NHL Regular Season Thread

[Evie]

It's not just the "not being good" thing.

It's the whole point where the Leafs were shifted to the Clarence Campbell Conference in 81, while the Habs remained in Prince-of-Wales, at the same time that the Nordiques appeared on the radar.

Of course Prime Rival Duty shifted from Toronto to Quebec. And, when Quebec went down and Toronto was still off in the Western Conference (Central Division), well, Boston was the obvious choice, being the only team in the division that hailed back to the Original Six (and the one geographically closest to us, then-crappy Ottawa not withstanding)

 

[Raisin Bran]

I hate Ottawa!

 

[jeps]

I hate Ottawa!

that makes two of us.

 

[Evie]

Name me a Canadian (other than those living in Ottawa, and *even* then...) who doesn't

 

[jeps]

when they were in the cup finals, many canadians did (i rooted for anaheim, for the record)

 

[Evie]

That's not "not hating Ottawa".

That's hating the idea of another Stateside cup even more than we hate Ottawa :-D

 

[SuperBeaverInc.]

Name me a Canadian (other than those living in Ottawa, and *even* then...) who doesn't

*raises hand*

 

[LesCanadiens]

Name me a Canadian (other than those living in Ottawa, and *even* then...) who doesn't

Sorry, no one out west hates the Ottawa Senators. We do hate Ottawa itself though.

 

[Evie]

Sorry, no one out west hates the Ottawa Senators. We do hate Ottawa itself though.

I never said "hate the Senators", though :-D. (There's another team in Ontario that's worthier of hate for desecrating the traditions of an O-6, anyway, and becoming no more than a bunch of thugs on ice* )

*Ok, ok. A bunch of thugs on ice PLUS Sundin. Except now it looks like they may be just the bunch of thugs.

*raises hand*

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

 

[emzie]

that makes two of us.

Three of us. Just don't tell my neighbours.

 

[Evie]

Well, whatever happens with the season, I think Montreal is going to be *especially* Hockey-Crazy for the next year and a half or so.

The Habs unveilled their 100th Anniversary plans today :

Habs unveil centennial plans
14-month celebration includes new Monopoly game, hockey rink
The Gazette
Published: 2 hours ago

When the Montreal Canadiens throw themselves a birthday party, they don't fool around.

The team has announced a slate of centennial celebrations that begin Thursday night, when fans at the Bell Centre will watch replays on the largest video scoreboard in the National Hockey League, and end on Dec. 4, 2009, the 100th anniversary of the team's first game.

Highlights of the 14-month celebration include:

* Launch of a $500,000 outdoor hockey rink in the St. Michel district, a gift to the community from the Canadiens Foundation
* A Montreal Canadiens edition of Monopoly
* Publication of Honoured Canadiens, a book on the team's Hall of Fame members
* Three DVD box sets, including a collection of the Canadiens' 10 greatest games
* Six special coins from the Canadian mint, plus the issue of 10 million loonies bearing the team's logo
* The Launch of Centennial Plaza, with plaques and statues honouring Canadiens' immortals plus 20,000 bricks purchased by fans
* A centennial web site
* A Bell Centre performance of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony by the Montreal Symphony Orchestra
* Eight Centennial Jersey Nights on which the team will wear vintage sweaters
* Launch of the movie Pour toujours, les Canadiens, a family drama focused on the team and its fans.

The Bell Centre is the scene Wednesday night of a centennial party at which 700 corporate sponsors and loge renters will wine, dine and admire the new scoreboard.

Note that the Gazette has some info missing and other wrong - it will actually be 12 vintage jersey games (eight this season and 4 next), featuring six different jerseys.

There will be, in addition to the widely-circulated Habs loonie (what are we supposed to call them? Habbies?), a Habs stamp as well. I almost have to pity Habs-hater in the Rest of Canada :-D

From what I hear, the DVD set is to include something like at least one Richard game, a few Stanley Cup wins, one of the Habs' game against the Red Army, the Good Friday battle (you know, that time the Habs and Nordiques managed to land 250 penalty minutes and 10 game misconducts for battling in a single game?), and last season's 6-point comeback against the Rangers.

 

[LesCanadiens]

Let's make predictions!

