NHL: 2015-2016 Season

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I'd rather see Seattle get a hockey team than Vegas. Quebec would be a good place too. That being said, I bet that the Casinos would make a killing in Vegas if they allowed people to bet on how many bad calls wind up robbing the potential Las Vegas team of scoring opportunities and other things during each individual game in the season.
 
Lou Lamoriello is now the General Manager of the Toronto Maple Leafs after having been the long-time (28 years) president of the New Jersey Devils. Maybe he can turn around the Maple Leafs as GM. Of course, Detroit Red Wing fans (among others) propbably hope Toronto doesn't ever return to any sort of prominence.

From a previous post, Quebec City is a better kind of city for an NHL team as opposed to Las Vegas. Seattle (or maybe Portland) would be great venues for any expanding or relocating NHL team. The Pacific Northwest would be very cool with at least one NHL teams. Only thing weird would be if the NHL wanted to field a team in Anchorage or Juneau. If you follow NCAA Division 1 hockey, you know there are the University of Alaska-Anchorage and the University of Alaska-Fairbanks that play in Division 1 hockey. But still... I don't see Las Vegas as a viable market for an NHL team either expanding or relocating. It isn't my call, but I shudder to see this happen for Las Vegas and the NHL.
 
JohnBM01
So do you think the Dallas Stars will be much improved this upcoming season? Could they possibly have enough to maybe push for a Stanley Cup run?
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Going off Veteran talent? Absolutely they can push for the Stanley Cup. They would have made the playoffs last year had they remained relatively healthy, but the influx of the new talent shows that GM Jim Nill knows what he is doing in getting the right personnel to fill out the roles needed.

All that being said, I hoped that Dallas would have went with a two-goaltender set up ever since Belfour retired from NHL competition. Call it a change in the times, but a two netminder setup would always ensure that one netminder would stay fresh when needed for an emergency start.
 
Lots of us want to see the NHL have a team in Seattle. So what I did was do a little research. The only real pro(?) team in Seattle at present is the Seattle Thunderbirds of the WHL (Western Hockey League). WAY back in the day, the Seattle Metropolitans were part of the Pacific Coast Hockey League. They won the Stanley Cup in 1917. The Seattle Metropolitans were in existence between 1915-1924. If there was an NHL team in Seattle today, here are some names I've heard doing a Google Images search: Grizzlies (spelled Grizzlys), Sea Otters, Sea Lions, Emeralds, Totems, Cascades, and Mountaineers among other nicknames. So maybe a nickname fitting of Seattle would be cool. Actually, I kind of like Thunderbirds if that name wasn't already taken. I am a little uncertain of "Seattle Emeralds" because I when I was coming up with a fictional sports league (not hockey), a team I came up with was the Seattle Emeralds. It still wouldn't be a bad name for... the Emerald City.

I think many of us agree that Seattle would be great for an NHL franchise. It's more a matter of "when" rather than "if."
 
The NHL Network is showing a lot of past games from this past season. As of this post, they are showing the game with Tampa Bay at Detroit for Game 4 of the First Round of the Eastern Conference Playoffs. Detroit led this series 2-1 heading into this game. Seeing these older games is a good way to get excited for the upcoming season. Unless of course... some of these games feature your favorite team getting beat. So go see some of these older games if you need a hockey fix.
 
Daniel Briere's hanging it up after 17 seasons in the NHL. Feel free to wish him the best in his retirement.
 
This post features a host of dates for this upcoming season.

* The new NHL season will begin on September 20 with the first of the NHL Preseason games. The game to be played on September 20 will be the Florida Panthers at the Nashville Predators.

* The Regular Season starts on October 7.

* The Thanksgiving Showdown is on November 27, and features a classic Original Six match: New York Rangers at the Boston Bruins to be shown on NBC.

* Another Original Six match is slated for the NHL Winter Classic on New Year's Day 2016: Montreal Canadiens at Boston Bruins.

* The 2016 NHL All-Star Game will be on the weekend of January 30-31 in Nashville.

* The NHL Stadium Series has a nice match on February 21 as the Chicago Blackhawks will be at RedDragon's Minnesota Wild.

