owner and an arena. I think this talk of Seattle and Markham, Ont. is to just get the Quebec owner (a media mogul that is known to play hardball) to pay more to the NHL, but they're not serious candidates here. Maybe a few years from now when NHL does their expansion, because the league is in such wonderful financial shape across its bottom-end franchises.

(a Seattle-Vancouver rivalry would be fun though)

[Edited on January 31, 2013 at 11:32 AM. Reason : .]

1/31/2013 11:25:27 AM

From what I understand junior hockey is pretty big in the Pacific Northwest. I think Seattle actually has a lot of potential as a hockey market; I just can't think of any other situations where an NBA team and an NHL team have entered a market at the same time.

1/31/2013 11:38:02 AM

Popular rumor has it that Quebec would only use the Colisee Pepsi as a temporary home if they were to get a team. Granted, Quebec isn't all that big, but the place is almost 30 years old and only seats 15,000.

Also, Seattle would be nice for hockey from a conference standpoint. I doubt the league is all that thrilled with a team leaving the west and heading east (even if Winnipeg will go to the West after realignment). But yeah...NBA and NHL at the same time would likely be a disaster.

[Edited on January 31, 2013 at 11:40 AM. Reason : -]

1/31/2013 11:38:53 AM

Quote :

"From what I understand junior hockey is pretty big in the Pacific Northwest. I think Seattle actually has a lot of potential as a hockey market; I just can't think of any other situations where an NBA team and an NHL team have entered a market at the same time."

The only place out west there are college hockey teams is Colorado with 3 (Denver, Colorado College, and the Air Force Academy). Between Washington, Oregon, northern California, Idaho, Montana, Utah (which hosted an Olympic hockey tournament), Wyoming, not a single varsity college hockey program. College hockey is not big, but after the NHL and the AHL, that's the next highest-supported level of ice hockey in this country. I don't believe they do high school hockey either (all this said, neither does North Carolina, but Bettman moving to places like here is why the situations in Atlanta, Phoenix, and probably Florida existed/do exist)

The highest level of hockey appears to be 5 American teams in the Canadian junior Western Hockey League (Everett, Portland, Seattle, Spokane, Tri-City).

[Edited on January 31, 2013 at 11:58 AM. Reason : /]

1/31/2013 11:52:19 AM

The junior teams were what I was referring to.

Average attendance per game:

Spokane 6,443
Portland 6,075
Everett 5,278
Tri-City 4,643
Seattle 4,206

All above the average for the entire CHL.

1/31/2013 12:10:08 PM

^^ Keep in mind that the CHL is generally higher quality hockey than NCAA (at least at the top of the talent pool), and the WHL is the most physical of the three major junior leagues. In addition, a local junior team can have more connection to its community as its players live with local families and have a higher probability of being drafted than college players do.

1/31/2013 2:30:27 PM

All those things notwithstanding, I still think both leagues are trying to rush into Seattle. Depending on what happens to the Sacramento Kings, they may not get the Sonics back right away. Ron Burkle has been putting together a last minute bid to keep them in CA. If it happens this off season, it's possible that the NHL beats the NBA there.

1/31/2013 4:36:02 PM

I've never understood why the NHL hasn't looked at Houston more as a possible location for a team. Houston makes much more sense than Seattle or Quebec City. Or even Hamilton or Vegas.

1/31/2013 4:51:29 PM

I guess the black helicopters came for Tim Thomas after all.....

.....and took him away to New York....

2/7/2013 10:02:11 PM

Karlsson

2/13/2013 9:21:09 PM

Lacerated Achilles tendon.

2/13/2013 9:35:09 PM

I feel bad for Senators fans, first Cowen, then Spezza and Michalek and now the biggest of them all in Karlsson. That's just rough. He's too good, and to think JR could've drafted him instead of Boychuk..

2/13/2013 9:44:43 PM

Man poor guy.

And wtf Boychuk.

2/13/2013 9:59:22 PM

Of course it's Cooke.

How long did it take Freaky Joe to recover from his Achilles cut?

2/13/2013 10:24:45 PM

Fuck Karlsson, I lost all respect for him with that dive of Cristiano Ronaldo proportions last night when he was touched in the back by a stick as light as a feather

What goes around comes around

[Edited on February 13, 2013 at 11:39 PM. Reason : ]

2/13/2013 11:38:07 PM

Three Line Pass: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YDXf_2Ct54o&sns=tw

2/19/2013 9:23:16 AM

Yeeeeeah, the justification is that the liney deemed going off the Preds' skate as enough of a possession to make it legit. For the rest of us....it was offsides. . .

2/19/2013 2:55:25 PM

The back linesman is allowed to call offside there once he finishes waving off icing. No excuse. There are two of them out there for a reason.

2/19/2013 4:23:27 PM

Every linesman is going to call that one different, and if the front guy waves it and there's contact with retreating team, no one else is going to overrule him.

Same thing with a save on a delayed penalty; some linesmen don't consider any save control of the puck, while others will argue that a rebound that is directed with the stick counts as control.

2/19/2013 8:00:48 PM

Lindy Ruff fired after 15 years

2/20/2013 3:20:23 PM

It looks like he was......Buffaloed....


YYYEEEEEAAAAAAHHH

2/20/2013 3:46:12 PM

Malkin went hard into the boards in the third tonight and didn't come back out for the remainder of the game

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qbRVGNKwQIE&feature=youtu.be

2/22/2013 9:45:25 PM

I thought this was pretty funny. Siri gives a cool response when asked "Who is the universe?"

2/26/2013 12:00:19 PM

Ducking at the boards to avoid a check.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=HdZvHHqYjow#!
I saw this play last night during the Blackhawks/Oilers game, and I've been conflicted about it all morning. Olczyk lets loose on Yakupov's reckless move, but the alternative is to just simply take the hit and move on.

A couple of things that bother me about peoples' comments though. Carcillo did not nor would not have charged him. Also, he didn't launch head first into Yakupov, but rather ended up going head first into the boards after falling over Nail's hunched over body away from the boards.

While I wouldn't advocate giving Yakupov a penalty here (what would you even call?), but by leaning down like that and flipping Carcillo into the boards is very dangerous and not what someone finishing a check even has time to defend against. Generally, skaters simply roll away from checks which is safer for both players involved.

What say you fellow hockey thinkers?

2/26/2013 3:17:39 PM

It looks like car bomb got outsmarted. I'm ok with it.

2/26/2013 3:23:33 PM

I'd call clipping there

2/26/2013 3:27:00 PM

Ehhhh. Clipping is more about the knees and below, but I see your rationale. That looks almost like a reverse hip check except one person goes into the boards.

2/26/2013 3:29:51 PM