Western Conference
1. Detroit
2. Anaheim
3. Vancouver
4. Dallas
5. San Jose
6. Nashville
7. Minnesota
8. Calgary
9. Columbus
10. Edmonton
11. Phoenix
12. Chicago
13. St. Louis
14. Colorado
15. Los Angeles

Eastern Conference
1. New Jersey
2. Montreal
3. Washington
4. Pittsburgh
5. Boston
6. Tampa Bay
7. New York Rangers
8. Philadelphia
9. Ottawa
10. Carolina
11. Buffalo
12. Atlanta
13. New York Islanders
14. Toronto
15. Florida

Yeah, I know. 80-90% of this will be wrong. But that's part of the fun of predictions!

 

[jeps]

Let's make predictions!

Western Conference
1. Detroit - ... is there anyone else to EVER win the central?
2. San Jose - have regular season talent, now time to prove they can do it in the playoffs.
3. Calgary - as much as i loathe bertuzzi, bringing him and cammalleri in, and rene bourque, all seem like good moves to me.
4. Vancouver - Luongo will get a little help this time around.
5. Dallas - Even with an aging Modano, still a great team.
6. Colorado - *NOTE* ONLY IF THEY STAY HEALTHY. IIRC, Colorado led the league in man games lost last year. However, these werent random players, they were their stars - Smyth, Sakic, Svatos, Stastny, Forsberg, Wolski, Liles, etc. they have a great team, and if they can stay healthy they can score enough to make up for the lack of offense.
7. Anaheim - Lost some people, but still a great squad.
8. Chicago - just brought in a 2 wingers, and Campbell, Johnson, Jarik, and Walker to shore up the defense, with huet and the bulin wall in net. I'm sold.
9. Columbus - Umburger will help a lot on this team
10. Edmonton - same as last year, in the NW, anything can happen. last year they were within 10 from first to last, this year maybe 15-20
11. Minnesota ""
12. Nashville - radulov was a dynamic player, and his loss will be felt. didnt bring anyone in.
13. St. Louis
14. Phoenix
15. Los Angeles

Eastern Conference
1. Montreal - have only gotten better in the offseason
2. Washington - all hinges on theodore. offense can score, will he be the guy who led the avs down the stretch, or the one who was benched for good reason? the one who trained hard, or the one who dated paris hilton?
3. Pittsburgh - have a very short window of opportunity, need to do it, now.
4. Boston - getting better all the time. expect the cubbies to contend for the first time since raycroft. (sure, they made the playoffs last year, but that was not a serious contention)
5. New York Rangers
6. Tampa Bay
7. Philadelphia
8. New Jersey
9. Ottawa
10. Carolina
11. Florida - if toronto maple leafs rejects couldn't make it in toronto, why would they make it in florida?
12. Buffalo - Miller will be this team's bright spot.
13. Toronto - will be 15th until february. then will do our stupid end-of-year-we-want-a-worse-draft-pick-and-hopefully-our-jobs-when-burke-comes-in-rush, and move up a few spots.
14. New York Islanders
15. Atlanta

 

[dgfred]

Both of you predict the 'Canes will not make the playoffs . Hopefully
they will prove y'all wrong.

 

[Raisin Bran]

My predictions are;

1 - There will be snow in Quebec this winter.

2 - I will get regular amounts of sex, even on game nights! yes yes my GF is good like that

and

3 - New jersey will not win the east and Detroit has a fat chance of loosing the Stanley Cup to the Habs

 

[Red Door]

My only prediction will be that the Washington Capitals will win the Stanley Cup.

 

[De Lorimier]

Go Habs Go!

 

[jeps]

Even better.

 

[dgfred]

Go Habs Go!

Now I go for the 'Canes and the Habs, thanks Lorimier .

 

[Evie]

I've got to say, the pre-season games are making me optimistic as to the future of the Habs.

Even with what we'll undoubtedly lose at the end of the season (quite a few UFAs and RFAs) - we'll have more solid players waiting in the wings at Hamilton - Webber, Subban, Pacioretty, Maxwell, etc. And how many more afterward?

I don't know how many Stanley Cup the Habs have up in their future, but I think they'll be an amazing team to support for quite a few years to come.