So as of this post, we don't have to wait too long for the new NHL season to start. Meanwhile, be sure to get excited for the upcoming season. NHL Network been showing all kinds of old school games. Seeing some of those could get you ready for when the new season gets started.
 
I've been getting pumped by making celebration gifs and watching fights.:lol::lol:

So ready for this season to start!
 
On the subject of fights, I love going back and watching the 90s Red Wings vs. Avalanche brawls. Man, those were pure gold. I wish I was older just so I could have had the honor of seeing them live and actually remembering them.
 
Curiously on YouTube, I looked up Red Wings and Avalanche fights. And man... that was crazy seeing COL and DET fight in 1997! Some fights I've seen from that video looked more like MMA matches. I don't know who the Avalanche consider their biggest rivals, but Detroit seemed to hate Colorado as much as they hate Toronto.

Then, I curiouly looked up Minnesota Wild fights. One I pulled up was Derek Boogaard (MIN) against D.J. King (STL). The game was St. Louis at Minnesota from March 14, 2010. Boogaard got some pretty good licks in, even incluiding knocking off King's helmet. Both guys were pretty big as well- Boogard goes 6'8" at 257 lbs., and King went 6'2" at 228 lbs.


Of course, hockey is about putting the puck in the net, even though fights are a notorious part of hockey. Still enjoy the fights. All I'm saying is... you still got to try to put that puck into the net and give your team a chance.
 
Milan Lucic hasn't even suited up for the Kings and he's already said he'd love to play for Vancouver. Just what I want to hear. :banghead:
 
IMO that just screams Lucic will be traded and traded soon. I'd be shocked if he makes it the whole season in LA.
 
Even if I wanted to play for another team, I still would want to make myself at least halfway decent with the team I'm currently with. So the worst that could happen for the Kings would be Lucic playing like garbage to where he would justify being traded. You still got to deliver the goods no matter what team you play for. As for being with a team you want to play for, just worry about being on your current team and then let the trade market or free agent market play itself out. If this guy does play like garbage, the 2015-2016 NHL Season will be a LONG one for Kings fans unless everybody else on the Kings roster steps up.
 
Heads up! The first Preseason game of this upcoming NHL season is next Sunday. So you hockey fans won't have to wait too long for the new season to start.
 
Guess what? NHL Hockey is back! The first Preseason matches happen today. Those matches include:

* FLA Panthers at NSH Predators (Game 1)
* NJ Devils at BOS Bruins
* FLA Panthers at NSH Predators (Game 2)

Time to get excited for the new season, folks! Games like these will set the table for when the regular season starts in early-mid October. So enjoy these Preseason games. Of course, these games don't mean anything. Just make sure nobody gets injured or anything.

With that said... welcome to the 2015-2016 NHL season!
 
Finally! Tonight, Monday, Sept. 21, 2015, marks the official start to the season for the Minnesota Wild as we take on the Buffalo Sabres in the Xcel Energy Centre. Each season brings new story lines with it and I'd like to touch on a few for the Wild:

1) Is this the season? Common sense might say no. After all, this is with a few exceptions(some that we will touch on later) the same Wild squad that got swept by the Hawks earlier this year. However, what we finally have this season is some semblance of balance at the goaltending position. Devan Dubnyk signed a 6-year, $26million contract with the Wild. He heads into the season as the unquestioned starting goaltender for the club. Behind him stands Darcy "Milkman" Kuemper. Kuemps had a great 2013-14 playoffs, started the season strongly then collapsed. After Dubs was acquired Kuemper started 1 game: a 4-2 victory over the Nashville Predators in Nashville. If Kuemper stays out of trouble he could play a larger role so Dubnyk can rest some games

Speak of the devil:

2) Duuuuuuubs: Is he the real deal? Can he survive the pressures of being a starting goaltender in a hungry young club or will he suffer the same fate as our other goalies last season? There were signs, especially in the Post-season that his play may not be maintainable. His (frankly outrageous) .936%SV went down to just a .898% over the 2 series' and he was smoked when we played Chicago. He signed a big contract in the offseason, now he has to prove he was worth it to a cash strapped team.

3) Young Stars: There is no question that Zach Parise, Mikko Koivu, Jason Pomminville, and Thomas Vanek are the old guys on the team. It's time fir the young guys to blow the roof off and show what they are made of. Jason Zucker is the speedster of our team and considering the Wild us a team of speedsters that's saying a lot. Despite being out for a long stretch of the season (roughly 20 games I believe), he still managed to put more than 20 goals up on the board. The question now is whether he can stay healthy for an entire season. If he can, I am willing to bet that he can turn into a Taresenko esqe "gamebreaker" who can steal it for the Wild. Charlie Coyle is another young gun who I'm excited to see. He's big at 6ft 2, 220lbs and he has some of the sweetest hands you will ever see. Simply this season, he must use his size more to get to the net, to win puck battles, to play nasty when he has to. His size and guys hands makes him very, very dangerous and it's time for that to be shown. The same goes for Nino Niederreiter. At 6ft3 he is an inch taller and within 5 lbs. His arsenal is much simpler: go to the net. Nino us already known for his hockey sense he just has to do the same thing as Charlie Coyle and marry his size, skills and brains into an outstanding combination. Matt Dumba is our standout D-man. If you want someone who can take on Shea Weber and Zendo Chara in the hardest shot competition then you need Dumba. His slappers are already the stuff if legend here and now that he has played in playoffs, felt the intense pressure he can really begin to show his stuff. He's not particularly big for a d-man, but he's fast, can join the rush and can use the Dum-bomb when he gets the chance.
 
Blues won against Avalanche Tuesday. 5-2.

No TV Broadcast though. :(
 
Red Wings beat the Blackhawks 4-1 last night. They're playing the Penguins tonight.
 
Do you think the Red Wings can stay competitive and maybe make it to the playoffs yet again? And if so, how far do you see them advancing in the playoffs (1st Round to Stanley Cup champs)?
 
Realistically speaking, I think they're either going to miss or be bounced in the first round if they go to the playoffs. I'd like to see them go to the playoffs, but being an older team for the most part (and knowing that another Detroit sports team imploded this year), my predictions are a little more mellow than they usually would be.

EDIT: Wings won 6-1.
 
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It was just Preseason, but the Wild... went wild. They roughed up the visiting Winnipeg Jets 8-1 earlier tonight. I think I heard Minnesota scored four times in the first period, three times in the second, and then that one goal in the third. Again- this is just Preseason. I'm sure Minnesota will need to bring this bonkers offense consistently if they want to go further this season and postseason than they did in the 2014-2015 season. The game was televised on NHL Network via Canada's TSN.
 
Really good preseason game by the Wild. Hopefully, we can keep that up into the actual games. Dumba scored twice and had 2 assists on the night so really good by him and Duuuuubs did pretty well as well!

It's so strange seeing 24 on a player who can actually skate pretty well and not on Matt Cooke. As much as I'm a fan of Cooke and want to play in the same shot-blocking, grindy style as him, he isn't a fantastic skater
 
It is being reported that Las Vegas and Quebec City will make their final pitches towards expansion tomorrow. A lot of us have wanted to see Seattle get an NHL team, but we may have the Las Vegas (insert nickname here)s and the Quebec City (inset nickname here)s in the future. Not sure who else we would want to see get an NHL team if expansion happened. We'll see what happens tomorrow.
 
In mere moments, a very cool Preseason game is coming up. There is a Preseason match between the Tampa Bay Lightning and the Pittsburgh Penguins to be played at a small arena in Johnstown, PA. The game is at this arena as the winner of the first "Hockeyville USA" winning venue. A lot of memories were shared by the NBCSN crew. Old meets new, and this should be quite fun. This game won't be like the NHL equivalent of the 2015 Southern 500, but this Preseason game is going to be very cool to watch.
 
I knew that there was something I wanted to watch today. I forgot about that game.....:banghead:
 
I didn't see all of the coverage, but I did see most of the game. Pittsburgh scored first only 14 seconds into the game! The Penguins ended up winning 4-2. All the different vintage hockey bits and the whole "Slap Shot" stuff was very entertaining. It was quite a cool game.
 
Remember... the regular season starts next Wednesday. The games that matter (excluding the All-Star Game) begin next Wednesday. Keep enjoying Preseason for now.
 

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